Maneater is a game that could have been good but was too obsessed with forcing players to interact with its low points to make its high points shine.

Mothergunship might not have been made with my specific gaming tastes in mind. But when a game tries so hard to tell me how to play and, worse, punishes me so harshly when I fail, I just can’t for the life of me imagine that any sort of gamer could find long-term enjoyment out of what it offers.

River City: Knights of Justice is a fun little side story in the Kunio-kun series. It's not exactly varied, but it features a satisfying challenge and familiar beat 'em up mechanics that fans are sure to love.

Crazy Machines 3 delivers on the machines and delivers on the crazy, and although it isn't for everyone there's a select group that'll love and cherish it despite its quirks. Unfortunately, it’s missing a hook, and has just enough quirks in the core gameplay that makes it frustrating for anyone outside that group. And a lot of cool ideas are held back by a few frustrating gameplay mechanics that need to be ironed out before Crazy Machines 4.

While the game borrows some of the best elements from Mario and Kirby (among others), it also suffers from some nasty issues of its own. The unpredictable nature of the game's obstacles and artificial difficulty do more harm than good, resulting in a product that's only good for short sessions rather than simply being an overall great game.

If you’re really, truly desperate for a new adventure-horror game in the vein of Dear Esther and you consider yourself to literally have the patience of a saint, at the very least Kholat will look and sound pretty as you play it. Anyone who doesn’t want to deal with tedious gameplay, a confusing story, or frustrating progress roadblocks however should steer clear.

As it stands right now Psychonauts In The Rhombus of Ruin is a fun little VR game that offers a few hours of entertainment but doesn’t nearly live up to its potential. If you’re a fan of the franchise and already own a good VR headset it’s more than worth the $20, but for anyone looking for more will probably be disappointed.

With a little more elbow grease and a lot more consideration for the hardware at hand, State of Decay: Survival Edition could've found a strong second life on the Xbox One. Instead, it feels like it was rushed in several corners, and despite its stacked content, it doesn't quite live up to its potential.

The Book of Unwritten Tales 2 is a decent return to a genre that's starting to emerge from the woodwork of other games on the market, but it's not quite a shining example. There's a question in regards to its pacing and execution in some spots, as well as some puzzles that can take time to resolve. That said, those that do get into the game will be rewarded with a worthy presentation and plenty of chuckles. If you're a fan of the genre, it's worth a look. But don't expect this Book to be absorbed so easily.

The silver lining of The Park's poor showing is that it could lead Funcom to try harder should it attempt subsequent single-player adventures. In the meantime however, The Park is one attraction you should definitely skip out on.

Melty Blood: Actress Again Current Code feels like a game that came out five years too late. It’s fun and interesting to play for a while, but French Bread has better games that you can play right now for a similar price.

If you are a die-hard Kingdom Hearts fan that loves the music and needs to play every game, then yeah, this game is for you. However, it just feels sloppy for a full-priced game. There are better rhythm games out there, and better Kingdom Hearts games out there, so unless you really need a combination of the two, you can safely pass this one up.

J-Stars Victory Vs. + mostly gets the job done when it comes to delivering a manic anime-based brawler for fans that have been waiting for the next Jump Superstars. But more could've easily been done with it, especially with the presentation and the fighting system.

Heavy Rain is a game best left to your memory. It makes a good case study for seeing how cinematic adventure games have evolved over time, but it just doesn’t have the quality of newer games in the genre.

Despite a strong connection between the choice-oriented gameplay and the script’s themes of free will and liberation, DBH’s exploration of these themes is ankle deep.

Not only does Sparkle Unleashed reek of being a mobile game, but a mostly unoriginal one at that.

It’s easy to see what Camel 101 was going for as it constructed Those Who Remain’s dark and foreboding world, but while the intent was noble, the execution leaves much to be desired. The game’s low price point might appeal to someone who’s desperate for a new game to play, but any wayward souls who come across the exit for Dormont while cruising the horror game highway should just keep on driving.

Super Dragon Ball Heroes: World Mission was a fun distraction that let me see what Gohan would look like if he could go Super Saiyan 4, but once the novelty wore off I went back to other, better looking, and better playing card games and Dragon Ball games.

Darksiders III will go down as the black sheep of the franchise. While the core gameplay itself is fun and it does a good enough job streamlining things with a more interesting cast of characters, it all just comes across as a bit too by-the-numbers to turn heads and doesn’t push boundaries enough to really stand out. If it weren’t for the technical issues this could be more highly-recommended, but as it stands, only die-hard fans should consider checking this one out.

