What makes it really frustrating is that The Sims 4 has so much potential to be great with so many customization options. The game even throws people like me a bone, allowing you to give your Sim clear motivations and emotions, and it tailors the gameplay around that. But, cruelly, it makes doing all those things a massive chore, meaning that unless you really, really like moving your cursor slowly around the screen, you’re not going to get much out of it.

In short, the expansion feels sort of like the modern Castlevania standby in "Richter Mode" wherein a jaunt with a new character involves a far simplified gameplay mechanic. However, the relevant thing to remember is that Demons of the Badlands not only simplifies the gameplay--but also the area it's in.

A solid, if standard platformer if you have some appreciation for Scooby-Doo or if you're looking for a game for the kids.

Despite a cast of over 30 characters, the part where each character uses the exact same moveset means things get tedious rather quickly.

Nights of Azure 2 isn’t all bad. It’s got a distinctive look and feel, which isn’t something that can be said 20+ games into Atelier. Setting aside the ridiculous clothing choices of many of the characters, there’s no denying that this game features some dazzling environments. I wouldn’t say that’s enough to offset the dialogue, bad camera controls, and leering fanservice, though. Nights of Azure 2 may represent a departure from the developer’s norm, but it’s also proof that simply being different isn’t inherently a good thing.

However you look at it, light gun games are still active, and if you want it to stay that way, make sure to grab this strong sequel to the already popular series.

A fun action adventure game with some redeeming qualities and a likable main character... if you can soldier past the not-so-fun parts and overlook some of the design flaws and engine issues.

I'm glad the game actually came out, and I hope that Tecmo uses it as a stepping-stone for a better game in the near future.

While Animal Crossing is branching out from simply being a town that players can feel at home in, Happy Home Designer is antithetic in design and scope. It's unlike this series to come up short of ideas, and yet they've somehow managed to run a single one into the ground with Happy Home Designer.

I wouldn’t describe The Sinking City as a bad game, by any means. Much like its Sherlockian predecessors it’s very much for a niche audience, but if you’re part of that niche — and I think I am — it’ll be a fun way to pass 15-20 hours.

At the very least, if you’re into simulating menial blue collar jobs, you could certainly do a lot worse than this.

Had it kept things simple – say, with lots of straightforward puzzles to solve with an overarching story that’s easy to follow – it probably would’ve been great. Instead we have needlessly hard puzzles accompanied by an overly complicated plot. Saying, “less is more” can come off as trite, but in this case it’s totally true.

As someone who loves Horizon: Zero Dawn and who loves LEGO games, I was really hoping that a combination of the two would be something special. Instead, we have LEGO Horizon Adventures, and for the life of me I can’t figure out why it exists.

Rent it for a bit if you're particularly interested, but what could have really been a solid game turns out as almost half of one with an obvious focus on the unorthodox abilities that is just not going to cut it.

There is no doubt that fans of the series will be more than satisfied with the new levels, story, weapons, and vehicles.

For $9.99, you really can't do much worse, and it's easily one of the best of the bargain new releases.

Despite taking the time to enlist a license for their portable effort, WTA Tour Tennis really skimps out in the features department.

It’s certainly light on content, light on songs, and rarely feels great to play from a video game standpoint. Yes, you can get a little workout in, but it would be nice if the Switch would accurately track movement more consistently. I think Fitness Boxing has the opposite intended effect after you whiff 3 or 4 hooks or uppercuts due to poor motion sensitivity, which in turn leads to some dejected, frustrating moments. As it stands, I wouldn’t recommend Fitness Boxing to Switch owners, at least not without some deep discounts involved.

Death on the Nile isn’t a must-play adventure, but it’s at least generally tolerable – which is more than can be said about it as an Agatha Christie adaptation. On that front, it fails, so if that’s why you’re interested in it, prepare for disappointment. Still, if you’re fond of point-and-click mysteries, there’s probably enough here to be interesting.

No doubt many people will find this game frustratingly difficult in single player, but I still think it is a good implementation of a tennis game.

To be sure, I never fully understood the end goal of what I was doing in Adventures of Mana. But, for whatever reason, that didn't bother me all that much. I can't say that the game has given me any insight whatsoever into why Final Fantasy — or even the Mana franchise — has endured for so long, but I can definitely say that if I'm looking for an easy-to-pickup RPG to play on the go, this is a game that's right near the top of my list.

The fact that the game is short, the graphics not up to par and the levels somewhat repetitive will likely keep this game out of the hands of mainstream gamers despite it's twenty dollar price.

That said, better the developers create a bunch of really enjoyable levels with zero replayability than shoehorning in a three-star system at the expense of fun, right? Obviously, the ideal would be both, but if you're going to make it an either/or thing, then I suppose 10tons picked the right option to go with.

The game is basically one long war between the Winged Crusade and the Landians, and it doesn't get much deeper than "these two sides are at war with each other."

It may not last long, but it is fun while it lasts. But if you're going in expecting anything substantial — or even anything you can play for longer than a lunch hour — you should know that your hopes are going to be dashed in a pretty extreme manner.

Just about my only criticism of Lichtspeer is that the Vita version doesn't take advantage of the handheld's touchscreen to allow for touch controls. If there’s one thing Angry Birds showed, it’s that physics-based games are made for touch controls, and they get a little more awkward when you have to use old-fashioned buttons and thumbsticks. Obviously, it still works well enough here, but that doesn’t make it any less of a missed opportunity. That’s the only area where Lichtspeer falters though. Otherwise, it’s a worthy successor to its noteworthy antecedents, and it’s a must-buy if you’re looking for your next addiction on the Vita.

If you’re a diehard racing game fan who prefers racing against yourself rather than others, that may put the game squarely on your radar, but if the allure of racing games is facing off against other people – be they bots or a Player Two – then this game may leave a lot to be desired.

There’s one major drawback that prevents Fear the Timeloop from being a great game: for some reason, the developers cheaped out when it came to voice actors. Whoever they got to voice the sheriff main character sounds like he couldn’t care less what he’s saying, and he’s in a rush to finish his work as quickly as possible. Every time the cop opens his mouth, you lose all immersion in the game, as he’s unable to sound remotely afraid or panicky about what’s happening. And that’s a real shame, because Fear The Timeloop otherwise is a very good game. It may not be my preferred genre, but I can tell when a game knocks it out of the park – and if it weren’t for its one glaring drawback, I think it would be safe to say that Fear The Timeloop did just that.