Just like the tonal balance between a businessman in a maid outfit trying to escape an earthquake while making a life or death decision, Disaster Report 4: Summer Memoires can feel like an odd tightrope walk. Despite its problems, I was hooked. Disaster Report 4: Summer Memories is a unique, sometimes earth-shattering experience. It doesn’t get everything right but it’s the nearest you’ll ever want to get to an earthquake and that works for me.

Darksburg has sprinted full force into early access with a definite solid foundation for the game. The world the developers have built is difficult and terrifying, but it can also be immersive and beautiful. There is a story behind the unlucky town of Darksburg that is begging to be told, but it will just take a little more time to unravel. I’m particularly excited to learn more about the Revenants and the source of the Infection, and hope that the creators lean more into the lore behind their world. They’re in a unique position to offer a game with high replayability and a rich story as they continue forward through the early access period. The base mechanics of the game have been ironed out with an interesting cast to execute them. Now let’s throw in a little more spice and kick things up a notch. [Early Access score = 75]

Samurai Shodown, the reboot, for the Nintendo Switch carries on the traditions from the game's original introduction. With plenty of battle mode options and a plethora of unique characters to choose from boredom shouldn't happen anytime soon. The game's mechanics focus more on timely execution of a move versus stringing together a complex set of combos. This mechanic alone opens up the doors for more players, even those who are "fighting game challenged"!

Spaceland is a fun tactical strategy game. It was not what I expected. There were aspects of the crafting I disliked, but I found myself loving the complexity that the game provides overall. I enjoyed my time shooting my way through some very difficult situations. If you like strategy games this may be one you want to try out.

While I did enjoy my time with this game, I don't think I will be revisiting it in its current state. If you have a hankering for an old school turn-based strategy game then you'll probably enjoy this. For everyone else though I think you may be a tad overwhelmed and disappointed with what's on offer here.

With tons of enjoyable content available in Persona 5 Royal, it’s worth more than its price tag though not necessarily for those who have played Persona 5 previously. The game almost seems flawless in every part, especially in combat design and stealth mechanics, but be aware that this is a story-driven game for patient players.

For a farming simulation game, Farmer's Dynasty it isn't absolutely awful, but it isn't wonderful either. Because the developers wanted to include both life simulation and roleplaying elements and made them a core part of the game, I have to take that into account when trying to understand what they wanted to achieve with this game and how that helps or hinders it. If they were looking to create a standard farming simulation game, yeah, it's decent. Tedious, but decent. But the roleplaying and life simulation just did not work for me at all. I would have much preferred that they just toss the entire social system and put more life into items you can purchase, polishing the animations, and focusing more on customization for your farm.

If you loved DOOM 2016 I think you’re are going to love DOOM Eternal. It takes the best parts of 2016 and somehow finds a way to improve on them. Throw in some amazing easter eggs, new enemy types, movement mechanics and level design and you have a formula for amazing. Sure it’ll take a level or so to figure out this new combat rhythm but once you find it, you’ll never want to go back.

Overall, Kingdom Under Fire: The Crusaders is a game from 2004 and it shows. The graphics are dated, and the voice acting seems subpar, but the overall story and combat are what makes this fun for me. Anyone who played the original will appreciate the small updates that have been made to bring the game to the PC in 2020.

Giraffe and Annika is a rhythm adventure game that is short on rhythm, and too heavy on the tedious portions of the adventure. Still, Giraffe and Annika manages to make the most of this title, with beautiful manga inspired panels, enjoyable dialog, and a very fun rhythmic battles, even if they are in short supply. Children and young adults could find a lot to love here, but in comparison to other rhythmic games and adventure games on the market, it may not hold your attention for long.

If you’re looking for a hard knocks challenge then Murder By Numbers is probably not for you, and that is no real surprise. Murder By Numbers comes from the same team that released Hatoful Boyfriend into the wild and it relies on some fantastic writing. Filled with quirky 90s cheese, engaging characters, and some fantastic animation, Murder by numbers is the sort of case file that goes above and beyond the line of duty.

Warlander is a rogue-like developed by Clock Drive Games. You play Bruce, a resurrected warrior who is out for vengeance. The game has quite a bit of potential but is held back by clunky controls and small bugs. However, between the precision targeting mechanics and base game loop Warlander does have an addictive quality that keeps me playing.

As with many of the other tabletop PC ports, Pandemic is pretty faithful to its roots. If you're a fan of the board game and don't mind playing by yourself, you'll probably enjoy its PC iteration. The graphics, music, and user interface aren't terrible, but the giant buttons and dated graphics tend to call back to the early 2000s era of gaming. It feels like they took a lot of the mobile assets and didn't put much care into resizing them for the PC. With that being said, overall, Pandemic is a pretty fun and challenging game that's very topical at this point in time.

