Quintus and the Formidable Curse’s one saving grace is that it an odd, off-kilter color scheme that gives the game some eerie vibes — always a good thing in a horror game — but ultimately, those aren’t enough to distract from the fact that the scariest thing about this game is that it was released in this state.

The main problem with EDF6, though, is that there’s simply too much of it. The base game includes 147 levels, each with five difficulty levels if you really want to be a completist. While it’s undeniably fun to blast away at aliens, bugs, and robots, at a certain point it all feels a little repetitive. The game starts to feel like a slog of explosions, no matter what the setting is. Still, that’s always been the ethos at the core of the Earth Defence Force series: blowing stuff up in the service of a story that doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. It’s a mindset that, for better or for worse – largely for better – is alive and well in Earth Defense Force 6.

Obviously, the big draw in Kitsune Tails isn’t meant to be the gameplay – you don’t make the focus of your game a lesbian love triangle between two mythical creatures and a sorceress if you aren’t hoping to draw in fans who want a meaty narrative at the core of their games. But while that may be fine for a visual novel, if you’re trying to sell a 2D platformer you need good gameplay too. And even if Kitsune Tails borrows liberally from one of the best of those ever made, it doesn’t come anywhere close to living up to its inspiration.

Iron Man VR is a pinnacle of VR technology and a game that I would show to anyone who was interested in seeing what VR had to offer. It highlights just what makes VR special in a way that few other games have. It ranks up there with Half-Life: Alyx as one of the must-have titles for anyone with a VR headset.

I really enjoyed this follow-up to SteamWorld Heist, and I’m glad to see Thunderful revisting this particular entry in the SteamWorld universe once again. Hopefully it doesn’t take another 9 years to see another SteamWorld Heist, as it’s a unique strategy series that certainly deserves more attention. Definitely check it out when the game launches on all modern platforms August 8th, you’ll be happy you did.

EA Sports could have done the easiest thing and reskinned the Madden engine and this would have still sold millions, so for them to not take that route I think they should be commended. College Football 25 is a definite buy for the college and pro football fan alike.

It brings its own style and its own unique demands to table, which means that if you’re a fan of the genre, you should probably check it out.

Pine Hearts is one of those rare wholesome, cozy games that doesn’t try to use an emotional overlay to hide gameplay that’s not very fun when you get down to it – it’s got an emotional core underneath a game that’s fun to play. But it picked up some bad habits from the genre’s lesser lights, and that prevents Pine Hearts from being one of the genre’s true highlights.

It has plenty of flaws that are very easy to see, and I’m sure those will frustrate lots of people. But at the same time, these games are classics for a reason, and even if the experience isn’t wholly perfect, the package is still enjoyable enough that it’s sure to please pretty much everyone who plays it.

I genuinely believe that Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail is a phenomenal start to a new story, and that I am very excited to see where the dev team takes us next in the post-expansion patch content. From adding in more EX trials for mounts, new dungeons, raids and more, Final Fantasy XIV fans are feasting with yet more great content from Yoshida-san and the rest of his team.

To be sure, you probably shouldn’t pick it up at full price (though, at the same time, getting 90 minutes or so of solid entertainment for $8 isn’t exactly a terrible value proposition, and you’re supporting an indie developer). But if you’re a fan of Portal-style puzzlers, you should buy it all the same.

Parasol Stars is a fantastic, single screen game that challenges while it charms. Easy to learn but hard to put down, this game is what classic gaming is all about. I only played this a small amount during its initial release, but only after a few playthroughs with this release and I have a new favorite classic. It’s even more fun when 2 players take on the challenges together! Definitely give this one a try if you can, you won’t regret it.

It’s a genuinely fun time, and I hope the developers stick with it and turn it into something even better. [Early Access Provisional Score = 80]

Take all these things together, and you have the ingredients for a game that doesn’t add much new to its inspirations, but that’s nonetheless good at capturing the spirit of what made those games fun. Corsair’s Madness won’t make you forget about classics from the NES era, but it’s fun enough that you could easily imagine playing right alongside them.

