Soft Body is captivating. It’s the fish tank to my inner cat, a fascinating display of methodical movement, clever sound, and unusually satisfying puzzle solving. It’s a minimalist, meditative arcade throwback whose simplicity sometimes backfires into chaotic design, but more frequently delivers challenging and beautiful puzzles.

It's an intelligent, difficult game with a high barrier of entry, and without patience, you might not see how great it can be. But once you see the layers hidden beneath the surface, Tastee Lethal Tactics becomes an intricate game of cutthroat poker. It just takes a bit of frustration to buy in.

Those expecting to play around with the physics of an open video game world will find themselves lamenting the lack of control and additional objectives after a short period of time, and those wanting nothing more than to find out where the narrative goes will be discouraged by how frustrating the gameplay can occasionally be. The essence of The Magic Circle is somewhere in between.

While the game sometimes feels a little too eager to kill players and lacks local play, with a full troop online, it’s easily one of the best all-out action multiplayer games in recent memory.

Despite my complaints, it's hard to deny the sheer thrill of The Void: careening through space, leaping over a giant bug, and firing my last missile into a group of pirates before I speed toward the mission's evacuation point. The expansion may take a less engaging approach to survival, but it's still a frantic, intricate display of movement and reaction. The Void attempts to break ground of its own, and in some ways, it has. But the end result is weaker than the foundation it's built upon.

Chronos' flaws are obvious, but thankfully few and far between. When you push your way through its more annoying aspects, it welcomes you with enticingly grim set pieces and tense encounters. It's a highly-rewarding game that proves you can leverage VR to enhance traditional games, but Chronos doesn't use it as a crutch; it stands tall all on its own. [VR Tested]

In its writing, in its design, in its understanding of what makes games unique, Uncharted 4 is something to aspire to. It's a shining example. And we'll be talking about it for years to come.

I don’t care much about Invisible Inc.'s throwaway story and its last-minute grasps at meaningful themes, or about my agents’ personal backgrounds. Like the game, my efforts are focused on getting the job done, emotionally disengaged but intellectually centered. I bask in the stylish cutscenes and the sharp voiceover, but my attachment is not to the agency or its people but to the sheer pleasure of a successful heist.

Pollen’s visual design is beautiful and the atmosphere it creates is strong, but the game falls short when the narrative and storytelling method fail to give it substance.

Offworld is a revelation. It's almost unparalleled in the genre. Each and every game is thrilling. Every moment is a challenge. And the brutality of the free market ensures that you can never rest on your laurels, less you be quashed by the invisible hand.

The combat is frantic and tense, but often feels samey and superficial. The in-match leveling works wonderfully in the campaign, but can become problematic in multiplayer. The varied cast of heroes adds longevity, but the game still feels relatively content light. With so many moving parts that never quite gel, I found plenty of things to love but just as much to feel confused by and ambivalent about.

Battleborn's strong Saturday morning cartoon vibes might actually be the game's single most defining aspect. Outside of that consistent, permeating voice, the game feels like an elaborate patchwork of ideas that compete for attention without necessarily adding much to the experience.

The combat is frantic and tense, but often feels samey and superficial. The in-match leveling works wonderfully in the campaign, but can become problematic in multiplayer. The varied cast of heroes adds longevity, but the game still feels relatively content light. With so many moving parts that never quite gel, I found plenty of things to love but just as much to feel confused by and ambivalent about.

The mediocre AI and animations return, as does the need to repeat the same old spy tricks, but they take a backseat this time around as Sapienza and its colorful denizens take center stage. Episode two doesn't fill your plate, but it's a satisfying experience nonetheless.

With the miniseries now complete, the game’s biggest flaw is in its structure. At least a half hour shorter than the other two episodes, What We Deserve nails the story Telltale has been tiptoeing around since first minute, and it’s something that only begins to present itself towards the end of Episode 2 before taking off here.

It takes a while to grasp, but once the game picks up steam, it becomes an intriguing experience that's unlike any other game on Vita to date.

As it stands, Ashes of the Singularity feels like little more than a tech demo of Stardock's new Oxide engine.

Its story and themes are delivered well, but they don't come off as pretentious or preachy. The challenging boss battles deliver immense satisfaction, and the breaks of tranquil exploration offer delightful moments of discovery.

While I don't like the new control scheme, it's a small price to pay to hop into the seat of an Arwing. Though I feel like I've seen most of this adventure before, Zero is a good-looking homage with some new locations to find and challenges to overcome. It doesn't supplant Star Fox 64, but it does its legacy justice.

Like the original game, the The Banner Saga 2 leaves you holding your breath, completely invested in the world, its inhabitants, and their struggles, anxiously eager for more.

A fun change of pace from other multiplayer-only games. It comes with a decent tutorial and bot match options as well, but the fast and fun 10-on-10 matches are the obvious draw. The Escape Run mode is an intense and creative twist that keeps things lively. For fans of old school shooters, this is especially worth checking out.

Returning home to Baldur’s Gate makes Siege of Dragonspear one of the most enjoyable RPGs that I have played in a long time, both for the nostalgia factor of revisiting an all-time favorite and for the impressively designed and involving narrative that captures nearly everything that fans love about traditional D&D. Even though the engine creaks in spots, the overall experience is everything that a hardcore D&D fan could ask for, and a superb expansion of one of the most legendary franchises in all of roleplaying game history.

There’s something to be said for the continuing efforts to keep turn-based RPGs viable, and Stranger of Sword City in particular shows a commendable willingness to at least try fusing new ideas with still-viable concepts of old. However, without characters even worth caring about to drive it along, Stranger of Sword City is left leaning on its gameplay, which is comprised primarily of the most laborious, antiquated aspects of the genre.

Salt and Sanctuary is wholly engrossing from every angle, from its happy marriage of combat and exploration to its ominously gripping art direction.

It has its restraints, but as the story closes on the plains of Luxendarc, Bravely Second's grasp more than matches its reach.

MLB 16 The Show improves in many ways it needed to, but don't expect it to feel like a totally new game.

So much care is apparent in its construction, but in its attempt to merge multiple genres and styles together, Enter the Gungeon’s most important elements--namely its roguelike flavors and massive offering of distinct weapons--don’t gel. It’s a game at odds with itself.

Ratchet & Clank is every bit as dynamic and fun as the 2002 original. It’s endearing and entertaining, a veritable power fantasy fueled by rockets and carried by specialty gadgets. Re-introducing a classic franchise to a new generation is a difficult task indeed, but Ratchet & Clank is a shining example of how it can be done.