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.