Star Trek: Bridge Crew accomplishes what no previous game came close to — it truly makes the player feel as if they’re on the bridge of a starship, taking part in sci-fi adventures. When a skilled crew is working under an able captain, Bridge Crew offers a uniquely thrilling experience, making everyone feel that they’re contributing equally to every part of the mission. There are plenty of co-op games out there, but I’ve never encountered one as purely collaborative as this. This isn’t about characters with different skillsets making up for each others’ shortcomings, this is about transforming four people into cogs in a machine designed to do incredible things.

Compile Heart’s ambition in trying to leave its comfort zone should be lauded, but unfortunately, Dark Rose Valkyrie‘s release in a period full of landmark JRPGs (not least among them Persona 5 and Final Fantasy XV) highlights how tough it is to make a JRPG that can stick the landing. In leaner years it would be endearing enough for a player to push past its awkward aspects, but against such stiff competition, there’s simply no reason to settle for this botched execution.

The Castle Of Shikigami, while known and appreciated in the shmup community, is definitely not a top-tier bullet-hell. Its sequels are better and available on other consoles, so anyone who appreciates its bizarre aesthetic can get their fix elsewhere. It’s a noteworthy entry in the genre, but at this point it’s hardly a necessary one except for the most serious of shmup fans — in 2017, this game is obsolete.

I enjoyed the basic story, and the pop culture references added flavor, even if anything Power Rangers-specific went right over my head. For those in center of the Venn diagram that combines turn-based strategy games and ‘90s sentai, Chroma Squad will deliver exactly what they’re looking for.

After my love affair with nearly every game that inspired Prey, it seems tailor-made to satisfy me. It is indeed a Corey-Ass Game. Although it does have a few rough spots, Prey is phenomenal, and I immediately dived back in to play more as soon as the credits rolled — a rarity for me. Arkane Studios has been on a hot streak with its past three titles, and I’m looking forward to whatever they try to hypnotize me with next. Or maybe the hypnosis is so ingrained at this point they’ve simply conditioned me to enjoy everything they produce? Hypnotists, indeed.

As a musou brawler, Estival Versus is simply average. The gameplay is tight, but has no special innovations or notable facets, beyond copious amounts of nudity. Seriously, the game even allows players to end matches with what can only be termed ‘Nudalities’. No, it’s the story that elevates the game to an entirely higher level. It’s funny and thoughtful and heartwrenching, and the gameplay was as good as its story, this would be one of the all-time greats, but even though it can’t quite match that lofty quality, it still stands as an impressive experience from beginning to end.

Ultra Street Fighter II: The Final Challengers is perhaps the best version of one of the best fighting games to date. The new visuals and audio take the presentation to the next level, and playing with the creepy-cool alternate characters is great. Moreover, the Switch’s biggest draw is its portability, so there’s finally a way to play Street Fighter with a friend on a single unit, anytime and anywhere. It might not be enough to win back players who have no desire to revisit this classic, but this reviewer does not count himself among that group.

As a graphic adventure and 3D puzzle game, The Assembly is a success. As a VR interpretation of the same, it’s fantastic. The world is easy to explore, and interesting enough to make that exploration a pleasure. While it might be a little pricey for such a limited experience, it’s a solid adventure title that had me enthralled and left me wanting more. The Assembly may be an outwardly sterile place, but it’s filled with enough human intrigue to warrant the trip.

While reading off of my TV for forty hours took some getting used to, I’m glad I read Utawarerumono: Mask of Deception. The characters are well-written, it’s beautiful to look at, and I can’t wait to see where it’s all going.

Persona 5 is periodically fascinating, but it’s unable to maintain the required level of interest and energy over such an extended running time. If it were half as long and cut out most of the repetition, it’d be a much tighter, more enjoyable experience. As it stands, adventuring with the Phantom Thieves sags way too often to be a heartfelt recommendation.

Without a story or even a philosophy to fall back on, Ovivo is forced to stand on its gameplay, its art, and its music. At times, those all sync up and produce a flowing, memorable meditative experience. Mostly, though, the zooming and fiddliness get in the way of the art, or the dull bits of the art get in the way of the experience. For a truly minimalist and meditative experience, ditch the game and just grab the soundtrack.

With A New Frontier, Telltale is stumbling over the age and limitations of its dated engine and game mechanics while also running into the problem of franchise fatigue. There are only so many zombie hordes, self-interested road warriors, and family disputes they can explore before it all starts to feel rote. Javi’s story isn’t a total loss thanks to the development of the core characters, but the studio will have to think of ways to keep this world fresh and interesting if it hopes to continue producing the further adventures of Clementine and other assorted survivors.

Although it’s clear the experimental narrative adventure genre isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, What Remains of Edith Finch proves that videogames are still ripe with opportunities for deep, mature storytelling. Tissue companies might notice a bump in sales as long as developers like Giant Sparrow are around, too.

With its bleak atmosphere and intriguing story, Dying: Reborn is an acceptable effort, bringing the escape room experience to consoles in an interesting, if often disturbing fashion. The PSVR version, while a little more viscerally effective, just doesn’t feel like a complete experience to recommend. Add in some weird glitches that make examining items in VR exceedingly difficult, and the result is the opposite of Resident Evil 7 – this is a VR-enabled game that’s much more satisfying when played on a standard television.

