Frankly, it’s nearly unplayable with the Move controllers. Even with that one huge flaw, DOOM VFR is still an incredible experience. It perfectly captures the raw, brutal thrills of DOOM, and enhances them beyond what I’d imagined was possible. Actually blasting an Imp with a shotgun from five feet away is the kind of experience I’ve wanted a videogame to offer for more than twenty years, and DOOM VFR‘s depiction is even better than my dreams. Even with its small number of levels, visual downgrade and the lack of a chainsaw, this is the purest DOOM experience I’ve ever had, and I can’t wait to see what Bethesda has in store next.

Dead Rising 4 is a blissfully stupid good time, and as Dan stated in his review, it’s an incredibly focused experience with clear ideas about what it wants to accomplish. While this iteration removes one of the big things that made Dead Rising what it was (to me, anyway) the team at Capcom Vancouver make up for it by delivering satisfying zombie slaughter couched in a dopey, humorous world that fits the series’ core ideals. For newcomers or those who waited for it to hit PS4, Frank’s Big Package represents a fantastic opportunity to jump in and experience everything Dead Rising 4 has to offer, making the extra year of waiting well worthwhile.

Despite the problems, Freaky Awesome has potential. It’s unusual to make players rethink their combat strategy and even movement methods every few, hectic minutes, and the concepts are solid. Sadly, the depth of the procedural generation is sorely lacking and the mutation options aren’t as broad as they need to be. Overall, it feels like it’s only halfway to what its proper final state needs to be — hopefully the devs will pump some more mutagen into it and let it develop.

Manifest 99’s mechanics showcase how effective VR can be at eliciting emotional responses in a player. Although the title is very short, it’s dense and wastes little time in building to its conclusion. When all was said and done, I found myself thinking about my time on the train and reflecting on how I actually felt, rather than about the story and characters I was shown. That might sound like a bad thing, but I can only imagine that this result in an experiment like Manifest 99 means it was a successful one.

I really wanted this game to be good. The E3 trailer looked like the ridiculous Fast & Furious title people have wanted for a decade, and I specifically asked for this review opportunity. In my mind, I was totally down for what this game was promising and in the mood for a good Need For Speed, but this just isn’t it. There are certainly worse racing games out there, but few can match Payback’s blandness. It’s a listless, lifeless, soulless product that perfectly exemplifies the current state of Electronic Arts. Maybe next time.

Even with this one shortcoming, Skyrim VR is a triumph. While I’m nowhere near completing the campaign, I haven’t found a single quest, threat, or objective that’s more difficult to deal with in VR than it was in the old Skyrim. It was already a wonderfully deep world to inhabit before players could freely explore it from within, and the developers have proven that a fully-featured action RPG can work just as well (or frequently better) in VR than it ever did on a flat screen.

There are lessons to be learned in Attentat 1942. Whether on social media or on the streets, there’s something to be said for taking a stand in the world. It might be hard to see it now, but we can only hope that in fifty years we’ll we be proud that we were talking about #YesAllWomen and #BlackLivesMatter and #LoveIsLove because we changed the times… or perhaps the times will change us? Attentat 1942 is a welcome wake-up call showing that it’s impossible to look into the future, but we can recall our past, and when doing so, good people are going to wish they had something better to say for themselves than “I didn’t know what to do.”

Aside from the technical issues, The Invisible Hours is a masterpiece. It takes the best elements of live theater and videogames, and melds them into a mystery experience like no other. Halfway through my time with it, I found myself wishing every mystery could be told in such a dense and thorough manner. This isn’t just a successful narrative experience, it serves as a proof of concept that any number of stories could be told using this same format. The Invisible Hours is a must-play for mystery fans, a must-play for VR players wanting an entirely new experience, and a must-play for anyone interested in getting in on the ground floor of a bold new concept in visual storytelling.

School Girl/Zombie Hunter does almost everything right. I could pretend to be annoyed that the story never gets around to explaining who the villain was or what he was doing, but the writing does such a good job of making the heroines’ emotional journeys resonate that the fact that their story doesn’t make sense is a minor quibble at best. It’s a game about teenagers with assault rifles shooting technicolor zombies – how much sense does it need to make? The missions are well designed, the dialogue is witty, and the combat mechanics are solid. The low-budget look and grindhouse premise make me feel like I should be apologizing for loving this game, but I’m not — this is one of the most delightful things I’ve played all year.

The worst thing about Star Wars Battlefront II is that it could have been great. Without the terrible leveling system designed to milk money from players, the multiplayer would be a blast. If the story was expanded and focused on Versio, it could have been worth discussing. Instead, the final product is so cynical and wrongheaded that it’s added fuel to a larger discussion about lootboxes and gambling that’s starting to grab the attention of lawmakers outside the industry.

I don’t like to be hyperbolic, but Larian’s semi-rebooted Divinity series really does make every other RPG in existence look like child’s play. And while Original Sin II has in no way been dumbed down, it’s a slower enough drip that I’d easily recommend this to first-timers over its predecessor. Its scope and depth may be intimidating, but however many months it may take the average gamer to complete Original Sin II, it’s worth every second.

Bubsy: The Woolies Strike Back is a mess. Bad controls, uninspired enemy and level design, and a total lack of motivation to keep playing. I want to find something nice to say about it, but even the three boss fights are tedious, confusing slogs. The game ends with a promise that Bubsy will return in another installment, but it feels more like a threat.

Factotum 90’s brevity and evenly-paced momentum ensure that Noel and Barbara do not wear out their welcome, though part of me wishes they would have stayed longer. Just as I was beginning to warm up, Factotum 90 ends and there’s little reason to crabwalk through the ship again the campaign ends. I suppose desiring more of a game can (and should) be read as a compliment, but for a title that takes place in a futuristic ship adrift in the vastness of space, opportunities seem missed. Factotum 90 joyously breezes by, but leaves little to chew on.