As a long-time fan of the Xeno series, I found Xenoblade Chronicles 2 to be a disappointment. A little balance testing, some reduced system bloat, and a little more effort in presentation could have made it an RPG to remember. If you played Xenoblade Chronicles 2 with a cheat device or walkthrough it would probably improve the experience, because you could bypass all the boring grinding and rough difficulty spikes. As it is now, the game is kind of a mess. An addicting mess, yes, but still a mess.

Disintegration at least proves that, when properly tuned, the vehicle-based gameplay that’s normally presented as a one-off setpiece in most other FPS titles is capable of anchoring an entire game, especially when it’s paired off with a little RTS unit management. Unfortunately, in Disintegration’s case, that unique gameplay model isn’t strong enough to outshine the game’s lack of visual and functional polish.

This was a hard game to score because I really wanted to love it more than I did. The unique storytelling format and intense musical score carry what is an otherwise perplexing narrative that tries very hard to be profound but ends up feeling a bit muddled.

A difficult game that is best played in short, frustrating, happy bursts.

Budget Cuts is a fun VR game that creates an interesting, engaging world that’s worth exploring, but only if Neat Corporations can iron out the bugs that mar an otherwise fun experience.

A Matter of Family is an admirable attempt to bring a playable version of Batgirl into the Arkham fold but noticeable technical issues, severe narrative inconsistencies, and a main story that literally goes nowhere drag it down from the lofty heights of greatness.

Galak-Z: Variant S is an interesting mobile 2D action space adventure that feels right at home on the Switch as a casual title for playing on the way to work or on the train. Unfortunately, although the art style and gameplay are well put together and fun to play, the microtransactions severely hinder the experience.

To put it politely, Shenmue III has the potential to charm existing fans of the Shenmue saga, if only in how much it painstakingly recreates the stilted beauty of its two predecessors. However, if judged on its merits alone and/or by a non-Shenmue fan, this game just feels like a whole bunch of wasted Kickstarter money. If there’s one thing that Shenmue III proves, it’s that bringing new fans into the fold was never Ys Net’s goal.

A fun, pick-up-and-play brawler that’s perfect if you’re looking to play a more engaging brawler on the go. However, its lack of ancillary features and focus on linear grinding make it quite obvious that EA only wants those who pay real money to have any long-term enjoyment.

Had Devil May Cry 4: Special Edition addressed the real problems from the original game, while also keeping some of the high-profile additions, it could've really been something. Instead, it feels like a repackaging that doesn't quite have its heart in the right place.

Killing Floor: Incursion is a VR game that’s so close to being good that it’s upsetting how bad it actually is. There are moments when Incursion feels like the future of VR horror, but then you drop your gun for the 10th time while slowly moonwalking backwards away from a Fleshpounder and you want to scream in frustration and panic because the whole thing just feels like it doesn’t work. If you’re a die-hard fan of the Killing Floor franchise and happen to own an Oculus Rift, Incursion might be worth picking up for a steep discount, but if you’re on the HTC Vive we highly recommend you avoid this game until Tripwire gives it some TLC.

It's hard to recommend Blues and Bullets Episode 1 because it feels like two games in one. The first half feels tedious, confusing and poorly paced, but then the second really shows the promise that A Crowd of Monsters has put into the game. If Episode 2 can really keep up the momentum that the second half of Episode 1 had, we're in for a treat. Otherwise, this is one cold case you probably shouldn't open again.

The game is cute and looks great, but thanks to its control scheme, isn't very fun to play.

Star Fox Zero tries and fails to blend the nostalgic feel of StarFox 64 with new controls. While the game can be enjoyable and comes with some exciting moments, it is muddled down by unwieldy controls and bland level design.

Antigraviator has a strong foundation for an fast-paced sci-fi racer, but lacks the content and unique footprint to really stand out. It’s hard to recommend it over the likes of RedOut and WipEout, which offer highly similar experiences in much stronger overall packages.

If it's less costly in the future and you're interested in checking out experimental VR control schemes or really love prehistoric ocean creatures then it's worth a look, but its flaws were too much to ignore even for this die-hard dinosaur fan. [Tested with HTC Vive]

As far as Dead Rising games go, Dead Rising 4 may be dumbed down, but it’s still dumb fun.

