Déraciné subverts Japanese horror tropes as easily as it conceals the limitations of virtual reality. By casting the player in an active and passive role in its narrative, it juxtaposes agency with accountability as it creates a tranquil, sinister story. Déraciné is a return to FromSoftware practicing their talent inside of darkness, but mercifully away from Souls.

I, Robot from developer Llamasoft and publisher Atari reignites a forgotten Atari arcade classic from the 80s. While the visuals have been refined a little, the core gameplay from the original arcade title is still intact, which includes its chaotic style and psychedelic personality. It may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it’s a fun, nostalgia-driven arcade adventure nonetheless.

On its own, Yakuza 0 is a great, albeit dated, entry in the overarching Yakuza franchise. Yakuza 0: Director’s Cut might not feature enough content that Yakuza fans may enjoy, but it’s an excellent port for a Nintendo Switch 2 owner and an even better entry into the Yakuza series for those who have not yet played a game from Ryu Ga Gotoku.

It's too easy to see where Anarchy Reigns could have been better. Games are made within a budget and Anarchy Reigns' surely wasn't much, but you have to admire the purity of its intentions. In a perfect world it would have a Call of Duty 2-like impact and birthed refined successors, but as it stands Anarchy Reigns is an enjoyable oddity pleading for an elegant sequel.

Despite some tedious gameplay aggravations, it’s a work well worth your $40.

PGA Tour 2K21 is a good game that delivers a spot-on golfing experience. It brings a variety of courses, great mechanics, and plenty of reasons to keep playing. If the presentation could have been improved it would have been the perfect golfing package. As it stands, if you’re looking for a good golfing experience than you got it.

Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare succeeds in most aspects of a solid sci-fi shooter. However, a lackluster and rushed story takes away from what could have been a full and complete campaign mode. Luckily where the story lacks, the gameplay and solid mechanics Call of Duty deliver.

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.

Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga isn’t a game made for me. I’m a 28-year-old who grew up watching and loving the prequels and was obsessed with the original Lego games. I came into this review thinking it was something that was going to blow my mind and change Lego games forever; when it’s a game that’s sole intent is to give the younger generation something to love. Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is a great game in the right circumstances, and I still loved my time reliving some of my favorite Star Wars moments through a Lego lens. It also gave me an appreciation for the past that I wasn’t expecting.

Once again, Sniper Elite proves to be a really fun and engaging game, despite its numerous bugs at launch.

Grapple Dog is an excellent proof of concept for a 2D action platformer that requires you to swing through levels and traverse through the air as an adorable pup. While I did enjoy the gameplay despite the quirky movement, I couldn’t help but wish there was more, as Medallion Games are onto something fun, charming, groovy, and unique with Pablo. I hope to see this game optimized and updated for the Switch, as the gameplay issues I encountered slightly detracted from this short but sweet indie platforming gem. Need I remind you to pet Pablo every time you complete a level? Please give him all the pets; he deserves it.

DragonBall Z: Kakarot isn’t necessarily trying to reinvent the wheel, but it doesn’t have to. After years of adding more and more “new” lore to the canon, it’s nice to take a trip down memory lane and re-experience the characters and story that makes DragonBall so special. While the open world isn’t necessarily the most engaging aspect of the game, the combat is epic and the characters are always entertaining. Simply put DragonBall Z: Kakarot is fun and is sure to please new and old fans alike.

Spies in Disguise: Agents on the Run is entertaining for short bursts, manages to be a bit more than a cash grab in comparison to other rail games of its type, and genuinely feels like something you could dig into for the long term. It’s definitely worth checking out, especially if you need more than just Subway Surfers.

Dead Rising 4 won’t win any awards nor is it the best of the series, that for me is still the Dead Rising 1, however, it’s a strong entry and worthy of your time. I mean putting comedy heads on zombies will never, repeat never, get old!

Built from pieces thought too inscrutable to survive 2019, Daemon X Machina is sincere in its appreciation for a bygone era of mech action games. It understands the charm of assembling giant robots, the appeal of blasting exotic weapons, and the fantasy of combining both together in dozens of pleasing arrangements. Daemon X Machina revels in its esoteric reverie.

