For a game with a limited concept, Headmaster does succeed nicely. It sets out to do two things — providing a soccer-style game that shows VR can work with sports-themed games and throw that concept a curveball with some dark comedy. It succeeds at doing very little, and while that may sound like we’re damning it with faint praise, it really is a lot of fun to play. It’s probably the best party-style game of the launch lineup and something that any potential VR owner with a large circle of friends will want to pick up.

For anyone still having avoided or otherwise missed the original release a decade ago, a willingness to look past the temporary frustration of its controls notwithstanding, The World Ends With You: Final Remix remains, in both gameplay and story, as splendid a JRPG as it’s always been.

Tears to Tiara II: Heir of the Overlord is a more than competent SRPG.

What truly holds Concord back is its lack of identity. A story or campaign would have been a great way to showcase the world, its characters and lore, yet all of that is stuffed into the Galactic Guide that few players will probably ever read. The Freegunners and game modes are fun and mostly balanced, though feel derivative when stacked up against the already established competition. Meanwhile, map design feels safe with layouts that don’t encourage much experimentation. Concord is a good, fun game from a brand-new studio that’s currently missing its identity. It may be a bit lost in space, but Concord checks off enough boxes to hopefully chart a path forward.

Fans of understatement would describe Nobunaga’s Ambition: Sphere of Influence – Ascension as sprawling. This is a massive lump of a game that demands attention, forethought and the ability to plan for myriad different scenarios, all while balancing city and land improvements against available workers and officers. Everything on offer here creates a daunting inaccessibility that requires stubborn dedication for a neophyte to overcome.

Sportsball is a local multiplayer-only title, and should be purchased with that firmly in mind.

Dead Star is quite fun, unique and serves as a great spin on both old and new genres, but one can’t help but feel concerned about the game’s longevity.

Freedom Wars is a decidedly solid action-RPG.

Though the formula may be getting old, LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens is at least exhilarating with enough charm to make up for the lack of innovation.

Madden NFL 17 isn’t leaps and bounds ahead of what EA Tiburon was able to accomplish last year, but it builds on a very solid foundation with only a few hiccups and annoyances to speak of.

Diehard fans of the series won’t be swayed one way or another by this review, because those folks already know if this game is for them. For fans of the genre looking for an interesting take on the tried and true strategy roleplaying formula with that very distinct Japanese flare, though, Pandora’s Reflection is worth checking out.

If you can approach the game with a forgiving nature, however, there’s sights to see that will stay with you long after the small piece of willpower necessary to push on has been forgotten.

Let’s be clear here: a tightly-crafted, bug free game that does exactly what it wants to do, Ghostrunner deserves an audience. The appeal might not be universal, but the art and style behind the game cannot be ignored. It really is good, despite a personal distaste for how it handles certain elements. If a killcam is implemented to help the player learn their mistakes, then this title becomes an easy recommendation. Until then, check out the demo; it’s a good representation of what the game is. Anyone who enjoys that will have a blast with Ghostrunner. In the meantime, I’ll be applying salve to my now-wounded ego.

The story has the laughs and the charming tone is still present despite the gameplay departure. Otherwise, newcomers to the series would be better off getting Estival Versus. People who treat the single player stuff as training for the online battles, though, will have the breast time. The pace of the matches are dangerously delicious and prevent even a blowout from feeling discouraging. The constant opportunities for powering up abilities keeps the hands glued to the controller. Senran Kagura Peach Beach Splash is best played online, true, but it’s a superb experience when doing so. Assuming that the player base grows as they polish off the campaign content, this might be just the tonic for gamers that want to set aside spilling blood in favor of spilling clothes.

As it is, though, it's merely a very fun game for those willing to overlook its problems. [Oct 2007, p.55]

Taxi Chaos is a fun, flawed game that takes a lot of inspiration from Crazy Taxi, but does genuinely improve upon the formula in impressive ways. Freeroam allows players to learn the city to do a better job in the arcade and GPS-less modes, while having NPC fetch quests keeps things fresh and further rewards exploration. The available car selection is hit or miss, but most of the vehicles are fun to use and allow you to have a blast while darting around NYC. The soundtrack and voice work need work, and with post-launch updates planned, we’ll see how all of the issues related to the audio work out in due time. Taxi Chaos needs more polish, but still offers a lot of fun and it’s a must-play for anyone looking for a more modern-feeling version of Crazy Taxi.

