A gorgeous RPG, with expansive randomly generated dungeons, compelling combat, unique characters, and an amazing soundtrack. Teleportation across maps and within dungeons encourages exploration, and the ability to select dungeon difficulties, as well as the fact that essential game elements, such as crafting and fishing, can only be done inside dungeons creates meaningful replayability and naturally sends you crawling through completed dungeons again and again. Featuring animated comic panels, and avoiding long-winded lectures about history and lore, Battle Chasers: Nightwar is an indie game which delivers a top-tier JRPG experience.

While it’s not quite what I had hoped for, Sonic Origins is one of the best ways to play Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic CD, Sonic 2, and Sonic 3 & Knuckles. The sprite art looks fantastic in widescreen and extras like animated cutscenes bookending each game are a delight.

If you enjoy open-world RPGs with real-time action-based combat, it's definitely worth considering a purchase of the Velvet edition once it's released.

CastleStorm combines the joy of Angry Birds and tower defense games, and sprinkles in some fun fighting sections. Balancing offense and defense is satisfying, especially when you successfully complete your missions. The tone of the game is light-hearted, which makes it all the more enjoyable.

With a host of extras and the ability to play on a big screen, this is the definitive version of Part Time UFO. A lovely title with the cutest aesthetic in recent memory, you’ll be humming the theme song and smiling as you pick up and play this awesome puzzle title.

Expect to play through this game at least three times, if not more, in your quest to see everything that it has to offer. Thankfully this is a very good game, or else players simply wouldn’t spend the time to beat it again.

Mario and Donkey Kong: Minis on the Move is a great game and excels in providing challenging and enjoyable puzzles

The Indie gamer’s dream, Revita is sure to be a hit with many people. Never knowing what each run will hold makes it easy to keep going back, especially for the completionist who wants to find all of the secrets and unlock all of the things!

Splatoon 3: Side Order can be a fun and interesting take on the rogue-lite genre, but there’s simply not enough here to sustain everything the game wants you to do. There’s too much repetition here, and as a result the DLC leaves me feeling unsatisfied.

Not Tonight: Take Back Control Edition is equal parts stressful and fun. The risk and reward approach had me questioning my decisions while the perfect difficulty curve made sure I was never bored. The story is simple but effective and very fun. Not Tonight is simply fantastic in all regards.

You get a good game that seems like a carbon copy of the previous year’s edition. There’s a few improvements, a few fixes to go along with the same old issues.

If you are fan of the Persona titles, then you should have a good idea of what to expect. Just don't set your expectations too high since playing the previous Persona titles will most likely spoil you to this game and show you how far the Persona series has come.

Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden’s blend of turn-based tactical combat with stealth is interesting, but not always successful, and its story doesn’t take advantage of its unique setting. Although the ability to explore the world and sneak up on enemies adds a fun twist to the genre, it brings unwelcome complications and technical hiccups as well. I also ran into numerous performance issues, including game-ending freezes, that strained my initial fondness for the game.

Where there are some rampant online problems, Capcom Beat ‘Em Up Bundle is a nostalgic trip back to memory lane. A collection of solid titles with some robust local multiplayer and gameplay options make this one a no-brainer for newcomers or veterans of the genre.

If you've never checked out this series before, you should know that there's a demo for the original Deponia up on Steam – so be sure to check that out and judge for yourself whether this kind of game not only appeals to you, but will actually make you laugh. Godspeed, friend, and I hope you enjoy it. This is a game that deserves to be liked. I'll leave someone else to the task of actually enjoying it.

With a truly Bond like storyline and atmosphere, excellent graphics, solid sound, and fun multiplayer, EA has a winner on their hands.

You can tell sacrifices in controls and visuals are made to port this to the PSP, but if you can get past the few issues, the same excellent game we had on consoles a couple months ago can be taken on the road quite easily.

The football section of the game is flawed enough that it seriously detracts from the enjoyment of the game.

MOTHERGUNSHIP is a great FPS with some laugh out loud dialogue and a deeply entertaining gun crafting mechanic. While the roguelike elements bring the game down, it’s still a delightful little game to fire up during the AAA summer drought.

Samurai Warriors 5 is a great way for newcomers to jump into the long-running series. With a redesigned cast and amazing new gameplay mechanics, this marks a new era for the franchise.

