Archvale focuses on intense fantasy-RPG shooting action and giving the player all the tools necessary to handle it their way, and the result is a game that’s next to impossible to put down until the last arch stone is collected and even then maybe not. There’s never a bad time to test out Hardcore mode’s bigger maps and denser bullet patterns, after all.

Clockwork Aquario is a fantastic action-platformer that blends quick-moving playable characters and enemies alongside an inventive attack strategy. There’s nothing else like it on the market today — despite so many games trying to replicate arcade-style fun. The big key here is that this is a legit arcade game that has been repurposed for modern hardware and that allows it to retain what made arcade gaming so fun, while having more modern quality-of-life improvements thrown in. It plays wonderfully, looks gorgeous and is a blast in multiplayer. The soundtrack is a lot of fun, but doesn’t reach the heights of classics in the genre. Still, for anyone seeking a fast-paced side-scrolling game, there’s a ton of variety offered up here and a lot of fun to be had with Clockwork Aquario.

Despite aesthetic inconsistencies and online disappointments, WayForward and Nintendo deserve praise for bringing a solid classic to current generation play. Advance Wars 1+2 Re-Boot Camp brings all the nostalgic feelings in a fresh, new package.

One just wishes that the game went on for a bit longer, but for 600 Wii points it does a good job of delivering a solid amount of entertainment for what you might be able to find digging through your couch after you are done bobbing along to the mus

Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition lives up to the Definitive Edition moniker that it sports this time around. Everything about the game has been enhanced to another level for fans, new or old, to jump into and enjoy. The updates to the graphics and gameplay have not only made the game feel more up-to-date, but more compelling and fun as a whole. You’ve got plenty of options and routes to build your characters while on foot, as well as various options for the Skells you fight with. With the past expansions being reworked into post-game content for players to enjoy, there's plenty to do in this version of Xenoblade Chronicles X. There's no doubt that this fan-favorite game is back in its full glory and better than ever.

Ultra Kaiju Monster Rancher is a pleasant surprise that was extremely unexpected. From the recent revival of the Monster Rancher titles to Ultraman finally making an impact overseas, it’s a delight. It’s worth noting that this title is aiming to appeal to fans of the Ultraman franchise first and foremost, but there’s tons for those who have never experienced it before to love. Even the ugliest or creepiest kaiju can become endearing and lovable after spending time training them long and hard to be their absolute best. It’s a title that’s easy to get into and doesn’t require a ton of trial and error to figure everything out. Fans of giant monsters will want to consider picking up Ultra Kaiju Monster Rancher, especially if it’s always been their dream to raise them and fight against other massive and iconic kaiju.

While it would have been nice to see Centipeded: Recharged‘s leaderboard and score-reporting issues addressed in Black Widow: Recharged, the twin-stick shooting action provides a great quick-hit arcade rush. Each game lasts for a couple of minutes at most, even the best high-score run, and restarting is just about instant. The free-form arcade mode is complemented nicely by the more-structured challenge modes, and it’s easy to spend a couple more minutes playing than planned by hopping back and forth between them. Reviving Black Widow is a deep cut into Atari’s history, but it’s great to see it given a worthy sequel almost forty years since the original release.

Project X Zone is an outstanding blend of action RPGs, SRPGs, and even fighting games that tries many things and manages to do them well.

Guerrilla Games already proved once they could deliver a compelling expansion and they have done so again. Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores is a solid influx of new story, explorable locations and new gameplay elements to keep things fresh. The story builds on Aloy as a character and adds an intriguing new character to the mix in Seyka, all while introducing a great mystery and the series’ first great human antagonist. The gameplay is mostly the same, but the few new additions and the new machines add enough to keep engagements fresh. Unfortunately, the expansion ends with a lackluster boss fight, nor does it address any complaints with the base game, though as an expansion that wasn’t expected. For $19.99, Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores packs a solid amount of good content that’ll kill some time as we wait for Horizon 3.

A welcome return of Travis Touchdown. Amidst the enjoyable gameplay is great storytelling and dialogue set in imaginative game worlds. Fans of previous No More Heroes games and Suda51 games in general will find a lot to enjoy here. Going through the different game worlds watching the story unfold through an old-fashioned computer is highly entertaining and collecting the T-shirts from your favorite indie games gives treasure hunters something to occupy their time. More still, each different game level has enough variety to keep the repetitive combat from getting stale.

I wanted to like Xenoblade Chronicles 3 a lot more than I did as it has a number of faults that made me drift away from it, but in the end it’s an undeniably well-constructed JRPG that succeeds far more than it fails.

