Overall, This Is The Police is a somewhat enjoyable strategy/time management title, although the story felt like wasted time since I never grew connected to the characters or the plot, and it had no real bearing on play. With more weight given to the plot and better integration into the game overall, this sad tale of a man slowly sinking to the bottom would have come together into something fascinating. As it stands, the strategic parts can’t save the experience overall and the end result is a title that feels only half-done. Ultimately, This is the Police ended up being a game to kill time with, not one to lose time on.

All in all, the game does a phenomenal job of weaving its tale of murder thanks to a fascinating plot and riveting character interaction that kept me coming back for more. Even though the risk of annoyance thanks to repetition is high, players that love a good puzzle shouldn’t miss this one. The Sexy Brutale feels like a love letter to fans of classic Whodunit novels, and in my book, Lafcadio Boone’s adventure is a must-have addition to any Adventure player’s library.

Snowflake’s Chance looks incredible, and the work that’s been poured into its conception of hell is some of the best sadistic platforming I’ve ever encountered — I just wish I’d had a fair chance to play it. Games designed to challenge and punish their players can get away with a lot, but they can never skimp on the controls. Sadly, Snowflake’s Chance just isn’t as tight as it needs to be. Hopefully this gets repaired at some point in the future, because other than this one key flaw, it has all the makings of a minor classic in the realm of cruelty.

Clocking in at around five hours, Mr. Shifty struck a good balance for me between wanting more versus wearing out its welcome. I enjoyed my time with it despite some of the later levels being slightly frustrating and the finale being a little anti-climatic, but overall, this is a solid addition to the Switch’s growing library.

I have to assume this is a title most anime lovers already own, so when viewed as a standalone product, there isn’t enough new here to recommend a second purchase, even for ardent devotees. However, any fighting fans or ninja enthusiasts who let it slip by last year should consider this enhanced version of Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 – Road to Boruto to be the definitive edition.

It’s cute, and it’s strange, and it’s certainly got a solid ruleset, but there’s just not enough to Acorn Assault. The main campaign is twenty-five levels of repetitive combat, and the multiplayer mode is strangely handicapped, leaving it an oddity without much to recommend it. Unless, of course, one was curious about the events which inevitably led to the rise of Squirrel Napoleon…

Yes, The Dragon’s Trap is one of the best-looking 2D sprite-based platformers ever, but beneath that gorgeous exterior is a fundamentally well-built adventure platformer. All the player needs to do to prove the truth of that statement is tap one button and discover just how good gamers had it twenty-eight years ago.

As a visual feast and a technical achievement, Fated is a success. This is a beautiful world to explore, and features some of the most interesting and unique design aesthetics available on PSVR. Much of the writing and all of the acting is admirable, and it’s only the strange choice to keep the main character so distant from the action that prevents this project from being an unqualified success. When viewed as a one-hour stroll through a unique environment, it’s a winner. When taken as a larger work, the developers bungled their chance to do something more resonant.

Although I hate to be so vague about The Bunker, giving away too much would be doing a great disservice to anyone reading this review. Instead, I’ll simply say that it’s one of the most enjoyable FMV games I’ve ever played, and that I’d recommend prospective players block out two hours and go through it all in a single sitting. My compliments to Splendy Games, and I’m now officially on record as being quite prepared to drop a few dollars on whatever they turn out next.

Gunworld 2 is a pleasure to play, and a retro experience in all the best ways. Unlike Double Dragon 4, which preserved the worst parts of that franchise, Gunworld has looked at Zelda 2 and the Mega Man series, carefully decided which parts still feel worthwhile and will work best together, and transformed them into a new experience that captures the 8-bit feel without being beholden to its limitations.

Above the Law corrects a lot of the missteps from the first two episodes and also benefits from the narrative scaffolding they painstakingly laid. If nothing else, this episode illustrates that the season is on a trajectory of improvement. The fact that Clementine is a supporting character still stings, but the pain in my heart when she makes an offhanded comment about Lee from season one suggests her character (and all the baggage she carries) remains emotionally resonant.

