There are other things I could complain about, like the occasional bug or strange hitboxes, but I appreciated that Neversong never tries to be more than it is, and everything it offers is meant to be in service of its heartfelt story of loss and hope. I felt ruined by the ending, but I will say that it also leaves some things to the player’s imagination.

Ion Fury pays homage to something that is no longer welcome in modern gaming. Taken in with knowledge of the slurs and the -phobic, sexist comments, it recontextualizes what I saw and heard, and gives the content a misogynistic feel. Whilst I found Ion Fury to be enjoyable as an isolated piece of content, it’s impossible to ignore the context it’s in — as such, I find it hard to recommend.

There’s plenty to appreciate for turn-based tactics fans willing to look past the terrible virtual cover art and learn the nuances of Depth of Extinction‘s combat, or for fans looking for something a bit different than the usual XCOM combat — just keep in mind that it might be difficult to find just the right amount of challenge.

At the end of the day, it’s true that PCM 2020 delivers the series’ most realistic version of either managing or being a professional cyclist, but issues of technical quality and system design mean that it’s far from the experience it could be.

Overall, Super Mega Baseball 3 is everything I’ve ever wanted in a baseball game. The jump to triple-A pricing may be a shock for series fans, but SMB3 is worth every penny.

In the end, Brigandine: Legend of Runersia is one of the finest turn-based wargames on consoles in years. The concepts aren’t necessarily new or even deep compared to others in the genre, but they are masterfully rendered in service of a narrative that brings wargaming’s original sin forward into a harsh light.

It’s a bold, funny, scary, unbelievably intense way of getting closure for the previous game. As such, it’s a masterpiece that’s difficult to recommend because it can only be fully appreciated by those who are already deeply invested in Zach’s story. Still, I have to recommend it because it provides a more powerful ending to the Deadly Premonition story than I ever would have expected, and a better experience than we probably deserve.

Whilst Edna & Harvey: The Breakout – Anniversary Edition does have some mechanical and design problems on top of the inconsistent tone and humor, I can’t say that I didn’t enjoy my time with it — the issues I had stem more from the genre as it was more than a decade ago, and the fact that I have lost patience for its foibles. However, for players who enjoy the classic flavor of the genre and its often-maddening conventions, this one is sure to satisfy.

Evan’s Remains is a beautiful, cleverly designed experience with themes that stretch far beyond its premise of a girl on a mission in uncharted territory. Spending time with it made me ponder the nature of gameplay and of how storytelling is used in games in a way few others have.

Those Who Remain is a morally shallow experience with a repetitive plot. A few decent puzzles can’t rescue this otherwise-flat experience, and I was glad to be done with it when the credits rolled.

I finished The Last Of Us Part II feeling depressed, but not for the reasons the developer might have intended — Naughty Dog is an immensely talented studio with resources that many devs can only dream of, yet their achievements in presentation are held back by a lack of mechanical evolution and uninspired gameplay. The Last Of Us Part II is a journey worth tolerating for the sake of what it gets right, but when it comes down to it, I feel exactly the same way about it as I did about the first one — I wish it was a book.

Project Warlock is a pedal-to-the-metal, shoot first and don’t ask questions later FPS that would have been right at home on an early ‘90s PC, and players who enjoy that style are in for a treat. Solid art design, excellent gameplay, and just enough challenge make Project Warlock one hell of an experience for fans of the genre while paying tribute to the classics that inspired it.

Sadly, my drive to persist was sapped by a series of glitches in one section that led me to replay the same should-have-been-easy bit over and over again. That was bad enough, but combined with the poor controls, lack of engaging gameplay, an inability to manually save and infrequent checkpoints, every session was a slog. Writing a negative review for Spirit of the North is tough because on paper, it seems like something I’d fall in love with. That said, it’s just not a good experience — my appreciation for its non-violent content and environmental themes can’t carry its many shortcomings.

