While most collections are products of profit and/or preservation, Collection of Mana advances the Western Mana canon with its surprise inclusion of Trials of Mana. This feels like a minor miracle and, despite the collection's austere packaging, sparks hope that Square-Enix may disentomb more of their perceived gems that never made the voyage westward.

Overall, the gameplay design for World of Warships Legends is simplistic, though complicated underneath the hood. The game doesn’t do anything special to magnify its intentions, but it does keep the process smooth and uninterrupted by not overcomplicating how you play. It wants you to feel like you’re playing a moving version of Battleship, but insists on taking all the potential PC obstacles out of the way. It just simply wants you to have fun, and it achieves that in the most uncomplicated and uninterrupted way. While most people might be turned off by the pay part of the game, there is still fun to be had here.

Little nightmares is a very good game. The story of Six is a quick one, but you gather everything you need to know as you move along in the game. Think you can brave your childhood fears? If so pick up Little Nightmares and learn about Six’s story.

Hypnospace Outlaw presents a precise simulation of the apex of 90’s internet culture. Separating anarchic innocence from hubristic malice is the objective while soaking in the garish spectacle of a lost time is its gratuity. Twenty years removed, Hypnospace Outlaw exposes the dividing line between the internet as a digital frontier and its current status as a corporate hellscape.

In realm of creative game design, Stacking is a champion and the star of the show, Charlie Blackmore, is a video game folk hero. In the way that it fuses its charming atmosphere with its witty mechanics, Stacking is endlessly delightful.

I have no problem recommending Conviction to anyone who enjoys the Splinter Cell series or third person action/stealth games in general. I would have loved a much longer and more involved campaign, but the additional modes (including a separate co-op campaign) go a long way in making up for that.

Even with trial and error style gameplay falling out of style, Hitman: Absolution makes absorbing and learning every last detail attractive and engaging. This point of entry is technically more flawed, but it's potentially more interesting for skilled and patient players. You try, you fail, and in time you maniacally celebrate the payoff when it all finally falls into place. It's easy to forgive Absolution's flaws when that process works so well.

Mass Attack sports loads of innovative mechanics, masterful level design, and a breed of quality and polish that stands alongside Nintendo's best.

Finally, it's here, and I think it was well worth the wait. It's not perfection, but it's a solid effort and an excellent game that 360 owners should be proud to own.

Team M2 has done another masterful job with this Sega Ages release and it’s another must-have as far as I’m concerned. Sure, Sonic 2 has been released numerous times over the years on all kinds of platforms, and you may have had your fill, but if you’re like me and it’s been many years since you’ve played this old classic, there is simply no better way to play it than on the Switch.

I’m thrilled that Switch 2 owners get a chance to enjoy the OG Switch’s best games, but whether or not the Switch 2 update breathes life into Animal Crossing: New Horizons remains to be seen. The 12-player online play is nice in theory, but it’s far from enjoyable thanks to Nintendo’s archaic approach to online play. The Megaphone and mouse-capability are nice-to-have changes, taking some of the pain out from relying on Joy-Cons for minute adjustments. The biggest benefits of the Switch 2 upgrade are its pro-consumer pricing and its utilization of the console’s processing power.

Katana Zero’s blade isn’t sharp enough to cut through its self-indulgent idiosyncrasy. Inventive action sequences that neatly divide improvisation and orchestration and a novel time-rewinding mechanic both suffer under an overwrought style miserably impressed with its own posture. Katana Zero works best when it’s not auditioning to change its title to Edge Lords.

Violence has never looked as vivid, gorgeous, and wild as it is in Mortal Kombat 1. Its fighting mechanics remain just as approachable and appealing as prior entries, with one key difference: It’s the best-feeling Mortal Kombat I’ve played thus far. There’re some minor quirks that are still being ironed out at the time of writing, but I’m excited, legitimately excited, to see what Netherrealm chooses to add to this game.

Planet of Lana II: Children of the Leaf is a valuable sequel because it gently expands on what made the original impactful, avoiding bloated excess. A constant flood of evocative imagery and powerful emotion provides players with a gorgeous world to become lost in and care for its inhabitants. Never resting on the laurels of puzzle mechanics and instilling its characters with depth and gravitas, Children of the Leaf cements itself as one of the best cinematic platformers of its kind.

