In another year with less competition, I would have given Chasm a higher score because it’s a mechanically strong, if often frustrating addition to the metroidvania genre. The thing is, it’s 2018 and there are better examples out there right now that make it hard for me to ignore the chasm-sized flaws in its design.

I hate to be down on a small title trying to do something different and interesting, but I just couldn't get over the fact that Kickbeat felt more like a work in progress rather than something that was ready for prime time. With a better, more varied soundtrack and a little more exploration of how the martial arts theme could be applied to expanding the current game design, a sequel should be a real knockout. I genuinely hope the dev team gets the chance to make it.

So, is Darksiders II: Argul's Tomb worth playing? It's only about an hour long, and the exclusive weapon contained within is a set of armblades that drain Wrath with each hit. While they're pretty effective when partnered with the scythes that drain life from opponents, running out of Wrath was a problem that never really came up in the course of the game, so-perhaps ironically-nothing in the Argul's Tomb proved more valuable than the club I acquired by dealing with Argul himself. For players who can't get enough of Death beheading monsters, Argul's Tomb will be a welcome addition, but anyone who completed the main game and set it aside without further thought won't find anything worth slotting the disk back in.

Overall, Saga of Sins ends up being a well-themed run-and-gun platformer, and it executes well enough. The difficulty curve is pretty forgiving, and the campaign doesn’t hang around any longer than it needs to, so getting stale is never an issue. While I wanted more mechanically, the visuals and concepts alone were enough to keep me interested enough to see it through to the end, and that’s not something I can say about every game.

It's not going to be winning any awards, but it's an entertaining gameplay experience packaged alongside a virtual vault of nostalgia, and worth at least a glance for fans of the genre or the characters.

Apart from that absolutely baffling meat grinder at the end, I'd still recommend Escape to fans of the mid-list. 98% of it was an enjoyable spiral into insanity, and the project could certainly stand on its own even without being attached to the Dead Island franchise -- just be ready to slog through that final bit to see how it all wraps up.

With attractive pixel-art design, an entertaining narrative, and largely compelling gameplay, Aegis Defenders is mostly a winner. Unfortunately, the guesswork and lack of flexibility in tower implementation keeps it from being an unqualified success, though. The developers have made a valiant effort at combining genres here, but as good as their platforming is, they didn’t think the tower defense through as well as they needed to, leaving Aegis Defenders a game that gets within striking distance of greatness without ever managing to hit it.

Rather than the perfect end to a thrilling series, it seemed like the developers were afraid to take real risks with either the story or the gameplay of Gears 3.

Dragon Age: Inquisition is a frustrating game. I often found myself scratching and clawing through boring, MMO-like content for enough power points to progress to the next major plot event. However, the fact that I was willing to slog through it at all shows just how good this game can be when it hits its stride.

If there was an option to limit or remove the adaptive difficulty, I could live with the other minor issues and call Axis Football 2024 a triumph and a must-play sports title. As it stands, however, I can’t rate this year’s effort as high as I’d like to thanks to the incredible frustration of being impossibly steamrolled by a computer-controlled opponent who’s gaming the system in its favor. Where’s the ref?

In the end, Mega Man Legacy Collection 2 contains only a small handful of games, none of which are obscure. Three of those entries are genuinely excellent, but beyond a strong challenge mode and the Extra Armor option, the features in this package are lacking. Maybe one day there will be a truly complete collection, with all the bells and whistles and even Mega Man Soccer. That day is not today.

The Pitt doesn't offer a lot of impressive loot to score, collecting items for that last achievement is more trouble than it's worth, and the struggle-with-a-twist to free Pittsburgh's slaves (or not) is over before you know it.

The series that once had me completely addicted has now become so stale that it barely even registers as enjoyment.

Despite the huge amount of money obviously spent licensing and producing Scarface, in the end, it's nothing more than an acceptable title. Better written and designed than most, but too short and shallow to stand apart from the crowd.

