One of the things standing in EA’s way here is its penchant for introducing a game riddled with bugs and balance issues that need correcting in further updates.

If you want an in-depth gaming experience, this isn’t the title for you. But if you’re looking for a quick taste of the Star Wars universe on the small screen, this is an easy to play, surprisingly engaging little game.

Evoland II may not offer the most amazing gameplay of any title you pick up this year, but its charm, writing, and storyline will keep you entertained and playing on through all the genres and graphical styles it represents. It’s a mashup on a grand scale — and a successful one — bringing together many of the elements that make us love all those games individually.

As one of the better and more charming rhythm action games to come out in recent years, Persona 4: Dancing All Night is not only an apt and engrossing spin-off, but it’s an effective side story that will help pass the time while we impatiently wait for Persona 5.

As a game, The Phantom Pain excels. The stealth and action work beautifully in the open-world setting, and maintaining your Mother Base gives you plenty of rewards. It’s long, fun, and gives players tons of variety. I just wish that the story offered more.

It’s a semi-remake that fails to match all the charm of the original.

Making people happy is such a rare goal in games, and to have one excel at the notion and the motivation for doing so is a doubly rare joy, although glaring missteps do keep it out of the center ring of adventure games.

Dungeon of the Endless works well with the iPad interface and is a great game in its own right. Be warned if you’re unaccustomed to roguelikes. It can be discouraging starting over from scratch, so even though the action enticing, failure is so punishing it can be difficult to brush yourself off for another attempt.

Mad Max isn’t a terrible game — it’s actually well crafted. The problem here isn’t that it’s broken or unplayable but that it’s just boring.

It has put unparalleled craft and care into every element of this game because it loves Mario as much as we do. And that propels this game into a whole other realm of greatness.

Disney Infinity 3.0 is an improvement over its predecessors in nearly every conceivable way. While it is still features a cartoony style that doesn’t quite push the limits of modern consoles, it is an enjoyable game (especially if you have children to share it with) with as much content as the Death Star has destructive power.

Lara Croft Go emphasizes cunning and exploration, not challenge, but this doesn’t make it a pushover.

It may not be worth $40 for everyone now, but if you haven’t touched the series before and want a good starting point before Gears of War 4 hits next year, this is the best place to start. If you’ve already played the game, you may already know whether you want to go back, but the Ultimate Edition does right by one of the defining games of the last generation.

N++ is the new co-op game of choice in our house. And, if you like crazy, physics-based platform action and a decent challenge, it’ll likely find similar favor in yours. Even just played solo, N++ offers so much content and replayability — and is so obviously a labor of love — that it’ll stay on your PS4 home-screen for months to come.

Die-hard Danganronpa lovers: add seven points to this score. For everyone else: 85.

The games themselves are still fantastic and have held up about as well as anything from the NES library. I just wish this was a more complete celebration of the Blue Bomber.

If you can get past that stereotype and your usual reaction to Hollywood horror, you’ll find that Until Dawn is one of the most original and polished games in the interactive horror genre...The game really lives up to its promise and vision, and that’s a rarity in an age of hype.

The light swipes of the controls can take a gentle touch, and you’ll definitely want to just buy the unlimited credits rather than put up with the freemium annoyances. It won’t entertain you for day-long stints. But if you like Pac-Man, this version is a must for your phone.

RymdResa is a gorgeous roguelike that has a significant amount of untapped potential that could lead to a much better game to play. For now, you’ll have to make do with passively exploring space and not much else.

Sorcerer King offers a nice strategic balance, and the feeling of carving a swath through a landscape already dominated by your enemy gives the game a fun, challenging feel.

Galak-Z: The Dimensional is worth the pain, but it involves a great deal of effort. Like its arcade ancestors, you can appreciate its high replay value well before you beat it the first time.

Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture’s greatest accomplishment is making you care for its departed characters. Their personal stories give you an incredible glimpse of what life was like in their little corner of the world. They’re not the nicest group of people. They can be selfish, stubborn, and downright stupid. But that’s what makes them feel real and memorable.

For better or worse, Daybreak didn’t design PlanetSide 2 for instant gratification. I’ve had hours of playtime where enemy forces were so overwhelming that I barely got anything done. But I’ve also had hours that were full of tense battles filled with explosions, multicolored lasers, and missiles. When you play at night, it looks like a chaotic fireworks show.

Dark Room doesn’t give you much room to complain, unless you hate things that make you have feelings. It’s the best-paced, most emotional entry yet, and it handles its super-serious subject matter with skill and maturity. This is the chapter we’ve been waiting to play since the beginning.

I found the in-app purchases intrusive and destructive of the gameplay flow. If you don’t mind that sort of thing, add 10 points to this review score. If you’re highly irritated by freemium features you can’t avoid, then my only advice is to avoid Angry Birds 2 and opt for one of the earlier games in the series.

It’s a must-play word game with an adorable visual style and plenty of incentive to keep you coming back because the quest for bears is noble and just, especially when they’re this cute.

For the two or three things that SpellUp does right, it has too much frustration and confusion to deserve a permanent spot on your iPhone or iPad.

The tutorials make it super easy to learn the complicated game, and making decks is easy and fun. It might play better once it’s on PC and consoles, since all of that tiny text will become easier to play. But even now, Magic fans will enjoy this digital version of the classic card game.