Featuring an enormous roster of over 200 characters with revamped gameplay, WWE 2K18 is a solid upgrade from last year’s game.

Raiden V: Director’s Cut ends up being a shooter worthy of its history and does a good job of keeping alive gaming’s longest-running Japanese arcade shooter series.

The Etrian Odyssey series has the first-person dungeon crawler genre down to a simple art. Players looking for a challenging title that will keep them coming back with every tiny improvement need look no further than Etrian Odyssey V.

South Park: The Fractured But Whole is loaded with toilet humor and enough F bombs to make Andrew Dice Clay and Sam Kinison blush, but anyone following South Park over the past twenty years should be expecting that.

Raw Data is absolutely the game that every VR owner should play.

Stardew Valley brings a mix of farming and life simulation to the Switch and the platform is absolutely perfect for it.

Middle-earth: Shadow of War aims for the spectacle of the films, but falls short with a directionless, lore-breaking campaign.

The Evil Within 2 is a more coherent and purposeful journey, strengthened by its voyage into non-linear level design, while at the same time reinforcing the foundation with which the original’s gameplay often shined through on. That’s not to say the sequel doesn’t throw up a few too many unfair fail states — be it in and out of stealth mode — not to mention the occasional performance mishaps that show up. It’s during combat where the biggest flaw unfortunately shows itself, ultimately preventing the sequel from achieving a higher level of success.

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.

After Death doesn’t revolutionize metroidvanias, but it doesn’t exactly seek out to do so either. It’s simply a development team creating their own world and story in a tried and true format. Its self referential nature regarding the gargoyle statues gives an element of levity to the macabre setting with enough of a challenge to keep the game from getting boring without ever threatening to be frustrating through the varied seven unique areas. The well-designed boss fights are a highlight and the transformation Mr. Bones goes through from a useless skeleton to a force to be reckoned with at the end of the adventure is a satisfying process. After Death is a welcome addition to any metroidvania fan’s game collection.

Wonderful Everyday is an absolute enigma. It opens up with a route that lulls players into a false sense of security before a massive sucker punch. Fortunately, unlike a real punch, the storyline earns its sudden divergence and explains it thoroughly throughout. After completing the final route, restarting the game reveals exactly how cunning the intro actually is. Players need to be prepared for anything as they play, like power through horrific moments, but they’ll be rewarded with an amazing tale unlike any other visual novel out there.

Those who devour slice of life high school tales will not likely have qualms about playing this one. It tries to differentiate itself with the variety of character paths and manga author subplot, but unfortunately, none of this elevates the title above its peers. Instead, it stands as an easy, if predictable, read that can keep players company over a weekend gameplay session. If given the choice to spend their funds on this and something else from Sekai Project’s catalog (like the impressive Grisaia trilogy), WAGAMAMA HIGH SPEC proves a much tougher sell.

Speaking personally, Cyberdimension Neptunia: 4 Goddesses Online was a tonic I needed that arrived at just the right time. It’s pure, cheerful escapism that only wants to be fun for the player. Some might say that it tries too hard and this outing won’t change any minds. Fans will tell you that the damnable earnestness of it all lifts it up. This is also the first time that the series has managed to feel great in a true action form. Perfectly hitting every note that makes this series so popular, fans of Neptunia will have plenty to do with 4 Goddesses Online and those curious about the series should start here.

It’s rare to see a title with so much promise wasted. This is a game that needed some sort of oversight. Somebody needed to step up and explain that things were getting way out of hand with the currencies, that the mysterious appearing enemies style of challenge doesn’t fit with the mechanics as designed, that surprise instant death isn’t fun within the confines of a cover shooter. That didn’t happen. Instead of being pulled back from the precipice, MercurySteam merrily stepped over, embracing oblivion. The splatty mess that resulted was scraped up and released for Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC. The actual talent that went into this game dripped through the crack in this Broken Planet.

Inmates is a textbook example of untapped potential. It’s obvious what the developer was trying to accomplish, but was only partly successful. The ingredients for psychological horror are present but they just never come together in a meaningful way. Inmates features the grand environment that is perfect to get under one’s skin but slow gameplay, linear progression, predictable storyline and reliance on jump scares takes a promising premise and leaves it mired in mediocrity. It’s a short time investment and inexpensive, so if it sounds interesting, there is some enjoyment to be had playing through it but there’s better options for those looking for a cerebral fright fix. It’s impressive for a technical project accomplished by one person, but unfortunately that is not something that factors into how enjoyable a gaming experience is.

The Pact provides a highly compelling, Bruce Wayne-focused episode that continues to push the momentum of this season forward at a fast pace. The lack of common Telltale features may be a bit off-putting to some fans, but those eager to see Gotham’s diverse cast of characters at their best will find plenty to enjoy with The Pact.

Axiom Verge was already one of the best Metroid-style games in years and it lands on the Switch like it belongs there. The game is endlessly creative with new enemies, weapons and tools, making each new area a fun challenge to explore while giving plenty of reason to revisit the older ones. The huge, detailed bosses can seem insurmountable at first, but give up their patterns after an attempt or two, and good odds of receiving a new ability afterwards makes the fight worthwhile.

