Grab a comfy chair, snacks and maybe even some tissues to prepare for playing Umineko When They Cry – Answer Arcs. You’ll be in for the long haul as the story twists and turns for at least fifty hours. While there were some slower story segments in the Question Arcs, there’s none of that here. Every event feels completely Earth-shattering and reveals prove utterly satisfying. Any visual novel fan out there who has not yet read Umineko When They Cry needs to rectify this immediately.

While a story or intriguing use of narrative might have only gone so far, though, Golf Story’s easy-to-grasp; hard-to-master core gameplay — that still manages to pace its teaching players the smaller details — is what will keep players coming back for more. Having them hunt down even the additional side-quests on top, no matter how zany or surreal the premise might be. It’s this unorthodox approach ultimately that gives Golf Story its unique identity and undeniable appeal as both a sports title and an independent release. While the influences are clear to see and the source material might not be entirely original, this game is wonderfully, weirdly different, but engaging all the same.

Like Hat Girl herself, A Hat in Time excels in this unapologetically confident stride it takes and is tonally all the better for it. With some interesting (at times funny) set-pieces thrown in for good measure, A Hat in Time is one of the better examples of the genre’s recent revival.

Romancing SaGa II is not without its issues, but it’s an entertaining title overall. Fans of the SaGa series should check it out just for the historical aspect of it, provided they have tempered expectations for what they will get from the experience. Romancing SaGa II has the look and basic gameplay elements of traditional JRPGs, but deviates from the standard formula with nonlinear story progression, an heir system where multiple generations continue the quest and a nontraditional character growth system. These ideas make for an interesting experience, but the game’s age shows the limitations of the execution of these ideas. Porting this title from mobile without any new updates to optimize the console experience wasn’t ideal, which shows in the text bubble interface that dominates the battle screen and in the poor controls. Anyone willing to overlook those flaws, however, can have a lot of fun with this one.

Hoshizora no Memoria -Wish upon a Shooting Star- provides slice of life fun for those who enjoy it, with a bit extra in the form of its mysterious elements and plenty of routes, but it can often become a slog to read between key moments. While the localization provided is acceptable, the multiple issues with the text typos and formatting are not. Patches will resolve these issues, but there’s so many to resolve that it will likely take a while before they’re all finally smoothed out. Most can probably wait on this release until then to get the best experience.

The poor dialogue gives way to poor pacing, which leads to confusion in story and puzzles, taking I fell from Grace from bad to awful.

River City: Rival Showdown is a safe bet for those who enjoyed previous River City games. The three day time period translates to a roughly four or five hour game, but the brevity works in its favor since it can be replayed on New Game Plus for different endings. For those unfamiliar with River City, it’s a simple beat ’em up with an RPG equipment and stat progression system. It’s as old school as they come, but with quick pacing and a sense of humor, it’s a title any retro gamer should check out. Mainline River City games haven’t drastically changed their basic formula since their inception, but if they keep making them as fun as this title, they really don’t need to.

As cool as VR Fallout sounds, Fallout 4 is simply more enjoyable on the flat screen. Despite the issues that came with the port to VR, experiencing Fallout 4 in VR is great, not so much because of how amazing it is but because of the potential that’s shown. Fallout 4 was not built from the ground up for VR, and considering its size made porting it to VR no minor task, it’s still a worthwhile title even with its shortcomings and arguably essentially for any Vive owner. Fallout 4 VR shows that a game of this magnitude can exist in VR format and if a Fallout game was built from the ground up for VR and used this as a reference point for what to improve the results could be truly astounding. As it stands, it’s clear that VR games have come a long way in the past couple of years but still have a way to go before their potential is fully realized.

Tiny Metal doesn’t copy the Advance Wars formula — it improves it. The third dimension brings with it a better way to do battle and tell where your enemies are. This change allows the tactical side of combat to flourish in a new way and one anyone who enjoys the Wars games will find it fun. It controls easily with a base controller, and while PC users can get a bit of an edge using a mouse to traverse maps, it isn’t a game-breaking issue for those prefer a pad. It’s a gorgeous-looking game with a cartoony art style that adds a touch of slapstick to battles, which remain funny thanks to voice clips that entertain until they get a bit too long in the tooth due to repetition. Minor quibbles aside, though, Tiny Metal is an excellent tactical RPG at the end of the day and one that longtime fans of the genre should check out.

Hell is Empty perfectly pays off what was built up in the first two episodes while also providing a bridge to the original series. Acting as a prequel series put Before the Storm in a tough spot, but the third episode shows that you can pull of a lofty goal like that near-perfectly. It’s a fantastic conclusion to the prequel series and a must-play for anyone who enjoyed the first two episodes. You’ll see proper payoffs to many things here, while the main game serves as a payoff for other storylines and characters introduced in this series — allowing this self-contained part of the tale to do its own thing without having to wrap up every part of the narrative.

Life Is Strange does suffer from different technical issues — much like its console counterpart in 2015 — but it’s not enough to detract newcomers from experiencing its riveting narrative in full effect. With the addition of features like Photo Mode and bonuses like the iMessage stickers, Life Is Strange reiterates why fans need to rewind time and once again step into the shoes of Max.

Floor Kids is, at its core, Tony Hawk-style action where the beat is the rail and the dance moves string together into one long trick. The art and animation are bursting with personality, and the character design is particularly excellent in that they’ve all got a solid sense of style without being over-designed. The combination of the music and art make what would otherwise be a fairly simple score-chasing rhythm game pop off the screen, lively and energetic with its own unique style.

