Despite its flaws and the fact that I went through a great deal of frustration with the game, I would still recommend No One Lives Forever for what it is: a solid though ultimately unremarkable first-person shooter who's biggest asset is not its gameplay or controls, but its heroine and clever and compelling story.

Putting the issue of tedious battles aside, Immortal Realms is still an enticing product, especially on consoles where there’s not much else like it. For console fans waiting for something substantial, yet less labyrinthian than some of Kalypso’s other offerings, spending time draining blood from the countryside is a great way to go.

While the lack of any meaningful narrative might hold Warriors Abyss from reaching the insane heights of Warriors All-Stars, the sheer volume of characters on offer gives it a huge amount of replayability. It doesn’t matter which character the player is fond of because they’re all here and ready to fight the armies of the dead. This is as charming a celebration of the Dynasty and Samurai Warriors franchises as I’ve seen, and fans should absolutely make it their business to get into it as soon as possible.

Nights of Azure’s a disappointing game for sure, but it’s not exactly awful—the mindless combat is balanced by the tremendous art and sound design, and despite the negative tone of this review it’s not offensively bad at anything it does. It’s just aggressively bland and tough to recommend when the action’s too toothless to keep players engaged.

Despite those issues, there is no question that Cursed Mountain is not only one of the finest titles currently available for the Wii, it's a welcome detour from the well-worn survival horror path that so many developers seem only too happy to tread.

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.

It's shame that the ending is so inadvisably abrupt, opting for a limp 'shock' finale rather than a satisfying closure that would have sat so much better with the game's slow-burning narrative.

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.

With its high-quality ballistic modelling and gruesome death scenes, Sniper Elite 3 offers exactly what fans of the series demand, but still comes nowhere near living up to its potential.

I hate to be so harsh on a game with ties to incredibly traumatic real-world events, but The Town of Light feels like something that was produced as some sort of virtual reality tour and was later cobbled into being a videogame by adding an undercooked story. As it stands, this experience isn’t cementing nor commemorating a dark chapter in Italy’s history as elegantly, interestingly nor effectively as it seems to think it is. And the narrative, with its overabundance of awkward sexual scenes, lack of meaningful suspense and story that left me confused does nothing to validate the painstaking care that must have gone into recreating the asylum.

White Day isn’t at the top of its genre, but it’s a solid entry. The real surprise, though, is the effective post-release work that the developers did to fix their game and transform it into something worthwhile after starting it off as a frustrating failure. There are plenty of issues with taking games away from physical media, but examples like this support the concept — the developers didn’t release an unfinished work, they’d just made bad design choices. Luckily, the current nature of gaming gave them a chance to turn a mediocre work into a good one, and they were smart enough to take it.

The spinning intensity of "FreQuency" and the glowing, surreal world of "Rez" are perfect examples of the synergy that can be achieved by blending traditional videogames with the energy and visceral response music can command. Arika's effort seems to want to carve itself a similar sort of alternative niche, but possesses only a fraction of the gameplay required for relevance. As a result, it fails vapidly.

Although it's unavoidable that some players won't be able to get past the graphics, those that do will be treated to an entertaining and worthwhile experience for a system that currently boasts the highest shovelware-to-keeper ratio I think I've ever seen.

Industria‘s best aspects are its solid combat and beautiful architecture. While this might not be enough for other titles, these things do carry its 4-5 hour runtime, and by not overstaying its welcome it remains engaging enough until the end.

As a triple-A holiday blockbuster from a renowned studio and a major publisher released after years of build-up, it doesn’t feel like a product that has justified this much anticipation. Furthermore, as yet another live-service title expecting players to sink who knows how many hours into its ecosystem, it completely fails to convince me that anybody will be playing in a year without a great deal of work needed to elevate it out of mediocrity.

Shadow Man: Remastered is an interesting choice for today’s market, because it’s not afraid to show the passage of time — it proudly displays the trappings of its era with untouched (and cryptic) level design, clunky combat and alight narrative. It will provide a particular sort of nostalgia for those who remember the period it’s from, but players coming to it for the first time should scale back any expectations.

