I like the Neptunia series. It has plenty of potential, and it’s shown itself capable of creating genuinely impressive titles. That’s exactly why its recent string of spinoff mishaps has worried me so much. Still, its most recent iteration has given me some hope. Neptunia Game Maker R:Evolution is far from perfect and feels years behind where it should be, but its dedication to improving various aspects of its long-standing elements, particularly its dungeons, has given me some hope. I’m not sure that I can recommend Neptunia Game Maker R:Evolution to the average JRPG fan, given its questionable quality. If you’re a pre-existing Neptunia fan, however, you’ll probably dig it.

I don’t want to come across as too negative because I still think there’s a lot of good in Shattered Space. While the planet of Va’ruun’kai itself may not offer much unique to the game, it looks great and the core quest line here is worth your time. The amount of content you get for nearly half the price of the original game, though, is wildly underwhelming, and there’s nothing here that is going to change the mind of anyone who doesn’t already like Starfield. Fans of the game should absolutely check Shattered Space out when they get the chance, but I might consider waiting for a sale.

There will be people who like The Suicide of Rachel Foster because they are able to sidestep away from the whole pedophilia aspect, which is only a possibility because the game itself tries to frame it differently. I can’t tell you how much I initially wanted to like The Suicide of Rachel Foster — I played it twice and watched several let’s plays to make sure I wasn’t missing anything. But the developer really needed to handle these topics better, or at least have one character that didn’t sympathize with the sex offender. Ethical issues aside, the environments were great, but everything else fell flat. There is no recommendation here, only concern.

It’s hard to recommend this de-mastered port of Alan Wake on the Nintendo Switch due to how inconsistent the frame rates are and how downgraded and blurry the graphics are. Considering this title is readily available and cheaper on so many different platforms, you are far better off enjoying this classic third-person horror shooter on a PC, PlayStation, or Xbox. If the Switch is your only option or you value portability, then I guess this version is somewhat viable, but just keep your expectations in line. At least it’s not a Cloud port, right?

All in all, Seed of Life has all the tools it needs to sprout a lovely little flower, but it’ll need to take special care to groom and care for itself to get there. There’s a good number of thorns in this garden, so you should approach with caution, knowing this. But you can see where Seed of Life tried its best to shine, so if you’re itching to take a hike through alien lands, Seed of Life is a charming enough indie gem to keep you well-watered for a few hours.

Cowards who love horror games, rejoice! For in TAPE: Unveil The Memories we have a psychological thriller title that offers plenty of eerie ambiance without a total barrage of cheap jumpscares. Oh sure, there’s definitely a haunting tale to be had here, but one that will only raise the blood pressure a little bit. If you’re looking for a standard horror game experience, you’ll have to look elsewhere, but if you’re after a thriller game that offers an interesting puzzle mechanic and a scintillating story full of secrets to uncover, TAPE: Unveil The Memories is just waiting for you to press play.

Star Wars: Battlefront Classic Collection definitely needs some more time to bake in the oven with a few more patches and server updates. At its very core, it’s still a solid choice for Star Warsenthusiasts and those who enjoyed the original Battlefront games to experience a dose of nostalgia, but it’s difficult to look past the technical issues and bugs that currently plague it.

It's been said that good things come in small packages, and WitchSpring3 Re:Fine is about the best JRPG equivalent of that saying that you're going to find. Eirudy's adventure around Derkarr is a full JRPG experience boiled down to a breezy 10 - 20 hours, depending upon how you play and what kinds of things you'd like to do. If you're itching for adventure but don't have much time, or just have an appreciation for cutesy, easily digestible JRPG action, WitchSpring3 Re:Fine is probably worth your while.

Monster Harvest is part of a growing genre that tries to combine farming sims like Harvest Moon with creature collecting like Pokemon. Unfortunately, by trying to cram as many different mechanics as possible into one tiny title, Monster Harvest pared them down to their basest level in an effort to offer a nibble of many things but never a filling feast. As for the bugs it launched with, those will soon be addressed with promised patches, but when it comes to gameplay, Monster Harvest still feels like it needs a little more time to grow. A lot more depth on all fronts will turn this garden variety game into a bumper crop; with enough time, I have faith the developers will find the balance Monster Harvest needs to achieve greatness.

Land of Screens may not be the longest game you’ll ever play, but it’s one that, if you let it, has the potential to have the longest impact. Every level has something that will resonate with someone, driving home the point that maybe, just maybe, being terminally online isn’t the way to live life. With cute visuals, soothing audio, casual gameplay, and a tiny price tag, Land of Screens takes a tired conversation that is oft ignored and repackages it to offer an obvious but fair lesson. Skip on the screen time, but don’t skip on Land of Screens.

If you love that pastel paradise, magical girl aesthetic, you absolutely must grab Calico. I had a hard time putting this one down even after I had completed everything, and I’m honestly tempted to start a new game just to experience the magic all over again. Seriously, if you’re still reading this, just go buy Calico and get that serotonin injection you deserve. Your brain will thank you.

Postal Redux is a great definitive version of a subversive late nineties classic that men of a certain age can wistfully look back on as a naughty pleasure from adolescence. Still, returning veterans and new players alike will notice that this 24 year old game can only be polished so far and there’s a janky lack of refinement in the core gameplay. There’s enjoyment to be had in Postal Redux, but it’s best enjoyed if you’re able to set your mind and expectations back to 1997.