All in all, Lego City Undercover still ranks as one of the all-around best LEGO games I’ve spent time with, and while I’d recommend it to any fan of the series, that goes double for kids who crave some open-world GTA-style screw-around action without any of the questionable stuff that makes parents raise an eyebrow. I’m glad LCU finally made its way to a console besides the WiiU, and I’m guessing a lot of other people will be, too.

With all the things Styx bumbles, the game really shouldn’t work, but somehow everything still managed to click for me. The stalking, the scheming, and managing the successful execution of strategies are all gratifying. Styx: Shards of Darkness is far from perfect and can’t compete with the triple-A titles already crowding 2017, but it is a great B-tier budget title, and underneath that warty skin, there’s the sort of heart that’s often lacking in its more polished peers.

Rain World asks players to get to know its world over dozens and dozens of lives, to figure out each area one at a time, learning to time jumps and hurl spears to earn their right to survive in a ceaselessly hostile environment. It’s a gorgeous jaunt through an alien world full of horrors, like Another World crossed with the open map of a Metroidvania title. With its incredible art design, tight controls, and extremely deep set of gameplay mechanics, this is a truly special platforming experience that anyone with a high tolerance for constant failure owes it to themselves to try out.

BioWare has often shown more willingness than most triple-A developers to respond to community criticisms and they’re already pushing patches to rectify Andromeda’s many issues, so I’m not pronouncing the Mass Effect series dead just yet. But speaking as someone who owns multiple pieces of N7 apparel and has read the Mass Effect books – the freaking books – I hate Andromeda. Maybe this is karmic balance for all of the recent big-name releases that have actually lived up to my expectations, but it’s been a long time since a game left me feeling as deflated as this one.

With middling gameplay and a questionable story, The Crow’s Eye has only its solid puzzles and a fascinating mixture of genres to recommend it. This is nowhere near the top of the first-person puzzle-platform genre, but it’s certainly one of the strangest and most intriguing I’ve played.

That was the end of Trulon for me, and I’d have to describe it, in total, as being the videogame equivalent of an ellipsis — it’s just an empty pause with no conclusion. Everything good about it is squandered by poor craftsmanship, and in its current state it should be avoided at all costs.

Momodora provides fast platforming and combat, a beautifully realized and interconnected world, and plenty of challenge, although often this challenge becomes frustration. However, it doesn’t do anything that hasn’t been done before by better games, and ultimately, it leaves no lasting impression.

As a PSVR launch title from a new development studio, Here They Lie impressed me. Tangentlemen have good ideas, atmosphere and sound design, but ultimately the meandering pacing and sporadic story beats of their work left me feeling more disappointed than scared. I’ll be keeping my eyes on these developers, though — if this is what they deliver for their debut game, I’m eager to see what they serve up next.

I still hesitantly recommend Hollow Knight to anyone as partial to Metroidvanias as I am, but the experience runs far longer than its visual appeal does, and at that point it becomes just another Dark Souls wannabe. It’s solid, but it demonstrates how far we still are from puzzling out From Software’s master recipe.

LEGO Worlds is a disappointing and frustrating mess. The idea of an open-world Minecraft-like title is brilliant, and maybe with a few patches and improvements it might live up to that promise. But right now? LEGO Worlds feels like it was rushed to consoles and performs at an unacceptable level. Kids might enjoy it in short bursts, but I’d recommend waiting to see if improvements are implemented in the coming months. Until then, go buy some real LEGO bricks instead.

In the end, Toukiden 2 comes as a nice surprise. It improves upon the decent original in many different ways that make sense, and most of these changes ensure that smashing boss after boss doesn’t feel anywhere near as repetitive as it did in the past. When I was done with the first Toukiden, I was completely burned out and desperate for a break. After finishing Toukiden 2? I’m raring for more.

To its credit, the sound design of Dark Train compliments its engaging presentation to create a fully realized mechanical world, and a dense soundscape that is as effective and oppressive as the dreary and haunting visuals. Along with the strong art design, Dark Train provides an evocative, beautiful, but ultimately alienating experience. It’s slow and confusing in all the wrong ways, and provides no payoff at the end of its painful, frustrating adventure.