An open world game needs to be engaging and exciting for dozens of hours, and JC4 doesn’t manage that feat. It has amusing moments, but it isn’t $60 worth of fun unless you really love the series. If you’re interested in this game, I suggest you wait til it drops to $25 on sale. It’s a nice distraction, but not much more than that.

I desperately wanted to enjoy Artifact, but it currently stands as a monument to the flaws of early CCG design. It’s random, it’s expensive, and it does a horrible job of teaching players both basic gameplay and high-level strategy.

Rocket Arena shows that there’s more to multiplayer shooters than just military sims and battle royale games. Unfortunately, the unappealing progression rewards and lack of engaging content limit its potential.

What could've been a turning point for the F1 series instead feels like the same old grind.

This is an instance of a fantastic game’s incredible potential being wasted on a mismanaged port. If you can grab it on a Steam sale and haven’t played it before, it might be worth a look, but as it stands you might as well wait for the inevitable release of the latest version on home consoles.

It feels like neither game really shines as intended.

As much as I loved the story mode in Super Bomberman R, I can’t help but feel like there was something missing. It felt almost too gimmicky and over-reached. The in-game cut scenes were drawn out and the story line is subpar at best. If you are looking for a good couch multiplayer game and you already have 1-2-Switch and Snipperclips, then this game might be worth a try, but I wouldn’t make this your first choice.

The near perfect mechanics of Battle for the Grid aren’t enough to make this a game worth playing. You’ll have a few fun nights with your buddies partaking in some ranger on ranger violence, but you’ll quickly find yourself returning to other mainstream fighting games.

Hyper Scape has promise, but it’s just so infuriating to play due to poor aiming controls. Some don’t seem to have a problem with it, as I see other PS4 players racking up kills all the time. Still, it’s better to wait and play something else until this gets fixed.

Dystoria is one of those games that you just know may go on to achieve cult status. It's certainly not without merit, but it stumbles a bit in its execution of an otherwise promising concept. If we ever get a sequel — and I hope we do — that game could be something truly special.

A vast improvement over the first game. Fixes most of the problems with the first game and accommodates players of all skill levels.

Zotrix could've been a spectacular homage to old-school shooters had the developers focused on tighter controls and a simpler menu interface. As it stands, though, it's deeply flawed, though some players will find mileage out of it due to its vast offerings and spectacular soundtrack. Give it a try before you buy if you can, just to see if the test drive is worth it.

Back to Bed on the PlayStation Network is a competent albeit unremarkable puzzler that's over before it can get satisfying. Great art and a decent bonus mode at least help to make the experience somewhat enjoyable, though the hefty $20 price is hardly worth paying when you can get it for much less elsewhere.

Assembly Required is nowhere near bad enough to stop you from continuing on your Minecraft adventure, but enough to raise some concerns about whether Episode 1 was a fluke.

While there is some fun to be found in Valkyria Revolution’s battle system, it’s just not worth sitting through the story bloat and excessive loading to get there.

Paper Mario: Color Splash could have been so much more than it was, but its attachment to Sticker Star’s failed mechanics holds it back.

Shining Resonance Refrain feels like a filler game. If you’ve been aching for a 3D action-RPG to sink some time into now that we’re entering the summer months that are often a lull in the game industry then this totally fits the bill, but it’ll do very little to surprise you.

Like so many other titles created using RPG Maker, Apocalypse Hotel is held down by the tools used to develop it. It's kind of fun, but only in short sessions.

While Deadpool certainly isn't as bad as other comic book fare on the market, it feels somewhat average with its rushed treatment on Xbox One and PlayStation 4. Had the developers added better visual details and made it much cheaper, we'd be talking a great value here. As it stands, though, only serious comic book fans or those looking for mindless action should invest. Others can easily wait for the movie and stuff themselves silly with tacos.

Wolfenstein: Cyberpilot is too light on content to make it worth the price, and what it does well is overshadowed by clunky locomotion and a lack of attention to detail in both level design and VR implementation. Ultimately, Wolfenstein: Cyberpilot feels like a tech demo more than a full length VR experience.

Need For Speed Payback is fun when you’re behind the wheel, but is constrained by questionable design decisions like an emphasis on a mediocre story and a wonky car upgrade system.

Overkill's The Walking Dead is pretty, but doesn’t do anything that we haven’t seen before in a number of other post-apocalyptic first- or third-person games.