It's not very deep or complex, but then again, I don't think that it's supposed to be. Taken for what it is, Princess Debut is a great first entry into a style of game I'd love to see more of

Information gaps, repetition, and camera issues aside, Gods Eater Burst remains a faster-paced and more welcoming version of Monster Hunter.

I hope that we haven’t heard the last of the Zero Escape team, but I also hope that their future projects rein themselves in and they produce something more coherent and personal.

Persona 5 is periodically fascinating, but it’s unable to maintain the required level of interest and energy over such an extended running time. If it were half as long and cut out most of the repetition, it’d be a much tighter, more enjoyable experience. As it stands, adventuring with the Phantom Thieves sags way too often to be a heartfelt recommendation.

Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey is a perfect example of why pacing matters, and it also demonstrates that massive, sprawling worlds don’t make an excellent adventure through size alone. When all was said and done, Odyssey offers 40 hours of great material wrapped up in another 40 hours of busywork that made this Greek journey a slog to get through. heads up, developers — just because there’s a ton to do doesn’t mean that it’s worth doing.

Stela’s world decay, the desperation of its inhabitants and the environmental connotations that come along with them strikes a fine note and it’s supported by an engaging playstyle and attractive aesthetic — the problem is that several other games have walked the same path before it, and many of them do it better.

The mechanics of Orcs Must Die! are totally solid, the visual style is nice, and the hyper-fast-paced play is a real strength, but the game almost feels incomplete. Without much variation in the gameplay and little in the way of details, characterization and extras, the end result is too lean to be as tasty as it should be.

Other than that one truly sour note, Sydney Hunter and the Curse of the Mayan absolutely nails the experience it wants to the player to have, and there’s an underlying philosophy here that’s not seen in modern game design any more. Specifically, in the old days it frequently felt like designers were trying to ‘beat’ the player by creating experiences which could technically be bested, yet frequently crushed anyone arrogant enough to load the game up.

So, how well does Hunting Simulator simulate hunting? I can’t speak to its verisimilitude, but as a game, this is a solid animal-stalking experience which has its best parts undercut by a frustrating menu system and unrealistic tracking mechanic. The shooting, simple though it may be, is satisfying, and there’s definitely a worthwhile amount of challenge to be found in carefully sneaking up on prey. This is a good hunting game, but these technical issues keep it from being a great one.

Average doesn't have to equate with mediocre or bad, though. Sphinx may not bring anything new to the table or anything gamers hadn't already seen in the Zelda series, but it is a fun game.

There’s definitely something to be said for performing fitness routines to visuals of rambunctious post-apocalyptic punks being smacked in their stupid faces to keep players engaged. And hell, if Kenshiro himself can’t get players to burn off some excess calories, who can?

Through it can be frustrating and seem downright broken at times, there's still much to enjoy in A Pixel Story. It genuinely has all the making of a great puzzle platformer, but it's sadly kept from its full potential by poorly-executed physics.

As much as I like the idea of adventuring with a wooden boy on a magical stage, Puppeteer is one of those unfortunate projects that starts off in a great direction and then fails to flesh out and support the premise. It certainly looks great and the voicework is top-notch, but with a script, characters and gameplay as flat as the theatrical props the game emulates, its charm wears off long before the final act.

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.

If they had trimmed all the meaningless RPG fat and reworked Enchanted Arms into something more concentrated, the experience would have played to the game's strengths and been more successful for it.

With its stark whiteout visual style and effectively somber soundtrack, Impact Winter comes incredibly close to being a survival game that could be enjoyed by just about anyone. Until the developers make that one fix, though, it will remain a game with tons of potential marred by a fatal flaw.

Anomaly Warzone Earth is an interesting take on a genre that's become painfully stale at this point, and I congratulate the developers for finding a new angle. It's solid and the reversed structure carries it through to the end, but more depth and variety are needed to make it more than a brief curiosity. It may be different than anything else in its genre, but the trip on this particular train lacks the kind of spark that would make it a memorable one.