Lemnis Gate gets a lot right when all the stars align and you're able to get into the game without a hitch. However, at least on PS5, the game has quite a few hiccups that prevent the player from ever reaching the fun twist on your run of the mill shooter.

Whether you want to get a good sweat on, or if you want to relive the major beats of the Creed films, Creed: Rise to Glory - Championship Edition provides an excellent boxing experience that is sure to get your pulse racing. It’d be nice if the game was longer, but there’s always multiplayer…

Puzzling Places delivers a delightful and mindful experience that can induce a state of flow. Sometimes, the game feels downright frustrating if you get stuck and need help to make progress. But that is part of the challenge; the beauty and pain of jigsaw puzzles. This game can keep you amused and engaged for as long as you have puzzles to solve. It is the perfect game after a long workday when you want to relax and have a pleasant time. An ideal fit for the PS VR2, Puzzling Places is a must-have for any jigsaw puzzle fans.

The Wonderful 101 is difficult to master, but the fact that it’s difficult to learn is what will hamper the progress of many would-be adventurers looking to join the battle against the GEATHJERK.

Control-wise, it still suffers a bit from the transition of the genre from PC, but it's easier to see how it can be done and done well.

I was really hoping that this would be a significant improvement over last year. Unfortunately, outside of the loading time and the Road to Wrestlemania, there's not much to recommend this game.

Mario Golf: World Tour offers little in the way of surprises, but it’s still an entertaining and accessible golf game for the masses, with a decent amount of content for the price.

It’s easy to brush aside lofty claims, but Untame has delivered the distinctive gaming experience they promised and then some.

Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen has already been released a handful of times on different consoles, and this port doesn’t add anything new. The ability to play in handheld mode is great, but this version also comes with some pop-in and framerate drops not present in other releases. Still, it’s worth it just to experience one of the most overlooked games of the decade again, or for the first time. If Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen’s stellar combat, unique class system, and treacherous world hook you, its technical flaws are extremely easy to overlook.

While the pure combat in Killzone: Mercenary is well-executed, the freedom of choice never comes to fruition, and it smacks of lost opportunity. Thankfully, its absence has no impact on the entertaining multiplayer modes which are worth returning to again and again.

WarioWare Gold is an off-the-wall title bursting with content and creativity. The 300+ microgames and myriad side modes will keep you coming back to this game time and time again, even with its lacking multiplayer and padded unlockables. WarioWare Gold is easily the best game Nintendo has released in 2018 so far, and a great addition to any 3DS owner’s library.

Remnant: From the Ashes is a tough, co-op centric third-person shooter hiding a surprising amount of depth in both its combat and narrative. Its weapons and abilities are diverse and fun to use, allowing for a variety of unique builds. While its difficulty can feel uneven, victory over a tough boss is always satisfying. Fiercely challenging even in a group, Remnant’s clever use of procedural generation makes subsequent playthroughs as satisfying as the first one.

So much fun and so well made that it completely obliterates the insultingly awful "Call of Duty: Finest Hour." This is the game that war gamers have wanted on a console, and it delivers the thrills and entertainment in ways I did not think possible.

Arizona Sunshine Remake feels like a modern VR title, despite first releasing in 2017. Though relatively short, Sunshine provides an exciting, fast-paced, zombie shooter filled to the brim with intense situations, great gunplay, and humorous dialogue. The addition of horde mode and two DLCs certainly add value, though one DLC fares better than the other. Still, as an overall package, Arizona Sunshine Remake is well worth the cost of admission.

Cosmic Star Heroine is an accessible RPG that fits very well with the Switch’s lineup. While some issues like bugs and an underwhelming story hold it back from being an RPG classic, the experience is propelled by its innovative and creative combat system and eclectic cast of characters.

If you are a hardcore fighting fan, or someone who wants to learn all of the nuances to become better at fighting games, then at least give Skullgirls a look.

The game is varied enough and contains enough special moves to give you a few runs though without feeling like complete repetition.

While it won’t hold up to the likes of Zelda, it provides an entertaining romp while the game lasts. Air combat is a blast to get involved in, and the humongous worlds are amazing to fly through.