The good news about Siegecraft Commander’s current state is that it has plenty of room (and clear directions) in which to grow, but unless there’s a pretty substantial day-one patch I’m not aware of, you should steer clear until Blowfish corrects the game’s many issues.

1-2-Switch serves as a nice tech demo to familiarize yourself with the Nintendo Switch console and Joy-Con controllers. It’s a unique experience, the type only Nintendo can provide. Unfortunately, though, the redundancy of the minigames means you’ll likely have fun for only a few hours, and then move on to more engaging games.

If you are a fan of One Punch Man you’ll probably get a kick out of A Hero Nobody Knows but don’t expect it to keep you playing long. For every minute of brilliance there is an hour of grinding to go along with it, and that’s trying even for the most dedicated fans of the Caped Baldy.

WrestleQuest is something wrestling fans will truly enjoy from a sentimental perspective. The story overstays its welcome a bit, but I loved the nostalgia in the storyline. You can clearly see the love of wrestling the development team had and their care with the different legends like Macho Man Randy Savage, Ric Flair, Sgt. Slaughter, and more.

There’s no doubt that some Jet Set Radio fans hungry for more will enjoy Bomb Rush Cyberfunk. I’ve been waiting for this series’ return in spirit along with the rest of them, but in the end, it did little more than inspire nostalgia for the original, gorgeous though it may be.

Now I wasn’t expecting Payday 3 to match its predecessor in terms of quality right off the bat (and let’s be fair, Payday 2 is a much different animal today than when it launched), but even with my expectations lowered a bit, I was still pretty disappointed with what we got.

While Fae Farm removes a lot of friction from the farming sim formula, it doesn’t add much to it.

A decent fighter, and it’s nice that it got an English release. Anime and Arc System Works fans will be at home here, but fighting fans may find it too generic.

Had the team at Gateway implemented better controls, more diversity in level design and other features, Spectra could've easily been on its way to becoming a cult classic for this generation. As it stands, it's not bad for a $5 purchase, but more could've been done with it.

Assassin's Creed Chronicles: India looks authentic, but has lackluster audio; the story just doesn't compare to previous Creed games; the gameplay has its moments but not enough of them; and, well, China was just more of a bad-ass example, and didn't make you pace yourself through tedious segments. It leaves me wondering just where the final chapter of the Chronicles saga, Russia, will end up when it debuts in a few weeks.

Redout: Space Assault is a reminder that I should fire up Star Wars: Squadrons again. While it’s visually appealing given its discount price, it fails to deliver fun and engaging mechanics. If you want an indie and don’t dig on Star Wars, there’s House of the Dying Sun, an excellent indie that’s over four years old and retails for $20. Even in a genre as niche as the space shooter, there are better options available.

Pokémon Rumble World has its fun moments, but it takes a bit too long to get there and once there it plateaus quickly and falls off.

Crackdown 3 does its best to ride on an action-packed wave of nostalgia, but in the end all it succeeds in doing is face-planting straight into a morass of tedium and frustration. Even the most stalwart Crackdown fans will likely wonder if the long wait was worth the final result.

Sorry Netflix, but this one needed another QA pass. I will be the first to admit that I didn’t finish Age of Resistance Tactics. All it did was make me want to watch the Netflix series again, and I did! Because it’s awesome! But I didn’t need a $20 game to remind me of that.

Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2 combines two exciting properties into an uninspired package.

I’m not going to go so far as to call Generation Zero a straight cash grab, but charging $40 for a game that was clearly rushed out the door is a hard sin to ignore. I’m not entirely sure what Avalanche’s final vision for Generation Zero was, but it clearly wasn’t confident enough in that vision to give the game the proper care and resources that were required.

A:THO ignores the mechanical DNA that make open world games and survival RPGs so much fun. There’s nothing revolutionary about depriving you of map functionality and an adequate tutorial. This isn’t an evolution so much as a freak mutation that will die off in the wild. There are other games that achieve what A:THO attempts; play them instead.

Rain World will probably establish a cult following, which is great because it deserves a fan base for its thoughtful ideas. Unfortunately, too many factors get in the way of what very well could've been one of 2017's most interesting indies.

With a ton of content, Ride 2 has some great ambitions. But at the end of the day, the game looks great but plays horribly.

Sonic Forces is a disappointing rehash of everything that has been done wrong with the Sonic franchise in the past. There were some good ideas here, but none of them were executed in a way that was fun or enjoyable.