The Plucky Squire is absolutely a rewarding journey for players wanting a diverse, creative experience that celebrates the interactive medium. While its gameplay and puzzles never border on too difficult or complex, its implementation of so many unique elements are striking in both consistency and variety. Be drawn in by its stunning artistry and stay for the incredible adventure.

Neva is both touching meditation and thrilling adventure. Undoubtedly a work of art exemplified by the sheer artistry on display with its painterly world and brilliant use of color. While captivating and stunning purely from a visual perspective, Nomada uses elegant platforming to craft equally intriguing displays of puzzle solving and spectacle. Trapped in a picture frame, a tale of loss, growth, and rebirth such as this would be hard to parse yet remain poignant and interpretive but Neva captures this depth in stunning movement, a true masterpiece.

Regardless, it's a finely crafted game and an exceptional example of how to do the genre right.

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (Switch) is a faithful port of an already outstanding RPG. Barring small graphical artifacts, an oversized text box, and multiple loading screens, KOTOR is an easy recommendation for Switch owners that RPGs should strive to emulate: Your character’s stats matter, your character’s actions have consequences, and the worlds you visit are lively. Even more: If this port doesn’t make you excited for the upcoming KOTOR remaster, I don’t know what will. If you’re not the biggest Star Wars fan, I can assure you that you just might be after playing this game. If you’re currently a Star Wars fan and have yet to play this game…what are you doing? Drop what you’re doing and pick up KOTOR.

Underneath its charming exterior, WitchSpring R is a JRPG…it’s just not evident of that classification until the 20th hour. At that point, it doesn’t matter what genre it is, only that it keeps you fully engaged. From the lack of necessary grinding, hidden depth within its crafting system, and piecemeal sidequests, there’s quite a bit of unique things to do in WitchSpring R on Pieberry’s quest for pie. Thankfully, that charm persists until the very end.

Volume One of Tales From Off-Peak City is an escalating procession of existential crises staged through instances of gentrification, corporatism, and pizza delivery. It’s a kitschy nightmare laundered through eccentric characters and their bizarre conditions and the product is a surreal but eloquent presentation on preventable social decay. A single city block and a couple of hours is all Tales From Off-Peak City needs to tell a grotesque, distinctive story.

Overall, there’s not a lot to dislike about Yoku’s Island Express. It’s deep, it’s fun, and while the main character may not be memorable as a Rayman or a Mario, the gameplay is so well-planned that you aren’t in need of a strong lead character to make it all work. Villa Gorilla did one helluva job with this release and it’s a game that shouldn’t be overlooked.

Rhythm Heaven Megamix proves that there’s still room in the market for a well-made minigame collection—provided they’re unique enough. The series is still just as fun as it was back in 2006, and honestly, this is the best implementation of the concept to date.

An awesome conglomerate of modes and playlists for local and Xbox LIVE play meet the regularly astute aesthetics in resplendent fashion. If this is an annual purchase for you, no reason not to spend the $60 yet again.

Lost in Random: The Eternal Die, developed by Stormteller Games, is a far deeper and richer action roguelite experience than expected. It has quick-moving action with a healthy amount of good progression to keep gamers coming back for more. The upgrade system helps enhance the experience and works more often than it doesn’t. Regardless, this game is fun to play and something gamers can get lost in for hours and hours.

Severed is a short adventure that has a lot of major gameplay elements packed into it. Its unique art style will keep your eyes engaged, while your brain will be firmly occupied with the puzzles and sword play. There’s not a lot more you could ask for from a $14.99 game.

Infernax truly doesn’t feel catered to anyone that hasn’t, at some point in their life, been broken by the unruly math of NES programming, quality control, and a sadistic developer. I can understand that frustrations will stem from an easy-to-spot point of inspiration but I can also understand that there will be players who have no tolerance for it. Thankfully, Infernax‘s wonderful mood and aesthetic are coupled with modern design choices. Upgrade paths, multiple spells, a brisk length, and tons of odes to the past push Infernax into a title worth remembering.

Ms. Splosion Man is frequently good with equal parts brilliance and frustration. Sometimes you might get the feeling that the folks at Twisted Pixel had so much fun making their game they sort of forgot we common folk would wind up playing it, but it's hard to fault ambition.

Fans of the Final Fantasy games (especially the soundtracks) will enjoy this game, fans of Rhythm games can enjoy this game, and fans of both may thoroughly enjoy this game, especially longtime fans who have played many of the games and have a fondness towards the soundtracks.