Fans of exploration and shooters are strongly encouraged to try out The Knight Witch, because it’s a little indie title that’s going to charm you with both its story and its gameplay. What do you know? Mashing concepts together worked out pretty well here after all.

At the end of the day this is an approachable and enjoyable entry into a genre that doesn’t really get a lot of love these days. If they manage to optimize things enough to fix the performance issues you could probably consider it a 9 from me, but as it is I can only mostly recommend it.

Ultimately, reading Aokana often feels like eating a variety pack of candy. Sure, there may be some flavors that don’t hit in ways that some do. But the ratio of good outweighs the bad here, and opening the box in the first place is a safe bet for a good read.

The effort put forth here is readily apparent and absolutely noticed, and that has to count for something. Get-A-Grip Chip is a fun and occasionally frustrating platformer that feels like the first step to greater things down the road. The addictive “let’s play another stage” aspect applies here, so don’t let that short runtime deter you. While it isn’t perfect, it’s worth a playthrough (or two) for the asking price they’re setting here. Here’s hoping for a sequel.

These presentation issues definitely temper my excitement for what is easily one of the more accessible fighting games I’ve had the opportunity to play. Then again, that feeling of accessibility likely comes from the fact that I’ve mostly focused on the single-player mode here – a mode that everyone, not just fighting gamers, can enjoy. Would I recommend picking the game up just for the RPG Mode alone? No, definitely not, but it does make Versus more tempting for gamers looking to start their journey into fighting games.

If you’re a fan of the AI series, picking this one up is a no-brainer. Even with a few issues, it’s still more AI, and that’s enough for me. This entry is not friendly for newcomers, though, so if what you’ve seen here intrigues you, go pick up the original game and play through that first.

For fans of the franchise who aren’t usually RPG fans, this one is going to be fun. Tactical RPG fans who don’t generally play run-and-gun platformers are going to have fun with it. And if you’re a fan of both? This is a must-buy. It’s a sign of how you can do interesting things in a familiar space with novel implementation.

The folks at DotEmu obviously cared about what they were doing here, and that by itself is worth consideration. They wanted to put out at least a worthy sequel, and I feel like they did that at bare minimum. This game is not a drastic evolution of its forebears, nor did it have to be. Those looking for a fun pick up and play game will find a lot to love here, and with good reason. Windjammers 2 is a worthy sequel, and a damned fun multiplayer experience.

Arknights: Endfield is a unique beast. It is a very fun game that I found very hard to play. I do want to reiterate that I like this game. The best part about games as a service is if what I found frustrating proves to be a sticking point for others, then those issues can and will be addressed. I also think Endfield is a game that can give you as much back as you want to put in. Engaging with ALL of its systems isn’t strictly necessary. In that sense, free-to-play is a damn steal!

The story works but it has some notable flaws, and if you’re familiar with the property lots of it feels like familiar ground. The gameplay is solid enough but it’s very much about following a very strict path rather than going off in new directions. The visuals are afforded far too much weight and don’t actually work all that well beyond seeing quick snippets in trailers.

Survival game fans will no doubt appreciate the level of polish in the design of its systems and the fun gameplay loop of shooting, looting, and crafting to make yourself stronger, but it doesn’t do much to iterate on expected genre convention. It’s also marred by intermittent technical hiccups and some less-than-stellar interface choices, but I still couldn’t stop myself from sinking more and more of my time into it. It’s a fun foundation that still needs a bit of TLC, in other words, and I hope to see Funcom eventually deliver the best version of what this take on Dune could become.

I wanted to like this game so badly. I’ve been a fan of Devolver-published games for a while, and I came away from the preview with high hopes. Unfortunately those expectations did not match my experience playing through Bleak Sword DX for real. For all the intensity the difficulty brought, I nevertheless found myself bored at basically repeating the same thing over and over, and found the story to be an active detriment. That’s not to say there’s nothing good here, however. It’s a solid foundation, but where other games would strive to build something on that foundation, Bleak Sword DX unfortunately just leaves it as a slab of concrete.

The story isn’t perfect, but still spins a tale worthy of the Dragon of Dojima. Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name may be a shorter game, but there’s a surprising amount of depth in that brevity. It’s been a good year for Like a Dragon, and a game that celebrates their leading man like this is worthy of your time and money. Go ahead and devour this, and get excited for Infinite Wealth.

Overall, Half Past Fate is a bit of a mixed bag that hits more than it misses. Whilst the individual stories here are of varying levels of quality, the overall plot and writing was still enjoyable enough to carry me through to the end.

Mechanically, visually, and immersion-wise, Altdeus: Beyond Chronos is a massive step forward for visual novels in the VR medium. While the genre still has a way to go, this title shows that it can be successful in virtual reality. The writing here, though, leaves a lot to be desired. I’m used to visual novels having slow opening routes, but completely foregoing any real character development for hours made this game incredibly difficult to get into. Once over the hump of the initial route, though, Altdeus managed to provide an entertaining story, one that I didn’t mind strapping my Vive headset on for. It’s not mind-blowing by any means, but it’s still a worthwhile read.

