Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town feels closer to a remaster than a remake, with the majority of in-game mechanics feeling antiquated by modern standards. Shallow systems combined with inflated upgrade prices makes progress a slow trudge, with the rewards rarely feeling worth it. Interacting with the people of Mineral Town offers a nice, romantic look at small-town farm life, but the rest of the game fails to sell it.

Effective offense is a struggle to achieve, and defense is far too automated to keep you interested. Even with individual players looking better up close, NBA Live 15 fails to present an attractive package when all ten bodies are running plays on the court.

As much as I appreciated the shift away from the crime investigation premise of Assassin's Creed Unity, sending Arno on a mere fetch quest turns Dead Kings into the blandest kind of open-world adventure, in which a man who used to be a hero is reduced to a mere errand boy.

Kinect Sports Rivals is an inconsistent collection that will get you up off the couch and moving around for a bit of mild fun, but that's about the best you can say for it.

Harvest Moon: Back to Nature and Harvest Moon for Girls are poorly ported together in this bundle that brings nothing new to the farm.

Great strategic gameplay is dwarfed by embarrassing technical issues.

Almost everything here is mediocre, and that's really a shame given the promise of Wars of Ancient Greece.

Forspoken is visually stimulating and a musical delight, but boring combat, poor characterization, and loose movement mechanics make for a mediocre experience.

Realms of Ancient War delivers the basics of action RPGs without any noteworthy hook to make things interesting.

An extensive cast of DC characters can't help Scribblenauts Unmasked overcome the dangers posed by its own flawed internal logic.

The video game version of Order of the Phoenix captures none of the magic in the Harry Potter books or films.

Inconsistent writing and shallow characterizations keep this adventure game from fully resonating.

Ultimately, Lego DC Super-Villains goes down as another cookie-cutter Lego game, and while there's still plenty of merry mayhem to unleash, it's the same kind of mayhem we've seen before. What should be as wild and riotous as the Clown Prince of Crime comes off as just another mild-mannered reporter.

Deracine has the buildings blocks of a good VR debut from Dark Souls creator FromSoftware, but it lacks the engrossing gameplay and mystique that has made the studio's previous titles so successful.

There are things to like and even possibly love about God of War: Sons of Sparta. The combat system is smart and layered, the visual style is often beautiful, and the story eventually becomes surprisingly rich. But it's difficult to recommend, because so much of the metroidvania design--the core of the genre that Kratos has found himself in--is like that frozen wasteland: slowly plodding through, just trying to reach the next warm spot where it's fun again.

This rote puzzle role-playing game delivers a few exciting moments but falls far short of measuring up to the game that clearly inspired it.

Those of you tired of the franchise's repetitive button-mashing gameplay, stale features, and dated presentation have plenty of better action games to choose.

Even fond memories of the 1989 original can't disguise the fact that Populous isn't relevant or fun almost 20 years later.

Football Manager 26's overhauled UI simply feels like change for the sake of change. Its functionality is worse, several key features are missing, and bugs only exacerbate the issues. After a two-year wait, it's an unfortunate outcome, giving the impression that the delay wasn't long enough. There's definite potential here with the new tactical interface and match engine, and if you could combine these aspects with the previous UI, you'd have one of the best games in the series. Instead, the revamped UI's problems and inherent frustrations are too big to ignore. Such a vast undertaking is commendable, especially for an annual sports game, but its missteps are many and mostly lead to disappointment.

Immortals of Aveum stops just short of fully complementing its traditional military shooter story with an engaging environmentalist message, instead opting to primarily use those narrative themes to inform the world design and lore. It leaves the overall story feeling half-baked, further highlighting the uncharacteristic actions of its unlikable protagonist. The actual shooting fares a bit better, especially in the first half, when combat is more like a color-coded puzzle. But it, too, falls short--the repeated use of enemies and arena layouts make for repetitive firefights and the sheer number of combat options is difficult to navigate when combat reaches an overwhelming fervor. I enjoyed small pieces of Immortals of Aveum, but not enough to strongly recommend.

