It’s a fantastic entry for the franchise, and it certainly has helped to reinvigorate my interest in the character going forward.

Hey! Pikmin was surprisingly more fun than I expected it to be, although I can't really say what I expected. It plays at a quicker pace than it might let on, and keeps a lot of the mainstays of how Pikmin plays on consoles but without sacrificing the fun of a 2D game. I also like how the story is directed less toward Captain Olimar trying to get off the planet and more toward cute cutscenes that show how playful and silly the Pikmin are. This is a great diversion and I'm glad Nintendo is still experimenting with franchises, but after spending my brief time with Hey! Pikmin, I'm more ready than ever to see a Pikmin 4.

Outside of the charm of watching your party interact with each other in battles, there's nothing really special about Miitopia. Not even the music or look of it. It actually makes me want to go back to Tomodachi Life, as that game seemed to know more about its identity than Miitopia. Both do make me laugh, but I like a game that's designed to be a simulation instead of Miitopia's RPG elements that feel a touch too light to make playing it feel that appealing.

This is one of those games that I would enjoy having friends come over and experience VR for the first time with it. Since you are completely seeing your character in a third-person, there is a minimal risk of motion sickness. Most of the time, you are simply moving Theseus forward and at other times, you need to really look around your surroundings to see where to go. That’s when you really get a sense of appreciation for the way Forge Reply designed the game. The only real shortcoming, is the overall length of the game. At the same time, there's some replayability with item collection which in turn will give you a different ending. Other than that, the biggest challenge will be justifying the price to the majority of PSVR players. I think $20 is a fair price and would recommend checking it out and blowing the dust off your PSVR like I did.

I wouldn't say that Oceanhorn is flawless, mind you. It's a little stingy when it comes to save points, which is kind of annoying if you want to, you know, save your game, rather than just putting your Vita to sleep. And also… Actually, that's it. That's my only major problem with Oceanhorn. It's tailor-made for the mobile experience, and it's about as exceptional an RPG as I've ever played on the Vita.

The Enemy Within really begins to delve into the mind of Bruce Wayne and finds him fighting both against outside forces and his own guilt as he struggles to remain the force for good that he intended to be. I think The Riddler is the perfect villain to help get to the bottom of who Bruce is and what he is capable of doing in the name of justice as Batman. Episode One really set the bar for the rest of the season and I cannot wait to see what Telltale has in store for us next.

One conclusion that I think everyone can agree on is this: Salt and Sanctuary is one heck of a game.

The positives in Shantae: Half-Genie Hero ultimately more than outweigh the negatives. Again, you'll probably like the game much more if you're going in as a Shantae fan to begin with, but this game is enjoyably pleasant enough that that's by no means a prerequisite.

If you enjoyed Patapon back for the PSP, it’s a safe bet to say you'll still enjoy it in this glorious HD remaster. The remaster is completely barebones and features no new special features, which is kind of disappointing. I also wonder why they didn’t just remaster all three Patapon titles and release a pack, similarly to what they did with the Crash N-Sane Trilogy. The Patapon titles got better with each new sequel and going back to the original can seem like a bit of a step back, but I still recommend Patapon overall. Patapon is a great looking, affordable digital remaster for rhythm fans, and of course it plays and holds up much better than PaRappa the Rapper.

All in all, this initial DLC pack is worth picking up, especially if you’re still toying around with Breath of the Wild. Granted, the next story focused pack is probably the more hotly anticipated of the two, but the gameplay features, additional difficulty, and the Trial of the Sword challenge are nothing to scoff at here. Definitely pick this up, it’s well worth the asking price.

CastleStorm Definitive Edition is a fun game, but playing it in VR is something I cannot recommend. If you already have the original release, then you are gaining nothing with the VR version. This feels more like it could have been added to the original release as DLC rather than being it's own download. If you are really hurting for more VR games in your life, this might fill some kind of void, but there are much better offerings than this.

Whether you’re new to the Splatoon series or a repeat customer, Splatoon 2 has enough to keep players entertained for hours on end. There’s enough variety in the different modes of play, and the solo campaign is almost worth the price of admission alone. The new Salmon Run is gloriously fun and the promise of even more weapons, gear, and modes make this game an easy recommendation to all Switch owners. Really the only glaring issues at launch are the cumbersome and lackluster voice options via the Switch Online App, and perhaps the lack of multiple new modes to play in for veteran gamers. I can see some longtime players experience a “been there done that” in Splatoon 2, but the formula works so well and the game is so much fun to play that I don’t think that will be a major concern for most players. Be a kid (or a squid) again and have some fun!

Make no mistake: Cities: Skylines is still pretty fun. It's deep enough so that people who thrive on depth and complexity will find more than enough to sink their teeth into, while the more shallow among us (i.e. people like me) who just want to build huge megalopolises without putting too much though into it can do that too.

Despite spending a majority of the game running for your life, the atmosphere, enemies and environments contain some of the most eerily disturbing assets I’ve seen in a game. As a horror movie buff, you get a real sense of appreciation and inspiration for some classic horror movies. While clearly not for everyone, Outlast 2 is a memorable fright fest that packs the appropriate types of jump scares and gore galore. If you haven’t tried, make sure to play the original first. I will be going back to the first games DLC entitled The Whistleblower in the near future.

Utawarerumono: Mask of Deception may try and sell itself as a visual novel-SRPG hybrid, but that's not really an accurate description. Sure, it possesses a few SRPG elements, but in the overall scheme of things, we're talking about less than a quarter of the game. More than anything else, Mask of Deception (not to be confused with Utawarerumono: Mask of Truth, its sequel, which is due out in a few months) is basically a visual novel that just so happens to give players a little more opportunity for interaction than most of its peers. Actually, that's not the only way that Mask of Deception stands out from other visual novels. It also does that by being surprisingly good, with a some legitimately funny humour and interesting characters.