Providing terrific arcade action, Shooty Fruity expertly blends together classic shooting galleries with much-appreciated bits of strategy, all thanks to its unique premise that has you trying to manage two different games at once. The difficulty level is always nice and fair, allowing for several different play styles and weapon combos to try, and the simple, cute enemies still put up a proper fight. Even at its most basic, it’s still a colorful blast of classic arcade fun that’s worth checking out. Odds are you won’t forget the time you blew up a sentient watermelon while successfully ringing up a purchase for a cactus anytime soon.

At the end of the day, Gang Beasts is a straight-up treat. It’s perfect for those looking for a new game to play with friends (maybe while waiting for Smash Bros. to finally come to Switch). The technical difficulties encountered are outweighed by the enormous amounts of fun to be had. Gang Beasts has so much character and moments of hilarity that it can’t be recommended enough. Gang Beasts runs $19.99 and with the promise of free new game modes, maps and other features on the horizon, it’s worth the pair of Andrew Jacksons.

It’s exciting to see a game like SeaBed receive an official English translation. After a regular onslaught of yuri nukige, it starts to feel like that’s all companies care for. Of course, we’ve seen that not to be the case in the past with releases such as Kindred Spirits on the Roof, Highway Blossoms and now SeaBed. It may not be the most fast-paced or engaging tale on the market, but it provides a distinct experience. Those looking to dive into a new yuri game can expect to swim with SeaBed for ten to twenty hours as they uncover its secrets.

Visual novel readers who enjoy relaxing with a slow-paced, sweet tale may find A Sky Full of Stars a worthy next read. Its astronomy-focused tale provides an unique take on the slice of life genre and provides characters who care about something other than the protagonist. Those opposed to censorship, however, will likely need to skip the game entirely to get their message across. With so many of MoeNovel’s peers taking the route of optional restoration patches, it’s becoming increasingly tougher for MoeNovel to justify their stance.

Tenta Shooter is a perfectly decent bullet-hell arcade game with a simple mechanic that provides nice flexibility in both score-chasing and surviving the levels. While the bullet-canceling can get you through heavy onslaughts untouched with proper use, there are enemies with attacks it can’t counter so you still need to be careful. Each level has secrets to chase after in the form of tentacle tokens, hidden in enemies that need to be defeated in a specific way to earn the drop and fairies tucked away in places even more obscure. While nobody will be ranking Tenta Shooter with the best of the genre, it’s still a fun ride, with a good balance of skill, memorization and reflex needed to clear its challenges. The porn aspect, though, just doesn’t work due to a combination of poor art and having nothing to do with the actual game, and Tenta Shooter would have been stronger without it.

While Gorogoa is one of this year’s shortest experiences, it’s still one that’s worth checking out, as it turns a relatively simple idea into one of the year’s most compelling and innovative puzzle games. Its eye-popping artwork may draw you in, but it’s the superb brain-teasers where you warp around entire worlds and a narrative that leads to some surreal visuals which will keep you hooked until it ends. You may never look at a mere four comic panels and the storytelling that can potentially occur in them in the same way again.

Okami was a high point of the PS2 era, fusing its action to an incredible art style that was years ahead of its time. It takes a bit to get moving from the opening section, but every new area is packed with things to do with little wasted space to be found and it doesn’t seem to ever stop growing. New areas bring new abilities that open up more options, both for solving puzzles in the world and taking out enemies, and there’s always something happening to pull you a little bit farther along the story. Okami HD is close to being the perfect version of the original game, sharp and crisp and beautiful in a way we could only have dreamed of when it first came out.

Even with a phenomenal world, though, the story feels boilerplate and can be downright frustrating at times, having nonsensical, poorly-established events. The combat can also be aggravating as the AI has a hard time properly comprehending their surroundings and failing to stick to a given role. It doesn’t help there’s a strong RNG element to obtaining Blades, meaning you could be stuck with a bad hand for quite some time. Still, with all of these complaints, it’s hard to put it down. With an absurd amount of content, there’s no denying there’s an addicting and alluring quality to Xenoblade Chronicles 2, which makes it all the more disappointing it turned out the way it did. It had the potential to be one of the best RPGs of the year, but instead it ends up being just above average.

Filled with half-baked ideas, repetitive mission design and the smallest explorable area yet, Curse of Osiris feels as empty and meaningless as The Dark Below. The expansion’s campaign fails to push the overall narrative forward and does little with its interesting setup, the Crucible is a mess until Bungie patches it, and the Infinite Forest feels like it needed more time in the oven. Add in some extremely-questionable business practices and you have the most disappointing expansion to hit the Destiny franchise. Though the expansion is as beautiful as ever, and the gunplay as solid as before, Curse of Osiris fails to provide Destiny 2 or Bungie with a new lease on life.

Reigns: Her Majesty is a terrific sequel that manages to top the original thanks to a few fun additions that add more strategy, a colorful cast that keeps things light-hearted, and an improved and captivating story that makes great use of its premise. And all of this is without having to sacrifice any of the innovative management gameplay that made the original a hit. It’s a quirky and enjoyable game that can easily eat of a good chunk of time before you know it, so long live this particular queen indeed!

While it takes a bit to open up, Sky Force Reloaded kicks in nicely once you’ve got a properly powerful ship and a nice selection of medals to chase after through its wide variety of levels. There’s a lot to chase after with all the pickups, powerups and bonus goodies Sky Force Reloaded throws at you, all attainable by a good combination of patience and skill. The quest to take down Scarlett Mantis and her array of multi-stage bosses is one that will take several hours of happy shooting, getting a bit stronger on each new attempt and setting the screen on fire with the broken shrapnel of downed enemies until they manage to do the same to you.

SpellForce 3 adds another entry on an already impressive list as the year comes to a close.