A special, once-in-a-generation type of game. Cuphead would have flourished on its brilliant art-style and visual aesthetic alone, easily. Yet what truly sets itself apart from anything released over the past ten years is how well everything else binds together. A gameplay loop that constantly throws more and more unique ideas at the player; a soundtrack that energises the maddening antics of its visuals even further; a situation that is equal-parts chaotic as it is psychologically immersive. Though it misses out on being crowned a perfect game, believe me when I say that it’s not by much. Its faults may crop up at the most pivotal of moments, but even that takes nothing away from the generally electrifying sense of joy to be found from a game of this vigor and caliber. Cuphead truly is one to cherish.

Designed to play in short sessions, Pylon Rogue attempts to straddle the line between catering to casual or hardcore gamers and doesn’t quite deliver to either. Challenging games can be enjoyable, just look at Dark Souls, Nioh or any number of NES classics, but in Pylon Rogue there is no sense of progress being made to make the challenge rewarding and the shallow, accessible design doesn’t generate enough interest to continue trying.

Once again, Turn 10 Studios proves that they’re at the top of the heap when it comes to creating impeccable racing mechanics. Car porn is a term thrown around a lot by racing game fans and Forza Motorsport 7 is just that. It’s beautiful, a pleasure to the ears, mechanically sound and just incredibly fun to play. Variety is a huge component to what makes this such an appealing and sought after series and nothing was skimped this time around. With around 700 cars to collect, 32 tracks with multiple variations of each, a diverse set of tuning and customizations and dynamic weather effects, there is enough content here to last a long time. Also, playing online will always be a highly-engaging and especially entertaining activity, having seen so many crashes and overly assertive drivers. Sure, the campaign mode won’t win over any fans and the implementation of loot boxes can be a concerning trend for the future, but they are small blips on an overly comprehensive racer. For fans of racing games such as this, Forza Motorsport 7 offers more than you can possibly hope for. It’s a top-tier racing experience.

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.

While not allowing for the subterranean trek through SR388 to fully flourish in its own individual right, Metroid: Samus Returns is nonetheless a highly enjoyable remake of one of the series’ more overlooked and forgotten entrants. With new items and gameplay mechanics added into the mix, not to mention the surprisingly tense confrontations with the many titular foes throughout, Nintendo’s own take on how Metroid 2 would and should fare in the modern age is frantic in its action but carefully balanced by the series’ slow-burning exploration. With Metroid Prime 4 looming on the horizon, the signs here at least are notably promising.

Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 was an entertaining but flawed game when it was released last year and it remains such on Nintendo Switch. If anything, this port feels like the worst version to pick up, with numerous graphical sacrifices and severe frame rate issues in the hub city whilst playing on the handheld mode. It does include the main story quests from the first game so newcomers won’t miss out on anything (even though the sequel’s story is similar), but the newly-added motion controls, while a novel idea, are far from the ideal way to play the game. The only appealing aspect for someone who has already enjoyed Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 is that this version allows you to play it on the go, but even then it’s a messy port. For those new to the series, this is a solid entry point, but don’t expect it to set your world on fire.

With a patch to clean up the technical issues, The Bard’s Tale: Remastered and Resnarkled would be an incredible value. It’s a classic title that too few people played when it was new, cleaned up just enough to be visually acceptable, sold at a reasonable price. The game itself will take around twenty hours to polish off, depending on the difficulty level chosen and the dedication employed for finding the stat boosting tokens. When approaching this title, I was fully expecting to sing its praises for being the unappreciated gem that it is. It this edition’s current state that cannot be done with a clean conscious. Hopefully, InXile will take the time to address the bugs. Should they do so, this would be a title worth recommending to any one with a sense of humor and a desire to play a protagonist that deserves every piece of grief he receives.

Despite a bit of a hurdle when it comes to difficulty at the beginning, Ruiner is quite the addictive action game, one with a lot of variety in its combat that packs a lot of experimentation into a small package. The visuals are amazing when it comes to depicting the grittiness of Rengkok, the characters and enemies are well-designed, and the speedy gameplay works exquisitely, perfectly capturing the feel of a futuristic action film. The more you get involved, the more you discover just how much of a blast it is, so give it a shot. Seriously, the ice sword alone is worth it. I love you, fox blade.

While many Total War fans might scoff at playing with elves when they could be conquering Europe or Japan with historically accurate techniques, Total War: Warhammer II is the best place for the typical gaming nerd to start. It succeeds on that long promised, but never really delivered idea of taking part in battles akin to Lord of the Rings.

Blue Refletion provides a unique twist on the JRPG format. Having the protagonist reflect on her own feelings of loss while trying to gain insight into other characters’s feelings in order to acquire their friendship is an interesting idea. The problem is the game doesn’t delve deep enough into this territory, and while this is a great design concept, it could be so much better if they took the idea further and added more depth to the characters. The mix of the real world with the Common is a good blend of environments and the gameplay in both is enjoyable but the time we spend in the Common exploring and fighting demons feels disproportionately short compared to the massive usage of cutscenes.

Culdcept Revolt tries its best to combine classic board and card games, but the execution is lacking in more complex strategies, making players feel as though they’re not building towards a strong end goal. Those interested in Culdcept Revolt will likely find the most enjoyment in competing against others online, rather than NPCs who feel as though they’re wasting the player’s time going through every motion another human player would do in full detail. With a likable cast of characters, interesting story and a wide variety of cards to create unique decks, Culdcept Revolt has a good premise that doesn’t pay off quite as well as intended.