Ultimately, Wanderlust succeeds in being an inspirational work about the power of travel.

This "reward" that Romance of the Three Kingdoms offers is subtle and nuanced. This is a niche game and I would very much expect its sales to be much lower than what its rival achieved. It's the better experience, though, from a particular perspective. If you love your historical strategy for the history that they depict, then Romance of the Three Kingdoms delivers. Everything about it is a perfect reflection on what that book was on about.

There are some good ideas to be found in Bookbound Brigade, and when everything clicks into place, it can be a lot of fun. But between the unreliable map, the tedious combat, the tired sense of humour, and the missed opportunity to do anything noteworthy with the "literary mash-up premise", Bookbound Brigade's good ideas are overshadowed by poor execution.

While I probably enjoy Katana Kami more as a cultural work than a game, such as it is, that’s so much more important to me anyway.

All in all, this collection coming out on the back of the original Mega Man and Mega Man X Series is a must have for fans or those that never actually got around to playing them. With plenty of features only improving on the original releases back on the Game Boy Advance and the collections on the DS, Mega Man Zero 1-4 and its two sequels are an ideal way to celebrate one of the more niche and forgotten chapters in the Mega Man legend.

Rune Factory 4 is a delight. It's one of those heartfelt, earnest, and wholesome games that remind you that not everything needs to be dour, competitive, excessively violent, or deep. It's a game in which a blatant clone of Hatsune Miku (or a male character, I guess) grows turnips, bops monsters on the head (and then makes friends with them), and eventually gets married. It's sweet, I love it, and bring on Rune Factory 5.

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.

Ciel Fledge could have been more robust... indeed, it really should have been. There's just not enough substance to go with the charming presentation and concept. However, it's still one of those things that's difficult to put down, not least because its gameplay loops and feedback are tight and engaging. Like the daughter you're tasked to manage, there's room for this fledgling series to grow, and plenty of potential if it's managed well.

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 one hand, the base game itself is so good, and the extra stuff doesn't mess with that. On the other hand, the extra stuff doesn't do much for the overall experience.

Code: Realize is a beautiful visual novel, with a wonderful concept that is written wonderfully. It's a little short of the flash-and-bang, which means it's not the ideal introduction to the entire genre, but once you're settled in to the genre and can appreciate a visual novel for a quality narrative without needing full animation or "gameplay elements," it's hard to look past this one as a key example of the genre done well.

In the end, Mega 39 does one, very special thing: it takes the incredible Hatsune Miku Project Diva Future Tone, and makes it portable. You can bellyache all you like about a relatively thin tracklist, but “relatively thin” to the ridiculous bloat of Future Tone isn’t really a fault. Not when what is in the pack is still more than any other rhythm game on the Switch, and with the optional DLC to come. Most importantly of all, however, is that Mega39 is a celebration of the world’s greatest digital idol, and a digital celebrity I truly care a great deal about. As such, it fills a major gap in something that I've wanted on my Switch since the day it released. I am now fully on board with the Nintendo Switch being the greatest console ever.

Whether you were a witness to its glory in its original context, or whether you’re just reading about it for the first time in 2020, Vanquish is an experience worth having. Its desire to subvert entrenched shooter tropes in both its mechanics and its story, leaves it feeling a breath of fresh air to those who have been jaded by how samey the genre can feel. If you like your games to demand mastery, and to reward those who unlock the potential within its mechanics with an undeniable feeling of coolness, then Vanquish is absolutely worth your time.

Darksiders Genesis is a welcome change of pace. Fan of the series might question whether or not they will like the dramatic overhaul, but this is a really solid Diablo style of game that is a lot of fun to play. I enjoyed the new character a good deal and have always appreciated the world these games were set in. The wheel is not getting reinvented here, but the overall execution is generally well done.

Snack World really isn't my thing. As much as I am a fan of Level-5, the pitch of this one is out, and as such, too much of it falls flat. It's a satirical game that's trying too hard and if it was funny, then the jokes it makes would be directed at its own faults as a game. It's a workable dungeon crawler without being inspired, but unlike the rest of Level-5's library, this one is focused on being attractive to one demographic at the expense of just about everyone else. Where most other Level-5 games are a joy and delight, this one really felt too much like a slog.

On the one hand, the sheer quality of the game is evident in bounds, and as a homage to the mighty Baldur's Gate, it continues on the excellent trajectory set down by its predecessor. On the other hand, those loading times really are so bad that I neither enjoy my time with the game, nor want to play it. Of course, a patch could resolve that and then the main criticism of the review would be rendered redundant. Sadly, I do need to review what's placed in front of me, and you're all better off playing Baldur's Gate again than slogging through this in its current state.