Murder on Eridanos is an interesting way to put a bow on The Outer Worlds. Instead of a balls-to-the-wall action finale, it offers up a slower-paced mystery that showcases what Obsidian is best at – writing and acting. Although it makes some missteps and the pacing could be better, I enjoyed uncovering the mystery. Regardless of all else, Obsidian is nearly in a league of their own when it comes to writing. And experiencing more of their work is always enjoyable.

It may be handsomely made, but that doesn't save Golden Sun: Dark Dawn from being a disappointment.

With what seems like a new narrative adventure popping up every week, Blackwood Crossing is stuck in the middle — it’s not great enough to recommend, but not bad enough to write off. It’s just an average title with a few moments of beauty peering over the edges of its mediocrity.

It's recommended, but with a little more polish it could have been fantastic. As it stands, it's an interesting, yet slightly flawed effort.

Ultimately, Voyagers lands in a weird place for me as far as recommending it goes, and also with who I would recommend it for. The simplicity and repetition of the experience means it’s hard to recommend to older players who might be looking for a little more meat on the bone. On the other hand, it might not be right for a younger audience due to the execution issues with some of the puzzles. Despite landing in this mixed middle ground, I did have an enjoyable time with my wife, and we walked away with fond memories of it, so for me Lego Voyagers gets 6.5 stuck together bricks out of 10.

Unlike the first Völgarr (which, frankly, put me at risk of transforming into Völgarr himself, shouting “GRAH!” and wanting to throw my Switch on the floor to stomp on it) I found myself blissfully unaware of time as I played through Völgarr the Viking II over the course of several flights. Those who enjoyed the first Völgarr or other hardcore action-platformers similar to it will find Völgarr the Viking II to be a nice shot in the arm. However, without more fundamental improvements, the end result is an experience that feels more like DLC than a proper sequel.

Though I was left wishing for more, this hardly condemns SNØ Ultimate Freeriding. The tactile control feels unique, and I found real joy in learning the subtleties of a successful descent. The moments where I could get on its level – wind whistling as my skier weaves around rocks and trees I was barely aware of – were singular, and this harmony between aesthetics and mechanics was more than enough to justify my time.

With above-average level design and usually enjoyable combat, The Wizards is an entertaining, but short-lived experience held back by technical inconsistencies. The immersion of the combat butts heads with the sometimes-cumbersome controls, but these issues didn’t detract much from the times I felt like a badass wizard showering hordes of enemies with lightning bolts and fire bombs.

The game's central silliness charmed me. Were the game exactly the same in every respect except for the ghosts, and I was playing some kind of a futurecop battling crooks in jetpacks, the game would have been a five—just good enough.

The best thing about Lilo & Stitch is the wonderful animation given to the characters.

When all's said and done, Race the Sun is a solid offering and I'm sure some players will undoubtedly end up hooked on the thrill of the daily leaderboard battles. On the other hand, some (including me) will come away feeling that the final product is a bit too limited to reach the potential it holds.

Hardcore fight fans have likely already purchased it and begun honing their skills, but for the rest of us this game won't reach its true potential for at least a few more months—and maybe longer.

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.

It was entertaining, but it didn't provide much challenge or mystery—it was just more of what I'd already been doing, plus robots.

When the game lets its main character race through the world, bounding across chasms and flinging himself here and there with the grapple, it is really wonderful. That happens all too rarely, however, and instead the game breeds repeated frustration brought on by the difficulty of figuring out where the protagonist should grapple, why he can't, or what to do about it.

I support sci-fi that does more than ask people to shoot aliens with futuristic guns, but there's just not enough coherence in The Swapper to put up with the split between the intriguing premise and the contrivances that surround it.