Taz has no butt stomp or double jump maneuvers, the latter of which would've come in very handy for the game's prevalent platform jumping.

I did have moments of fun playing Apex Legends on Switch. Panic Button has managed to take a game that I love and make it work just well enough on Nintendo's hybrid console. I don't want to keep playing it on Switch with its many technical concessions (nor do I want new players to be introduced to Apex Legends this way), but this port is--in its current state--a decent last resort. If your only way to play Apex Legends is on Switch, then you now have that option. Just know that you're signing up for something less than ideal.

For all the gripping tension that its setting instills, Blair Witch can't maintain its initially frightening atmosphere and ends up losing it entirely by its conclusion.

Saving the human race shouldn't be so tedious.

Balan Wonderworld feels like a game from another time. In a different era the rough edges, inconsistent mechanics, and formulaic design may have been things that players could overlook, but in this moment in time, it's a 3D platformer of a quality that can't compete with polished modern-day contemporaries from Nintendo, Sony, and the like. It has its merits and delivers an unexpectedly mentally stimulating platformer when it manages to play to its strengths, but even a stopped clock is right twice a day.

This Naruto-inspired 3D fighting game is little more than a shadow clone.

A well-meaning title that seems to have all the necessary ingredients, but its key features simply feel too underdeveloped to be any good.

Why didn't the PC get the GOOD version of Spider-Man 2? Who decided to make an entirely different and decidedly mediocre version of the game specifically for Windows users?

Lackluster gameplay makes this a disappointing conclusion to the Legend of Spyro series.

It's just a shame that Layers of Fear 2 frequently pays lip service to the films and games that clearly inspired it while struggling to find a voice of its own. The story is too hazy to latch onto until the latter stages, and then nothing about it is particularly engaging, with its central mystery building towards something we've seen numerous times before. It occasionally hints at interesting themes but fails to go anywhere with them, falling back on telegraphed jump scares rather than delving deeper into the psychological horror it can only tease at. For every piece of good work there's an analogous aspect that lacks focus and direction. Layers of Fear 2 feels lost at sea.

This family-friendly trivia game is fun while it lasts, but its mostly easy questions are repeated far too frequently.

It is capable of delivering great in-ring action, and it has the flashy production values that none of Vince McMahon's competitors have ever been able to replicate, but it's hard to care about why any of it is happening beyond the moment-to-moment competition.

The gameplay can be fun for a little while, but it soon becomes an exercise in repetition and boredom.

The on-foot gameplay plays a large role in Destruction AllStars' true problem: It feels like there's a lot of downtime. Even though there's always a new car to find or an enemy to chase, there's only one thing that's really worth doing--crashing--which takes a lot of setup for a short-lived reward. Even with great looks and solid controls, you spend too much time spinning your wheels.

it leaves the sinking feeling that the wrestling you love lacks the spark to be special anymore. At no point does WWE 2K15 gel into something truly special.

Swiss Bank-building fun is provided for the truly dedicated, but there isn't anything here with lasting value or appeal.

Yar's Revenge's great art design is squandered on dull, painful-to-control rail shooter gameplay.

Sword Art Online: Hollow Realization tries to do a lot of things, but it doesn't end up doing any of them terribly well. Every subtle good idea that it has is countered by a glaring shortfall. The open and flexible skill system is held back by its clumsy implementation, and the winding faux-virtual world by how little anything of interest actually occurs in it.

It's the kind of game Ashton Kutcher would laugh at in Dude Where's My Car, which means it's not the kind of game that has anything of merit to say in 2019.

The only way this drab PSP motorcycle racing game will get your pulse racing is through sheer frustration.

I am left puzzled by The Charnel House Trilogy, not because I don't understand it, but because its mishmash of themes and tones can't find a way to coexist.

Ultimately, while this compilation offers a marginally enjoyable trip down memory lane with three Atari classics, it's tough to recommend because the games are so ancient--not to mention that there's a total lack of any ancillary features. The inability to save high scores is particularly tragic.

