Nidhogg 2 is the madhouse on top of Nidhogg's foundation. Formidable swords and a low-fi aesthetic are swapped for a gleeful array of sharp objects and a ridiculous style that embraces the 90's grossest toys. Nidhogg's singular focus isn't lost or diluted, it's amplified with a jubilant response to skill and spontaneity.

Verne: The Shape of Fantasy from developer Gametopia is a fascinating adventure that uses a classic author within their own classic tale to push a good story while supported by beautiful visuals and sounds that harken back to 90s-style gameplay. That gameplay works for the most part, though some more direction with puzzles and a more balanced story could have worked a few more wonders for the overall gaming experience.

A strong game in many respects, but also lacking in a few key areas to put it over the top.

Dante's Inferno is a captivating fight through Hell that any action gamer should partake in. Highly recommended.

Tt Games did a wonderful job with bringing the world of Harry Potter to life through the LEGO Harry Potter Collection and remastering the experience onto the PlayStation 4. The games certainly show their age, but they’re still a blast, especially if you’re a Harry Potter fanatic.

The gameplay loop can be repetitive but is able to be consumed in such small morsels that one may enjoy picking up Garden Story every day just to get a small fix. There’s a lot of promise here in terms of a sequel but in the next go round, I think a bit of editing might be beneficial. As much of an embarrassment of riches Garden Story may seem, it can be a lot to take in for such a compact adventure.

The game takes current generation consoles to a new level with visuals, even setting some graphical benchmarks for online play, but it drags it down in sustainable substance that is required to keep a game going beyond a two month mark of the release.

Astronaut: The Best from developer Universal Happymaker is a challenging game that brings so many layers of complication that it can be overwhelming as much as satisfying. The difficulty might catch some gamers off guard, but the humor helps keep the ship together and create a fun experience.

One of the more exciting and worth-your-money HD Collections available to date.

Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts 2 is a concise, focused sniping experience that packs a good punch at just $40. With lots of long range shots, fun gadgets, and good mission design, it’s an easy recommend if you’re looking for a summer sniping romp.

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.

Overall, Sakura Wars is a solid game that delivers in a lot of areas, story and dialogue choices to give your players control of their fate, and falls a little short in others, especially action/mech. There is far more positive than negative and I think the re-tooling and reboot of the series might gain more fans than lose them.

It's easy to admire and fun to play - for a fleeting thirty minutes. Subjective intangibles make the most of its run time, but a scattered definition of value makes Karateka a tough call for the uninformed or uninterested.

Two amazing classics in one well-priced and convenient release that I'm happy to recommend to series newcomers and veterans who want to revisit these gems on the go.

Metallic Child doesn’t really suffer from anything aside from its lengthy dungeon crawls. Even then, the frenetic melee combat and constantly shifting nature of its core mechanic provide many avenues for players to maximize their time. Compact rooms mean that challenges are never too difficult and can be cleared rapidly. Mostly, though, I was surprised by the game’s charming take on narrative perspective and the colorful worlds that really popped on the Nintendo Switch. It might not be the most traditional spin on a roguelike but Metallic Child offers enough action and bosses to entertain you for quite some time.

Certain Affinity took few risks in constructing a bare bones, workman like hack 'n slash and left experimentation to its pricing structure. Whether that was their call or Microsoft's isn't likely to be known, but it's definitely rendered Crimson Alliance an afterthought, or something to play if you've completely exhausted Torchlight and need something else in the console space.

In the end, House of Ashes doesn’t offer a new unique tale that I found with Little Hope or Man of Medan. I did enjoy my time playing through another The Dark Pictures Anthology tale, but it hasn’t left an impact on me as a player as Little Hope did. Choices often felt inconsequential, and few and far between. Character development for all of the characters outside of Salim was underwhelming and disappointing, even though the backdrop of the Iraq War in 2003 was ripe for compelling character development.

Depending on what you’re looking for in your next third person stealth game, Styx may fit the bill. It gets a lot right and is a noticeable improvement from the first game, which itself was pretty good to begin with. It may not carry the history or prestige of some of stealth’s bigger franchises, but if you like the genre at all, Cyanide Studios’ latest effort deserves your attention.

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.

I suppose if you're tired of Majesty 1 and want some more of the same action pick up Majesty 2. It should give you hours worth of game play.

Change can be good, and I think that's what Unbounded was out to prove for the Ridge Racer franchise. It largely succeeds, offering an experience with elements that action and arcade racers are going to find accessible and enjoyable, while also offering engaging drift mechanics and a cool multiplayer mode built largely upon UGC.

Saber Interactive has created a surprisingly balanced and entertaining asymmetrical multiplayer title that throws enough systems in so matches don’t get stale. Finding favorite survivors and demons to play as is a joy and fingers crossed the annoying bugs and issues are ironed out soon to detract less from the quality presented here. Thankfully, Evil Dead: The Game is a groovy blast and not a bloody bust.

Dancing in Starlight is a heedless trip back to the Persona buffet for seconds thirds fourths. You wanted more Persona 5? You got it. Chew the fat. Pretend the calories aren’t empty. Pray you won’t get sick. Somehow, despite the intemperance, I still feel fine.

In sum, Lamplight City is a bit of a departure from a typical point and click adventure, but it more than holds its own. While a little bit light in terms of gameplay and difficulty, it’s well compensated for with good characters, stories, multiple endings per mystery, and a fine presentation. Any fan of the genre or a good mystery should give this a serious look.

The Trials of St. Lucia is a robust and very worthwhile DLC release for a great game. If you are into challenge arenas, you couldn't ask more.

If you never got around to playing the original on the Wii, or are just looking for an interesting, although flawed, game from the strange mind of Suda51, you can't go wrong with Heroes' Paradise.

House of Wolves adds many of the tools that Destiny needs to be successful in the long term. It gives players more content than ever, while still keeping old content relevant. It strikes a new balance between PVE and PVP end-game activities. But at the end of the day, this is still Destiny—and Destiny is nothing if not polarizing.

An impressive follow-up to 2010's Lords of Shadow that you shouldn't miss.