Other than one minor imbalance that could potentially be attributed to personal skill, there’s no reason not to pick up Puyo Puyo Tetris. Even those who have long grown weary of the component games will find the well worn gameplay injected with new life with this melding. With no real learning curve, this is a game that allows for a meditative, self contemplating state of mind through the arranging of shapes and colors, or a frenetic and action filled battle against a dirty foe that just cheats. You know they cheat. Either way, this is a title that offers an extreme value for its price, and absolutely deserves to be added to any collection.

Due to the nature of the type of game this is, its gameplay can get repetitive, but that can be said of all Dynasty Warriors games of their spin offs. The absence of local co-op is noticeable, but the inclusion of online shows the developers did listen to player feedback and worked to make improvements over the original. Dragon Quest Heroes II is overall an improvement of the original and one of the better Warriors style games on the market. Dragon Quest and Dynasty Warriors seems like an odd combination, but the team behind these games shows that it works and hopefully this is not the last we hear of Dragon Quest Heroes.

Developer Red Barrels has offered an excellent step in this universe with Outlast 2. Choosing a different environment and adapting to those settings to help create a truly terrifying experience was successful. Adding some narrative to the game is a step in the right direction. The linearity of the game is detrimental, but does not kill the experience. This game has a little longer playtime than the original, but that will most likely be extended in the first playthrough due to the unfamiliarity with locations and enemies. Outlast 2 will punish and terrify at the same time; it’s a cruel game.

NEKO-NIN exHeart is not a game for every visual novel lover out there. It’s squarely targeted at the audience who knows they like catgirls and seek out stories about them regardless of quality. This isn’t an experience for someone looking for deep storyline, epic romance or even a lot of dialogue choices. The dull writing and technical issues don’t make a great impression either. The best aspects of artwork and voice acting help smooth out the rough edges, but only to a degree. Still, if you’re waiting on more Nekopara goodness to arrive then NEKO-NIN exHeart will probably tide you over for a couple hours.

Nightshade has tremendous promise but tends to fall short in the moments that it fails to empower its own protagonist. As this continues to occur from route to route, one can’t help but wonder why she is even portrayed as an equal to the other ninjas if her skills are rarely demonstrated. Those who don’t find issue with it shall experience a tale filled with heroic men doing their darndest to save Enju and Koga’s good name. With excellent artwork and CGs, otome fans get a great share of eye candy. The star-studded Japanese voice acting cast adds to the experience and allows players to immerse themselves. If you’d like to experience a tale where beautiful men save you at every turn then Nightshade is probably for you.

The Falconers: Moonlight is an awesome debut for developer Bionic Penguin. Sure, it does show its indie status at times with a small intermittent soundtrack and lack of voice acting, but the pitch perfect writing, scenario and visuals pull things together in spite of a few missteps. From start to finish players will find themselves hungry to uncover what’s going on. Cassie and the rest of the crew ensure that there’s never a dull moment in the story. The heavy amount of player choice in such a short game also ensures that even non-visual novel fans can have fun playing. If you have a few hours free and are looking for a good story, check out The Falconers: Moonlight.

For all the temporal distractions, the near-mandatory attitude and dictation its open-World formula ends up presenting may end up dealing a blow to Sniper Ghost Warrior 3‘s small and hidden joys of explorative distraction. But the heaviest of blows will no doubt come from its near-constant technical issues that are varied in scale but frustratingly, persistently present throughout.

Little Nightmares has its flaws and iffy moments, but when it’s at its best, it creates a tense, nightmarish, action-packed world filled with surreal scenery that contains some classic puzzle design and a host of gleefully creepy characters to chase you all throughout it. It may not break any new ground in the small child/scary world sub-genre, but it still makes for one impressive entry into this world of dark games nonetheless, thanks to The Maw and the unique, twisted visuals it contains. It may be an absolutely horrifying feast that you witness at every turn, but it’s one that’s worth taking a bite out of.

It feels like a dream seeing Bayonetta on PC, and thankfully, it’s no nightmare. While the frame rate is locked during cutscenes, everything else about the optimization has been done near perfect. Maxed out at 1080p60 is an easily achievable feat, even for older hardware, and the graphical enhancements only shed light on how well the visual aesthetics hold up so many years later. The controls are also done well for keyboard and mouse, so with the option of a gamepad, this is undoubtedly the best version of Bayonetta yet. As for the game itself, the story isn’t for everyone, especially considering how extraordinary deranged it is, and there are a couple of unforgiving combat scenarios. Fortunately, Bayonetta is still an alluring adventure that will hold a smile on your face until the credits roll.