It’s certainly not the best way to experience the Berserk saga for the first time (I’d recommend the original manga or 1997 anime series instead) and it’s not the best example of a Musou game, but for established fans of Berserk who fancy engaging in some rampant slaughter, it should do the trick.

If Nier: Automata had been more compact or structured differently, it would have been more effective, immediate and powerful. Instead, it’s a great idea stretched across too many hours of uninspiring content. Although I had affection for the androids and admired what the script ultimately revealed, this is one case where less would have definitely been more.

Sniper Elite 4 is the best sniping game I’ve ever played, and is absolutely the high point of the series. This is a perfect example of what can be achieved if a developer understands what their game’s potential is, and never stops working towards it. Rebellion has made huge leaps forward with every new entry in this series, and they’ve finally reached a point where the results are flat-out incredible. I can only imagine the great things they’ll accomplish in the future.

Those who can get past the short playtime and lack of ideas disrupting the swath of ‘lite’ games currently populating the VR scene will find Psychonauts in the Rhombus of Ruin to be a rousing affirmation of Double Fine’s greatest strengths — using character and charm to do the heavy lifting in the absence of innovation.

2Dark is as rough as widely-released games come, but even more impressive is the way it puts the player and their prey on equal footing. The shadows are just as dangerous for the villains as they are for the hero. This is a truly difficult game to get through on multiple levels, but it offers profound satisfaction in fighting the worst evil imaginable.

Yakuza 0 is a magnificent achievement that should be experienced by anyone interested in lecturing people on the importance of money, then blowing ten billion yen on a horrifically tacky golden statue of themselves. Or those curious about winning a chicken in a bowling competition, then installing it as the manager overseeing some of the most financially lucrative real estate holdings in Tokyo. Or those inclined to beat fifty knife-wielding thugs to a pulp in a back alley before heading off for takeaway and wasting the night playing Outrun. Or those wondering why that man in the convenience store is walking around in his underpants, and being unafraid to forge an unexpected friendship with him.

BLADE ARCUS from Shining: Battle Arena is a neat little brawler with a decent cast and enjoyable mechanics, but it’s too limited in too many ways to be anywhere near a… shining… example of the genre.

While Loot Rascals isn’t the deepest roguelike I’ve ever played, I still adore its elegance and accessibility, and let’s face it, that artwork is charming as all hell. And besides, for a genre that’s generally known for being ultra-hardcore, I can’t help but appreciate an entry that takes a sunny, easy-to-grasp approach. My astronaut hasn’t recovered the terraforming machine yet, but I’m still trying to get her there and having a great time in the process.

Breath of the Wild is a phenomenal title in and of itself, but it’s particularly special in that it embodies the vision for the series that Miyamoto and Aonuma have never been able to realize until now. It’s a game three decades in the making, and it’s no exaggeration to say that I’ve been waiting my entire life for this. Breath of the Wild is, by any measure except nostalgia, the best Zelda game ever made, and considering how many unbeatable classics this series has already produced, that is a staggering accomplishment.

After more than 30 hours with Wildlands I was left wondering why it was set in such a massive open world. The huge space offers a ton of missions, but what’s the point if they feel so repetitive and dull? I did enjoy the combat and stealth, and when the game is working properly it can be exciting to take out a group of drug-runners silently. But, so much of it feels like little more than vast areas of land stuffed with filler. If Wildlands was smaller and more focused, it could have been fantastic. Instead, it feels bloated, boring and messy, and that’s something a few patches won’t be able to fix.

Phoning Home plays well enough for its genre and has several good world-building moments, but it just wasn’t for me. I was hoping for something a little more complex given the excellent premise, but it never developed. Players who are fond of survival/crafting games might get more out of it than I did, but they should be prepared to do a lot of babysitting when ANI makes her appearance.

Soda Drinker Pro is just a weird project by a weird guy, who somehow got people to pay for his inside joke. A little research shows this title was created in one day by someone who – wait for it – wanted a soda. Me? I just wanted to turn it off and walk away from it forever.

