Tekken 7 is a tough one to judge. The fighting’s competent, the roster’s huge, it looks and sounds good, and there’s a ton of stuff to learn. It’s also easy to pick up for beginners, and experts have access to a veritable playground of skills to show off mid-match. However, it doesn’t feel like a particularly huge leap for the series, the online’s spotty, the rage attacks and move spamming feel way too pervasive in matchmaking, and I expected more content given how long it’s taken to hit home.

Though it doesn’t break the mold (and in some ways steps back a bit in terms of narrative scope) Fate/Extella Link is the ideal sequel, holding tight to what worked best about Fate/Extella: The Umbral Star and building on that foundation with a set of well-thought-out additions and changes. Fans of the previous entry and the Fate franchise should give it a look.

Ultimately, Pinball M is another solid outing from Zen Studios. Their typically-excellent pinball physics complement well-designed, original tables based on icons of film and videogames. For those who aren’t fans of the source material, the excellent new modes alone make it a worthy addition for any pinball fan.

Despite its simplicity, Europa establishes itself as a whimsical, wondrous experience floating through the wilds of a fallen utopia. I won’t forget it anytime soon.

If one can look past the technical limitations and lack of control customization, Lords of the Fallen is a strong addition to the soulslike catalogue. With solid combat and fascinating, multi-layered exploration, not only does Lords of the Fallen do enough to stand out from a crowded field, it manages to be a great game for those with a Dark Souls itch to scratch.

Romance Of The Three Kingdoms XIII is a deep, highly rewarding strategy title that insists on persistence, patience, and a high commitment. I’m unable to speak on behalf of ROTK die-hards, but as someone who came in completely bereft of knowledge of the franchise, this thirteenth entry does a solid job to bring in new players, which, considering how damn intricate it can be, is commendable.

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.

So what we have with Flowstone is a big, shaggy, messy game — it’s something that stumbles from time to time, but is also crafted with obvious joy that succeeds in its suite of core mechanics, and that’s where it matters most. It’s one of the more uneven titles I’ve played this year and this is not an unqualified recommendation, but it’s memorable, charming, and worth supporting.

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.

Sokobond Express’s biggest strength is also its most significant obstacle. By putting all their eggs into one basket, the developers have crafted a mechanically excellent puzzler with a strong logical backbone and a remarkable ability to communicate its complex notions. However, by neglecting the thematic side of the equation, Sokobond Express hews too closely to its source material, ultimately feeling academic to a fault. The result is an exercise in solving puzzles for their own sake, and while the puzzles are of a uniformly high quality, the overall experience lacks the hooks to make a truly lasting impression.

Overall, Freedom Planet 2 is an excellent (though imperfect) love letter to Japanese ’90s style platformers, and anyone who enjoys either old-school design or platforming in general will find it worthwhile thanks to solid mechanics, plenty of content and strong replayability via the different characters available. Maybe skip the story, but don’t miss it.

Videogames this ain't. Art it might be. But what is it? Electroplankton is. And that's all it sets out to be.

As far as my advice goes, it’s simple — for those who dig Rick & Morty, this is a must-buy, even if one doesn’t own a VR headset. Those who think the show is over-hyped, unfunny nonsense should stay as far away from it as possible. The gameplay or VR implementation isn’t anything earth-shattering, but as a delivery mechanism for Justin Roiland’s humor, Trover Saves The Universe is a fantastic success.

Anger Foot is at its best in motion. Falling into a hallway hypnosis of garish ’90s aesthetics and murderous footwork, I don’t have to think — I just react. It’s when I’m forced to slow down and hear a joke or fight a boss that requires pauses in the pace that I begin to notice the seams. While these moments aren’t dealbreakers, they’re unfortunate stumbles in an otherwise sure-footed experience.

An almost completely successful swordfighting simulation. It does a better job with its setting than any game I've seen, and even though it's a little limited in scope, it's satisfying and effective at what it tries to accomplish.

It’s ironic that a story about the value of discipline and restraint would feel like it needs more time in the editing room, but that’s the new God of War – promising but aimless. I like the new Kratos, but I hope his next adventure is more focused than this, and I pray that it actually gives him something interesting to do.

An adrenaline rush can be a very welcome thing, and playing something this fast and trigger-happy on the PSP made me feel glad that I had spent the money on the unit after so many months of boring, flawed games.

In the end, Kofi Quest is a homage to the pathetic and it feels good to play a title that doesn’t take itself seriously and have some laughs while doing so. Kofi Quest has the potential to resonate with the most enthusiastic players of the RPG genre and the studio has shown potential for a great game series here as they already have the characters, the visuals and the concept. I look forward to more in the future.

I truly wish I could just say ‘ending aside, this is an incredible game’, because it’s true. This is the best-paced interactive movie I’ve ever played, and the mysteries of Little Hope are both intriguing and satisfying to solve. However, that ending. I simply can’t overstate how atrocious it is, and I wish I could just erase the last five minutes of it. I can still recommend it as an excellent interactive movie, just be ready for love to become hate right before the credits roll.

I’m used to crafting-themed games being huge, sprawling, self-guided odysseys, so compared to them, Wytchwood is a bite-sized revelation. It’s bleak, it’s funny, and it has character for days. By focusing on the story and puzzles, it creates an item-focused adventure that rarely wastes the player’s time, and then gets out on one heck of a high note. This one is a truly charming adventure that’s as gruesome as it is sweet.

That Rogue Legacy got a lousy port is particularly damning, because the game is otherwise perfectly suited to the handheld, with an average round lasting no more than ten minutes but with depth encouraging much longer sessions if possible.

Small issues can’t detract from a solid puzzle game. Worm Jazz offers plenty of challenging head scratchers while providing a relaxing gaming experience at the same time.

Mass Effect die-hards will certainly want to invest, but more casual fans of the series might want to think twice before purchase.

Ultimately, it may not have delivered as much variety as I was hoping for, but with the right expectations there's still a good amount of job-flavored questing to be had.

In a world where competitors like Mortal Kombat 11 and Guilty Gear Strive are making great strides in presentation and content, it’s hard to feel like KoF XV is keeping pace. It’s still an excellent fighter and KoF is one of the most reliable franchises out there. However, for an installment that promised to ‘shatter all expectations’ in the publicity leading up to launch, the final product seems content to barely meet them — a real shame since the fighting is still some of the best out there.

Ultra Despair Girls could've been a dynamite ten-hour experience. Unfortunately, it clocks in at about twice that length and runs out of gas long before credits roll. However, spending time with Komaru and Toko remains worthwhile despite the filler and late-game sluggishness, and this genre-switch is definitely a must-play for series fans.

The Kids We Were offers quite a long main story with a bonus episode once it’s finished. The simple voxel graphics feel like a good fit for something centered on the past, though one might wish for something a little more detailed during some of the more touching scenes. Perhaps, cutscenes in a different style might have been useful in providing a little more variety and emotional impact. That said, anyone looking for a rich narrative supported by wave of Japanese nostalgia would do well to look into The Kids We Were — just don’t expect complex gameplay mechanics or fancy visuals.

The game has an undeniably amazing world to take part in, and I never once stopped marveling at it from start to finish.