Tron: Catalyst is an enjoyable action adventure experience that allows a deep dive into a compelling futuristic world that’s an alternate look at the Disney-owned universe. While some issues keep it from being a masterpiece, the writing and fun combat experience are worth giving a try, possibly acting as an entry point into the sci-fi franchise.

Simply put, Project CARS is simulation racing done right. The subtlety of the nearly countless gameplay tweaks, combined with a robust open Career mode, makes for an experience that racing fans should fall in love with. Of course, none of this would be possible without driving that feels tight, workable and exciting, which is certainly present in droves.

Even though it’s atmosphere heavy and fairly short, its unique world and gameplay pull you in like most shooters don’t.

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment proves that the series can still go on and stay strong in its own way of storytelling. It has been created with the intention of tying in Tears of the Kingdom in a way that only improves and fills in the gaps that had previously been unexplored in detail. We gain a new perspective on all the characters involved in this war with Ganon and how everything came to lead up to the showdown with Link and the Demon King. It is a fantastic game to play if you’re a huge fan of The Legend of Zelda and are waiting for the next iteration of the series. While it may not be for everyone, it does the best it can to create a meaningful and fun experience set in the same world that we all know and love.

Rocksteady’s latest romp through Gotham City is a brief one, but something that fans of the franchise will enjoy a great deal.

Lichdom: Battlemage makes being a magic user feel properly badass, and if there’s a little bit of homework involved in creating the spells necessary for badass-dom? That’s just the price of being a mage.

The Smurfs - Dreams is a delightful platformer and a fantastic pickup for anyone who loves Mario 3D Land or 3D World. This is very much inspired by it on a surface level, but with more rhythm to its platforming action. It's a trickier game than one might expect given the license, which has usually been used in simpler, less-challenging games. It plays nicely across the board and doesn't have a lot of flaws in its gameplay beyond having a set formula that changes up based on the weapons you have access to in the stage itself and a soundtrack that's hit or miss.

Dandara‘s seemingly-impossible feat at combining elements of platforming, combat and strategy within its explorative template takes some doing and is almost an accomplishment in of itself.

With an outrageous amount of content, tons of characters and freedom to manage your farm as you see fit, few will be able to resist the allure of Story of Seasons: Trio of Towns.

Take Us Back is a well-constructed but ineffective conclusion to Telltale’s The Walking Dead series. While the gameplay and presentation remain well-suited for the final hours of this journey, the waffling narrative holds back some of the episode’s final decisions from being truly meaningful. Although Take Us Back is not the lowest point in the series by any means, having the series finale falter in these crucial concluding moments makes each misstep seem that much larger as both Clementine and Telltale’s lengthy adventures reach their end.

Fae Tactics: The Girl Who Destroyed the World is a top-notch tactical RPG and one that any longtime fan of the genre should check out. It’s great for veterans as the bright setting is unlike anything on the market today, while lapsed fans will want to try it to fall back in love with the genre. If you’re a newcomer to tactical RPGs, it does a fantastic job of easing you into the core mechanics of combat and makes it a fun story to see unfold with each battle. Having various risk/rewards systems in place encourages bold play and helps keep things fresh too. It’s a great looking and playing game with a strong soundtrack.

As a single-player campaign for Hearthstone, Curse of Naxxramas provides quite a bit of bang for your buck.

It's like candy for your eyes. [Vol 3, Issue 2, p.56]

It’s a mixed bag and the game is nowhere near perfect. Stick through the linear and less gripping parts for the first few hours, and you’ll end up with a story and combat engine that’ll hold you hostage until completion.

While Research and Destroy has a few flaws and comes across as way better when playing in co-op, it can’t be denied that it’s still a great blend of action and strategy, one that embraces classic science fiction and crafts spectacular moments of action out of it, eight seconds at a time. The thrill of successfully taking your time to eliminate a horde of supernatural by using a series of quick actions is something players will love, and has indeed made for a mostly terrific turn-based action hybrid that the developers should be proud of.

Heroes Within is a fantastic table pack for Star Wars Pinball fans.

Nantucket brings to life the golden age of whaling and the story of Moby Dick in a tight package that’s perfect for anyone who is a fan of history, a good management sim or the story of Moby Dick. Unlike other management sims, Nantucket is intuitively easy to understand, helping the player along as much as possible without holding their hand completely. It can be unforgiving, but only if the player wants it to be, as with the use of quick save/load, Nantucket shows that it can be both enjoyed for casual and more serious play. Losing time sailing the seas of the 19th century feels fantastic in this classic epic and the hunt for Moby Dick proves to be as rewarding as it sounds.