Dressing up as some of Capcom’s greatest characters and utilizing their weapons and abilities to destroy hundreds of zombies is a thrilling new way to experience the campaign. It’s unfortunate that PS4 players had to wait a whole year to experience this zombie-slaying adventure, but at least they’re getting a big package filled with plenty of comfort and joy.

I really wanted to like Planet of the Apes: Last Frontier. The Apes world is fascinating and a Telltale-esque game set in that universe has all the makings for an amazing experience. While it’s an awesome idea, Last Frontier’s execution just isn’t there. Hopefully Imaginati Studios and 20th Century Fox don’t give up on this idea, though. Video games are iterative and developers learn from their mistakes. While Last Frontier can’t be recommended on its own merits, its concept has potential and shouldn’t be abandoned.

Admittedly, I have a soft spot for Star Ocean: The Last Hope, but this is merely a good remaster of a flawed game. It has solid combat mechanics (that do take a little while to become a little deeper than hammering on the attack button) and Square Enix has done a solid job touching it up to be presentable on modern hardware. It was a long and unique experience when it launched in 2009, but unfortunately the remaster only reminds us of the issues that plagued it. Considering Square Enix launched the remaster at a highly-discounted price, there’s a little more value to The Last Hope, but that doesn’t change the fact that there are some baffling design choices and an infuriatingly cockeyed story tucked in. Even with satisfactory combat, there are just too many good stories out there to recommend this overly-long adventure.

DOOM VFR is an outstanding, but limited, game. The lack of arcade and multiplayer content hurts the overall package, but it does its sole purpose of replicating the campaign in VR incredibly well. The fat has been trimmed from it resulting in an all killer, no filler approach that keeps the tension and action levels at a high point that exceeds even the base campaign from the reboot. Anyone who enjoyed that and wants to play it in VR should do so if they have a Vive or a PlayStation VR.

Steep: Road to the Olympics brings enough new content to the table to make it a worthwhile acquisition for any Steep fan. The Become a Legend mode in particular adds a goal-focused narrative that so many gamers have been conditioned to crave while Japan allows the free form exploration of some nice looking snow-covered countryside. Steep was not on the smoothest course when it was first released, but the numerous tweaks and additional content have made it a more enjoyable experience overall. People who were completely unimpressed by Steep when it was first released will likely not see enough of a change to have this content change their mind, but those who were will find a lot to love in the expansion.

Party Planet succeeds at offering a lot of variety in one package, but the quality of the games wildly varies. While many are good — but also derivative of other games — others simply aren’t worth playing often due to a limited concept. Still, if you’re looking for a product to please not only yourself, but a group of friends either casually or at work, this will do the trick. In fact, it’s better-served as a break room game due to the super-short nature of some of the games. While some of the games support up to four players — each with their own Joy-Con — having them all playable with a single Joy-Con is impressive and ensures that, at worst, folks just have to take turns in a larger setting to enjoy the games.

Ode is a unique mix of platforming, exploration and music. It’s accessible to everyone and can be enjoyed by casual and hardcore gamers alike. As much as it succeeds at providing a unique experience, it also fails to scratch a lot of the common gaming itches. Ode is short enough to not overstay its welcome and simple enough for something to pick up and play when you’re in the mood for something different. It’s not a title most people will want to play all the time, but every now and then it can be the perfect title to break up the repetition of more traditional titles.

Desert Bus VR is deeply tedious but that’s the whole point. It’s not a game meant to be played seriously but rather for a charity event, which changes the rules significantly. The old Sega CD version won’t be going anywhere, but this looks nicer, the ability to have friends along adds a fun social aspect and those can help make for better charity streams and hopefully bigger donations. Plus, if you just want to get a taste of the trip, the price tag of Free is a great incentive to put in a bit of time behind the wheel. Desert Bus VR is a fantastic upgrade to one of the strangest success stories in the history of gaming and one that should help raise a nice chunk of change for a worthy cause.

Tartarus doesn’t quite deliver the experience it’s aiming for. It’s light on story, but manages to make Cooper interesting and easy to identify with. Frustrating stealth segment aside, this can be recommended to those who enjoy feeling computer savvy or are just looking for a different kind of puzzle experience.

The Nintendo Switch deserves more ports from esteemed franchise such as this, and while there are a couple hiccups in the execution, Capcom has done a solid job bringing the two games to the console-handheld hybrid.

The PC version of Injustice 2 is just as great as the console version, but currently comes cheaper on the consoles.

There’s a couple of fun new features implemented in Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, and it’s the definitive edition for newcomers, but overall there’s not enough to make it worth playing through again for veterans.

There’s a couple of fun new features implemented in Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, and it’s the definitive edition for newcomers, but overall there’s not enough to make it worth playing through again for veterans.

While it’s an indie game with issues that stem from a lower-than-average budget for its size and the bugs that come with it, RiME still captures emotion and beauty as it tells a heartwarming story. The bugs can be frustrating at times, but aren’t reason enough not to play it. Rime will run you $39.99 and takes about six to 10 hours to complete. In the same vein as Journey, RiME is a capable entry into the ranks of these emotional and heartfelt types of games.

Battle Chef Brigade’s gambit when it comes to its unorthodox blend of ingredients pays off well, resulting in truly stellar duels that reward combat skills, proper planning and strategy, with success not only delivering dishes to make one salivate, but also truly fun gameplay on all fronts. It’s one of the most unique games to pop up this year, making for an experience with a lot of charm and energy that is not to be missed.

