For the pure cool factor of having the last four numbered games from the original Mega Man's career in one set on a current machine, Mega Man Legacy Collection 2 is absolutely a must buy. This collection could have been so much more, though.

Considering there are untold amounts of quality gaming to be found here at a reasonable launch price, LawBreakers is an easy recommendation for anyone that truly wants a competitive game with which to test their mettle.

Tacoma doesn’t match the excellence of Gone Home in the story department, but nonetheless manages to provide a quick yet engaging adventure. The central mechanic of being able to listen in to several different discussions from a variety of different directions and perspectives makes for something incredibly fun to play with and helps provide insight into a (somewhat literally) colorful cast of memorable characters. It’s an impressive little spacewalk.

The Shrouded Isle is a perfect game if looking for something quick and easy to play. With simple mechanics that only require the pointing and clicking of a mouse, a narrative that is heavy handed but deeply satirical, it’s easy to get on board. The Shrouded Isle doesn’t ask a lot from the player because it knows it’s delivering a finite ending. The beauty is that each game is relatively quick and the longest it takes to close out the three years is a little over half an hour. It would be nice if it was accompanied by a few more menus or ways to look back on certain stats but it doesn’t hinder the game. Who knew being the High Priest of a sacrificial cult could be so fun?

Redeemer is at its best when being a brawler, which it does most of the time. Guns are nice to take out the small fry and leave room to concentrate on the bigger threats, and the occasional trapped room is best bulled through and forgotten, but when you’ve got a room full of enemies of different abilities and are darting about, looking for environment kills or things to throw while performing counters and working on chaining attacks together the combat flows incredibly well. Heading into a room, assessing threats, coming up with a plan, and adjusting it on the fly to pound cyborgs and mutants into the floor feels great, especially when you fall into the fight’s rhythm and come out with barely a scratch. At the end the difficulty increases by enemies that take a few too many hits to go down, frequently joined by armored sniper that require you to keep moving rather work on offense, but by then you’re almost done and can push on through to the final encounter. Ignore the story and show up for the fighting and Redeemer provides a nice, long quest with plenty of unique areas to wreak bloody violence through.

Skeleton Boomerang is a challenging 2D platformer with a lovely variety of levels, weapon variations and goofy enemies to battle against. There are times when design decisions negatively impact play, such as the choice to work with a cramped square screen resolution in the widescreen era. There are a few glitches as well, though nothing that likely can’t be ironed out with a patch or two. With that out of the way, you’re left with a charming — and tough — game with an awesome weapon to use in Hunter’s quest against evil.

The arcade ports are proper versions of the included games and the addition of Pac-Man Vs. and the ability to get the full multiplayer experience over two Switches with just one copy of Namco Museum is nice.

There is a reason that Aksys website for this game doesn’t stress that this is an otome as the story is engaging for visual novel fans of all types. Collar X Malice is a well-crafted title that leans hard on its mystery and creates a sense of foreboding while keeping it from becoming too much. Idea Factory walked a fine line here and ended up with a cool, stylish experience for anyone that just wants to chill in an easy chair with a cool story.

Tell a Demon is a haunting visual novel which makes readers yearn for more. With sixteen endings in all the short single-game length can be forgiven due to the high replayability factor. Still, it feels that we’ll need to wait for an entirely new game in the series to really grasp all the goings on in this one. There’s a lot to like about Tell a Demon due to the obvious care it received in regards to storytelling, editing, visuals and audio. Visual novel fans looking for something different will find it here.

The Darkside Detective is a charming point and click adventure with a taste for the sillier aspects of horror. Expect to see references to 80s and 90s pop culture while solving cases alongside the Darkside Division’s finest. It’s not the sort of game likely to stump players with inane item puzzles and that’s a good thing. Some changes could have been made to further streamline the experience, but it works well enough without them. Hopefully this is not the last we see of McQueen and Dooley.

If you love adventure games and have yet to play The Lion’s Song then jump aboard as soon as possible. Those who don’t dabble in the genre due to challenging puzzle gameplay should also take notice given the relatively simplistic gameplay here. Finally, anyone who loves to be taken for an emotional ride will absolutely get that by playing through all four episodes. Whether you opt to play on Steam or mobile you’ll be in for a splendid storytelling experience with The Lion’s Song.

Lionheart gets a couple things right, but overall results in a rather forgettable and generic experience. The best comparison I make to the game is vanilla ice cream; it’s not something that is going to cause a visceral reaction of outright disgust and repulsion, but it isn’t anything to get excited about it. The dialogue between characters is entertaining and does provide some distraction to how lackluster the story is. The combat is fun, but because of how formulaic each dungeon is going through one or two of them in a sitting is plenty. It’s a mediocre game that wouldn’t bring about buyer’s remorse, but also isn’t a must-play. This is an ideal title for people who revel in the idea of being entertained by snarky character banter enough to settle for average gameplay — approximately 50-100 hours of it. For those who enjoy JRPGs and visual novels, this may be an enjoyable experience that provides a good bang for the buck, but this title does not excel on either front.

Sundered has the basic foundation for a metroidvania/roguelike hybrid down pat, but its poor handling of enemy distribution and the otherwise fine combat that comes with it sadly drags it down. If you’re willing to make it past several hours of brutal horde attacks, there’s a gorgeous and well-crafted action-platformer to enjoy, but those turned off by lengthy grinding or chases through barrages of enemies had best look somewhere else. There’s fun to be had, yes, but you may not have as much of it as you hope for from this cosmic horror.