While Voodoo Vince Remastered isn’t a classic of the platforming genre, it’s still very good. The levels are well designed, the Louisiana setting is unique, and if the humor tends to wander to fart jokes a bit too often, it still manages to be entertaining. It takes a while to warm up to Vince as a character but he grows on you as the adventure continues, and Kosmo is an entertainingly ridiculous villain. The kid-friendly tone doesn’t prevent Voodoo Vince from pulling out the challenge near the end, making for a satisfying conclusion to the 8-10 hour journey. The excellent music in particular deserves recognition for its lively, jazzy tunes, giving Vince a unique and memorable soundtrack. Voodoo Vince Remastered would be a great little platformer even if it was brand new today, and honestly it’s hard to be nostalgic for something I played once fourteen years ago and only remembered small bits and pieces of. People who played Voodoo Vince the first time around will have a good time rediscovering it, and platforming fans who never got a chance all those years ago get a chance at a lost console adventure that’s managed to hop its way out of obscurity.

Mr. Shifty knows how to keep you on the edge of your seat yet tentatively conserved all the same. Whether it’s using that last crucial shift or dealing with enemies in a frantic manner, the basic premise masks a surprising strategic depth. While its lack of challenge in the early parts, not to mention the somewhat disappointing length of its total run-time, may feel underwhelming, don’t let the bare, stripped-back design of its environments fool you. There’s plenty of tactical thinking one not just discovers, but ultimately, is required to harness if your intention is to succeed and the way Mr. Shifty manages to balance player involvement with the consequences littering nearly every room traversed through is a prime example of how good gameplay can triumph over anything the on-screen visuals might show. Gameplay might be one of the few, solitary highs it rides, but for the most part, that’s all Mr. Shifty really needs to stand as entertaining, and more importantly, downright fun to tackle.

The length issue really does hold back Rick and Morty: Virtual Rick-ality. The time spent in game accomplishes exactly what it should: it’s entertaining with plenty of funny moments. Being so short, however, gives the final product an air of disposability. There aren’t any reasons to revisit the game when it’s done, except to goof around with random things in the garage and maybe slap Rick around again. The actual contents of this offering deserves recognition; there just needs to be more. Nothing is more frustrating than getting into a groove with something only for it to end before it feels finis….

A new Dawn of War has risen, and it’s an exciting return from a long dormant franchise. Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War III successfully takes the best elements from the previous two games and blends them with traditional RTS mechanics to create a game with deep strategic gameplay. The campaign, which ultimately serves as a glorified tutorial, is entertaining and lengthy enough to keep players hooked for hours even though it’s predictable. The focus on Elite units differentiates Dawn of War III from its competitors by introducing a new sense of depth and progression into the game.

A fine assortment of NES Disney Classics. None of these games reach the pinnacle of 8-bit greatness, but they’re all enjoyable. The inclusion of the Disney Museum give fans something to enjoy beyond the game, and the rewind feature makes it easy to surpass any difficult portion of any games. These are clearly the original NES versions, so enjoying retro titles is pretty much a prerequisite to enjoy this collection, but despite each game being well over 20 years old, they still hold up.

Despite carrying over a couple of issues from it’s early Sega days, Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap is still a stellar platformer and metroidvania game. With the enhanced version providing a completely dazzling display, the journey is more appealing than ever, allowing you to discover the classic action, experimentation, and exploration elements that helped lay the groundwork for future titles in the same vein. Just as unique and charming today as it was back in 1989, this curse actually turns out to be a blessing in disguise after all, and one that’s definitely worth playing from start to finish. Best Master System game ever, indeed.

Full Throttle may not have aged as well as its siblings, but it’s still a true gem nonetheless. This is largely thanks to some sharp writing, stellar and unique visuals, fun gameplay, and a kickass soundtrack. The remastered version serves to highlight and even enhance all of this, showcasing the kind of creativity Schafer and company could be capable of when at their best. It’s a fitting conclusion to this trilogy of remastered LucasArts adventures (unless Double Fine can somehow get the rights to the likes of Loom or The Dig), and a rubber-burning road trip down memory lane is definitely worth taking again.

The Las Vegas DLC is absolutely a great addition for Project Highrise. Players have already been doing their best to make hotel-like atmosphere in the game, so this gives them an actual option to do so. SomaSim could have easily stopped there. Instead, they fleshed out these new room types out with additional gameplay in the form of VIP booking and visitors ranking your hotel. If you’ve fallen off the Project Highrise bandwagon over the past few months then this DLC will likely get you right back on. Any newcomers should grab the base game plus DLC as they provide a compelling package when combined.