With the whole formula on display in the first hour and no real surprises or variation to look forward to, the golden premise and clever situations can't save My World, My Way from being a shallow, incredibly repetitive experience that could have been much, much more.

I swear, I felt my IQ drop as I was playing the game, the sounds of brain cells popping melding nicely with the oh-so-bland cock-rock soundtrack that seems to be a requisite feature of sophomoric extreme sports tie-ins.

Although it was a little too different for me, I recommend it to anyone tired of the brick rain-jewel swap dynasty.

Issues aside, it's hard to discount the feeling of nostalgia that permeates Growlanser: Wayfarer of Time. Gamers like me, who experienced the golden age of the JRPG firsthand, will undoubtedly enjoy this title despite the occasional misstep.

Once again, the developers have demonstrated a remarkable ability to change what RE7 is and how it plays on a fundamental level. This is every bit as impressive as the rest of the game’s content, but it feels completely fresh and unique, just going to show what a stellar product Capcom has released. If only it was available in VR.

With a competitive Freestyle mode, Urban Trial Playground would likely have earned itself a spot in the roster of local multi games I play with my roommates. I would have loved to compete with them for high scores in UTP’s impeccably designed courses. Unfortunately, UTP’s multiplayer only offers the lesser of its two modes, which means I’ve had all the enjoyment there is to have with it. I’ll think fondly of it, but like those ’90s Capri Sun commercials, its days are past.

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.

In its current state, there’s some joy to be found in conquering a string of Flame Keeper’s levels with a perfect run, but there are just so many other, better roguelites available. Releasing an incomplete build in a market so heavily saturated with outstanding titles just isn’t a solid strategy.

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.

If nothing else, Legacy of Ys proves that revisiting your roots (or exploring them for the first time...) is a trip well worth taking. It's hard to know where we are if we forget where we came from and how we got here.

A highly disappointing game, no two ways about it.

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.

Crash Team Rumble feels a bigger-than-average swing for the series, but one that — at this point — ultimately misses. That said, there are updates on the horizon, but I’m worried that it won’t be able to break away from more unbalanced characters and a general lack of content. Maybe Crash Team Rumble will end up like Fall Guys or Rocket League and go free-to-play at some point, but as it stands I’d have to recommend waiting for the game to bulk up a little before diving in.

An exquisite experience from start to finish. Its huge set pieces, impressive vistas, and engaging mechanics are as strong as the sense of personality and creatorship behind them.

Everything in Genesis Alpha One ultimately boils down to being over-ambitious. I appreciate the attempt and see something great beneath the surface somewhere, but in its current state it’s just too rough to recommend. With more assets, more things to do, and shortening the grind of finding resources and blueprints, it might be worth building a spaceship and breeding a clone army. For now, it looks like humanity’s mission to repopulate is a failure.

Shenmue III is not the best game of the year and it’s not even my favorite game of the year, but no title in 2019 brought me as much sheer joy and jubilation, and I can’t possibly imagine any fan of the franchise walking away disappointed. For that reason alone, I can only see it as a tremendous success.

There are lots of little things in this title that are genuinely good – the subplots add a depth to the world, the art style is buoyant — but there’s far too much that feels like it hasn’t been fully thought out. Shiness is a curious experiment that never quite hits the mark, which is a shame given the effort that has clearly gone into it.

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.

On the whole, Thief is a worthwhile entry into the stealth genre and genuinely better than many I've played, but it's hard to ignore the number of obvious things that it whiffs.

It’s great to see more of Travis Touchdown, but it’s also a shame that he’s not in top form. Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes isn’t necessarily a bad game… but it’s not a very good one either. Players who don’t have an appreciation for Suda’s trademark style or any emotional attachment to the series will undoubtedly wonder what the fuss is all about.

When Dissidia Final Fantasy NT is firing on all cylinders, it’s a unique experience that sings the glory of its intricate, slightly-too-complicated combat system. It’s just a shame that the spare nature of its arcade origins and the indifferent effort put into teaching its systems will stymie players who aren’t enthralled enough with the Final Fantasy brand to stick it out.

