With so many annoyances fixed, this feels like the game Odin Sphere was meant to be. The presentation is top-notch, and the action is fast-paced and satisfying.

Fighting, moving, and pulling off cooperative attacks as the Turtles is enjoyable, but it’s difficult to find fun in the world and routine in which they exist.

Despite all the technical problems, I still managed to finish Homefront's campaign, but I can't say I had fun. All of the game's ambitions are undone by its flaws, offering only the rare glimpse of what could have been. Dambuster has already stated they are committed to improving the game with additional patches, but given everything that's currently wrong, the studio faces a greater uphill battle than Homefront's desperate underdogs.

The good news is CD Projekt crafted a wonderful expansion for his sendoff that captures the series' trademarks: unexpected twists, tough choices, and intense battles. With its vast new area and involved plot, Blood and Wine feels like a full game; don't expect a simple side story with a few set of quests scattered about. It feels on par with the quality and creativity of Wild Hunt, and I loved it.

Blood and Wine is an example of an expansion that takes advantage of providing top-notch new content. The whole expansion is an adrenaline rush, reminding me of the intense pacing of Wild Hunt's final act. It also has plenty nods to Geralt and his friends that longtime fans are sure to enjoy. You never know when a past character may make an appearance or be mentioned. The world has so much depth and excitement; Blood and Wine is a great way to spend your last days as Geralt.

The whole expansion is an adrenaline rush, reminding me of the intense pacing of Wild Hunt's final act. It also has plenty nods to Geralt and his friends that longtime fans are sure to enjoy. You never know when a past character may make an appearance or be mentioned. The world has so much depth and excitement; Blood and Wine is a great way to spend your last days as Geralt.

Planet Robobot is entertaining, flows well, and never overstays its new mechanics… but occasionally feels like a retread with a mechanical theme. It does find something to differentiate itself, however, with its ending which takes a surprising leap from the established Kirby norms for a wholly surprising and engaging climax. The game extends past its final boss with completely different gameplay that works as a great finale.

Overwatch is an amazing experience. It’s fresh and consistently fun, with matches that are great in random groups, but astonishingly good when played with friends. Blizzard has taken its masterful art of polishing and perfection to the team shooter, and things will never be the same.

Stellaris’ early game is full of exploration and promise, and the small nuggets of fiction I picked up after discovering an abandoned research station or dissecting the corpse of a space giant helped draw me into the fantasy that I was truly exploring the unknown. Unfortunately, the game eventually settles into a grind as you either try to convince neighboring aliens to become your vassals or slowly build up an army to forcefully take over their worlds. The rewarding moments are still there, but they’re spaced out significantly. Taking over the galaxy turns out to be a lot of work, but it’s a worthwhile mission for would-be explorers.

Total War: Warhammer is one of the best Total War games I’ve ever played, and fans of either franchise should find themselves with a winner here. Those looking for more historically rooted fare may find the fantasy over the top, but plenty of solid strategy lurks under the magic and mayhem.

The campaign steals the show, performing at a level the other modes can't match. The straightforward competitive multiplayer recalls the glory days of arena shooters like Quake or Unreal, largely relying on the rush of circle strafing duels to keep players engaged. The standard fare of mode varieties and cosmetics-driven progression check off the boxes of a fully featured experience, but unlike the campaign, it feels generic.

Driven largely by its successful single-player campaign, Doom is a welcome return to form for the genre-defining franchise. By sticking to time-worn traditions in all the right places and deftly employing some modern flourishes, id has rediscovered what made this demon slaying series so successful. Multiplayer and SnapMap don’t reach the same heights, but shooters fans shouldn’t miss this bloodthirsty romp through hell.

Driven largely by its successful single-player campaign, Doom is a welcome return to form for the genre-defining franchise. By sticking to time-worn traditions in all the right places and deftly employing some modern flourishes, id has rediscovered what made this demon slaying series so successful. Multiplayer and SnapMap don’t reach the same heights, but shooters fans shouldn’t miss this bloodthirsty romp through hell.

Playing cards in connection to successfully racing a horse is a bizarre overlap I did not expect to enjoy.

I applaud the ambition, but not every grand venture ends with triumph.

A Thief End’s is the best Uncharted yet, delivering a story I didn’t want to end, and an adventure that concludes with a hell of a payoff. The “wow” factor of the world exploding under Drake’s feet has diminished in the years following Uncharted 2, but those moments are still effective, and a true showpiece of the developer’s exquisite craftsmanship for world and gameplay design.

Play with a well-balanced cooperative team, stay in parity with your levels, and conserve ammo. Do so, and Alienation offers one of the best twin-stick experiences on the market. Add in a deep progression system and lots of ways to enjoy replaying, and it’s only balance issues that hold me back from the same fervent recommendation I apply to most Housemarque releases.

It can sometimes be literally painful to make your way up to the top of the mountain, but the reward is impressive. Being in VR adds a level of believable mobility where you can track and admire the progress you make by pausing and looking around. I felt like I was up high, and the reward of getting to simply look around when making it to the top is one worth pursuing. Some of my favorite moments involved trying to figure out where the ambient sound of birds or helicopters were coming from as I looked around, taking a break from the climb. Unfortunately, the impressive vistas were not enough to keep me from dreading the next ascent. [Tested with Oculus Rift]

Whispers of the Old Gods succeeds on multiple levels, shaking up the competitive scene with a variety of new deck types to experiment with and combining flavor and mechanics to create interesting fun new cards.

I obsessed over Stephen's Sausage Roll for several nights in a row and ended up rolling sausages around in my dreams. Thankfully, Stephen’s Sausage Roll is an obsession worth having.

In addition to telling its own capsule story about how Graham got his groove on, Once Upon A Climb also continues to propel the narrative about Manny and his brother, which has been a continuing thread – along with old Graham’s failing health. Judging from Graham’s condition, it seems ever-so-likely that this tale will have a bittersweet ending. In the meantime, I’m enjoying the journey.

Though my playthrough only lasted around five hours, I wanted more. Shortly after I finished the story, I dove back in to explore every path I didn’t already venture down with my new powers in tow. The draw to keep playing and exploring immediately after I finished is a testament to how much I enjoyed Severed.

It’s a great conclusion, and hopefully a sign that Telltale still has some surprises when it comes to interactive storytelling.

Radial-G has more going for it than a paltry tech demo. Its tracks – while not outstanding – show some thoughtful design by stringing together a few noticeable moments every lap. The game doesn’t elevate the Rift or VR to the height of its powers, but it also wouldn’t be the same by itself. [Tested with Oculus Rift]

That potential clearly exists in the final version, but woefully underdeveloped single-player and multiplayer offerings ultimately suck the air out of the cockpit. [Tested with Oculus Rift]

Job Simulator lives up to its own ambitions, presenting a compact, cute, and accessible showcase for interacting with virtual locations. [Tested with Vive]

While many of Vive’s launch applications are demos or betas, Audioshield is a solid and complete game, and its ability to read and create playable tracks from any piece of music provides effectively endless replay value. This is an early testament to the power of VR to create novel experiences in established genres, and music-game faithful should seek an opportunity to at least try out this new take on interactive music play. [Tested with Vive]

Playful Corp can be commended for adopting a classic genre to VR, as well as releasing a game with a high level of polish, but thrills are fleeting and the fun rarely surfaces as Lucky hunts for his dear pig friend. [Tested with Oculus Rift]