Fast and frantic, Not a Hero provides some serious satisfaction when things are running on all cylinders. There’s nothing lack diving through windows and taking out bad guys, even if it is classic 8-bit sprites. The humor feels a bit forced at times, but the action wins out in providing a ton of fun.

There is a lot of fun to be had with Yakuza Kiwami 3. But the cracks are really starting to show with this series, and it feels stale in a lot of areas. On its own, Kiwami 3 is lot less fun than other entries in this series, despite some good new management games here. As a remake, however, it certainly isn't good enough to justify the original being delisted and for this to now be the definitive version of Yakuza 3.

The Escapists oozes charm, but due to the inherent nature of the game, it has a tendency to be boring. It takes a lot of patience to make your escape, and you'll spend a lot of your time waiting. This may be a turn off for some, but for others it may make that final escape all the more satisfying.

A brilliant world is offset by some cheap level design, a fantastic toolset and movement is offset by some terrible throw mechanics when left tooless. However, Budget Cuts 2 takes two long strides forward for every half step back and does deliver on its promise. It hits the mark this time around to provide a really good VR experience and would be recommended to anyone with the gear to run it.

The potential is there, but this first episode is a mess.

Far Cry 6 excels in a lot of ways, with stellar visuals, performances, exploration, and story. But the character advancement mechanics have been reworked in a way that takes agency away from the player, forcing them to use the skills they can scrounge up instead of building the character they want. There is a mountain of fun to be had here; this pivot away from skill points doesn't ruin the game, but it also doesn't feel like the right direction for the series.

The look and feel of the game is what draws you in but ultimately it is the shallow game play that makes the game a slight chore to play, coupled with the lack of extra content and you have a game that really is over before it feels like it should be over.

Another solid entry into the Marvel Universe, this action-RPG gives us another dose of the tried-and-true four-character slugfest. Nothing overly exciting here, but entertaining all the same.

Ankh is a return to the days of graphic adventure. It offers a fast moving story with likeable characters and a good sense of humor. If only the game wasn't so short and easy it might actually be a worthy addition to your PC library.

Magrunner: Dark Pulse is a mostly solid magnetic riff on the game-concept set forth by Portal all those years ago, but a handful of design missteps, including one giant fundamental goof-up, work overtime holding it back.

Expeditions: Vikings is a fantastic role playing strategy game for those of us whom feel the need to raid and pillage. It creates an authentic social environment where traditions and customs and be enforced or forsaken, much like the gods and myths in the Norse universe. Its a bit clunky, and not very pretty, but neither were the Vikings. With a few more character portraits, and some spit and polish it could be a real gem for any gaming collection.

Some clever ideas wrapped in a lighthearted romp, Magicka partially collapses under its own weight of the innovative but overly-complex magic system.

The Sims 3 Supernatural is by far the most engaging expansion pack yet with its variety of quirky and magical-inspired gameplay features. While most of the content feels at home in the Sims world, the inclusion of some elements such as fairies and zombies are questionable. No matter if one loves or hates the idea of magic in The Sims 3, Supernatural adds a great deal of varied, worthwhile, and most importantly, entertaining content.

If you can get past the occasional buggy-ness of it as well as the repetition, Capsized does have some appeal to it with its great visuals, sweet electronic music and gameplay that gives enough variety to carry you through its short campaign.

A solid title that oozes replayability.

I absolutely love Duels of the Planeswalkers 2012. The game is a huge improvement over the original 2011 release and a great video game representation of the card game although not completely accurate. There are still some rooms of improvement in order to replicate the actual card-playing experience, but the developers are definitely on the right track.

Despite minor complaints about the story's pacing, the overall experience of Persona 5 Tactica is rewarding. Engaging combat dynamics and a strategic depth that is hidden at the game’s slower-than-I-wanted start kept me invested in the tactical twists. Persona 5 Tactica successfully delivers a compelling inter-quel that stands on its own within the beloved franchise. Persona 5 Tactica is a solid, enjoyable tactics game that still feels like a Persona game despite not being a true RPG. It successfully blends the Persona universe with a tactical RPG gameplay style. This one can be enjoyed by Persona 5 fans and tactics fans alike.