In short, NBA 2K21 is a solid entry for the franchise, and is arguably the smoothest on-court performer of this console generation. However, its value will largely depend on how tolerant users are of a corny, repetitive story mode and mostly the same options as in previous editions. According to most of the web, 2K Games is building the next-gen versions of NBA 2K21 from the ground up to match the improved technology. Here’s to hoping they upgrade more than the graphics, while keeping the on-court play intact.

Despite the rough patches, Bright Memory: Infinite is a great achievement for a single indie developer. The fast-paced action and weapon diversity are great, and the eye-catching Unreal Engine 4 graphics make it easy on the eyes. enjoyable. Bright Memory: Infinite is a flawed gem, but a gem all the same.

Although the core Uncharted titles might not do much for me, Fight for Fortune is a respectably entertaining title for players who enjoy the CCG genre. It might not have the same run-and-gun Nathan Drake is usually known for, but I'll take card combos and strategy over killing a thousand generic thugs and auto-climbing ledges any day.

After all is said and done, Resident Evil 6 isn't a runaway success, but most of the time, it succeeds at what it sets out to accomplish. Unfortunately, it's such a departure from the rest of the series that those expecting more of the same will find themselves frustrated and foiled-despite the "6" in its title, this is an entirely new animal, and the developers have hamstrung their own work by doing an unforgivably bad job of explaining what the game is, and how they intend it to be played.

After three hours I was nearly halfway through the content, and I found myself unable to continue. Rest In Pieces has a wonderful look and great controls, but if the developers had worked on evening out the challenge, they’d have had a winner. Sadly, in its current state the game is only suitable for those who can accept a truly epic amount of frustration in exchange for some beautiful art design.

Effie is a short, enjoyable 3D platformer that needs more polish on the combat. That said, it’s a kid-friendly alternative to pick up and enjoy for those who’ve already been through the others in the genre.

For a second time, the developers of The Council have proven that there’s life and spirit in Interactive Movie genre, making the most elaborately interactive entry the genre has seen. Of course, since this is only the second entry in a five-part series, players can expect it to end at a point designed to leave them desperate for more, and it does. The third installment can’t get here fast enough!

Even with no major changes and some minor issues, Picross S is a satisfactory, affordable puzzle game. Not much else needs to be said.

Despite my complaints, Redeemer has me excited to see future work from this studio. The systems here are a great platform to expand upon in a sequel, and at its core, the experience does offer great gameplay — it’s just not enough to carry the entire experience.

I didn’t expect much out of World War Z as a licensed title, but Saber Interactive has done a great job adapting the IP’s globe-spanning scope and massive hordes of zombies while bolstering it with inspiration from a past classic. I’m not sure that I’d recommend it for players who insist on playing alone, but for those who have at least one friend or those who don’t mind recruiting some randos, it’s a great way to kill a million zombies over a weekend.

It’s an impressive release, especially considering it was crafted by a team of only around 30 people. There are a few bugs here and there and and the controls aren’t as tight as I would’ve hoped, but this title shows off its huge heart with a well-told story and level design that revitalizes the classic Oddworld formula. While it has taken an obscene amount of time to reach what is ostensibly a remake for part two of a five-part story, I hope Soulstorm does well enough in the market to keep this lovable and truly odd franchise going.

In its current form, it seems like more of a test case than a fully finished product since many of the bosses are repeats and the special abilities earned don't share common levels of functionality. The graphics are nothing to write home about, either. However, taking those things into account, Raid Leader still offers a unique experience and presents some ideas that I would love to see expanded on in the future.

Sword of the Necromancer is a brief adventure filled with engaging combat and an unexpected amount of heart. Like many roguelikes, repeated runs can grow a bit tedious and a little more visual variety would have been appreciated, but Necromancer is a viable option for someone looking for a bite-size dungeon crawl… And maybe a good cry, too.