Aside from sub-par sound design, Gear.Club Unlimited offers up an outstanding racing experience for Switch. It straddles the line nicely between offering up a sim-infused experience while keeping the on-track action fast and exciting. The amount of racing types available is impressive and the sense of progression makes it easy for a quick play session to turn into a marathon. GCU is a flawed experience but winds up being greater than the sum of its few flaws thanks to it providing a lot of fun on the track in all of its racing styles. Off the track, it’s fun to expand and customize. It’s a great-looking game and a fine showcase of what can be done with the Switch for racing games — even at an early stage in its lifespan.

Ace of Seafood is a ridiculous game in a good way. It provides players with a simple directive — dominate the ocean — and leaves it up to their skill to make that a reality. Alongside how goofy this all looks in action, it also provides a surprisingly compelling bit of gameplay to master. Of course, much of the fun is in simply finding the next creature to gain control of. It also never stops ceasing to be one of the most amusing PS4 titles to date. While it might not be the most delicious gaming dish, Ace of Seafood is yummy in its own right.

Though it pains to proclaim such a promising title as this — given how obviously ambitious its world-building stands, how undeniably strange-but-enticing its organic-mechanical aesthetic is or how inviting the otherwise isolating ambience of its sound design is — Hob may well be one of the more disappointing showings for the genre this year when all is said and done. What starts off in its first half as a platformer rife with engaging mystery and many an incentive to know more quickly devolves into a rehashed and seemingly never-ending loop of puzzles unlocking puzzles unlocking more similarly-deprived puzzles without fruitful meaning or purpose. Though it tries to maintain the facade and continually promise greater things to come, it soon becomes apparent that Hob is somewhat deprived of an end goal — interested solely in the long-distant allure than it is the up-close-and-personal meaning and value behind it all.

Fractured Mask offers some of the season’s best scenes in yet another strong episode in Telltale’s latest season. The consistency during the two hour tale leaves a little to be desired, but Batman: The Enemy Within continues to be among the best Telltale has to offer.

Skyrim offers the most complete VR experience on PlayStation 4, but it comes at a cost. While RE7 might have been done better, it wasn’t for everyone. The nausea issues with Skyrim VR are going to be an issue due to the amount of time needed for grinding and exploration. Every piece of content that’s been released is included, but it’ll be hard for fans to shell out more money for a game they already own. Nobody should have to buy the same game three or four times to get enhancements. After playing through a game of this scale, is it worth doing again especially with the threat of sickness?

By bringing Apollo Justice to 3DS, every main title in the Ace Attorney series is now readily available to fans looking to dive into court cases on the handheld. Upgraded audio and visuals make this more beautiful than ever, even trumping the work done on the original trilogy’s remake for 3DS. Fans of the series will be satisfied to know that the effort put into this remake is well worth picking it up again and players who haven’t been able to play this middle entry prior now have easy access to one of the early turning points in the series. Although it was a nine year wait, it’s more than satisfying to enjoy Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney once again looking as great as can be.

Empire Divided is a fun change of pace from the standard Rome II fare. It has decent replay value and a ton of flavor for history buffs or just people interested in history that encourages the player to do some research to understand this interesting historical period.

School Girl/Zombie Hunter had the potential to be a B-movie style good time that unfortunately is so bad that it’s bad. There are tiny bits of fun to be found among the numerous flaws, but the bad vastly outnumbers the good. Die hard fans of this type of thing could maybe give this a look if there’s a heavily discounted sale, but even then the bad gameplay will overshadow any camp value to be found. Onechanbara Z2 is actually a better alternative to this title, if that tells you anything, since it provides the same level of fan service but with better visuals, music and combat. School Girl/Zombie Hunter is basically Lollipop Chainsaw without the fun or any of latter’s redeeming qualities.

Basically, Rive is pure 16-bit action from back when console games were still balanced between the arcade and more modern-style adventures. While it’s much prettier than anything the Genesis could do, it would have been right at home with the best of that console’s library. Run, gun, blow stuff up real good and there’s even plenty of fun banter between Roughshot and the unnamed robot antagonist. The game moves at a solid 60FPS at all times, the backgrounds and settings all look fantastic, and anything that gets shot goes down hard. Rive: Ulimate Edition has a few extra bits for the Switch, such as co-op where two players can use a Joy-Con apiece to work together controlling the tank, one on shooting and the other on movement, and it loads faster and has a few tweaks to the levels, but other than that it’s the same great shooter that came out on the other consoles and PC last year. It was a lot of fun then and it’s a perfect match with the Switch, letting you get in a bite-sized round of shooting or going for a multi-hour play session depending on available time. That’s what classic action shooters do best, and despite the occasional misfired encounter, Rive pulls it off with style and an ending that leaves the player hoping that, just maybe, there might somehow end up being a Rive 2 after all.

Monsters of the Deep is a beautiful tragedy in terms of a VR experience. The visuals are stunning and it could have been a great fishing simulation, but ends up being lazy and broken. A fishing VR game is a good idea and the controls may be better with the motion controls, but trying to fish is a hassle even when a sense of consistency is established.

While it can make for an enjoyable title for younger players who can easily grab some friends and compete in short spans of time, Mario Party: The Top 100 doesn’t have quite enough to keep players coming back to it in the way any other main line entry has been able to over all these years.

Road Rage takes the Road Rash formula and fails to live up to any single entry in that series despite great advances in technology since its last entry — let alone its heyday. The racing action struggles due to poor controls, while the combat rings hollow with poor weapon selection and sub-par sound effects. Glitches and other technical problems muddy the experience further, while a lack of polish on everything makes the game feel like a cash-in on a minor “Road Rash revival” sub-genre.

LEGO Marvel Super Heroes 2 delivers on a fun time in a world made of LEGOs and remains over the top in all the right ways.

Put pure-and-simply, it’s a game that tries to win you over solely on its distorted aesthetic, but ends up losing you (and annoying you) moreso.

