It’s a loving tribute to Atari’s early console and the games that defined it, and it provides a nostalgic vision of yesteryear’s gaming laced with a bit of horror. The final act might be a bit too much torment, but it doesn’t crack the polish of the game’s bulk. It’s absolutely worth it, just maybe chamber a few swears in preparation.

Battle for Neighborville doesn't go out of its way to surpass expectations, but it's a silly, strange, joyful game – one I'm glad was greenlit.

If you enjoyed Yomawari: Night Alone, you'll love Midnight Shadows. It keeps the creative elements of its predecessor intact while expanding on some of its finer points. If you haven't played Night Alone, you can still jump into Midnight Shadows and experience the same surprises as the original, both scary and cute.

Just a hair less satisfying than the best of racing games, but compensates well for its shortcomings with nearly endless amounts of peculiar, one-of-a-kind tricks.

For $13, Graceful Explosion Machine is a fun little space shooter with nice visuals and audio that is worth your time and money if you're a high score hound.

It manages to do a lot with the system without, I believe, even scratching the service of what more focused and dedicated videogames could achieve. It's a game meant to excite you more about the system you just purchased, and that is what it does. Well worth checking out, at any rate.

Despite its age, simplicity, and lack of embellishments, Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town proves the Bokujō Monogatari franchise has been on the money since the very beginning. Its content may feel a little sparse compared to its successors and competitors, but I can see myself returning to these lands long after the next harvest moon.

If you read up on the planets for fun, enjoy movies like 2001: A Space Odyssey, Interstellar, Star Trek: The Motion Picture, or Moon, or find the idea of hauling cargo from system to system and maybe getting in the odd fight along the way appealing, there is very little else out there like Elite Dangerous. I'm highly recommending it despite the tedium in its game play and the long periods of time you will spend just looking at stars/reading stuff on a screen. It is a beautiful, one of a kind experience that I cherish, one of my favourite games in the last few years, and the PlayStation 4 release is no exception.

Barring a few antiquated (but manageable) mechanics that are still in place in the first Kingdom Hearts, HD ReMIX captures the essence of the franchise quite wonderfully.

The disappointment stems from the notion that it could have been truly great, but a few design decisions and strange lag keep it from achieving that.

Whether you are exploring the corners of DMC's castle or surfing on a rocket in DMC3, there are a lot of great moments in this collection that will make veterans nostalgic and turn newcomers into fans of the series' unique charm. Bayonetta may have outgunned Dante and Kratos may have outclassed him, but the combat, exploration, and scenarios of the DMC series still offer a thrill to this day.

Folks who love a decent mafia tale -- one of family ties, betrayal, and revenge -- will want to experience the world of Mafia II. Its competent game mechanics and absorbing narrative are enough to warrant a playthrough. But in the end, the repetitive nature of the game's sometimes mind-blowingly boring missions and lack of content will leave most gamers wanting more.

The more I played Etrian Mystery Dungeon the more I fell in love with it. While the learning curve is pretty steep and the rewards are fairly low-end early on, you really do get as much as you put in. It gives existing Mystery fans a lot to stick around for, and serves as a nice entry point for newcomers, so long as they are willing to learn.

Birds of Steel doesn't quite manage to marry arcade and simulator crowds in a single console title, but it does pull off being the best online combat flight simulator on consoles, bar none.

From the first moment that patrol car spilled convict Lee Everett into a ditch, to the final curtain fall on this climactic episode, players have enjoyed telling their tale of survival, friendship, bravery, and tragedy in a post-Walker world. It's been a very bumpy ride, both technically and narratively, but Telltale's The Walking Dead worked hard to push past these shortcomings, creating a new form of interactive fiction. One which procured genuine emotional investment from its fanbase and a deserved place in video game history.

Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 is worth trying out. The new movesets make this game more exciting than the original, and the online netcode is surprisingly stellar. If you want to check out All-Star Brawl 2 alone, the campaign mode is compelling enough to play it for hours. While the music is disappointing to listen to, the new voice acting does add so much to the game.

Even if the game doesn't bring anything wholly new to the table for Portal fans and it leans on some filler toward the end, on the whole, I had a darn good time with this spin-off.

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.

Your enjoyment of Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishments will depend on whether you want to be guided on a series of baffling murders or have the great detective be fallible.

Despite the restrained application of its central narrative concept, Blossom Tales II: The Minotaur Prince is one of the better indie Zelda clones I’ve played. Even if it hews a bit too close to its predecessor and lacks an identity to call its own, this is a solid action-adventure game, one that makes great use of those Legend of Zelda building blocks in crafting a satisfying journey.

Building these toys back-to-back in a rush just doesn't seem like what it was made for. It's made for creativity, thinking on your own, and a million other things that you would have never have thought a video game console could do. My only worry is where I'm going to store all this cardboard, and if the games will continue to hold the interest of both myself and my son beyond the initial impact of how cool it is to make something like this.

Much to my delight, Stainless didn't do just a one-to-one translation of the board game to your television. Clearly a lot of time was put into making sure Factions not only overflowed with personality, but was also able to capture the interest of new players. I can't recommend this game enough, especially at such an affordable price.

Eventually, all of its problems start to overshadow its successes and they begin to fester. What would be a joyful experience gets washed away in a sea of grey leaving nothing to connect with.

That’s going to be subjective, though. Even if it’s not going to be renting space in my mind, Vengeful Guardian: Moonrider is a tight retro-inspired action game that I have very few gripes about. JoyMasher has already proven themselves with some solid titles, and Moonrider continues that trend. It doesn’t re-write the script for the games that inspired it, but it does a great job getting the mood across. If you enjoyed their previous titles, you can expect the same talent on display here. JoyMasher has stayed away from sequels so far, but if Moonrider got back on its bike, I’d happily scooch up behind it.

As it stands, you'll easily get around 5 hours or more out of the game by simply upgrading everything and having fun while you do it. And even when you 'complete' it, Death Rally doesn't make you feel like you are done playing it.

While DKCR HD doesn't revolutionize the game, it still manages to become the definitive version of the title.

Most people will be spending their time in the online component, though, and here's the good news: it works, and when more players start to really use it, it's going to be great.

Despite my adoration of the game, I ended up being frustrated at just about every aspect of the Wii U Edition. This is the epitome of a wasted-opportunity, bare-bones port. It's great that the game is coming to yet another audience, but this is hardly worth the investment for someone who already has the opportunity to play Minecraft elsewhere.