Dream Daddy: A Dad Dating Simulator has ample promise and a lot of heart, but wasn’t given enough time to grow. Most of the dads are lovely to get to know and worth dating. Players want to spend more time with these guys, but only get three relatively brief dates to whet their appetite. Then there’s the fact that it doesn’t yet feel finished due to a fair share of typographical issues, mishmash of art styles and the amount of gameplay bugs still impacting the experience. Once patches go out these latter issues should be resolved, but nothing short of DLC or a sequel will bring players more time with the cast of dads who simply weren’t given enough time in the spotlight to really shine.

Yukie: A Japanese Winter Fairy Tale is a relatively short and unusual narrative tale that most players should be able to complete in three to five hours. Along the way they’ll hone their samurai senses as they fight enemies based on sound alone. They might get a little tripped up due to the storyline’s presentation at times, though. Fortunately, this isn’t a particularly complex tale. It provides a clear objective and a few twists and turns to keep the progression interesting. Those who find themselves intrigued may wish to seek out the Japanese legend of Yuki-onna as this game appears to be inspired by it.

Pyre represents another solid effort from Supergiant, as the awe-inspiring world, both in terms of design and depth, coupled with a lovable cast of heroes and villains, continue the studio’s renowned streak for titles with big heart and unique gameplay. The repetitive and overly-lengthy nature of the campaign, as well as a lackluster versus mode, holds the title back from reaching the same heights as its predecessors, but those looking for an original universe and an uplifting tale will be hard-pressed to find a deeper and better-looking game this year.

The final product is greater than the sum of its parts, though, and anyone seeking a fast-paced 3D action-platformer will be thrilled with Super Cloudbuilt.

Splatoon 2 recaptures every moment of enjoyment of the original while finding room to add even more. Whether it's the challenging single player or the revitalized multiplayer, Splatoon 2 does a phenomenal job at making itself more than a minor upgrade.

MotoGP 17 is a game that looks great on paper, but only manages to do enough to please the hardcore fan of the series.

One cannot comprehend who Yonder: The Cloud Catcher Chronicles is meant to serve. Exploration is a chore based on frame rate issues and less-than-stellar graphics. Questing sucks because there is no real sense of progress or accomplishment. Farming and crafting is similarly pointless as there just isn’t a heck of a lot to do. I will confess to giving up after only a couple of hours in hopes that I was the recipient of Alpha code.

While what should be the biggest draw — the crossover and the story — falls flat on its face, Accel World vs Sword Art Online isn’t a complete loss. The actual game part of the game works well enough that players might find themselves more interested in taking on side quests and missions than working through the story campaign. Of course, Yui isn’t that great of a prize, but still. There is plenty of content with which to engage, but those looking for this type of gameplay would be better off playing Lost Song or Hollow Realization first. Those have more interesting stories and some better translation work in addition to the well-done game systems. If those have already been completed, then this isn’t the worst game for fans.

While a bit slow to get going, there’s a great amount of variety in Iron Crypticle once the action heats up. Monsters come in all shapes, sizes and attack patterns, and if not all of them are directly harmful, then being rooted to the spot for two seconds can be just as maddening as taking a hit. The food combo clock is always ticking, pushing you to kill and collect faster to get the necessary power-ups to survive the later areas, although if you can’t quite manage that then you can still get by from exploiting the weapon drops. The dungeon is filled with events, rooms, and diversions, and unlocking everything in the Ledger will require surviving everything it can throw at you. There are secrets to uncover, scoring bonuses to maximize, a kingdom’s treasure to retrieve and the princess is down there somewhere too. It’s a tough job for the knights of Iron Crypticle, but it beats sitting on their rusting armored butts listening to the rain on a dark and stormy night.

What’s great about That’s You right now is that it’s free for PlayStation Plus members. It’ll jump to $19.99 starting on October 24, a steep price compared to the Jackbox Party Pack, which costs $24.99 and comes with a plethora of games, but it’s worth it for those who get in right now. The graphics are great, as they should be since there’s not a lot going on visually, the narration is funny and the mini-games allow for a ton of natural comedy. It’s also the first of the PlayLink games, so if this is just the beginning, then it’s a good sign. That’s You is easy for everyone to get in on at parties or just when hanging out with friends and shows the future of PlayLink is promising indeed.

Black The Fall isn’t exactly revolutionary when it comes to the world of atmospheric platformers, but it still excels in what it sets out to do. It paints a frightening image of a land deep in the grip of Communism back in the day, but never sacrifices enjoyment in order to get its message out. The visual style is striking and eye-catching, the puzzles are well-crafted and put up a perfect challenge, and everything controls almost perfectly. It’s an impressive piece of work with a lot of heart put into it, and the end result is a brutal but beautiful bit of platforming that comes highly recommended. Indeed, it did end up having the same quality as its peers after all, and can proudly stand beside them.

It has its issues with Vaan being one of the most lackluster protagonists in Final Fantasy history, but the combat is fun, versatile and highly addicting. It helps that Square Enix has put in an on-the-fly button to enable the High Speed Mode, which cuts down on unnecessary grinding of items, license points and experience significantly. The game has also been masterfully remastered, with beautiful 1080p visuals and some added visual techniques such as bump mapping applied to the environments.

Excelling with its simulation aspect and deep career mode, MXGP 3 is a solid motocross title in a market that is virtually non-existent. Back in the days of the original PlayStation, both 989 Sports (Sony) and EA had flagship motocross titles, but those days have sadly passed. For a smaller developer like Milestone to accomplish what they have with the game speaks wonders, but there is much room for growth. With the game featuring the FIM license, maybe it would be more appropriate to lock up the AMA license to have the official stadium tracks and drivers for this side of the pond. For having all the licenses and sponsors, the audience needs to be broadened.

An exceptional expansion that unfortunately refuses to take any risks.

The end result is a highly satisfying game with an engrossing story that delivers in creepy, emotional and thought-provoking moments that helps it stand out, especially with its more subtle presentation of morality in gaming.