At its core, Woolhaven feels more fleshed out than the base game did when I initially played it, and we saw that get plenty of free content updates over the years. With similar postgame additions, I’d love to see where Woolhaven goes from here.

The glitches with text and voice-acting are pretty minor, but if you’re like me and this is a pet peeve, it might take a toll on you eventually. If you don’t care, then you’ll have an even better time. Overall, the characters were not for me this time around, but I did enjoy getting to try out Bu$stafellows and look forward to more future releases from this studio.

If you’re looking for an engaging science fiction story about identity, mind, and personal values in a society that seems to value none of the above? I would recommend this one without reservation. Good work, Minds Beneath Us. You impressed me.

There’s so much to do and Sunbreak offers you even more ways to do it with the new flexibility found in its updated combat features and absurd amount of new content that will easily take you hundreds of hours to get through. So whether you’re this is your first time in the Monster Hunter universe, or you’ve been playing since the very first one, I strongly advise you to get out there and enjoy this amazing game, as the best actually managed to get better! There has absolutely never been a better time to get into it. I hope to see you on the hunt!

The idea of running back and forth across a large area may not be appealing to everyone. However, after setting aside the weirdly, and wonderfully confusing story and a few tense BT encounters, I found my time with Death Stranding to often be a more relaxing, chill, experience that I would recommend you check out.

The game's sheer complexity and overwhelming mass of systems and stuff makes it a bit hard to recommend, and there were definitely times when I was pulling out my hair in frustration in the game or finding myself unclear on how I was supposed to proceed. I feel like a smaller and more balanced game would have likely been an overall better experience. But at the end of the day, Nioh 3 aims big. While I can't say if it's going to satisfy series fans perfectly, this one is definitely earning a thumbs up from me.

Riven is a game that demands your full attention, occasionally to its detriment. If you aren’t locked in and focused, it is easy to lose the trail the game is gently leading you on. But if you can give it your time and attention, it will take you on an unforgettable ride.

Nioh 2 is a refinement of an already great game. The biggest flaw in my opinion of the previous title was that it was difficult to hop into. Truly getting to know a moveset required an investment that wasn’t always easy to recover, and trying to put together a build felt foolish for anything you’d replace down the line. Now it feels a lot more open to experimentation. Everything I loved about the original is still here of course. There’s more stylish moves than ever to learn, and the bosses are more than happy to slam me to the mat any time I start getting overconfident.

While Sumire was a short game, I truly enjoyed what it had to offer. The themes and characters were interesting, some of the minigames were fun, and the ending I got was pretty wholesome. It does have some minor flaws, among them its limited world and the nature of how some of the darker themes were handled, but for the low price-point and engaging experience, I wouldn’t let those things keep you from giving it a try. I am certainly glad I did, and look forward to future titles from GameTomo.

If you are tired as heck of roguelike games, this is not the game that’s going to change your mind. But if you like solid platforming action and are willing to learn the game’s systems, crack the bones and sink into the marrow? You’ve got a heck of a game on your hands, and many exciting runs ahead of you. And that’s even before you unlock your third characters.

Inscryption is an amazingly well-put-together piece of work. The atmosphere presented…well, I’ve already doted on it multiple times. And I’ll do so again: it’s unsettling, occasionally oppressive, and always keeps the player on their toes. It could easily carry the work on its own, but luckily the card game mechanics are solid and sound as well. It’s easy to pick up, but with a ton of variables to allow customization and multiple viable approaches to the challenges provided. If only it didn’t stumble literally right at the finish line, I’d call this a near-perfectly designed game. Unfortunately, that last moment soured me on the experience…not enough render the whole thing moot (a la Mass Effect 3), but I just can’t shake it off. Despite that, Inscryption is a game that I can recommend highly. Even if you’re not typically a fan of deckbuilding games (just as I used to be), if you want some unsettling vibes for the season, this is your game right here.

Some repetitive storytelling moments drag down the pacing here and there. Also, for a studio so lauded for its visuals, the horrifying slowdown during the strategy battle segments is borderline offensive. Even with these issues, though, 13 Sentinels is an absolute must play, especially for those seeking a good narrative in gaming. This is the kind of story that’s going to stick in my mind for weeks to come, and easily stands up with some of the best stories I’ve experienced in any medium.

If you’re a hardcore Ninja Turtle fan or someone looking for a fun as hell beat ’em up to play with friends on a pizza-filled Saturday night, you’re going to have a lot of fun no matter what crowd you find yourself in. It succeeds in bridging the past and present, and knows how to hit the mark for any fan. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge is a worthy follow-up to an arcade/console classic, and a game worthy of counting itself as one of the genre’s best examples of how to do a beat ’em up right. This is Turtle Power at its absolute best.

The Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood is one of those games I wish got made more often. Rather than spending dozens of hours simply being ok, it chooses to spend what little time it has being fantastic. It’s the kind of game that sticks with you for ages after you’ve put it down.

If you like first-person shooters, you will have an absolute blast with Roboquest. The game scratches the itch for a satisfying and active shooter in a way that few other titles manage, and you can expect to spend hours just ducking back in for another round of shooting and jumping in the hopes of reaching the end this time. I can’t recommend this one highly enough.

Both Bayonetta and Vanquish were amongst the first games released by PlatinumGames, and they both show just how strong the studio was from the get-go. These remasters open up the opportunity for newcomers to the studio, whether from Nier: Automata or Astral Chain, to check out the studio’s origins on modern hardware.

I like The Alters. It sells its premise in a way I wish more science fiction games would. We need more of them. But the watering down of its gameplay elements makes it hard to recommend. If you’re willing to slog through tedium and gameplay filler there is a wonderfully fun story to experience.

I especially recommend it if you’re a fan of adventure games with a lot of puzzles. You definitely won’t be disappointed given how plentiful and unique they are. Overall I am happy I got to play this gem of a game and am looking forward to more from Mojiken.

Ultimately, the new narrative in The Witch Queen is absolutely worth checking out, and the game still features what I think is the best gunplay in any game I’ve played- and now it has glaives!

While the slate of classic content here might not be as dense as other compilations in Digital Eclipse’s Gold Master Series, everything included in Tetris Forever easily justifies its more than reasonable asking price. This compilation is easily one of the best I’ve played and experienced in quite a while. Which makes for an easy reccommendation for anyone interested in doing a deep dive into one of the premier lynchpins of the industry. It’s not a perfect compilation, but it’s damned close.

It’s still very well crafted and definitely worth your time to play, in my opinion. But amongst the three major DLCs? This one is sadly probably the weakest. There isn’t even much reason to revisit the monastery later even though you can, unless you missed some hidden thing while you were there, so this DLC is pretty much one-and-done, while the Brushes with Death and Legacy of the Forge DLC updates both added new activities you can do, adding considerable value to the time you spend in Bohemia.

Much like the original, I found myself having a great time with Ryza 2. As I mentioned back then, if this is the direction the Atelier series is moving in, you can count me in as a fan from this point. While the question remains if Gust will stick with this formula when they eventually move away from titles staring Ryza, I personally hope they continue to revise and refine this model. If Ryza 1 caught my interest, then Ryza 2 definitely has my attention.

Don’t let its somewhat drab exterior fool you, Rolling Gunner is worth a look for genre professionals and up-and-comers alike. Its the kind of game that, despite only being six stages long, I can see myself returning to for a long time coming.

Whether you’re a retro-head with a weird interest in the PC-98 like myself, a fan of old-school graphic adventures, a visual novel fan poking their head into something similar, or just into 80s mecha, Stories from Sol is a tale that is worth your time.

It’s just a perfect blend of difficulty and discovery from start to finish. It’s basic, sure, but sometimes shaving off the excess parts is how you polish something down to its core. It’s not terribly long to beat once – about six hours for a playthrough – but you’ll want to go through at least twice, and there’s even some things that keep things fresh on a second playthrough so you’re not quite retreading the same game a second time. If you’re a fan of old-school action, definitely pick this up!

Simply put, this is the return that fans have been waiting for. Streets of Rage 4 delivers in so many ways that the $24.99 price point seems more than reasonable with all the included content, even with the short story mode. It may prove to be overwhelming for those unfamiliar with what it brings to the table, but you can’t deny how much love was put on the screen for beat-’em-ups and this franchise in general. If you can take the heat, you should absolutely jump in and send a signal that this is a game worth playing.

Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound is a wonderful game that’s sure to stand out for fans of the series and beyond. It reinforces what longtime followers love about the series, and is one of the best examples of a “tough but fair” game. It could possibly be overshadowed by its 3D counterparts, but be sure not to overlook this gem of a game. It stands out well enough on its own that it would be foolish to miss out on this well-crafted experience.

Fuga: Melodies of Steel is perhaps one of the most impactful games I’ve ever played. The story and gameplay both serve to complement each other, with the story adding so much importance to your decisions, but with the horrible impact of firing the cannon entirely within your power to prevent if you pay attention to all your options. I don’t know if my experience will match everyone else’s, but I sincerely and genuinely felt something from this, and sometimes it just feels good to have something connect with you even as it hurts.