As far as deckbuilders go, Monster Train is fantastic. The general strategy and the quirks of fighting on a multi-leveled train make it stand out as its own sort of unique puzzle that rewards players for cleverness. The runs are fast, it’s easy to learn, and the challenge modes give it plenty of depth and replay. Get on board before it leaves the station!

While light on modes and depth, Fort Triumph’s largely enjoyable campaign and satisfying turn-based combat are attractive enough to keep a player’s interest from start to finish. Flinging rocks to smash trolls and setting the ground ablaze to scorch goblins doesn’t get old, and the multiple difficulty settings and permadeath options can challenge even more experienced tactical fans.

I love a great third-person actioner, and I’m hard-pressed to think of one that nails the formula as perfectly as Nioh 2 does. The systems are pleasantly crunchy and there are a ton to dig into, the moment-to-moment fights get my blood pumping, and the artwork and theming are all spot-on. Too much of a good thing is too much of a good thing, but Nioh 2 is exactly the right amount.

Battle for Bikini Bottom – Rehydrated is an enjoyable (if unremarkable) experience. We may not get as many low-budget licensed titles as we did back then, but this remake is sure to please players who still have a soft spot for that style of game, or for SpongeBob — either way, it’s a treat to revisit that pineapple under the sea.

I was hoping that Daymare: 1998‘s intentionally schlocky feel and cheesy voice acting it would result in an enjoyably old-school experience that Capcom’s re-releases don’t quite nail, but the technical issues, dull action and lack of fresh ideas mean it’s never more than a pale imitation of the real thing.

Unfortunately, this version of Mafia II feels like a barely-touched-up version of a last-gen game that constantly tested my patience and despite my love for the script, I can’t recommend that anyone play through hours and hours of a mediocre, buggy mess just to see the cutscenes. In its current state, Mafia II: Definitive Edition is not worth a player’s time or money — without any further improvements or substantial patches, this one needs to sleep with the fishes.

As experiments go, The Dread X Collection is a complete success. Out of ten games I found four to be legitimately wonderful, and I only regret loading up two. That’s an incredible ratio for a game jam, and the highs more than justify the paltry purchase price. I don’t know if I’ll ever get to see expanded versions of any of these works, but I’m happy that I got to see developers going hog-wild and coming up with truly unique experiences.

Galaxy Warfighter was good for about an hour of play, but to just got too repetitive after that. I kept going through mission after mission hoping for a new boss or an enemy that would keep things fresh, but that hope faded as I kept flying the same missions for what felt like endless waves.

Since it’s a multiplayer-only title with exactly one mode, Hunting Grounds was clearly banking on the strength of its premise. Failing that, there’s just not much to it, and players will have seen everything there is to see after just a few matches. Maybe we should take this as a signal to stop trying to make Predator games a thing — if this didn’t work, I’m doubtful that anything will.

Help Will Come Tomorrow is rich with nuance and content, and it often doesn’t end well, but those looking for a survival game with focus on dialogue or those wanting to get a taste of an interesting period of Russian history should check into it with no hesitation.

Like Shadow Tactics before it, Desperados III is one of the best tactics games available, and certainly one of the most satisfying titles I’ve played this year. It’s a finely-tuned masterpiece of Swiss-watch construction, polished in every respect and delivering the kind of tuned cerebral action that isn’t easily found. For fans of complex strategic gameplay, they just don’t come better than this.

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.

There’s very little to recommend BE-A Walker. The control concept just doesn’t work, and the design of the levels and encounters is abysmal. The core of its problems is due to choosing to focus on a colonial Goliath rather than an aboriginal David, but even on its own terms almost every aspect of BE-A Walker misses the mark.

The combat is solid, the characters are interesting, and like the ocean the ship sails over floats over, the developers have ensured that their work has impressive depth.

Despite this slightly middling RPG addition, there’s not much to knock Granblue Fantasy Versus for. Purists may scoff at the low barrier to entry, and there’s not many characters to choose from without dipping into the DLC offerings, but it’s still a beautifully-presented fighter that holds its own. It’s just a shame there’s not more of it.