In an era full of triple-A self-seriousness and open-world games that feel like they’re little more than busy work, Criterion reminds us that we don’t all need to follow the same template. Over a decade after release, Burnout Paradise is still the king of open-world racers, proving that a simple gameplay loop is often the most effective.

It doesn’t really matter whether Five Nights at Freddy’s: Help Wanted is good or not — all that matters is whether the shocks it offers can startle the player. By that metric, it’s a passable success in docked mode. I won’t say the game isn’t scary, but I will say that it doesn’t have much to offer past that.

Like the team’s previous work, Never Alone, Beyond Blue shares informative content via a genuine love for its topic. I can easily imagine pre-teens picking this up and wanting to be marine biologists, in the same way that I wanted to become a skateboarder, or how one might want to be a paleontologist after walking out of Jurassic Park.

In spite of its issues and a lack of ambition, Alwa’s Legacy is a solid, predictable experience. The platforming feels precise, exploring is enjoyable and it feels rewarding when using skills that can help navigate dungeons and defeat a deadly boss. For fans of metroidvanias or Zelda, it’s worth taking a look — just don’t expect the unexpected.

Mind Control Delete ultimately feels like an arcade-mode add-on that should’ve been included with the original release. Although it’s novel, I value the original’s audacity in presenting a brilliant idea without wasting any of my time. Mind Control Delete feels like the antithesis of that – it’s a bloated diversion that exists to provide more hours of gameplay without any larger purpose. It’s just more for the sake of more, and after my time with it, I’d say it’s actually too much, too late.

Games can have messages, but they can also be a venue in which we act out our most twisted fantasies free of judgment and consequence.

It’s in those quiet moments when it ventures furthest away from Silent Hill‘s template that Someday You’ll Return becomes a beautiful, unsettling delight. Unfortunately, the game forgets its strengths towards the end, and as a result, the ending sags and is much less urgent and interesting than the middle.

Little Town Hero looks great and the combat has a nice puzzle-like quality, but it’s hurt significantly by random elements punishing the player and battles dragging out for so long. It’s got a quirky charm that a certain kind of player will love, but that kind of player is not me.

Despite the small bugs and a skewed economy that diminishes the experience, West of Dead is still something I can’t put down. The developers seem committed to fixes and I expect the experience to improve as time goes on, but it’s already an incredibly solid game that I enjoy and can easily recommend.

Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus is a clear win for fans of tactics and 40K alike. The gameplay is rich, detailed and nuanced, and the concept, aesthetics and style are some of the best uses of the Warhammer license to date. No matter which way it’s sliced by a sharp, articulated tentacle, this one’s a winner.

There are other things I could complain about, like the occasional bug or strange hitboxes, but I appreciated that Neversong never tries to be more than it is, and everything it offers is meant to be in service of its heartfelt story of loss and hope. I felt ruined by the ending, but I will say that it also leaves some things to the player’s imagination.

Ion Fury pays homage to something that is no longer welcome in modern gaming. Taken in with knowledge of the slurs and the -phobic, sexist comments, it recontextualizes what I saw and heard, and gives the content a misogynistic feel. Whilst I found Ion Fury to be enjoyable as an isolated piece of content, it’s impossible to ignore the context it’s in — as such, I find it hard to recommend.

There’s plenty to appreciate for turn-based tactics fans willing to look past the terrible virtual cover art and learn the nuances of Depth of Extinction‘s combat, or for fans looking for something a bit different than the usual XCOM combat — just keep in mind that it might be difficult to find just the right amount of challenge.

At the end of the day, it’s true that PCM 2020 delivers the series’ most realistic version of either managing or being a professional cyclist, but issues of technical quality and system design mean that it’s far from the experience it could be.

Overall, Super Mega Baseball 3 is everything I’ve ever wanted in a baseball game. The jump to triple-A pricing may be a shock for series fans, but SMB3 is worth every penny.

In the end, Brigandine: Legend of Runersia is one of the finest turn-based wargames on consoles in years. The concepts aren’t necessarily new or even deep compared to others in the genre, but they are masterfully rendered in service of a narrative that brings wargaming’s original sin forward into a harsh light.

