Given how long it’s been since I played the game from which this draws such a heavy influence, it’s quite possible that this was how the original Road Rash games played as well. But even if it wasn’t, Road Redemption is such a reasonable facsimile that it makes me feel like it’s a possibility, which seems like an achievement in and of itself. That doesn’t make it a great game (or even a very good one, or even one you should consider buying unless you have a desperate need to relive the ‘90s), but it does make Road Redemption a perfect successor to the games it’s trying to emulate.

Your enjoyment of The Mooseman will come down to how much you enjoy edutainment. It’s definitely not for everyone, and if you don’t feel like reading every new page, then what you’re left with is a short, uneventful adventure game. If, however, that doesn’t phase you, then there might just be enough here to make The Mooseman worth your while.

Most people, I expect, will not be as addicted as I am. But if you do enjoy a good game of Scrabble, this just might be your game of the year.

One of the biggest problems with Monopoly last year was that its price was awfully exorbitant for not a lot of content. By packaging it alongside two other games, suddenly the value proposition becomes a little more obvious. I wouldn’t say that you absolutely need to rush out and pick up Hasbro Game Night this very second, but I would say that if you’re looking for something to break out over the holidays and you’ve had your fill of Smash and Mario Party, you could do a lot worse than this.

The only thing interesting about it is the list of platforms on which it’s appeared, and once you get beyond the five seconds it’ll take you to read that and say, “Huh, interesting,” to yourself, you’ll have exhausted everything worth knowing about this game.

The only thing missing is something like an auto-battle feature which would’ve been nice, but I’m also getting old and lazy. If you’re into first-person dungeon crawlers or just stopping by to revisit an old classic then it’s an easy recommendation.

No matter how many different demon allies you can create, at the end of the day it still feels like the game is one long procession of dark hallways punctuated by incredibly frequent (and, to the game’s detriment, incredibly repetitive) battles, with the odd stilted conversation that will make you eager to get back into the battles. Much like its predecessor, The Lost Child ends up being long on ideas, but short on fulfilling them.

The Gardens Between is good enough to get you interested in what it has to say, and smart enough to know exactly what to bow out. It’s not perfect by any means, but it’s the kind of game that’s aware enough of its limitations that it doesn’t need to be. Go into it expecting a fun little diversion rather than an all-time classic, and you should find just enough here to make it enjoyable.

Despite the negatives regarding plot, the weather elements, visuals and some ui issues, there’s still a very large and fun sandbox found in this title. I still will start the title to just to tackle the hundred plus challenges as well as trying to ensure I am on top of the leaderboard against my friends on the feats the game tracks. I’m sure Rico will still have more countries to liberate and hopefully the team will have gotten a handle of the Apex Engine.

The Long Reach has a bad habit of undercutting its tension with humour; while there’s obviously a long history of horror games and films using jokes their advantage, here they have a tendency of draining all the fright out of a scene. Similarly, the fact you have to click on everything in order to see if it has a use means that you’re spending more time thinking about how the game wants you to solve a puzzle than you are on the (fairly creepy) mystery. Again, none of this makes The Long Reach a bad game, by any means. But it also means that if you want to see the class of 2D horror films, you need to check out Home or Lone Survivor.

If you long for the days of Maniac Mansion or Day of the Tentactive…well, this is a pretty poor approximation. But it’s still an approximation nonetheless, and if you miss the days of ‘90s adventure games, you can rest assured that Detective Gallo shares your pain, and wants to try and help you relive them.

It’s not going to wow you by any stretch, but if you want a pleasant RPG to help you pass the time, it’ll do in a pinch.

If you have a Super Crate Box-shaped hole in your PS4 library, it might be worth thinking about this game, but otherwise, your life will be neither measurably better nor worse in any way whatsoever if you give this a try or not.

What were Day of the Tentacle, Maniac Mansion, and the Monkey Island games if not alternatively incredibly smart and way too clever for their own good? The Wardrobe probably won’t appeal to you if you don’t already love those games, but if you’ve been pining for the return of old-fashioned ‘90s adventure games, then you owe it to yourself to check this out.

