Smoke and Sacrifice tells a compelling tale of a mother searching for answers after being forced to give up her son. While the game’s gorgeous art brings its grim world to life, its story is ultimately undercut by poor pacing and vague objectives. Smoke and Sacrifice shines in concept, but falters in execution.

Nepenthe is half as good as its source inspiration, and while it’s still in need of much more improvement, it is an ambitious first effort. While it suffers from derivative gameplay and a shallow story, it does have a unique presentation and some fine music.

Oddmar is a challenging yet fun platformer that perfectly fits the mobile environment. With beautiful graphics and defined challenges per level, it represents a bright future for mobile games.

Dillon’s Dead-Heat Breakers brings a quality and enjoyable tower defense style game in its third installment in the series. Although the story and cutscenes tend to drag, the overall gameplay is great fun. Even if you’ve never played a game in the Dillon series, I recommend giving this a try.

West of Loathing understands the stylistic charm that a unique aesthetic can provide and that stick figures are still, at the heart of everything, rad as heck. While the combat system is lacking, hilarious storytelling and a dynamic world make up a wonderful stroll through the western-styled landscapes.

The story is well written and the game flows between different action sequences and cinematic breaks that keep both gameplay and the story fresh. There are some issues with hit detection and death animations that will frustrate you at times, but the game rewards you for getting through each sequence and makes it worth the effort.

While not as deep and rewarding as the material it’s riffing on, Reverie’s ode to Zelda presents a charming trip through New Zealand folklore that’s worth checking out.

Jurassic World Evolution strikes a chord with me, and that’s evident in the amount of time I’ve sunk into it. The presentation is gorgeous, the mechanics are engrossing, and balancing your veggiesauraces and meatysauraces has never been fun. There’s a handful of bugs to shake loose, but based on Frontier’s track record I’m fairly certain that these can be shaken out post launch.

One Strike lets you take control of six different warriors as you fight to determine who is the deadliest. The simplistic yet tense gameplay will keep you on your toes. The small roster and limited variety to the modes are fun in bursts, but not for extended periods of time. That being said, One Strike is a fun fighter to pick up and play at a low cost.

By all accounts, Shaq Fu: A Legend Reborn should have been a disastrous failure. However, it ended up as a surprisingly competent beat-em-up, and its passionate charm and fun gameplay make up for its uneven humor and short replay value. Put on some Gold Bond and head to the court, because it’s time for a Shaq Attack!

Songbringer’s procedurally generated world is a double-edged sword. While exploring a unique overworld is, on the whole, rather enjoyable, the map feature could’ve done more to aid traversal. On the flip side, dungeons feel rather uninspired due to the fact that they aren’t deliberately crafted. However, the aesthetic and combat system are both incredibly strong aspects of the game that prop up Songbringer’s weaker elements. While it does have flaws, the sum of Songbringer’s parts is an easily recommendable title for fans of the genre.

Just Shapes and Beats is a simplistic, entertaining game to play alone or with friends, but is held back somewhat by performance issues and lack of level variety.

Exoplanet: First Contact has the potential to tell a great story and showcase a detailed world, but as it is now, it’s only able to show you the odd glimpse of what could be, before pulling you back into a cruel reality of buggy, simplistic combat, underdeveloped mechanics impeding enjoyment, and a swarm of bugs rendering the game unplayable at times.

Moonlighter is a beautiful game that combines simplified versions of two game types into one. It’s a novel attempt that plays it too safe on both fronts, and is held back from being something truly fantastic because of its lack of variety.

Shape of the World is a feast of color, sound, and design. It manages to be both serene and occasionally challenging, wondrous and abstract, and has surprising depth, considering that your only goals are to wander around and collect natural trinkets as you go. It's a perfect game for those who want to get lost in a minimalist wonderland of imagination.

Onrush is a racing game that strips away the commonly understood mechanics of the genre to deliver something that is both fresh and classic at the same time. And a vivacious multiplayer experience that rivals some of the big contemporary shooters of the day.

There are a decent amount of weapons, enemy types, and environments, but those are cold comforts in the face of frustrating issues like awkward weapon management, unpolished platforming, wonky enemy AI, and tedious combat encounters. A good first attempt, but the game suffers from poor design all around.

The Infectious Madness of Doctor Dekker is a reinvention of full motion video for the current generation of games. Its quirky and troubled cast gives some spectacular performances, and the text-based elements make this adventure game an excellent way to get into the genre.

Vampyr manages to deliver on its promise to make choices matter. Every decision has implications that spider out in unseen directions, often far into the future. While there are some wobbles in terms of combat and load times, the engaging storyline and premise carry this title far.

Sacralith: The Archer’s Tale is a great blend of archery and tower defense gameplay, utilizing node-based teleportation to keep it friendly for any player. While there are a few hiccups here and there, Odd Meter has given us one of the best VR archery games on the market. The RPG elements keep it fresh, and the wide variety of special arrows offer many gameplay choices. Here’s to hoping we get to see a lot more of the Sacralith world.

Youropa is a fantastic puzzle-platformer that constantly evolves. The puzzles keep getting bigger and better as they throw new twists at you. While some of the vehicle sections are a bore and the Onesiders don't feel like a threat, it doesn't detract from the overall experience too much. The game also features one of my favorite protagonists since they are just so fun to decorate. While the game may fumble in a few places, the overall experience is great and enjoyable, even if they make me kick dogs.

Everspace struts capably into a crowded field and proves itself as a vital experience worth revisiting again and again. This is the first game from the team at Rockfish, and they’ve certainly set the bar high for themselves.

Super Mega Baseball 2 brings a great amount of arcade fun to this historical sport. With great mechanics and pick up and play gameplay, the game keeps you entertained and engaged. Since there it is not an MLB game you can’t use real players or teams, but that doesn't stop the game from holding up as a respectable title.

Hyrule Warriors Definitive Edition is the best version of the Legend of Zelda hack-and-slash experience. While it does suffer from some problems the original versions had, the plentiful amount of content mixed with entertaining gameplay and colorful cast of characters make this a legend the hero of time would love.

Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection changes how we view game collections by making the match making experience streamlined instead of having us go to each game individually. The museum has an incredible amount of care put into it with even the concept art of the first game available to look through. Digital Eclipse has outdone themselves with an incredibly humbling anniversary collection.

Sega Genesis Classics boasts an amazing collection of 50 games, all of which will keep you busy and entertained for hours. Some of the games can be challenging to a fault, but that's just the way some old school games were made. The games hold true to their original forms and bring you a cartridge full of nostalgia that you can pop right into the console of your heart.

With agonizing decisions in an unforgiving Viking-inspired setting, The Banner Saga mixes strategic gameplay with choices that truly matter. At $19.99, it’s easily one of the best tactical titles on the Nintendo Switch.

Detroit: Become Human is a cinematic masterpiece, and easily the best work to date from developer Quantic Dream. It’s gorgeous, sounds beautiful, and the choices made here are impactful and introspective. Better still, the exposed underpinnings encourage repeat playthroughs just to see where all of the rabbit holes go. Come for the storyline, stay for the thought provoking look at a potential near future for mankind, and where AI might fit within it.