So, while this offering is missing options relating to customization and the netcode is just acceptable rather than industry leading, this is still a fighting game that has absolutely stood the test of time. It feels as fresh now as it ever has, and while it may not be Virtua Fighter 6, having an active Virtua Fighter online scene in the modern era is absolutely priceless.

Skate City succeeds most in getting me into the zone and chilling while playing. Hours go by in a blink while playing this one, and the tight controls, lo-fi aesthetic and addictive nature make it one of the genre’s best in a long time.

Hired Gun seems to have unique problems on every platform – I personally suffered from a memory management issue that crashed the game multiple times – but I’m past the point of focusing criticism for small games on technical infidelities that’ll likely get fixed over time anyway. I’m more concerned with Streumon honing their craft. They have the right attitude and the perfect setting — they just need to ditch the baggage.

Football Drama is a strange beast. On one hand, the designers’ great knowledge and love for the sport is clear from the first minute. On the other, it likely won’t hold much appeal for players who are more interested in the narrative or choice-driven side of things. This one is strictly for those who fall into the Venn diagram overlap of ‘football fan’ and ‘visual novel fan’, I think.

I enjoyed my time climbing this peak, though. It offers three characters with unique abilities that made the climb feel different for each one, and while it doesn’t break a lot of new ground in the genre, Insurmountable is a welcome addition to the other roguelikes in my library.

Though Trufflepigs is not the game I was expecting, it’s still a generally pleasant and engaging experience. I loved getting to know Beth and Adam, but the plot is incredibly uneven and feels unfinished. Had I gone into the game thinking it was centered only around Beth and Adam, I would have enjoyed it far more. Sadly, the missed opportunities of the heavily-advertised ‘murderer’ plotline left a sour taste in my mouth.

Mighty Goose is good stuff — a slightly goofy premise, plenty of fast-paced action, and wonderful graphics all combine to make this a title that arcade action fans won’t want to miss.

As far as remasters go, SaGa Frontier is an automatic recommendation for anyone who appreciated the original, as Square’s work on this new edition adds some quality-of-life improvements and upgraded graphics. Unfortunately, it’s a different story for newcomers expecting a more traditional sort of JRPG. Even so, Square’s original vision still stands apart from other RPGs of the time and this quality remains true in this remaster — for better or worse, the player will be experiencing a unique experience.

As a fan of these kinds of games, I can say that Remnant: From the Ashes is a type of soulslike that I would have probably passed over in favor of something more traditional, but after giving it a fair shot I’m glad to say that it’s the successful spin on the genre that I didn’t know I wanted.

It’s a challenge to give The Fabled Woods an appropriate score. The game has merits as a focused project that is not afraid to deliver something exactly as long as it needs to be, and the current state of bloat in the game industry makes me hugely appreciative of this fact. On the other hand, I can’t say that The Fabled Woods made a lasting impact on me, or even provoked much thought — it’s a decent experience, but little more.

For my money, Days Gone remains one of the absolute best open-world games on the market, and now more people will have the opportunity to try it out for themselves as it puts its best foot forward. That’s something worth celebrating, I think.

With not much of value in the narrative or the gameplay, Forgotten Fields’ merits are some pretty virtual environments and an original soundtrack that often takes the spotlight. There are ways in which Forgotten Fields could have worked as an emotionally powerful experience, but these avenues go under-explored and the result is something that I can’t recommend, even to enthusiasts of this particular genre-transcending premise.

In contrast to the lighter, peppier Persona titles that Atlus has been putting out lately, Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne HD Remaster is a more hardcore experience delivering a tactical, in-depth RPG with a unique setting and a presentation that’s been brushed off around the edges for modern players.

Ashwalkers is an interesting and sometimes dark story. I was always curious whether I was making the right choices and getting my team closer to their goal, or if I was sending them to their deaths. Seeing how even the smallest of choices can affect the playthrough was rewarding, and the mystery of the Dome of Domes is worth a trek through the wastes for any fan of survival management and choice-based games.

Wanna Survive is a clever title blending many elements that work well together, but if Pinix would take their foot off the gas just a bit, this small-scale tale of surviving the zombpocalypse would receive a caveat-free recommendation.