With decent gameplay and mildly intriguing story, I would have given Space Rift a passing grade in the current PSVR lineup. However, the lack of a coherent art style and the disastrous bugs keep me from being able to do that. If and when Chapter 2 is released, I hope the developers manage to buckle down and make sure everything works properly. I don’t hold out much hope, though — I mean, how many games are there where even the end credits are broken?

Yes, this is a rhythm game about sexy ninjas cook-fighting until one of them ends up naked. It’s ridiculous and it’s perverse, but it’s not ashamed of itself — this is bold and playful erotica that doesn’t skimp on the gameplay just because it skimps on the clothing.

Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue is a brilliantly odd release. Newcomers to Kingdom Hearts may be put off by the complexity of the stories they’re thrown into, but Dream Drop Distance and A Fragmentary Passage are accessible enough via sheer gameplay alone. Really, it’s just puzzling why this title gets released first when Kingdom Hearts 1.5 + 2.5 Remix (a much more substantial and sensible package) is only a couple months away. In the meantime, this package makes for a promising start before Kingdom Hearts III.

Knee Deep is clearly an ambitious title working against the constraints that come with being a small studio, yet it manages to deliver a darkly humorous southern crime noir that kept me glued to my seat. Sure, it has a few problems, but my journey through the troubled swamp town of Cyprus Hills was a memorable one.

In around an hour, I managed to complete Bucket Detective with two endings, and the developer smartly added the ability to load any section of the game I wanted so that I could go back and play for the others. I guess the fact that I want to see more of it makes it a ‘good’ title, but to be honest, I’m not sure I’d ever recommend it to anybody.

The sad fact for Horizon, and every other open-world game like it, is that we now live in a post-Witcher 3 world. CD Projekt Red has raised the bar for this genre in nearly every conceivable way, and it is absolutely not enough to simply be another open-world game. The sidequests have to be interesting, the writing has to be engaging, the characters have to be memorable – just putting a good premise and great graphics on top of boilerplate content isn’t enough. At least, it’s not enough for this reviewer.

Numenera ended when the credits rolled, but in my mind, the story is still going. That wouldn’t be possible without top-level writing and world-building – the kind that sucks me into its universe regardless of technical shortcomings. In other words, it’s the perfect follow-up to Planescape: Torment, as thought-provoking, mature and challenging as its predecessor. For those who like their sci-fi more than a little weird, I can’t recommend it enough.

Football Manager 2017 is no revolution, but it doesn’t claim to be. The franchise is, instead, built upon careful revisions and tweaks to its successful formula, bringing new feature sets on top of the base game loved by millions. It’s these millions who purchase it every year, and continue to support a developer who continues to push themselves with every release, improving their formula and giving fans the best possible experience — whether managing a world powerhouse or a lower level team just trying to balance the books, the decisions made are never easy, and genuine pressure exists. Football Manager continues to capture the essence of what it is like to truly love, fear, hate and live football, like no other ever has.

While these complaints are not enough to cripple the game, it’s a shame that SNK has done such a tremendous job with most of the things that matter, only to stumble on certain design issues. Minor missteps aside, It’s pretty brilliant, and it’s safe to say that the series has made the leap to 3D surprisingly well despite still needing some polish, and maybe a bit of a facelift as well.

Nioh is an excellent title that’s different enough from Souls. While its lore isn’t as deep or rich, and the level design isn’t nearly as breathtaking, the gameplay more than makes up for it. With over fifty hours of content, there’s plenty for action fans to enjoy, and I’m sure that Nioh will be in many Game of the Year conversations this December.

Batman: The Telltale Series started strong and ended the same way, and with many characters’ fates left undecided and new characters appearing in the final act, a second season seems inevitable — I look forward to it.

finally has a permanent place in my collection – it’s obviously doing something right. The melee combat is truly some of the best I’ve ever encountered, and I’ve been playing on a nightly basis, knowing what a rush it is if I find the perfect opponent. Unfortunately, I struggle to recommend it when the total package is so skimpy and the online so unreliable. I sense an earnest attempt by Ubisoft with For Honor, but at the moment all they’ve done is laid the groundwork for a stronger experience in the future.