The Marvelous Miss Take has a good deal going for it – fast-paced stealth gameplay, eminently charming visuals and a fantastic pun for a title. There’s a decent variety to the level design and new game elements are introduced at a good clip to keep things fresh. Unfortunately, it’s hamstrung by its ambitious but flawed control scheme, and while it can provide a decent diversion, it won’t do much for hardcore stealth gamers.

Anyone who enjoys racing games and owns a Switch does not have many options for games right now beyond FAST RMX. Fortunately, it should provide players with at least a dozen hours of gameplay as they work their way from the novice cups to more advanced races. Online and local multiplayer also adds some additional fun into the mix. There’s not much else to the experience, however, and some may wish that the game were a more “pure” arcade racer rather than one with additional gameplay aspects layered on top of simply racing super fast.

Cladun Returns: This Is Sengoku! is a well done throwback to adventure games of the late 80s and early 90s. Combat mechanics are not quite as smooth as they could be and the Magic Circle system is a bit more convoluted than necessary, but these minor issues do not deter from the overall enjoyment of this title. The brevity of each dungeon allows progress to be made rapidly and makes the game ideal for both extended play sessions along with just using it to kill a short amount of time, especially true of the Vita version. The customization options and additional challenging dungeons give this title a lot of content. This isn’t a game that has an excessively drawn out story and numerous CGI cutscenes; this is an old fashioned pick and play action RPG and one that fans of retro games should check out.

MachiaVillain is a provides a terribly fun concept for a management simulation game. It’s a bit rough around the edges, but momentary bits of frustration aren’t enough to turn players off from the enjoyable core mechanics. This is the sort of game that can easily be played for hours on end and feel like only minutes have passed.

Tales of the Shire: A The Lord of the Rings Game has the potential to be one of the best cozy games out there with a wonderful art style, engaging characters and an entertaining game loop. It struggles, however, with the lack of a fast travel system and overly repetitive game design. There's only so much running (or skipping) you can do before it gets grating. The mini-games like the cooking and fishing are fun, and collecting ingredients in the beautiful Shire is a great distraction to the stresses of real life. What ultimately kills the game right now, however, are how some bugs kill your progress.

Although Who Needs You provides some of the season’s most emotionally charged scenes, the episode’s inconsistency with its tone and story progression, and all-too-familiar gameplay and technical issues make for a lackluster penultimate chapter that only looks to harm the upcoming season finale. Telltale may need to find its own Eternity Forge to revive the series’ attempt at wrapping up this dysfunctional space family’s premiere story.

For all of its noticeable issues, Acquire’s risk to try something new in Akihabara pays off. Akiba’s Beat is a superb game for players who want an anime imbued, character driven experience that refuses to take itself seriously. The very enthusiasm that the makers obviously have for their subject pulses through the title, giving it a true personality that helps it stand on its own. It keeps the rhythm like me behind the drum set: the heart is absolutely in it but the sticks get dropped a few times. Fans of the Persona series and those who enjoy otaku culture and its trappings will find plenty of reason to groove to Akiba’s Beat. Just be prepared for the parts when it loses its tempo.

Expeditions: A Mudrunner Game has a lot of tidying up to do to become what it should be, but there's a wonderfully-rewarding game in there once you've learned its quirks.

Though Part One’s story does have quite a few twists and turns that’ll keep players interested, it ends too soon with too many threads left open. Doom Eternal: The Ancient Gods – Part One delivers more Doom Eternal and it can be a devilishly fun ride as long as that’s all you’re looking for out of an expansion.

Black Bird is a wonderful, sad, strange, funny, cute and bizarre shooter that can’t quite make its gameplay match the quality of everything else.

As it stands Splatoon 3 feels more like a delayed expansion than a brand new experience, but for those who just wanted more of the same old Splatoon, this will offer up more inking and splatting for them to partake in.

If you’re looking for a puzzler with a gentle difficulty curve then Monsters Ate My Birthday Cake is a good choice.