I have a great fondness for roguelikes, but this one puts me in a weird place. Mechanically, Into The Pit is a welcome throwback to classic FPS games with the added twist of randomized elements to keep things interesting. However, the pool of random elements is too shallow and there are not enough interesting combinations to keep all but the most dedicated players interested.

Luckily, Mail Time’s ambiance and memorable characters outweigh the backtracking issues. I loved getting to know the residents of Grumblewood Grove and helping resolve their conflicts — it really felt like I was making the forest a better place. Mail Time is a lovely cottagecore adventure best enjoyed with a younger gamer, or those looking for a relaxing escapade to be enjoyed on a rainy afternoon.

People only be satisfied with "AAA" levels of production will likely gripe, but to be perfectly frank, none of the rough edges diminished my overall experience-the focus and design of Reality Pump's efforts just can't be denied.

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.

Blair Witch is a successful videogame translation of what made the original film so haunting. It doesn’t move far outside the dev team’s comfort zone, but the warmth of the relationship between a man and his dog almost made it worth fighting through the motion sickness it gave me. Almost.

Although the controls were solidly implemented, the graphics were some of the best I've seen on the Wii, and I do believe the developers' hearts were in the right place, Fragile Dreams: Farewell Ruins of the Moon is a tedious, trying experience that didn't offer enough reason for me to carry on in spite of its downsides.

The potential is clearly here for another out-of-left-field cult hit, but the charm of sautéing, stewing, and sometimes scorching wears off too soon, and there's nothing to fall back on to bolster the experience.

Sure, at its core, Battle Through Time is a retelling of the TV series with some deviations, but it absolutely nails what makes Samurai Jack a modern animated masterpiece, and it was a delightful surprise to play through.

Zombie Army VR isn’t a failure by any means – the zombie shooting is certainly thrilling in its brutality, even if it still feels like a bit of a missed opportunity. The relative paucity of zombies, the fact that the sniper rifle feels like a secondary weapon, and the lack of any of the franchise’s crazier elements, like magical combat abilities or zombified vehicles, conspire to make it feel like half of the experience it should be. Maybe we’ll get extremely lucky and when Rebellion gets around to making Zombie Army 5 they’ll consider developing a VR version alongside it so that we’ll finally get a chance to truly inhabit this world.

In the end, Last Stop is an entertaining collection of three narratives, but given the superficial nature of the player’s interactions, I can’t help but think that the whole project might have worked better as a straightforward visual novel.

Onimusha: Warlords still boasts solid story and innovative creature design, but more than anything else, this title is lesson on game design in the days when consoles could have beautiful art or 3D worlds, but not both.

The King’s Bird has a strong conceptual foundation, but the experience falls victim to the “git gud” mentality. It shines when players are allowed to explore the freedom of flight, but that light dwindles over time and is finally snuffed out in the final hours by tragic oversights that have been compounded on for hours.

The London Case occupies a strange sort of middle ground — it wants to facilitate player freedom, while at the same time telling a focused point-and-click story with little room for deviation. Perhaps it would have functioned better as a more pure narrative experience – a visual novel, for instance. It certainly would have been easier to avoid the technical hiccups in that case!

Now, it's possible that this game only looks as great as it does because the game it's following set those expectations so abysmally low, but even without taking that into consideration, it's still an incredibly fun game.

Monochroma can proudly hold its metaphorical head high among other classy 2D puzzle-platformers. This is a game whose developers extensively studied the greats of the genre, and obviously understand what they did right. While it may not bring anything particularly new to the table, Monochroma is a beautifully executed adventure that kept me enthralled all the way from the promising opening to the slightly annoying finale.

Save Me Mr Tako is a cheery delight with surprisingly thought-provoking dialogue, but I could only perform the same gameplay for so long. Ultimately, the experience wasn’t engaging enough to push me through to the conclusion, but I wish Mr. Tako the best in his efforts to end the tragic conflict between octopi and humans.

The potential of a ghostly character capable of leaping from soldier to soldier, causing chaos in the middle of a firefight has barely been scratched, not to mention the poltergeist scenarios that could be crafted around possessing exploding lightbulbs, flying bedsheets, rattling pots and pans, or any number of other things that could be employed for the purpose of haunting.

