The adventure doesn't have great replay value, but the first time through it's long enough, and the price of admission is absolutely worth it.

This is a breathlessly creative and fundamentally interesting game, and it, along with Stranger of Sword City, cements the developer as one of my favourites out there at the moment.

The refinements here are not staggering, but there are enough of them to make this iteration what more sequels should be: an improvement over the original. There is still room for improvement, but Dragon Ball: Xenoverse 2 should appeal to both brawling and DBZ fans alike.

Even in comparison to some of the previous Hyperdimension games, which seemed quite determined to mix in some serious messaging amoung the silliness, this latest title simply cuts itself free, and the writers clearly relished that freedom. For all that I was left thoroughly entertained throughout.

No, the mundanity is kept to a thematic level, and that’s what makes Alone With You as a whole so impactful. It’s a game about loneliness, love, and what it means to be human, and that’s a beautiful thing.

Where Shards of Darkness excels is when it gets you to think dynamically and to pare off all the extraneous technicalities, when hiding and slashing and scheming becomes second nature after you’re forced to hone your skills by being thrown for a loop once you think you know it all. This is a game that you need to sink more than just a handful of hours into in order to really appreciate but in my opinion, the reward is well worth it - the feeling of nailing a multi-target assassination with some high-octane traps before ziplining away and cackling was indescribable, and made much more meaningful by the fact that a few hours ago I was struggling to find my own ass in the dark.

I have to wonder if the gaming audience is quite ready for the kind of metatextual experience that Stranger of Paradise presents. It’s not only a game that doesn’t take itself seriously, but it outright challenges players’ expectations on how games are made and how they should be played. It’s hugely entertaining and as experimental as Final Fantasy at its best, but I do wonder how well something so reflective will click and be remembered as a great in the longer term. I only hope that people realise that the nonsense of Jack, his iPod, and his obsession with Chaos is just the surface of this brilliantly smart, layered thing, and they then take the time to dig into what Stranger of Paradise is really saying as a work of metatextual satire.

I’d be lying if I said that this is a game for everyone. By its nature, the absurdism and surrealism of Romeo is a Dead Man is only going to resonate with people who can appreciate that quality about it. The game itself point-blank refuses to be entertaining to play on a passive level. But given that video games around us are becoming more and more generic, “best practice” driven, and in general, everything that Romeo is a Dead Man pokes fun at, it’s nice to have the occasional game that’s willing to put some people off in pursuit of its creative vision.

Qbeh-1: The Atlas Cube is an interesting block puzzle game which unfortunately feels like it's compacting a few similar ideas together which makes it feel unfocused at times. However it is generally a clever little game, with interesting puzzles, a beautiful art style, and soothing background music.

Peggle 2 is an addicting game packed with silly fun that anyone can manage.

While it seemed a bit weird that Capcom had not originally included Devil May Cry 4 into its HD Collection a few years back, the Special Edition is worth a look for fans of the series on the PlayStation 4 as a stand alone game, thanks to the visual upgrades and new character scenarios.

It has its charm and some good ideas running in the background, but these are offset by the game's more overt issues, and a taste for the surreal that will never be popular for the mainstream. That being said, while this game was not for me but it is just odd enough that it might work for you.

A decent game that's fun to play, but is even more fun if you have a friend or two that can play with you. The online play is smooth and there are some hidden things that can be unlocked like more difficulty levels and more characters.

Amnesia offers a solid narrative which you don’t need to be an otome-game fan to appreciate. There are issues with the way the story is told which might raise some eyebrows, and the plot is certainly melodramatic at times, but the art and music really carry the player along towards the memorable ending.

It isn’t just a rare example of a fantastic anime game but feels like a re-imagining that is, in some respects, superior to the source material. Poignant and dense, Mandatory Happiness is a game that will require additional runs to absorb but only one to be endlessly captivated.

Lanota has the distinction of being the most interesting rhythm experience on the Nintendo Switch by virtue of that unique and clever gameplay mechanic. It lets itself down a little compared to the many other rhythm games on the console by having too much music at odds with the theme and aesthetics that are carried through the presentation, and that inconsistency is disappointing. It's still delightful, but perhaps a game that would have been better off in the hands of developers with a greater capacity for music curation.

