Thank you, adorable shark toy. You (and this game) are pretty awesome.

I’ve become somewhat skeptical of the cozy cottage-core fringe of the indie market after being left disappointed by a few titles, but I’m happy to say that Mail Time delivers where I’ve seen others fall short. Trying to be friendly and welcoming doesn’t compromise it as a game. It manages to be compelling while not being challenging. It does this through breezy design, a lightweight world map, and enjoyable writing. It’s an excellent execution on its philosophy.

Seeing the way that your decisions ripple outward and affect other parts of the game adds a sense of weight to every scene.

Malicious Fallen is a remaster worth investing in. Not owning Rebirth on the Vita, fixing the camera issue of the PS3 version, and improving the frame rate in both versions, I had a better experience and got to explore the chapters I missed out from the saga. It's a great action game that gave me a lot of challenge, which I always ask for. At half the price of your average retail game, I say it’s definitely worth it.

Story of Seasons looks fantastic, feels great, and offers an overabundance of things to do and places to see. It’s a farmer’s paradise, though its almost excruciatingly slow tutorial and internship will take a large amount of patience to get through if you’re to see all the game has to offer, and there is a lot.

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided doesn't succeed in making me care about the plight of humans and augs, but it still pulled me into its compelling cloak-and-dagger world where people in capes can turn invisible and shoot balls of lightning out of their arm.

Liberation Maiden isn't Suda 51's crowning achievement or anything, but it is a simple, fun shooter with a clever offense-defensive mechanic and several coats of glossy finish. If you aren't bothered by the stick and stylus control scheme, you'll enjoy this hearty dose of anime mech action. Certainly, the remaining Guild01 games have a lot to live up to.

It has a few games I’m already well acquainted with, alongside a few other obscure titles that I might not have tried on their own. It gives me the comfort of familiarity and the thrill of exploration. Sure, some of the games aren’t very good, but they’re at least bad in an almost impressive way. It’s a lot like Taito and Hamster put together a mix tape specifically for me and left it in my locker.

Puzzle fans, expect to be engrossed. One of the best and most addictive puzzle games ever has now become even better and even more addicting.

A rousing step forward for the franchise as it pertains to videogames. A thoughtfully crafted story mode, an intense multiplayer mode, online co-op and a full on horde addition makes this the most robust, lovingly developed and authentic Transformers experience you could hope to get on a home console.

I liked Echoes of the Fallen. It adds a fun endgame dungeon for those looking to extend their stay in Valisthea, and it delivers some challenging new encounters to sink your teeth into. It’s over in just a few hours and doesn’t do much narratively, but it’s a fun ride for what it is. Whether it’s worth the money is up to you, but if you’re looking for more Final Fantasy XVI, this DLC pack certainly delivers. Echoes of the Fallen is not a must-have, but it is worth having.

NES Remix 2 is a solid follow-up with more "must have" games and a few extras to sweeten the deal.

We Love Katamari is still a timeless and terrific game. A spit shine is really all that it needed to get me excited to play it again. If you’ve never played it before, you definitely should. If you have, it’s everything you loved about the PS2 release but less blurry. It’s one of the few games that allows you to weaponize a sumo wrestler to absorb bystanders on the street, and that’s very important.

Story of Seasons: Trio of Towns doesn’t reinvent the tractor wheel, but it does change it out for a more durable model. This game is built to last many, many seasons, and if you can get behind its quiet pace and an overabundance of content, you’ll find one of the most complete farm sims to ever hit a handheld device.

With the amount of care put in by Digital Eclipse, this is one of the best ways these games have been presented since they were released.

Platinum didn't create a captivating universe with Vanquish, but it also serves as a showcase of some of their best pure action work. If you haven't had a chance to give it a shot yet, you might as well with the definitive version on PC.

A great game indeed, one that fans will most assuredly adore. It does lack that unique, intangible spark that the past two games had, but that does not mean it's a poor game in any way. I have my disappointments, but I cannot claim I had a bad time. That Gears of War 3 doesn't quite live up to expectations is only a testament to how high Epic raised the bar in past efforts.

I didn't really know how I felt about Saints Row until I hit the open world segment, and this current team showed me what it is capable of.

For the price, it's surprising to see so much content packed into an Xbox Live Arcade game. The Adventures of Shuggy isn't as polished as the top-tier platformers it's put up against, but it is a great game regardless.

Regardless of whether or not you desire innovation in Tropico 4, it remains one of the most enjoyable and charming city building games of current times.

The main place Hitman continues to struggle is on a technical level. On the PlayStation 4 I'd need two hands to count the crashes I've experienced all week (plus one freeze necessitating a hard reset) and while the long load times aren't as much of a problem this time given the extra slack I found the lax coastal town to offer, it still does put a ding in a game that otherwise encourages you to try new things at the risk of failure. On the whole, though, Sapienza feels more robust than Paris.

Need for Speed Unbound is a highly enjoyable and splendidly polished arcade racer. Criterion has picked meticulously through almost 30 years of NFS legacy, stitching together its finest elements to create a brilliant, feature-packed amalgamation that offers compelling gameplay, deep design, and dazzling aesthetics. Simply put, Need for Speed Unbound is one of the best entries in the history of the franchise.

It's tough to recommend this release to anyone who already owns the DS version, a game that is still completely playable no matter which member of the 3DS family you own. Everything that was great about the original is still great here. But if you're one of the dwindling number of people still rocking a 3DS and you have yet to take a trip to the bowels of Bowser, it's an unforgettable adventure full of wit, charm, and comedy. Bowser Jr's Journey may not add anything worthwhile in regards to gameplay, but it does reaffirm that the strength of the Mario & Luigi franchise lies in its writing.

Despite the old school feel, the level design holds up tremendously. So long as you can deal with some over-the-top humor, you'll have fun with Duke all over again.

If you are a fan of mindless, old-school action games you really owe it to yourself to give Blood on the Sand a try. I promise you will be thoroughly entertained. The minute things start to feel repetitive, the game throws in a random driving level or a ludicrous cutscene that you only wish could be rewound and watched again.

A very interesting mix. You won't find a groundbreaking story here, but you will find both classic role-playing influences and new battle system ideas, all adorned with ridiculous female busts and robots and revolvers.

Torna didn't need to re-invent the wheel beyond its swap conceit. Monolith Soft is already perfectly capable of crafting giant worlds worth exploring and characters worth listening to or getting invested in.

It's innocent, it's fun, and it feels unique. We need more games like it, even if they don't push the genre forward...which is by no means a requirement.