Overall, The Wizards creates a nice environment to explore and provides a short adventure to draw gamers into a magical land. Unfortunately, the unpredictable VR controls frustrate gameplay and are a distraction from totally enjoying an immersive wizard experience.

What sets Lightning Returns apart is how effectively it surrenders its core criteria for the explicit purpose of inflicting a sense of impending doom into every moving part of its system. Clever additions and smart retractions are meant to coalesce, but in practice the game is total chaos - albeit the kind that's fun to play around in.

Saints Row: The Third was a sacred moment in time where lunatics reimagined the animus of an open-world crime game. It enabled players to thunderously lead a prestigious gang of miscreants and also turn themselves into a toilet. Eight years later Saints Row: The Third Remastered’s glut of Content is more difficult to digest, but its outrageous ambience is still so sweet.

BrokenLore: UNFOLLOW uses the real horror of societal pressure and unrealistic standards to craft an unsettling, psychological narrative that players often won’t find in games. Its short length does have numerous impactful moments but it may leave some wanting more developed plot threads and less monster chases. Should the BrokenLore series continue with this framework in future installments, I will be interested to see what new ways they can not only scare players but make them think.

Academy of Champions Soccer is a cute $30 package that doesn’t seek to redefine the world of casual sports games, but which is a perfectly sufficient distraction in the hands of the right individual.

Decarnation is not about the gameplay, but about the journey. And that journey is wrought with existentialism, Lovecraftian horror, and psychological quandaries that may be trigger inducing. It will grip you, refuse to let go, and entrap you until the end of its story. Should you play Decarnation, you will be opting into experiencing horror through the eyes of a protagonist you may, or may not, empathize with. Should you play Decarnation, you should also avoid sharing its execution of horrors that should remain unspeakable. In other words, avoid spoiling whenever possible.

We’re not quite into PES vs FIFA territory yet but if WRC 8 is anything to go by KT Racing are on the right track. WRC 8 isn’t perfect and there’s a few, unfortunate failings that hold it back from perhaps being the overall winner. However, if multiplayer competition doesn’t swing things for you then WRC 8’s single-player components are compelling. Those disillusioned by Codemaster’s recent outing may find the challenge and the subsequent thrill of success in WRC 8 a more compelling package.

Unsteady motion requires forgiveness. Exacting movement demands precision. Giga Wrecker Alt’s puzzle-platforming wants to have it both ways and gets trapped between frustration and satisfaction. For all of its inventive mechanics and generous agency, Giga Wrecker Alt could have benefited from more clarity and cohesion.

Paper Beast allows players to lose themselves inside pastel daydreams of soft shapes and delicate zoology. They could also lose patience with some tedious mechanics and suspicious tests of logic. Paper Beast is full of gratifying ingenuity, beautiful optimism, and elegant communication. And maybe an overabundance of zealous whimsy.

There is something inherently relaxing about hearing cows moo in the distance while I drive a tractor to my cornfield at sunrise. And, when I feel lazy I can hire someone to drive my tractor for me. Back and forth. Up and down. Back and forth. It’s mesmerizing and boring all at the same time; and so is Farming Simulator 2015.

Catherine remains a talented caricature of a hysterical, impossible man’s moral frailty and romantic insecurity. Characters and complications introduced by Full Body, however, lack the connective tissue and social maturity to support its expanded ambition. A (now optional!) tower-climbing puzzle game fused with a supernatural infidelity meditation, even in its spiraling convolution, still survives as a provocative oddity.

DragonBall Xenoverse 2 is a game that is made for fans of the series. From the deep cuts in the lore, to the character customization options allowing players to create any DBZ character they would want, Xenoverse 2 offers fans the DBZ experience they have been wanting for years. However, I found that not much has changed from last years entry, coupled with a much-too-easy combat system and some odd audio cues.

Project Mirai DX exists as a vector to push this sentiment out of your 3DS. The rhythm action is routine and the slice-of-life elements are an exercise in gratuity, but there's no denying the infectious charm endemic to all things Hatsune Miku.

The first episode of Albert & Otto finds difficulty moving between the demanding world of mechanics-focused platformers and atmospheric dives into subtlety and tension. With three episodes left, Albert & Otto has time to find an identity, provided it also hastens its pace with more inventive puzzles and dependable platforming.

