Towa and the Guardians of the Sacred Tree is a game with a fantastic concept that's sadly held back by factors like an unsatisfying progression system. Those who are fans of roguelikes and enjoy the character designs will still have plenty to enjoy in this title and its charming atmosphere, though, and seeing a company as large as Bandai Namco still take risks with smaller titles like this is always enjoyable in the current industry.

This magical recreation of Japan’s Akihabara District bolsters a magnitude of content and things to do, while the accessible yet rewarding combat makes traipsing through the cityscape pleasurable, feeling like a blend of a traditional beat’em up and something more like what the Yakuza series has to offer. Unfortunately, an unfathomable amount of fan-service and technical hiccups dampen the experience.

Just about every Vita feature is fully utilized and combined they offer a unique and engaging adventure. Unfortunately, the adventure is quite short and the replayablity isn’t there. Once you finish the game and find all the collectibles, the only choices are to start over or move onto the next game.

Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning is the best way to experience the journey of the Fateless One. Paradoxically, this version also feels like a relic of the past and does suffer from it. For the most part this remaster feels like playing a previous gen game on a backwards compatible console using texture smoothing, which probably isn’t too far removed from what it is. It’s still a great time and a highly-recommended game, but it does suffer from the caveat of “this is a great game for 2012.” Still, anyone willing to look past the dated menus and RPG tropes can have a blast with this action RPG.

During the later stages of Knack II, the titular hero says, “We all make mistakes. What matters is what you do next.” Knack II addresses some of the previous title’s mistakes, pushing forward the combat depth and enhancing the satisfying loop of gradually overpowering the world around the player through size management. Unfortunately too many of the past mistakes remain, including an unapologetically bland story and presentation, to have Knack’s return be justified to anyone but young players or dedicated 3D platformer fans.

Dead Island 2 is a gory adventure that offers up plenty of mindless mayhem for zombie slayers. The remnants of California make for a great playground to dismember and destroy the walking dead in every conceivable way the game presents. The beautiful, sunny environments provide a stark contrast to the reanimated rotting carcasses. But as fun as the combat can be towards the end of the story, the missions began to feel as fresh as the enemies’ flesh as the repetitive nature of the quests turn them into chores in the final hours. Unremarkable story and repetitive gameplay aside, what Dead Island 2 does well it does very well, and despite these shortcomings, killing thousands of zombies with everything the game puts at the player’s disposal can still be a great time.

There is nothing wrong about the game, though, and if you like tower defense games then Defense Technica might provide a suitable distraction for a couple of days. The experience isn’t bad, but it is one you will forget almost as soon as you finish playing it.

Mario Golf: Super Rush strengthens the core gameplay with its faster pace and strong fundamentals, but the barebones package will likely leave players wanting more. Even with the additions of Speed and Battle Golf that offer fun alternatives to the traditional mode, the lack of a reliable online multiplayer experience and a mediocre story campaign leaves little for a solo player to get invested in without some local friends to play with. Super Rush has clearly put a focus on quality over quantity, with its stellar presentation and refined mechanics making it another excellent entry in the series that diehards are sure to enjoy. But until the technical issues get ironed out and more DLC characters and courses get added on down the line, Super Rush will have a hard time standing alongside some of the Switch’s other multiplayer juggernauts.

If someone is going to borrow, there is no shame in borrowing from the best. While it’s a bit slower to start, the characters do become fleshed out and interesting.

It’s a big universe out there, filled with beautiful sights, and while it can get a bit repetitive after a while, it’s worth setting out just to see what you can find.

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.

It is still an icy tomb, but even the wrecks are rather glorious once you get up close to them (and loot them for rare books and whatnot).

If you can get past the instability and lack of aesthetic cohesion, you’ll find a foundation of smart mechanics and clever challenges. With that said, you’ll probably better enjoy those elements on your phone or tablet.

The Inner World is a solid enough adventure game that should satisfy any fan of the genre looking for a fun little title to pass the time.

