Unfortunately, all the new things Crisis of the Planet of the Apes introduced are overlooked when you factor in its short length, repetition, and lack of exploration plague the title.

I would say that Zwei: The Arges Adventure is best played by gamers with an eye for charm and adorable characters that you’d want to spend hours with exploring dungeons and going on adventures. Sadly, the decade-old dungeon design and repetitive action don’t hold up as well as its sequel, but it’s still a game that Falcom fans will enjoy until the end, I know I did.

Fear Effect Sedna is saved by a great story and awesome puzzle design.

Override 2: Super Mech League can be a lot of fun at its best as a mech brawler, but is ultimately pretty light on content and depth as far as its characters and combat.

While this game isn’t great by modern standards at all, it’s hard to imagine that speedrunners won’t fall in love with completely breaking the game.

Life Is Strange: Before the Storm's Episode 1: Awake focus on themes of depression, loss, and the inability to fit in, which it does an excellent job at presenting throughout this first episode. Sadly, the episode's main focus on Chloe and Rachel's friendship can feel a little forced early on, but inevitably lands on plausible after learning about the mental state of each of the characters.

The Bayonetta & Vanquish 10th Anniversary Bundle isn’t a sexy release by any means. Besides the nice steelbook that the physical version of the game comes with, there’s not a lot else included in this package other than the expected slight boost in graphical prowess. This collection will surely please both longtime fans and new ones who have been looking to give both of these titles a shot, but it’s hard to say that there is anything else all that alluring included here. This is just your pretty standard, run of the mill remaster of two great games – nothing more, nothing less.

Neverness to Everness delivers a stylish, lively city packed with plenty to do, and its generous gacha system makes it easy to enjoy everything it has to offer without constant frustration. But beneath all that charm, the bloated gameplay formula starts to show, especially in its story and combat, which struggle to stand out in an already crowded field of other known gacha giants. If you’re already invested in similar games, this can be a fun, low-pressure addition to your routine. Just don’t expect it to reinvent the wheel since it’s more of a comfortable, content-rich ride with a few slightly annoying bumps along the way.

I can't deny that I liked my time spent playing Wreckreation. The high-octane action, the blistering speeds, and the open-world freedom all come together to offer a format that I adore. However, I can't in good conscience attribute much of this to this game, as it's about as blatant a copy I have ever seen, lifting Burnout Paradise's mechanics, UI, race types, and progression almost note for note. Yet, in many ways, the game fails to capture that same lightning in a bottle, with shoddy recreations of many aspects of its inspiration. The only unique thing this game has to offer lies within the creation and online functionality, but due to the lackluster and uninspired single-player core this game offers, I don't think these admittedly interesting features will be enough to get many potential fans behind the wheel.

Guns of Icarus Alliance works as a competitive multiplayer game still. It offers a unique steampunk setting with ship battles that are highly intensive and a lot of fun when you get a good lobby of people together. But with an annual player count of 80 to 200 players, newcomers should be prepared to prep themselves with tutorials and PVE content.

While it is not meant to be an educational game about mental illness, I felt that its approach to the subject was exceptionally well done.

Pretty environments can't save what is ultimately a bland game. Biomutant lacks character and excitement, which is a shame given the early promise it showed.

Borderlands 2 VR is exactly what you think the original would be like in the early days of virtual reality. It never does anything to separate itself from the pack of decent VR adaptions, but, can provide a fun point and shoot experience once you get accommodated with your preferred controls and comfortability settings.

After spending over 25 hours playing myself, I was able to complete many of the character’s stories and had a pretty good time doing it. However, the issue with the game is that the dull level design, lacking story premise, minimal voice acting, and visual novel style scenes made it feel like this game could have been so much more.

If you enjoyed The Last Remnant the first time around give this re-release a shot. And if you’re looking for an old-school deeply challenging JRPG, this title will also be for you.

Splitgate: Arena Warfare has the foundation of a great shooter but its generic ideas and lack of originality get in the way of something that should feel a lot better than it is.

Night School Studio's Afterparty falls short of greatness, with an unrewarding narrative, underutilized gameplay concepts, and technical issues.

Gunboat God feels like a game caught between flashes of brilliance and moments of frustration. It absolutely nails the things that make shmups so addictive: slick gunplay, a strong sense of style, and a surprisingly charming narrative that gives the whole ride a bit more personality than you’d expect. But that enjoyment is often held back by its rough balancing, and (occasionally) overwhelming level design, especially early on. Still, there’s a solid, entertaining shoot-'em-up underneath it all, and the more you unlock and experiment, the more it starts to come together. It’s not a perfectly smooth sail, but for players willing to stick with it, there’s enough charm and chaos here to make the journey and fight back to the Citadel worthwhile.

Proves that open world games can be enjoyed in bite-sized bits on the go with Switch.

Matterfall is a mechanically sound game but has very little to keep you coming back to chase high scores. As it stands, I enjoyed the handful of hours that I spent with it, but I can't see myself going back anytime soon.

The Stretchers is an entertaining co-op game that needs to offer more fun outside of its story mode.

For Sonic purists there’s undoubtedly a great time to be had with Sonic Colors: Ultimate. For those who are more fairweather Sonic fans or are looking for a new adventure to dive into, the game might be a little more of a challenge to enjoy.

F1 2019 isn’t really all that spectacular. The gameplay is mostly what you’d expect with the potential of an exhilarating moment here and there, but it wouldn’t be the first game I’d look to for a racing simulation experience. That being said, it is enjoyable and there is plenty to do, especially for those looking for a new racing game to pick up.

For the vast majority of both Suda and Swery’s works, you don’t really show up for a high-quality gaming experience. You show up for the weird vibes, and indeed, Hotel Barcelona is rich in delightfully weird vibes that are appealing enough to get me through. However, there's a certain point where a game cannot carry itself on vibes alone. No More Heroes 3 had some visual jank, but was still a solid game. The Good Life ran terribly on my computer, but still had an engaging core loop. With Hotel Barcelona, I feel as though both Suda and Swery's typical shortcomings are multiplying against each other, resulting in a game that has good bones and a fun, wacky premise, but falls well short on actual execution. If a game with this kind of slow, sticky gameplay and graphical shortcomings came from any other directors, it probably wouldn't be on my radar.

Multiplayer is where I had the most fun. I was evenly matched with most player and the game’s mechanics made for some very fun and intense duels.

When a game is purposely difficult solely due to the amount of overpowered enemies it can throw at you, it makes for an unsatisfying experience. This blended with clunky gameplay only amplified my disappointment. I would not be surprised if someone stopped playing twenty minutes into Ruiner with its uninviting gameplay.

While it might be true that Akiba’s Beat presents an interesting premise with clever writing and a fun cast of characters, the game ends up failing at everything fans may want out of an action RPG.

Kejora is an absolutely charming and ambitious indie platformer adventure that has all the necessary narrative bones for a visually compelling experience. In terms of story, it largely hits the mark. However, the shortfalls in its awkward gameplay, lackluster sound design, and noticeable UI blips stagger that experience to a degree, and it probably could have used more time in the oven on those fronts. Nevertheless, if you're a fan of hand-drawn animation in games, especially of the Ghibli variety, I would say to give it the chance it deserves.