ReCore is a poster child for wasted potential. At its heart is a good (though not great) game, marred by long load times, technical problems (including frame rates dips and the occasional crash), and bad pacing. The infuriating and frivolous road blocks may have doubled the length of the 20-hour game, but they also halved my fun.

Pac-Man Championship 2 is an outstanding example of a franchise reinventing itself.

I love hockey, so I’ll play NHL 17 for most of this upcoming winter. But similar to my hometown Minnesota Wild, I have mixed feelings about the quality on display. EA Canada continues to make minor improvements across the board, yet the NHL series has yet to tap its true potential this generation. As any sports fan will tell you, there’s always next year.

EA Canada continues to make minor improvements across the board, yet the NHL series has yet to tap its true potential this generation. As any sports fan will tell you, there’s always next year.

The title is not perfect, but its gameplay is so natural that it feels like there's little between you and what happens onscreen. It's modes aren't complete, but they are absorbing. Like anything that is loved, the answers may be incomplete but the feeling is total.

It's not an unqualified success, but it's the kind of points racing that gets the job done and which helps build toward that championship. It has that competitive spirit that a racer has to have, and that's not something that can be taught – it has to be inside of you the whole time.

The Turing Test joins Portal as another great puzzle game featuring an ominous A.I. entity. The puzzles will make you think, but not as much as the story’s wonderful exploration of life.

Khura’in is a compelling setting, and Spirit of Justice does a good job of building a world rich with history and lore. Learning about the culture and what led to its corrupt legal system is both fascinating and riveting. While Spirit of Justice brings little novelty to the series and relies on a familiar gameplay system, it nonetheless offers a story full of intrigue and puzzles that are satisfying to solve.

Cold Steel II does exactly what the middle arc of a trilogy should do – keep you intrigued and guessing. Upon finishing, I was even more invested in the narrative and characters and looked up how Falcom’s progress on the third entry was going. The wait already seems unbearable because I need to know what happens next; I haven’t had this much fun with plot twists and crazy villains in a while. When a video game story just gets its hooks in you like that, it’s done its job well.

Overcooked is a wonderful local co-op experience, and a party game that hits all of the right notes in turning friends against each other and making even the quietest people scream uncontrollably.

One Way Trip is a bore from beginning to end. I was never invested in its story despite trying to force myself to be, and was instead either bored or annoyed the entire time. Relief washed over me when the credits finally rolled.

Obduction’s gradually unfolding setting is compelling, and its narrative answers your big questions while leaving enough ambiguity to uphold a sense of mystery. A few exceptional puzzles reproduce the best of the genre’s glory days but the gameplay moments filling the space between them are too uneven and unrefined. Since it comes from the same creative talent, Obduction clearly takes some pages from Myst’s book, but these excerpts only result in flashes of greatness rather than a true successor.

When it embraces the full weight of its gameplay mechanics, it’s an enchanting experience. It hits speed bumps often and comes dangerously close to losing its way, but concludes with two strong acts. Valley is one of those gaming oddities with unique highs unlike almost anything else, which makes the lows worth tolerating.

Master of Orion is an incredibly polished iteration and a worthwhile return to the beloved franchise, but it’s entering a galaxy full of fierce competition as the space 4X genre has seen a big bang of resurgence over the last few years. Master of Orion boasts a lot to love for new players, and it’s one of the best entry-level 4X games out there, but older veterans may find themselves searching the stars for more complexity.

The King of Fighters XIV’s combo system is loose and expressive, and the character variety makes it easy to keep playing for hours. The learning curve is still a bit too steep for new players, but those who make the effort to climb it will find a fun, if unadventurous, fighter.

While I agree Madden 17 isn't a leap forward, the fact that it rides Madden 16's coattails while creating its own (thanks to the commentary system and some of the trench play) doesn't make it a bad title. If you asked me which I'd rather have – a new franchise mode or the improved line play that's now in the game, it's hard to ignore what I've actually experienced versus a hypothetical. The game is better because of it, and there's no going back.

Alone With You is an endearing adventure, albeit a flawed one. Despite its dark subject matter, it somehow remains to have a lighthearted tone with its pastel, washed-out aesthetic. I admired the different locations and existential tone, but longed for a more captivating storyline. Like the holographic cast it chronicles, this experience lacks a distinct personality, leaving it as a charming but forgettable adventure.

Metroid Prime: Federation Force features strong shooting mechanics, diverse missions, and a high level of challenge, but the frustrating matchmaking infrastructure and lack of checkpoints prevent it from truly achieving the greatness of its namesake.

F1 2016 has gained a lot of the ground the series has lost over the years, and hopefully Codemasters keeps building upon this excellent foundation. Having the official F1 license is a big responsibility that this title finally lives up to.

The narrative is often a slog (though it can be interesting and heady at times), and it devotes too much time to world-building and setup. As much as the game tries to highlight different walks of life, all of the characters, even Jensen, end up looking like faceless beings used to dump lore onto the player. I like seeing games tackle difficult subject matter, but that message, while occasionally coming through loud and clear, is ultimately lost in this dull and slow-moving story. It starts off with a bang, but quickly becomes a muddled mess of politics and techno-babble.

A beautiful, smartly designed game set in a gorgeous futuristic city, but with a story that doesn’t quite do it justice.

When I finished Deus Ex, I was mostly content with the four hours I had plugged into it. I occasionally felt clever at solving a tricky puzzle, and I liked the visual presentation. However, it didn’t sink its hooks into me like Hitman Go – a game I still return to occasionally years later. I doubt I’ll ever play Deus Ex Go again, but it was fun while it lasted.

No Man’s Sky rarely reaches beyond its vibrant world-building efforts to provide satisfying gameplay and story. Over dozens of hours of play, I couldn’t escape the sensation that I was playing one impossibly immense side mission, and I kept waiting for the real game to start.

Seeing Bound instantly begs the question, “What are you playing?” but its movement mechanics make it unsure if it wants to be an engaging platformer or a passive relaxing experience. It lives somewhere between the two worlds; never fully embracing either, but it sure looks pretty.

As an inclusive party game that only takes a few moments to get fun even for inexperienced players, Videoball succeeds. But for the lone player looking to partake in a different kind of esport, options are limited.

With a full crew, Videoball is a lot of fun. It hits that difficult-to-balance level of controlled chaos where a lot is happening on screen, but those playing and those watching can keep track of the action. It leaves plenty of room for close calls, last-second saves, and the equivalent of the slam dunk, but playing online proved difficult and the slow firing speed kept me feeling like I was coming up short.

As an inclusive party game that only takes a few moments to get fun even for inexperienced players, Videoball succeeds. But for the lone player looking to partake in a different kind of esport, options are limited.

Starbound is a satisfying space sandbox that rarely disappoints, with occasional minor bugs or mandatory missions offering minor quibbles with unbridled, endless exploration. This ambitious indie project has something for everyone buried within its retrograde graphical framework.