Kinitsu-Gami: Path of The Goddess yet again shows a Capcom willing to take risks. Who would of thought a niche hybrid of action, strategy, and tower defense would translate into a Japanese mold like this? While the game suffers from familiar genre tropes like a sluggish pace and busy menus, players won’t deny the clever, tense implementation of building an impeccable line of defense. From fighting dinosaurs from the future to dancing away evil spirits, I’m excited to see what new experiment Capcom brings us next.

The addition of Real Player Motion to the package improved Madden 19 dramatically. The controls felt great because of it and the gameplay felt tightly woven, which translated to one fun experience playing football in a video game.

Overall, in a deal of 6 games in one collection with added features for new and casual players, the Mega Man Zero/ZX Legacy collection is certainly an enjoyable and potentially challenging experience worth its $29.99 price tag. If you are at all like me and haven’t experienced the Mega Man series, this may serve as a good entry into the franchise in terms of gameplay.

The cutting mechanic is smartly embraced as Revengeance's signature rather than its limitation, a crescendo earned by appreciating the profundity of its stylish combat. This is actually expected of Platinum, but the real surprise is their respect and dedication Metal Gear’s established doctrine. By any definition, Revengeance is beautiful symmetry.

Ultimately, Soulcalibur: Broken Destiny is a superb adaptation on an established and great franchise.

This is a complete and very nicely done port of a really great fighting game.

Lunar Remastered Collection from developers ASHIBI Co., Ltd and GAME ARTS is a sight for sore eyes in a sea of modernized turn-based and action RPGs. It’s a firm reminder that old-school gaming is still fun after all these years, and it’s a definitive reminder that the Lunar series is some of the best turn-based RPG games ever.

Persona 3 Reload is not a carbon-copied remaster of Persona 3 Portable or even Persona 3. It’s a refreshed perspective of Persona 3 that removes a good bunch of pain from older RPGs while retaining the charm and character of the original. It feels like many thoughtful decisions were made to better the game’s flow without compromising on its core experience or watering it down. Framerate quibbles of the Switch 2 version aside, owners of 2023’s Persona 3 Portable might feel like there aren’t enough changes to warrant a replay. But, if you haven’t yet experienced its source material, Persona 3 Reload is without a doubt the best version of the game to play.

Dreamscaper is a permadeath RPG that took my breath away. This is a game that carries weight behind it. The overall moves and story arcs are impeccable to take it and watch. The visuals are staggering and impeccable. It’s a wonderful game. It’s a moving and relatable narrative that allows you inside our protagonist’s life and personal experiences of her subconscious. It’s a damn good game.

What BOXBOY! lacks in visuals and style, it makes up for with complex level design and intricate gameplay that will keep your brain churning for hours. It may not replace any of the bigger puzzle games out there, but HAL Laboratory’s little box opus brings some good, easily addictive puzzle entertainment.

Ultimately, there are more reasons to praise and play LCU than not, especially for Wii U owners looking for something new and exclusive that doesn't involve a Nintendo icon.

While Dragon's Crown remains the most refined and candid of Vanillaware's neo brawlers, it's absent of the range of improvements and adjustments that marked Odin Sphere Leifthrasir's transition to modern hardware. Dragon's Crown Pro is Dragon's Crown on the PlayStation 4 and it has no interest in being anything else.

Luftrausers' success is its addictive duel between confidence and doubt; what's the best option when every choice is conceivably the best option? Providing the player with heaps of ways tackle problems is nothing new, but creating a large number of choices and making each one uniquely viable? That's special, and it's Luftrausers' specialty.

KOAR is simply staggering; it's a tremendous achievement and an experience you shouldn't miss.

Arise: A Simple Story is worth a go and worth your time and attention. It carries a heavy-hearted story that is backed by stunning visuals and few flaws.

Serial Cleaners is an enjoyable experiment. Knowledge of the first game is completely unnecessary, except to appreciate developer Draw Distance’s ability to evolve gameplay and storytelling. Smeared against the backdrop of a dark underworld, the 90s aesthetic bolsters the narrative and style. Rather than a stealth game that shoves against the player, Serial Cleaners creates an almost zen-like experience among the chaos.

