Every time Moon would lose me with its constant waiting around or head-scratching puzzle solutions, it would win me back with its humor, characters, writing, and music. This is a game that exudes joy, and while I wasn't always having fun playing it, I am grateful that I at least got the chance to experience it.

When Avengers isn't getting in the way of itself with its tacked-on campaign, it's a bit of silly arcade fun. If a lot of these concerns are answered via post-launch patches and the DLC characters are fun to play, there's plenty of room for improvement with Avengers. At launch, it's not going to wow everyone. Maybe Marvel wanted this out as soon as possible, but it could have used another delay.

While Konami naturally doesn't enter the arena as gracefully as Arika did with Tetris 99, Super Bomberman R Online is a weird, crazy game that I'm going to enjoy diving into occasionally.

Blemishes aside, Activision is doing so much right this time beyond just putting Vicarious Visions in charge.

Too much of Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles Remastered Edition is tied to an experience that is no longer available. The moment in time that made the GameCube original possible has long passed, and trying to capture that nostalgia with so many missing pieces, is a fool's errand.

From a distance, Windbound is a gorgeous oceanic adventure with a fun sailing system that isn't afraid to push back, but up close, the cracks start to show. The game makes a great first impression that ultimately wears thin by the time you've mastered its repetitive resource-gathering roguelike loop.

It hit me how superficial a lot of the mechanics in Best Friend Forever are. I had thought that, similar to a typical dating sim, you’d have to train specific stats to score points with your lover, but it’s more segregated and mechanical than that. The dog lends a layer of brightness to the game, so it’s not entirely wasted, but from a gameplay standpoint, it’s pointless. From a purely visual novel standpoint, the game is entertaining and well-written, but it fails to make use of the one thing that makes it unique. It has the love it needs, but it will need more training before it can truly be called a "good boy."

I finished AWE with a yearning for more Alan Wake and a yearning for more Control. Remedy has more or less confirmed we'll get more of both at some point in the future, although they might be presented through the lens of yet another series. That's the reality of the Remedy Connected Universe. As a trial run, AWE manages to be a great double-dip on some beloved narratives, even though it's not necessarily a great representation of either Control or Alan Wake individually. Sometimes the sum is greater than the parts, sometimes the lake is really an ocean.

The crashes aren’t the main issue with Elite Squad: it’s the complete predictability and lack of imagination found in every corner of the app that’s the problem. This is nothing more than "Free-to-Play Mobile Game: The Game" with a Tom Clancy skin. A perfectly adequate time-waster, but those are a dime a dozen on smartphones.

Crucially, the driving itself just isn't fun, resulting in a bland experience interchangeable with any other street racing franchise.

Kandagawa Jet Girls delights with its boisterous, glowing presentation, cast of vibrant characters, and array of fun side-attractions. But the jet-ski action itself is mostly dull, struggling to offer a decent challenge or a genuine sense of speed. Jet Girls rides waves of goodwill thanks to its infectious personality, but this eventually gives way to tepid, monotonous gameplay, hampering what could have been one of Marvelous' best releases yet.

A Total War Saga: Troy plays it safe in some slightly disappointing ways, but brings enough new to the table that I would appreciate seeing its ideas make their way over to the next mainline Total War game.

Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time is a weak adaptation of the series, but the action mechanics just aren't all there either; which drags down even further.

I found myself largely enamored with Phoenotopia Awakening. Its often humorous and sometimes sentimental dialogue got through to me, and its challenging but tight platforming action really appealed. I’m a little bit weary from my trek through its expansive campaign, but I’m satisfied all the same. It’s an aesthetically pleasing, unforgivingly mean, but an altogether lovingly assembled experience.

Peaky Blinders: Mastermind is built upon a highly inventive central concept and smartly dressed in an authentic audio/visual package that accurately captures the dangerous world of The Shelby Family. The inventiveness of this core element is not captilised upon, however, resulting in uninspired action and repetitive gameplay. Peaky Blinders fans might find a few hours of entertainment but, overall, Mastermind is a missed opportunity.

I suspect it's going to be highly polarizing (not only due to the adherence to retro style difficulty but the newness of the art and humor), but it somewhat won me over due to sheer force of will.

We've seen Ubisoft snatch victory from the jaws of "somewhat underwhelming" before: maybe they can do it again.

Despite my qualms with certain challenges and the last boss, I cannot get enough of Risk of Rain 2. I love the characters and discovering secrets while setting new goals for myself. As someone who mostly bounced off the first game, the sequel sucked me in like a Primordial Cube (an in-joke, hah!). There is so much to love here, whether you are a fan of the first game or roguelikes as a whole.

Having played through Horizon Zero Dawn on PC, my view of it hasn't changed since I first played it in early 2017. There's a lot of open world bloat present, but when it works, it works. And man is it still beautiful, especially on PC.

I did enjoy what time I spent with Lost Wing, though that didn’t exactly last long. With three tracks, a handful of challenges, and a boss rush, the content is a little thin. It’s definitely priced with that in mind, however, so if you’re looking for something to fill an afternoon, you could certainly do worse. I just don’t think it’s something I’m going to keep coming back to.

If none of our hopes and dreams pan out (I'm sure at least some of them will considering the game's early success), Fall Guys is still one of the feel-good excursions of 2020. How much longevity players can get out of it will vary from person to person, but as someone who had essentially called it quits on the all-too-samey battle royale genre, I'm having a ridiculously fun time right here and now.

Merchant of the Skies is just disappointingly flat. It’s enjoyable enough to play through — once. However, after you’ve accumulated your wealth, there’s little left to be done. Another layer of challenge would have done the game a world of good, but as it stands, it’s just a one-way trip.

Mobile Suit Gundam Extreme Vs. Maxiboost On is what Gundam Versus should have been in the first place. A more properly thought-out offline suite, split-screen support, LAN mode, a deep roster, and an improved netcode all lead to a superior package that can appeal to even non-Gundam fans. However, the lack of a proper tutorial and some questionable decisions with the online hold it back as a whole. Regardless of these issues, it has absolutely lived up to the hype of players who experienced it during its arcade reign.

Hellbound is pretty upfront with what it is. If you've already burned through most of the homages I listed above, give this a shot.

Over the course of its roughly three-hour runtime, I laughed and smiled a bunch. That’s more than enough for me. This could have easily ended up as an embarrassing attempt to relive and milk the franchises’ past success, but it turned out to be something much more enjoyable. It’s not the flashbang of passion and possibility that the original offered, because few things in this world are, but it feels like it has something unique to say, and I think most fans will walk away happy if they take the time to listen.

For those of you who are curious about this series and want to jump in, you could do a whole lot worse on the Nintendo Switch. If you want to play Crysis in the most shiny way possible and own another platform, it's best to wait.

The Tengu's Disciple is more of the same and that's largely okay. The historical figures and all-new yokai are memorable, the two main missions have good pacing, and the Splitstaff is just plain cool to wield.

Beneath the veneer, there isn’t much that makes Hotel Sowls shine. The plot, the characters, and the gameplay are all wax-paper thin. The game ticks away mechanically under its inspired art style. I’m actually taken aback by how soulless Hotel Sowls really turned out to be. I guess it just goes to show that you can’t judge a hotel by its chandelier.