For the fans of the admittedly niche genre of turn-based RPGs, Wargroove is quite a find considering its price and the amount of content it offers. If you have ever wanted to bask in nostalgia and step back into the waters of classic turn-based titles, Wargroove can offer you a trip back in time and a couple of dozen happy hours.

Overall I was thoroughly impressed with my time spent in The Division 2 Warlords of New York. The story delivers and gave me some of the closure I needed from the first Division, but showed me there’s still more to the story. The item changes are great and make everything just that little bit easier. I still have issues with some mechanics, especially bullet sponge bosses. I’m also concerned with Season passes and whether they will be worth the price of admission.

If you are looking for a deep interactive narrative and a complex gameplay loop then I’d also advise you to pass on this. Like Ape Out or Redeemer, the core gameplay loop here is about cathartic fun and creative destruction. The environmental objects, changing challenges, and chaotic action mean that while there is only one button to attack, that rarely gets old.

A solid package that will keep you entertained for many hours. While I personally would have preferred to have the difficulty rise a bit more than it did I never felt like I was simply drifting through the game. While it is nice that there are different playable characters I never mentioned it as it makes zero difference to the gameplay or story. They are all essentially the same. The myriad of collectables though meant that we were often searching high and low for what was in the level and exploration was always enjoyable, finding boosts and rooms we could have easily missed. I encountered no real bugs on my playthrough and that alone is worthy of praise in this day and age.

What has the beginnings of a great 8-bit rogue-like RTS title that feels like Disgea and Slay The Spire heavily influenced. There is a great comedic value and the characters are unique. I love where the narrative is going and the systems in place are impactful, but that's where you start diving into some of the issues, the longer you play.

The Yakuza Remastered Collections is definitely a worthy pack with a bunch of new additions to the original game and enhanced visuals that makes it fit roughly into the current-gen gaming platforms. Although the collection should’ve arrived earlier than Yakuza 6, yet you shouldn’t miss it if you are eager to dig into Kazuma Kiryu’s past.

I am currently sitting at about 40 hours into the game and have beaten the main story, I would highly recommend Dragon Ball Z Kakarot to any fan out there. If you are looking for a serious fighting game, this is not for you. I would point this player to something more like Dragon Ball Z Fighters. If you are looking for a game that brings out your inner dragon ball anime-loving child then this is perfect for you. My only suggestion would be to not over-analyze what is missing but enjoy the new content and soak up the overall experience.

At best Might & Magic Heroes: Era of Chaos is a very average cash grab that features stale gameplay and predatory monetization tactics.

Overall Not For Broadcast has a satirical story that is well written, dark and has some great acting in it. The core game of being the News Producer and editing everything on the fly is a really well-done sim that can at times be stressful as more things get introduced every level. I really enjoyed my time playing Not For Broadcast and was sad that is was over so soon, but I am excited to see how this all ends. [Early Access Provisional Score = 95]

Ultimately Last Encounter is a decent game that misses the mark on greatness. It has some great ideas that really do bring some fun new life to its respective genres but a simplistic gameplay loop coupled with some lacklustre enemy AI leaves me wanting more from the title. If you’re looking for a simple, twin-stick shooter that you can play with some friends, Last Encounter will fit the bill for a while but it just doesn’t have the staying power to keep you engaged long term.

If you’re looking for a strategy game with a medieval theme to play with your buddies, I’d highly suggest giving Carcassonne a chance. It has high replayability and with the multiple expansion packs available for purchase, Carcassone could be just the game you’re looking for to finally squash your friends in a friendly competition. I highly encourage you to go read all of the rules first, though, so you can have a little bit of an edge in tile-based combat. We won’t tell.

Crunching Koalas has managed to create a hybrid of two classic games and turn it into something challenging and fun. Mousecraft is based on a light-hearted cartoonish story that manages to be family-friendly. Each series of levels manages to introduce new concepts that make levels feel non-repetitive. The developers allowed for players to play their own level of challenge whether it's using the active pause, fast forward or multi-level undo function. While short, but well priced, and it plays well on the Nintendo Switch any devout puzzle gamer fan shouldn't pass up playing this slab of cheesy gaming fun!

If you are a fan of strategy games this is a great entry for the genre. Regardless of if you prefer turn-based or real-time, this game is worth checking out. You will want to play this through more than once and the love that the developers have poured into this game shines through despite a couple of hiccups. I hope this game does well enough for a potential follow up of some description so they can expand on some of the features this game was aiming for.

Actual Sunlight is a "game" only in the loosest sense of the word. It paints a portrait of deep depression and the hopelessness that it brings. It is not a title for the faint-hearted or for anyone who may already be depressed. However, if you're looking for an experience that will yield an understanding of those who suffer from debilitating depression -- and that is a worthy goal -- then Actual Sunlight may be the right choice.

I hope that Stoneshard only improves in the future and will eventually leave Early Access as a robust, feature-filled experience. For now, I would probably steer clear however and wait for the improvements to come first. [Early Access Provisional Score = 70]