RIGS is a fantastic foray into high-speed sports-like mechanized combat, and a great use of virtual reality as it realizes our giant robot fantasies. The long loading screens, canned animations and repetitious voice work aside, RIGS brings a lot to the table. From a fully-baked progression system, to gorgeous graphics and fast-paced and balanced play, it’s an exciting sports title. I just hope the nausea factor subsides quickly.

Puzzle Quest: The Legend Returns is a good combination of addictive puzzle gameplay and RPG character-building. While it will likely play best to fans of the 2007 original, its central mechanics are still fun, if a bit dated. Despite sometimes slow battles that don’t always mesh its puzzle and RPG sides well, Puzzle Quest is still worth a look for fans of puzzle games.

Dying Light: Platinum Edition is another impressive Switch port, but the game itself is just OK. Its design threw everything at the wall, often to its detriment. While it has some pretty high highs, they lie almost exclusively in the movement. If you do want to chase those highs you’re better off on other platforms until another patch or two comes along.

It's not that Fallen Enchantress is isn't broken like it's predecessor War of Magic–it's just that it doesn't grab hold of you in the way that a 4X game should.

If you are a fan of the classic 16-bit era of RPGs then you should definitely buy Crimson Gem Saga.

In the end, What The Dub?! has only one trick. While that trick can be and is a lot of fun to mess around with, it wears out its welcome a bit too quickly. Although text-to-speech is a great idea and sound effects are a worthy addition, the b-movie clips feel like they’re on repeat after a while, and the pacing can leave you in the lurch. I hope that the game can get some additional support, and with some additional footage maybe over time it can improve, but as of now it feels a bit hollow.

Cladun may not be the deepest RPG in the world, but it has a ton of playtime, and with short levels you can easily pick it up at any point and jump right in.

Jupiter Hell isn’t afraid to wear its inspirations on its sleeve, and it does a great job in recreating that ‘DOOM’ feeling in a vastly different genre. While the build and class diversity is solid at first glance, the lack of gameplay and level variety doesn’t provide that ‘one more run’ feeling. That being said, there is plenty for hardcore strategists to sink their teeth into should they want to master the game at the highest difficulty.

Hot Wheels Unleashed is a competent enough racer, but lacks anything to make it unique compared to previous games. It’s generally very bland, relies on loot boxes, and the AI rubber bands constantly.

NHL 2K7 really is the "Madden of Hockey." Baby steps every year that keeps the franchise moving forward slowly and steadily.

Super Rude Bear Resurrection is a tough platformer with the interesting twist of using your previous failures towards your successful run, but sometimes too slippery platforming, mediocre design and distracting companion take away from what could be a fun romp through a terrible time.

If you have enjoyed previous Sonic games but were hesitant to pick this one up because of the most recent Sonic outings, worry no more. Sonic Colors is worth the price of admission.

The intuitive map editor can add a lot of life to the game.

With very little in terms of side missions, this game is strictly a linear game. The sight gags, new story and new voice samples will make any Simpsons fan smile.

Although the game is short and there isn't much replay value, I can see myself coming back to this one over and over again because of the addictive gameplay and gritty storyline.

Tropico 6 overhauls the entire infrastructure, bringing forward most, but not all of the features we had with previous outings. A greater emphasis on transportation and simulation deepens the experience and makes Tropicans feel less like mere numbers. At its heart, Tropico 6 is still a game about building your empire and making it grow, but it’s the small mechanics that create a connection with your benevolent dictator, and help make your anarchy-prone archipelago feel a little like home.

While Sonic Origins Plus’ additions feel like they should have been in the base game, Amy is a delight to play as. She’ll have you playing these four excellent games in new ways, despite some odd design decisions. Unfortunately, the selection of Game Gear games have not aged well and are marred by some terrible sound emulation.

Ultimately I can only recommend Dissidia 012 if you really liked the first Dissidia. If that's the case then you should think about selling or trading in the original game, since Dissidia 012 is essentially the same game, only with a new story mode and a character assist mechanic thrown in.

Ghosts doesn’t leverage the PS4 beyond providing a more visually immersive experience, it stands as a more than capable bridge for the franchise. While the campaign is relatively short at eight hours and at times feels very derivative, the high points really shine and the multiplayer experience continues to set the bar for the genre.

Moving to Frostbite makes UFC 5 look better than ever in the ring. The new ground game system is a welcome addition, but some odd bugs and occasional presentation problems make UFC 5 a win, but by split decision.