On the one hand, the Yakuza Remastered Collection is "just" a re-release of three games, with relatively minimal effort having gone into the updates. On the other hand, it's three superb games within an astounding collection that allows you to play the entire series from beginning to end, whenever you find a cool 500 hours or so to sit down and work through it all. In that context, the 200 or so hours that the Collection represents is a major chunk of some of the best action you'll ever find in video games.

It's a clean, snappy, hugely entertaining game, and an excellent next step forward for the emerging property. You'll want to have a high tolerance for fan service, but it's a Compile Heart game and you should already know full well what to expect going in. What's important is that it's all executed so well that Azur Lane ends up being too charming to put down, and there's more waifu bait in this one than any other game you'll play in 2020.

If only that localisation didn't put a dampener on everything by making a full half of the game, and, critically, the context that gives the action purpose, so irritating to sit through. Please, developers. It's fine to have a broken English port for a game where the narrative isn't relevant, but when we're talking about RPGs, make the investment and hire a premium localisation outfit. It will lift your game, significantly. There are, apparently, console versions of Banner of the Maid set to come later. I hope on feedback the team does get a new localisation done, because fixing that issue will add a couple of stars to the score, effortlessly. Everything else about it is truly wonderful.

Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance Tactics is cynical. It has taken a safe, familiar genre, done absolutely nothing but the most straightforward, safe application of it, and thrown the Dark Crystal license over the top, but it has in no way tried to do anything interesting with Dark Crystal.

Having too much of a good thing is the possibly the most forgivable flaw that hit too many games, and Patapon has the pick-up-and-play vibe going for it, meaning that you can always take a break from it if it starts to become draining. The only other issue with Patapon 2 is that the rhythms will get stuck deep into your brain, and it takes ages to push them out. And then you'll load up the game again and it'll be stuck all over again. It's just that charming, bright, and catchy.

Fan service aside, it's a beautiful little story, heartfelt and generally well told. It's supported by particularly good production values and a crash course in train terminology that will help you come away with all the more respect for how trains work and are managed. It's such a lovely game for the most part. But then there's a scene where the protagonist is groping at the "doll's" body. Or another scene where the "doll" is groping a clearly phallic symbol, and when those scenes kick in, Maitetsu undermines all the great work it otherwise does. If you are part of the niche that can handle that side of things though... there really so much merit to the rest of the story that this visual novel tells.

Because Arc of Alchemist is such a short JRPG, the more draining elements of it don't end up being exhausting. Because the game moves at such a snappy pace it's easy to focus on and enjoy its strengths - the narrative and characters. Over the last couple of years Idea Factory has really broadened its horizons. Where once it focused almost exclusively on pervy humour, stuff like Arc of Alchemist show a different side of the studio. It's creative, different, and interesting, and respects your time so don't feel like you've made some epic commitment just to play through it. I love it.

Not Tonight is a deeply relevant, thoughtful experience. It comes from a place of genuine frustration with the way too much of the world is behaving at the moment, but manages to channel that frustration into something productive - a satirical (however darkly), deeply sympathetic game, that's both entertaining and has a strong point to make. Is it a little too infatuated with Papers, Please? Yes, but you could do far worse than create a breathless homage to a game that great.

None of the characters or situations in Coffee Talk are simple or black-and-white. Rather, the world is a beautiful, complicated shade of grey. People aren't "good" or "bad," they're just trying to do their best. The message is hopeful. The pace is soothing. The music is well-suited to the environment. Coffee Talk really delivers on all fronts, and even offers more game time post-story. Now, it's time for me to return to my customers, I think the orc has arrived...

Worlds of Magic is not bad, but it's also by no means a genre leader. It's simply too limited and shallow to meet the expectations that people have of 4Xes in the modern era. The plains hopping feature is nice, and can lead to some truly epic, expansive campaigns, but it's not quite enough to offset the limitations elsewhere. Furthermore, the Switch port was clearly never optimised for the hardware, making this the lesser version of an already mid-tier experience.

Journey to the Savage Planet ticks all the right boxes. It gets its core play loops right, and it respects the player's time - you'll clock it at 15 or so hours if you're not too concerned with collecting everything along the way. I had a good time in both single player and co-op, and for something that is so foreign to the kind of games I usually play, that this one hooked me in speaks to its X-factor. For all the good, however, the game's a complete misfire as a narrative experience.

While Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot doesn’t really do anything new “overall”, it’s still an amazing time because of the way that everything has been put together. Those new to the series and long time fans alike have plenty to find and enjoy, as the pacing is just right to both let you relive some of the iconic fights of the series, and just live a little with your favourite characters.