Just small flaws in an otherwise sublime shooter. Brigador might not necessarily satisfy players looking for a new sim or a successor to a beloved series like MechCommander, but it scratches the itch for a challenging rampage game steeped in top-notch cyberpunk atmosphere.

Kojima is both retro and eccentric, and unless you're willing to accept that, his work won't fly for you. But if you are, if you are on his wave-length and able to appreciate all the witty touches that make his games sing, his work becomes rewarding in ways almost no other games are.

The ability to freeze time while scanning the level layout is an excellent feature, allowing the player to plan ahead and appreciate the strategic side of these spatial conundrums. However, the correct path through each level is a little more obvious and straightforward than in the GameBoy original, so planning your progress now takes more of a back seat to time-pressed platform expertise.

Despite these minor blemishes, Rogue Legacy is an engaging game that holds up over numerous trips through its diabolical castle.

While it might not be better than some of the classics of its genre, Gaucamelee! Super Turbo Championship Edition still offers a plump pinata that delivers plenty of candy for players willing to break it open.

Loading with surmountable challenges, cute characters, and fantastic level design, Grapple Dog is the rare all-ages platformer that really could appeal to anyone interested in the genre. It’s simple enough for a child to use it as an entry point for platformers, yet offers challenges daunting enough to frustrate the most jaded Super Meat Boy player. Grapple Dog is a absolute treasure.

Elex is the best game Piranha Bytes has ever made. They’ve taken all the lessons learned on plotting, worldbuilding and character development from their work on Risen and Gothic and applied it something far more ambitious. The result is a truly great action-RPG, full of interesting characters, memorable quests, and amazing environments. While Elex‘s story comes to a satisfying conclusion and all the questions Jax starts with are definitively answered, it ends with the suggestion that there’s a much bigger story on the way, and I can’t wait for it to arrive.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows feels like the culmination of years of reworking the series into a full-fledged RPG. With smart changes to the overall flow of combat and a narrative that rivals some of the best triple-AAA experiences available today, Shadows is not only the best AC in well over a decade, but arguably one of the finest action-RPGs of the decade so far.

Take away some of its flaws, and the bar would've been raised higher than most games could ever hope to surpass. In lieu of that, we have Kamiya's latest, a breakneck, top-tier example of the 3-D action brawler.

There isn't a plot to speak of, nor any gameplay elements beyond the fighting. But the fighting really is exceptionally fun for novices and experts, which makes this game extremely successful on its own terms.

Even at its most frustrating, the brilliance on display here is addictive. It would be goofy to say TimeMelters is the best action/strategy/time clone hybrid involving witches I’ve played all year, so let me broaden it a bit and say that it’s one of the best games I’ve played this year, bar none.

Starting this review by comparing Layers of Fear to P.T. is unfair, because even if P.T. had never existed, Bloober Team's work would still be stellar. However, those intrigued by that now-deceased project's approach would do well to step into the shoes of this miserable artist for a few hours... They should empty their bladders before turning their consoles on, though.

For those satisfied with their Talos adventure, I'd say that there's nothing essential in this expansion, and it might be hard for forgetful players to get back up to speed. On the other hand, players who enjoyed the base game and want more will find Road To Gehenna to be beautiful, brilliant, brain-breaking, and heartily recommended as something that recaptures (and builds upon) much of what made The Talos Principle great.

Blood West won’t be for everyone, but those willing to go along with its demanding play and deliberate pacing will find an engaging experience that celebrates the player’s wits as much as reflexes. I won’t soon forget the feeling of being low on ammo, even lower on health and deep behind enemy lines, knowing I should turn back, but forging ahead anyway, intoxicated by what treasure could be around the next corner – because more than likely, it’s worth it.