Gatling Gears has many faults that contribute to several bland qualities from indiscernible visual changes between levels to battles that feel repetitive and mundane. Setting up your own boundaries for challenge is one of the few intriguing elements to playing the dual-stick arcade shooter. That, and the gratification of temporarily overpowered weapons when power-ups are picked up.

THQ's Smackdown vs Raw 2011 is a massive game, both in terms of its scope and its content. There is a ton to do here and wrestling game fans will likely find it easy to hold their selves over until next year's game with this title.

With the easily accessible Arcade mode and the great degree of customization of the difficulty level in the more complex Simulator mode, SBK X will appeal to rank amateurs and devoted motorcycle racing fans alike. It provides a reasonably accurate representation of high-end motorcycle racing (probably) feels like.

At the end of the day, Super Cloudbuilt is a well-designed and challenging game that just needs some minor tweaking to be a major player. The story is just uninteresting and the rewards for completing the levels of the game are lousy. There is definitely enough here – 4 branches of 9 or so levels, plus a hoard of challenges – to keep a parkour person happy... just don’t look for a higher meaning.

Zombie Army 4 feels like an old friend you're reconnecting with after a few years. Even though it's similar to its predecessors, the game has been refined into something that holds greater mass appeal. Weapon upgrading, fresh enemy design, and a packed progression system give players a reason to keep coming back. The core gameplay loop is even better more when tackled in co-op, yielding some hilarious and action-packed adventures. Despite the good, the game's core issues arise from a bland campaign that lacks the impressive set pieces and locations from the previous iterations.

The few positives do not outweigh the negatives. EA Sports continues to phone it in with the FIFA series while single-player gamers cry out for better options.

Loot River has a lot of good features. Controls, artwork, music are all very nice. The combat, while not bad, does nothing to move the genre forward. The unique Tetris-like platform moving is enjoyable, but nowhere near the complexity or difficulty of Tetris. I can see the potential for a great experience, but it just isn’t quite there. Occasional difficulty spikes that knock me for a loop and put me out of the mood to make another run leaves Loot River as a good, not great, game.

Cricket Through The Ages isn't much about Cricket, and that's ok. It starts slow, but with a pretty cool payoff in unlocking the other modes. It's way more entertaining to watch others play it, but you playing at home, alone, trying to convince other people to play it, is useless. Fire it up, hand your friends the controllers, and watch chaos ensue.

Toukiden: Kiwami adds on to an already good game with more content, more gameplay variety, and some proper multiplayer that really rounds out this package.

Unmechanical provides players with addictive and mind-perplexing puzzles, in addition to both a charming and atmospheric presentation. Stunning visuals and a captivating soundtrack combine for one of the best looking and sounding independent games in recent history. Unfortunately, the gameplay experience of Unmechanical suffers from the lack of a proper narrative and details on the game's setting and characters.

Aliens: Dark Descent is a tense real-time strategy shooter that will keep you on the edge of your seat. If you prefer not to be stressed out playing video games, it is certainly not for you. On the other hand, if you have the patience and mental fortitude to withstand relentless Xenomorphs, it is a clever take on the RTS genre that can be tough to put down.

Marble it Up is an enjoyable game, but the short length might turn some people off, especially for its twenty dollar price point. If you’re someone who is constantly trying to better their times in games with time trials, or you’re a completionist that just has to unlock everything, Marble it Up will definitely keep you busy trying to find new and interesting ways to finish each stage as fast as possible. Otherwise, the minimal content might turn some off for now, enjoyable as the current amount of content might be.

Playing these old games really gave me some perspective on the progress we've made in games since these were initially released. Midway has also priced this collection aggressively and at $1 a game you really can't beat the bang for your buck.