Sniper Ghost Warrior 3 feels like a B-tier, budget-priced game. Even the predictable, profanity-laden story is reminiscent of the type of gritty B-movies Steven Seagal is known for. There's certainly merit to its accomplished sniping mechanics, especially when missions hone in on the planning and precise execution that makes playing as a sharpshooter so thrilling. Yet it falters whenever it veers away from its strengths, and the plethora of nagging glitches and technical problems are a persistent nuisance that make Sniper Ghost Warrior 3 difficult to recommend.

Spitfire Heroes does little to distinguish itself among a myriad of middling flight combat games on the DS.

For those who never played the original Layers of Fear games, this reimagined package is definitely a better first experience than the old versions, simply on account of looking better and adding the neat framing narrative of The Writer's Story. But for horror enthusiasts already well-versed in the series, its MO remains as smoke and mirrors. There are no real terrors lurking in the shadows just out of reach. There is only the suggestion of some, and like the many tortured artists at the center of its saga, they are left unfulfilled.

Mercenaries 2 is filled with bugs and glitches that are unacceptable in a retail release. Even if it were possible to overlook the broken elements, you're still left with abysmal AI, repetitive mission structure, unsatisfying weapons, and a huge world without much to do.

The joke is in the premise, in the title, and it won't stop winking and snickering with you for hours on end. But all it takes is one moment of clarity, one second-guess "why was I laughing" for the whole thing to fall apart. And in this game's case, all it has to do is remind you of how irksome it can be and often is to go from being a goofy joke to a serious headache in a flash.

The Silver Case's unusual take on human conversations, its indecision about whether it wants to be just a visual novel or an adventure game where the player is a full participant, and its lack of focus in tying up any sort of cohesive plot, all add up to a mess of a game.

Heroes Over Europe offers some enjoyable arcade dogfighting, but it lacks the depth and excitement needed to keep you coming back for more.

Hoshigami is an overcooked hodgepodge that's too unwieldy for strategy RPG newcomers and too imbalanced for experts.

A City Sleeps leans on hardcore difficulty to compensate for its lack of content, and its use of music, while interesting, is a source of frustration, especially as the difficulty increases. It's disappointing, because at its core, there are a lot of good ideas, but they never truly shine in the presence of the game's issues.

For all the problems, it's easy to recognize the flashes of something special in Toren. It's a loaf of homemade bread, proofed and kneaded, laid in a pan, and sprinkled tenderly with rosemary but unfortunately pulled from the oven a few minutes before it could pass the toothpick test. However complex the recipe, Toren just feels undercooked.

There is little reason to play this disappointing prologue to Heavy Rain.

The video game version of Order of the Phoenix captures none of the magic of the Harry Potter books or films.

It's all over very soon, too. This is a short game that constantly feels like it's still gearing up towards something better, a way to tie together all its mechanics. The last sections of the game are quite lackadaisical, simplifying the game's systems right down while relying on an investment in the game's thin lore. It's not just that the game doesn't give you easy answers--it also gives you little incentive to come up with your own.

The fundamental problem with Drag X Drive: It's not very fun to play, because the controls are alternatively exhausting, imprecise, or both. Even pulling off the trick shots that give the game its personality and nuance requires getting up to top speed, which means navigating finicky tiring controls and avoiding bumping into other players. This is a great game for showing off what the Switch 2 can do conceptually, but it doesn't make a good case for why you'd actually want to do it for very long.

Dreamkiller is, through and through, a budget game. The visuals are colorful but look decidedly old, the action is as shallow as it gets in a modern shooter, and the sound effects lack oomph. The premise is neat, and some of the enemy designs are legitimately awesome. But if you've been dreaming of some old-fashioned twitch shooting, you should return to the old standbys and let this sleeping dog lie.

There is a game here for someone willing to lower their standards enough, but trust me when I say there are hundreds of better RPGs for you to spend your time on. You do not need to waste it searching for a few nuggets buried here.

