Disney Illusion Island is a well-crafted platformer that hides an equally-excellent Metroidvania underneath. Fans of the genre who might not be immediately taken in by the license shouldn’t let that dissuade them from giving this game a shot — this is a great one.

It’s the kind of straightforward game that I desperately want more of, but its occasional faults combined with strong competition and a top-dollar price have made it an afterthought less than a month after release. A year from now, a lot of people are gonna buy this on sale for less than $20 and be impressed — that’s not going to help get Immortals of Aveum 2 greenlit, But I do hope the studio finds enough success now to get themselves another project off the ground. They clearly have a lot of potential.

Regardless of the feature-light port and general sparseness of the package, Red Dead Redemption still earns its place as one of the finest games ever made. Even if its follow-up improved upon everything, this was a joyful blast to the past, reminding me that all greatness starts somewhere. For those looking to live out another cowboy fantasy before Rockstar decides to release Red Dead Redemption III, they can certainly do worse than this.

WrestleQuest is a fantastic homage to the wrestling scene of the ’80s and early ’90s, and expertly crafts that persona for its world. However, the slow pacing in and out of combat and various bugs dampen things. Fans of classic wrestling will delight in all the references, but players who don’t have nostalgia for the subject material will still find much to enjoy here, even if it’s not as tight an experience as it should be.

In the end, To the Rescue! Dog Shelter Simulator provides an educational experience without losing the laid-back and playful experience that a good simulation can offer. It has a fantastic concept, with interesting ideas and rewarding moments, but the bugs can ruin the gameplay. However, my hope is that the game will be patched soon and in such case, I would gladly recommend it to animal lovers and sim enthusiasts. It’s hard to deny the value in an experience that reminds us of the importance of caring for our friends with four paws.

Echoblade‘s interpretation of a blind protagonist is a novel concept, but the experience offers only the barest leveraging of the premise — there simply isn’t enough complexity and not nearly enough enough moving parts here to add up to a significant gaming experience.

The blue bomber may have all but disappeared into gaming history, but 30XX keeps his legacy alive and energized. It offers tight platforming paired with roguelike chaos and a bevy of customizability that should keep players jumping and shooting for a long time to come.

Everspace 2 is the definition of a mixed bag — it’s great in some areas, but awful in others. For every exciting sidequest or random event, there’s a long, boring main mission to suffer through. For every thrilling combat scenario, there are dozens of loading screens that rip me out of the experience. I wish it held together a bit more consistently because Everspace 2 starts off as a promising adventure, but by the time I reached the end of Adam’s saga, seeing credits felt, ultimately, more like a burden lifted from my shoulders than the epic end to a space odyssey it could have been.

While the story is pretty obvious from the jump, I still enjoyed it and the great sense of atmosphere that abounds — I was eager to dive deeper, and the flexibility of the puzzles always made me feel clever. In that sense, Viewfinder is an experience I’d readily recommend to anyone, whether they’re a puzzle aficionado or not.

I have no idea what brought this updated version of a 14-year-old game into being, but I’m quite glad that it’s received this second chance with a new audience. By anyone’s standard, this is a superior work that belongs in every puzzle fan’s library.

Frank and Drake is an impressive feat thanks to its inventive art style alone, but the game manages to shine even more so hanks to a thoughtful story. Its approach to point-and-click based gameplay coupled with mature themes in its narrative make it a unique title worth trying out.

The Centennial Case is an engaging FMV murder mystery with a unique vibe, thrilling confrontations, and a main protagonist who I’ll treasure because of her sincerity and undying determination to find the truth. I also felt much for Eiji, whose reserved (yet goofy) presence got me to care about his aspirations. Unfortunately, the lackluster characterizations of side characters and a corrupted save file due to the game’s instability on mobile mean that I can’t wholeheartedly recommend it.

The Settlers: New Allies is the latest entry in a beloved and longstanding franchise, and carries an inherent advantage of starting with a greatly successful formula. However, there simply aren’t any exciting updates or formula explorations here. The buggy quality of the code at time of review and utterly flat narrative are salt in the wound, resulting in a game that does not boast a single positive reason to warrant a purchase.

As much as I enjoyed it in the beginning, it soon began to feel like a chore and I’m sad to say that Undead Horde 2 is one of 10tons Ltd.’s few stumbles — it’s still addictive and sports their trademarked solid controls, but it’s sorely missing the infectious charm of their previous installment.

