One Finger Death Punch 2 is an epically huge arcade two-button brawler that shouldn’t be anywhere near as good as it turned out to be, but if stick-men are going to die by the thousands for our personal entertainment, they’re determined to put on the best show possible while doing it.

Earth Defense Force: Iron Rain may be a different type of EDF but its heart is powered by the epic bug-blasting, kaiju fighting combat that has always been the hallmark of the series’ incredible combat.

The Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy is a title that everyone who loves a great well-written story should have and one that current fans can still enjoy returning to once more.

Islanders is a relaxing little builder more concerned with letting you get right to making the town than bogging you down with the details. There’s a learning curve, of course, but it’s a gentle one that lets you pick up the details at your own speed without feeling like it’s a failure when you can no longer advance.

The concluding chapters of Clementine’s journey remains as emotional and stressful as ever, but rarely feels purposeful enough to be a worthwhile finale for longtime fans. The key improvements to the gameplay and presentation sets them at an all-time high for the series, and the path AJ takes as a result of Clementine’s choices is truly impactful, but they are hindered by a lackluster cast and a meandering story that pales in comparison to previous seasons. While the real-life series of events that needed to occur for Clementine’s story to see its finale are certainly worth appreciating, it is unfortunate to see such a lengthy adventure end on such an uninspired note.

Diamond Dynasty has enough to keep you coming back for more and this is fueled by the Moments missions. The Show should always be considered as one of the top console exclusive games on the market as MLB The Show 19 is the definitive baseball game of this generation.

It’s extremely difficult to recommend Hadaka Shitsuji to visual novel fans out there due to two key reasons. The first is that the content included in the game is varied and quite extreme on occasion. Secondly, the routes are confusing and difficult to get right on a blind playthrough. The game is intriguing in its depiction of cruelty, but that’s certainly something of an acquired taste. Check the game out if you’ve got a taste for the extreme, sometimes absurd content, and an appreciation for butlers.

In terms of gameplay itself, Crafted World is a great step-up from Woolly World. It feels closer to the original Yoshi’s Island, with some brand new quirks added in along the way. Every single stage in Crafted World feels like an entirely different idea come to life, which makes it all feel like a brand new adventure the moment Yoshi jumps in. While the music is a bit of a disappointment, it’s still enjoyable and light-hearted the whole time which fits the soft adventures of the wonderful crafted Yoshi. Anyone who enjoys the Yoshi series or is looking for a laid-back platforming adventure should consider taking a trip into Yoshi’s Crafted World.

Xenon Racer is a good game that so desperately wants to be great, but it falls short in too many areas to reach that status. Cars feel a bit too weighty while tracks lack life due to low-quality trackside details. The game’s tough learning curve won’t be for everyone, but does offer a greater sense of reward than most games when it comes to making a victory feel like a true accomplishment. Unfortunately, visual problems and a mundane soundtrack hurt the overall presentation. The end result is a game that comes as a mild recommendation for racing fans until some of its issues are hopefully fixed with patches down the line.

This title is basically a celebration of twenty years of Atelier titles, and while it may not be the strongest entry in the franchise catalog, it’s a must play for longtime fans. Judging this title strictly on its gameplay merits would simply be a good game and nothing special to write home about, but the inclusion of so many past Atelier characters make this an enjoyable game for fans.

Nova Drift is a big, endless, beautiful universe of arcade combat, fusing the modern indie gaming style with the deepest roots of gaming history.

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.

Set against the backdrop of a gorgeous Japanese aesthetic, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice combines what makes a From Software title special into an excellent, solid package that fans are going to love. Death may be a constant in Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, but it’s worth getting up each time.

One Piece World Seeker may not be the game it wishes it was, but the thing it actually became is a perfect example of how much fun a mid-tier game can be if you approach it from a forgiving perspective.

Going from frustrating, to enlightening, to comical and back again to frustrating, all in such a short span of time. To incur — revel in even — all these emotions, yet still be so consistently intriguing and engaging an affair marks Baba Is You down as one of the year’s most thoughtful and entertaining releases thus far.

Some who want a deeply-engaging story for a memorable solo gaming experience may feel let down, but someone who wants competitive and team-based gun battles could easily get several dozen or maybe even hundreds of hours of enjoyment from this title. The RPG elements allow players to make their characters truly their own and allows the freedom to build within their preferred playstyle.