Star Wars Battlefront II is the epitome of taking a step forward, shooting yourself in the foot and then falling backwards in pain. It goes to great lengths to rectify the mistakes of the previous game but ends up opening a new can of worms. We finally got a single player campaign, but the story is lackluster and Iden never gets a chance to shine. There’s more content and depth, but the game is severely hampered by the lack of a progression system. What really stands out about Star Wars Battlefront II is just how terrible its Loot Crate system is, because it permeates so much of the game. DICE has stripped away an actual progression system and hidden away its contents behind overpriced microtransactions. With Credits and Crafting Parts doled out at such a low rate, Star Wars Battlefront II puts players in no-win situations in the hopes of making a quick buck. The sad thing is, there’s a lot of fun that could be had in Star Wars Battlefront II. Galactic and Starfighter Assault are fun, the game runs well, and servers are holding up, but there’s nothing rewarding to keep coming back for more. It really is a shame DICE took Star Wars Battlefront II to the Dark Side.

It’s a great game that holds up after six years, but it’s about time that The Elder Scrolls VI is announced instead of yet another release of Skyrim.

The Sims 4 on both PS4 and Xbox One is a welcome addition for the series, allowing players that might not have the PC capabilities to enjoy a beloved series. It maintains its level of quality from PC, but still needs some work in various technical areas, seeing as the mouse/camera isn’t the best and the game will consistently hitch, especially with longer play sessions. Everything that makes for a great Sims game is in The Sims 4, and with updated creation options and attention to detail unmatched by other games in the series, The Sims 4 is worth it, giving a freedom of play most games just don’t offer. It’s unfortunate that EA didn’t bring mods over from the PC community, especially with other big games doing this, but maybe later down the line they’ll follow suit. Not to worry, though, plenty of extra content will be available at launch, with four expansion and item packs coming out alongside The Sims 4 at launch, making sure to give much of the available content to console players right away.

The Sims 4 Cats & Dogs is an excellent — and much-needed — addition to an already fantastic game. The Sims has always been about living one’s best life and this grants more ways to accomplish that. This is the perfect game for any animal lover and the amount of customization in creating and interacting with pets makes for a joyous time. The new Brindleton Bay neighborhood makes for the perfect setting to get acquainted with these furry friends. Aside from some needed technical tweaking, Cats & Dogs is barking proudly as a must-have expansion for The Sims 4.

From Other Suns is an example of how VR tech should be implemented in games. The ship management portion and procedurally-generated levels make this feel like an RPG, but the rogue-lite design makes it play much more like an action arcade game. One could argue that VR is a gimmick used for From Other Suns to take a shooter that might seen mundane on a traditional monitor and make it more interesting, and while that statement may not be entirely wrong, the VR implementation works perfectly for this title. The ease of VR controls, whether grabbing items from the streamlined inventory or strapping in weapons, feel completely intuitive and natural. VR games have progressed a lot in the past year, and while they may have a way to go before becoming a mainstream form of gaming, titles like From Other Suns show that VR is a viable format for games and not just a passing gimmick.

Even with the issues that arise from massive gaps between checkpoints and a few niggles here and there, Tower 57 is still a blast, accomplishing its goal of reminding us why these types of games from the Amiga era ended up being classics. The humor that comes from the oddities of the twisted world provides endless charm, the lush environments are eye-pleasing and the combat is fast-paced, challenging and just plain fun. It’s a terrific action game worth checking out for retro game enthusiasts (and everyone else, for that matter) and one you’ll be coming back to…even if it’s just because you stormed away for a moment after a mistimed rocket launcher blast killed you right before the boss and sent you back to square one.

Telltale’s premiere season for their take on the Guardians of the Galaxy proves to be an enjoyable one, as the stellar soundtrack and combat sequences prove to be the high points of the occasionally humorous adventure. A little fine tuning from the dialogue and engine could have gone a long way, but as it is, Telltale’s adaptation of the dysfunctional space family is one worth checking out for fans of the movies or comics, or those looking for a lighthearted sci-fi adventure.

Simulacra might not be perfect, but it highlights that the found phone horror concept is one that has a significant amount of potential. For anyone looking to venture into uncharted territory with horror, Simulacra is a choice that brings a fresh, exciting new experience compared with many other titles on the market. It has a well-constructed story and demonstrates that branching narratives are built for horror titles. Kaigan Games has only scraped the surface of found phone horror, though. Should they choose to return with another installment and be able to improve on some of the notable flaws, it could end up making the real impact that it’s looking for with found phone horror on the mobile market. For now, however, Simulacra is a must-own title for any horror enthusiast. Even if it’s only for a single playthrough, it’s enough to make any player want to talk to their friend about this found phone horror title they’ve discovered.

While not the most robust of the PlayLink games, Knowledge is Power is still a fun, playable game show that family and friends will easily be able to pick up and play. Games are short, which means that it’s not something you have to dedicate a night to, but also sets you up for rematches galore. The questions are interesting and niche, which makes them harder while at the same time making you feel like you know the answer. The way they’ve implemented the Power Plays is a nice touch, allowing you to slow your opponents down in a game that’s all about speed. So if you’ve been liking the games that Sony has been offering with their new PlayLink initiative, Knowledge is Power is another one to pick up.

.hack//G.U. was a flawed but ultimately entertaining JRPG when it rolled out on PlayStation 2 and the same can be said about Last Recode. The story is adequate enough to keep you interested and it helps it’s populated with a fun and highly diverse cast of characters. Unfortunately, you have to weigh your interest for an intriguing story against the dated gameplay. Even in the later parts of the game, the combat remains stale and repetitive to a degree of anguish, with the idea of environmental variety being non-existent. There are quite a few side quests to partake in, some with their own unique quirks, but they are based on a system that will have a tough time holding your attention. It helps that the new volume concludes things in a more satisfying manner, but it should have been a more fleshed-out piece of content, especially considering it will last most players only a handful of hours. At the end of the day, if you can put up with all of the baggage, and there’s a lot of it, you’ll find a world worth venturing.