Ultimately, whatever joy you may derive from the game is going to be pretty short-lived; punching helicopters a couple of times is a blast, whereas punching them over and over again starts feeling repetitive after not too long. If you go in expecting to just play for a couple of minutes in between other, probably better games, Pizza Titan Ultra will do, but otherwise it’s not going to be as fun as it promises.

If this all seems like an odd combination — a fan service-heavy visual novel with occasionally impressive visuals and shockingly good puzzles — it’s worth noting that Punch Line is the work of Kōtarō Uchikoshi, who’s better known for being the creator of the Zero Escape series, which featured the same mix of drama and challenging puzzles. While the two don’t seem to have much in common beyond a creator, once you’re aware of the connection, suddenly you start to suspect/realize that there’s more at play here than meets the eye.

Between the noir aesthetic, the sense of humour, and the plot, Pato Box has a lot going for it. If it had nailed that one last little bit of the boxing being fun, it would’ve been perfect. As it stands, it’ll have to settle for being an enjoyable but flawed bit of weirdness.

It’s an interesting, tension-filled take on puzzle games, and that’s true however many people are playing it with you.

With the increase in quality seen from the first game to the second, I had very high hopes for Darksiders III, unfortunately it just was not able to really reach the potential it was set up for.

If you like endless death served up with a generous helping of moody Victorian horror, then Sunless Sea: Zubmariner Edition should definitely be on your radar. If that doesn’t grab you from its description, however, be warned that you’re probably not going to find the game itself any easier to pick up.

In the name of fairness, it should also be noted that Halloween Forever works like it’s supposed to. That may not sound like much, but given how many of those other wannabe-retro games have horrible controls — which, obviously, just add to the frustration level in games as hard as this one — it’s always nice to find one that doesn’t artificially increase the difficulty with floaty jumps or imprecise running. Is that enough to make Halloween Forever worth checking out? Probably not, unless you’ve got a thing for retro-platformers and a thing for Halloween. But if, for some reason, you were to compare this to every single other game of its ilk, Halloween Forever would definitely fall in the upper half of the list.

Mutant Football League is a nice alternative for those that are put off by the Madden juggernaut. Dynasty Edition adds some minor features, but it’s an affordable package which can easily appeal to fair-weather as well as lapsed football game fans. Digital Dreams delivered on their crowdfunding campaign and then some. Now who do I have to speak with to get a Mutant Hockey League?

If you are not an absolute die hard fan, even the incredible 6 hour campaign is not enough to justify a full $60 purchase. If you’re ok with buying now and getting the rest of the game later though, the content at launch is worth playing.

Once you get beyond the early levels, the game is more than willing to let you do your thing, and that’s when you can’t help but be drawn in to its colourful word. There’s no way of telling whether we’ll ever get a third instalment in the franchise, but if we don’t, then de Blob 2 is a delightful high note for the series to end on (and, as a sidenote, it’s great to see the proper sequel finally arrive on a Nintendo system, after Nintendo owners were stuck with a significantly different version last time around).

To the game’s credit, the reason why there was such a delay in getting this review out was because I was more focused playing and unlocking cards than I was writing about the title. I am actually so enthralled that I have neglected other mobile titles I keep up with on the regular. With its gorgeous art (except for the Kingpin…who looks too brutish), large variety of cards, and lacking in a stamina system in most of their play modes, it won’t be hard to drain the battery of phone. I look forward to what’s to come from this title and I certainly hope newer cards will incorporate marvel’s first family and merry mutants. Now if you’ll excuse me I need to go find my portable battery.

It’s a quick, fun experience that you can get through in just a few hours. If that’s not enough to make you grab a friend and enjoy, I don’t know what is.

It’s serious if they want it to be serious, but it’s also incredibly silly if you’re in the mood for that. Which ever way you choose to play it, though, it’s consistently fun, and that makes Hitman 2 well worth checking out.