If someone were looking for a platforming action game, there are better ones out there. If someone were looking for a Scooby-Doo game, there aren't.

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.

With its solid gameplay, touching story and attractive art design, Nights of Azure 2: Bride of the New Moon is a fantastic Action-RPG. Clear objectives ensures that players never have trouble moving the story forward, while likable characters pull them into the story. Just as importantly, the game respects the player’s time — coming in at around 25 hours, it tells a complete, affecting story without dragging on. It’s rare that I’ll go back and explore New Game+ modes, but the high quality of the narrative and the fact that I got the sad ending has convinced me that it’s worth a second look.

I honestly do think that Sir Daniel Fortesque is a good character with potential, but I would have much rather seen an all-new game with a nod towards current methodology than a rehash of something that honestly wasn't all that great in the first place.

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.

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.

It may be designed for last-generation hardware, but it makes an excellent case for small-scale design and proves that great experiences can be had without any need for cutting-edge technology or million-dollar budgets.

Although I can't say it's a must-play for Lord of Shadow 2 fans, Alucard is cool, he's classy, and I want more of him in a leading role. Until then, Revelations is two or three more hours of quality content for an underrated title, and the cleverness of its core idea was definitely worth the price of admission.

For fans of strategic collectible card games, Ironclad Tactics will provide hours of entertainment and offers the ability to go deep into its deck-building mechanics. For more casual players, the game's difficulty spikes and deck micro-management can quickly feel overwhelming. Despite its promising qualities, Ironclad's list of problems clink and clank too loudly not to notice.

Submerged: Hidden Depths is the definition of wasted potential. The setting is a rare treat that deserve to be experienced, but the world is too empty of significant content and the gameplay is too straightforward without any challenging aspects. This ocean might be quite beautiful, but it’s far too shallow.

It’s great to finally have Everybody’s Golf on PC, and even though this entry fails to meet the series’ usual high standards, it still offers a fine walk out on the links. That said, it’s impossible to shake the feeling that it’s only achieved the absolute minimum here. Until the various bugs and other issues are patched out, I simply can’t recommend Everybody’s Golf in its current state. No matter how good the general golfing experience is, it’s impossible to ignore the wonky physics and overall lack of ambition. What should have been a near-effortless hole in one is perilously close to becoming a triple bogey instead.

In the end, NASCAR Heat 2 offers up plenty of racing for fans to enjoy. The driving is tight, and it feels genuinely good to win. However, when it comes right down to it, I suspect my problem with the game may actually be a problem with NASCAR itself — all of the excitement and exhilaration is buried beneath race after boring race, lap after boring lap.

While I won’t say that Necronator has turned me around on deckbuilders, it speaks highly of the developers’ skill at accessible design that it managed to pull me in as quickly and effectively as it did. With cute art, speedy gameplay and a surprising amount of depth, I found it easy to keep jumping back into another campaign whenever I made a crucial error — which is the best state of mind this type of game can put a player in.

A thin plot is only a minor issue in the larger context of what the game gets right. With an innovative main mechanic and great balance of complexity within each stage, Peaky Blinders: Mastermind is a nice, tight experience capable of making any puzzle player raise a triumphant fist after an intense sequence.

This is a game that could have badly used more polish. Still, it does many things I like, and if Zootfly brings this hero back for another colorful adventure, I'd be willing to give him a second chance.

This Switch version was my first time playing Crysis. I think as a piece of gaming history, and it’s interesting to see what the standards for visuals and design were back in 2007. That said, it feels dated and the campaign struggled to keep my attention due to the weak storytelling, problematic controls and drawn-out firefights. Still, for those who are interested in visiting (or revisiting) this landmark title, this Switch port might be their best bet.

Perhaps this is just a pitiful attempt to justify my horn dog instincts and guilty pleasure in playing Rumble Roses behind some twisted logic. But who could blame me? After all, I'm only a man. My wife, while rolling her eyes, sympathizes.

