I’m settling on the score that I have because I can’t reward work that is this derivative. But despite the score I find this one an easy recommendation for certain players out there. Kaze is a genuinely well-made game and if you like Donkey Kong Country you’re going to like this one, if for no other reason than it’s something of a greatest hits of the best Donkey Kong Country levels. If we see a Kaze 2 (and I hope we will), and the developers show us a little of their own creative ideas in there, then we’ll be looking at some really high scores indeed.

After Supermassive Games promised us an anthology that celebrated all the different kinds of horror out there, what they’ve given us instead is a stagnating series of sequels. Do I hope The Dark Pictures continues? Yes. Very much so. I still believe we need an anthology of horror in the vein of Cabinet of Curiosities to explore a wider range of horror in video games. But come the second “season”, Supermassive Games needs to start delivering an anthology.

Solar Shifter EX doesn’t add anything special to its genre, but it is certainly a solid entry worth a play or two if you dare.

While Ikai’s a missed opportunity, it’s not one that necessarily should be missed. It’s not overlong, has some vivid imagery, and while the puzzles are almost laughable at times for how out of place they are, the actual design of them remains interesting right throughout. I’m glad I played Ikai, but I doubt I’ll play it again.

The game has all the hallmarks of a fun indie effort: an insane cast of characters, good enough challenge, and a cartoony production. It's just in the execution and slightly confused gameplay is where it falters and unfortunately, casts a big shadow over what little positive points the game has to offer.

Star Wars Battlefront II gets a lot of things right. The presentation is absolutely top-notch, the gameplay is fun and well-executed and the choice of property is among my fall-time favourites. Where Star Wars Battlefront II has hurt itself is in a lack of care around the ability to play with your friends and a progression system structure around microtransactions. While those optional purchases are (currently) turned off, they will be back in some form or another and in the meantime, players are left with a hell of a slow grind in making progress... slow to the point that it's just not entertaining.

It's been quite the period for shooters on the Switch, with the port of Turok the Dinosaur Hunter and the modern buddy-cop shooter, Rico, all releasing along with Apocryph over the last couple of weeks. Apocryph's stylish commitment to the classic shooter genre tradition, and its dark fantasy vibe, make it the most distinctive and appealing of these games. That design also lets the game down when it comes to delivering a satisfying shooter, but people who can still pick up Heretic or Hexen and enjoy them for what they are will also be able to get a couple of hours of frantic fun out of Apocryph.

House of Caravan delivers just over an hour of fun, or a bit longer if you struggle to find things like I did. Its intriguing story and 1900’s atmosphere keeps you engaged long enough to be able to feel accomplished once you finish the game, however, its puzzles never reach their full potential.

There's such a lack of polish and precision to Tears of Avia that it's difficult to blindly recommend. As a fan of the tactics JRPG genre, I did enjoy this, but it would be disingenuous of me to suggest that there weren't many other games out there with a similar ambition that are executed far better. I do think the team has a strong vision and I would very much anticipate a Tears of Avia 2 on the promise that they would have built on what the learned from the first game. With that being said, I do think this first outing is beyond a turnaround from patches - its thematic issues are too extended and in some areas the team need to return all the way back to the drawing board.

The lack of overall options and content creates a shallow feeling that EA Sports UFC 2 can never quite shake.

What saves it is the fun - if silly - story that is unlocked by completing "puzzles," the personality of the cats and characters, and the really gorgeous art style. I would never pay for something like this, but in the context of the thirty other games that got released on to the Apple Arcade in one go, I'm glad it's there as a relaxing time-waster.

The potential was there, and this game has certainly been supported well enough by both Kickstarter and Team-17 that budget shouldn't have been a concern either. The issue is, simply, that Yooka-Laylee proves that nostalgia is a difficult beast to wrestle with for game developers. All that being said, I do hope that Playtonic stick around though, as there is the clear potential and passion for the studio to grow and produce a true great in the genre.

None of these issues mean that the game is broken, unplayable, or even put together badly. It's competent. But competent really isn't good enough. More than anything else, Code Name: S.T.E.A.M is disappointing because it could have been a far better game.

It's simple enough for people of all ages to enjoy, and, as I've already mentioned a couple of times through the review, it's utterly adorable.

Football Manager 26 is for the diehards alone for this reason. It’s frustrating to deal with the bugs and UI changes, even if the core game remains basically the same. If you were to imagine this game without those issues, however, the new ideas and enhancements that are in the game are universally good and, whether it is just a matter of patches or waiting for Football Manager 27, there are very good reasons to get very enthusiastic about this series again.

