Kalimba is an enjoyable solo romp, but to get the full experience you're going to need a local co-op partner; trust me, the juice is worth the squeeze if a couch friend is hard to come by.

As far as Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade INTERmission goes as a whole, I'm really glad it exists. To be frank I wouldn't mind seeing another one of these, say for Vincent, at some point.

I still want nothing to do with microtransaction-laden Ultimate Team. Connected Careers is still dull in Owner Mode (halfhearted management sim) and filled with unnecessary gimmicks in the rest (don't worry about Confidence, just dump XP direct into player stats and win games).

It's quite long, too, easily taking you six hours or more to complete nearly everything there is to do on the new island. Moreover, it offers an excellent opportunity to try out a new build if you've been stocking up powerful equipment in your stash, but never bothered to commit to a full respec of your abilities before.

There are no other games like Quadrilateral Cowboy, and it will likely stay that way. It’s a unique blend of computer science, puzzles, and beautiful storytelling that could only come from Blendo Games.

Slowly but surely Ninja Theory has moved into film territory, but they can't let go of their need to shove action mechanics into everything they do.

It’s a game that absolutely demands 40 hours or more of your time. You must experience it first-hand if you truly want to understand what Team Danganronpa is trying to tell us.

My first actual full playthrough of Quake was a pretty enjoyable experience. Not only is the port a solid effort, even going above-and-beyond of what’s expected, but it’s also still a great game. Maybe not Doom great, maybe not even Duke Nukem 3D great, but there’s room in this world for all sorts of flavors of ‘90s shooter.

Fantasian: Neo Dimension takes all the great things about classic JRPGs and finds ways to innovate on them while still keeping the innate charm and feel the genre is known for. And while there have been plenty of great RPG releases in recent years, there’s something special about Fantasian: Neo Dimension that melds the old with the new to create an enthralling and nostalgic journey in a unique high-fantasy world that’s simply a ton of fun to play.

While the robot motif comes in half-cocked, Planet Robobot is still a safe, serviceable Kirby game. After beating the story and reflecting on it, many elements felt like just going through the motions, but those motions haven't gotten stale yet after nearly 25 years.

As an experiment, even almost three decades later, Live a Live mostly succeeds.

For many, tacking playable goons onto Superstar Saga won't be enough to revisit the world of Beanbean Kingdom mostly because the campaign is still the same uneven adventure it was before.

Deceptively cute, because behind its adorable facade is a complex game. It's well designed, which you know because you can't see the seams, yet, given all the working parts, you know that every piece of the game is part of an intricate, balanced relationship. What's more, the experience that the gameplay creates subtly, inexplicitly facilitates the sparse, minimalistic narrative bits.

Before Trails from Zero, I didn’t know anything about the Legend of Heroes series outside of the fact that people really like to complain about how text-heavy its titles are. And while the Crossbell arc could certainly use an editor in my mind, I would be fooling myself if I didn’t admit that, when taken together as one complete experience, Trails from Zero and Trails to Azure are easily one of the best turn-based RPGs I’ve ever played. Here’s to hoping someday I’ll be able to find the time to see the rest of what this series has to offer.

As a shooter it's refreshing, and as a 3D platformer it's up there with some of Nintendo's greatest creations. You'll quickly forget about the fact that you're playing Turf War over and over as you squid down an alley, leap across a gap, and shoot enemies in the air as you fall. All Nintendo needs to do is keep supporting Splatoon, because the foundation is fantastic.

It’s really hard to say whether or not I recommend The Kids We Were. I don’t hate it. As much as I feel the narrative was sloppy, it’s not a total loss and I’m sure some will readily attach to it. Atmospherically, it’s on point. The music is sparse, but it does well to get you through the five-six hours the game will probably take you.

The realm of possibilities seems endless, and every time I set sail I find something new.

Episode three was probably my favorite from season one of The Walking Dead -- so far, I'm feeling the same way about In Harm's Way.

All told, Turbo is some of the most fun I've had with the series.

It's Terry Cavanagh's best game to date, and one of the best platformers I've ever played. If you have any interest in challenging platformers whatsoever, you'd be doing yourself a disservice not to pick up VVVVVV.

Although it does have some issues with text readability in handheld mode, Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE Encore otherwise represents a clear improvement over its Wii U counterpart. The ability to speed up Session combos makes the combat feel substantially faster in the game’s later stages, and the new content exclusive to the Switch release is a more than welcome addition to an already sizeable package. Despite my one issue with it, I can’t help but consider it the superior version of an already excellent game.

A calm, cozy experience you can really immerse yourself in for a few hours while shutting out the world and enjoying somewhere somewhat strange yet utterly comforting.

All quibbles aside, Lost in Nightmares still does a lot to correct the things that I didn't like about Resident Evil 5, and I hope it's an indicator for where they may take the series in the future. More of Barry Burton headbutting Saddam Hussein look-a-likes until their faces explode would be a good thing.

Paradise Killer is a strange experience. Even having completed it, I have difficulty putting into words what it was like to play it. It's sometimes boring, often intriguing, frequently funny, and startlingly deep. I didn’t go into this expecting such an amazing detective experience, but that’s exactly what I got. It’s rare to see a game so adeptly balance style and substance, and even though it’s not a flawless experience, it has it where it counts. We may have just fallen short of Paradise this time around, but the next cycle could be perfect.

The variety makes the frequent deaths more palatable and I would probably buy a custom dedicated handheld that just played this game.

Topped off with beautiful 3D animations, an unsurprisingly excellent soundtrack, and some great anime sequences that highlight major moments in each case, Dual Destinies is not to be missed.

Lone Survivor is easily among the best survival horror games that I've ever played, a feat that's truly remarkable when one considers the 2D perspective and visual limitations.

I would have to nitpick to come up with anything else. I suppose The Lion’s Song isn’t what you’d traditionally call a “game,” but it works as an engrossing experience that you’re bound to relate to in one way or another.