Full Metal Schoolgirl is a title that clearly knows its niche and embraces it fully. It never takes itself too seriously, and cute girls shooting cyborgs with massive guns is a winning concept. Unfortunately, a couple confusing design choices hold it back from being something I can sink countless hours into, but those who don’t mind repetition and love the aesthetic will find a worthwhile tower climb.

Aside from the occasional lack of communication and visual blurriness, I enjoyed my time in the arena. It’s refreshing to see an action title where the choices players make have a significant effect, and each playthrough brings new interactions and scenarios for players to test their skills. It might not be The Price is Right, but Bow to Blood: Last Captain Standing is a virtual competition worth entering.

These three chapters are what this new DLC offers to Metro fans, and I have to say that if it weren't for the Kshatriya chapter, the value of spending money on the other two chapters would be questionable as they're very similar to situations and gameplay mechanics found in the main story. Kshatriya alone makes it all worthwhile however, featuring reasonably generous and unique additional content in a DLC pack which won't break the bank.

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.

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.

While its story is interesting and its gameplay is serviceable, this RPG didn't thrill me, or frustrate me, or enrage me. Radiata Stories just shared my general area for a while, and now that it's gone, I don't miss it.

When the elements of Orgarhythm come together, it's transcendent-raging music fills the ears, the tapping gives a tangible connection to what's happening onscreen, and watching the multi-colored army dominate the opposition is a singular experience. That said, the small amount of content, low production qualities and general lack of polish make Orgarhythm come off more like a proof-of-concept demo. I absolutely love what it does when it pops, but there's more work to be done here.

Although it's larger and more fully developed than Honest Hearts, I'm afraid that Fallout: New Vegas-Old World Blues is another case of a great idea not living up to its potential.

Even with some bum sections and controls that aren’t great, the art style and story focuses on a country that was heavily impacted by fascism — aftershocks are still felt there every Independence Day when Neo-Nazis and Antifa fight each other – and this narrative isn’t often told in this medium. The developers attempt to eschew politics, but their work is a good solicitation against repeating the mistakes of the past, and a compelling argument for compassion in the current climate.

The pieces to assemble a great game are all there, but it just never quite gels into the game it could have been.

Blissful Sleep is inexpensive, and Beholder’s core mechanics are solid enough that I enjoyed having an excuse to return to the game. But despite how rich the concept is, this DLC does frustratingly little to expand on the groundwork. It’s just… more of the same.

Although Hammerin' Hero doesn't run as smooth or as long as I would've liked it to, it remains one of the most enjoyable PSP titles I've come across in quite some time.

Although I absolutely love the aesthetics and concept of Headlander, the non-combat gameplay is only fair, and it’s brought down further with too much combat detracting from the things it does well. I was interested enough to stick around and see how things turned out at the end, but there were definitely a few times when I walked away and took a break out of annoyance. Like so many other examples before it, Headlander is another could-have-been that just doesn’t play to its strengths.

ModNation Racers has a core of creative multiplayer fun, but it's sadly mummified beneath an irritating career mode and layer upon layer of load times.

Foregone is a solid entry in the metroidvania genre, and the limited options in combat are slick enough. It does what it needs to do — the problem is that there are many better examples of this structure that would have to be recommended first.

I've played this game for tens of hours, thought about it another few, and now written a review, and I still don't know exactly what the developers intended.

Chronicle of Innsmouth: Mountains of Madness does a decent job of honoring its inspirations. The characters are trapped in a bizarre world full of inexplicable horrors and have no choice but to keep slogging through the nightmare, because the only other option is to lock themselves away in an asylum and wait for the apocalypse. Whatever problems I may have had with the puzzles — and I certainly didn’t enjoy going to the internet for help twice — the game gets the feel of Lovecraft right, and that’s worth overlooking a few awkward design choices.