The retro appeal is lost, the mechanics aren’t updated for modern times, and it offers nothing of historical or archival value. Frankly, I have no idea who Toki’s intended audience is – someone obviously loved it enough to dig it up and give it a fresh coat of paint, I’m just not sure why.

ELEX 2 outdoes its predecessor in every way. The story is more interesting, the character writing is even deeper, and the threats are far more colorful and deadly. While the ending promises a third chapter to come, I only hope the devs fix the combat next time — perhaps they should just ditch melee entirely? Ranged weaponry is the only thing really working here, so perhaps double down on that and focus entirely on guns, arrows, and spells — it works well enough in games like Mass Effect, so why not try it in an open-world context? ELEX 2 is just one failed element away from being a truly great game — unfortunately, that element is ‘Action’ and it’s an Action-RPG.

Where Jet X20 falls short is in providing a single, consistent experience. The way racing and tricking are implemented, it is impossible to concentrate on both at the same time.

Blue Reflection is incredibly upfront about what it’s trying to accomplish here — it’s explicitly about the real dangers to life and limb that can be caused by depression and negative emotional states, and it’s also about the importance of reaching out to those who are suffering and trying to make their lives better. I can’t say that I’ve seen many games with the same goal, but I enjoyed making the world a better place. The experience is sweet, funny, intense, and one of the most fundamentally good-hearted titles I’ve seen in ages.

While M2’s emulation work is spectacular as always, the Darius Cozmic Collection suffers from a failure of imagination. It envisions the history of this eclectic, evocative franchise as a commodity to be fastidiously repackaged and sold as’ content’ rather than taking the opportunity to explore and appreciate one of the strangest sagas in gaming. It’s a frustratingly narrow view that leaves the Darius story untold, and Taito has ensured that these collections will blend in with countless others on a shelf, struggling to be found in the crowded marketplace.

While it's a stronger entry than In Too Deep, Give No Shelter doesn't justify this mini-season. Michonne's story so far—and the series in general—relies more and more on death and violence while providing fewer meaningful choices for players to contemplate.

Being the first battle royale game may have been enough a few years ago, but in the current market where Fortnite is the biggest thing in the world, it takes greater ambition than “ugly but functional” to stand out. The best thing I can say about H1Z1 is that it’s free, but even so, I still can’t recommend it when its biggest competition is also free and offers a far better version of this same premise.

What was great about Ghostbusters: The Videogame still shines through in this remaster — it’s a loving tribute and fitting ‘sequel’ to one of the greatest comedies of all time, the dialogue and performances are top-notch, and fighting the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man is still tremendously enjoyable. With that said, the nostalgia that masked gameplay warts in 2009 isn’t quite as potent today. However, it’s still a romp that any fan of the franchise will greatly appreciate, and given the sorry state of game archiving these days, I’m grateful we get the opportunity to play it again.

Despite all my misgivings, Operation Abyss still comes fairly recommended to anyone looking for a dungeon crawler that doesn't mind occasionally hurling its audience to the wolves. Apart from some severely questionable design flaws, the core game that lurks within is a strangely enjoyable and rewarding experience, and a lengthy one at that. It's just not one that's for the faint of heart or short on patience.

Like a deflated football, 7 Trials doesn't encourage you to play, nor does it promise exciting play, it just makes play possible.

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.

It's a shame because the art style attractively breaks away from the typical anime-esque lines and also sports some gorgeous animated cutscenes more interesting than the game itself. Despite these meager positives, there's nothing to recommend it outside of the fact that it's an RPG on the PSP.

Add to that some late-game plot twists, several path-altering choices, a wide variety of obstacles to overcome, multiple endings to discover, and a wealth of small touches (like your character's clothing deteriorating with each narrow escape) and you've got a progressively energetic game set in a fantastic locale: one step beyond everyday life.

The combat may be janky and the puzzles are nothing special, but anyone looking for a truly satisfying horror story need look no further. If nothing else, it knows how to end in a great way, and that in itself is worth a lot.