Déraciné is a VR experience that will not take to long to finish, but will leave a lasting impression. Its one of those games that you can play through multiple times to see if there are other ways to complete a task or see if there are other things to interact with you missed before. I’m hoping that more can be added with DLC in the future, as I can see so much potential to expand this world. Clocking in at just under 4 hours, it may put off some players with its overall length and presentation, but if you want to experience an extremely unique VR game for the PSVR, then I can highly recommend Déraciné. There is nothing quite like it available.

The Reignited Trilogy comes in at exactly the right time and hits all the right notes. Spyro is just as accessible and fun for newcomers as he is for veterans, with updated visuals, audio and gameplay allowing everyone to really have a blast with these classic games. Whether you played Spyro 20 years ago and fell in love or just saw his mischievous face on the cover art and were intrigued, the Spyro Reignited Trilogy is for you.

I’m certainly impressed on both the visual and audio front, and the VR component is just icing on an already delicious cake. [A+]

Everything about Go Vacation seems like it’s trying to import the hottest gaming trends of 2006 into today. If you still feel nostalgia for that era, then check it out, but if you’d rather that motion controls and the like stayed firmly in the past, then you’ll probably want to steer clear.

Heavy Fire: Red Shadow is just not good. It tries to be a decent game, but just fails on every level. The inclusion of VR just adds hope that it will at least be fun for a little while, but it turns out just being more of a headache. I figured VR was included to generate some interest in what is essentially a bargain bin title. It’s very basic but there is just no fun to be found here. I cannot recommend even trying this one out, even to experience the VR mode, as it just doesn’t deliver any kind of lasting appeal.

Beneath its sophomoric sense of humour lies a game that wants nothing more than to crush your spirit, and giving the insane balancing issues, it’s kind of hard to see why you’d let it.

In better hands, from better storytellers and more accomplished developers, I have no doubt that Anamorphine could have been something interesting. The core idea, as I said, is promising. But when you botch everything around it so thoroughly, then — as we see here — the end result is something that no one should have to endure.

Overall if you’re looking for more Spider-Man, The Heist is a great beginning to the DLC storyline that will continue over the next two months. It’s critical that you know that you are playing DLC one of three when you play The Heist because it leaves you with a bit of a cliffhanger and it’s not a self contained story, as some might have expected. With the arrival of Red Dead Redemption 2, it’s going to be tough to escape the old west to finish out this story, but Spidey’s latest leaves you wondering where they will go next and what trouble New York is in for.

It doesn’t do anything incredibly well, and the things it does poorly are so minor that it’s hard to get very worked up. If you want a short, easy shmup it’ll do, but otherwise, you can probably skip it.

LEGO DC Super-Villains shows that sometimes it is good to be bad. Of course it doesn’t break the LEGO genre mold, but I’m fairly certain everyone who is reading this or buying this game, knows what they’re in for. While you have to push through the same tired mechanics, the game’s story and stellar voice acting will have you wanting more. Just remember to look out for the Joker and the villains of the night!

I’m inclined to give it all the benefit of the doubt in the world, and to say that it’s still worth checking out if you’re a basketball fan. I’m all for competition, and that competition is undeniably shrinking the gap between NBA Live and NBA 2K. But the reality is, as far as this game has come, it still has a ways to go before it can be considered a true equal.

Seriously, I can’t recall ever seeing the game hitch up or slow down, whether docked or undocked, which is a huge plus.

At this point it’s fair to say the HD port of Shenmue I & II is in better shape than its release and would now be considered acceptable to play. Save data transfer and cutscenes were a big problem, and major bugs seem to be patched out. Both games are here in all their glory and probably the best way to spend your time with Ryo as he follows his journey. Veterans will be happy with the ability to play on modern platforms and newcomers finally have a chance to experience what Shenmue has to offer while Yu Suzuki is hard at work on Shenmue 3.

In terms of a great bargain it’s hard to get better than a game like Valkyria Chronicles and the quality of this port on the Switch means it’s a must-buy for anyone curious about the series or considering adding it to their Switch library. And the only thing that makes an SRPG better is the portability of having it around to make dull moments like bus rides and family events breeze on by.