If all of its technical issues can be fixed, Aliens: Dark Descent will prove to be something special. It treats the franchise with respect and care — and when working properly — it nails the tension the series is famous for. Unfortunately, a full, completed release simply should not have this many technical issues, nor cause so much frustration that has nothing to do with the aliens themselves.

I found DNF Duel to be enjoyable overall, but this cool, high-energy anime fighter with great characters and an appealing style is hampered by a lack of depth, low online playerbase, and the Switch’s hardware. That said, when it comes to a bit of brawling on the go, players could certainly do a lot worse than this. It’s not going to be the next big thing in fighting games, but it doesn’t have to be in order to still offer a fairly solid experience.

Overall, ProtoCorgi is a good game – it controls well and has style galore, which are both key parts of a good shoot ‘em up. Unfortunately, one level with seriously questionable design decisions keeps this from winning Best of Show.

Crash Team Rumble feels a bigger-than-average swing for the series, but one that — at this point — ultimately misses. That said, there are updates on the horizon, but I’m worried that it won’t be able to break away from more unbalanced characters and a general lack of content. Maybe Crash Team Rumble will end up like Fall Guys or Rocket League and go free-to-play at some point, but as it stands I’d have to recommend waiting for the game to bulk up a little before diving in.

Three Kingdom: The Journey has the makings of a great roguelike deckbuilder, but a number of issues like the harsh difficulty of surprise bosses and minor technical hiccups prevent it from reaching its full potential. However, despite this, the tactical and random nature of play meant that I discovered something new each time. The theme of Three Kingdom makes it stand out by forgoing fantasy tropes for a more grounded military-style affair, and there’s a good journey waiting to happen here… players just might have to power through a few issues to get to it.

It’s the best traits from those classic AKI games that remain at the core of AEW Fight Forever, though, along with some clever and sometimes whimsical additions made along the way. (The Mario Party-esque minigames are, hands down, some of the wackiest additions I’ve seen to any sports game.) Though All Elite Wrestling is still a relatively young wrestling company, it can point to Fight Forever as a great first foray into console gaming and one of the best wrestling games in years.

Ghost Trick is a game where every fantastic detail comes together to make something even greater than the sum of its parts — and those parts are plenty great on their own. This is an experience worth checking out for just about anyone, and with a modest price tag and a free demo, there’s absolutely no excuse to pass.

While I don’t think Sonic Origins Plus will convince doubters of the initial release to convert and I still have my qualms over some of the presentation choice, there’s no doubt that Sega managed to make a solid package even better.

Like the first Coffee Talk, Hibiscus & Buterfly delivers a delicious cup in the form of new stories, characters, and a lil’ shot of revised gameplay mechanics, and these elements all blend into a delicious mix that I love to cuddle up on the couch with.

Despite my issues with them, I still adore these games. The chip tactics scratch my deckbuilding itch, but it’s not so tactical that it requires mental gymnastics to succeed. The story is charming in a saturday morning cartoon sort of way, and I appreciate the ability to access these games again on a modern platform. Capcom missed a few tricks by not adding a few quality-of-life and accessibility settings to make the games less grindy, but the series still holds a special place in my heart.

All in all, I genuinely enjoyed Goodbye World’s narrative landscape. Although the metagames were a pain to get through, the poignant storytelling, charming characters and beautiful design more than made up for it. Kanii’s and Kumade’s connection was palpable, and it was a treat to spend time with them.

Despite its immediate beauty, After Us doesn’t generate the emotional response I would hope for from a title in this genre. Perhaps if it were a bit shorter and more focused, I would have been more motivated to explore and rescue every spirit. Instead, the unpolished platforming and surplus of unnecessary collectibles diluted its intensity. Though there are certainly some memorable moments here, there are simply other titles in the genre that are much more successful at doing what After Us is attempting to accomplish.

There’s basically nothing to find fault with in Dave the Diver. Did I have trouble mastering a few of the cooking minigames, and an easy mode for the rhythm games would have been appreciated – but that’s a drop in the ocean compared to what it does right. Filling out the fish index, sneaking through a secret base, gambling in a merfolk casino – everywhere I turned there was something new to try, and all of it was built with care and wit. There’s a shocking amount to do here, all of it is worth sinking time into.

System Shock is haunting and lonely, has an expertly-crafted oppressive atmosphere, intense combat, and a strong sense of immersion. Unfortunately, the obtuse nature of the campaign makes it to navigate and generally understand what to do. Returning vets may appreciate the upgrade, but I suspect that new players like myself will feel excluded and put off by the steep difficulty.