The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope is a notable improvement over Man of Medan, thanks to its vastly superior plot that manages to keep you hooked and interested in the characters as you try to keep them alive. Still, the over-reliance on quick-time events shows us that Supermassive still has more fine-tuning to do when it comes to The Dark Pictures Anthology if they want it to be a true masterpiece of horror. With any luck, next year’s House of Ashes will be even better and give us an even truer successor to Until Dawn’s crown.

The base-building is nicely flexible, whether you want to make it a bare-bones production facility or something more organized with walls and doorways plus a cozy living area, and while the automation tools are fairly basic, they get the job done with minimal fuss. The platforming tools for world exploration are strong enough that, with a combination of launching from a full-speed hoverboard into a glide combined with air-dashing, Kent can frequently get to areas that should have been out of reach, especially when combined with a low-gravity environmental event. That map itself is nicely designed, albeit maybe a bit generous in advertising where the secrets are, and each biome has its own set of resources to chase after. All those raw materials then get fed back into climbing up the tech tree, which frequently involves expanding the base a bit more to fit in new machinery to process the resources in different ways and then combining it all into food, potions, tools, upgrades, and eventually the restoration of humanity. That last bit is a long way off from Kent's arrival planetside, but he's been napping for ten thousand years, so what's a few more spent in pursuit of not being the last person on Earth?

From highly customizable characters to deep and meaningful combat that has been improved over its predecessor, there’s a lot here to like, at least on paper. Unfortunately, this is only when it all comes together properly.

Overture has a lot of cool things going for it, from its pick-up and play gameplay to its catchy chiptune music. At the end of the day, however, Overture feels too by the books to leave a lasting impression.

Edge of Eternity is a love letter to classic Final Fantasy and Xenoblade games. It doesn’t live up to the level of its influences, but given the small team and limited resources, it’s an impressive attempt. The story does rely on tropes and the characters aren’t all that likeable, and while the game comes close to reaching its ambitious goals, it never reaches its full potential. It does scratch the JRPG itch and fans of the games that influenced it will likely get a lot of enjoyment from Edge of Eternity, but ultimately it’s a good but not great JRPG.

All in all, the Sega 3D Classics Collection offers a great mix of titles to suit the tastes of many.

An extra layer of polish and a difficulty level above extra-easy would have been nice, but Flyhunter Origins just barely manages to rise above its problems and become a charming, creative treat of platforming action.

It's a back and forth battle, as it's an enjoyable experience, but one that falls short of the adventure game and technological standards many have come to expect. If there was only a little bit more polish, A New Beginning – Final Cut could have been a unforgettable adventure.

Job Simulator is not best played on PSVR, but Owlchemy Labs still did an incredible job translating the game to PS4. They managed to retain the core of the experience which means folks are still set to have fun playing. It’s just a shame that the technology currently paired with PSVR (Move controller and single camera) do not allow for the complete fidelity of play required to truly make Job Simulator an amazing virtual reality experience.

Weird West offers up a world of intrigue with a terrific blend of classic Western fiction and supernatural elements, with a lot of enjoyable story bits and and a world that can change on a whim, but it’s one whose awkward combat and bugs make for a bit of an uphill battle when it comes to truly enjoying this world. WolfEye should definitely be commended for their ambition and unique ideas, and the end result is still an enjoyable game, just one that could have used some extra spit and polish.

It’s finicky, but worth your time if the concept intrigues you.

The game may stumble on occasion from a lack of earlier detailing, with narrative and backdrop never feeling best-served to those looking for a bit more story. But the free-flowing confidence and care-free nature baked into Kunai above all still marks this down as a good (not great) starting point for Metroidvania fans going forth into the new decade.

Despite the short length and minor replayability factor, Phobia Game’s debut is still a cleverly-concentrated experience. One that wastes little time on padding, even if it means its more repetitive segments are more visible to spot. It may not be firing on all cylinders, but Carrion‘s frantic, do-or-die action mixed with pleasant strides in its aesthetic make for an odd yet entertaining few hours.

Trials Fusion is basically what we’ve come to expect from the series, just with a shinier new coat of paint.