With so many narrative, technical and gameplay issues that pop up at almost every turn — all wound up within some of the worst third-person stealth mechanics imaginable — Left Alive is both a horridly-conceived experience and a fundamentally unenjoyable product to even attempt to immerse one’s self in.

Despite nailing the feeling of flying around in its Javelin suits and crafting a beautiful world, there’s nothing in Anthem to hold a player’s interest. It all gets old quickly thanks to bland encounters, dumb enemies, a borderline empty world and a dull story. Add to that a general sense of technical instability, loading issues, non-existent end-game and utterly boring loot, and the result is a game that feels unfinished, underdeveloped and wholly unsatisfying. Maybe check it out a year from now, but don’t even bother otherwise. There are many other games that offer a similar experience and they all do it better.

While the story feels rushed, and a couple missions could have been compressed into a singular one, Capcom has crafted a well-designed and finely-tuned structure that encourages exploration and experimentation.

Visual novel fans simply must play Steins;Gate at some point in their life. Whether it be the original or Elite is up to personal preference for the game’s initial artwork versus its totally animated visuals. Fortunately, animated scenes in no way hinder the excellent storytelling at work in the game. It expertly weaves scientific concepts, humor, drama and even horror together in one package. Thanks to Steins;Gate Elite, many more people will finally get to experience the incredible world of Steins;Gate for themselves.

Unruly Heroes is superb action game destined to go down as one of this year’s sleeper hits. Mind you, in a just world, it would be more than a sleeper. But high profile or not, this is still one expertly-crafted burst of action that surprisingly comes in many flavors. Between the absolutely gorgeous artwork, fun combat and platforming, varied gameplay, and an immense amount of charm that creates an amazing take on a classic legend, this is a title you shouldn’t miss. It truly is a case where our misfit heroes smashed their way to the top and did it with style.

The four albums’ worth of content (plus bonus EP) offer a huge amount of ape action, tossing guards around like blood-filled dodge balls in one new scenario after another and ending with a perfectly-themed final level. Combine that with its unique, iconic art style and amazing soundtrack and Ape Out is simply the coolest game with the hippest tunes 1959 can supply.

Dead or Alive 6 doesn’t make any drastic deviations from the previous titles, but adds just enough new features to feel fresh and exciting. The changes that were implemented in the training mode help make what is traditionally one of the most boring game modes enjoyable and helps a lot with mastering the fighting mechanics.

Trials Rising is a fun spectacle that puts the best of the nearly twenty-year-old series into one package.

While it may not be the first of its kind or groundbreaking, RemiLore brings the potential of even more to come in the future and starts in a great place that makes it well worth giving a try as it’s the perfect balance of challenge without being frustrating. RemiLore: Lost Girl in the Lands of Lore is a fun adventure with enjoyable dialogue and characters in addition to some great combat that makes it fun to replay again and again.

While it can be enjoyable, Jump Force’s power level is nowhere near 9000. This is unfortunate, as the concept for Jump Force is a good idea at its basic level and it’s clear the developers are passionate about the source material but the title ultimately does not live up to the idea’s potential. The story fails to really explain what’s going on and who all these characters are, but also is able to do so in a way where you don’t really care that you’re missing out on what should be pertinent information. The gameplay itself is enjoyable though not groundbreaking, and while there’s a fair amount of fun to be had here, there are more worthwhile options out there.

There are moments of tedium in Death End re;Quest, but there’s a compelling story and entertaining gameplay as well. This title doesn’t always shine, but there are flashes of brilliance when it does, in particularly adding a pinball-esque mechanic to battle. Imperfections aside, this is a worthwhile game to look into, especially for fans of other Compile Heart/Idea Factory games.

Dirt Rally 2.0 may just be the most complete racing experience of this generation. The physics and handling model will be a treat for hardcore racing fans, even if it pushes away casual racers. The improved lighting engine brings an utterly realistic and beautiful dynamic to gameplay as the cars look fantastic inside and out. Replays are truly a marvel despite some visual issues hurting the immersion. Yes, there are some things behind a seasonal DLC paywall, but that doesn’t affect what is being offered at launch. Dirt Rally 2.0 feels like the true racing game to test everyone’s driving ability.