As a children’s game, LEGO City Undercover will surely entertain those of the proper age with plenty of witty wordplay and slapstick humor, as well as a varied open-world to cause chaos in by themselves or with a playmate. But for everyone else, the dated movie and TV show references and numerous new abilities won’t manage to keep older gamers hooked for long, as the shallow gameplay pales in comparison to the open-world antics found in other titles this year. While the sheer quantity of content may make it seem like a worthwhile timesink, the core LEGO formula, despite its storied history, has reached a consistent level of mediocrity, becoming one that desperately needs a overhaul if the franchise is to survive for future generations to come.

Snake Pass is a modern attempt to rekindle 3D platforming fun in an intelligent way. Instead of falling back on all the old tropes (and problems), players are presented with a protagonist which totally changes up the nature of platforming. Each stage only requires three objects to collect, meaning folks need not dread yet another collectathon. On the other hand, those who look to 100% complete games can enjoy reaching out for the tougher coins. There’s something left to be desired with the general lack of storyline, but fortunately the gameplay is excellent enough to make up for it. Even after finishing the game you’ll likely want to go back and perfect your performances because the gameplay is just that refreshing.

While Aaero’s challenge is enticing to tackle, the unfortunate string of performance and gameplay issues add detriment to the overall package. Outside of its confined choice of soundtrack and noticeably similar level design from beginning to end, enjoyable as it may be to rack up as high a score as possible and even push one’s self to higher difficulty modes thereafter, Aaero doesn’t quite demonstrate the same degree of intrigue or immediacy that past and even fellow contemporary efforts within this genre have so clearly shown. A few interesting mechanics here and there, the majority of the game’s run-time is spent retreading the same loop — perhaps worrying more so on when the next game-breaking hiccup will pop up next.

Twisted Arrow is ugly, simple and fails to break any real ground. What little plot there is during the short campaign shows the same lack of creativity as the graphical design. Yet, through the feel of firing the bow and dealing with the enemies in various ways, it succeeds where it’s the most important: it’s fun. Remarkably fun, at that. It ties the mechanics in so close with the player’s skill, using the motion controls in a way that’s more noticeably tuned than other games that have tried the same thing. This might be enough for quite a few players, this reviewer included. As a package, this is a rough offering, but for the forgiving, Twisted Arrow is worth the time.

A marvelous and unique delight of a murder mystery, one you’ll have walked away from feeling shocked over what exactly you just saw play out in the story, satisfied over the challenging puzzles you’ll have solved to help out each masked guest, and dazzled over the vibrant and mesmerizing aesthetics. Well, I say you’ll have walked away from it, but there’s still a good chance you’ll still go back if you feel you may have missed any secrets those luxurious and deadly walls may have held. Cavalier Studios have crafted one of this year’s most refreshing adventure games that is absolutely to die for.

When Slime-san works as intended, it’s an incredibly clever platformer, filled with endless challenges that constantly come up with new riffs on its themes. Its controls are tight and the levels take advantage of this, relying on the precision that comes from a simple move-set to make levels that are incredibly tricky but not unfair to get through.

Bullet Soul is a fairly basic arcade shooter that gets by with hyperactive energy and lots of pretty explosions. It’s not the most technically impressive conversion available, being locked to 1280×720 even when running fullscreen, and the options menu is fairly bare-bones, but once I shrugged and moved on I had a great time blasting through the levels. Enemy and bullet patterns are well designed, each level is one set-piece after another and the action makes up for the nonexistent plot. Bullet Soul is a solid workhorse of a shooter, getting the job done with flair and style, and as fun to approach for seasoned veterans chasing score as it is for new players looking to dip their toes into a genre that’s frequently known for being unforgiving.

Graceful Explosion Machine is a white-knuckle shooter that barely allows for a moment’s rest as swarms of weird alien creatures arrive one after the other to crowd you off their planet, never quite realizing that the denser they swarm, the higher the multiplier can get. They’re not too bright that way, but with a little careful weapons management, it will all work out fine.

Full Clip Edition represents the most complete and enhanced way to experience Bulletstorm, as some smart additions and an improved presentation help breathe new life into the 2011 FPS. Many of the game’s issues from the past still remain, as some questionable one-liners and depth-lacking modes are still present for this 2017 remaster. But the core FPS combat still remains one-of-a-kind among its fellow shooters, as the high-flying action urges to be experienced by both veterans and newcomers alike, as long as you’re willing to get your boots a little dirty.

Technical issues aside, there’s little to argue against Yooka-Laylee doing a fine job identifying just what makes 3D platformers such a joy to invest in aesthetically.

Blackwood Crossing begins with the promise of a fantastic and emotional journey, and provides one from beginning to end when it comes to a terrific story, but in terms of gameplay, the journey ends well before we can even take a stroll to the dining car or the like. It’s just too short a trip, not allowing for enough time to make the most out of things when it comes to puzzles, challenge or unique interactions. It’s decent, sure, but sadly never gets the opportunity to be truly interesting, which is sad given the amount of potential here.