Kirby: Triple Deluxe is exactly what you would expect it to be: multiple game modes, creative level design, fun lighthearted style, colorful presentation, and crisp precise platforming. Kirby continues to live as a creative series built around a simple mechanic of move stealing and move-set freedom and will always be regarded dearly in this gamer's heart.

GRIME II from developer Clover Bite and publisher Kwalee is a massive Metroidvania that is driven by its creativity and storytelling, backed up by amazing visuals and soundtrack, and does everything on the gameplay side that you would expect from the genre it lives within. It’s not perfect by any means, but it’s worthy of your time.

Guitar Hero Live brings to the table some new ways to play, a new immersive mode that has been revamped from its original rooted concept and provides some hope that the game is only going to get better. I’m really happy that FreeStyleGames thought outside of the box with GHL, as the way it was going up to this point (or around 2010) was honestly quite stale. Credit them for taking some risks, praise them for achieving some of their goals, but feel free to be a tad bit cautious at the idea of paying for anything extra outside of the actual game.

On the whole, though, Ghostrunner 2 is a good game. It’s not my preferred type of first person action, but what it does is unique, cool, and rather well done. As mentioned out the outset, if you liked the first game and want to see a modest, but confident, evolution of that, GR2 is for you. It successfully makes the GR experience more robust without taking away from the unique action the first game offered.

Oath in Felghana is easily consumed without feeling disposable.

Lunar is the videogame equivalent of a summer vacation. It's free of complication, full of careless fun, over before you know it, and easily lends itself to nostalgia.

The Writer is a much more confident and focused piece of content than The Signal. Above all else, it solves the problem of creating a canonical piece of post-game content that's neither required nor unnecessary. Not quite essential, but hardly regrettable either.

Atelier Rorona Plus: The Alchemist of Arland, while not perfect, is an improvement over the 2010 version.

For Neowiz’s first big AAA-caliber game, they have done a bang-up job with Lies of P. The story, characters, combat and RPG systems, controls, enemy design, level design — there’s a lot here that is done with excellence and the summation of these is a great game that I’d happily recommend to anyone that enjoys the tough-but-rewarding Soulslike genre.

The Assignment is an excellent piece of DLC that adds, in a purely positive way, to the base game.

Scarlet Nexus is one of the better action RPGs to hit this current generation of consoles. It’s a gorgeous game with a complicated backend that makes you want to keep playing. The side-quests might be forgettable, but it certainly has a lot more to offer with its main story.

Overall, the Pac-Man Championship Edition 2 Plus release for the Nintendo Switch is a one-up on all the other releases of the game previously. It has the original game very much intact and this new ‘plus’ game that turns the established gameplay design on its head (in a good way). Two beautiful forms of frustrating entertainment in one must-have package for the Nintendo Switch.

Tom Clancy’s The Division is almost everything that was advertised in 2013. While the visuals have certainly been pulled back a bit, probably because of hardware limitations, the gameplay has been delivered as promised.

This is the total fighting game package. Many game modes, plenty of customization options, dozens of characters and stages, and satisfying online play. Touch Fight is the only mode I would not recommend.

When the final horn sounds, what we have here is an NBA Live title on the level that we haven't seen in years. It doesn't take over the top spot from NBA 2K, but it absolutely takes a huge step forward -- next year's battle between these two will be extremely interesting.

In sum, Ghostrunner on PS5 takes what was already a pretty compelling game and spruces it up just a very little bit. This is a short, narrowly-focused game that is built for speed — to that end, it does very well, but just know that going in and don’t expect a full-blown FPS-like experience. That in mind, I think you’ll appreciate what the devs were able to accomplish here.

Project Mirai DX exists as a vector to push this sentiment out of your 3DS. The rhythm action is routine and the slice-of-life elements are an exercise in gratuity, but there's no denying the infectious charm endemic to all things Hatsune Miku.

If you're looking for a grand strategy game that has an incredible amount of depth and breadth for your PS4, this is it.

