It’s unfortunate that Blacksad: Under the Skin fell prey to these foibles because it offers a story worth seeing to the end, even if a lack of optimization gets in the way. With a little more technical polish, these great characters in a great setting will be able to shine.

Arcade Spirits put me in the shoes of a character that faces many of the same struggles I have in my own life… but it also let me escape into a world where arcades are social places for gamers, full of friends and romantic interests. It’s an odd mix of fantastical elements and certainly no real life friend group would have that many attractive singles in it, but all in all, it’s an entertaining, heartwarming title that I think many will enjoy.

It's charming and well-polished, but players craving challenge might be disappointed. On the other hand, people wanting to relax with something that doesn't require a huge investment of time or effort should consider joining Mickey on his newest mousecapade.

Despite a few minor missteps, Alone With You is an excellent example of a genuine sci-fi title, and spending time getting to know artificial people while quietly struggling to survive the aftermath of a colony’s collapse kept me wholly interested from start to finish. More cerebral and moody than most, I would strongly recommend it to anyone who doesn’t mind leaving their laser rifle at home in favor of having an experience about an experience.

I appreciate what Witch Beam Games has attempted to do with Assault Android Cactus+ – they’ve created a game that’s accessible to almost anyone while simultaneously delivering a solid, twin-stick arcade shooter.

Loddlenaut is cute, and sweet, and extremely playable, and a very appropriate game for children. The only thing I suggest is that those kids are guided to the proper understanding that while the game accurately demonstrates just how important ocean rescue is, that it badly misrepresents the ease with which such a thing can be accomplished — and how it’s allowed to happen in the first place.

Any newcomers intrigued by the Ace Attorney concept should definitely play the original Phoenix Wright trilogy first since Apollo Justice is uneven in tone and quality, but it’s still a worthwhile entry and this remaster is both competent and fairly priced.

An augmented step forward.

Overall, the core of a highly successful soccer game is in FIFA 16 but there's a niggling sense of "been there, done that," alongside a healthy dollop of "coulda shoulda woulda" that gets in the way. It's just a bit too safe and predictable. FIFA is still the Cup winner, but PES 2016 has made this annual Friendly a more heated affair.

Pumpkin Jack packs a lot of charm in this breezy adventure. It has flaws for sure, but players who have nostalgia for the specific kind of platformer that it’s paying homage to might find it to be worth their time.

While it doesn't pull off everything perfectly, it injects enough originality into a familiar framework to make it one of the more enjoyable releases since the release of its more auspicious Source engine cousin.

The only mode to feel completely finished is Nightmare in North Point, which pits the player against an army of hopping vampires and a few resurrected faces from the main storyline.

In the end, I love what Octopath Traveler is trying to do with its shieldbreaking and its eight-way narrative, but it’s probably better suited to the Switch than the PC. It feels like a title that needs to be played in short bursts, as is fitting for Nintendo’s portable platform. Perhaps I wouldn’t be as frustrated with its quirks if I walked away from time to time and did something else — I will go back and complete the quest, but for now, I just need a break.

It's just about the perfect casual game, just right for people who are looking to kill ten or fifteen minutes at a time dodging dinosaurs and snacking on flies.

While the game is relatively short, it ends before overstaying its welcome and the difficulty in many stages means players won't be breezing through on their first pass. It also makes up for its brevity by providing strong atmosphere and an intriguing story. Despite the issues I had with it, it's worth seeking out every one of Mion's memories and uncovering how this little girl and her fireflies ended up in such a dire situation.

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.

Episode 4 just doesn’t offer the thrills or compelling mysteries of the previous episodes because it’s all about the setup for Episode 5, but the developers have earned enough goodwill to trust that this is all building to something truly memorable.

Playing The Good Life can be a baffling experience. There’s a parade of weird characters, a constant stream of odd happenings, and a complete refusal on the game’s part to ever explain the whys of its biggest mysteries. I can’t pretend I wasn’t disappointed that things never came to a satisfying conclusion, and its eleventh-hour attempts to suddenly announce what it’s all about seem a little desperate. Even though it doesn’t stick the landing, The Good Life offers players a chance to visit a charming town full of interesting people and take part in one of the chillest, most relaxing open world adventure games ever. It’s not a masterpiece but it’s certainly worth the trip, even for those not obsessed with SWERY’s work.

Honestly, this port is an absolute shame. The graphics and text are just too small, and I have a hard time imagining anyone taking an honest look at this and feeling like it was acceptable. But putting that significant issue aside? Legend of Keepers: Career Of A Dungeon Manager is a well-done roguelike that could easily rank among the genre’s best on Switch once it’s received a proper adaptation to the platform.

As damning as it sounds, owning a VR headset elevates Downward Spiral from skippable to must-play. It genuinely feels that good to experience, even if the design in its most basic form – removed from presentation and mechanics – is somewhat uninspired. VR opens a world of possibilities to this medium, and it’s thrilling to see new territory mapped out in real-time. I long for the day when a concept like this is matched with the production values it deserves, but for now, Downward Spiral is simply unlike anything I’ve ever played, and that’s enough.

It may be a lot more of the same, but it's prettier, smoother, longer, and filled with more stuff.

Those looking for a simple-yet-effective grind and not bothered by bad voice acting will enjoy Dragonkin: The Banished. It doesn’t attempt to rewrite the ARPG, but it provides a solid loop with a novel approach to skill-building that serves as an antidote to the terminally-online titans of the genre.

Except for the mentioned flaws it is spot on design-wise and and the enjoyable zombie theme and a tasteful art direction accompanied by a good soundtrack ranging from creepy keyboard-tunes to spot on wishy-washy mall muzak helps to propel a great atmosphere, which is just satirical enough to avoid taking itself too seriously.

As a visually-renovated trip down memory lane, NiGHTS into Dreams largely succeeds. Unfortunately, the game design has two competing forms: one is breathless, invigorating, and fluid, while the other is lumpy, broken, and boring. However, in the moments when the game's flight, flow, and nostalgia combine, it's difficult to think of a more satisfying experience.

Despite the fact that (potentially) dying and restarting feels like a design misstep, Lifeline was still a worthwhile experience, and one that I would recommend to people looking for something new and fresh for their mobile device. If nothing else, I appreciated the unusual approach, and well-written text is always a welcome thing in my world.

As an iOS title that offers literally dozens and dozens of hours of engrossing entertainment, it is hard not to recommend Defender Chronicles II: Heroes of Athelia to avid fans of the tower defense genre.

This sense of gradually increasing paranoia, along with a story that only becomes more metaphysically unhinged as it goes along, makes for a title that ultimately rewards patience and those players who are willing to slip into its atmospheric world like they would a warm, spooky bath. That said, I think many players will probably give up on Mask of the Lunar Eclipse after they’ve been asked to photograph another slow-walking ghost for the billionth time, but if they stick with it they’ll be rewarded with a survival horror experience unlike any other.

Last year I predicted that Hidden Deep would turn up on my best-of-2022 list, and nothing about the game as it currently stands causes me to reconsider that — the only major problem Hidden Deep has is that there just isn’t enough of it yet, but hopefully that’s something that the developer can address before launch. What’s already here, though? It’s spectacular.