Smile for Me from developer LimboLane is an unsettling adventure that puts you to the test with its puzzles. The point-and-click backbone will keep the difficulty coming, but the reward for your patience and perseverance will be worth the cognitive trouble you endure.

Pixel Ripped 1978 from ARVORE Immersive Experiences and Atari is a good VR experience that is led by a competent narrative and nostalgia. How VR is used within the game is entertaining and engaging, if not outright clever. While not all of the game is gold, it still manages to turn old game schemes and concepts into something new and engaging within a virtual reality environment.

Borderlands 2 VR is a game that is nearly perfectly translated into virtual reality. It contains everything you want from your Borderlands 2 experience, plus a bit more to make you feel like you’re a part of the game. Gearbox and 2K didn’t simply offer up a small piece of the pie, they offered up the whole pie. Just remember, too much of a good thing can make you sick.

Superliminal is a lesson about perspective on life. You can look at a situation and try the same solution over and over again. But if you take a different look at the situation at hand, you may find a new perspective. In that new perspective, you can find a new solution that can create a more favorable outcome. As a metaphor for transforming inane frustration into gratifying solutions, Superliminal was a profound experience. One of its particular moments stuck with me. It tells the player, “The problem is not that the problems we face can’t be solved: the problem is that we become so afraid of failure that we refuse to see our problems from a new perspective.” 2020 has been far from normal, but as Superliminal suggests, you could look at it from a different perspective.

Rainbow Gate is a good survival horror adventure that combines all the right elements of different horror games from the past. It brings a familiar story while sporting familiar gameplay elements that players might have seen before, but it is nonetheless fun to revisit and experience.

Overall, Nepenthe is a solid indie game. It’s a fun, complicated RPG that has brilliant moments backed up by unique art and music presentation. It does have some bugs to fix, but nothing yet that isn’t manageable or gameplay disruptive.

Everybody's Gone to the Rapture's take on interactive fiction is admirable, even in its struggle to manage personal discovery alongside narrative composition. I love its calamitous tranquility, I identify with the plights of its characters, and I'm enamored with its confident storytelling, but its reluctance to disclose its disposition adversely affects its capability.

Young Souls is a good and unique 2D dungeon brawler/beat-em-up, don’t get me wrong. The gameplay loop is varied enough to not be a linear affair, the characters have a meaningful purpose, and combat is mostly fun. You’ll definitely find yourself experimenting with how to incorporate new weapons and armor into enemy encounters, but…you may find yourself frustrated with the inconsistent difficulty spikes and some of the monotony associated with a tried-and-true gameplay pattern of button mashing just to defeat an annoying boss. I want more from 1P2P, and I hope that they expand the world, and abilities, of Jenn and Tristan.

The Nintendo Switch release of Stray from BlueTwelve Studio features the same great gameplay and challenging puzzles that were featured on prior console releases. While the Switch certainly takes a hit with its graphical limitations and far from comfortable controls, it is still a blast to play Stray at the end of the day.

Hopefully, Codemasters are well underway with 2019’s development and I look forward to eating humble pie when they announce a raft of new features and updates. Until then F1 2018 is worthy of a spot in your library and takes on the mantel of the best ever official F1 to date.

I appreciate that Angry Birds VR sets out to do one basic thing and it does it well. The price point, presentation, gameplay, and fun factor are all on par. The experience is a little bit short, and at least for me it does not offer any replay value. But for a simple, familiar concept and for the price, it’s hard to knock the experience that much for it. If you’re a fan of the franchise, or even a newcomer like me that wants to try it out, you can’t really go wrong here.

With Dark Souls' formidable reputation undisputed, other characteristics slip into transparency. Humor, long rumbling under the surface, receives a more stable focus in Ashes of Ariandel. Expectations are bent, defied, and destroyed in ways that are designed to simultaneously humiliate and impress series veterans. After five games and six pieces of downloadable content, it's hard to imagine a more suitable approach.

Darksiders Warmastered Edition is a fantastic game that maintains all of what made it great in 2010. Its visual upgrades and smoother gameplay experience makes for a fun time at a very reasonable asking price. Maybe this will prompt a sequel? One could only hope. Until then, enjoy the hell out of this one.