Elite Dangerous is a very compelling and adventurous game. It's a story you get to tell based on your decisions. This is more than just a game. It's an ever-changing experience you get to participate in. Elite Dangerous is not for the Casual Gamer, and it's certainly not for everyone.

Unforeseen Incidents checks all the boxes for what constitutes a great point and click adventure game. Solid characters, a good story, good puzzles that are balanced, and an impressive presentation thanks to well-drawn art/animations and a good aural package.

Gravity Rush is captivating early on and maintains that level of interest throughout. It's addictive, well-paced, fun as hell, and has a nice steampunk world with a great soundtrack. The remaster is good, although straight-forward, and at $30 it's a purchase well worth considering.

The lengths to which Burial at Sea: Episode 2 goes to distance its gameplay from BioShock Infinite's blueprint is outmatched by the indulgent spectacle of its writhing narrative - a risk not fully conscious of its consequences. Through success, failure, and to simply admire the sunset of a generation, the conclusion of Burial at Sea remains a worthwhile experience.

I do appreciate the Sega Ages titles right now, and look forward to more in the future. I also think that if they start creating more additional modes to these older titles, then the series will be an easy sell. Right now, the modes are decent, especially for younger gamers out there, so they add some value to the titles, but they need a bit more to them, though, to really sell everyone on them.

Creative Assembly's passion and dedication to their Total War machine is evident with ATTILA. It's not for everyone, but for those that enjoy the series, this has all the makings of a superb entry.

Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess, developed by Capcom, brings good and stylish action to its gameplay, while incorporating strategy elements to slow it down. If you like a tactical side mixed with your action, then you’re going to love what this game offers. It felt a bit imbalanced for my taste, and I wanted more action to take the lead in this gameplay experience.

David O’Reilly’s Everything is quite the experience and journey to undertake. It’s simple, yet deep. It asks you to think about ‘just being’, but encourages you to explore the thoughts and emotions of other beings in the game. It’s a lightly addictive game that will have you staring at your television for hours and leave you wanting to keep the experience alive for no particular reason other than to keep going, which could be a metaphor for any living creature struggling to know the how and why they exist.

Pushmo World is a nice addition to the Wii U eShop content and should be played by any puzzle fan who hasn't yet experienced Pushmo and doesn't own a 3DS. However, if you're in either of the previous two categories, you would probably be better served to pick up the original Pushmo and/or Crashmo for an equally enjoyable experience at a discounted price with the freedom of portable gaming.

Mega Man Star Force Legacy Collection is a near-complete collection of the Nintendo DS’ Mega Man titles. Featuring welcome quality of life benefits, new-and-improved (for the most part) audio/visuals, along with online play, it’s a must-have for a Mega Man fan wanting to replay some of the best titles in the series’ history.

Velan Studios’ Knockout City is a fun game that anyone can pick up and play. It has everything it needs to be a go-to competitive game that is destined to find its way regularly on an Esports schedule. If the promised content is consistently delivered, then it will certainly stick around for years to come.

Sonic CD's obtuse level design and time travel gimmick remain as divisive as ever, but for $5 it's easy to pull the trigger for fans and newcomers alike.

Zero Time Dilemma is a great game and a must-play for those that escaped 999 and VLR. Like many third acts in trilogies across all kinds of media, it’s not as strong as the first or second act, but it’s still solid and I recommend it.

Despite a lacking story, the Nemesis System is still the coolest gameplay mechanic I have ever seen in a game. Fans of Shadow of Mordor will find lots to love about Shadow of War, and new fans will surely enjoy the addictive and impressive gameplay. Just don’t go in expecting a canon Tolkien story.

Judgment swerves Yakuza's circuitous criminal conspiracies a few degrees off course before turning up at familiar intersections of violence, eccentricity, and drama. Novelties surrounding its private detective facade, however, breakdown into tests of patience instead of pragmatism. Judgment may be an honest amendment to Yakuza's doctrine but its most refined and exciting practices are also its most routine.

If all interactive stories are like this, then sign me up. While If Found…starts out slow, it picks up the pace and draws you in with the personal journey of Kasio that is complemented by the beautiful artwork from Liadh Young. It’s a story that everyone, especially younger gamers, should experience.