Flatout 4 doesn’t bring anything noteworthy to the series, and while the Flatout and party modes are good for some low stakes enjoyment, the grind of single-player progression is too much to bare. The challenge is borderline unfair at times, and that wrecks the partytime nature that the series used to do so well.

Thanks to Viking: Battle for Asgard's mundane and tedious gameplay, the only battle you'll wage will be a losing one against boredom.

Moon Hunters doesn't give you the time to truly nestle into its world in one sitting, relying instead on the idea that they’ll keep coming back to uncover more and more with each successive playthrough. I wish I could say that at some point it all started to come together for me, but it didn't. It never felt like I was getting enough out of those playthroughs to make them truly worthwhile.

In the nine years since Rocksteady's last game, the superhero genre in video games has shifted dramatically, from a story-driven solo experience evocative of comic books to the multiplayer loot-obsessed open worlds of the current day. Returning to tell a new story in the superhero world meant adapting to that landscape, and Rocksteady does better than its predecessors in this endeavor. And yet, thanks to repetitive mission structure, wildly messy visual noise, server issues, frequent combat and movement hindrances, and a setting void of personality, it's still well below the quality this studio has shown it's capable of. I consider Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League to be the best this melding of heroes and loot grinds has produced so far, but it's a low bar and proof that 'best' doesn't necessarily mean 'good.'

There's nothing inherently broken with the game, and until it fizzles out at the end the story's not bad, but the gameplay is so contrived and repetitive that it's unlikely anyone will garner much enjoyment from the game.

Adr1ft has an emotional story hiding below its surface. But that surface is coated in laborious movement, forced survival mechanics, and an obtrusive user interface.

It's a shame Black Bird is so shallow, because the core action is so appealing. The lighthearted atmosphere and sharp controls make it a joy to wreak havoc on the unprepared people and the difficulty hits a nice sweet spot where it provides a good challenge without ever being frustrating. I would have gladly spent more time in this sepia-toned world if there were more stages and more strategy, but with such meager offerings, I'd fly right by Black Bird.

Pac-Man World Rally is a paint-by-numbers kart racer with almost zero in the way of unique qualities or challenges.

Though it starts with a glimmer of excellence, Armikrog's luster fades over time. It inevitably feels empty, falling flat in its effort to develop its characters, fill out its world with compelling atmosphere, and provide consistent puzzles with sound logic.

Morrigan's return is a disappointment in this vapid downloadable add-on.

There's some strong writing in Richard & Alice, and a little bit of intrigue in the way the story's various threads wind their way back together. But when the game fails to convince us of its own high stakes, its Cormac McCarthyism loses its gloomy appeal.

FIFA 18 on Switch delivers some enjoyable soccer when on the pitch, but without Pro Clubs and The Journey, and in restricting all access to FUT when you're not online, it shoots itself in the foot. Being able to play FIFA on the go or with a friend is gratifying, and if you're happy to just play through Career Mode for the next year, then this port will satisfy your needs and is the best mobile FIFA you can buy, but compared to the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions, this port is inferior in every other way.

Morrigan's return is a disappointment in this vapid downloadable add-on.

A mediocre re-creation of the sport, but it doesn't have the level of polish or any of the bells and whistles that have become standard in other EA Sports series, like "Madden" or "NBA Live."

Hot Shots Tennis has some of the ingredients found in the Hot Shots Golf series, but Clap Hanz forgot to add fun into the mix.

The video game version of Order of the Phoenix captures none of the magic in the Harry Potter books or films.

Morrigan's return is a disappointment in this vapid downloadable add-on.

It's a collection of ideas and concepts that don't come together in a coherent way, led by a character who has shown no identifiable growth since her first appearance four years ago.

Pathologic 2 is the product of a perverse design philosophy. It's alternately intriguing and off-putting; it draws you in with its eerie, dreamlike setting and cast of unnaturally eccentric characters, but then it pushes you away with its nagging, mundane demands. In the end, I was resigned to let failure take me.

Niki is undeniably a ball, but this platformer does not rock.

When you strip away Batman, Superman, and the other Justice League characters, all that remains is a formulaic beat-'em-up with 12 stages and a few tricky jump sequences.