That Inks is a beautiful, elegant, and classy game is undeniable. That it’s a surprisingly creative outlet and is fun to play around with just to make patterns in the ink is a nice bonus, but as a game, this one is sadly lacking.

There are multiple endings, but you’ll breeze through everything that Perfect Gold has to offer in around five hours. The game doesn’t have anything particularly profound to say, but the combination of coming-of-age and romance does come across as sweet and wholesome. This might not be a game that you exactly remember, but the earnestness of it is charming and you’ll have a big smile on your face as you play.

Something worth a play, but that I wouldn’t consider returning after the first completion.

Despite those struggles, I loved my time with The Keep, though admittedly I'm part of the target demographic that it's really designed for.

As hack ‘n’ slash titles, the Ultimate Alliance games were, and still are, rather basic and bare bones.

Hunt could have been so much more. As a hypothetical single player game, in which you carefully research a mark as you make your way through a deep south Gothic nightmare towards the final, hellish, confrontation, Hunt could have been something truly special. But commercial reality won't allow for that. Multiplayer shooters and content-driven live services are where the money's at, and in chasing the money Crytek has produced something that's a whole lot of fun to play, but ultimately shallow, vapid, and a complete waste of all the effort that went into the theme and design of the thing.

On the Nintendo Switch, and particularly in handheld mode, it actually looks really nice in capturing that grim-Mars wasteland. Sadly, open worlds age far worse than most other approaches to game design, and while I can quite happily recommend HD remasters of JRPGs that originally appeared on PlayStation 3 - or even PS2 or PS1 - because it's the unique and timeless narratives that people play them for, open worlds lose their value rapidly.

But the thing which makes Anima: Gate of Memories work is that despite the individual failings of nearly every part of the game, the finished package is coherent.

The base gameplay in Mayan Death Robots is quite entertaining. I certainly enjoyed the pacing, and could appreciate some of the tactical depth lurking beneath its humorous, brightly coloured surface. But lacking online multiplayer as it does, this is going to come across as a severely limited game to too many people for its own good.

While coming in five years after the PC release, The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing III was a pleasure to have on the console. While NeocoreGames have moved on from the crazy world of Borgovia to the stars of Warhammer 40,000 with Inquisitor, this final chapter is a reminder that, with any luck, the developer will again its hand at something with a fantasy bent at some stage.

Being based on a novel I was hoping for a better standard of story and in being short at only around nine hours, Trulon is also far shorter than I went in expecting for a JRPG. This doesn't make the game bad.

In part I’m disappointed, because a hardcore simulation about exploring uncharted oceans in search of new land would be a fascinating game, but at the same time the simple, clean charm of Neo Atlas is really difficult to resist, especially when I’m in the mood to play something low-pressure while catching up on my movie or television backlog.

That issue aside, Le Havre is a remarkably pleasant game, with elegant, minimalist visuals, an uncluttered interface (which I felt let the game's more complex but thematically similar sister, Puerto Rico, down, by being far too messy), and games are over in 15 or so minutes. It's the kind of Sunday morning game you might play while sipping through a coffee because you're feeling lazy and relaxed. That makes it ultimately forgettable, but entertaining and worth keeping on the iPad nonetheless.

Nightmare from the Deep is like a Romance paperback at a newsagency – a cheap title that will keep you entertained for an afternoon without trying to be more than it really is.

Not only is the lack of tutorial and unfamiliar gameplay going to scare off casual FPS fans, but the nature of the game as a large scale multiplayer experience will mean there’s not much point in playing if you can’t get a proper 16vs16 match going. If you like the idea of a historically accurate, hardcore WWI FPS, Verdun is going to be right up your alley. I’m just not sure if the PS4 port will be the best way to experience it.

Everything is fine, it’s all serviceable, and if you prefer real instruments to the standard electronic and anisong mix that you might get with DJMAX or Cytus, LOUD might have something for you. But there are certainly better rhythm games out there on the Switch, too.

We’ve seen better from ACE Team. Abyss Odyssey was a gorgeous representation of the developer’s own culture (something we still see too infrequently in video games), while Rock of Ages was as funny as a Monty Python sketch, and Deadly Tower Of Monsters was the spot-on love letter to the dodgy B-cinema that so many of us loved growing up. In that company SolSeraph seems a little too unfocused and uncertain of itself, despite being an entertaining and challenging game in its own right. However ACE Team at its worst is still more distinctive than most other developers at their best. I do think that SolSeraph will find an audience, and I do hope, for those who have played ActRaiser, that this comes across as the spiritual successor they've long been waiting for.