It's more of the same but that's not a bad thing as the gameplay is incredibly fast, frantic and fun. A great game on it's own but if you aren't a fan of Dynasty Warriors style beat em ups, this game might not do much to change your opinion on them.

LEGO Marvel Super Heroes 2 is a tried-and-true game for young kids everywhere who like the Marvel universe. There is a bit too much frustration with some parts of the game and the fighting can be very ho-hum for anyone out of diapers. That said, the humor, collection of heroes, length of the game, and overall quality makes this a no-brainer for kids everywhere. Just be ready to help 'em out.

If you’re a Dead Island enthusiast, zombie addict, or free running connoisseur, Dying Light is the game for you.

Rune Factory 5 is a very fun "get to town and do all the things" game, which has been cleaned up significantly from it's initial release on Switch. The PC version of the game is clean and crisp, allowing players to address settings before even booting the game up. With a ton of fun activities and places to explore, Rune Factory 5 has a little something for everyone, and is appropriate (and fun) for all audiences. Farm, explore, romance, capture monsters; every activity is gently charming. Well worth a look for adults, but good luck keeping the kids away from it.

For those who might be tired of the traditional Musou hack and slash format, Spirit of Sanada offers up enough changes to make the series feel fresh while retaining the traditional 1 vs. 1000 hack and slash gameplay that the series is known and loved for.

Star Fox Guard is really a pleasant surprise. It’s a simple concept that is well executed and makes perfect use of the Wii U’s unique control options. Hundreds of levels and the ability to create and share your own give this one some serious legs.

Aspire: Ina’s Tale is an enjoyable platform-puzzler with a great story and a relaxing atmosphere, but it’s one drawback is its short length. If you know what you’re doing or are pretty good at solving puzzles that involve platforming, the game should only take you a few hours to complete. If you don’t mind that though, Aspire: Ina’s Tale has a great story and a relaxing atmosphere that’s worth checking out.

Based on a classic, but bringing new features and perspectives to the table, Mordheim: City of the Damned provides a challenge, with some interesting party and game management thrown in.

Fans of the fighting game aspects of the Naruto franchise would do well to think it over before picking up Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm Generations. The combat is definitely the high point, but there isn't much beyond that.

If you've been looking for an MMO to check out that's not World of Warcraft, definitely give The Secret World a shot. While it's not perfect (it'd be nice if the in-game browser could remember your last visited page during the same game session), it's still a fun game with a unique way to improve your character, truly making him or her whatever you want them to be.

Warhammer 40,000: Darktide is a true successor to Fatshark’s previous Vermintide series. If you were afraid the jump from fantasy to 40K would ruin the experience, fear not, it’s even better. Darktide feels less linear than the previous takes, the story takes place between cutscenes of missions. Levels are linear, but do a great job of hiding that fact. Loadouts are a great improvement, along with a wide array of weapons to specialize and unlock. The only unfortunate part is that Warhammer 40,000: Darktide is still best enjoyed with a full party.

Zeno Clash Ultimate Edition is an addictive first person fighting game that also happens to have one of the weirdest stories and worlds ever conceived for a video game. It takes the right combination of open mind and FPS/fighting game fan to get into, but once you've been immersed into the world of Zenozoik it's a strangely difficult place to leave.

As warm, deep, and emotionally engaging as it ever was, Life is Strange: Double Exposure delivers another great adventure for beloved hero Max Caulfield. With a great new cast of interesting characters, a banger of a mystery, and enough ethical dilemmas to fry your brain, Double Exposure continues putting players through the wringer in the best possible way. A few minor technical issues cannot distract from the great story and beautiful visuals.

Ruffy and the Riverside is both an homage to classic platform games and an entirely new take on the genre. Its fantastic texture swapping mechanic lends itself to a stunning variety of environmental puzzles, many of which offer a high level of head-scratching satisfaction. Ruffy and the Riverside has sleeper hit written all over it.

Soul Hackers may be a game from 1997, but it still feels like a fresh entry in the Shin Megami Tensei franchise. The cyber-punk story and compelling characters make for a great experience, and the accessibility of it all is just bonus.

