Knights Contract reminds me of that friend from high school-I think maybe every guy might've had one like this growing up-who was way too into wrestling. For the most part he was a great guy, except for the times when he'd decide that a casual conversation was a perfect opportunity to throw me into an inescapable armbar, on which occasion I found myself wishing he was a dead person.

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.

Did I enjoy my time with Saint Maker? Yes. Would I ever play it again? No, especially since there aren’t any variations in the story paths or endings that would warrant it. I could see this being a tale to experience on a dark, rainy night for avid visual novel fans, but I doubt there’s much here for anyone who isn’t already a fairly serious fan of the genre’s more straightforward offerings.

By Perception’s conclusion, I’d witnessed several generations of families who’d lived in this mysterious estate, how they meshed together and found Cassie’s link to them. Some were more interesting than others, but Perception ends up dragging on for too long with too little intrigue to carry it through. Had it been half as long and experimented more with the applications of Cassie’s blindness, Perception could’ve been a fascinating experience. What I actually got was the chance to stumble around in the dark for six hours, which is about as enjoyable as it sounds.

It's decent in short bursts, but I have a feeling that it will be quickly forgotten once the Vita's upcoming Senran Kagura: Estival Versus hits.

Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom doesn't fail because any particular aspect of it is poorly made, it fails because its components don't fit together.

This season created problems and solved them, but the overarching themes of the series as a whole weren’t sufficiently addressed, and I feel as if the ending leaves too much unanswered. However, putting my feelings aside, it’s nearly impossible to hate on the final episode of The Walking Dead. It wouldn’t even exist if not for the outstanding effort from the developers and publisher, and for the sake of the fans like me, it was appreciated.

This is ultimately what playing League of War VR Arena is — standing across from someone at a fake battlefield table, setting down toy soldiers, and watching them haphazardly run into battle like of a bunch of wind-up toys.

It's a great idea and proves the case that there is potential for stealth play on the iPhone, but Robbery Bob doesn't feel like it's quite there yet. Still, it's fairly interesting and there isn't much like it on iOS. It sort of wins the genre by default.

But for those of us who play games with the controllers that came with the system, NASCAR 08 is just too flawed to be worth playing.

343 Industries made a terrific impression with their first dip into the franchise, but with a lackluster campaign and multiplayer that still needs tuning, Halo 5: Guardians makes them look like one-hit wonders.

Opus is a small-scale experience, and I find that to be totally appropriate. While the story didn’t end on the strongest of notes, I enjoyed the ride and thought it was not only a positive experience, but a great fit for the Switch. However, I was only tolerating the telescope portions in order to find out where the plot was going, so basically half of this game was a wash. Since the entire thing can be completed in two hours or so, it’s not too hard to put up with actually searching for Earth, but fans of small games and indies should expect to show up to Opus for the narrative and nothing else.

The best thing I can say about Team Sonic Racing is that kids will probably love it, although that’s damning praise considering its predecessor. Sonic All Stars Racing Transformed was a wonderful title offering both nostalgia and gameplay, easily giving Nintendo’s efforts a run for their money. Sadly, while Team Sonic Racing can boast improved driving physics and a solid team element, nearly every other aspect of the experience is a step backwards.

I am Future targets the fans of slower crafty games. Gathering resources, dismantling objects, farming, fishing… it all comes together to make a non-rushed title, and while I wanted to like it, it just didn’t click. Quests ended up feeling like chores, and the story wasn’t exciting enough to make up for the lackluster gameplay. Overall, I am Future offers a pleasant starting loop, but it never evolves into anything bigger.

The fact that they didn't take advantage of advancements in modern game design and usability keeps Elliot Quest from being anything more than a too-faithful tribute to a flawed game.

My Friend Pedro seems like it should be wall-to-wall adrenaline-fueled gunplay and spectacle — and it is at times — but it’s too frequently dulled by stretches of tedium, switch-flipping, misplaced platforming and visually bland environments. With that banana on board, it could (and should) have been so much more.

Indeed, Fullmetal Alchemist 2 has proven to me that its parent anime is a good show. But I've yet to be convinced that Fullmetal Alchemist 2 is a good game.

As underwhelmed as I was by Fallen Order, I hope that its inevitable success will encourage EA to do more with this franchise, since it makes a powerful case for the resonance of Star Wars — if this mediocre casserole of concepts yanked from superior titles didn’t have the license attached, I doubt anyone would be talking about it.

For a time-rich audience, I can see Lords of Shadow being well worth the investment.

Though Trufflepigs is not the game I was expecting, it’s still a generally pleasant and engaging experience. I loved getting to know Beth and Adam, but the plot is incredibly uneven and feels unfinished. Had I gone into the game thinking it was centered only around Beth and Adam, I would have enjoyed it far more. Sadly, the missed opportunities of the heavily-advertised ‘murderer’ plotline left a sour taste in my mouth.

Frustrating puppet mechanics aside, Shadow Fencer Theatre is enjoyable for an afternoon thanks to its unique premise and visual novelty, but after putting my time in, I’ll forget it exists until the next time I have friends over.

I hoped The Red Lantern would grow on me with subsequent playthroughs, but, unfortunately the opposite was true due to the technical problems, design issues and repetitive dialogue. Those looking for a trip through Alaska or wanting to revisit bittersweet memories of traveling to Oregon, might want to check it out, but anyone on the hunt for a narrative-driven roguelite should skip it.

In choosing to re-create Wings exactly as it was, warts and all, the developers have revealed that on a fundamental level, Wings was always more wart than it was game.

Assassin’s Creed: Mirage is just kinda there. It makes some nice nods to earlier installments, but the stealth isn’t as slick as it needs to be. It features a lovingly-rendered Baghdad, but doesn’t have enough interesting things going on in it. The narrative it offers is largely unnecessary, and considering who Basim is in the overall mythology of the series, that is tremendously disappointing. The only thing Mirage excels at is reminding long-time Assassin’s Creed fans of days gone by.

These characters deserve a bigger canvas on which to tell their tale.

Ghost Song is filled with genuine human beings who fight fiercely for each other’s happiness, and it’s a tonal balance I almost always find lovely. It’s just a shame that it doesn’t seem to realize that decent action alone would have been a sufficient accompaniment to it. Regardless of the superfluous RPG trappings, Ghost Song offers beautiful sights to be found within its mysterious halls.

Viking Squad is one of those games with occasional highlights — pecking enemies to death with an ostrich does have its moments after all — and a slick exterior that’s undercut by not quite getting the basics right. In this case, a diverse and interesting combat system would have gone a long way towards making this voyage way more worthwhile to embark on.

Mars or Die‘s design is beautiful and the RTS and Tower Defense elements work fine, but there’s just not enough here to recommend it. Once I’d finished the tutorial, and all that was left was to get through slightly harder versions of the same fights until credits rolled. It has some good bones for a better game to be built on, but in its current form, this title feels empty and incomplete.