Unfortunately, fans of turn-based strategy should probably look elsewhere — with difficulty that turns the campaign into a sedative, I can’t recommend Godseekers unless all other options have been exhausted.

Deathstate captures the wonder and horror of Lovecraft as well as a shooter possibly could, throwing aside existential dread for overwhelming strangeness. This isn’t a genre pairing that I would have anticipated, but once again Lovecraftian horror has proven that it can work anywhere, so long as it’s produced by developers who understand and care about it.

Despite how fabulous the extra stuff is, though, Double Dragon IV just isn’t a good game. It is, however, a compelling and fascinating oddity. For franchise fans it’s a must-purchase, since it’s as much a historical trip as it is a new entry. While I can’t recommend it based on gameplay, the fact that it’s such a straight-faced resurrection of a long-dead style alone makes it worth a look.

The world’s beautiful, the cast is great, and Kat’s unique powers make it feel unlike anything else on the market. If the mission structure was anywhere near as inventive and enjoyable as the rest of the package, it would be an essential (and mindblowing) experience. As it stands, it’s just a damn good time interspersed with a scattering of tedium throughout.

With its clever story and well-written characters, Exist Archive deserves a lot of credit. The 2D platforming felt like a breath of fresh air, and the combat’s nuances are deep enough to be worth investing some time in, despite some excessive grinding. Best of all, it clearly flags the points at which its various endings branch off from one another, giving curious players a chance to save their game and make a clear decision about what course they want to pursue.There’s a story worth experiencing here, even if there isn’t quite enough game to support it.

Io‘s camera zooms out as the ball enlarges, and zooms in as it shrinks. Players look at an overview of the level, plan out their move, and start rolling. Then, at a key moment, they shrink the ball down and the camera pulls in tight. Suddenly the whole world is zipping past and all situational awareness disappears, with players forced to hold their breath and hope that they’ve timed their transformation correctly. Io is a faster, more nimble puzzle game than I’m used to, and when it works, there’s nothing else quite like it. Luckily, it works more often than not.

Gas Guzzlers Extreme strikes me as a project that likely held much promise when it was conceptualized, but was probably hindered by a lack of resources. With a simple, accessible premise, uncomplicated control scheme, and action-oriented approach, the title could have served as a nice change-of-pace from hyper-technical racing sims and overdone street racers. I doubt I’m the only gamer who imagined it might be a modern-day Twisted Metal, but Gas Guzzlers never quite captures that spirit.

It’s a crying shame. There’s clearly a game in there that I want to play, filled with cool ideas and interesting quirks, but right now I’d have to dig out the Wii version to experience it without experiencing soul-crushing frustration. If Little King’s Story is ever patched to the point where most of the port-related frustrations are gone, I’d love to give it another shot. As it stands, it’s impossible to recommend due to catastrophic technical issues.

Obscure puzzles and technical hiccups aside, Uncanny Valley is a fascinating and disturbing horror mystery that encourages replay. But, I’d only give it two or three plays, max. Any more, and the lingering unsolved mysteries might become as frustrating as the gameplay bugs.

All of its issues are worth enduring for the haunting and beautiful world that Diluvion portrays. The limited draw distance, slow movement speed and near-total lack of signposting will grate on players looking for immediate thrills, but I find it praiseworthy that Arachnid would place so many deliberate handicaps on the player in service of atmosphere and immersion — it’s a spell that worked on me the vast majority of its running time. Many games render alien worlds, but Dilvuion actually transported me to one.

Minor issues and pacing aside, it’s incredibly easy to recommend The Legend of heroes: Trails of Cold Steel 2 to fans of the original. The storyline stakes are higher than ever, the additions to the battle system are intelligent and deftly handled, Laura’s back with her massive freaking sword, and the team of Class VII are as likeable a bunch as ever. For newcomers, my advice absolutely has to be repeated: start with the first game. It may a huge time investment given that both entries take approximately 70 hours each, but it’s worth it for anyone looking to experience one of the most well-crafted JRPGs in recent history.

[A] poorly-designed, buggy mess.