Had Nintendo taken the time to produce a sequel with the same amount of depth as the original Chibi-Robo, we'd be getting somewhere. But Zip Lash just feels like a routine platformer, not offering enough bang for the buck to satisfy die-hard fans of the series. Kids may get a kick out of it, but more could've been done to assure a long-lasting life for our environmental hero. Here's hoping we haven't seen the last of him.

Sadly, because of the lackluster characters in Perils of Man, the game cracks under the weight of its own storytelling.

Twin Mirror is the inferior Dontnod offering of 2020, and probably one of their most disappointing games yet. It is mediocre in every sense, failing to live up to the potential of its concept and the reputation of its developer.

Corpse of Discovery could've been a worthwhile narrative experience had it not been ruined by its massive performance issues and obnoxious platforming gameplay.

Syren is an interesting survival horror game that lacks the polish to come together as a quality title.

You can squeeze a few hours of fun out of Scribblenauts Showdown, but frankly this isn’t the next-generation Scribblenauts game that fans of the original were hoping for. It has fewer puzzles, worse controls and less replay value than any other Scribblenauts title.

Earth Defense Force 2 isn't a great game, it's merely a serviceable third-person shooter where the goal is to kill giant insects. If that sounds at all appealing to you, then you're probably the right audience for this game.

While NBA Live 16 is still a slightly better game than what EA Sports has produced over the past couple of years, it still doesn't even come close to feeling like a complete package. The gameplay is fundamentally flawed, mainly with the inaccuracy of the AI and shooting system, and the presentation needs sprucing up, especially in terms of commentary.

In a world where you can pick up The Last of Us Remastered for a song, there’s no reason to waste your time on Earthblood. Paradox Interactive is no stranger to game development. I wonder which team lead is asleep at the wheel such that Earthblood was allowed to go out the door in its current state.

Vane is a unique, almost-therapeutic experience with a magical world to explore. Unfortunately, the controls are pretty awful. If you can deal with that major issue, though, you'll find a somewhat worthwhile adventure.

Windbound is a game that sounds good on paper but in practice, it falls apart. It’s a very interesting case study in design that takes inspiration from certain games yet doesn’t quite understand what made them fun in the first place.

Phantom Doctrine has a lot of competition in the broader turn-based strategy genre and its unique Cold War-era setting isn’t quite enough to really set it apart when all the cards are down. While the setting is great and fresh, the generally lackluster gameplay and mismatch of mechanics hold it back from feeling as clean as it should. Its best moments seem to happen almost completely at random or by accident instead of by design.

The lack of passion Dambuster Studios clearly felt when developing Homefront: The Revolution shines through in the game’s lackluster story, bland gameplay, and misused setting. Even if you enjoyed the original Homefront, you’re better off sitting this revolution out.

Baseball Riot could've done more with its gameplay to stretch its wings and not try to be another Angry Birds. Instead, it just doesn't do enough, and only hardcore baseball fans – or those seeking out an interesting but flawed puzzle game – will want to invest. Everyone else can easily look elsewhere to take their batting practice.

Lifeless Planet could've been so much more had key decisions been made with less limited breathing, more intricate puzzles, environmental expansion and better gameplay. Instead, it feels more like a second rate space adventure rather than the equivalent of 2001: A Space Odyssey. Oh, what could've been in the stars.

Overall, the narrative is predictable while set in an interesting world, and the movement is slick and enjoyable, but the constant back-tracking to collect more keys weighs down the experience. It’s unfortunate that the game couldn’t be tightened up under Microsoft’s tutelage, because ReCore has nuggets of good ideas buried beneath the monotony and tedium of its primary activities.

The fact that Sword Coast Legends ultimately wound up being a disappointing flop is especially disheartening since it was clear during the game’s run up to launch that N-Space was very passionate about the project. I’m not entirely sure what went wrong, but sadly I do know that D&D fans will need to look elsewhere for a proper digital conversion of the pen-and-paper game’s 5th Edition.

While it’s understandable that Square Enix wanted to create a Star Ocean more like the fondly remembered early titles of the series, they seem to have forgotten what made those titles great. Whatever it was, Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness has none of it.

What started as a fantastic idea ended up as a pile of wasted potential.

Submerged just ends up being a disappointment. Great ideas in the storytelling and presentation are lost with a poor connection to characters and truly lacking gameplay. All the great intentions in the world don't mean anything if they don't convey into a fun game experience. Go play Journey instead.