Everything plays smoothly, loads quickly, and I appreciate the sense of progression you get from playing these tables within the shell of Pinball FX3. All the little experience gains and unlocks add to the experience, but aren’t necessary to pay attention to if you’re just coming at this for the pure pinball experience. I’d wholeheartedly say that the license is in good hands with Zen Studios, and look forward to future table releases down the road.

The game is here in its entirety and feels good to play both with Joy-cons and especially the Switch Pro Controller. Framerate seemed mostly consistent with a few dips that didn’t affect my experience, so the performance is pretty successful. Some new functionality includes gesturing with motion controls and the use of amiibos. Both of these are nice to have, but of all the tweaks and any custom Switch additions I still can’t believe the menu buttons are like they are. Otherwise the base game was the real prize and for better or worse is here as promised.

By whatever standard you want to apply, Red Dead Redemption II doesn’t just build on the accomplishments of its already impressive predecessor, it eclipses them. Much like the first Red Dead Redemption was unquestionably one of the high-water marks of the last generation, Red Dead Redemption II will be remembered as one of the most impressive achievements of this one.

It’s hard not to recommend Xenoblade Chronicles 2: Torna ~ The Golden Country to anyone looking for a great RPG experience on the Switch. It’s a great expansion for fans of Xenoblade 2 while at the same time being a perfect way for newcomers to sample the games without signing their life away on a full-length RPG. It also has one of the better stories in the series and to me it plays the best that these games have, so if you’ve been on the fence then definitely check this one out.

If you have not played a Battle Royale game before, or hate the two I mentioned above, do not sleep on Black Ops 4. Jump in and see what Battle Royale is SUPPOSED to be. If the only mode that interests you is standard multiplayer, maybe you will love it and maybe you will hate it. It truly just depends on what you look for in a multiplayer shooter today.

It’s just shy of being the full package but it’s also exactly the shot in the arm this series needed and couldn’t have come at a better time than being on the Switch. I mean what’s more fitting for a console with built-in local multiplayer than “the” party game? Okay maybe Smash Bros, but that’s more apples and oranges. So if you’ve been waiting for Super Mario Party then it looks good to jump in, the water’s fine!

I loved the mini-games, and found a lot of the substories delivered the quirky humor that I adore from the Yakuza series. I also enjoyed the combat for the most part, even if the various execution animations get a little tiring after the first dozen or so times you see them. But everything else surrounding those things is just a slog to get through. And the story takes some really weird, nearly non-sensical twists towards the end that I definitely had issues with. So I can’t say I would suggest this whole-heartedly, to either Yakuza or Fist of the North Star fans. Maybe check this one out via discount or rental, otherwise you should probably just go back and play more Yakuza.

With it’s unique story and presentation and over the top gross factor, Pig Eat Ball is somewhat of a hidden gem. Most players may pass right over this one but I do recommend at least taking a look at this one. I was skeptical at first, but once I started playing I was really liking what it had to offer. It does need a few updates for the sporadic control issues and to fix up some strange glitches, but it’s extremely playable and fun. Don’t let the name prevent you from playing this very unique title.

If you’re just looking for a solid — if short — platformer, then you’ve come to the right place, because Jack N’ Jill DX delivers on that modest promise.

If you skipped 2K18 based on my review last year, you can feel safe in knowing this year’s game is worth playing and 2K made the best title they’ve made in years (but is that really saying a lot?).

Unsurprisingly, there’s a direct correlation between game not working properly and me not liking it. I can overlook outdated graphics, and I can overlook a mediocre plot. But when a game just doesn’t function — and make no mistake, The Dreamlands: Aisling’s Quest doesn’t — that’s simply unforgivable.

Seeing as Tetra’s Escape isn’t promising all that much, I find it hard to get that worked up about any of its drawbacks. It doesn’t ask much of players — in terms of time, money, or brain power — and in return, it gives you an hour of pleasantness. It won’t be anybody’s Game of the Year or anything, but it’s certainly enjoyable enough to pass the time while you’re playing it.

Regardless of which version you purchase, Starlink: Battle For Atlas will provide one of the best console space shooters in years, and is now my favorite Star Fox game of all time.

