By no means is Tales of Zestiria bottom of the pile, yet as far as all around quality goes — by which the many cogs keep this latest entry circulating; moving with swift, relevant engagement — Zestiria is perhaps the point wherein Bandai Namco really do have a franchise on one hell of a tipping point.

Components blend in such a way to entice a new player to give it more than a few runs. After the honeymoon is over, though, a game that leans so heavy into the rogue-like trappings needs to do something to maintain player interest. Regrettably, that is where this title falters.

The cyberpunk world of The Ascent seems dazzling on the surface, but much like your standard cyberpunk world, the grime underneath all of the neon and futuristic landscapes ends up revealing a hefty mess once you go exploring it. The top-down shooter gameplay is fun on a basic level, but quickly becomes monotonous as it drags on in order to keep up with the RPG-styled length and ambitions, while the RPG side of things has a good story and some nifty gameplay tweaks, but its desire to keep the gameplay focus on being a top-down shooter means that any potential when it comes to depth and variety is never fully realized. If you’re a die-hard cyberpunk fan, don’t mind a lot of repetition or have friends to join along, there can be fun here as you ascend, but the rest might be better skipping the trip up.

For better or worse, Gargoyles Remastered remains a product of its time. The remaster was handled in a way where all remasters of classic games should be handled which is add quality-of-life features like being able to save and modernizing the graphics and sound while giving the player the option to switch to the original version. The remastered graphics are beautiful and it’s like watching the animated series as game. The game mechanics are antiquated, however, and don’t hold up well. Players who enjoyed this title on Sega Genesis will find that it plays exactly how they remember it and can still have fun with this one. Newcomers who don’t have the benefit of nostalgia will likely be less forgiving of the gameplay in Gargoyles Remastered.

Dusk Diver 2 shows a notable improvement over the original by adding a second playable character to switch between in-battle at any point, but doesn’t improve the formula enough to be a must-have for anyone who didn’t love the original. The combat system has been beefed up, but variety is still in short-supply and the same environments being used throughout dungeons hurts things. The overworld exploration is the most pure fun the game offers up in its current form and it’s a shame some streamlining wasn’t done to dungeons to make them less laborious and more fun to complete.

Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Breakpoint is a good game overall. The biggest complaint is that it generally feels like a mashup of other recent Ubisoft shooters and even with some attempts at forging its own identity, it seems like a game we’ve already played recently. In spite of this, there’s quite a bit of fun to had and people who can’t enough of Wildlands or The Division 2 would likely find the same excitement here. If expectations are tempered for a familiar game that is derivative of previous contemporary titles, there’s a lot of fun to be had on Aurora in Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Breakpoint, but players expecting something drastically different and new will be looking a long time on the island.

The game provides a brief, enjoyable taste of something that deserved to be fleshed out further rather than cut short.

What I enjoyed was minimal compared to the game’s content, so it does not come with a high recommendation. But if you’re a hardcore DBZ fan like I am, you’ll still manage to find some entertainment in the game. Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot is not the best love letter written to fans, but it’s still a love letter nonetheless.

Lords of the Fallen is a divisive game that has all the charm in its presentation, but doesn’t follow through with its execution.

Maneater: Truth Quest is an enjoyable but unessential expansion for Maneater. Westhaven is an entertaining narrator but his over the top conspiracy theories just aren’t as entertaining as his documentary narration in the base game. The new missions end up falling into the same type of repetition the other missions. The new atomic shark powers are actually one of the better parts of the expansion and having a green nuclear energy ball fly from a tail whip attack was a great addition. While taking on the new sea life monstrosities provided an enjoyable challenge, Truth Quest is a necessary reason to return to the water for only the most devoted Maneater fans.

Gungrave G.O.R.E. marks Grave’s return to blasting everything in sight. Fans of the earlier entries in the series will be happy to see the gameplay has remained largely the same, which is charge into battle with guns blazing for pure action-packed carnage. Mindless mayhem and destruction can be a good time and that’s exactly what this title delivers, which works as a double-edged sword for Gungrave. Because of how basic and repetitive the gameplay can be, it’s easy to lose interest after a few levels and not find the experience of playing it fulfilling. On the other hand, there are times when it’s good to just turn the brain off and have fun, and when that mood strikes, Gungrave G.O.R.E. is just what the doctor ordered.

MXGP 2019 is a welcome addition for fans of the franchise that can looks past the legacy issues and have an excellent feel for the games. This series requires a grind to get good and competitive as players will have to play with setups, learn tracks and overcome obstacles that can hamper the experience. The Playground is the place to play and learn how to ride and The Waypoint is a great addition. The Track Editor is a much-needed mode for the series as it allows endless possibilities for riders. Having the full 2019 FIM Motocross Championship is a bonus, but this is more important to a small demographic of people. This series doesn’t get the promotion that the Monster Energy Supercross Series gets in America and also begs the question of why Milestone has two separate motocross games and why resources can’t be combined for one game?

If it weren’t for bad gunplay and aiming mechanics that have to be surmounted, Operation Blackout would be an easy recommend for the interested. As is, it does require a patient and forgiving player. Those that can find their way around this issue, though, will have a better time than the poor kid who got the Radar Rat.

