Star Ocean 4: The Last Hope is a decent RPG that has many ambitious mechanics and puts a lot of focus on story development.

VA-11 HALL-A should be a must-buy for indie lovers and VN junkies alike.

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is one of those RPGs that I didn't want to end. Luckily, there is enough post-game content to satisfy players looking to sink 100s of hours into more adventures with Rex and the party.

The perfect example of one step forward, two steps back. While the world is more beautiful than any of its predecessors, it feels empty in much the same way that the game does. All of the systems seem to be their own worst enemy.

It is a shame to see the series fizzle out like this on 3DS. At this point, I just want Nintendo to bring the game over to the Switch with Mario Party 11, as that may be the breath of fresh air this series desperately needs to stay relevant. If that doesn’t work out, then it may be time for Nintendo and Nd Cube to finally put this once great series to rest.

I never felt like I had control of navigating the various menus; switching between traditional and cursor menu navigation was slightly unpredictable.

Gear.Club Unlimited is not a very good game. It’s not a bad game by any stretch of the imagination, but not even it’s impressive car visuals can save it from being just an incredibly average racing game.

League of War: VR Arena isn’t a bad game, so much as it is underbaked.

Monster of the Deep: Final Fantasy XV has its own virtual reality quirks, but the game is much more than the sum of its parts. Monster of the Deep may be the first PlayStation VR game that I would recommend across the board to anyone with the hardware to play it. However, anyone who has played a good amount of Final Fantasy XV will get more out of the experience than others.

It’s hard not to feel like Star Wars Battlefront II should’ve been better than what it is. While some like to think that the implementation of loot crates is a worse crime than that of killing younglings, in reality it just proves to be uninteresting and makes it more likely for me to bounce off of the multiplayer sooner rather than later. The real disappointment falls upon that of the campaign which I clearly had too much hope for. It’s not a story that I would say I hate more than sand, but it also isn’t memorable at all.

School Girl/Zombie Hunter is not a good game; it’s barely even an okay game. What I found that I enjoyed most was the localization effort, a few of the boss battles, and some of the environments. Outside of that, this game will most likely fall into obscurity and be forgotten, which is something that I’m not proud to say because of how much I’ve personally enjoyed other Tamsoft releases.

Megaton Rainfall is not a terrible game; for an indie superhero title, it does a lot of things great, but the problem is that the few flaws that it offers make one overlook all that it does great. Nonetheless, Megaton Rainfall succeeds in providing the best first-person superhero gaming experience that AAA studios have failed to deliver so far.

Stifled is absolutely not the best indie horror game on the market, but I have to respect it for what it brings to the table. While the game is short and the frustration can – at times – be palpable, Stifled is a smart and satisfying game (especially for anyone invested in VR setups).

Jackbox Party Pack 4 is a guaranteed multi-hour adventure into adult fun.

Tokyo Tattoo Girls is an extremely niche strategy RPG that doesn't build off of what is most interesting about the game's systems and instead chooses to rely on cute anime girls for appeal, which might work for some.

Life Is Strange: Before the Storm Episode 2: Brave New World showed me what Deck Nine is capable of in terms of storytelling and character growth.

Nazi Zombies [is] easily my favorite part and the best argument to buy Call of Duty: WWII.

Dungeon crawlers aren’t for everyone, but Demon Gaze II is the perfect place to start for players who have yet to try out the genre.

I really wanted Bubsy: The Woolies Strike Back to be good, or at least entertainingly bad, but I was just left with a tepid, overpriced, and somewhat generic 2D platformer that wasn’t funny or fulfilling enough to justify a $30 purchase.

.hack//G.U. Last Recode had a lot of love poured into its development and planning because it looks amazing.

Super Mario Odyssey is a bold re-introduction to 3D Mario and one that is flat-out mandatory in 2017. The game is not the challenging, rigorous exercise found in the series’ past so much as a deep dive into abject fun originality. Placing creativity and wonder above all else, Super Mario Odyssey is Nintendo’s equivalent of a Pixar movie: magical, creative, and captivating, no matter what age you are.

The process felt incredibly slow and you’ll probably be burned out after a couple of hours — if you were ever actually planning on playing this game, that is.

Zwei: The Ilvard Insurrection might satisfy some of the hardcore Ys loving fans of Falcom, but I feel like this game will do more for any gamer who is intimidated by the developer’s other series and bigger titles. It’s a shame that I waited so long to get into the Zwei series, but I’m grateful for a chance to play such a fun and amusing action RPG in a time where serious story premises seem to be all we get.

Summon Night 6 proves that a decent localization can help a series that has very little presence in the West. With some unique SRPG mechanics as well as good character development, Summon Night 6 could easily become a fan favorite in the West and hopefully pave the way for future and past entries in the series to be localized.

Assassin’s Creed: Origins is the most memorable entry in the series in years, answering age-old questions like “why are assassins missing their ring fingers?” and is an excellent game to start with if you’re a newcomer.

Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus has become the new benchmark for single-player shooter campaigns. The sheer amount of freedom that players have to go along with the excellent gunplay make it one of the best shooters in years on those merits alone. Add in what is one the year’s most compelling, important narratives and you have a recipe for an instant classic on your hands. Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus isn’t just 2017’s best shooter, it’s a game that will be looked back upon as one of the standout titles of this generation when it comes to an end.

Thankfully, there’s too many good features about Nights of Azure 2 for fans of Gust to not pick it up, while at the same time introducing new players to the developer. As for me, I’m going to hope that they continue to support this awesome action RPG series and its casual yuri story plots.

Yomawari: Midnight Shadows has everything a horror game needs, engaging story and characters, creepy town, and scary spirits. Most importantly, it shows a significant improvement over what the previous entry in the series offered. Sadly, the game lacks more explorable areas and also a more extensive variety of enemies, who end up overstaying their welcome in the later parts of the game.