The novelty of the thing wears off kind of quickly. And once it does, there’s not much to do but wait for the flash-forwards to reveal the game’s ending. It’s a shame, because The Longest Five Minutes starts off so well — but, at the same time, it makes the title oddly ironic, since the five or so minutes in which the game seems genuinely interesting and fresh are over far, far too quickly.

It’s a gorgeous, meditative experience that will give you plenty of time to reflect, which makes it unlike nearly any other game I’ve ever played.

If there’s one thing that could have taken this from alright to great, the game could have treated its mechanic as an actual puzzle instead of a gimmick. More Zelda-style instrument playing than Moonwalker-inspired song and dance.

To work Lost Phone Stories needs really compelling stories — after all, both games rely on being so interesting and engaging that you can’t help but want to search through the phones to figure out what to do next. And, quite frankly, they don’t succeed.

I think it would be easy to argue that this is the best Forza Horizon game yet. I’ve generally enjoyed the series, more so than even Forza Motorsport, and Forza Horizon 4 is no different. The enhanced online features, the season changes, and yes, even the avatar customization, are all welcomed additions. But aside from that, the core racing experience, the thrill of driving recklessly through fields, cobblestone fences, city streets, and sandy beaches…it’s darn near unmatched in current racing games. So yeah, Forza Horizon 4 is amazing.

Regardless of what you want out of a soccer game, FIFA continues to deliver an incredible, all-around experience.

Astro Bot Rescue Mission is an extremely fun and engaging game, and a dynamite addition to the growing PSVR library. At $39.99, it is an absolute bargain for what you get here. Once you start playing you will find it hard to stop. Games like these are the reason why I love PlayStation VR as much as I do. It’s a simple concept that works on so many levels here. If you have a PSVR system, Definitely check this one out, I can’t recommend it enough!

Obviously, the fact that this game is held in such high regard shows that plenty of people would disagree with that assessment. And, quite honestly, I wouldn’t discount those opinions: if you loved the first two parts of the Muv-Luv trilogy, then Muv-Luv Alternative is pretty much guaranteed to round out your experience with a bang.

Mega Man 11 is truly a memorable experience and is one of Mega’s finest adventures and it is highly recommended. The 8 bosses are all clever in design and their levels are very appropriate as well. Even if one made me almost rage quit. (Yes, you Bounce Man!) In a year with amazing games, I can see Mega Man 11 in my top 5 of 2018.

I’d definitely suggest taking a look at Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, even if you’re not sure you need another AC game in your life so soon after Origins. It’s a pretty great experience overall, and outside of some the standard open world bugs you’d expect in a game this size, I really don’t have any major complaints here. I ended up enjoying it more than Origins, and I really liked Origins. I’m not sure that I want a third game like this next year, but as far as follow-ups go, Assassin’s Creed Odyssey is pretty fantastic.

Honestly, I have nothing bad to say about Mini Metro whatsoever. It’s an incredible blend of gorgeous graphics and addictive gameplay, and if you want a great puzzle on your Switch, you owe it to yourself to pick it up.

Overall, this is a solid addition to Pinball FX3. All three tables offer substantial challenge and each have their own charm. Calrissian Chronicles is, by far, the best offering with Solo following a close second. Battle of Mimban is good, but falls a little short behind. This pack will definitely please the hardcore Star Wars fan, as the source material is used extremely well. Pinball fanatics will also enjoy the challenge and gameplay offered with this entire pack. Star Wars fan or not, I highly recommend this pack, as it’s a great addition to the Pinball FX family!

Overall, I’m pretty impressed with how well Creed: Rise to Glory works on PSVR, and I’d imagine the other VR platforms are executed just as well. The only thing that feels a little iffy at launch is the online versus mode, which led to a couple of laggy matches against real-world opponents, enough so that I never finished a match. For me, the online versus isn’t a huge draw, but you might want to give the game a patch or two before picking it up if that’s a deal breaker for you. Outside of that, I think Creed does a great job of simulating the boxing experience with an arcade-style approach, and is certainly worth checking out if you’re looking for a fun, boxing VR workout at home.