Metaphor feels like an evolution of both the Persona and SMT series in the best ways. It builds on what’s come before in both, and synergizes everything together in a cohesive package. It also boasts some of the best gameplay found in any turn-based JRPG, with style to spare. While its world is beautiful and the cast lovable, it sadly never feels like it gets past the surface of anything, and pulls its punches in the final act. Despite this it remains a fantastic experience, and offers a worthy new frontier for Atlus to explore.

While my memories of playing it in the past weren’t great, the masterful music and visual presence combined in Lumines: Arise really turned me around on the series. It’s not one to miss!

It may not offer all of the answers I crave, but it manages to improve on the main game’s already well-crafted mechanics, and also builds an intriguing story that ties in beautifully with the existing plot.

MyDearest has made the best case yet for proving that visual novels can work in VR, and it’s strong enough to compete with more traditional non-VR entries in the genre as well. This is one giant robot you’ll want to get into.

From its simple premise Crash! delivers plenty of fun to reproduce a simple childhood joy.

NitW could also do more with its platforming. Five minutes in, the game tutorializes its jumping, and that tutorial is more challenging than any section that follows throughout the rest of its ten hour runtime. Ultimately, though, those issues do little to detract from the excellent characters and story at the heart of Infinite Fall’s debut. Night in the Woods’ story is the main attraction, and its superb execution was enough to keep me hooked.

Sure, it might be getting up there in years, but while the younger generation feels like it has to show off how ‘scary' it is with cheaper, higher-octane thrills, Resident Evil takes the time to really get under my skin, and considering how many times I leapt out of it, I'd say a bit of maturity isn't a bad thing.

Scope is a critical part of any project, and Chop Goblins understands this perfectly. By setting their sights modestly and emphasizing speed and tone, the developer manages an almost perfect execution of their vision – there is no waste, and every element keeps me engaged in its mad rush.

Tacoma is a great experience that’s not only wonderfully designed and produced, it’s one that that richly illustrates a side of videogames that’s worthy of further exploration. I would happily recommend it to nearly anyone – the themes and emotions here will resonate.

Not since the Yakuza developers decided to make a Fist of the North Star game have I seen a better melding of developer and subject matter. Runner Duck’s penchant for making hectic management sims about intense action-adventure settings have reached a new high with Badlands Crew. This is the best Mad Max game we’ve had in ages, and given the increasing quality of their work, I can’t wait to see what the developers have in store for us next.

Ni No Kuni II is absolutely delightful. While the original was bogged down by some cumbersome mechanics, Level 5 has done an outstanding job of cutting the fat while adding new elements and keeping things fresh — It has almost none of the filler that plagues the JRPG genre. I can’t stress how happy it makes me to see a game as good as this appeal to both someone like me, and to children as well. But most importantly, it’s not a kids’ game — it’s just a fantastic JRPG.

Weird West is a truly special experience. While each one of its stories is compelling in its own right, when put together they transform into something fantastic. This is a game that shows its monsters and asks the player to be disgusted, and then turns them into a monster and asks if they feel the same way. As such, every one of the journeys contained within is worth taking, but it’s only once players have trod all of those roads that they’ll appreciate just how amazing Weird West‘s accomplishments are. It’s deep, it’s fascinating, and it’s full of the kind of storytelling that resonates for a long time after credits roll — truly an incredible experience from beginning to end.

Deadlink doesn’t reinvent the wheel. Despite its shortcomings, it presents a well-tuned, fast-paced experience that remains engaging from start to finish, and on more than one occasion I found myself so locked in that my knuckles were hurting from gripping my controller. Deadlink asks its players to walk a thin line between success and failure, and in so doing captures a sense of intensity that vastly overshadows its lack of variety and disappointing story. Anytime I find myself in need of a quick shot of adrenaline, I have a feeling that Deadlink will be my fix for a good while now.

By the time the credits rolled, my hand was aching at the base of the pinky finger that operates the Shift key, but I was still sad that there were no more obstacles to overcome. I was in physical pain and still itching to keep going. If that’s not the sign of a damn good action romp, I don’t know what is.