Grandia HD Collection has a few issues but in spite of these is a still a worthwhile addition to any JRPG fan’s collection. The two games are classic gems that flew under many people’s radar during their initial release but are also fun even if this is the first time playing them. There are minor modernization tweaks to the titles and some technical issues do mar the experience, but even with these concessions, having these two titles available to play on the go is hard to complain about. They show their age and have some flaws, but their good outweighs their bad and each title provides a different but memorable adventure.

With Catherine: Full Body, it feels like Atlus was trying to find an acceptable midpoint between remake and remaster. As a remake, its success depends entirely on whether or not players choose to follow Rin’s route. If they do, then the story changes at least feel justified, even if one doesn’t actually like where that story thread goes. If they don’t choose Rin, though, then the whole exercise winds up feeling entirely pointless. As a remaster, however, Catherine: Full Body is successful. The game looks and sounds great, its new remix mode offers refreshing challenges to player both old and new alike, the new safety mode makes seeing all the endings easier than ever, and the addition of a fully-featured online multiplayer is sure to keep die-hard block-stackers happy for a good long while. New players and serious fans likely won’t regret picking up Catherine: Full Body on release, but everyone else would likely be better-off waiting for a sale.

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?

Her Story is a tough act to follow, and unfortunately, Telling Lies does not hit the same emotional highs that Barlow’s previous game did. Opting to use the same barebones video player both does not make sense for this storyline and introduces an annoyance that players are forced to deal with. The story is still intriguing, but not to a binge-worthy degree. Telling Lies is worth playing for Her Story fans, but can’t quite hit those same high notes despite its best efforts.

Crystar pairs an original and compelling story with fairly average gameplay. The repetitive nature can become tedious, especially during the later parts, but the narrative concept is interesting enough to push the player to guiding Rei to the end of Purgatory. This is one of those games where the recommendation would have more to do with the level of personal interest in the story than anything else as that’s the most noteworthy feature in an otherwise good but unremarkable action RPG. The game taking place in Purgatory seems fitting since the enjoyment is a lot more pleasurable than Hell, but doesn’t quite reach the levels of joy that Heaven advertises.

But despite having the same solid mechanics as its big brother, Man of Medan starts the anthology off on a thoroughly “meh” note, thanks its unimpressive, poorly-constructed story.

Where Knights and Bikes meets the pass-mark for a sufficient, story-focused adventure title, it unfortunately falters with its insistence on a gameplay front that’s ultimately lacking and too often reliant on a repeated formula. If you can look past its formulaic moments of enemy-routing and the dead air that are its A-to-B travel, the tale being told in Knights and Bikes is pleasant enough and one that’s sure to raise a smile or two.

Panache Digital Games has created a truly immersive, lush environment that’s thrilling to explore and traverse. Utilizing our natural instincts for discovery is truly the most ingenious aspect of the game, as it rewards us for problem solving in ways that already come naturally to us. It’s such a gratifying experience to see our hominids start out with no understanding of the world, to then become fairly self-sustaining creatures thanks to education and discovery. More than anything, Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey shows us what amazing creatures we truly are and how far we’ve come as a species. Understanding our past is the gateway to our future.

Collecting the cards from any TCG series is fantastic and rewarding, but realistically not everyone can afford to participate in such a hobby. Yu-Gi-Oh! Legacy of the Duelist: Link Evolution gives players a way to access over 9000 cards by simply playing and earning them as they go along. No micro-transactions or DLC keep them locked behind a wall; it’s all wrapped up in one package. Those who love the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG will be happy to know this is an amazing experience for as simple and straight-forward as it is. It’s hard to stop playing when there’s so many cards waiting to be unlocked, a variety of modes and near endless decks that can be made. There’s no better time to duel than with the current best digital take on the TCG that is Yu-Gi-Oh! Legacy of the Duelist: Link Evolution.

Episode 4: Faith delivers a fantastic story-focused episode and sets up the perfect springboard for the Diaz brothers’ next stop of Puerto Lobos. Sean might have been battered, bruised and forever wounded by his scars, but Life Is Strange 2 charges to the finishing line with significant momentum behind it.

ERICA stands as an intriguing example of connecting players with a game through touch controls. It succeeds primarily as a technical feat and less so as a deeply-engrossing video game. If the storyline were given more time to grow then maybe it would have blossomed into something special. As is, it’s akin to a murder mystery popcorn flick. There’s fun to be had solving the mystery, but not quite enough to create a memorable experience.

Tokyo RPG Factory appears to have one goal: remind us of the Golden Years of RPGs. Unfortunately, Oninaki captures that era of gaming and does nothing remarkable with it.

Though not immune from a technical mishap here or there, the overall product may come off a little too void -- deliberately so in some cases -- but on the basis of gameplay above all else, Remnant: From the Ashes shines as a solid, at times wonderful, foundation Gunfire can hopefully build on.

Fire Emblem: Three Houses is an amazing title for new and old fans alike, with a gripping story and gameplay that can ease one in easy or start out rigorously hard for any type of player. There’s so much to be experienced in the world of Fodlan that anyone looking for a wonderful tactic RPG will be in for a fantastic time.