For players on another console or who are a little luckier with bugs than me, I’d say that The Inner World is generally an enjoyable experience with cute animations and quirky humor — I would definitely recommend it, and based on the number of times my boyfriend turned off his own game to watch me play this one, I would say it’s also good for friends to play together.

I really wanted to love Little Nightmares, and in some ways, I do. It tells an intriguing, ambiguous story through a gorgeous, gothic-inspired art style. However, the moment-to-moment interaction suffers from loose controls, questionable physics, and cat-and-mouse sequences that quickly grow tedious. To its credit, the story begins and ends on strong high notes, making both a good first impression and a final lasting one. More art exhibit than enjoyable game, Little Nightmares nevertheless deserves to be in the same conversations as Limbo and Inside, if not because it tops them, then because it shares the same artistic and narrative ambitions.

On the other hand, the minimal number of changes made to this re-release likely helped keep the entry fee reasonable. As much as I loved Vanquish when it first launched, it was tough to justify paying full price for a five-hour title with no multiplayer, few extras, and little replay incentive. Now, PC gamers can finally get their hands on an overlooked gem from the last generation for a fair $20. It’s worth it for the nonstop excitement Vanquish still offers, and I’d have been far less eager to see cover-based shooters go if they’d all been this energetic.

This is a fantastic presentation of two top-notch virtual novels. My only major quibble is that player is never made aware of how important it is to play the two games in the correct order. It’s not enough to see a couple of endings in 999 – if players don’t make it to the true ending before moving on to VLR, it will be casually spoiled in the most off-handed way imaginable. Beyond that, very little goes wrong here, and I’d say that this one of the best visual novel experiences I’ve had.

While this review of Bulletstorm: Full Clip Edition has been largely positive, I have to say that the biggest problem I have with it is the price — $60 for a remastered game is a bit steep, especially when it’s fairly bare-bones in terms of content. Also, considering that the original release didn’t sell well, it seems like a bad idea to charge that much. The steep price of entry will likely keep curious players away when the correct thing to do is entice them in with the best possible version for a great deal. It’s certainly a fantastic shooter, but I’d recommend waiting to catch it on sale.

While The Deer God is a title that I think everyone should play, the PS Vita version stumbles at a couple of points — not enough so that handheld owners will feel shortchanged, but they should know it isn’t the optimal way to experience this work.

When all’s said and done, Samurai Warriors: Spirit of Sanada is a fine game, but not a very memorable one despite all the tweaks. I had a blast plowing my way through waves of disposable bodies and feeling like an unstoppable juggernaut, but once the carnage came to an end, the high was fleeting. I doubt I’ll ever revisit this game, nor even remember it a month from now.

In a year that’s been flooded with massive triple-A games, each one larger than the last, it was a real treat to play through something as compact, focused and soulful as Rime. It was a welcome respite from excess, and proves that sometimes the best things come in small packages.

In the end, I somewhat enjoyed Disney Afternoon Collection in spite of its shortcomings. Retro gaming isn’t just a fad, but rather a growing movement for gamers who miss the simple challenge of using just a pair of thumbs. For that population – and fans of the equally nostalgic cartoon series – this collection is a bargain. But, for a true throwback thrill, there are plenty of ways to get it without resorting to unresponsive controls and questionable game design. Like most collections, this is a well-intentioned labor of love for fans of the IPs and 8-bit completists, yet I’m guessing most newcomers won’t see much value in this journey down memory lane.

Dawn of War III isn’t a bad game — it’s just not a good one either. By trying to chase what’s popular, Relic lost a lot of what made this series so great in the first place. With the promise of more factions to come, there could be more to this game a few months from now, but as it stands right now, it’s too basic to dance at the ball.

Romance Of The Three Kingdoms XIII is a deep, highly rewarding strategy title that insists on persistence, patience, and a high commitment. I’m unable to speak on behalf of ROTK die-hards, but as someone who came in completely bereft of knowledge of the franchise, this thirteenth entry does a solid job to bring in new players, which, considering how damn intricate it can be, is commendable.

There are lots of little things in this title that are genuinely good – the subplots add a depth to the world, the art style is buoyant — but there’s far too much that feels like it hasn’t been fully thought out. Shiness is a curious experiment that never quite hits the mark, which is a shame given the effort that has clearly gone into it.

While I absolutely love the concept of Birthdays: The Beginning, the execution leaves much to be desired. It’s too passive and too finicky, and doesn’t do enough with the core concept of life appearing and evolving over time. There’s not much here for seasoned players or curious kids, and as someone who’s been playing games for a while, I can say that this formula was done far, far better on the SNES back in 1993 with EVO: Search For Eden. Look it up!

While it might seem like a sci-fi soulslike, The Surge proved itself to be more than just another wannabe thanks to the outstanding twists on combat, satisfying choices in playstyle, and allowing for fearless engagement in its systems thanks to the ability to respec at any time. While I often felt wrecked and ruined by my journey through the hostile, unforgiving mega-corp, by the end I came around and instantly started a new playthrough. Deck 13 has taken the criticisms leveled at them after Lords of the Fallen, and not only responded to them, but actually used that feedback to improve in major ways. Great job.