While this collection has about every iteration of Space Invaders that was popular back in its day, and in modern times, the concept of Space Invaders has grown old. For avid collectors out there, like yours truly, this is nice to see on a modern system and all in one game. For newbies looking to try out old video games, there may not be as much joy to be had.

The next-gen upgrades alone have added depth to much of the gigantic world of Los Santos, and it's...beautiful. Just beautiful. I can't figure out if it's because I'm a nostalgic ex-Los Angelino or because of Rockstar's success in continuously refining and polishing the environments. Either way, there are multiple reasons to praise the next-gen version of GTA V and GTA Online, but be warned that the new player experience is still much to be desired compared to other MMOs. If you own a PS5, you should definitely take advantage of trying out GTA Online before it becomes a premium game in a few months.

I did thoroughly enjoy the mixture of old school art that is quite simplified and defines an RPG generation long since gone, while still maintaining massive amount of details in environments and characters that make you understand it was built for the current generation systems. To boot, you get a very strong soundtrack that I could probably listen to on a daily basis. In short, presentation was excellent, though not completely forgiving of the difficulty.

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.

Nupixo has done a fine job with Detective Di, all things considered. Anyone that enjoys a good mystery story or point and click games would do well to make time for this one and hopefully we’ll see Nupixo continue to invest in the genre.

Papa’s Quiz is a game that tries different ways to spruce up the party game/quiz game genre, and it does a good job in most of its execution. It stumbles in the quiz question balance but excels in its creativity to personalize the experience for its players.

Evil Factory is a simple arcade shooter that doesn’t depend on much, including large amounts of time, that runs purely on patience, strategy and microtransactions. Oh, yes, and small hands.You need those to thoroughly enjoy it.

Overall, Konami Arcade Classics Anniversary Collection brings some classics home, while also reminding us how absolutely insane and brutal the arcade age was in its heyday.

Star Wars: Battlefront Classic Collection isn’t beyond redemption (one saving grace being that the game wasn’t steeped in the microtransaction controversy that accompanied the 2015 Star Wars: Battlefront release), and I think Aspyr realizes it, having announced a forthcoming patch to be delivered soon. This comes at a crucial moment for Aspyr, which lost out on the Knights of the Old Republic remake for Windows and PlayStation 5, and its parent company, Embracer, moving the project over to another studio. Aspyr, in turn, is under the gun to make Star Wars: Battlefront Classic Collection right, get the bug count down, and deliver the experience that was promised to an eager world of Star Wars fans. It wouldn’t be unheard of for a series of patches to make everything as it should be, but the uncomfortable question remains as to why this went out the door in the condition it was in the first place.

Instead of modernizing 1999’s Resident Evil 3, Capcom has remodeled 2019’s remake of Resident Evil 2. Dazzling production and clever level design are still effective fuel for the survival horror engine, but this reliance on familiar techniques dissolves any expectation of novelty and ambition. In Resident Evil 3, Jill is less the subject of a despairing escape and more the product of a regulated, orderly departure.

Frantics is a fun four-player party game that does its beset imitation of being a Mario Party lite. It’s engaging, fun, at times frustrating, but nonetheless a good addition to the PlayLink game family.

HEROish is a fun MOBA-deck-building adventure. While it does have quite a bit of mobile personality to it, including a short gameplay time, it is still entertaining in its simple strategy and action execution.

The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel was a surprising favorite of mine when it released on the Vita back in 2013. It was a pleasant surprise seeing it on PC, especially with all of the new voice acting they have added in. If you’re looking for a JRPG on the PC, this one is certainly an option, but it would not be my first.

Overall, the gameplay design of Torchlight III is fun and motivating, but it has some deeper flaws that need to be addressed. Players must have a balance of difficulty and challenge. Giving players too much advantage at the beginning and overpowering them will not benefit the longevity of the game. If you need proof, go look at Bungie’s Destiny 2, which is struggling to maintain challenging content, while believing that making players ‘grind’ for shoddy rewards is the right solution for the issue. Finding that balance of building up a character properly and delivering difficulty and challenging enemies along the way is what other action RPGs, like Diablo, classics. Echtra Games did a great job with the initial groundwork of Torchlight III’s gameplay design, but it needs a bit more balance in some backend areas.

Compared to the first DLC, Turf Wars is much more combat focused. Overall, I didn’t like it as much as the first DLC, not because combat isn’t fun, but it’s gotten quite repetitive and tedious. Still, I suspect part three, arriving next month, will strike a better balance overall, as it completes the City That Never Sleeps story arc.

Rifftrax – The Game is a short stint of ridiculous fun. It can be as hilarious as you make it, though it does fall short in some areas when the game has too much control of the content.

Throne and Liberty from developer NCSOFT and publisher Amazon Games is starting on the right note. The game offers a bevy of content, a fun and complicated backend, and enough motivation to keep exploring and grinding its lands. It does need better direction and connection with quests, as well as balanced PvP. As it stands, the start is good, and the future looks like it could be better.

Quotation forthcoming.

This is all to say that the overall direction of Keylocker as a JRPG is top notch. It contains beautiful pixel art, excellent soundtrack, thorough worldbuilding, and difficult gameplay. It’s only held back by a lack of optimization of its Switch port.

Long Live the Queen from Ratalaika Games is a simple and unpredictable simulator that offers up a minor amount of branching narrative moments and an attribute juggling extravaganza. It keeps it simple, somewhat fun, and at the same time mildly infuriating. While it acts as a choose-your-own-adventure novel, it does offer up the same amount of replay value one of those novels contains.

While far from perfect, ZombiU is nevertheless an compelling launch title that no owner of the Wii U shouldn't at least rent.

Tales of the Abyss is JRPG through and through, something which may be appreciated by a 3DS audience which doesn't yet have a lot of other choices of this variety. It arrives with many of the caveats that come with the territory, and its age is unfortunately visually evident. But the strength of its real-time battle system and a progressively interesting story can keep you hooked if you trudge through the less-thrilling opening hours.

Silent Hill: Shattered Memories gets a lot right, and just a couple of major things wrong. If you're in the mood for spine tingling uneasiness, and can bear some frustration, be sure to play this one.

Lost in Nightmares was constructed specifically for the Resident Evil fan base. It's a brief run, but it has enough call backs, in-jokes, and references to satisfy the legion of fans clamoring for a return to the series roots.

The hype machine put a lot on the shoulders of Resistance: Burning Skies and the initial multiplayer snags didn't help matters. Still, I have enjoyed it and I think anyone who likes the series will too.

Another fine PSP SRPG that represents the genre well.

The Executioner is short, but enjoyable. And at $5, it's worth playing on its own or as a fun way to wrap up your time The Evil Within.

Papo & Yo should absolutely be commended for wearing its heart on its sleeve. As an experience it takes unprecedented strides with the power of its narrative and it will be cherished years on for its memorable final act. As a game Papo & Yo is noticeably less ambitious, employing pedestrian challenges and clumsy mechanics throughout. It's worth it, but unfortunately not without a few qualifications.