A fantastic release that brings some new value to the series through gamer Skylander creation and great gameplay in the main story. Toys for Bob and Activision are certainly keeping this series fresh with good ideas and execution.

A successful reboot of a classic that manages to meld game design from the old school FPS days with modern elements, giving players the best of both.

An impressive, feature-rich port of the best soccer game out there.

NBA Jam is an excellent way to spend an evening or two, but at the end of the day, it's still just a prettier iteration of its former self that fails to add any mechanical polish to the formula.

Three large games, all solid in their own right, now refined with slight visual upgrades, all their DLC which includes playable episodes, characters, and costumes, as well as the ability to toggle running during Exploration and fast-forward during Battles makes this the best way to play these Atelier games. At $90 for the complete set, it feels a little pricey, however. Regardless, whether you’re a newcomer to the franchise or just nostalgic for last-gen’s Ateliers, this deluxe trilogy set is an easy recommendation to consider adding to your digital library.

The Magic Circle is a playable videogame about a broken videogame made by people who aren't good at making videogames.

What you get with the design is good controls, lots of room for error during the game, intense gameplay with a smooth vantage point, and maps to get lost in when you want to get lost in them. The loadouts, the options of how to conquer your enemy will be the driving point of the gameplay. That’s never a bad thing when those options are in the positive. If you own a PSVR and you’re dying for an FPS experience, then you should really check this one out.

An all around improvement from the previous King of Fighters, but XIII still leaves plenty of room to evolve into something better.

If you have an iPad and you're looking for an RPG to wear down your 10-12 hour battery quickly then look no further than Square Enix's Final Fantasy III. It's tough, fun, easy to use and presented in the best possible way on the iPad.

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order borrows liberally from other titles and doesn't really bring anything dramatically new to the table, but that doesn't matter. It's a solid, faithful and incredibly fun adventure in the Star Wars universe, with a substantial playtime and plenty of extras to hunt down. It's a prequel and a computer game, so it can't deliver planet-imploding repercussions for the overall Stars Wars canon, but we'd happily hit lightspeed and join Cal and BD-1 on another adventure in a second. No Force push required.

While its implementation of the 2-D/3-D hybrid perspective and basic controls work well, far more tampering has occurred here, and much of it for the worse.

As a first foray into SMT games, Devil Survivor 2 was both inviting and discouraging. I liked the premise, in that it kind of reminded me of my favorite DS game, 9-9-9, and I also like dialogue sequences that mean something. On the other hand, the slow-paced, harsh difficulty made this one tough to stick with and easy to put down. Naturally, fans of the genre and SMT games are going to get better mileage than I have, and while I may have my reservations about the game, I'm able to respect and appreciate its quality.

The simplicity of Knights and Bikes lies within its need to revisit your childhood and remind you how much fun life can be, even when the storms are intense. It brings a great narrative to the table, throws some fun puzzles in the mix while delivering beautifully playful visuals that request you go on an adventure with a good friend. The game’s intentions of stupid fun might outweigh its execution, but it succeeds in capturing the imagination and delivering a fun experience that doesn’t take itself too seriously.

With such a strong concept, it could have been one of the better games of the decade. However, the lack of polished execution has led to merely an incredible concept wrapped inside a shell of control issues that make it difficult to enjoy.

What’s most important is that, in most cases, A Hat in Time is more interested in looking around than staring backward. This is a challenging exercise for a 3D platformer, and yet A Hat in Time keeps its perspective balanced between careful devotion and sensible progression. Being responsive to your environment, as it turns out, makes it easier to see where you should be going.

V Rising possesses a surprising blend of genres that weave together to incorporate a kind of “vampire simulation” no other game has accomplished. Survival, crafting, and ARPGs may not be the most obvious harmony at first blush but the deeper players go, the more rewards will be reaped. Staring from the balcony of my castle crafted from harvesting the blood of my foes and the innocent, I could not help but give a fanged smile at this satisfying, gothic fantasy.