It’s a bold, funny, scary, unbelievably intense way of getting closure for the previous game. As such, it’s a masterpiece that’s difficult to recommend because it can only be fully appreciated by those who are already deeply invested in Zach’s story. Still, I have to recommend it because it provides a more powerful ending to the Deadly Premonition story than I ever would have expected, and a better experience than we probably deserve.

Whilst Edna & Harvey: The Breakout – Anniversary Edition does have some mechanical and design problems on top of the inconsistent tone and humor, I can’t say that I didn’t enjoy my time with it — the issues I had stem more from the genre as it was more than a decade ago, and the fact that I have lost patience for its foibles. However, for players who enjoy the classic flavor of the genre and its often-maddening conventions, this one is sure to satisfy.

Evan’s Remains is a beautiful, cleverly designed experience with themes that stretch far beyond its premise of a girl on a mission in uncharted territory. Spending time with it made me ponder the nature of gameplay and of how storytelling is used in games in a way few others have.

Those Who Remain is a morally shallow experience with a repetitive plot. A few decent puzzles can’t rescue this otherwise-flat experience, and I was glad to be done with it when the credits rolled.

I finished The Last Of Us Part II feeling depressed, but not for the reasons the developer might have intended — Naughty Dog is an immensely talented studio with resources that many devs can only dream of, yet their achievements in presentation are held back by a lack of mechanical evolution and uninspired gameplay. The Last Of Us Part II is a journey worth tolerating for the sake of what it gets right, but when it comes down to it, I feel exactly the same way about it as I did about the first one — I wish it was a book.

Project Warlock is a pedal-to-the-metal, shoot first and don’t ask questions later FPS that would have been right at home on an early ‘90s PC, and players who enjoy that style are in for a treat. Solid art design, excellent gameplay, and just enough challenge make Project Warlock one hell of an experience for fans of the genre while paying tribute to the classics that inspired it.

Sadly, my drive to persist was sapped by a series of glitches in one section that led me to replay the same should-have-been-easy bit over and over again. That was bad enough, but combined with the poor controls, lack of engaging gameplay, an inability to manually save and infrequent checkpoints, every session was a slog. Writing a negative review for Spirit of the North is tough because on paper, it seems like something I’d fall in love with. That said, it’s just not a good experience — my appreciation for its non-violent content and environmental themes can’t carry its many shortcomings.

As far as deckbuilders go, Monster Train is fantastic. The general strategy and the quirks of fighting on a multi-leveled train make it stand out as its own sort of unique puzzle that rewards players for cleverness. The runs are fast, it’s easy to learn, and the challenge modes give it plenty of depth and replay. Get on board before it leaves the station!

While light on modes and depth, Fort Triumph’s largely enjoyable campaign and satisfying turn-based combat are attractive enough to keep a player’s interest from start to finish. Flinging rocks to smash trolls and setting the ground ablaze to scorch goblins doesn’t get old, and the multiple difficulty settings and permadeath options can challenge even more experienced tactical fans.

I love a great third-person actioner, and I’m hard-pressed to think of one that nails the formula as perfectly as Nioh 2 does. The systems are pleasantly crunchy and there are a ton to dig into, the moment-to-moment fights get my blood pumping, and the artwork and theming are all spot-on. Too much of a good thing is too much of a good thing, but Nioh 2 is exactly the right amount.

Battle for Bikini Bottom – Rehydrated is an enjoyable (if unremarkable) experience. We may not get as many low-budget licensed titles as we did back then, but this remake is sure to please players who still have a soft spot for that style of game, or for SpongeBob — either way, it’s a treat to revisit that pineapple under the sea.

I was hoping that Daymare: 1998‘s intentionally schlocky feel and cheesy voice acting it would result in an enjoyably old-school experience that Capcom’s re-releases don’t quite nail, but the technical issues, dull action and lack of fresh ideas mean it’s never more than a pale imitation of the real thing.

Unfortunately, this version of Mafia II feels like a barely-touched-up version of a last-gen game that constantly tested my patience and despite my love for the script, I can’t recommend that anyone play through hours and hours of a mediocre, buggy mess just to see the cutscenes. In its current state, Mafia II: Definitive Edition is not worth a player’s time or money — without any further improvements or substantial patches, this one needs to sleep with the fishes.