The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak II feels like a game in stasis. The story starts off strong, but fails to deliver and quickly becomes uninteresting. Those who really love these characters will enjoy spending more time with them, but the combat doesn’t feel improved enough to make this feel like a significant step forward.

The move to a cloud-focused game has caused some turbulence on takeoff, and it would be good to be able to decouple from that decision with an “install-all” option, but Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 elevates the game in just about every other way. It'd just be nice if it did it more cleanly. That said, if you have even a passing interest in flight, this simulator is still the best out there.

In the end I came to the conclusion that made the most sense – Rock Band Blitz is another accessory for my Rock Band experience. When you stop thinking about it as a separate product, picking up this downloadable title just makes sense.

Oreshika: Tainted Bloodlines is a masterful retooling of JRPGs before it, and only a handful of problems hold back an otherwise excellent tale of family, honor, and reclaiming what was lost.

Amnesia: The Collection proves why it’s one of the most imitated horror games of all time: it’s also one of the best. While there’s not a lot of new content for any returning players, if you haven’t played Amnesia, now’s the perfect time to change that.

While Darknet does have a few problems, most of them tend to be more inconveniences rather than a detriment to the gameplay. The dual-layered approach to puzzles is unique and satisfying, while the games enjoyable viewpoint and challenging use of time limits come together to polish off a wonderful puzzle game.

Skylanders Trap Team’s biggest surprises lie not in its gameplay, but in how it uses sound to completely sell its gimmick. It’ll bleed you dry, but somehow, that doesn’t seem so bad.

If you are going to use it, it's an inexpensive investment that's worthwhile.

It somehow manages to make a completely stale concept feel fresh again, while providing a ton of replay value through different gameplay modes.

Rune Factory 4 is a game that you could easily dive into for twenty minutes or two hours at a time, and it seemingly never ends. There’s always one more thing you can do to improve your station in the town, or the town’s station in the world.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild’s first DLC pack, while not essential, tremendously capitalizes on the game’s fantastic mechanics.

Stray Gods is an interesting and mostly successful experiment in creating a new gaming genre, one that I am ultimately hoping leads to more refined experiences in the future. Despite a few grievances, I enjoyed my time unraveling Calliope’s death and diving into the lives of these diverse Idols, all while tapping my feet along to some well-constructed songs.

Aside from a few missteps in track selection and ambiance, GRID 2 firmly establishes Codemasters as one of the premier racing game developers around today.

Atelier Shallie Plus: Alchemists of the Dusk Sea is a remake of the PlayStation 3 exclusive, and finds a fantastic landing spot on the PlayStation Vita with all new secrets and content to explore. The game is easy to learn, fun and well paced, and provides a nice mix of JRPG exploration and battles with an item creation system that serves as the series signature. Colorful, well designed, and only slightly stilted, Atelier Shallie Plus is another great title in the Atelier line.

Rain on Your Parade has made me feel emotions for a cloud that I have not felt... well, ever! With a charming aesthetic, entertaining pop culture humor, and a wacky premise, you should play this game if you want to spend a weekend ruining a bunch of people's lives with water.

Death Squared is a great example of a game that fights you every step of the way. However, its sharp and witty narrative mixed with simple pick-up-and-play controls guarantees that you’ll have some frustrating fun with a partner. Just make darn sure to leave your best friends out of party mode if you want to stay that way.

Bugsnax’s The Isle of BIGsnax is a great reason to revisit Snacktooth. Whether you’re a seasoned journalist or catching your first Strabby on a new platform, you really can’t go wrong with this delightful adventure.

This is a solid racing game that has evolved the need for speed series and just tightened and improved upon many of the things that were left unfurnished in the last game.

Forager marries everything you love about survival-adventures with everything you didn’t know you wanted in one. A casual yet chaotic experience that’s worth a try despite a slight lack of polish.

While a little reliant on grinding near the end, Dandy Dungeon: Legend of Brave Yamada is a delightful little tongue-in-cheek RPG with a little heart and a lot of laughs. Its simple yet engrossing gameplay system mixed with fun puzzle mechanics and cute presentation make this a wonderful Switch title to play on the go.