The story takes far too long to start making sense and as enjoyable as the gameplay is, the game isn't as fun as it should be because, for a good while, nothing makes sense.

Cube Creator 3D was an interesting attempt to bring the Minecraft experience over to the Nintendo 3DS. While not offering anything overly new, it gets the interface right and makes use of the hardware well.

And no matter how much I enjoyed this game, which I did, it was hard to play, because the visuals are so jarring. As such Velocibox is not for the faint hearted, or epileptic.

Despite these criticisms, there’s a lot to like about Fort Triumph. XCOM is a good thing, and Heroes of Might & Magic is a good thing. Mashing those two good things together in a way that does justice to them both is a noble effort by the developers, and the presence of skirmish mode does mean that the poorly conceived narrative can be ignored. You’ll bounce off Fort Triumph quickly enough, but it’s a good time while it lasts.

While Outward is certainly a port with limitations due to the platform, I’m not entirely sure I would have enjoyed it any more on any other console. Yes, there is a joy to being dropped in a big world and left to carve your own journey through it. Outward is a fundamentally appealing experience. The problem for Outward is that there other games that have done that with much more soul.

I really like Gear.Club, though it is overly simple as far as “serious racers” go, while also lacking the personality and spirit that makes an arcade game soar. It’s a game that’s hampered by being on the Switch – a console that’s not really mechanically built to enable serious racers. At the same time it benefits from being on the Switch, where there isn't any real competition just yet.

The Sinking City is a thoughtful take on the source material, but is nearly destroyed by the poorly-executed open world and actions sequences. The investigations themselves are well-structured and easy to maneuver, but the long treks between, and the downtime that comes with them, is unnecessary. Still, if you're a Lovecraft fan or a fan of Frogwares' Sherlock Holmes titles, it's well worth a play for being an intriguing, and more authentic take on Lovecraft than most manage.

Am I going to be raving about Seven Doors for years down the track? No, of course not. It’s not a game of the year, it’s not going to wind up on those “1001 games you must play before you die” lists and books. But Seven Doors is a good way to spend a few dollars, and something you can enjoy without stressing about what the game demands back of you. It’s too easy to overlook these kinds of games, but they have their place.

I feel like I’m being very harsh on The Walking Dead: Michonne, but that’s only because I’ve been such a fan of Telltale games over the years, and this doesn't meet my expectations of the team. I do want to know more about Michonne’s backstory, I just wish she was working it out with more engaging characters.

Nothing about this game is particularly bad or warrants criticism, but at this point the lack of ambition or innovation makes play sessions feel more tedious than anything else.

While I appreciate that MercurySteam wanted to do something different with the Castlevania franchise, I feel like the entire team, from director through to writer, through to the level designer has failed to grasp what makes Dracula such a wonderful character. It's not because he's a incredible force of evil. Dracula isn't a random monster; he's something more primal than that, and in failing to represent that, the developers have failed to do the Dracula story justice.

Volume deserves credit for being fresh and accessible, but after a couple of dozen levels or so, it starts to grow repetitive. It was easy to pick up the controller and play, but without a lot of new innovations and a middling storyline, it was also entirely too easy to take breaks and move onto something else.

That mental barrier aside, however, The Amazing Shinsengumi really is an lovely little bit of storytelling.

This particular package is limited in appeal to only the most committed fans of each series. The kinds of fans that could watch the same episode of Family Guy, American Dad, Archer or Bob’s Burgers over and over again and not actually become bored with it.

If it had a better interface and localisation, THE Card Battle: Eternal Destiny would be an easy game to recommend to people who don't usually play card games, as the mechanics are simple, elegant, and not too bothered with the hardcore deck building that is such a barrier to entry for so many people. Call it a "gateway drug" if you like, with the fan service being the hook. Unfortunately, Eternal Destiny also does everything that it can to be uninviting to newcomers. There's a decent casual game in there. Just be prepared to work to enjoy it.

All together, Azkend 2 is a perfectly workable and enjoyable match-3 game. If you’ve played quite a few of these in the past then you’re probably going to question whether you need even more of them, but then again, this is the first match-3 game of its kind on the Switch to date, so perhaps there’s an audience for it. It’s not going to be your game of the year, but you might just get a lot of play out of it.