Here in the PSVR’s launch window, I could almost find myself giving Pixel Gear a recommendation, but unless players are desperate for software, it doesn’t offer anything that Rush of Blood or Brookhaven don’t already do better. That said, it’s appropriate for younger teens, which is a thing the PSVR’s other shooting galleries can’t claim.

Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3. I’ve no doubt that it’s going to be too crazy for some players to handle, but there’s a decent amount on offer for anyone who can adapt to its hyperkinetic pace without their eyeballs frazzling to a crisp.

Ellipsis is an immensely high-quality puzzler that’s recommended to absolutely anyone… so long as they have a steady hand.

With its relatively short length, storybook-like progression and focus on a charming coming-of-age tale that offers surprising maturity, Candleman might be found sitting alongside Journey and The Unfinished Swan, although it’s lesser in scope. For Spotlightor’s first console outing, it’s remarkably sophisticated and tightly produced — I’m excited to see what they come up with next.

Despite these foibles, Pinball FX2 VR is one the PSVR’s best titles to date. It’s a wonderful lesson in how virtual reality can positively enhance a gameplay experience, and is sure to bring a smile to the face of any pinball fan. Despite the current problems, I’m waiting with bated breath for the next tables to appear.

Its stealth is too repetitive, its gunfights too familiar, and its driving too boring to support anything else that’s going on. Despite how clever it manages to be in portraying the conquest and control of a criminal enterprise, the nuts-and-bolts missions feel like busywork, and it never fully explores the most interesting aspects of its setting. It’s better than Mafia II, but that’s damning it with faint praise.

At its core, Zombie City Defense 2 is just fundamentally wrongheaded. If the developers had wanted to make either an RTS or Tower Defense game with the concept, I might have found something of value. By trying to do both, they’re left with nothing.

Resident Evil 7: Biohazard is a tour-de-force. It is scary, disturbing, thrilling, heartbreaking, and intensely satisfying. Played on a television, it’s an exceptionally high-quality first-person horror game. Played in VR, it’s a whole new world of survival horror. This is the best game I’ve played in ages, the strongest argument for purchasing a PSVR, and an exciting new direction for one of gaming’s premier franchises. Rating: Standard version, 9 out of 10. PSVR version, 10 out of 10.

The Little Acre is a small game, but an extremely well-made and well-loved one. I enjoyed getting to know Aidan and Lily, and look forward to getting to know Pewter Games better as well.

Shantae: Half-Genie Hero is pleasant but shallow. The initial “wow” factor of the wonderful aesthetics wears off once the backtracking starts, and the game never recovers. It looks wonderful, but no amount of prettiness can cover up gameplay that can’t come close to the quality of the visuals.

Fate/Extella is a solidly-built Warriors-style brawler with a unique sense of speed and a sweet, engaging story. It would’ve been more impressive if it took about half as long to finish, though. Its distinctiveness is spread far too thin, battered into oblivion by endless repetition. Fans of Fate seeking a worthy coda to the story of Fate/Extra will find it here, but it’d be best to engage with the game in short bursts, rather than have it wear out its welcome over long sessions.

There are times when it looks like there’s a much better game trying to claw its way free from the technical and design issues that plague it, but they’re only fleeting glances at what could have been before it gets overwhelmed by the muck dragging it down. Fans of the books it’s based on might get some worth out of The Dwarves, but when compared to pretty much any other half-decent RPG on the market, it comes up short in almost every possible way.

While it’s far from the most attractive FPS I’ve played this year, Verdun gets its setting and tone incredibly right. There’s a moment in every match where I found myself peering out from behind cover, looking down my rifle, desperate to catch sign of any movement in a field of debris — a moment where the game completely justifies its setting and mechanics. Verdun is rough at times and only half of its modes are any good, but those special moments it offers are rare enough to deserve attention.

A New Frontier doesn’t fail completely as a narrative experience — Javier and his makeshift family aren’t unlikeable as far as characters go — but the story that’s being told in these first two episodes just doesn’t command the player’s investment like it used to. The gameplay aspects are superfluous, the story beats are overly familiar, and and not even seeing Clementine again can save the moaning, ambling corpse this series has unfortunately become.

