Little Nightmares III is an eerie return to this beloved, haunted universe, captained by a developer with plenty of experience in scares. Though much of this third entry may strike a familiar chord with players, the opportunity to engage in harrowing chases and solve grotesque puzzles together makes for a tantalizing offering that you shouldn’t be frightened of.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Splintered Fate takes a lot of big swings for a franchise that has been incarnated into almost every possible genre in games. Super Evil Megacorp mostly succeeds with a formula that narratively borrows from Hades but excels at providing some satisfying gameplay and upgrade paths. It may be short on content but does promise a lot of entertainment for a group of friends wanting to tackle the Foot Clan as their favorite heroes in a half-shell.

Wizard With a Gun is yet another strange roguelike that finds enough ways to separate itself from the pack. A unique aesthetic that leans into survival and crafting may turn away players who want action. But the creative, magical gunfights are a spectacle on their own and even better with co-op. My hope is that over time, Galvanic Games adds to the experience, allowing Gunmancers to go turn back time again and fight back Chaos.

Dark Souls' tenacious pursuit of gaming idealism, even at three (or five) entries deep, remains a virtuous enterprise. It's also a show that, no matter how well executed, loses potency with each consecutive performance.

Dead Take works as a message, as a personal anecdote, as a performance showcase. It may not present a wholly unexpected take on the first-person horror genre nor dazzle with complex puzzles. But this dissection of power and the ones who wield it feels especially timely in our constantly-changing world that seems to reward ambition through viciousness. As an eerie, moody look at Hollywood, players may grow uncomfortable at Dead Take‘s honesty but remain enraptured by the phenomenal talent of its acting and direction until its final, stark moments.

Iron Man and Tony Stark are conduits of chaos. Virtual reality is a medium that demands comfort and sophistication. Iron Man VR attempts control of both worlds, combining Iron Man’s breakneck speed and giddying repulsors with the crafted elegance of a maturing medium. The product is a confident and convincing presentation of Iron Man, albeit one that feels limited by its budget and hardware.

Forgiving the tedious side-quests, aggravating random battles, and cliché cast and storyline, Nostalgia is actually a fairly solid role-playing title. If it weren’t so tragically constrained by its decades-old allegiances, however, it could have been much more than that.

A strong core soccer sim offering with some neat Wii U Gamepad features make FIFA 13 one to think about this holiday, although you may want to see if the online community grows after the Wii U launch in Europe later this month if you expect to play online.

Invincible VS from developer Quarter Up is an impressive fighting game that plays it safe in some areas, but exceeds expectations in others. The mix of story content that launches into 3v3 battles is seamless as it is entertaining. The game isn’t perfect by any means, but it’s more impressive than it is not.

Style and substance creates a very solid game. The core platform mechanics are right up there with the best, and the added element of switching between "hot" and "cold" creates just that much more frustration and fun. The different but pleasing visual presentation with a good library of dependable sounds fleshes out the strong gameplay foundation quite well. Download the trial and if your first impression is positive, the 800 MS Points will be well spent.

Space Adventure Cobra – The Awakening is a fun action platformer that brings an entertaining story, familiar characters, and good gameplay to the table. It does have some faults, but it’s a cool and stylish Cobra adventure.

In the way that sports games go, this is every bit a $60 release, even with availability limited to aging hardware.

Conspicuous in style, literal in primary objective, and contentious in an exclusive platform, Murasaki Baby commands attention across myriad of dimensions. It executes its heartfelt intentions with a confident nonchalance, wondering why other games need to scream when a careful whisper will do.

Ruffy and the Riverside finds quirky and joyful ways to meld past and present gaming ideologies. This is a mascot platformer collectathon at heart, feeling like a Nintendo 64 game but not being too bogged down by nostalgia and reverence. While its best ideas may sometimes feel underutilized, Ruffy and the Riverside is inventive enough to constantly push the player towards one new thrill after the next.

Disney Illusion Island from Dlala Studios is a fantastic platformer that features some gorgeous animation, a decent story, and short stints of good gameplay that will keep gamers hooked. While it may not completely satisfy more seasoned gamers, it should entertain those who adore the mouse house.

Gotham Knights may not be the Arkham follow-up players were expecting. Yet it is an admirable addition to the Batman universe, striving to forge a path of its own. Multiplayer fuels the experience, allowing for seamless crimefighting with a friend. Growing pains may exist with loot, crafting, and progression but it balances out in harder difficulties that reward calculated play and thoughtful tactics. While some may be lost without Bats, this family has found a way to survive.

Moo Lander is a fun game that can be played in short stints. It has a whacky and creative story that supports a side-scrolling shooter/puzzle/RPG backbone. It does more right than not and makes for an engaging and entertaining journey to hunt down alien cows.

Haven presents a lush alien world, one rife with resource gathering and loaded with turn-based combat, as a suitable venue for its forbidden love story. Such an unorthodox collection of disparate elements may have had trouble connecting if not held together by widely relatable and sharply written interpersonal dialogue. It’s an assembly that allows its pair protagonists to thrive inside moments of tedium, suggesting a story worth telling takes precedent over action not always worth doing.

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.

If Sly's your thing - and it's not an exclusive club - this is another fine way to enjoy three classic games.

There are times when Saints Row IV feels like the greatest super hero game ever made and there are times when it feels paralyzed by all of its power. Even when Saints Row IV retreats into molds it’s perfectly equipped to destroy, it’s always operating under the some of the most ridiculous and hilarious context seen in a videogame.

I was taken by surprise with War on Cybertron and how well that turned out. And, honestly, I think Activision and High Moon probably felt the same way. The gameplay was steady and the multiplayer was just really fun. This sequel carries on that favorable edge.

Rogue Piñatas: VRmageddon from developer Nerd Ninjas is just a dumb-fun survival experience. Endlessly taking down rebellious piñata with various weapons and characters makes for a good time. While it won’t be as deep or rich as other VR experiences on the Meta Quest, it’s still good gameplay that is come-and-go-as-you-please without a long-term commitment.

All Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing had to do was not be completely terrible, but Sumo Digital ignored Sonic's awful racing pedigree and produced a pretty darn good kart racer.

In sum, 9 Monkeys of Shaolin is a fun, accessible, and deeper-than-you’d-expect brawler that is perfect to co-op through with a buddy. Happy to recommend to anyone looking for a good experience in the genre or anyone that likes brawlers/beat’em ups.

The Tribe Must Survive from developer Walking Tree Games GmbH is a fun survival game that is difficult as it is addictive.

Quality over quantity; Emergence is not a big release, but the value here for those that played the original game is spot-on.

ECHO was a very pleasant surprise. It will most certainly test intelligence and patience of gamers with its puzzle of enemies in tightly built rooms, while testing the amount of anxiety one can take with jump scares and pressure to get to the next checkpoint. That’s the charm of the game. Ultra Ultra did a fantastic job with ECHO and it shouldn’t be missed.