At the end of the day, Undermine is almost exactly what it looks like – a very solid and well-presented roguelike game in which you dive into a mine and try to pilfer the treasures within. That’s exactly what it’s trying to be, and that’s also what it succeeds at being with aplomb. For some people, that’s not going to be enough, just because… well, as mentioned, this is not an underserved genre at this point. It’s not hard to find a variety of roguelikes out there, and I’m sure there are people who will take a look at what the game has on offer and determine that they hardly need another one in their library. But if you like this genre? Well, you’re in for a solid treat, because it does what it’s trying to do well. What more could you ask for from a game?

If you’re a fan of stunning art design and cyberpunk aesthetics in general, Anno: Mutationem is a no-brainer. If you’re just going in curiously like I initially did, I still think you’ll have a fun time here. Just be ready to be a bit confused for the first hour or two.

There’s some great scenes, and the aesthetics are absolutely on point, but at the end of the day I simply can’t find myself recommending this to anyone except those who’d look at the trailer and immediately know it’s their jam.

If you like the genre, you’ll like Kunai. If you don’t, this won’t be the one to convince you otherwise, but it’s got a great aesthetic and some real bright spots just the same.

While Yakuza 4 Remastered doesn’t offer much in the way of quality of life updates or any substantial presentation improvements, the entire package is still solid. It knows what it is and what it wants to do, and is ultimately an improvement over its direct predecessor in a number of ways. It may be different from other titles that succeed it, but I feel like this is one of the better games in the Remastered package and worth picking up.

If you’re a fan of beautiful artwork, good music, and good voice-acting, I would definitely pick this up. However, go into it with realistic expectations. The MC can be a bit bland and the writing can feel childish at times, but this isn’t to such an egregious point that you won’t be able to find enjoyment in the series as a whole. It also has great replayability with seven routes, each with multiple endings.

Digital Eclipse once again hits the mark with Mortal Kombat Legacy Kollection, and I’m happy that their porting skills remain as strong as ever. The sheer number of games included in tandem with their now trademark storytelling approach makes this an easy recommend for me. While not every game here is a winner, the documentary portion once again steals the show. I hope this isn’t the last we see of this Gold Master format, because there are plenty more of gaming’s icons that would benefit from its unique brand of storytelling. I’ll happily take more gaming history lessons from a developer that clearly cares about the story of whatever gaming giant they choose to cover next.

I expected a bit more out of Pepper Grinder than I got, but none of that is really a mark against the game. There are definitely things about the game I dislike – boss fights primarily, or the general brevity and simplicity of the game – but that’s also judging a game I didn’t get rather than one I did, and the title isn’t priced like a big sprawling adventure. At a $15 price tag, it feels like a light weekend thing, something you can drill through in a few nights of idle play and then pick up again whenever you have a hankering for something similar...That’s… what it wants to be. And so I have to kind of give it up for that. There are frustration points, sure, but if you like this style of platformer it simultaneously doesn’t feel like something that’s been done a dozen times before and is fun to play start to finish. Not every game manages that.

The lack of any story or narrative means that, well, to a certain extent the game is shallow. It’s got a lot going on in play, but not a lot to draw you back in or anything of the sort. Also, it’s a competitive game, and that means playing with certain other people can turn things into a cesspool because some folks just cannot handle competition even in a chill game. Your mileage will vary. But none of that is to change the fact that this is a very supremely relaxing game. If you have the right people around you, or are just in the mood for something relaxing? This is an excellent option. Just relax. Settle down for the game. Don’t worry about people who are going to make this into a big to-do or anything of the sort, just… let it wash over you. Sit on the couch. Close your eyes for a bit, there’s no timer. Ooh, look, a red-tailed hawk! It’s a beautiful bird and it catches cards for more victory points. This is a fun game.

LIGHTKRAVTE is not going to be everyone’s cup of tea, I freely admit that, but it did the thing that Kurt Vonnegut once said every story should do: It used the time of a complete stranger in a way that didn’t make it feel wasted. And quite frankly? If you’re the sort of person who generally doesn’t think much of visual novels? This might be worth a look after all. It’s a story that not a lot of games tell, told in a way that serves to show off the strengths of a visual novel rather than its weaknesses.

Overall, Love, Ghostie is exactly what it looks like on the tin: An adorable little slice of life full of charming characters you’ll get to know over the course of your adventure. While it doesn’t take long at all to reach the credits, the real fun comes from seeing all the various combinations, which greatly increases the run time. It’s not especially deep or demanding, but not everything needs to be that way. It’s cozy, and sometimes that’s precisely what one needs.

If the premise sounds fascinating enough to you that you want to muddle through it? I don’t blame you. I don’t hate the time I spent trying to muddle through it, and in contrast to a lot of visual novels which I feel lean far too heavily on the “novel” part it felt like a fun game to play from start to finish. Just be aware that as it stands now, you’re going to have a rough time with the localization.

The gameplay feels well-polished and each character will have you wanting to learn more about them. The very few hiccups I encountered as far as gameplay goes were nothing to keep me from enjoying the game immensely. It would be great to have just a few more quality of life changes, sure, but as far as what’s already in Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town, you can expect on the most enjoyable RPGs I’ve ever encountered. If ever there were a time to get away to a farm and lost in the mines, it’s now, and with a game like Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town you might just find exactly the escape you need.