A New Frontier doesn’t fail completely as a narrative experience — Javier and his makeshift family aren’t unlikeable as far as characters go — but the story that’s being told in these first two episodes just doesn’t command the player’s investment like it used to. The gameplay aspects are superfluous, the story beats are overly familiar, and and not even seeing Clementine again can save the moaning, ambling corpse this series has unfortunately become.

Situs Inversus also ties the season together excellently by not only being a satisfying mission on its own, but by featuring several callbacks for longtime series fans. Some of the assassination options mirror those from older games, and thorough players might notice some special cameos. IO taking the time to provide these little nods to fans was great.

As a trio, the Bethesda Pinball pack is a solid collection. DOOM alone is worth the price of admission, and Fallout 4 is a great-looking table with a few unnecessary mechanics. Skyrim isn’t bad, just a little overcomplicated and a bit too slow for my taste, although I daresay fans of the source material will get a kick out of it. Overall, Zen Studios continues to give pinball fans a great way to continue to experience the game they in a new, yet pleasantly retro ways. Real-life pinball machines might be hard to find, but the game remains alive and well… in digital form at least.

Dead Rising 4 may not be the series’ high point, but it’s easily the second-best, and a great experience in its own right. Zombie slaughtering has never been this accessible or thrilling, and the developers at Capcom Vancouver have once again proven that they know exactly what to do with a winning formula.

Road To Ballhalla is a delight. It rises above its inspirations to bring a new musical sensibility to the action puzzle genre. While some levels can be frustrating or even punishing, it never feels unfair — clearly a huge amount of thought has gone into balancing the difficulty, and anyone who brings a steady hand and a good amount of patience will find one of the most wonderfully kinetic puzzlers around.

I’ve no doubt that there’s a hardcore segment of gamers who will appreciate what Cursed Castilla is going for, and for these players, it will certainly do a great job of bringing back a late-’80s sort of arcade experience in a way that few retro-inspired projects accomplish. For most players, though, I feel that it’ll be viewed as a cute little oddity and little more.

Sure, it’s still awesome in scope and there’s a ton of content in the package, but it only offers minimal visual improvements, dated gameplay, and inexplicable legacy bugs. Unless someone defines their RPG experience by sun rays and water effects, this reissue just doesn’t represent a notable improvement over the original. Still, for those who aren’t yet Dragonborn, this is the best way to become so.

Just a bad use of Ubisoft’s talent pool, and a worse use of gamers’ hard-earned money.

Players in the target audience for these titles (like me!) who’ve been waiting for this storied series to come to console will find the package worth exploring even if there’s only one real reason to buy in.

Steep is a gorgeous game that was never able to keep my attention. On paper it seems to have everything it needs to succeed — multiplayer, a big world to explore, lots of things to do, different ways to play — but wandering the mountain and taking part in generic events lacks excitement and personality. I doubt I’ll remember it exists in a year, which is a shame because that moonlit landscape is just breathtaking.

This isn’t slick, soulless and focus-tested into insensibility. Let It Die is rough and engaging on a primal level, and intensely refreshing as a result. It’s also a shining example of a free-to-play title that doesn’t make lecherous moves on anyone’s wallet every five minutes. This game is less about paying to win, and more about playing to win.

Every one of the four levels is delightful and inventive, offering multiple ways to solve each problem and reacting logically to out-of-the-box ideas. It may be on the short side, but Expect‘s wit and ability to engage players more than earns it a place on the must-play PSVR list.

Dying due to confusing design rarely makes for good times, and this soured me on Stereo Aereo pretty damned hard. It’s unfortunate because I genuinely dig the overall aesthetic, and I definitely enjoyed the soundtrack. Even the relatively meager storyline has its high points. However, when the difficulty kicks into high gear, it all bubbles down into an overly busy, confusing and imprecise mess that I can’t wrap my head around.