Comic Jumper is a fun action game full of fresh ideas and awesome level designs. Unfortunately, it's marred by dated gameplay and a lot of repetition.

Attack on Titan is an impressive feat, nailing the movement of the anime and that satisfying feeling that you get when taking down a titan is captured almost perfectly. There's a few minor flaws here, but for fans of the series, you're hardly going to notice.

Scram Kitty DX may not be an essential purchase, but it's full of good ideas and fun challenges.

Windjammers 2 is a fast and fun arcade style game that fans of the original and competitive vs games will enjoy. But the game is very light on single player content, so unless you want to play against others online or with friends, you probably won't get much out of the light arcade mode.

Beautiful in every way, Herdling is a short and sweet adventure that will pull at your heartstrings.

Darwin Project takes the battle royale formula and turns it on its ear with simple survival mechanics and visceral axe combat. While hunting down your peers, be sure to keep warm, or else you will freeze to death all by yourself. With a tight map, fun and unique classes, and little in the way of intrusive monetization, Darwin Project feels fresh in a quickly crowding market. A battle royale game for those that didn't get hooked on the big titles, Darwin Project is an enjoyable competition with a great community.

Ion Assault is tricky and fun. Rife with pleasant colors and sounds, the game was an enjoyable shoot ‘em up experience with diversity in the form of enemies and power-ups.

The gameplay is fun, even if the game isn't especially ambitious. Still, it's better than the other mob-influenced Xbox 360 games on the market!

As a fan of Supermassive's other games I was really excited for this one, hoping it would be as good as Until Dawn, but after I finished it I just felt disappointed, especially with the abrupt ending and bad writing that made me not even want to try another playthrough to see how else the story could have played out.

With a weak story, repetitive gameplay and a little too much backtracking, it's easy to become indifferent to Square Enix's newest portable role-playing game.

This content is pretty much dedicated to the Attack on Titan faithful. It's not enough content to justify a whole new game, but it does a good job at being a pretty beefy add-on, but the high cost of entry makes it a tough sell.

Potion Permit has you go from unwelcomed guest to belle of the ball. This doesn’t feel like other life-sim game in a couple of ways. The handful of mini-games, the romancing, and the gifting feel different, in some good - and sometimes only decent - ways. The pixel art looks great, and load times on the Switch were a breeze. I would have liked more of an overall challenge; the game never feels hard or very difficult. Potion Permit works best when throwing on some headphones and listening to a podcast.

This newest Sam & Max adventure may not reach the same heights as the past games, but it's still worth checking out due to its sense of humor and memorable characters.

Bit.Trip FATE is a fun game, but definitely not the best in the series. While it is a good challenge, a lot of the time it feels more tedious than fun, especially for a rail-shooter type game that literally has you on a fixed rail. While not a bad game in any sense, there are better Bit.Trip games out there.

Syndicate might not offer the same amount of content as comparable first-person shooters, but the cyberpunk visuals and innovative cybernetic powers combine for a highly-entertaining and worthwhile experience.

Instead of making controlling your snowboarder easier, the Wii's new motion-sensing controls have made SSX much harder than it needs to be. What once was one of the best extreme sports franchises has been reduced to one of the most disappointing games of the year.

John Wick Hex is a fantastic game. It combines real strategy in a gameplay that feels truly unique in the RTS genre. It really captures the world of John Wick and brings the character from the silver screen faithfully onto the PC. There is a fluidity to the combat, but one that falls ever so slightly short of the effortless slickness that we've come to love about the title character. Missing that trick takes a near perfect game to just a notch below, but puts it squarely in good company as a top game of the year.

2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil is a contender with new skill sets and controls put in place, but with some similar gameplay issues dealing with the same engine as FIFA 14. Captain Your Country mode is a lot of fun and will make players forget about those issues.