As experiments go, The Dread X Collection is a complete success. Out of ten games I found four to be legitimately wonderful, and I only regret loading up two. That’s an incredible ratio for a game jam, and the highs more than justify the paltry purchase price. I don’t know if I’ll ever get to see expanded versions of any of these works, but I’m happy that I got to see developers going hog-wild and coming up with truly unique experiences.

Galaxy Warfighter was good for about an hour of play, but to just got too repetitive after that. I kept going through mission after mission hoping for a new boss or an enemy that would keep things fresh, but that hope faded as I kept flying the same missions for what felt like endless waves.

Since it’s a multiplayer-only title with exactly one mode, Hunting Grounds was clearly banking on the strength of its premise. Failing that, there’s just not much to it, and players will have seen everything there is to see after just a few matches. Maybe we should take this as a signal to stop trying to make Predator games a thing — if this didn’t work, I’m doubtful that anything will.

Help Will Come Tomorrow is rich with nuance and content, and it often doesn’t end well, but those looking for a survival game with focus on dialogue or those wanting to get a taste of an interesting period of Russian history should check into it with no hesitation.

Like Shadow Tactics before it, Desperados III is one of the best tactics games available, and certainly one of the most satisfying titles I’ve played this year. It’s a finely-tuned masterpiece of Swiss-watch construction, polished in every respect and delivering the kind of tuned cerebral action that isn’t easily found. For fans of complex strategic gameplay, they just don’t come better than this.

Arcade Spirits put me in the shoes of a character that faces many of the same struggles I have in my own life… but it also let me escape into a world where arcades are social places for gamers, full of friends and romantic interests. It’s an odd mix of fantastical elements and certainly no real life friend group would have that many attractive singles in it, but all in all, it’s an entertaining, heartwarming title that I think many will enjoy.

There’s very little to recommend BE-A Walker. The control concept just doesn’t work, and the design of the levels and encounters is abysmal. The core of its problems is due to choosing to focus on a colonial Goliath rather than an aboriginal David, but even on its own terms almost every aspect of BE-A Walker misses the mark.

The combat is solid, the characters are interesting, and like the ocean the ship sails over floats over, the developers have ensured that their work has impressive depth.

Despite this slightly middling RPG addition, there’s not much to knock Granblue Fantasy Versus for. Purists may scoff at the low barrier to entry, and there’s not many characters to choose from without dipping into the DLC offerings, but it’s still a beautifully-presented fighter that holds its own. It’s just a shame there’s not more of it.

I generally enjoyed my time with My Hero One’s Justice 2 as someone who had some familiarity with the IP and I’m sure that fans of the show will find content to enjoy here. On the other hand, it’s a poor place for newcomers to jump in and the fighting isn’t good enough for those who might want a good dose of anime-styled fisticuffs.

I could almost recommend Doug Hates His Job as a cheap, quick palate cleanser between meatier experiences, but for just a few dollars more than what Doug costs, any number of better experiences could be had. It’s tough to make a case for purchase here.

While it’s great that so much has been added to a classic, even with exploration elements, new attack balls, and a shiny coat of paint, Pong Quest can quickly become repetitive. It’s enjoyable in small doses, but ultimately, it’s still just Pong.

STATIONflow is great management content, not just because it makes the player feel like they’re learning something fascinating, but because it’s generally so easy to get into. The virtual ant farm that pours out from each arriving train is a pleasure to simply observe, and being able to optimize their journeys and make their virtual lives a little simpler feels like a bonus.

Fury Unleashed can be tough as nails for many reasons, but thanks to developers that embrace the idea that someone should be able to adjust difficulty to their own abilities and tastes, players of all skill levels will find something to enjoy about this roguelite shooter.

Mortal Kombat 11 was already fantastic, and Aftermath gave me the perfect excuse to revisit it. It looks great, it plays great, and for players (like me) who would rather not get beaten to a pulp by the savants online, dipping in for some drama and a few offline matches is hard to beat. The price is an eyebrow-raiser for players that have already put money in, but for anyone who enjoyed MK11 and wants more, this is a no-brainer.