Metal Wolf Chaos XD is an exercise in pure Americana filtered through the cheesiest anime imaginable.

If you like the fast-paced and high-scoring outcomes much like the NFL wants its games to be, this Madden is for you. Simply put, it has an arcade feeling with simulation elements. If you’re looking for improvements to game modes, that isn’t happening even though Face of the Franchise shines at times. Ultimately, Madden NFL 20 is the most fun the game has been in quite some time, but not the most realistic and doesn’t add any evolution in its game modes.

Higurashi When They Cry is a series that continues to impress with its incredible atmosphere and multitude of mysteries. Even as these mysteries are finally becoming untangled, there’s still an immensely strong storyline keeping players engaged. Higurashi When They Cry Hou – Ch.7 Minagoroshi provides enough information to satiate fans but leaves them desperate for a conclusion. That’s coming with Ch. 8 — but don’t expect to see that release for at least six months up to a year.

Gunplay has never felt better, but the bullet-sponge nature of the enemies and lack of necessary ammo dilute what is otherwise an enjoyable game to play. Wolfenstein: Youngblood is a different beast from its predecessors. While some of it works, other aspects fall flat. Youngblood is a fun distraction with a friend, but if you want the full Wolfenstein experience, you’ll need to wait for Wolfenstein III.

There’s a certain charm Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 has that will no doubt resonate with fans; it’s just too bad it’s put together in a less-than-optimal package.

A spiritual successor to Actraiser, SolSeraph is one of those titles that goes into the file of games we really wanted to like because in theory it had all the ingredients, good ideas and influence from great games of the past, but unfortunately comes together in an uninspired way. The basic elements of Actraiser are present but SolSeraph is an homage that fails to capture the spirit of the game that made players feel like a god 28 years ago, resulting in a pale imitation. That’s not to say there isn’t any fun to be had here, as I did enjoy playing it, but it failed to reach the bar set by the game it tries so hard to emulate. Despite being a new IP, the Jay Sherman quote “if it’s a remake of a classic go see the classic” is applicable in this case.

For those looking for an extra bit of challenge — not to mention one heck of a sequel-bait left to linger right at the very end — The Messenger: Picnic Panic fits the bill of tasking players to prove their worth with every and all skills they’ve accumulated from the base game. Yet Sabotage’s care and clear love for the material they’ve already crafted is here and accounted for too with a figurative vertical slice that perfectly sums up the base game’s joyous yet formidable build of a platformer with a surprisingly witty and interesting world to match.

Dragon Quest Builders 2 is a cute, fun, deeply enjoyable and satisfying trek through a ruined world that only needs an irrepressible spark of creation to burst back to life.

Blazing Chrome is an modern take on classic run and gun arcade classics. It’s difficult to ignore the strong influence Contra had on the game’s development, but either because of or in spite of this it’s still a lot of fun to play, especially on co-op. Anyone who wants something new with the classic Contra or Metal Slug style gameplay can’t go wrong with Blazing Chrome, but even though it’s a good time, it doesn’t really bring anything new to the party.

Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers is what MMOs should aspire to, telling a story for the ages and engaging their players with evolving mechanics. It’s an exquisite adventure that needs to be experienced.

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is everything Castlevania fans could possibly want and is a great 2D action platformer in its own right. Played by someone without no familiarity with Castlevania, this is a great game that does everything one would hope from the genre, but this really is a nostalgia goody bag for Castlevania fans and because of that it’s so far my personal favorite 2019 title. The developers did play it safe with Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night and drew heavily from previous Castlevanias instead of introducing some new ideas and concepts. The result is an excellent game and it would be great to see Bloodstained grow as a franchise, adding more innovations to help balance out the heavy-handed sprinkling of nostalgia.

Super Mario Maker 2 is still heavily about the creation process, but adds great new features that make it even more enjoyable than ever before. This makes it much more of a title built for creators and players than its predecessor, even if building is still the key element. Super Mario Maker 2 is full of tons of things to do and endless levels waiting to be made. This is a must-have for fans of Mario and all of those who may have missed out on the original. It’s a creator’s dream come true with the amount of tools available and an all-around great way to enjoy Mario levels made by fans for fans. Super Mario Maker 2 improves all the core aspects that made the original fun and it hopefully lasts a good long while to see all the fantastic levels that come of it.

Dandy Dungeon: Legend of Brave Yamada is a treat of RPG weirdness and a fantastic way to let a surprisingly large number of hours gently drift away as one man’s epic quest to create gets completely out of hand.

I’m inclined to call F1 2019 the most complete version of Codemasters’ series to date. The Career Mode has some good ideas and the inclusion of the new classic cars and the F2 cars add a bit of variety to the series. If you pay for something, however, you shouldn’t need to wait to unlock it. The AI can be a killer and racing online will have you weeding through some jobbers until you gain some experience on the Super License. Running at a silky smooth frame rate and capturing the sound of the cars while not having an overly-difficult handling model makes the core game the best that it will be this generation. F1 2019 is embracing the legacy of the sport and stays true to providing a true replication of Formula One.