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.

Final Fantasy XII The Zodiac Age gets its reputation from Final Fantasy XII being such a smash hit, along with incorporating the revisions in the International version. Add to that the updated graphics and orchestrated score, and you have what could safely be considered the definitive Final Fantasy XII experience. While not much can be done for the compressed voice work that was carried over, it's a tradeoff for having an updated version that offers a lot more than is worth getting hung up on part of the game's audio quality. I'd recommend this version any day of the week.

Do I think that Micro Machines is a must play experience for everyone? Absolutely not. It’s a OK attempt at modernizing a somewhat niche, but well-loved 8-bit game, and that certainly won’t be for everyone. And unfortunately, modernizing that experience doesn’t work out too well, especially the heavy online focus that is too reliant on other players with a community that already seems dead on arrival. But still, the more I played, the more I enjoyed. Once I felt that I had some level of skill when it came to turning tight corners and lining up kill shots on opposing players, the overall experience with Micro Machines certainly improved. I don’t think I’d suggest picking it up at full price, but it certainly might worth it at a discount in the future.

There is a lot to Antihero, and I could never explain it all in this small wall of text, so just do yourself a favor and grab it for their extraordinarily low price of $15 (or less). It is well worth the price they’re asking, and I would recommend dragging a friend in with you on the purchase so you can enjoy what I think are some of the game’s best qualities.

And really, when you get right down to it, the core of Farming Simulator remains intact. Farming Simulator still allows you to get in a nice, zen groove — you just need to look a little harder for it this time.

It's hard to fault a game for being mediocre, but Ever Oasis never reaches the potential for ideas it brings to the table. If you're looking for a game that doesn't ask much of you, then Ever Oasis might be just the right speed. I ended up playing it to wind down in the evenings because the gameplay became so routine. Otherwise, you may end up getting impatient and moving on to something else in no time quick.

In retrospect, that Akiba's Beat was going to be a bland mass of forgetability should've been obvious from just the name. Akiba's Trip doubled a not-too-subtle reference to what you were doing in the game: "Akiba strip." Akiba's Beat does nothing of the sort, and has only a tenuous connection to a not-that-interesting battle mechanic. It's a clear sign of how little this game has to say, and it should've served as a warning that anyone hoping for Akiba's Trip to have an equally bonkers sequel shouldn't bother looking here.

I get that I'm not the target audience for Period Cube. For all I know, otome lovers will be thrilled at the prospect of passively guiding a teenage girl through a world where she doesn't have all that much agency. Personally, though, I can state from experience that better visual novels exist, and that you'd be better off playing — or even replaying — those than you would be picking this up for the first time.

If you've had the hankering for platformers as of late, like I have, this set is an absolute no brainer. For $39.99 you get three of the best platformers ever made, and they're completely remade for the current gen… you can’t get a much better value than that.

You're likely to come away from Rime thinking about how much (and, luckily, how well) it draws from gaming classics than you are to feel like you've just finished a classic in its own right. However, neither of those things are nothing, I've played plenty of games that neither offered a few moments of incredible beauty nor led to fond memories of other games. Rime does both, and for that, even if it won't be remembered in the same breath as, say, Journey, it deserves a closer look.

I know that a lot of people have already written off the Toukiden series as little more than a Monster Hunter clone. And I get it: you are, after all, hunting monsters. But Toukiden 2 shows that just because the formula may be similar, the execution is on a whole other level. It's a fantastic game, and if you want to hunt monsters in an open world, you don't need to wait around for Monster Hunter World — Toukiden 2 is already here.

Still, there’s definitely things that work in Drifting Lands, and I’d love to see this idea refined a bit more down the road. I think a lot of the ARPG mechanics are solid right out of the gate, but I wish the shoot-em up side of the game was just a little flashier, more diverse, and overall just more enjoyable to play. I’d still recommend checking out Drifting Lands however, it’s a neat concept and there’s enough here that you’ll easily squeeze some enjoyment out of the components that work.

I'm not going to pretend that Spellspire is a game for everyone: if you're not obsessed with words and spelling, it probably won't speak to you. Luckily, I am obsessed with words and spelling, which means that I've just found my favourite new game.

It uses the upgraded visuals of previous ports, and does feature multiple soundtrack options, but outside of that it’s essentially Cave Story as you remember it. Of course that is still a positive thing, but as someone who has played through the game a few times, I’d only suggest it to fans if you’re either dying to play some more Cave Story, or looking to scratch a Metroidvania itch on the Nintendo Switch.

In general, it passes by in a blur of jumping and shooting, and doesn't give any reason why it's worth your time or money.