Overboard is a brief experience, but the depth of content makes playing it over and over again an absolute must. Everyone on the ship has secrets to ferret out, and the script is so well-written that I found myself resetting the game just to see how obviously terrible choices would play out. Overboard asks for a tiny time commitment, but it’s such a charming experience and so easy to zip through that I’d imagine players will find themselves compelled to keep trying until they get away scot-free with the cash.

Sweet Pea just doesn’t have it. The art style is winningly crude and there are some thrills to be found in vaulting a pea through the air while escaping a hideous boss monsters. Sadly, those fleeting pleasures simply can’t make up for all of the awkward, frustrating gameplay that is most of the experience. Sweet Pea‘s problems run deep into its design, and it’s too bad that the developers weren’t able to get a better handle on things before launch.

It feels that the experience is always a small step away from becoming something more stimulating. It has the right ideas, but as a turn-based game, Conqueror 940 AD fails to add the addictive element. After too short a time it becomes predictable and rote, and the player is left with the feeling that the entire game was a wait loop of choices without any truly challenging or dramatic moments.

I enjoy roguelikes in general and I did enjoy the card-combining mechanics overall, but it feels a bit like the window for Dandy Ace‘s success has now closed.

It’s rare that I’ll forgive lackluster story or mediocre combat, but the unbelievably positive energy in its other aspects creates such a winning atmosphere that I find it hard to hold its failures against it. Yes, Biomutant‘s story could be a lot better, but it’s also an adventure where an otter in a wetsuit builds the player a jetski so they can cruise to an archipelago and battle mutants around the rusty remains of ancient shipwrecks. I wish the fighting was more thoughtfully designed, but then again, a lemur taught me how to use a submarine so I could fight a giant turtle in an underwater city. What Biomutant lacks in polish, it makes up for in audacity, and I appreciate that.

Overall, Kaze and the Wild Masks is an exceptional 2D platformer that iterates on the systems and concepts of its forefathers to create something special. It’s a great title, and one that even the most creative minds at Nintendo should take note of.

Steampunk Tower 2 offers a spin on Tower Defense that I’ve never seen before, and not only was it different, it was great! Both the ideas and the implementation are on point, and this unassuming, random purchase ended up being an unexpectedly clever and delightful surprise.

Devil Slayer Raksasi wasn’t the game for me, but I still appreciate the quality behind it. If I had to nitpick, it’s that the gameplay (as a whole) is mostly standard for the roguelike genre. Even with the top quality, well-polished content it offers, I don’t see this changing the minds of people who aren’t already fans of these experiences. That said, it’s extremely solid and well-done in all aspects, and those who enjoy a good dungeon run should check it out.

Don’t Give Up: A Cynical Tale is perfect for anyone in a creative field or for those who feel the weight of the world on their shoulders. With its sardonic sense of humor and very real writing, it reminds us that we all need a pick-me-up every now and then.

This underwhelming finale to the rebooted Doom saga would be limp enough when judged on its own merits, but the fact that the developers went back and screwed around with what made The Ancient Gods, Part One work so well is criminal. This expansion is more Doom Eternal, which should be a good thing, but turns out to be the weakest and most disappointing that Doom Eternal has ever been.

In the end, as much as I tried to get into BHFT!, I soon found that my will to keep playing had evaporated. The text was too small, the controls were too clunky, and the mistakes too punitive. A patch or two could fix these issues and turn Buildings Have Feelings Too! into a quirky winner, but nothing has materialized so far. In light of this, I can only recommend it to puzzle lovers people who would be willing to overlook its issues. I might feel sympathetic to these poor, sad buildings in search of happiness, but not sympathetic enough to suffer through this.

Chronicle of Innsmouth: Mountains of Madness does a decent job of honoring its inspirations. The characters are trapped in a bizarre world full of inexplicable horrors and have no choice but to keep slogging through the nightmare, because the only other option is to lock themselves away in an asylum and wait for the apocalypse. Whatever problems I may have had with the puzzles — and I certainly didn’t enjoy going to the internet for help twice — the game gets the feel of Lovecraft right, and that’s worth overlooking a few awkward design choices.

It’s kind of a shame, honestly. Duel on Board is mechanically fantastic, it sports some absolutely stunning pixel art and has killer music, but there just isn’t very much here. What’s present is excellent, but unless players have a dedicated partner to play with, they’ll probably be done with the game in a couple of hours. Rebel Rabbit has made something special and I enjoyed every second, I just wish I had more reason to keep playing.