Talisman is a classic board game, and deserves respect for that. It’s also eminently playable to this day, and very easy to pick up and play; it’s a genuinely good game for lazy Sundays with friends. But it’s also not the perfect game, nor is this port the perfect port. And sadly that means that Talisman on PlayStation 4 won’t win over a new generation of fans to the game.

After the previous successes that Aldorlea has had with the Steam release of both 3 Stars of Destiny and The Book of Legends, I hope to continue seeing the team release its catalogue on the platform. These are games that deserve to be experienced, and without being on Steam it's far too easy for them to be lost on the sea of the Internet. Even with all the little issues I had with Millennium: A New Hope, I do hope to see the next chapters re-released in this manner to see the story through to completion.

It’s a pointless time waster, but it’s a fun way to relax the mind with something mindless in short burst.

Ant Queen isn't a perfect game but it is fun to play for a few hours now and again. The developers also seem very eager to make this game better and are always listening to what fans request. It's perhaps not the spiritual sequel to SimAnt that I was quite hoping for, but as a casual strategy game it's a solid, charming, time-waster.

Darksiders 2 for the PlayStation 4 is a great re-release of the second entry into the series, but that's only because the core game is so good. Technical issues that really should have been resolved by now, and a weak concluding act inhibit it, but nonetheless there are few games that have been so effective in aping the Zelda formula than this one.

Coldfire Keep is genuine, and for dungeon crawler fans, that makes it worth a look.

If you've ever enjoyed a Metroidvania before, then you'll probably enjoy Cathedral. The fewer of the genre that you've played the better, however, as the lack of original creativity will wash over you easier with less experience and fewer points of comparison among Cathedral's peers. Otherwise, it's a perfectly competent example of the genre. It's just a pity that the Metroidvania genre, in particular, is so over-saturated that we just didn't need more of it.

Unfortunately, there’s no real point to playing Bunny Park, either. If the bunnies were more than cute little collectibles, and has some kind of personality, it would be one thing. If there was an Animal Crossing-like approach to progression it would be another. Really, though, you’re just buying into a Farmville-like game with two dozen hopping furballs, and while that’s inherently pleasant and happy, it doesn’t make for a game that is particularly memorable or has any longevity or replay value.

This appears to be a theme with the Mega Man franchise. Each series starts off well, and then after a half dozen or so numbered titles, the quality falls off a cliff. Much like with the original Legacy Collections, I would recommend the first collection over the second in a heartbeat if you were to only choose one.

The game despite the obvious padding is a great length for both casual gameplay and for someone who wants to finish it in one sitting. The misfiring humour and weak standard of the environments however make for a poor narrative, and generally, an experience that isn’t particularly memorable.

As a handheld game on the Vita, it feels too complicated, confused and overall not polished enough. It feels like a console game crammed into a handheld that can’t handle the pace, and being that this is now the fourth entry into the MLB series on the Vita, I don’t see this changing any time soon, unfortunately.

Neon Chrome certainly has its charms, and it can be a lot of fun, especially if you bring some friends along. At the same time, I feel like there’s a lot of missed opportunity here.

As something of a budget entry into the same genre occupied by Onechanbara, Dead or School is decent fun. Being a budget game it struggles to maintain a consistency in tone and experience, but a solid loot and upgrade system, some great boss fights, and a good sense of humour, all help to see it through.

Overall this is a decent game with a deep combat system and some replay value if you want to explore the levels fully and find every hidden item. A weak story with a nasty potential glitch keep this game from being as good as it could have been. Fans of classic Castlevania games should especially enjoy this experience.

99Vidas is a perfectly competent brawler game that does nothing to reinvent the genre, but is a solid enough example of it. Short without a lot of variety, I wish the story and main characters were more interesting, but at least the visual style suits it and the music is fantastic.

Iro Hero ambitiously seeks to reinterpret polarity switching shooters. Baffling design choices render it alienating even to seasoned shoot ‘em up fans, however. The blueprint for a clever shooter is here and it’s possible the developers will rectify that base game with patches and updates, but the Iro Hero of today does not reflect that lofty potential.

The gameplay is pretty standard but also very well done. The minigames could be tweaked a bit; leaving your player feeling stupid isn’t exactly a good thing. But the story overshadows a lot of my complaints: it’s intriguing, it’s heartfelt, it’s scary. It’s not the best game you’ll ever play, but the developers have tried to make something distinct, at least.

If you are looking for lots of action set against a deep space backdrop, Strike Suit Zero: Director's Cut should scratch that itch effectively as long as it lasts.

