A childlike sense of amusement came over me while I explored the island in Proteus. Every time I saw something new in the distance, I got excited and had to see it up close. Proteus is a game that needs to be seen, experienced, and most of all, needs to be heard. Trust me, you'll want to wear headphones for this one.

It looks good, it plays great, and its pick-up-and-play nature makes it the exact type of game I want to boot up on my lunch break. Now give me that zombies mode.

My Lord 2 includes everything worthwhile from its predecessor and builds on top of that grand foundation; there's simply no need to go back to the first.

Vampire Survivors is well worth checking out, whether you’re playing it on Switch or any other platform. Its simple gameplay hides an irresistible depth. Just keep in mind that once you’re in its clutches, it can be a struggle to get free.

Despite some minor flaws, Bloodroots is a manically fun game that oozes style. Discovering new and unique ways to use the extremely varied arsenal to my advantage kept me coming back again and again. Even when I died (and believe me, I died plenty), I was thoroughly enjoying myself. If you're in the mood for a fast, stylish action game with plenty of challenge, Bloodroots might be just what you're looking for.

N++ might lack online play and feel like more of the same, but it's pretty much everything a platformer fan could want out of a sequel. It's still challenging, it has a boatload of levels, and it's a hell of a lot of fun to play.

I was completely taken aback by how well RIGS comes together. Although it has some issues to work out with future patches (mostly related to a content drought), as a symbol for the tech it's one of the best virtual reality joints out there, and not just for the PlayStation VR. Hell, it might be the most justified virtual reality game I've ever played.

If I was looking for an on-ramp to understanding Guilty Gear or even one-on-one anime fighters, this is the game to do it with; and what’s here looks ready to act as a platform for more to come, as there will no doubt be balance changes and new characters to come. I can lament what it might be missing, but Guilty Gear Strive is also what I needed right now: a good, solid, very online-capable fighting game with plenty of big swords, charging dolphins, and doctors with questionable credentials to go around.

Fortunately, Rakuen on its own justifies the Deluxe Edition. Though a bit uneven, its best moments are spectacular enough to warrant a recommendation for anyone in need of a good cry or two. I do wish Mr. Saitou reached the same emotional heights, but it’s serviceable if viewed strictly as a bonus. That said, if you wanted to save money and get vanilla Rakuen on PC, I wouldn’t stop you.

While it may be lacking in raw content for some players, it more than makes up for it with layers of cooperative and competitive elements that make it one of the best strategy games on Xbox Live Arcade.

Everything a remaster should be.

It's not like Sega did a lot of work to put this out on the iPhone, but that doesn't change the fact that Shining Force was a fantastic game. It still is, and for only $2.99, it's a no-brainer.

Crimson Desert features a fantastic, content-rich open world where player freedom is the number one priority. There's so much to do and so many places to go to that it's easy to get lost among its ancient ruins, mystical forests, and snowy mountains. A lack of polish breeds frustration, but nothing can shake up the firm foundations of this incredible title.

LittleBigPlanet PS Vita is the definitive LittleBigPlanet. The new interface options work splendidly, the extra toys are fun to play with, and the portable format simply works best for such a creative and laid-back venture. It's not as visually attractive as its bigger brothers, and it does little to move the series forward in any meaningful way, but it's by far the most earnest fun I've had with a LittleBigPlanet game to date.

Packed with references to the Aliens movies, including Power Loader battles and an intense APC escape scene, this is a game made by fans with the fans in mind. After recent disappointments from the Aliens franchise, Infestation brings it all home and makes for a thoroughly captivating adventure.

Despite its linearity, Ghost Trick still is going to provide you with anywhere between eight and ten hours of gameplay and story, each hour more compelling than the last as the mysteries unfold. Its a completely fresh experience on Nitnendo's handheld, or anywhere else for that matter, and certainly not one you'll want to skip.

I expected Watch Dogs 2 to be a paint-by-numbers sequel -- more guns, more cars, a bigger playground. Instead, it gives players freedom to play with the world with hackmagic the way they want to, and crafts a memorable, mostly light-hearted story that's just a lot of fun. Considering the heavy subject matter woven in, that's even more of an accomplishment than it seems like.

Voez is a diamond in the rough, at least as far as the Nintendo Switch eShop is concerned. The system's launch went from zero (or just Zelda) to hero in seconds flat, and as long as you're okay with a lack of a TV mode, Voez is a worthy pickup.

Tower of Guns is a beautiful marriage of two of my favorite genres, the first-person shooter and the roguelike. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to get back to my run I paused to finish this review.

Even the smallest accomplishments feel like massive victories, and once you experience that euphoria, you won't want to quit.

With Blazing Chrome you kind of get what you get: it's an hour and change shooter that pays extreme homage to the Contra series.

Isolation has some flaws, but it's faithful to the film series, and I'd love to see a follow-up with a few extra alien evolutions.

Below its cartoony surface and morbid fascination with killing orcs in as many brutal ways as possible, Orcs Must Die! is a surprisingly deep and challenging game that begs you to delve into it and slaps you until you do it right.

The game is incredibly polished, and all of the components fit very well together, but they are all components that other games have introduced with a slightly different twist. They have clearly mastered the action platformer, now I would like to see them take it further and try something new.

Fortnite on the Switch is still Fornite, albeit with a few graphical concessions. And Fortnite is good.

I may not have like this iteration as much as the rest, but it's still streets ahead of most current action games and deserves a warm spot on your shelf by the bonfire.

It is for people who enjoy card games with an incredible set of fair and unique mechanics that reward out-playing your opponent over luck and randomness. And while it may be based on Dota 2, with a lot to love for its fans, knowledge of the Heroes or universe is in no way needed to enjoy Artifact. All you'll need is $20 and an open and creative mind.

I'm just going to get right into it -- this is the weakest campaign yet from Treyarch.