It's impossible to know for sure, but I can only imagine that if the initial version had been as finely-honed as Inferno, it would have received a much warmer welcome. Instead, thanks to all the negative word-of-mouth generated by the inferior 360 version, Inferno came and went with hardly anyone blinking an eye.

From its incongruous RPG-style leveling up to its endless recycling of levels to its utterly ridiculous Arabian Nights-themed story, Sonic and the Secret Rings feels horribly padded from top to bottom.

It may not have been a direct hit, but ­R-Type Command's mission was certainly accomplished.

Despite that beef, The Dark Spire is a pleasing throwback to an era when games were actually hard and beating them felt like a legitimate accomplishment.

Thymesia is a short adventure – Soulsborne pros might complete it in under eight hours, but with its deep combat and constant sense of progression, it never outstays its welcome and remains consistently engaging. It’s a bite-sized entry into the genre that doesn’t try to redefine its parameters, but instead hones in on a few core aspects and maximizes their potential.

It has great art direction, well-crafted early stages, and exciting boss battles. Sadly, all of this great work is upended by the introduction of these terrible water levels, and their inclusion makes Spinch just another retro platformer that misses the mark.

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.

Perhaps it's still too experimental and difficult than the sixth entry in a series ought to be, but despite everything, RE6 offers top-tier cinematic action and series-high storytelling. For fans who've yet to try it, the PC version is the right choice.

Duels of the Planeswalkers is a faithful, if watered down, representation of a classic game that excels at drawing in new players and reigniting the old fire in seasoned veterans.

Those niggles aside, I do want to praise Akimi Village and NinjaBee for again delivering a game without any negative dynamics to contend with: no enemies to defend against, no hurricanes or earthquakes to ruin urban development, and no penalties of any sort.

Even if I couldn't set my love for the series aside for this review, I'm sure that Def Jam Icon's problems are so clear and inarguable that even if I'd never played any of the previous titles I would have rated it exactly the same.

While Mad Max doesn't reinvent the open-world genre, I loved reveling in the things it gets right. Burning through the wasteland in a guzzolene-fueled killing machine and smashing desert raiders at high speed is a perfect screen-to-screen translation of this seminal cinematic series, but the deeper richness of the world itself is a masterclass in subtle presentation, and it goes a long, long way towards selling the experience overall. Top class.

Chromagun has obviously been influenced by other titles, but it’s got a lot of charm and the puzzle designs are always interesting. The difficulty curve is gentle as well, in large part because the developers have scattered the tough ones evenly throughout. The lack of constant barriers keeps the game playably fresh, and my attention stayed sharp. It’s all very competent, which should be taken as a positive, because in light of the competition it’s all that can be hoped for.

The game's central silliness charmed me. Were the game exactly the same in every respect except for the ghosts, and I was playing some kind of a futurecop battling crooks in jetpacks, the game would have been a five—just good enough.

Boiling it all down, Lighting Returns is a flashy combat system lacking some basic components that's wrapped up in soporific item hunts and fetchquests that don't feel worthy of the time that's required to do them.

While Ivy the Kiwi? is an incredibly cute character and makes a valiant attempt to bring back a style of game that few developers have attempted in recent years, the core concept never quite finds happy coexistence with the player interface. For project as simple and straightforward as this one, that particular barrier proves too great to overcome.

Blazing Angels would be a perfect place for someone who's never played a dogfighting game to start. For someone who's played a dozen, though, it's just more of the same. It's extremely well-executed sameness, but sameness nonetheless.

Just how much replay value is in Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 will probably depend on how much a player enjoys the Olympics. There’s not much the game does poorly, but there’s not much that really stands out, either. Mario & Sonic 2020 is good enough to qualify, but it won’t be bringing home more than a bronze.

With its darkly mature subject material and radical re-interpretations of standard play formulas, I Am Alive is both emotionally difficult and conceptually challenging-and those are wonderful things in my book. R

Even with some bum sections and controls that aren’t great, the art style and story focuses on a country that was heavily impacted by fascism — aftershocks are still felt there every Independence Day when Neo-Nazis and Antifa fight each other – and this narrative isn’t often told in this medium. The developers attempt to eschew politics, but their work is a good solicitation against repeating the mistakes of the past, and a compelling argument for compassion in the current climate.

After everything I've written, it should be quite clear to XCOM fans that The Bureau: XCOM Declassified is an entirely different kettle of fish despite sharing a few superficial elements. If the developers hadn't tried to connect the two, I suspect that more people might be pleasantly surprised by what it offers—a fantastically detailed 60's setting, an interesting approach to squad-based shooting, and a genuinely surprising sci-fi story that's told with panache.

After the credits rolled I sat in my dim room feeling like a betrayed lover, staring at the title screen with empty eyes and worn down by exhaustion. Disbelieving and frustrated, I once again expressed a wish: blue pill, please.

Ultimately, what might bring down Arslan: The Warriors of Legend in the eyes of some isn't any single aspect, but the fact that in spite of everything, it is—and remains—a Warriors game, with all the attendant baggage and stigma that comes with it. Open-minded fans and the already-converted will be satisfied, but those hoping for more of a departure from tradition won't find it here.

The game's difficulty curve is totally thrown off balance. I can only assume the intent was to provide a greater challenge than player-friendly Armored Core 3, and not outright sadism.

There's enough new content in Mindgames to keep it from feeling like a shakedown, but it would have been nice if the devs had addressed The Pit’s flaws without forcing a new purchase.

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.

Pankapu is bitterly, unfairly hard to the degree that it’s almost unpleasant to play. There’s an audience out there for this sort of experience, but I’m not in it.

I probably won’t spend hundreds of hours the way some do with Football Manager 2019 Touch, but I’m glad I gave it a try. It might not convert sport sim non-fans, but those who enjoy this kind of content will surely feel right at home.