Dodo Peak plays really nicely. I know the knee-jerk response to any mobile game-like “cute and charming arcade experience” is to assume it’s some kind of cheap shovelware, but Dodo Peak is precise, clean action, with well-designed levels that straddle the line between encouraging creativity among players and giving them a specific range of different puzzles and logical traps to overcome. It’s bright, cheery fun that people of all ages can enjoy, and is something well suited to the Nintendo Switch platform. You could go much, much worse than giving this a spin.

I appreciate that multiplayer is a big deal in the Souls games, but this is the first time From Software has crafted a piece of DLC content that focuses almost entirely on that multiplayer experience, and I think this will fall flat with plenty of other Souls fans.

New Super Lucky’s Tale is a competent game but not one which will excite players. It’s got a clear target demographic in mind and delivers on what it promises. At the very least, it’s a marked improvement on the original Super Lucky’s Tale, and is arguably the most immediately playable iteration. Fans of 3D platformers will find that this game can contend just as well as the games of old, but without the benefit of brand recognition and nostalgia, Lucky has a real uphill climb in order to achieve greatness. If you’ve already played the other 3D platformers on the Switch, this one is worth a look.

I wanted to like Love Too Easily more than the game let me. There are a lot of good ideas and noble intent in there. It’s just let down by what I will put down to creative inexperience.

The great problem in creating a game that so emphatically invites comparison to a classic series is that it will be compared to that series. Elliot Quest never had a hope of comparing to those games, but it does a decent job as a modern homage to them.

Never before has there been a game that makes you feel so warm and fuzzy when you fail your task.

Zombie Army Trilogy is a culmination of things that are all done well, but not great.

Once you get in the swing of it, F1 2016 on mobile and Apple TV is a good, low-priced alternative to the console version. For the more casual racing game fans, it’s the better, more accessible option. For the people who play games on the go, it’s worth noting that neither the Vita nor the 3DS gets an F1 game this yes, so this is your only option. And it’s always nice to have a quality game release on Apple TV.

That the developers really struggled to explore the concept in any meaningful depth is disappointing, but nonetheless, Shadow of the Beast is ultimately worthwhile.

I'm just glad that by JRPG standards Celceta is reasonably focused, allowing me to complete it and move on to the next game, neither having been bored nor especially inspired.

Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games is good fun, but ultimately it’s too shallow and simple to be anything but a passing diversion.

I think it is safe to say that Snoopy has avoided the movie-tie-in curse. What we have here is a game that is solid in its design ideas and has implemented them effectively. Yes there are some slowdown issues, but considering who the game is marketed towards, I don’t think they’ll be taking too much notice of that. It’s an enjoyable game, filled to the brim with fun and imagination.

Late Shift is still enjoyable enough.

Fun, as the rhythm portions and the soundtracks that they use mesh well together. But let's not pull punches about this; this is a game that is going to be exclusively of interest to existing fans of Senran Kagura, and who are also fans of rhythm games. It's not going to convert anyone to the franchise, and unlike the likes of Persona 4 Dancing All Night, it's also not meaty enough as a rhythm game to appeal to people who aren't already deeply involved in the genre. It's pure fanservice.

I highly recommend playing Earth Defense Force 4.1: The Shadow of New Despair with a friend or three. And then, only if you're all fans of incredibly cheesy science fiction films. If you can get the right group together, the fact there are over 100 levels to play through means this will be a lot of long-lasting fun.

Weapon Shop de Omasse is a deeply intelligent game, and it's certainly part of a fine heritage of philosophy that has made for compelling experiences in the past. But we can chalk this one up to the collective learning experience of the game development industry; it's fine to feature philosophy and to shoot for comedy, but you simply can't rely on that carrying the game.

With regards to the artwork, the designs of the Ironcasts and Steamtanks themselves are noteworthy. The backgrounds, however, are very, very bland and simple. Repetitive buildings and uninspiring scenery make for a visual experience that doesn't do the concept justice.

As a result of these misfires, Lego Party finds itself in a position where there’s a lot to like about it and bravo to SMG for looking for ways to be creative while also producing a blatant Mario Party clone. On the other hand, it does show that where Nintendo has been producing them for decades now, this is a rookie effort. Perhaps part of the issue is that I played it on a Nintendo console, when I have the alternative sitting right there on the hard drive. On other platforms that don’t have a Mario Party, I can see this resonating more strongly. Unfortunately, though, I can’t see it being a particularly memorable experience for anyone in the long term.