So, is The Long Journey Home worth it? Overall I’d say yes, the moments of discovery and dealing with alien races makes the experience worth engaging in. My only hope is that the developers introduce a difficulty setting that allows players to dial back the drudgery of resource collection. The good outweighs the bad here, but there’s a much better experience waiting to be discovered underneath the busywork and failure.

Despite Techland's efforts, the Western genre is still wide-open for someone to ride in and claim it.

Although I personally wasn't too impressed with this offering, I will say that my son (age 7) absolutely fell in love with it.

From a gameplay standpoint, Samurai Warriors 5 is an easy recommendation. However, the political content isn’t as easy to sign off on. While there’s always going to be some celebration of military action in a title like this, the way the script goes out of its way to portray the bloodthirsty as heroes in defiance of true historical facts feels like a step too far. Samurai Warriors 5 isn’t a depiction of Japan’s violent past, it’s a celebration of it.

It might sound strange to say after outlining my dissatisfaction with it, but Toukiden is still the strongest of the Monster Hunter clones available stateside, and would make a solid entry point for players interested in trying the genre. On the other hand, it's an obvious clone which can't match Capcom's quality.

Ultimately, Stonefly ends up being a mixed bag. On one hand, exploring the forest by piloting tiny mechs is a wonderful idea, but the repetitious nature of resource gathering is compounded by the clunky combat, and I’d imagine that most players will be driven away before the experience is over.

Hero-U is an imperfect experience that it is difficult to recommend, even to fans of these devs’ previous work. It might be an interesting proposal to those looking for something far outside RPG norms, but there are too many other choices out there to give this one a general recommendation — if nothing else, I’d suggest tracking down the original Quest for Glory titles instead!

To say that the camera in this game is atrocious is like saying being kicked in the teeth kinda hurts-it gives the person an idea about how bad it is, but it doesn't even begin to describe the agony in detail.

Despite everything, I think Hiragana Forbidden Speech makes a valiant effort to blend teaching basic Japanese script and words with an interesting game structure and story, resulting in a genuinely helpful tool for anyone curious about learning Hiragana.

There's nothing revolutionary to be found here—no innovative play mechanics, no stunning graphics. This is a rock-solid Nazi-blasting FPS, and nothing more.

This slowdown often results in accidental death and having to start over, but not before sitting through the game’s load screen, which consists of the now-seared-into-my-brain image of the words “now loading” slowly revolving around an open book.

As much as I enjoyed it in the beginning, it soon began to feel like a chore and I’m sad to say that Undead Horde 2 is one of 10tons Ltd.’s few stumbles — it’s still addictive and sports their trademarked solid controls, but it’s sorely missing the infectious charm of their previous installment.

However, in the end, I felt that much of what made Risen 2 such a charming adventure was missing from Risen 3—it has fewer flaws overall, but the ambition has diminished as well. As a result, it's simply less interesting, and the return trip isn't as enjoyable as the previous journey.

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…

Sporting only a few minor upgrades, the Legend of Mana is largely the same game it was over twenty years ago – lots to do, but doesn’t really excel at any one aspect. The story and graphics are still delightful, but gameplay feels unpolished compared to today’s standards. That said, it’s still always great to see older games receive re-releases making them more available to larger audiences.

It's fun and violent and asks nothing at all from its player than to spend a few minutes blowing things to pieces whenever they feel like it, rewarding them with epic levels of blood and gore when they do.

I may have gotten the bad ending, been sick of the puzzle format and hated the platforming, but the forgotlings were cute, the world was a pleasure to look at and the few cutscenes were noteworthy. Ultimately, Forgotton Anne is held back by tired, repetitive game systems, and will itself soon be forgotten.

Without technical accomplishment or a compelling narrative, Natural Threat never rises above the crowd to distinguish itself in any meaningful way. There are better ways to spend time hunting pixels.