The promising schemata system and grandiose cutscenes are solid pillars from which a great RPG could have been constructed, but Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII falls well short of greatness.

In Rain World, the spectre of failure, often caused by events you can't control, lingers heavily. It quickly drives home the point that you're a foreigner in a ruined land where anyone larger than you wants to eat you. Its stunningly detailed backgrounds and few rewarding gameplay opportunities are vastly outweighed by its platforming imperfections and hibernation mechanic, which makes little sense in its connection to accessing new areas. Oftentimes, the frustrations resulting from failure devolve into apathy, which is a wholly unfortunate outcome for a game that gives off a deceptively promising first impression.

The King of Fighters XII is the latest chapter in 15 years of fighting game history. It's also a disappointment.

It does a fine job of capturing the sport, but there's not enough to Brunswick Pro Bowling to make it worthwhile.

In Rain World, the spectre of failure, often caused by events you can't control, lingers heavily. It quickly drives home the point that you're a foreigner in a ruined land where anyone larger than you wants to eat you. Its stunningly detailed backgrounds and few rewarding gameplay opportunities are vastly outweighed by its platforming imperfections and hibernation mechanic, which makes little sense in its connection to accessing new areas. Oftentimes, the frustrations resulting from failure devolve into apathy, which is a wholly unfortunate outcome for a game that gives off a deceptively promising first impression.

Pathologic 2 is the product of a perverse design philosophy. It's alternately intriguing and off-putting; it draws you in with its eerie, dreamlike setting and cast of unnaturally eccentric characters, but then it pushes you away with its nagging, mundane demands. In the end, I was resigned to let failure take me.

If you've exhausted Steam's survival horror library, Dementium II HD will scratch your genre itch. Unfortunately, that itch has already been rubbed raw by much better games.

Need for Speed Uninspired would be a better name for this mediocre racer.

Hunted: The Demon's Forge buries its rock-solid ideas under a mound of execution blunders.

Rotastic features Vikings soaring through the air, but control and level-design problems quickly ground them.

Neither especially tactical nor satisfyingly action-packed.

All of my save files display playtimes that do not match up at all to how long I actually played the game. Often choosing to interact with a person or object would mean that Robert would turn around and walk away, very slowly, with control taken away from me until he reached an arbitrary destination. Textures frequently popped in late, lagging behind camera angle changes in cutscenes--the game is poorly optimized, which can impact its ability to sell the grandiosity of Union City.

Hunted: The Demon's Forge buries its rock-solid ideas under a mound of execution blunders.

This adaptation of one of Agatha Christie's classic mysteries ruins great acting and atmosphere with lots of tedious busywork.

Across the board, Skully occasionally shows signs of strong, creative design, but often in isolated, incomplete forms. A cutscene's well-written dialogue gets hamstrung by its animation. A strong platforming sequence feels hollow because its challenge offers little reward. A puzzle takes more time to complete than to solve. Even with those flaws, Skully isn't altogether unpleasant. It lacks the depth and attention to detail to make the act of rolling, running and jumping an act of joy unto itself.

Yo-kai Watch 2 does preserve the quirky tone and charming writing that made the first game so engaging, but its lack of iteration is problematic in that there aren't enough fresh ideas to color its monotonous gameplay.

The game feels old hat, taking you through well-trod ground--albeit with a fresh coat of paint and a few new faces.

But over the course of the game, and particularly in its final few chapters, a story already soaked in metaphors--some better than others--positively drowns in them. It eventually goes so far off the rails that its thoughtful early chapters feel written by entirely different human beings. I'd be more forgiving of this narratively chaotic final act if I were attached to the characters--I like Lost Season 6, after all. In Lost's case, the events could be silly, but at least I'd have my people. In Dustborn, however, I never really had them to begin with, so I was left with nothing to latch onto. Dustborn's moral compass points to true north, but before long, both its story and gameplay go south.

A lack of depth prevents this Inazuma Eleven Wii spin-off from living up to the legacy of its DS cousins.