Playlink doesn’t get enough credit. At first it seemed like PlayStation simply trying to get on the Jackbox bandwagon, but they seem to be invested in the program and it’s working out well for them. Supermassive has done impressive things with the technology and thought of a new way to take advantage of it. Hidden Agenda tells a good story and is great for a fun night in with friends. It has problems in the graphics and writing areas, but it’s a fun and entertaining game in the end. $19.99 is a great value for the quality of the content throughout the five chapters and it signals exiting things to come for Playlink.

What ends up holding Sonic Forces back is that it — ironically — moves too fast to leave any sort of lasting impact, speeding through both its plot and levels in short bursts instead of leaving more time for anything to soak in. Outside of its length issues, however, the gameplay is solid, the character customization is incredibly fun and the aesthetics are impressive as always.

It’s clear, beyond the obvious limitation with resolution and frame-rate, that DOOM for Switch has had to make some restrictions. Even so, for those who haven’t yet experienced one of last year’s finest, most surprising releases, DOOM even now represents one of the genre’s finest moments for some time. Clearly those who already own the game on another platform will have to think long and hard over the novel value of having a game of this caliber on the go. And while the visual blemishes and rough edges do detract on occasion and are clear to spot, playing DOOM on the Nintendo Switch still conjures that same jubilant energy that id Software’s behemoth has long been praised for. Tainted in its visuals it might be, the heart, soul and demon-crushing ferocity of its gameplay, in the end, shines through regardless.

Don’t Stop Believin’ feels stretched out, but ultimately plays out as an enjoyable finale filled with humor and heart. If this does end up being the final appearance of Telltale’s take on the Guardians of the Galaxy, it’ll be reassuring to know that the season ended on a high note (in more ways than one), while still leaving an open door for the dysfunctional space family to return in the future.

Players with a half-decent computer and a controller will find themselves lost in a game that goes above and beyond what’s expected from the genre.

EA and Ghost Games set out to make the quintessential Need for Speed by bringing in aspects that worked in the past and has mostly succeeded. The unnecessary narrative ultimately holds the game back, but it’s a blast once the world is made available to the player. The off-road racing is addicting and the search for Derelicts could remain a mainstay with the franchise moving forward. This is much less of a CAR-PG than the previous game, as players will be able to build a great library of cars much quicker. Add to this an excellent livery editor and community features, and the core elements of Need for Speed Payback will keep fans playing for quite a while.

While Monopoly for Nintendo Switch doesn’t feel like a big enhancement of the three-year-old iteration that came before, the flexibility of options it retains does incentivize those initially put off by the game’s infamously, never-ending demeanor. Unfortunately the questionable frame-rate levels, wonky online experience, not to mention the plague of lengthy load times one can suffer through at unknown times, ultimately stop the game far short of being considered an essential Switch library addition. Charming and surprisingly effective moreso with its strategic elements it might be, the issues present will require anyone going into this to be just that bit more wary.

While the story leaves a little to be desired, Layton’s Mystery still makes for an enjoyable entry into the puzzling series. A likable cast of characters persists despite featuring an entirely new crew and the ending manages to hint at a continuation for the series branching off from this title with a plot to draw players in. Those new to the series can easily hop in without needing to have knowledge of the previous stories, but it does make some welcome nods to previous endeavors Layton has gone through. Any puzzle fan should dive right into this title when they get the chance and look forward to what Layton’s Mystery Journey brings next.

Spintires: MudRunner doesn’t make a lot of sense on the surface. Drive slow, deliver logs isn’t the usual recipe for a good time. It works amazingly well once you get used to it, though, and while there’s a learning curve, it’s one that takes place in untamed nature where you’re driving giant trucks through the mud. The terrain ranges from unfriendly to downright brutal, with rocky ground, standing water, muddy roads, and tire-grabbing ruts absolutely everywhere. Navigating this is a slow, deliberate affair, but each stretch of road (if there’s one to drive on) has its own new difficulty that makes pushing on through a good challenge rather than an exercise in extended patience. At times the overwhelming Russian-ness gets a bit much, with the grey landscapes only getting good colors during sunrise and sunset, but then a short drive by the rushing waters of a turbulent river makes it all better. Spintires: MudRunner is a giant game of trucks played in as close to a literal sandbox as possible, and while they don’t have Тонка stamped on the back, the spirit of playing with the big toys shines through.

Horizon Zero Dawn remains one of the best games of 2017 and The Frozen Wilds complements it with a decent chunk of new content. While not a necessary addition to the main narrative, the expansion adds a personal story that’s well-worth exploring.

Bubsy: The Woolies Strike Back may not be perfect, but it’s easily the best Bubsy game ever made.

The biggest flaw is that it fails to leave a major impression despite getting most things right on a point-by-point basis. It controls well outside of some camera issues and looks gorgeous. The sound design is impressive, while the soundtrack leaves a bit to be desired. The overall game isn’t a classic, but everything is done well and there isn’t much outright wrong with it.

Call of Duty: WWII is a return to form for the series and it’s clear that Sledgehammer didn’t cut corners conceiving it. There’s nothing revolutionary here, but it’s about as tight as a shooter can get and offers up several notable new features while remaining an admirable tribute to the greatest generation.