Seeing my custom character discuss very serious plans while wearing samurai armor and an angry tiger mask is the best comedic relief any game has offered me in the past ten years, and replaying it brought me back to a time in middle school when I wanted nothing but open-world. It’s also the perfect starting point for those new to the series, and any game that lets me dress up as a hot dog while flying on a motorized broomstick deserves a glowing recommendation.

While the central quest in Boot Hill Bounties may have been cliche and the gameplay slightly disappointing, the time spent with my crew made it worthwhile. This Western yarn might not be a consistently excellent experience, but it still reminded me of how much I love the Wild West.

Like some of the narrative choices, it’s hard to know how to feel about Cloudpunk — and maybe that’s the point. It’s well-written and lovingly constructed, but it’s sometimes hard to appreciate as much as I’d like to thanks to the pacing issues. However, despite the problems, it’s definitely a journey worth taking — just go into it knowing that a little patience in some spots is required.

A terrific execution of a merely okay idea is still a lot further than most developers get, however, and the VR implementation heightens the immersion factor just enough to make The Persistence worth checking out. Those with a headset will find The Persistence a considerably more refined product than the average VR title, but anyone who intends on playing it flat may find it a bit too routine.

Book of Demons isn’t likely to hold the attention of hardcore dungeon crawl enthusiasts or those who don’t care for loot-heavy titles like this one. However, players who are new to this style of game or those looking for something on the simpler side would be well-served to check this one out.

Playing solo can still be entertaining, but the moments of loneliness hang over the player like a cloud while they’re traveling from point A to point B. In the end, it comes down to personal preference — some will enjoy the solemn journeys found in Appalachia, while others will only play when friends are online, but even without them, the Wastelanders update is a step in the right direction.

In the end, Pirates Outlaws is a hidden gem of a game. It’s easy to pick up, has a wide variety of characters and strategies, and also offers enough depth for deckbuilding players players who really like to dig in. Strongly recommended!

For those craving some deliciously cheesy B-movie flavor wrapped around a concise open-world core, Maneater delivers.

Telling Lies is a fantastic game…On PC. On consoles it’s playable, and for those who don’t have any other alternative it’ll do in a pinch, but playing with a mouse and keyboard is the way to go. The experience is so thematically intertwined with the pretense of using a personal computer that a lot is lost in the translation to home consoles. Considering the low system requirements, anyone with a relatively recent laptop should be able to run the PC version, making the console versions obsolete on arrival. The devs did the best they could with the port, but it’s still a distant second best to the original.

There are tons of games out there that play fine, but Atomicrops offers little to make it a memorable, worthwhile experience amidst so much stiff competition on the Switch. I’m guessing that with another year and a few content updates, Atomicrops will be a fantastic little actioner, but in its current state it comes across like an Early Access release that’s hit the eShop too soon.

While the graphics are on the simple side and getting someone excited about the petroleum industry is a hard sell when we’re concerned with global warming and the future of the planet, I still found a great deal to like about Turmoil: the Heat is On. I appreciated its approachability, it led to a few good conversations about economics with my son, and it also helped that the oil I was drilling was just pretend — with no ecological damage being done, I could just relax and enjoy the systems.

Overall, Construction Simulator 3: Console Edition is clearly meant for those who enjoy sims of this caliber. Myself? As a first-timer to this genre, I found it to be enjoyable, if a bit lacking. The moments where I was essentially role-playing as a construction worker were exhilarating, and the moment-to-moment gameplay kept me hooked. Unfortunately, the visuals hold it back and a little more polish on little things would go a long way. For now, though, I’m not quitting my day job to join a construction crew…

As a fan of character-driven stories and making choices in games, Yes, Your Grace stood out as one of the best I’d played in a long time — even after the credits rolled, I still felt regret over some decisions and joy for others. The creators did a fantastic job weaving their interconnected stories together and deliver more emotion and intrigue than most triple-A studios manage. I’ll be thinking about this one for a long time to come.

Players who value length in a title might be disappointed, as it’s possible to get one of Calvary’s worse endings in about 15 minutes. Even diligently working through all the puzzles the “right” way won’t extend the campaign to more than a few hours at most, but to me, this matters little. The Procession to Calvary may not be an epic, but I enjoyed looking at it, playing it, and the things it made me think about. That’s more than I can say for many games that sustain whole weeks of playtime.