Children of Silentown delivers a compelling story told through stunning hand-drawn graphics and spearheaded by a hauntingly beautiful score that perfectly encapsulates the feelings of melancholy and dread that pervade Lucy’s thoughts. Silentown’s unique focus on discovering notes to uncover songs which can then be used to unlock puzzles provides a new dynamic to the point-and-click genre, and despite having gripes with one of the puzzle types, I still enjoyed my time unraveling the mystery of Silentown and the monsters that haunt it.

While there are some rough edges, Project Aces has done a fantastic job overhauling the series, breathing new life into what had otherwise become a 'fish in a barrel' simulator.

Life is Strange 2 is one of the best stories in video games. It tackles a lot and handles all of it with grace. It’s emotional, evocative, heartwarming, and heartbreaking. Every choice you make matters not only to you, but also to those around you. The journey of the brothers Diaz is one you absolutely need to take.

Blue Reflection: Second Light provides an intriguing story and challenging battles despite its derivative gameplay. As such, I’d easily recommend it to fans of both anime and JRPGs.

It's technically great, but Nintendo needs to do more than repeat old ideas with its flagship franchise, especially if it wants to release not one, but three main entries in the series in the span of a year (Super Mario 3D Land released last November, New Super Mario Bros. Wii U comes out at launch).

Oxenfree is a smart, emotional adventure that feels focused and purposeful. It’s got plenty of narrative twists that lead to great “a-ha” moments, but keeps the story well-grounded in its compelling protagonists and clever gameplay moments. Oxenfree is simply well-made, endearing, and very memorable.

Play the original NFL Street, you won't notice that much of a difference.

Banishers: Ghost of New Eden is a grim and gripping tale of two lovers coming to terms with love and sacrifice. Don’t Nod have built another beautiful world to enjoy.

The online co-op mayhem is a blast, and I heartily recommend this to any new Xbox One owner looking for an M-rated way to kill time (and reams of the undead).

Those of us that lived through the Atari and original Nintendo years will find this game to be a blast from the past, but you probably already knew that if you played the web game.

Call of the Sea might be short, but it’s a highly rewarding puzzle game with a fascinating narrative that keeps getting better and better as the game slowly reveals the truth to you. It’s a fully engrossing experience that showcases the best parts of the Lovecraftian genre, but makes it fully accessible to players who want to experience the mystery but none of the horror.

The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit is a short and sweet jaunt through a young boy’s imagination. With simple gameplay but a wide array of puzzles and pieces to discover, you can easily get lost in this game.

Unfortunately for Konami, Pro Evolution Soccer 2014 doesn’t have the benefit of coming at a highly reduced price tag. Konami is working against a stream of influence and licensing deficiencies, but has failed to work what it does have into a good product. Unless you are dying to play two soccer games, or have the burning desire to customize, Pro Evolution Soccer 2014 is best left on the shelves.

Ride 4 is a racing game made only for racers. This isn’t your casual “have a few friends over, have a couple drinks and mess around” type of game like Mario Kart, it’s a picky, sensitive, intricate, realistic, and truly beautiful game. It is tough to play. It’s not friendly to new players, but to the experienced racer, it would be tough to imagine what improvements could be made to a completed work of art such as this. To them, it’s nigh on perfection.

Visceral dodged this bullet while taking serious risks that ultimately paid off. The new crafting engine is a triumph, but the cooperative multiplayer and the complete storyline that unfolds inside of it sets the bar for how cooperative play should be done. Balancing the horror between the single player experience and the multiplayer experience without damaging either is impressive.

Pepper Grinder offers plenty of fun during a surface level playthrough. Once you drill into the depths of its game mechanics, however, you’ll find an overly forgiving “casual” game and a relatively frustrating “time attack” game. That said, you can collect stickers and that’s pretty cool.

This game is for those of you that love franchise modes, but not necessarily for a pick up and play game. The gameplay problems really hurt this game, especially from the defensive perspective.

One of the most entertaining games I’ve played in a long time.

A deceptively difficult shooter, Lovely Planet Arcade mixes adorable graphics with addictive action and a great soundtrack.

WRC 9 is a beautiful game that will speak to the enthusiast. There are a plethora of modes, and the career offering is packed with plenty of ways to customize your experience. The only issue I have is I don’t see myself returning to it often because of its esoteric nature. I’m not the target audience, and while that’s okay, new players may feel a bit excluded.