As it stands, Episode 2: Brave New World is far and away the best of the two episodes so far and has already made this game something special. Deck Nine did an absolutely fantastic job of creating a beautiful story and wonderfully tragic characters to make this type of dialogue-driven game a force to be reckoned with, especially when compared to the first game. It will certainly leave you hanging at the edge of your seat without apologizing for the drama and stress it creates.

Armored Kill brings some pretty fantastic maps to the BF3 universe. Those maps alone make this worth the price of admission. The addition of Tank Superiority and new vehicles only sweetens the deal. Armored Kill is certainly another well-placed notch in the BF3 belt.

Stasis has its quirks and shortcomings, but its atmosphere and compelling descent into deeper and deeper levels of a proverbial Hell make it worth sticking through.

Before Your Eyes is a devastating journey in VR that you won’t soon forget. While the journey itself doesn’t last that long, the story is long enough to leave an imprint on the gamer for years to come. It has a very Grave of the Fireflies vibe to it, so bring the tissues.

The eye-catching visuals and easy controls might draw anyone in, but if you are not in it for the grinding long-haul, you may want to get your puzzle fix elsewhere.

What I appreciate the most about the Legacy Collections is that they take a renowned series, now thirty-plus years old, preserves it, freshens it, and offers such a complete experience for everyone that it’s hard not to marvel at it. The respect that Capcom and Digital Eclipse have poured into this is evident and absolutely commendable. Where I didn’t particularly care for the franchise before, I do now, and while I won’t ever put in the time to be great at these games, I’m glad I at least have a convenient, complete, and awesome one-stop place to go to play and celebrate this series on my own time.

Gravity Ghost imagines the maelstrom of adolescence further complicated by its protagonist’s untimely death. As an elliptic platformer, it’s concerned with reaching a neat-and-tidy series of goals. As a narrative experience, it’s consumed by normalizing the despondency of its cast. Gravity Ghost’s kinetic novelty may have ebbed since its 2015 debut, but its resolution, which seeks idyllic healing from an enormous tragedy, still creates a powerful statement.

EarthNight is a game that exists to be so immensely entertaining that you will look past any of its nearly insignificant issues. Strange collision detection or a bumpy level load are merely seeking complaints rather than valid problems that detract from a priceless value of fun. From the moment I got to play EarthNight all those years ago I kept my eye on it, frustrated that it was taking so long but hopeful that it meant more and more days of care were being put into it. I never expected a game this coherent, mesmerizing, and entertaining to come along. EarthNight is a serene, challenging, expertly-crafted achievement that should not be missed by any player.

South Park: The Fractured But Whole is a spectacular experience. It is masterfully crafted with the right amount of South Park driving it. It certainly has a few minor faults here and there, but it is built to entertain and it doesn’t falter in that area. It’s a big game with a properly built turn-based personalty and it all works beautifully within its humorous South Park wrapper.

Rollerdrome is one of the most unique combo-building games in years. Its combination of Tony Hawk-style skating with Max Payne-esque gunplay is a joy to play. Nailing combos while taking down a swath of diverse enemies does feel nice, even if it does get a bit overwhelming at times. Plenty of players will find a ton of challenges in repeat playthroughs of levels to achieve everything, and will assuredly be able to pull off some sweet moments. Unfortunately, I ended up being pretty terrible at the game; but it’s hard to deny that Rollerdrome is something special.

Though gameplay mechanics and visuals haven't jumped far from last year's title, there's still enough 'new' here to make the purchase worth your hard earned money.

Hello Kitty Island Adventure from developer Sunblink isn’t going to replace Animal Crossing anytime soon. However, it’s a worthy cozy game that offers simple gameplay that is driven by quests, solid exploration, and a good crafting system, which will keep players coming back for more. It’s a good game, especially for a younger gaming audience. It’s a good way to waste time for older gamers.

Pokken Tournament DX is a wonderful game and maintains that goodness with the Nintendo Switch upgrade. It adds some more to the package, with characters and modes, but essentially delivers the same experience that you would find on the Wii U. New players will like it, but there may not be enough new content to warrant a Switch version in the household for some Wii U owners.

