It has a well told story and the environments are beautiful to behold.

Layers of Fear 2023 stylishly combines Bloober Team’s flagship games into one beautifully terrifying definitive edition. The reimagined and drop dead gorgeous visuals built entirely from the ground up alone are reason enough to revisit these titles, but the added cherries on top are the brand new chapters that wrap all the narratives together. It’s a must play for anyone into psychedelic and psychological horror experiences, but may come off a little underwhelming for anyone looking for something truly scary.

First and foremost, Harmony: The Fall of Reverie tells a captivating story. It excels in all aspects of game analysis, from its core mechanics to its fictional & narrative involvement, artwork, and replayability. Unfortunately, visual assets are re-used too often, breaking the first-sight sense of awe. Still, it stands out in the visual novel genre. Quoting the game, "change is a long-term process," and even the smallest decisions can have huge repercussions. You can spend tens of hours playing the game and keep returning for more. We can envision Harmony: The Fall of Reverie as a compelling narrative board game; all the ingredients and the core framework are already in place. We highly recommend the game for those looking for a captivating and emotionally interactive narrative. It is a must-play for visual novel & story-driven game fans.

Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun is an excellent retro shooter that, to both its benefit and detriment, doesn't take risks. The repetitive bosses and poor communication to the player might turn some people away. However, Its tight core gameplay loop is gory and punchy, and it captures the essence of what it feels like to be a space marine in both movement and power.

While it doesn’t feel like a No More Heroes game entirely, No More Heroes III is still a fantastic action game with great combat, fun minigames, and hilarious dialogue. I’ll certainly miss the more introspective and dark story, but I look forward to more wacky adventures with the crownless king.

Total War Saga: Troy is a step in an interesting direction. The “Saga” distinction allows the team to try some new concepts without disturbing the main franchise, and it does while remaining faithful to the historic roots of its predecessors, with a dash of the fantastical. Some technical wobbles remain, and the game can be occasionally obtuse, but there’s a lot to enjoy here.

Chroma Squad isn’t particularly deep or epic, but makes up for it in heart and charm, nailing the Saturday morning antics of its inspiration and creating a cheery game that anyone can enjoy.

Silver Linings offers some fun moments, but ultimately lands on its face. However, I have all the confidence in the world that Insomniac’s Spider-Man will bounce back, either in future DLC or the sequel.

After a year of delays, the Switch version of Pocket Rumble unfortunately disappoints on multiple levels. While it has a distinct art style and some great multiplayer options, the overall lack of content and limited moveset hinder the game’s true potential.

Iron Harvest doesn’t reinvent the wheel — it doesn’t have to. Instead, the game is a celebration of the sub-genre’s tried-and-true design. It is a student of the greats that came before it, taking and presenting that core gameplay experience in a way that is familiar, but also exceptionally engaging.

Black Future '88 is a fast-paced, thrilling roguelike, but it offers little to shake up the genre’s inherent repetition. Its often underwhelming gear and lack of variety in levels makes for dull runs too often, even though its gunplay consistently satisfies. You’ll find lots of hidden depth in its upgrade system if you stick with Black Future '88 despite its uninspired structure, which is made easier by its great art style and stellar soundtrack.

The visuals are gorgeous, the goofy premise works perfectly in context, and the mechanics are an intuitive and downright rewarding use of VR. While you may need a great deal of VR callus to deal with the smooth motion of the game, Phantom: Covert Ops is VR stealth done right.

The Stretchers may not be the deepest experience, but its creativity comes through in spades, giving you a great challenge to experience with a friend. Its solo mode doesn’t function well, the game is overall fairly short, and the controls are not always reliable, but the game manages to pack so much into its runtime that you may not find yourself caring.

I was a fan of the first Swords & Soldiers’ fiery and rambunctious Viking hordes and their quest for grandeur and grilled meats, and I had high hopes for the sequel, but Swords & Soldier II wound up just being a dusty old lamp with no magic to speak of.

The game gets a great deal right and brings collectable card games to the casual player, but there are a few things that really hurt it, like the short USB cable and a finicky eye that relies heavily on overhead lighting.

While X-Men Origins: Wolverine does have a few nagging issues, there is a great deal to like here as well.

I really wish that when companies port console titles that they put some effort into understanding the PC gamer perspective.

If you just enjoy good adventure games with a heavy dose of action, then be sure to give Shattered Dimensions a look.

As a survival horror game, it doesn’t add much to the genre but as a Resident Evil game, it changes up quite a bit of things to keep the series fresh and relevant, which is something it desperately needed.

Tropico 5 Penultimate Edition is a masterclass city builder with a unique twist that drew me in unlike any other game of the genre. Some of the UI shortcomings are confusing or frustrating, but are not nearly enough of an issue to pass the game up.

Event [0] is a fun and interesting exploration game. Its use of conversation to progress the story is one of the more unique things that I have seen in recent memory. It is a little short, but the ability to get a different ending lengthens the game. While the game does feel like it is missing something in its story, the overall experience is memorable and enjoyable.

VirtuaVerse is a low cost, high content title with one of the best stories available in the cyberpunk game genre. The visuals are top tier, as is the soundtrack, and it’s very easy to get hooked on this point and click title. However, you might need a guide to complete this one, as it’s pretty easy to get stuck or lost on your objective.

There just isn’t a reason to play Carrion. There is little narrative, repetitive combat, limited puzzles, and almost zero horror elements. The atmosphere is okay and it reminds me of Alien but that’s about as far as it goes with horror. Just leave this monster stuck in the vent.

If you and a couple of friends are into a quick hack-and-slash adventure, Godbreakers has a quick fix for you. What it lacks, however, is robust combat systems and replayability. While there is fun to be had as you steal abilities from your foes, the highs wear off fast.

Forestrike is an action rogue-like where players can practice every battle before it occurs by using the Foresight. This system in and of itself is fun, but the game can’t get out of its own way with unfair balancing that punishes the player regardless of performance. Even so, when the gameplay works, it works wonderfully, with an excellent sense of aesthetics and a strong story and characters to back it up.

Without a strong multiplayer community behind it though, I would say skip the PS4 release and head straight for PC if you have the means.

Pato Box takes the Punch-Out!! fighting style and gives it a Madworld aesthetic, resulting in an unexpectedly wonderful combination. The 3D sections aren't the most exciting, but the boss fights more than make up for that. Pato Box offers an intense challenge that will put your gaming skills to the test, but also potentially frustrate you at the same time.

Sundered is beautiful, tense, and frustrating enough to make you want to throw your controller. If you can make your way through it’s overwhelming combat encounters, you’ll find a platformer that’s well worth the madness.