Of course, it's also "just" another match-4 title, and perhaps that's why the developers didn't feel like putting the price up to something more appropriate to the size of the game. Lucky us, then; because while Swap This! is by no means going to end up on anyone's favourite games of all time lists, it's bright, pleasant, and perfect for those times that you do want a quick burst of puzzle action. And all for the cost of candy bar.

Space Commander: War and Trade isn't bad. If there's one thing that can be said about mobile games, it's that developers are hugely incentivised to make sure players enjoy what they're looking at, and there's no possibility of being frustrated by the gameplay. The core mechanical elements are rock-solid, and transfer over to the Switch well. The game's biggest problem is the setting. Space should be an exotic location filled with adventure and discovery. That entire experience in Space Commander is truncated to the point that it loses that essential quality, leaving the overall experience feeling quite hollow.

Knack 2 also outstays its welcome, and the developers didn't seem to know when or how to finish it.

Lost Ember has its heart and soul in the right place, and every time I discovered a new area I was left amazed with the gorgeous vistas and intense beauty of it all. I also greatly appreciated that this is one of those games that respected my time and, large as its sense of scale is, is over quickly for anyone who doesn't want to waste time hunting down the collectibles. However, the initial goodwill I felt for the game evaporated quickly when I realised how shallow it really was. I can't see myself remembering this one, or coming back to it to play it again, and that's a real pity.

While it never manages to rise beyond being a fastidious clone of a beloved series, Daymare 1998 is not as terrible as some might have you believe. Sure, it doesn't have a creative bone in its body, and that is a problem, but it does show that the development team has an understanding of classic video game action/horror, and were they to come back with an original idea and distance themselves from existing, better properties, this developer could end up becoming a solid B-tier players in the space.

There's a lot to like about White Night, if for no other reason than it genuinely is different and these is real potential for this to spin out into a franchise if the development team can do a better job of rationalising the noir elements and figuring out the solution to a frustrating Easter egg hunt in the dark. The underlying vision alone makes it worth a look, but it's not going to be quite remembered as the same innovative experience as those pioneering horror games it references back to.

Anyone who has fond memories of playing Dungeon Keeper will find War for the Overworld to be a nostalgia trip. It’s not as advanced as it could be at a technical level, but further fixes and updates could lead to an improved experience.

I’m not the world’s biggest fan of Contra in the first place, but I’ve always admired the series for challenging and inspiring so many players over the decades. Likewise, I understand what WayForward’s done with this remake of the original. I appreciate the effort to try and find a broader audience. But if that was the goal they should have properly built the game around that kind of experience, rather than half-measuring it and then giving players the ability to just ignore it all. The complete lack of confidence in actually following through with whatever creative vision WayForward took into this project, unfortunately, leaves the entire experience feeling soulless.

Something of a let down for me when compared to the last couple of episodes.

As a fan of the Muppets, I am disappointed that there wasn't more done with the license in Movie Adventures. It's a perfectly workable game, and does have a sense of humour that anything to do with the Muppets needs, but at the same time, it's nothing more than that and whether you're a child or a nostalgic fan for the Kermet and the gang, you're probably going to left wanting after this.

Harvest Moon: One World is ultimately forgettable and limited, but I didn't regret my time playing it. Perhaps that is simply because I'm such a fan of these anime-casual farming sims, and have been since the "genre" emerged all the way back on the SNES, but as someone who has played an awful lot of these things, One World's effort to do something different by getting you to travel around, and the streamlining of the farming mechanics so you can focus on the best bits, is admirable. There's still a long way to go for Natsume and its development teams to catch Story of Seasons, and I question the wisdom in releasing this game to compete directly with the upcoming new entry in that series, but this is still a genuinely pleasant little world to lose yourself within for a while.

These are indie developers and they have captured the basics of the “princess marker” hyper-niche genre. They just needed to focus a little more on presentation and storytelling technique (unless your Yoko Taro, you’re probably not in a position to be writing in abrupt and bad endings without giving players some inkling that one might be coming up), and Long Live The Queen could have been something truly great.

Echo Prime doesn't ask for too much commitment from players, but the experience is much shallower as a result. Casual players will be able to look past the repetition due to their shorter, more spaced out gaming sessions.

I will also say that I have enjoyed Liege Dragon more than some of the others from Kemco, too. There is a more solid narrative to it, and I really like the visual design of that combat system. Though, being entirely honest here, it was probably the sexy princess that got it over the line for me. That really is one very inspired costume design.