Master Detective Archives: RAIN CODE feels a bit like another entry into the Danganronpa series simply without the school approach, leaving it feeling like it’s not really standing on its own two legs. The highlights end up being the investigation elements and many side quests which are the most somewhat original parts it could manage. The main story will keep players engaged, but it’s a shame it’s held back by outdated elements disguised as “humor” that only those stuck in an edgy school kid mindset could enjoy. It’s easy to see how many will still be able to look past the flaws and enjoy the overall experience, but it’s a shame they had to exist at all due to poor writing that feels as though it’s from those who never consumed anything but their own creations. For those who have enjoyed Danganronpa this will likely be at least mostly enjoyable through and through, but it’s a shame Master Detective Archives: RAIN CODE couldn’t find a good footing to stand up and feel like a truly original title.

While the ability to injure the other team by ripping a guy’s helmet off and beating him with it is attractive, it comes at the expense of the core gameplay.

There’s the potential for a beautiful journey here, but Rain seems to be too content to wallow in its melancholy to create any real engaging gameplay. All the set pieces are present for a new nonviolent darling, but with the plodding narrative, uninspired gameplay, and often frustrating camera tied to environmental puzzles, Rain combines a string of mishaps rather than a heartwarming journey to save a little girl in need of a helping hand.

So if you’re in desperate need of a Bejeweled-like to play on your 3DS, look no further. Otherwise, go for one of the similarly satisfying free alternatives.

Blackwood Crossing begins with the promise of a fantastic and emotional journey, and provides one from beginning to end when it comes to a terrific story, but in terms of gameplay, the journey ends well before we can even take a stroll to the dining car or the like. It’s just too short a trip, not allowing for enough time to make the most out of things when it comes to puzzles, challenge or unique interactions. It’s decent, sure, but sadly never gets the opportunity to be truly interesting, which is sad given the amount of potential here.

There is fun to be had and there are much worse anime titles out there, but there are also much better ones. Dedicated Naruto fans looking for fast-paced, gravity defying multiplayer beat ’em up action need look no further, but for those looking for a worthwhile single player experience or multiplayer with voice chat can skip this one.

As a whole, Wargame: Airland Battle is a bizarre mix of exciting, engaging multiplayer and an abysmal solo campaign that feels like an afterthought.

While what should be the biggest draw — the crossover and the story — falls flat on its face, Accel World vs Sword Art Online isn’t a complete loss. The actual game part of the game works well enough that players might find themselves more interested in taking on side quests and missions than working through the story campaign. Of course, Yui isn’t that great of a prize, but still. There is plenty of content with which to engage, but those looking for this type of gameplay would be better off playing Lost Song or Hollow Realization first. Those have more interesting stories and some better translation work in addition to the well-done game systems. If those have already been completed, then this isn’t the worst game for fans.

The Castle Doctrine has innovation oozing out of every pore. By combining well-developed puzzle design with massively multiplayer strategy, the game is simply unlike anything else on the market right now.

The amount of criticism dished out here may paint a negative picture, but White Shadows is by no means a terrible product and so evidently houses a clear visual style and competent-enough execution of puzzle-platforming. Yet for how little it attempts to break from tired conventions or do anything that doesn’t border on aggravating with its pacing, it’s what the game doesn’t do where most of one’s response will likely linger. Maybe the conclusion that it’s all too ordinary and forgettable is bizarrely what is most poignant. That little is offered in the other direction that’s in anyway damaging to the experience or worthy of ridicule, yet neither does anything warrant an expression any better than a figurative shrugging of the shoulders. In the end White Shadows, in all its many off-kilter interspersing of music pieces, plays things safe. A fine, if by-the-numbers entrant whose uninspired delivery we’ve all found ourselves tiredly accustomed to.

If you’ve got a few hours to kill and are looking for a cute, simple story, then KARAKARA will likely fill the void.

Over Fence has an average game on their hands with Flip Wars. There is so much potential here for bigger and better things, but for the time being, it’s fun and worthy of parties. If you’re into multiplayer games, it isn’t a bad choice at all. That being said, patience is key when waiting for matches to start and actually playing them. It has only been available for several days now so the fan-base is slowly developing. If purchasing Flip Wars, make sure you have others to play with in person or good enough internet connection to play online. The free access to Nintendo’s online connection is limited, but at least you can enjoy it with friends.

Customization to modes like Volta, career mode and Pro Clubs is a step in the right direction, but FIFA 20 does little to flesh out features like press conferences and make them have more of a real impact. Players will quickly realize how similar the interface is to FIFA 19 in several modes and will be yearning for the franchise to receive a complete overhaul. With Sony and Microsoft preparing for next-generation consoles, players can only hope that the FIFA franchise also decides to evolve and significantly revamps the single-player experience next year.

It is hard to recommend Backbreaker since there are so many problems with it, but dig deep enough and you may find a fun gridiron game at its core.

Eat Lead The Return of Matt Hazard does a good job of creating a cohesive universe. However, the game play is so poorly executed that even its best moments are not worth the time.