It’s a cozy game that realizes a sickly sweet veneer isn’t enough to draw people in, you also need to provide solid gameplay – and that’s something this game delivers. You’ll have to have a high tolerance for cutesiness, to be sure, but in the end, it’s worth it.

To be sure, Yellow Taxi Goes Vroom isn’t the first game that tries so hard to be wacky, nor would I begrudge developers who want a game that’s popular among streamers. But I can’t say that the end result is all that fun – not when there are all kinds of genuinely good modern 3D platformers out there that don’t rely nearly as much on silly gimmicks.

While no one would confuse it for a GOTY contender or anything, it’s still a solid riding simulator with a decent amount of content. Given how bad it could’ve been, that seems like a win.

It’s a perfectly serviceable retro-tinged 3D platformer, but we live at a time when there are lots and lots of those, and enough of them do it better that you’re probably better off playing them instead.

As Metroidvanias go, it’s fine, but if you want anything more than just average, you’re not going to find it here.

Even if it was outshined by its successor, Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD is still worth your time. It may not be the GOTY contender that Luigi’s Mansion 3 was, but if you give it a chance, you’ll still find it worth your while.

Crow Country is clearly influenced by some of the scariest games of the ‘90s, but it’s good enough that it can be enjoyed today even if you never played those games the first time around (or even if you’re generally too much of a scaredy cat to play them).

Overall, I enjoyed Puppet Combo’s latest horror installment. It started slowly, then escalated to full nonstop combat. The characters were intriguing, as was the backstory that drove the narrative forward. I enjoyed learning about the downfall of Dr. Edward Sullivan through all the pages obtained in the house, as it gave it a very Alan Wake vibe. My only issue with the game was the aiming mechanism. In ’90s games, when they often utilized fixed camera angles, the auto-aim would automatically lock on. Unlike in this instance, it aimed straight ahead and then had to be manually maneuvered to where I wanted to shoot. If ’90s aesthetics are the goal, then I believe that only one aspect of retro gaming gameplay should be implemented to not overwhelm the player with all the non-intuitive controls that annoyed us when we played these games when we were younger.

I cannot overstate how much I dug the visuals in this game, it’s a refreshing change of pace from other indie dungeon crawlers that often rely on 8-bit or 16-bit aesthetics, and I hope we see a sequel to #BLUD sometime in the future.

Dread Delusion has a very clear idea of what kind of game it wants to be, and who it appeals to – and if you’re in that target market, then this is a must-play game for you.

All-in-all, Super Monkey Ball Banana Rumble is a great time, albeit held back by the same lackluster camera the series has always had and the framerate causing some issues, but otherwise it’s a very solid title.

Bang Average Football is a game that deserves having people play game after game after game. Not only does it perfectly nail the feeling of playing sports games back in their infancy, it also adds a cozy, Stardew Valley-style frame around the whole thing that you’ll want to do even if you don’t usually like those kinds of sims. It’s an excellent game all-around that does a whole lot of things right.

Shadow of the Erdtree is another perfect culmination of everything that has come before it, which at this point seems to just be the norm for From Software. Some of the greatest moments in all of Souls are found within Shadow of the Erdtree, but it will make you work harder for them than ever before. Exploration and curiosity are the key, and you will be rewarded in ways that you cannot imagine as you delve into the Shadow Realm introduced here. I adored Shadow of the Erdtree, and cannot wait for more people to experience what has so thoroughly blown me away in my time with it.

Overall I would highly recommend checking out both games in this collection, whether you’re picking it up as a bundle or as separate releases. Both games are great, and even if Monster Hunter Stories is a little dated compared to the sequel, it’s still a lot of fun. Even if you’ve never played a traditional Monster Hunter title before, Monster Hunter Stories Collection offers up such a different take on the series that you’ll have no trouble starting here. It is very much its own thing, and something that I hope we continue to see more of in the years to come.