If you just want a game that looks nice, though, grinding your way through gathering materials and repetitive battles may be a fair price of admission. If that sounds fun to you — or, for that matter, if you look at the screenshots and figure that they’re worth whatever tedious gameplay the game may throw at you, then Smoke and Sacrifice may be worth investigating.

I can still go either way with advising people on whether NHL 19 is a buy or not.

It’s a solid collection of classic games that are pretty well represented here.

Whether or not you agreed with the semi-lukewarm reception of Destiny 2 and the earlier DLC content, Destiny 2: Forsaken is the real deal.

In the long run, I imagine it’ll be those nightmarish enemies I remember about Figment, not the so-so puzzles and combat. As a game, I could basically take Figment or leave it. But as an experience — as a surreal musical that explores some pretty dark places — Figment is definitely different than almost anything else out there.

Donut County is short. It has little to no replay value. It feels like it squanders a great deal of its potential. And yet, Donut County is still one of the best games I’ve played this year. You may only get a few hours out of Donut County, but they’re a few great hours.

This may not be Lara’s best adventure, but it’s a solid ending to a rebooted franchise that I would gladly revisit. It’s easily the best-looking game in the series and playing on both an Xbox One X and PS4 Pro shows how much the visuals have evolved. Like Rise, you can choose between a high framerate or high resolution, both which look equally as gorgeous.

Waking Violet is by no means a bad game, but if you’re not a particularly patient person, it might be easy to mistake it for one.

I still think this series has some ways to go to get back to the very high heights it once achieved. While 2K clearly learned from last year, they had to fix so many problems that they still have some ways to go before they can truly call themselves the standard for sports game. But it’s important to look on the bright side: NBA 2K19 shows that none of last year’s problems broke the game permanently, and there’s hope for the game to return to its former glory sooner rather than later.

Unfortunately, as I said up top, Mushroom Wars 2’s big drawback is that it also doesn’t skimp on content. That may sound like a bizarre thing to complain about, but there’s really not a lot of variety from level to level. On top of that, this game demands that players be patient, since you have to spend a lot of time waiting for those toadstools to generate enough mushroom army men for you to launch assaults on the opposing — which means that you also spend a lot of time looking at those maps that, again, don’t look all that different from each other.

I really, really enjoyed my time with Yakuza Kiwami 2, and as a fan of the series, I’d certainly urge you to check it out. It has very few flaws, outside of some minor animation issues and the occasional cumbersome combat sequence. It also feels like a much stronger remake than even Yakuza Kiwami, which was no slouch to begin with. It also has some solid ties to both Yakuza 0 via the new elements, and pre-existing story beats that feed into the more recent Yakuza 6. So check this one out when you get a chance, you will not be disappointed.

Marvel’s Spider-Man is truly spectacular.

The endless running lacks decent timing, the rhythm is pretty arrhythmic, and the two halves just never feel like they gel together.

Even with it’s very basic presentation, Firewall Zero Hour really delivers on every front. Minor issues aside, you will definitely have a good time with this. Keeping in mind that this is a completely online experience so, if you are a shy one who doesn’t like interacting or working together with friends or complete strangers than this might not be the game for you. If you like other tactical shooters like the Ghost Recon Series, then this will be right up your alley!

To some extent, Sir Eatsalot is good for all the usual reasons a game is good. The characters, from the titular knight down to all the random enemies and allies he meets along the way, are as fun and relatively well-written. Along those same lines, Gluttington, the kingdom in which the story takes place, is richly imagined, with tasty-looking foodstuffs falling from every tree and colours that make the world pop off the screen. And, of course, the story is as compelling as it needs to be, with a plot that makes sense and keeps the action going for a couple of hours.

If you want another FIFA, that probably won’t do, but if you’re looking for something that captures of the vibe of off-brand sports games from decades ago, it’ll do you just fine.