For players who have yet to pick up the game, it’s hard to beat the value provided in this package. That said, it’s safe to say that this is for genre fans only — this game scratches a very specific itch, and not everyone will want to scratch it.

It is a massive shame to feel like I can’t enthusiastically endorse Wartile — it has a winning visual style and the seed of a novel idea, but that seed doesn’t bear a fully-formed fruit.

Despite the super armor mechanic, there’s still an absolute ton to love about Streets of Rage 4. The enhanced combo engine is a neat addition that can lead to some seriously insane beatdowns, four player local co-op’s great, and the sleek graphical style, fantastic music and bonus retro characters are all excellent accompaniments to an undeniably strong entry in the 2D beat-’em-up genre. It’s a truly wonderful return to form for a beloved gaming franchise that’s been absent for far too long.

I finished Later Daters in less than two hours and wasn’t sure that I experienced the entire game. After doing some follow-up research I discovered that this release is only the first half of the full experience. It’s good to know more is coming later, but this content is just too brief and the chapters offered don’t come to any strong conclusions. Unfortunately, this brevity hurts Later Daters in its current iteration. I suspect a full review of the entire game would be positive, but this ambitious visual novel simply feels incomplete at the moment — I suggest anyone interested wait until later this year when they’re able to experience the narrative in its entirety.

The Eternal Castle Remastered isn’t for everyone and I can easily imagine many prospective players being turned off by the controls or the abstract visuals, but there’s no denying the fact that it’s a strong addition which adds depth to the Switch library, and it comes absolutely recommended to anyone with a taste for those bygone classics or eccentric art-house titles.

Tortuga Team is the real deal when it comes to turn-based tactics, and this entry is a perfect fit for the Switch — I loved every minute of it.

I would recommend any Doom fan give Doom 64 a try if they missed it the first time around, and in some ways it’s become my favourite Doom game. For me, it scratches that simple classic Doom itchthat Doom Eternal can sometimes lack, and does so with a unique visual style and atmosphere that makes it feel fresh, whilst also aping my early memories of Doom.

Neverwinter Nights deserves better than this tragically compromised port for the Nintendo Switch. With no supplemental content to help explain the tabletop fundamentals or to describe the immense impact it had when it originally released, players are left with precious few reasons to struggle through a creaky real-time combat engine hampered by countless technical hitches and clunky controls. Even though its tale of plague-ridden devastation is especially haunting with the coronavirus lingering at the forefront of our collective discourse, everything else about this game fares poorly in modern times.

I find Alder’s Blood in a very strange position. The aesthetic, combat, and ideas drew me into the shadows of its world. However, the bugs, design issues and general lack of polish have killed my drive to continue playing. I might come back to it in the future once it’s been patched, but not until it’s had a lot more time to polish off its rough edges.

While I’m sure developer Hello Games is still tweaking things and perhaps even creating more content for No Man’s Sky, the current state of affairs is a strong one. This galactic opus still offers an infinite amount of content for those who want to lose themselves among the stars, but now also contains a concrete throughline that will satisfy a wider array of players. It can be irritating at times, but it’s also full of stunning moments and the satisfaction of building a virtual life among the stars. Four years after launch, it’s finally a journey worth taking.

Despite thoroughly grasping rules of Tharsis and even being able to offer advice on how to be more successful to others, my winning runs were entirely due to luck. Chance might be a solid basis for gambling or having a good time with friends, but when it comes to single player games, I should have a bit more say in whether my crew survives or not.

Even with all its technical flaws and strategic hiccups, Phoenix Point manages to pull together some of the best aspects of classic and contemporary turn-based tactical design and, in doing so, it somehow leaves me wanting more. It’s not a recommendation that comes without caveats thanks to the bugs and hiccups, but the struggle is worth it.

Hyperparasite is a blast to play. The sheer variety of characters, each with their own style to learn, kept me coming back hour after hour. I liked the look, the endless references, and the multiple routes through each level. If only the developers hadn’t been so hellbent on making it into such an uphill slog I probably would have finished it! As it stands, it’s just too unfriendly to players and I can’t recommend it.