Subsurface Circular is worth your attention. It’s well-priced, and offers a unique and compelling experience from start to finish which you can very reasonably achieve in a single sitting. The game is concise, but leaves little to be desired, making it a solid value.

Escape Academy is a good game. It emulates the structure of an escape room while allowing the idea to go beyond real-world confines. It might be quick for some players, but it’s nonetheless enjoyable, especially with a group of friends.

MLB 10 The Show is a great baseball sim for the PSP, but the curious removal of online play will irk fans wanting to upgrade from MLB 09. If you can live without that, then MLB 10 is a good choice.

OXENFREE is an amazing story that doesn’t ask a lot of extra attention from its players other than listening and occasionally playing out some puzzles/problems/actions onscreen.

Prey establishes an interesting atmosphere early on and maintains that, with only a few disagreements along the way. Lengthy load times are likely going to get reduced with patches and combat is sometimes more annoying and pace-breaking than I would like, but overall, Prey gives more than enough back in return to offer a compelling experience.

Though the game's identity seems to be caught somewhere between a demo on steroids and a pint-sized full game, Dead Rising 2: Case Zero finds the perfect balance with its immensely cheap price tag with a surprisingly large amount of content.

Until Dawn doesn’t hide what it’s trying to do. It’s a game that focuses on story and QTE heavy gameplay. It has linear design driving it, while only deviating from the course with player choices, which affect the direction of the story. If you can accept these things, and realize it’s not perfect, then you’re going to probably enjoy Supermassive Games’ horror show.

The lack of competent online play and the unusually long load times are disappointing for hardcore enthusiasts, but Tekken's heart and soul, the fighting engine and the joy of skill based competition against your friends, is delightfully intact.

Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory is an amazing way to pay tribute to not only the music of the series but also the story. It is a great way to prepare fans for the newest chapters in the series while also taking a look back at the journey we’ve all had with Sora and the others. Although there is a lack of new content, customization, and the pacing was a little off, the creative rhythmic gameplay is worth trying out if you love rhythm games! But if you don’t and are just wanting to buy for the story, it’s best if skip this one.

Bottomline, Sniper Elite 4 on Switch is nearly four years late to the party, but better late than never. It’s regrettable that all of the DLC wasn’t included and that this release was not given the Ultimate version treatment, but, for snipe-hungry Switch players, this is still an excellent game that’s well worth your consideration.

In its third mainline iteration, LittleBigPlanet's momentum shifts from a bastion of adaptive entertainment to a lightning rod of tailored inspiration. It's a logical progression, one that sacrifices personal moments of professionally crafted clarity, but in their place is a tidy collection of tools and concepts masquerading as purpose-driven levels – and the hope that talented players will embrace enough of them to fill in LittleBigPlanet 3's considerable gaps in content.

This game is very good. A 10-12 hour campaign, that can all be played cooperatively, is supported by a good handful of multiplayer offerings. The "story" seems relative and sets the stage for a great experience, even with it being a bit repetitive.

Always good, occasionally great, and never regrettable, Ys Seven is another notable title in the PSP's increasingly impressive RPG stable.

The combat system, once you get the hang of it, is surprisingly deep and engaging, and it does well to support each characters inherent strengths and weaknesses.

Dystopika is the epitome of chilling and building a cyberpunk city of my own design. The lack of stakes, instructions, and guidance instills an experience of simply doing and being rewarded for creative designs rather than carbon-copy cities that look and function alike. If you’re in the market for a relaxing citybuilder to play in your downtime, look no further.

Routine from developer Lunar Software and Raw Fury is a good space horror game filled with the right amount of intensity and fear, which is complemented by its gameplay elements. The only improvement needed is with the controls.

Dead Rising 2 willfully endures that same risks as its predecessor and still manages to come out better for it.

A Hat in Time is more interested in looking around than staring backward. This is a challenging exercise for a 3D platformer, and yet A Hat in Time keeps its perspective balanced between careful devotion and sensible progression. Being responsive to your environment, as it turns out, makes it easier to see where you should be going.

Thunder Lotus has done a tremendous job with Jotun leaving very little in the 'con' column of the equation.