Eiyuden Chronicle is a quick and frothy good time - exactly the introduction to the Eiyuden universe that was needed to get players excited for the next game. Cool, lighting-fast combat, fun characters, and non-stop progression all combine to make this a title worth exploring. Consider my appetite for more from this universe to be fully engaged.

Through all the performance and optimization issues, all the problems with shading and rendering, I believe there's a good game waiting to be unlocked. However, as it stands, Cities Skylines II is a major disappointment that should have been pushed back to fix these issues. Instead, gamers are stuck dealing with yet another game that falls victim to a rush and will need multiple patches until we see what the final product actually is.

Yes, it's vulgar, it's crude, and it's often profane. Be that as it may, Mutant Football League is probably the best football game available on the PC today.

Dead in Vinland is a nice mix of RPG, simulation, and exploration elements. With nearly a dozen party members to recruit, multiple tasks to assign people to, and many different ways to interact with the island's inhabitants, there are multiple ways to go about playing the game and every decision you make will matter in the end.

I will go out on a limb and say that given some more love and (lots) more patches, “Eador: Masters of a Broken World” could become a classic in its genre. If you're a fantasy TBS fan you should definitely pick this up (it's only 20 bucks) and watch the patches roll in.

If you're a fan of massive death machines, explosions, and a dab of entrepreneurship, MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries will appease your unique trio of interests. There are also enough mechs, customization tools, mission types, and environments to keep gameplay from becoming too repetitive. Lastly, although I wasn't emotionally attached to the story, it was still entertaining enough.

You'll find the solid arcade golf game you've been looking for, but not a whole lot more.

DO NOT call PS All-Stars a Smash Bros. knock off, it is actually anything but a copy or clone of Nintendo's fabled fighter. SuperBot has taken the most basic premise of that series and crafted a full-featured fighter that delivers something beyond the casual experience and that crosses over into the competitive fighting realm.

PQ2 manages to take the best elements from the original game and give us a lot more content, a lot more obstacles, and a lot more freedom.

While you were partying, Narita Boy studied the techno-blade. Impossibly good pixel art is locked behind bad-but-gets-better platforming and okay-but-gets-cool hack n' slashing.

Flying Wild Hog has topped their previous game, Hard Reset, in nearly every respect with Shadow Warrior. A myriad of beautiful environments, crazy but balanced and innovative combat, and a smoother difficulty curve prove that the Polish studio has graphical, level and gameplay design talent to spare. Don’t miss this one.

After two years of nothing but rocky seas, Puzzle Quest 2 manages to right the ship and correct the course.

Telltale’s first Batman episode is marred by technical issues, but the writing, gameplay and presentation are superb as always. Maybe hold off for a couple weeks while it gets patched, but after that, Batman fans should definitely take the plunge.

Planet of Lana is a joy to behold, having been crafted with aplomb by a team of artistic and musical virtuosos. The gameplay itself is nothing you haven’t seen from other side-scrolling puzzlers, but it gives a wide berth to the stunning art and musical score that reach Disney levels of quality.

Atomfall is a delightful surprise in a year packed with big game releases. I haven’t felt this amount of joy from discovery, or this level of player agency in a game in quite some time. Wherever it is on your list of games to play in 2025, move it up.

Arma 3 refines and masters the military simulation genre.

Forgotten Sands feels like a big expansion pack, and while the acrobatics are far and away the best in the series, the combat has a lot of unrealized potential and the story isn't that satisfying.

Neverwinter is one of the best free-to-play games this year, with its fluid combat, extensive amount of quests, and Foundry tool in which players can create their own adventures. Most importantly, premium points and items don't affect the game for those who choose to adventure on the free route. Role-playing fans owe themselves an extended journey to the world of Neverwinter.

Although it doesn't supply intense space battles like Sins of a Solar Empire or Stellaris it doesn't have to. Instead Master of Orion delivers an exciting universe where every action has a diplomatic action or consequence you can act on.

A fun and simple little spatial puzzler, Astroslugs is a pleasant way to spend those fragmented bits of free time.