There is a lot to like in Beyond Eden, but there are also aspects that detract from the overall experience. Anyone who wishes to shy away from depictions of dubious sexual consent should definitely seek out another game. Those who can handle this sort of content in fiction can go right ahead with playing the visual novel. Sure, there are some typos and some inconsistencies, but this rarely detracts from the overall experience. Beyond Eden presents a skillfully written story with a believable cast that players absolutely want to learn more about.

Summon Night 6: Lost Borders excellently brings together visual novels and tactical RPGs. Fans of the visual novel portion may be turned off a bit by the English voice-over work, but the story itself is amusing. It may not be the most memorable out there, but it works as a slice of life with a supernatural twist. The tactical RPG portion of the game is its strongest point — and good enough to where any fan of that genre should consider Summon Night 6 to enjoy that alone. It has a much brisker pace than most and keeps the action moving when other games would have a lull. The graphics are strong — especially given it being a Vita game at its core — and the overall audio work is great thanks to a well-crafted soundtrack and strong design.

Destiny 2 has its share of issues, a lot of them to be frank, but it’s still an entertaining adventure that the developers have properly improved. The shooting mechanics are some of the best in the business, and the art team has done an amazing job in bringing this futuristic universe to realization. With that said, it’s not a monumental leap, feeling less like a sequel and more like an overloaded expansion. That’s not to mention the worlds, while beautiful, are less memorable than most of what the original game had to offer. Thankfully, Bungie and Activision have outdone themselves with the PC port. While the graphics are primarily sharper and more defined, the 60 FPS frame rate is the real game changer, ensuring you’ll never want to go back to another 30 FPS shooter. The keyboard and mouse controls also add a level of precision you couldn’t find on consoles, making this the go-to version to get. In the end, the PC release will give players a decent idea what console players have been talking about over the last three years, for better or for worse.

Time Recoil is an outstanding top-down strategy game that gives off the appearance of a top-down shooter. It has finely-tuned melee and gun-based combat that rewards fast reflexes. It’s tough and challenging, but can be conquered with patience, skill and learning the core mechanics on a deeper level. It isn’t casual, but will pay off for anyone willing to spend the time to learn its ways. It looks great — with a simple, but elegant art style that also fits its largely chiptune-inspired soundtrack. Time Recoil is a must-buy for anyone with a Switch and a love for a hearty challenge.

Mario has over thirty years of history behind him and yet Odyssey manages to mix those feelings of old titles with new ideas for a fresh take on a genre everyone is familiar with. Whether in it for a simple fun time or looking to play Odyssey to completion, there’s tons to be enjoyed by every player that will keep pulling them back for more. Mario’s trip across the world is one of pure, simple joy that simply shouldn’t be missed. Super Mario Odyssey is nothing short of a love story to the series as a whole and a title no Switch owner should be without.

Poi‘s greatest weakness lies in its sound design, but the core game is well-crated and a lot of fun. The smaller world size keeps players focused on the task at hand, while keeping mandatory collect-a-thon parts to a minimum puts a stronger focus on the platforming action. Thankfully, this is the game’s strongest point and anyone looking for a solid 3D platformer should check out Poi. It controls nearly-perfectly, with only an iffy camera causing issues from time to time. It looks solid for the most part too, with impressive lighting adding some impressive visual flair to what can sometimes be bland-looking stages.

Fashioning Little Miss Lonesome is the kind of game that is best played and not analyzed. It should take most only a weekend to play and offer them an outlandish, generally humorous tale which brings together an antisocial teen and two bizarre classmates. It doesn’t provide much substance, but comedy visuals novels rarely do. It also offers the choice between accessing or avoiding adult content for those who aren’t comfortable with that. There are better otome titles out there, sure, but there are also far worse. Fashioning Little Miss Lonesome deserves props for trying something a little different, even if it doesn’t excel enough to become memorable.

It’s hard to fathom what Ubisoft plans for this series going forward, but they should figure it out sooner rather than later, because continuing to release the core game for the Wii and ignoring the potential of the streaming service seems like a sign of regression. As for the core game itself, there’s an innovative new mode on the Nintendo Switch version, the interface is easier to navigate and the song list is decent enough, if typically underwhelming. There’s hints of Ubisoft doing the right thing, like throwing in a song or two from an unknown artist and trying out new modes, but they never see it all the way through. Frankly, it’s time for a reboot if Unlimited isn’t the future of Just Dance.

The extra year of development has helped Assassin’s Creed as a whole, as Origins is the next level for the series. It’s bigger, better and more robust than ever before, featuring an engaging combat system and surprisingly compelling side quests. That isn’t to say there isn’t anything wrong with it, though, as traversal remains clumsy, the mission structure can get repetitive and the AI can be either overly aggressive or plain dumb to the point of frustration.

Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus delivers an enjoyable action packed first person shooter experience. The alternate take on history makes for an interesting story populated by characters who are easy to care about. The characters that the player is supposed to hate are quite easy to despise since the game doesn’t hold back about cranking up their despicable level. Some sequences are hard to sit through since they don’t shy away from racism, antisemitism, animal cruelty, domestic violence and just sadistic behavior in general, but this features Nazis, so expecting sunshine and rainbows would be a naive viewpoint. Overall Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus delivers a memorable experience that isn’t afraid to pull punches to get an emotional response but still maintains the over the top action movie camp factor. Most importantly, it delivers fast paced shooting action and explosive carnage which is what people typically want from a first person shooter.