Stale references aside, 60 Seconds! is incredibly entertaining in short bursts, and an easy recommendation to those looking for short, cheerful bursts of desperate apocalyptic survival.

I zipped through The Inner Friend in under two hours, but I’d imagine it could be completed even more quickly — I wasn’t good at the chase scenes, and kept getting kicked back to checkpoints. However, even with a short running time, this beautiful story about loss, trauma, and finding the strength to rebuild oneself after falling to pieces is a beautiful experience. It’s stunning, in a broken, decayed way, and I’d recommend it to nearly anyone who’s willing to take a chance on a game built around storytelling without words.

Overall, Under Night In-Birth Exe:Late [cl-r] is a great fighting game with a verbose and tiresome visual novel added in. The combat is enjoyable, there’s tons to unlock, and there are numerous characters to master. Some of the chatter might be a chore to get through, but getting to the meat on these bones is worth the effort.

If Half-Life: Alyx sold as many VR headsets as it should have, every new adopter needs to make Saints & Sinners a priority. Although it obviously lacks the polish that Valve was able to bring to their juggernaut, it’s another hearty single-player offering that was not only built from the ground up for VR, but showcases the exciting advancements unique to the platform. It’s an easy recommendation, even to people like me who thought they were sick of zombies.

DAEMON X MACHINA might have an overwrought, needlessly complicated plot, but doesn’t that usually go hand-in-hand with giant robot narratives? Whether or not players are interested in the story, there’s a huge amount of great gameplay on offer with dozens of story and side missions and replayable multiplayer content. From any perspective, DXM offers great value and gameplay, making it one of the top mech games available.

Quite simply, One Piece Pirate Warriors 4 is as good as musou games get, and this one stands at the top of the pack thanks to a huge variety in characters, special techniques, and locations that make each level feel distinct from the last. The story is captivating and the combat is wonderfully smooth — I often found myself spending hours grinding just for the thrill of the fight. No self-respecting fan of the genre should let this one slip by.

All of the new additions and content mean that Persona 5 Royal is a clear upgrade to the original. New players should seek this version without hesitation, although vets may find starting the game over from scratch to be too big an ask. Either way, there’s no doubt that Persona 5 Royal sits proudly on the throne of Peak Persona… or at least it will until Atlus decides they can do even more with it.

While I enjoy a good matching title, Puzzle & Dragons GOLD makes too many missteps, and I can’t recommend this version over the more robust, more entertaining mobile iteration.

Caustic Reality is a one-man studio, and I applaud the creator for the game he made — I enjoyed Infliction and discovering Gary’s truth. It might not be a groundbreaking title in the horror genre and its antagonist might need a bit of rehab, but this psychological adventure is still one worth taking.

LUNA The Shadow Dust’s amazingly-integrated package of wordless storytelling, clear gameplay and unique visual style would be even more powerful if not for the clichéd finale. Even so, it’s a wonderful experience well worth anyone’s time.

Moon Studios is now two-for-two on games that look as good as they handle, while also guiding players through a gamut of emotions. The team is reportedly doing something new for their next project, and hopefully they’ll nail it as handily as they’ve done with Ori. But even if they’re exposed as a one-trick pony, let it be known that in the crowded field of indie platformers about small, childlike protagonists trapped in dark, imposing worlds, no developer on the planet is better at it than Moon.

After all was said and done, The Suicide of Rachel Foster remains an intriguing story exploration game with great suspense, and I felt that the conclusion justified the journey. However, despite being captivating at times, I did wish the truth revealed would’ve conveyed more of a message and less of a story.

My sense is that Azur Lane: Crosswave will appeal to established fans of the ‘moe’ subgenre of anime who will happily forgive the myriad problems, boredoms and irritations that will rise to the surface for everyone else. For those who aren’t ready to devote themselves to a seafaring waifu, Crosswave runs aground as soon as it sets sail.