I would highly suggest picking up Pyre at your earliest convenience. I absolutely believe it will be one of the best games you play all year, and quite frankly I can’t think of another game that easily compares to it. The story, mechanics, and world featured absolutely stand-out compared to other releases this year, and it’s well worth experiencing. And even if you’ve felt lukewarm on Bastion or Transistor, Pyre is such a different experience that I’d still say it’s worth checking out whether you are a fan of Supergiant or not. But if you are, then there is no reason to miss Pyre.

Infinite Minigolf is a great game. Either playing solo or with friends, you will have a fun time with everything here. Creating levels and beating the tougher courses always feels great. Playing normal or in VR both look fantastic and the control is perfect. Zen Studios has a winner here.

Archangel is a great game, but it's overall length and high price tag may put off many players. It's not hard to learn and super fun to blast everything in site like a futuristic Rambo, but I wish there was more to it than what is presented here. Side missions or maybe even some extra challenges would have helped out greatly. You can replay any mission you have completed, but that can only keep you busy for so long. Bottom line, I do highly recommend Archangel, as you will have a kick ass time. If it's length and price don't bother you, well, get it now and start blasting everything in site!

The Caligula Effect's combat is undoubtedly a major point in the game's favour, but when you stack it up against a forgettable story, terrible music, and a camera that doesn't want to cooperate, it's hard to say that it's nearly enough to make the game worth checking out.

Shu is a very pleasant-looking — some might even say "cute" — game. The characters are delightful, from the adorable main character to all his little friends; even the villains and dangers are liable to make you say, "Awww." Likewise, the music strikes a good balance between being frenetic enough to get you to keep going, while at the same time not being so obtrusive that it harshes the overall friendly vibe. But it's more than just aesthetics. The controls feel fairly tight, which is important considering there's the odd part where you need to move with a bit of urgency. Shu's world is also designed pretty nicely — the levels are fairly lengthy, and they're all full of secrets and treasures just waiting to be uncovered. A well-made platformer that's sure to please people who like those things, and it's pretty darn cute, to boot.

Which is how, ultimately, I arrive at the same place as all those people who disliked Valkyria Revolution for very different reasons than me. I may not share in their distaste for the game's move away from turn-based combat, but I definitely agree with them that this game features far too much pointless talk to be engaging. It's quite possible that a judicious and frequent use of the "Skip this scene" feature might uncover a game worth checking out, but that's making players do the work that the game's creators should've done in the first place.

If you were ever a fan of Diablo III, or even if you’re still actively playing like myself, I can’t really see a reason not to pick up the Rise of the Necromancer pack. It’s priced appropriately, and the new class is a ton of fun to play. And with a new season coming up this Thursday, you’ll have a perfect jumping on point to level a fresh character up to 70. Definitely pick this up, you won’t be disappointed.

It's worth noting that this game is quite short; you could easily beat it in one sitting, assuming you're sitting for 2-3 hours. As someone who likes games that don't require a massive time investment, this didn't bother me too much, but if you're going in expecting something that'll tide you over until the release of Super Mario Odyssey — or even until next week, for that matter — this most definitely won't do the trick. Still, even with those flaws, I'd hesitate to say that Skylar & Plux: Adventure on Clover Island is bad, or not worth checking out. As I said, it's a solid 3D platformer, and it generally does what it wants to do fairly well. It's probably not going to be remembered with the same kind of reverence as its forebears, but for an afternoon, it'll be a pleasant way to pass the time.

As someone who wants a bit of handholding in my games, I'll freely admit that this made it difficult for me to enjoy the game. At the same time, however, I fully recognize…a few things, actually. First, space travel is difficult, so any time you need to think about the physics of it — even in a video game — it's going to get a little challenging. Secondly, and more important, those lunar landing games still appeal to some people, even if they don't appeal to me. I'm just going to assume that that niche will be satisfied with what's on offer in Blue Collar Astronaut, and figure that I don't like it too much because it's not made with someone like me in mind.

I have no doubt that in some alternate universe, Danger Zone is absolutely awesome. After all, it has a good idea at its core, and its development team has shown in the past that they're capable of pulling off that very same idea. In this universe, however, there's no getting around the fact that Danger Zone is, quite simply, terrible.

the story is actually interesting. In general terms, of course, the game is focused on the main character, Chizuru, romancing the various Shinsengumi samurai, but there's a clear plot beyond that: she's traveled to Kyoto to find her missing father. After she stumbles into a bad situation almost immediately upon her arrival (in which the Shinsengumi play a prominent role), everything that happens in the game is set in motion. It's appropriately mysterious, which makes this game much closer to an actual novel than most of its other genre brethren.

I really liked Nex Machina for the most part. We were given the opportunity to play it on PC and PS4, which had very little difference as far as I could tell, except that the PS4 has trouble loading some textures where destructible objects were at times. This is minor and will probably be fixed in an update. While not their strongest, this is another solid entry in Housemarque's lineage. Nex Machina holds true to their goals of enjoyable arcade shooters that sit a level above the competition.

The writing isn't half-bad, and Cassie makes for an appropriately spunky heroine. However, the crucial ingredient would be for the game to be on VR, where it could come closer to its ideal of sensory deprivation to offer a genuinely frightening — rather than frustrating — experience. However, Deep End Games have already nixed that idea, which means that what you're left with is a whole bunch of frustratingly squandered promise.