World of Final Fantasy is a great-looking game with charm to spare and quite a few cool ideas under its belt, but it never quite nails the pacing and the excellent localization can’t save it from a pedestrian storyline jaunt through linear dungeons. It’s a reasonable option for anyone hankering for some Final Fantasy nostalgia or anyone who wants to overdose on cute and the colorful, but for everyone else it’s merely a decent JRPG with a few too many irritating lows.

Robinson: The Journey‘s developers have built a world worth exploring, and armed players with all the tools necessary to do so. While I wish the adventure was a little larger or that its price was a little more reasonable, it absolutely delivers on its premise. Thanks to PSVR, I was able to solve puzzles on an alien planet (that looks suspiciously like prehistoric earth) while hanging out with a heartbreakingly adorable baby T-Rex. This is the kind of experience that virtual reality headsets were designed for, and one of the best available showcases for the technology.

Any player with a taste for a medieval warlord’s life and a tolerance for dated graphics shouldn’t pass up the chance to sink their teeth into Mount and Blade: Warband. Though the PC version may be a bit easier to recommend thanks to the prevalence of mods and a more established community, folks without that option will do just fine on consoles.

For anyone happy with being dumped into horde-style arenas and expected to slam zombie brains across the room with a sledgehammer with a team of like-minded savages, it’s definitely one of the better options on the market right now. Players who crave more than just shooting might find that it doesn’t quite manage to deliver a captivating experience past this core competence, though.

Despite its roughness, The Last Guardian is absolutely worth experiencing for the beautiful relationship at its heart, and for the flawless manner in which the adventure closes. Ueda’s ability to develop smoothly-running games may remain in question, but his expertise in crafting ravaging narratives and developing deep bonds with minimal dialogue remains nearly unmatched. He’s one of gaming’s premier storytellers, and of the three experiences he’s created, this may be my favorite yet.

In the end, Shadow Warrior 2 isn’t a bad game, it’s just not a really good one, either. It delivers a laugh or two, but in a few years, I’ll struggle to remember that I even played it. Pick it up during a sale or during a dry spell in the new release schedule, but there are plenty of other titles more deserving of attention at the moment.

A laughably awkward ten-year jump forward and a climactic showdown against a foe whose motives utterly escape me. The project’s original director was Kingdom Hearts creator Tetsuya Nomura, and it seems some of his influence remains embedded in the final product — FFXV’s latter half feels like a different game entirely, and it’s a mess. FFXV’s inability to live up to its early promise might rank as 2016’s biggest gaming disappointment.

After one day of playing GoW4, I knew it was an awesome title. After one month of diving deep into all campaign and multiplayer modes, that feeling hasn’t wavered. The developers showed hints of brilliance with their remake of the original Gears, but no one could have predicted just how firm a grasp they had on the intricacies of what makes this series so special. Its few flaws knocked my score down a few notches, but the gameplay is well-paced, gorgeous to watch, and tremendously satisfying. GoW4 a system-seller and a must-have title for any self-respecting fan of shooters.

While Dead Rising 2: Off The Record outdoes its predecessor in terms of raw playability and the amount of content it offers, it’s just not as satisfying. Both Dead Rising 2 and 3 understand that these are games are fundamentally about helping people in a terrible situation, and they’re richer because of it. Frank West’s jokey manner fits the sandbox mode well, but his detached, ironic worldview doesn’t land the way the rest of the series does. In the end, this effort feels like a minor sidenote before the series put the best pieces together for Dead Rising 3.

While it does have issues, I hope that the brevity of Beholder’s appeal and the sloppiness of its translation don’t dissuade anyone from checking out one of the year’s more conceptually-ambitious indies. While I’ll hopefully never find myself in a position similar to Carl’s, I’d like to think that games such as Beholder help me to understand, even just a little, how a middle-class everyman can be coerced into performing heinous deeds, as so many throughout history have.

Dead Rising was never a great game — it’s perverse and didactic in equal measure, and an exciting concept delivered with almost no artistry or craft. Why not put in a little extra effort to fix it, rather that just running it on superior hardware? The sequels offer a clear roadmap for the experience that Dead Rising could have been, but apparently Capcom had no interest in following it. It’s too bad, because even as a budget title, this reissue is just too rough to recommend.