Though Absolute Drift was not the drifting game that I wanted it to be, I was pleasantly surprised by what it actually was. As a relaxing and engrossing experience over the course of a short playtime, it's an interesting foray into the growing genre of alternative driving games.

While the concept and content are golden, what makes LDS a legitimate contender for being the best couple game of all time is how simple the controls are—manning the cannons or shield is as easy as getting to the correct station and using the thumbstick to aim.

As a big, big fan of the previous Toy Soldiers games, it was tough to see War Chest falling so short compared to the other two.

While it's widely considered one of the best Genesis titles ever, I'd say the appeal is limited to those who have a sense of nostalgia for it. I'm glad I tried it, and with a bargain price it's worth a shot to those who want to educate themselves on this piece of video game history, but I'm guessing it won't hold much appeal to new-school gamers unless they've got a local buddy to play with.

While Static didn't really work for me, it's short, it's free, and certain aspects of it are very much open to interpretation. I've been sitting on this one for a while due to a fear of misrepresenting a piece of art that I don't entirely understand, but I can still recommend that interested parties check it out for themselves and come to their own conclusions.

More than anything, Devil's Third feels like a last-ditch salvage job that scrapes together what could be rescued from previous builds, slaps it all together, and then shoves it out the door. That said, as rough as Devil's Third can be in many ways, I've had an absolute blast with it most matches.

As the first chapter of an episodic adventure, Blues and Bullets accomplishes everything it needs to—great writing, interesting characters, hints of a compelling story, and engaging gameplay are all present.

It's odd to run up against a stealth game where the leaderboards are significantly more compelling than the scripted story, but that's Volume in a nutshell. Its stripped-down aesthetic parallels the tight constraints of its levels and the careful curtailing of player power, verging on making some parts feel shallow.

Through it can be frustrating and seem downright broken at times, there's still much to enjoy in A Pixel Story. It genuinely has all the making of a great puzzle platformer, but it's sadly kept from its full potential by poorly-executed physics.

I left Whispering Willows with the nagging feeling that it could have been elevated if the devs had added just a few more levels, a few more powers, and a few more story twists to bring it to a satisfying conclusion. In the end, I was... haunted... by the wasted opportunities.

Ultra Despair Girls could've been a dynamite ten-hour experience. Unfortunately, it clocks in at about twice that length and runs out of gas long before credits roll. However, spending time with Komaru and Toko remains worthwhile despite the filler and late-game sluggishness, and this genre-switch is definitely a must-play for series fans.

While the Mega Man Legacy Collection may be less than half the size it should be, it's still a fantastic collection of consistently great games. There's not a bad title in the bunch.

That lack of basic info aside, Smite is bright, largely accessible, and after just a few matches I fully understood the appeal of team-based god-on-god combat.

For those satisfied with their Talos adventure, I'd say that there's nothing essential in this expansion, and it might be hard for forgetful players to get back up to speed. On the other hand, players who enjoyed the base game and want more will find Road To Gehenna to be beautiful, brilliant, brain-breaking, and heartily recommended as something that recaptures (and builds upon) much of what made The Talos Principle great.

There was never any question that I was going to obtain and enjoy Rare Replay, but there's enough great content here to ensure that even those players who didn't grow up with these games will find a lot to love.

My son was interested enough in The Legend Of Kay to play it for a few hours. However, even at the relatively inexperienced age of six, it wasn't long before he tired of its mediocrity. Once he put the game down, he had absolutely no interest in coming back. For a game whose major audience is ostensibly children, failing to keep a game-loving little boy entertained is a pretty damning indictment.

A gimmick can make for a classic game if done well, but High Strangeness doesn't develop its ideas enough to get there.

My time with Gauntlet was educational since its existence was clearly a step in the process that led to Helldivers. As an experience unto itself? It's neither satisfying nor worthwhile, and I can't recommend Gauntlet: Slayer Edition to anyone when a superior product from the same developer is readily available on the same platform.

I really didn't expect much from this game, but it overdelivered in spades.

The developers have managed to create[] a beautiful world to explore, but whether some players will find the journey's tale worth experiencing is a different question altogether.

GALAK-Z feels like a Steam Early Access game. The lack of content, repeating environments, glitches and bugs, framerate issues, and the final season of the campaign being listed as "coming soon" (yes, really!) scream that the work isn't finished.

A game so dominated by the derivative is hard to recommend, especially on a platform that includes Resogun, Luftrausers, and Velocity 2X, all of which bring a fresh take to one of the least fresh genres.

Underneath its shiny graphics and dynamic movement, most of its characters aren't distinct enough to be interesting, let alone loveable in the way that great visual novel characters should be. The writing isn't bad, but it's too repetitive to carry an entire game's worth of storytelling and dialogue.

The Bozak Horde isn't very large and doesn't offer any of the fascinating storytelling flourishes of the main game, but it's fresh and creative, with the developers doing a great job of showcasing their mastery of traversal and combat construction. Anyone who enjoyed Dying Light will find this a satisfying diversion for at least a few hours while waiting for the dune buggies coming down the line.

It's an extremely refined, focused experience that is exactly what it aims to be. Players will either get into the groove, grit their teeth and love it (or they won't) but those who bounce off won't do so for lack of craftsmanship.

One of the better co-op shooter experiences available on current generation consoles, and the slower pacing and shambling foes give it a character unlike anything else out there.

Little more than a time capsule giving players a glimpse into a series that stubbornly refused to improve along with its competition.

The music is often phenomenal, the translation and dialogue are exquisite, and the world is one that's worth spending time in. However, it's all based on grind-heavy gameplay, and it's still subscription based. My advice is to buy it, burn through the new content, and then put it aside until the next substantial expansion is released.