There is nothing wrong with Nickelodeon Kart Racers 2. If you enjoy Mario Kart, and like Nickelodeon, then you're the demographic for this game, and you'll get a kick from it. There are no nasty surprises in the way the kart racing action is executed, and it's so overwhelmingly competent it would have been something truly special if it was just a little more interesting. Sadly, the really, really good character mashup games are enjoyable even if you're not a fan of the properties, and Nickelodeon Kart Racers 2 doesn't quite get that far.

Bringing together so many mechanical elements to the scope and vision of Rhythm Fighter required a much more visionary developer than the one that produced the game. That’s not to say it isn’t entertaining, and there is a lot to enjoy with the game, however, it is also true that the overall experience is messy and the team lost control over what they were trying to achieve, making for something far too clumsy and clunky for the kind of precision that it needed.

The inconsistency of these two underground classics might make the compilation facade seem like a wasted opportunity, but being realistic here, both of the two titles in the Prinny Presents NIS Classics Vol. 1 would not have got a release without being bundled together in this gimmick. Whether you have fond memories of having played either, or simply never had the chance to previously, you'll find quickly that both games represent a creative energy that we rarely see these days, and in both cases the experimentation largely works. You're not likely to see anything like these two again, so don't miss the opportunity.

Here's the thing about Pupperazzi: it isn't perfect, but it is perfectly happy. For days I've been obsessed with meeting new dogs, dressing new dogs, photographing new dogs, petting new dogs... you get the idea. Lord knows the world is a difficult enough place right now, and Pupperazzi makes things seem lighter and easier while playing. Photographers like myself will get a kick out of how the developers recreated the photographic process in a video game. Animals lovers will adore meeting each and every furry being. Aside from those two things that really irk me, the game is quite soothing... unless you're scrambling to take a photo of that ONE dog that will inevitably keep running away. And then you'll finally snap the sneaky little doggo and life will be all the happier.

I’d describe Sticky Business as a wholesome game. It looks like one, and it plays like one. It’s lovely for there to be no violence, no conflict, just stickers and stories. It’s not a terribly long game (it took about ten hours to get all the Steam achievements), but it was super fun and exactly what the marketing promised. I’d love to see it on Nintendo Switch, but that’s mostly because I want everything I love to be available on that platform. The sticker design and packaging processes were almost soothing, and I oddly did love trying to fit as many stickers onto a page as possible. If you’re in the market for an innovative cozy game idea, Sticky Business just might scratch that itch.

I’ll never get sick of NewZealand Story. Most of the other titles are interesting as a curio, too. The quality of the ports for all of these titles great thanks to Hamster’s technology. However, as a package, this is a woeful excuse for a compilation, and that’s particularly surprising given that it came from the same publisher that gave us the Space Invaders Invincible Collection. That was one of the very best retro collections on the Switch. One I play almost weekly to date. “Disappointing” that Taito Milestones 2 lacks the same effort doesn’t begin to describe what I feel it.

The authentic Taiwanese ghost stories, an intriguing university campus to explore, and a fun – if B-grade cheesy – cast make The Bridge Curse 2 well worth your time. There are also some genuinely memorable monsters and eye-opening scenes. This is one of those super-niche horror games that you’ll be glad you discovered.

If you are the type that might have bought a Terminator 2 game back in the 1990s when it was something of a cultural institution, and as long as you stick to the regular difficulty modes you’ll enough to entertain you here. Otherwise, though, this is going to be a bit niche for everyone else.

Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince is an exceptional return for one of Square Enix’s most under-appreciated properties. With Pokémon going through a rare period where it’s not meeting nearly universal acclaim, perhaps this is the big opportunity for this series to finally break through, some 25 years after it first launched on Game Boy Color.

Unepic is a solid game that holds up very well throughout. It offers up a stiff challenge, while maintaining a sound sense of humour, and will go down especially well with those of us that remember (or still play) all-night Dungeons & Dragons sessions.

Even if puzzle games aren't your thing, it's worth fighting through its obstacles and frustrations—or using a guide to carry you through, which I ended up resorting to—in order to experience Flood of Light's beautiful, melancholic yet hopeful vision of a post-climate change world.

Patapon is simple, elegant, and utterly delightful.