Dragon is Dead has quite a bit of potential now that it has left its early access period. Its novel approach to character building, loot management, and skill trees makes for a complex and satisfying roguelike experience. On the other hand, some of its endgame combat may prove too frustrating, especially when compounded by the traditional difficulty curve that comes with the roguelike gameplay loop. Its pixel art is gorgeous, though.

Ebenezer and the Invisible World has its moments of fun and rewarding exploration through completing optional sidequests and finding secrets. It looks great, too. However, its big swings in the form of ghost management and stiff traversal/combat lends to a less than stellar experience. May this experience become better in the future with more time and polish? Absolutely, but it’s worth waiting to see what happens.

Garden Life: A Cozy Simulator is just that: cozy. There’s little reason to strive for perfection in a game that merely wants players to dabble in its goal of building whatever kind of idyllic flower patch desired. This kind of directionless aura may be a turn off for those seeking a different kind of simulator but what’s on offer is hard not to enjoy.

There's enough inside Abyss Odyssey to make it all stick together, provided you can find your own spark.

By blending FPS and RTS mechanics, Disintegration carves out its own niche but despite a promising world and engaging multiplayer, the main action is often undercut by a generic campaign.

Among contemporary Ys releases and remakes—Seven, The Oath in Felghana, and Memories of Celceta—The Ark of Napishtim is more reliant on support provided by its adopted hardware. Unfortunately its tangled journey to the personal computer cost as many features as it gained, leaving The Ark of Napishtim as little more than a curious architect of the Ys games that followed.

Guerrilla survives its remaster in a photo finish. The monotonous mission structure, expressionless story (where everyone looks exactly the same), and conventional shooting are nails in a coffin. Fortunately the coffin’s lid is obliterated by Guerrilla’s screaming half corpse and its giddying commitment to destruction. There’s still nothing quite like it, no matter how many “what about” claims are lobbed in its direction.

Mind Control Delete reforms Superhot’s signature slow motion power fantasy into the shape of a procedurally generated roguelike. It retains the shiny spartan aesthetic, the bellicose narrative, and the most satisfying first-person shooter gimmick of the last decade, but the twists and tweaks behind its operation don’t alter its basic complexion. Superhot felt euphoric when it was new. Mind Control Delete can only reheat that sensation of extravagance.

Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 is a good game that features a variety of good-to-decent events and a wonderful ability to play alongside friends. The inconsistency of the game’s design with controls and the difficulty arc that spikes hurt the game but aren’t dealbreakers.

On paper, Cyber Hook taps into several gameplay elements that are innately appealing: It encourages high-speed gameplay, it blends parkour platforming with precision, and its retrowave environments look really freaking cool. But, its PlayStation implementation is somewhat buggy, hindering the momentum further beyond progression decisions that already prevent players from blazing through the games. I want to believe that Blazing Stick will continue to support the PlayStation version and iron out some of the kinks (and hopefully release new content, too), as its current implementation leaves much to be desired.

Legend of Kay Anniversary is a worthy nod to a 2005 game. Despite its flaws, such as the irritating camera movement, it contains some fun moments, improved graphics and a few other little things to remind you how good it was back in the day.

With Logitech's new flight sticks coming out and the fast and furious pace that the game goes, the next version of it could be an even sweeter flight to take-off with. Until then, try before you buy.

Here’s the thing about WILDFIRE: This game is fun. The art is excellent. The music is solidly okay. The charm and memorability is fleeting and lacks the kind of variety of gameplay experiences you might have playing other games. This game will force you to think outside of the box. However, I am unsure if most will want to complete the game twice to fully unlock everything. Playing on the Switch brings its own unique challenges, like the issues with lag and aiming with the Joy-Con joysticks. If you and your friend played this game separately, you most likely will have had the same type of experience.

SaGa Emerald Beyond all comes together in a strange swirl of complex mechanics that justify progressing through a weird story that is by no means approachable. It truly is a shame that the game feels so dated and limited by its visuals and presentation. By no means is this a mainstream RPG. Will it make you curious about other SaGa entries? Perhaps. But those looking for a satisfying turn-based system unlike its peers will have enough to chew on.