If you’re going in expecting RBI Baseball 18 on the Switch to rival MLB The Show, you’ll be sorely disappointed. For that matter, if you’re hoping for a game to rival Super Mega Baseball 2 for arcade baseball action, you’ll be pretty disappointed. But if you go in just hoping for a baseball game that works, then — possibly for the first time ever — then it’s possible to say that RBI Baseball 18 does the job.

If you want a mind-bending puzzle game along the lines of, like, Portal or something, it’s not going to deliver that, and you’ll want to stay away. If, however, you want a gentle puzzle game with heartfelt visuals, that will remind you of life pre-gaming, then Gorogoa offers a solid — if brief — experience.

Given how much care was put into the rest of the game, it feels weird that much of the combat — when you’re not either hiding or running — basically comes down to swinging your weapons wildly until you kill the other people. In a game that’s so intricately made, it feels oddly inelegant. We Happy Few isn’t nearly as broken as Contrast was, but it’s still frustrating that a game that looks and sounds so good doesn’t play all that well.

Horizon Chase Turbo may occasionally be infuriating, but it’s a whole lot of fun much more frequently. If you’ve ever yearned for an arcade racer that genuinely feels like it comes from the early days of home consoles, you should most definitely check this one out.

All in all, while this isn’t necessarily a fresh take on the Dragon Quest series, it’s still one of the best entries in a franchise that has been around since the NES days.

Yoku’s Island Express is kind of a testament to the power of positivity. Sure, it’ll leave you frustrated at times. But it’s frustration borne out of wanting to experience more of this delightful world, and that’s more than enough to keep me pushing through those brief moments of annoyance.

At the end of the day, if 2D Souls-inspired action platformers with Metroidvania elements are your thing, you absolutely need to play this game. Story aside, the gameplay is great and the difficulty hits that sweet spot between too hard and too easy. Once you grasp it, it is intuitive and pretty simple but until then you will die, die, die and die some more. With a modest $20 price tag, I recommend it.

Guacamelee 2 takes a very solid base of the original and adds enough to prevent this iteration from being stale. The new mechanics blend in seamlessly and adds to the experience. The humor hits, more than it misses and the visuals are vibrant like it’s predecessor. All in all if you had to choose only on metroidvania-style game to play in 2018, make sure Guacamelee 2 is high on your list.

Fill-a-Pix may come with some decent pedigree, but decent pedigree means nothing when the end result is so boring.

By itself, Gene Rain’s gameplay is only bad. Factor in plot, dialogue, and instructions that barely make sense at the best of times, and you’ve got a recipe for a genuinely terrible game — albeit one that will undoubtedly delight bad game connoisseurs.

If you’re a fan of the series then this is another solid entry. Will it be your favorite? That probably depends on the person, but there’s definitely something here for everyone who has liked any version up to WarioWare Gold. If you missed the tilt controls or wish we had another stylus version, this is where you can enjoy an encore of series past with the largest collection of migrogames yet! Me personally, I’m not complaining about WarioWare being back in our lives.

Musynx is unquestionably one of the most demanding music games I’ve ever played. I can’t say I particularly enjoyed it (in fact, I wanted to throw my Vita across the room not too long after starting), but if you’re looking for a crazy challenge, you’ll find it here.

The bright splashes of paint really stand out against the black background, and they give the game a look and feel that make it seem like a relic from the early ‘90s. The gameplay, however, is of a much more modern vintage — and, unfortunately, it doesn’t compare well to its contemporaries. INK may be more visually appealing than its competition, but it doesn’t play nearly as well.

If you already own Madden 18 and you’re a casual football fan, you’d be hard pressed to find anything in here really worth the $60 price tag, especially when you can download the current roster via the community downloads. But if you’re looking for your way back to Madden or have not ever played the series, this is a great jump on point as the visuals are amazing and it’s a near perfect football simulation.

Psychedelica of the Ashen Hawk succeeds as a visual novel generally and an otome specifically because it ignores its genre conventions in favour of telling a compelling story, with largely decent characters and enough content to keep you interested all the way to the end. I’m not sure what Aksys’ goal with the Summer of Mystery was, but if it was to showcase just how impressive and engaging the genre can be, I’d say it succeeded beyond any shadow of a doubt.