Chaos;Child is almost comically long, and not all of this length felt deserved. That's a real shame because the main mystery was quite engaging.

High Hell is a challenging, cathartic, and unique shooter. There is beauty in its obnoxious aesthetics, and satisfaction in its fast-moving, mouse-mashing violence. It is a very short game, but one I expect to see become a darling of speedrun weekends and Twitch streams. High Hell is an anarchic injection of neon-pink adrenaline, made with a dirty needle. At only ten bucks, it's a dang cheap way to stick it to The Man.

It’s a short game, only an hour or so long, but it leaves an impact far beyond its runtime. Give it a chance, and it might just change the way you think about death.

It's refreshing to get a game that knows exactly what it wants to do, executes on that idea, but doesn't overstay its welcome. The central mechanic of precision projectile motion is unique, and Lichtspeer plays with the formula enough to keep the experience fresh right up until the end.

With the power to pick up the Switch tablet and storm through History on the go, Fire Emblem Warriors is still going to get some play in my house despite its issues. It follows a set formula with very little in the way of risk-taking, but so long as you can stomach the idea of warring kingdoms with very little at stake other than your level-up bar, it'll probably delight you too. With some DLC meat on these bones it'll likely be a long, wild ride.

Much like being a fan of the real thing, WWE 2K18 is often more of a chore than it is fun. Hilariously, yet tragically, I still find myself hoping it'll be better next time.

An impressive, if flawed, effort. Toting an interesting setting and some standout design choices, ELEX goes farther than any previous Piranha Bytes game in making the case for sticking with it in pursuit of a certain old-school ideal of RPG gaming, even if it can come at a cost in polish and presentation.

Brave New World cements Before the Storm as Chloe and Rachel's story. They're the lead roles and everyone else is just set dressing.

Hob tries to do a lot of things within its beautiful world but never does any of them very well. The platforming feels janky and slow, combat is basic and meaningless, and the puzzles will make you wish you were back in 10th grade listening to your Geometry teacher explain proofs for the millionth time. A great game was not too far away from what eventually was delivered, but outside of the stunning visuals and world design, Hob falls frustratingly short.

I have never played another game quite like Echo before. Folks are always rallying for innovation in the industry, and I can’t think of too many better examples of that in recent years. It’s not all perfect, but what’s there is extremely refreshing. This is not an easy game. You will die a lot. You will get angry. However, when you finally defeat your opponents, it’s like sex. A huge release where, for a few small minutes, you genuinely feel like you just accomplished something. It’s glorious.

While my group and I enjoyed trying out this year's Party Pack, it's fair to say it didn't live up to my expectations. It's still a lot of fun, and there were frequent outbursts of laughter in my living room. But there really wasn't a standout title here, nothing to recommend this year's pack over previous entries in the series.

What really starts to impact the whole experience is how Microsoft and Turn 10 have needlessly and thoughtlessly introduced loot boxes.

The Evil Within 2 often feels uneven, but that's probably the point. Even if it isn't, there's enough blood, guts, and horror to keep your heart racing.

Divinity: Original Sin 2 is a perfect example of how to create a sequel. It took what the first game did well and ramped it up while fixing many of the original's annoyances. The freedom here is unlike anything I have come across in a long time, and the game is better for it. There are certainly some things that still don't feel quite right, in addition to various bugs, but this is easily one of the best RPGs of modern times.

I'm torn on Etrian Odyssey V: Beyond the Myth. I sincerely believe it could be the best entry in the series, that it has refined the formula to near perfection. But in perfecting what is already there, it makes no strides to further advance the series. There are new additions but no new ideas, and after the last two games in the series, I leave this entry not wondering what is next, but if the developers have anything left in them.

It's really all that a South Park lover could ask for.

Even though Golf Story isn't quite what I expected it would be, it is an absolute delight. It's more than just a golf game with RPG mechanics, but it's not quite a full RPG with golf mechanics either. It lies in a sweet spot in the middle, where people who care about one but not the other can still get into it.

Battle Chasers: Nightwar is a well-put-together and challenging old-school RPG. There's something here even if you have no love or knowledge of the comic series. While there are whispers that this game might mean Battle Chasers will return to print, I'd honestly prefer another game for this cast of characters. Now I'll just wait for the Switch version so I can play it all over again.

Gundam Versus is great gameplay hampered by the content, or lack thereof, meant to support it. A solid roster is brought down by questionable absences, while the offline content lacks the kind of replayability that an arcade mode would have.

Axiom Verge works great as a portable game, and while it's been available before on the Vita, I feel like the Switch is the best possible platform since it looks spectacular in handheld mode and works beautifully as a sit-down, console experience.

Middle-earth: Shadow of War has a lot of fluff that attempts to sabotage it, but the game succeeds in its effort to make its world worth roaming around and killing things in. Although I wasn't enthralled by the silly story beats that try to dance around telling an actual epic and somber tale, the ability to create my own stories with an expanded level of depth was more than sufficient to call this a step up.

As someone who grew up adoring the Dizzy series, I definitely got a kick out of Mystik Belle's whimsical trip down memory lane. Props should also been given for some lovely colourful sprites, cute characters and nostalgic tunes from yesteryear. But it is certainly a short trip down said lane, and one which will present the majority of gamers with very little resistance.

Despite the quality of the episode, one complaint does remain, and it's one that Guardians hasn't shaken the whole season so far. Mainly it comes down to tone, in which, unlike other Telltale games, there really does feel like a "right" way for things to end up at the end of Who Needs You.

I loved my time spent in this goofy, sci-fi world. It wasn’t perfect, but it was a wonderful way to waste a few hours. If Miwashiba ever decides to grace us with any more of these delightfully odd little experiences in the future, you can bet your ass that I intend to play them.

This game feels like a home run after almost two decades. The look may be a bit dated, but the gameplay still holds up, and the story still resonates.

DropMix feels less like a board game to me and more like a (sometimes competitive) music simulator. If you truly do love music, creating and listening to new mixes will never get old.

For as much as I loved Road Rash, it would be hard to go back to after playing Road Redemption. This feels like the worthy successor Road Rash has always deserved. It was a little gem of a series lost in time; the only thing missing is the corny FMV cutscenes.

The concept is simultaneously inventive and archaic, doling out moments of pure delight and agonizing frustration in equal doses. Culdcept Revolt is such a niche title – perhaps the most niche game in my gaming history – I can’t tell you if you’ll like it. What I can tell you is as someone who is a bit of a masochist for these types of experiences, I enjoy it very much.