Overall, Yakuza Kiwami isn’t a bad game despite several issues that drag it down. No, its real problem is that Yakuza Zero is a significantly superior product in every way that matters. Fans of the original release will likely dig the modernization, but for any newcomers thinking of jumping in, I’d recommend starting with the infinitely better prequel.

With its simple gameplay and great style, Boss 101 would have been a perfectly serviceable ‘light’ bullet hell shooter. The fact that it has endlessly diverse bosses and a huge wealth of bonus content is just gravy. I’m always happy to see developers attempting to revitalize genres and bring them to new audiences, and this is a perfect example of devs going above and beyond to deliver far more game than they needed to, aimed at a larger audience than I would have thought possible.

The real problem will be the expectations that millions of Gran Turismo fans bring. The vast majority who are going to buy this game aren’t the kind who’ll be reading this cautionary review, nor any other gaming publication for that matter. I imagine there’ll be a great deal of people strolling through a Wal-Mart, they’ll see a new Gran Turismo on the shelf, take it home, and then be completely dumbfounded by this barebones, obtuse, restrictive package. Those people are going to be profoundly disappointed by Sport, and I’m guessing so will most of the others who buy it thanks to the level of commitment necessary to get the most out of it. The people who go all-in will adore it, but the rest will be left in the dust.

While Megaton Rainfall doesn’t have the most impressive graphics, it still manages to impress with the sheer audaciousness of its scope, and at its best, it feels more like a true superhero experience than any game I’ve ever played. Two of its nine missions may be frustrating slogs, but that isn’t such a bad ratio when the other seven are stellar simulations.

Skipper certainly made me think outside the box. I usually feel confident in my puzzle-solving skills, but I was gnashing my teeth in frustration, not that the difficulty took anything away from my enjoyment. The learning curve is steep but rewarding, and while the devs don’t hand out medals for the effort, the relief of finally solving a situation is enough. It’s certainly a game that begs for one more minute, and I found myself going back often, especially as friends got involved over my shoulder. We’d collectively groan at each other’s mistakes, or share high fives when we’d snagged the answer. Playing together gave the game an extra layer of joy, but it kept my focus when playing solo as well. Skipper is a pleasant — if short lived — minimalistic puzzler.

As much as I loved all the activities that Wilds provided on the side, Thunder’s Drum continued to call my name. Centering the world around the mountain provides compelling motivation to keep pushing through the main quest. I was equal parts interested in advancing the central storyline and in exploring all the side content that Wilds had to offer. That’s a rare, and joyful, feat for an open world game to achieve. Wilds pulls it off.

Rogue Trooper is strange in that it stars a character too large and interesting for the game he’s the center of. The devs were clearly pushing the limits of the hardware back then, and this property and its ideas deserve a bigger and better canvas than a simple Redux can deliver.

In the end, NASCAR Heat 2 offers up plenty of racing for fans to enjoy. The driving is tight, and it feels genuinely good to win. However, when it comes right down to it, I suspect my problem with the game may actually be a problem with NASCAR itself — all of the excitement and exhilaration is buried beneath race after boring race, lap after boring lap.

Doom is an inferior experience on Switch in virtually every way, with the major exception that it can now be taken anywhere. And should major publishers continue making concessions on triple-A titles to release them on this platform, that’s the tradeoff that’ll be hanging over consumers’ heads. Whichever direction people swing, I’m glad that Bethesda is giving us the choice, and that the wonderful Doom survived the transition to handheld mostly intact.

Ultimately, by neglecting to tell the stories about these games, Namco Museum on Switch leaves its selections in the unenviable position of selling their legacies to contemporary players on gameplay alone. Namco Museum would have prospective players believe that these selections are valuable, timeless experiences, but the reality is that no game is timeless — every one exists in its own moment, a photograph with its horizons safely tucked away in the background. For players that have the memories, maybe a faithful recreation is enough. But the rest? They’ll be left wondering what all the fuss was about.

It took me an hour to make my way through The Depths, but I’d imagine more clever players could manage it in a little more than half that. While this isn’t an especially robust or full-featured expansion, it fits perfectly within the world of the main game. Anyone charmed or chilled by Little Nightmares will find more to love here, as well as some images sure to keep them up at night.

Middle-Earth: Shadow of War is a massive game that feels a lot like its predecessor, but now it’s filled with even more things to collect and more missions to finish. But when does a game contain too much? As I reached the end of the campaign, the good times I had turned into a series of chores. Luckily, players can avoid most of the busywork by not worrying about the online conquests or the endgame, but for those that do? Be prepared to grind for it.

Aside from those issues and a cooperative mode that seems to exist purely to give a spectator something to do, I had a great time with Odyssey. It doesn’t feel like the massive leap forward that some of Mario’s earlier 3D outings have been, but its polish and spirit make it another must-play in the ever-increasingly impressive Switch library. Leave it to Nintendo to deliver us some blissful escapism in a year when a lot of us really need it.

Glo treats its one unique feature – navigating a darkened world as a square capable of producing light – with equal parts playfulness and disinterest. At times, I controlled Glo through a battalion of boxes that exploded in a dazzling display of fireworks. Using the light created, I planned my next move as I descended downward into unknown depths. Other times – far too often – a mistimed jump sent me back to the beginning of a stage that I had grown too familiar with to enjoy any longer. While some players may enjoy the steep difficulty, little else makes Glo stand out.

I can only recommend Deadcore to speed-runners or the most dedicated of players, but those that get through the initial challenge will find a deep title that successfully translates many hardcore 2D elements into the third dimension. Everyone not in those two categories? Avoid.