The game has some seriously good ideas, but there's no question that it will only play to a limited audience.

Harvestella is a fresh coat of paint on a familiar wall. It’s a good wall, solid foundation, level, able to withstand the elements, and damn good paint. But it’s still a wall. If you want to play the newest, most innovative farm sim to date, it’s not going to be Harvestella. If you want to play the best version of the farm sim for the modern era, look no further. While it does some odd things, like invisible walls to areas you can clearly see, or not being able to jump on a rock, in the end, those don’t matter. Farming is fun, dungeon crawling is fun. The visuals and soundtrack help make Harvestella one of the best possible versions of the farm sim.

Scrapland is dripping with charisma despite its two-dimensional characters and decaffeinated storyline. The compulsion to return to Chimera again and again is hard to resist, even if it's just to satiate your curiosity of how good things could have been.

If you aren’t bored with WW2 shooters, Medal of Honor Heroes 2 is definitely the one to pick up. Its responsive controls, online multiplayer and immersive use of the Wii’s features make it much more memorable than any other recent MOH game.

Super Mario Maker for the 3DS is enjoyable but it has its drawbacks. While the 100 Mario Challenge and Super Mario Challenge are both fun to play through, the lackluster search function of the Recommended Courses, having to go through the Super Mario Challenge to unlock most of the stuff for stage creation, and the quizzical lack of ability to upload courses and share them with the world outside of locally and via StreetPass make this a hard game to recommend at $40 for a lot of people.

Sure, Mafia: The Old Country has guns and cars, but the more important pieces are the awesome story, great performances, and beautiful setting. Cinematic in all the ways that most games only dream of, The Old Country delivers a nuanced and thoughtful story full of thrills. I couldn't tear myself away from it.

Mainlining kills two birds with one stone, fulfilling a childhood fantasy and just plain being a great game at the same time. If you're looking for a unique sort of puzzle/mystery game, definitely give this a try; it's obvious that Sam Read and Rebelephant have worked hard on this, and the result is a truly enjoyable game that's fun for fans of many game genres. Well worth the money.

Army of Two: The 40th Day is not going to win anyone's GOTY award. But where pure fun and entertainment are concerned--especially with a friend on your team--it doesn't get better than splashing around in this bloody giggle pool.

Life Goes On is an ingenious puzzle game that puts a whole new spin on dying in video games. Sadly its’ biggest downfall is the fact that the game is on the short and easy side, but if you’re trying to get every achievement and medal in the game, you can squeeze out a few more hours from this one. If you don’t mind all of that, I definitely recommend picking this one up.

Rainbow Six Extraction offers players a surprisingly new experience, a more stealthy take on co-op shooters than is found in the competition. With blistering difficulty, tension to spare, and a delicious argument-inducing bug out mechanic, Extraction uses shooter mechanics in ways that feel utterly unique and original. Perhaps a bit light on content, but we all know that more will come in time. A stress-filled creepy good time, even for non-shooter fans.

Chorus’ controls and awesome powers make its space dogfighting some of the best, but the convoluted story and frustrating difficulty spikes hold it back from greatness. I would love to see a sequel with more interesting missions, where it just gets out of its own way and allows players to soar.

Quick, fun, but shallow. Puchi Puchi Virus gives you a quick dose of puzzling fun, but the new game smell wears off quick.

If you’re looking for a mobile puzzle game worthy of your time, then Umiro is where you should turn. It’s short, with admittedly low replay value, but hey—it’s a mobile game, primarily. It’s not the place to look for a fully-fledged, complex plot, but it does the job on the puzzle front, and is great at keeping you engaged for however long you have to play it.

The racing is addictive, vehicle customization is deep, the world is charming, and there is much to see and do in LEGO 2K Drive. Some minor speed bumps are baked-in, but they cannot stop this otherwise solid racer.

Caravan SandWitch is a gorgeous, cozy exploration game with a story that falls flat. It won’t hold a spell over you for long, but a weekend is all it needs.