Considering its premise, it would be betraying the concept to make a ‘good’ game. It’s certainly interesting, but does that lead to an enjoyable experience? Well, it’s worth playing for those who enjoyed Hypnospace Outlaw and are interested in another snapshot from that period, and it’s brief enough so that it doesn’t outstay its welcome. However, people who aren’t Hypnospace fans or those who aren’t interested in the meta-concept would probably do well to look elsewhere if they’re craving a standard FPS fix.

Mind: Path to Thalamus is beautiful and has several elegant puzzles, but it doesn't tell any story with those attributes, nor does it tell a good story with anything else.

Ultimately Ninja Gaiden II retains everything from the original, for better or for worse, and makes a few small but very noticeable improvements.

I found myself going through all of the levels back to back while enjoying the mindless carnage it had to offer. If the devs were to pivot, scrapping the overcomplicated plot and instead focusing on polishing all aspects of the gameplay, the entire experience would be better for it. In its current state, with just a short selection of levels that take a couple of hours to complete while not being fully optimized? EvilVEvil‘s fangs aren’t as sharp as they should be.

Ultimately, though, the drudgery of actually playing this game outweighs whatever interest its narrative has to offer. I have to admire the ambition of the concept here, but Stories: The Path of Destinies falls short of having systems equal to that aspiration. Like its swashbuckling hero, this game’s reach exceeds its grasp.

The control scheme deserves high praise, as does the evocative portrait of outer space. What doesn't deserve praise is its cloying use of randomly generated content, lack of creative mission design, and generally awkward narrative ambiance.

Dave will eagerly steal 10 or 15 minutes from you here and there, and as a palate cleanser between longer games, it excels. But the climb back to the late-game point at which you bought the farm? It's more bummer than woah.

Elsword isn't the most polished game, but it does beat-em-up action quite well. Between the pets, the gear, the PVP, the costumes, and even the boss-rush modes, there's a good deal of content waiting to be plumbed by gamers that want a bit more action and skill from their MMOs. It's at least worth a look.

Yes, Max Payne 3 may be a thrilling game, but the most shocking, slickly-produced, well-written cut-scenes in the world can't get a player to fully humanize a character who can magically heal from the same bullet wounds that explode his enemies into red mist.

If anything, Revival did more to ruin my memories of the old Street Fighter games, because I don't ever remember playing a Street Fighter title with controls as poor as this one.

Echoblade‘s interpretation of a blind protagonist is a novel concept, but the experience offers only the barest leveraging of the premise — there simply isn’t enough complexity and not nearly enough enough moving parts here to add up to a significant gaming experience.

The most puzzling thing about Lost Castle is that it makes mistakes it has no reason to. The games that obviously inspired it have already solved its design problems — Rogue Legacy showed how to do an upgrade-based economy perfectly. Dark Souls‘ enemies have weaknesses and the player can defend. The devs rival Isaac‘s dizzying array of items and weapons, but nailing one out of three aspects isn’t enough to recommend it. There’s some quality stuff in Lost Castle and I genuinely hope it gets fixes for its flaws. But, as of right now, it’s a decent-ish co-op title that’s borderline unplayable alone.

I really wanted to love Big Hops, since it’s clearly made by folks who share my fondness for the 3D platformer genre. But while that passion has birthed a terrific moveset, Big Hops is ultimately a selection of great mechanics in search of a tighter, more focused game.

With difficult games coming into vogue over the past few years, Not a Hero isn't fresh or deep enough to make it stand out despite the humorous notes. A title like this will have an audience for sure, but the silly charm didn't outweigh the irritating difficulty for me.

Bonkies is cute and I found its ’90s cartoon aesthetic appealing, but the unbalanced difficulty swings make it hard to enjoy alone or in co-op. It’s possible that the optimal experience is with four players and the game does support remote play as well as couch co-op, so the best idea might be to find three friends before jumping into this monkey business.

While competent enough to satisfy hardcore fans between better games, Pariah never really takes off and brings its ideas to fruition. It is at best at second-tier shooter that rides the waves of its peers instead of making them.