Yomawari: Midnight Shadows is wonderful, strange, scary, sad, creepy, startling and cute in equal measure. It deftly juggles a large number of emotions from one moment to the next, and if the story progress is frequently interrupted by exploring the town or getting killed while figuring out the next challenge, it never takes too long to get to the next part to be a serious interruption. If you played Night Alone you can jump right in with no learning curve, but if you missed the first one there’s only a small connecting point between the two games that’s more for fun than any level of necessary continuity. One of the things that took me by surprise with Night Alone is how the game stayed with me after it was done, getting better in memory than it actually was to play thanks to a story that made the rough parts worth fighting through. Yomawari: Midnight Shadows clears those issues away and looks good doing it, effortlessly turning a quirky one-off into one of the best new horror series in a long time.

When all of the parts are added together, it becomes apparent that Rogue Trooper Redux doesn’t quite meet the standards of modern day gaming. Instead, this is simply an underrated classic with the dust of age knocked off. Instead of making a few quality of life improvements, such as with the controls, the powers that be were happy to keep the game as is. For fans of the original title, this is absolutely great. It still manages to be enjoyable when viewed with the understanding that this is an older title. When contrasted with other remasters that took some time to tinker with what wasn’t great the first time around, Rogue Trooper Redux comes up a little short. Seemingly simple items like improved use of cover and a basic reload button would have gone a long way towards improving the experience. For fans of gaming history interested in the evolution of a genre, this release provides some much desired context for the times. People looking for a top notch shooter should realize what they are getting into before they go on a tour with the militant version of Arrested Development’s Tobias.

Elex is an unfortunate case where it appears to be too ambitious for its own good. It has a lot of great ideas, enough where it became a title of great interest when it was first announced, but the final result is something that shows promise of greatness without actually being great.

Aside from the simple fact it exists, the biggest surprise about The Mummy Desmastered is that it’s actually quite good.

For the uninitiated, Nights of Azure 2: Bride of the New Moon is an enjoyable action RPG, and while it has a strong yuri element to it, the gameplay and other aspects of the story are strong enough that it should be played even by people outside of that niche interest group.

While its longevity may be tied into just how willing players are to shoot for the highest score and go after as many achievements as possible, High Hell is a wicked little shooter that you won’t soon be forgetting. Its eye-popping visual style will draw you in, but the rapid, skill-testing and just plain fun gameplay is what will hook you. Whether you blaze through things as if you were powered by inferno-style hot sauce or take your time to poke around every corner to find new areas full of demonic oddities to ogle, there’s still a lot here for you to enjoy, so make sure to give this sinful delight a shot.

Fire Emblem Warriors pays tribute to the most recent 3DS titles that helped the series take off in recent years. While it would have been more varied if they had included more than just a handful of characters from older entries, it still creates an enjoyable action packed spin-off for new and old Fire Emblem fans alike. Fire Emblem Warriors is an easy title to pick up and play at any time, regardless if just doing one mission or sitting down to grind for a full session. Whether a fan of the series or just looking for another title to play with friends, Fire Emblem Warriors makes for a great time with plenty of content to keep players coming back for more of its perfectly-captured action.

ECHO is a puzzle game disguised as a third-person action-adventure game. The puzzle is everything and the action-adventure is exploring the lavish environments of the Palace. Backed by an exceptional story of intrigue, love and general weirdness, ECHO knows how to make the player think in more ways than one. Mirror enemies are nothing new for video games, usually reserved for boss battles or mini-bosses, but what happens when every enemy is the player? That’s where ECHO steps in, showing that the biggest challenge in life is ourselves.

Underwhelming visual style notwithstanding, Son of Scoregasm is a well-designed shooter tailored to players who have grown weary of the rut that the genre has worn into the road. The mechanics are unique and enticing while the stage design thoughtfully uses these tools to craft a compulsively-playable title. It’s just different enough to feel completely fresh while hewing to a simplicity that allows for easy understanding. This is a fantastic game for score chasers and those that simply want to challenge themselves.

Life is Strange: Before the Storm – Episode 2: Brave New World is an excellent entry in the series. It’s an emotional roller-coaster from beginning to end and an experience that will leave you with questions answered and tears in your eyes. Anyone who enjoyed the first episode, or even the original game, will love it. Seeing Chloe gain so much characterization here while also growing as a person with Amber is a minor revelation. The more grounded nature of Before the Storm remains one of the biggest advantages it has over the original game and helps it stand out tonally as well. The same visual issues abound, but the animation and overall sound design combine with the writing to make a story that hooks you at all times.

While Megaton Rainfall may have bitten off more than it can chew in regards to the stage it takes place on, the alien-fighting action is a fantastic spectacle. Buildings crumble dynamically, shockwaves ripple the earth, zippy little enemies fly out of massive motherships and I even failed a mission once when a laser cut the entire planet in half. The enemies are constantly changing, with new ones showing up all the way to the final mission, and while there are only nine missions total each one is memorable. The only truly weak part is the story, which left me hoping there’s an alternate ending somewhere I haven’t seen yet. With the size of the universe away from Earth it’s hard to imagine that all the action is focused on one little globe circling a yellow star on the outside of an arm of a pretty galaxy. More likely, though, it’s the mark of a good game that, when the fighting is done and all that’s left is score attack and Hard mode, it still leaves you wanting another epic battle against the destructive alien threat.

While the physical limitations of its content are clear, it takes little away from the intrigue and challenge Earth Atlantis generates through its fusion of explorative design with the shoot-em-up mechanics that it unquestionably pays homage to. The variety of boss designs (and the way the hand-drawn, sharp-lined visuals give them that added bold presence) and encounters are offered in just the right doses, and while they may feel at times like a chore just to arrive at, they come across as satisfying to partake in. Everything else surrounding it, if not startling or visually depth-inducing, does complement to a sufficient manner, ultimately shaping the journey through Earth Atlantis into one that can be savored but is easy enough to resume on later playthroughs.