The Final Fantasy VII Remake is a stellar production that kept a smile on my face from start to finish, but I have huge concerns about this project conceptually, and nothing about how Square-Enix has operated in the last fifteen years leads me to optimism. If given the choice to have a lower-scale, complete remake with the same gameplay and general improvements, I’d have taken that over this promising-yet-incomplete spectacle — the original was an important title for many reasons, and I’m concerned it won’t get the complete remake it so rightfully deserves.

Spaceland is a great game with a refreshingly tight approach to turn-based strategy. It’s very good as it is, but it could have been a classic if it got rid of the grind with just a bit of rebalancing.

These are great games now available for players who might have missed them and they’re both worth the time, but for those who’ve already been through them, they’re just re-releases without any new modes or extra content to lure in old fans. That said, this pair still comes highly recommended!

I love pirate games so much that I would have stuck with Tempest right to the end if it hadn’t locked me out of completing one of the main quests. In order to research krakens, I was told to go to an island and buy some of their ink. I obeyed and headed straight there, only to find the resource couldn’t be purchased. I had plenty of money and space in my hold, and the ‘buy’ button was lit up, but no matter what I tried, the game wouldn’t let me complete the objective. I tried to meet Tempest more than halfway. I was willing to meet it 99% of the way, but in the end, it couldn’t even do that much for me.

So, the levels in ICFSaAOB are long, but the lack of meta play or any incentive to replay means its lifespan is short — paradoxically, it’s too long in the short term, and too short in the long term. It is also repetitive to the point of tedium and the answer in almost all situations is ‘use the shotgun’.

The Doom I loved is in here somewhere, but it’s buried under excess, like a perfectly-seasoned meal that’s had a mound of salt dumped onto it. Perhaps any sequel to 2016’s extraordinary reboot was bound to disappoint, but this is one of those rare times where “more of the same” would have been the preferred option. I’d have taken the safe route over Eternal’s messy brand of overcompensation any day.

Overall, what’s most amazing about the Double Dragon & Kunio-kun: Retro Brawler Bundle is that even the titles I won’t go back to as often are interesting, good for short bursts of play between the more engaging offerings. Fans of the classic NES titles would be remiss in not grabbing this immediately, and I hope they bring on an SNES bundle!

At first, I wasn’t sure what to think of this, but as it progressed, it grew on me since the dev does an excellent job of making each puzzle make sense. There’s no “moon logic” of the type seen in older LucasArts games or other classics. I was happy to find more realistic (although occasionally ridiculous) solutions and the character interactions they triggered. Apart from my issues with the lack of choice and nitpicks like a thin soundtrack and a confusing save system, I very much hope the developers at Serenity Forge create a sequel to Half Past Fate — with this initial foray into blending of genres, I’m hopeful for more!

Few developers would have the resources to portray this undersea world in all of its glory, but while Martin’s approach might have begun as a compromise, it’s executed with such confidence that In Other Waters feels like the only game he ever would have wanted to make. For those who like their sci-fi on the sophisticated side, it’s one of the year’s hidden gems.

While Warzone might be releasing in a space crowded with other Battle Royales, this new entry into the genre shakes the formula up in brave new ways and provides one of the best multiplayer experiences in recent memory — it’s debatably the new gold standard for Battle Royale.

The Complex is good, low budget ride with a lot of heart. Anyone who’s enjoyed the other FMV offerings from Wales Interactive should dive right in.

With a fascinating story and great gameplay, Broken Lines makes a strong case that turn-based combat can be used for projects more modest than the grand strategy and expansive RPGs that generally feature it.

For a title that’s ostensibly about surviving in the middle of a disaster, Disaster Report 4: Summer Memories is incredibly slow, incredibly boring, incredibly outdated and incredibly frustrating – it fails at both its human side and its action side, and ultimately has nothing to offer fans of either. For anyone interested in the concepts or subject material, I’d recommend either Disaster Report (PS2, 2003) or Raw Danger! (PS2, 2006) over this crumbling mess.

All three of the Yakuzas featured in this collection are essentially perfect — each one boasts fantastic stories, great gameplay, and an opportunity to spend time in one of the most vibrant worlds in the history of videogames. Whether a player is someone who’s beaten the PS4 titles and wants to see the rest of the story, is a longtime fan considering a replay, or someone coming to the series fresh, I’d recommend this collection wholeheartedly.