To The Rescue! isn’t without its flaws, but like a cute yet shy dog tucked away in a shelter kennel’s corner, it’s still worthy of any dog lover’s attention. It may have had a rocky start to life, but the developers have been hard at work tackling bugs and fixing issues, so it’s safe to say that any perceived problems will soon be a thing of the past. If you’re ready to roll up your sleeves and find fur-ever homes for pixelated pups, To The Rescue! just might be the most doggone fun dog shelter simulator out there.

As a massive fan of the original game, I had high hopes for The House of the Dead Remake. Unfortunately, this one mostly misses the mark as far as updates go due to its constant performance issues and control schemes that range from merely unsatisfying to downright frustrating. While extras like the Horde mode and in-game achievements are welcome, it’s hard to imagine many players will want to trudge through the experience all over again after wrapping up the main story once or twice. If you’re dying for an arcade-style shooter to plow through with a friend, The House of the Dead Remake might keep you busy for an evening. Anyone else would be better off letting the dead rest.

Despite Griefhelm’s issues, if you’re a Nidhogg fan who’s dying for something new to sink your sword into, it’ll probably scratch that itch.

I played Gungrave G.O.R.E with zero knowledge of the franchise, and I reckon that is for the better. I would be infinitely more disappointed going into this game as a diehard fan of the series and seeing what a disservice G.O.R.E does to the Gungrave name. It’s astonishing to see Iggymob charging $50 for a low-budget, niche game riddled with unoriginal gameplay, multiple soft-locks, atrocious level design, and laughable voice acting.

I have never equally loved and hated a game as much as Cyberpunk 2077. When it works, it’s definitely a fun game of sorts, but when it breaks, which it does too often in every sense of the word, it immediately saps any sort of fun from the experience. Worst of all, it wastes tens of hours of your time due to bugs and game-breaking errors. As it stands right now, I wouldn’t recommend playing it for anyone on the base PS4. I did, and I regret absolutely everything.

I wish I could end on a high note, but Lila’s Sky Ark was more creative than it was memorable. While you can beat the game in less than a dozen hours, you’ll probably spend more just trying to fulfill the final mission. And while I did enjoy wandering around this weird world, ultimately some bad combat decisions and a lack of balance hurt my immersion. If you’re a big fan of action adventure and like games just for the sake of weirdness, I’d still give this a shot. For everybody else, this probably isn’t your game.

And, I think that word perhaps best sums up Nimbus Infinity as an overall experience. Unremarkable. There’s fun to be had for sure in the frantically paced and enemy-packed combat encounters, but when you take into consideration the fact that you never feel as though you’re piloting an almighty mech and the entirely forgettable nature of the art design and the narrative, it’s hard to make a case as to why Nimbus Infinity is worth spending time with. If you’re okay with playing through a short, breezy five-hour campaign that provides an evening’s worth of decent aerial combat, you might want to dive in, especially considering the budget price point. However, those who are seeking out a meaningful mech experience that succeeds in letting you live out one of the ultimate power fantasies may want to look elsewhere for their thrills.

Test Drive Unlimited: Solar Crown sits in a bit of an unfortunate spot on the road. It wants so badly to be like its older brothers, Forza Horizon and The Crew. Yet it misses its mark due to a laundry list of immersion-wrecking faults and bugs, a lack of technical details, and an unremarkable collection of cars. To Test Drive Unlimited: Solar Crown’s credit, Hong Kong can be an absolutely gorgeous sandbox with its impressive mix of urban and natural environments. Despite these shortcomings and its occasionally spotty steering and quirky rearview mirrors, there’s something worthwhile trapped under the hood. Buried somewhere underneath the attempts at realism, you can almost catch a glimpse of the fun arcade racer Test Drive Unlimited: Solar Crown is better suited to be.

It isn’t really very often that I’m so negative about a game, but Neptunia Virtual Stars does so many things wrong that I just couldn’t ignore it. Normally, this would be the part where I would say, “only get this game if you’re a fan of the series,” but I’d be wary even then. As little as I’ve talked about it within this review, this game is obviously little more than an attempt to pander to the Vtuber fandom. I don’t say that with any disrespect—if you like Vtubers, then more power to you. But, Idea Factory, next time you make some sort of crossover titles, keep in mind that you’re capable of making quality crossovers—like Superdimension Neptunia VS Sega Hard Girls—and maybe don’t try to patch up a lack of content by slapping Vtubers everywhere like they’re bandages.

MX vs. ATV Legends is the very definition of a “mixed-bag.” On one hand, it can be a genuinely thrilling racer, especially when you’re throwing an MX bike over insane jumps and barreling around corners at breakneck speed. It’s a pity that level of fun doesn’t carry over to the other disciplines, though, and it’s this discrepancy between the enjoyment on offer in each career track that makes MX vs. ATV Legends a bit of a hard sell at the moment. That’s not to say it should be avoided at all costs, but it may be worth waiting to see what’s down the road in terms of optimization and balance, as with a few tweaks to the physics and performance, this could turn out to be a much more well-rounded package.

My experience with this game was a strange one, I’ll admit. I was intrigued by the premise, despite it wearing its inspiration on its sleeve, and wanted to see where things would end up. Sadly, it left me more confused and disappointed than anything else. While Inescapable: No Rules, No Rescueentices its players with more complex route-building elements and a few wild moments here and there, it never goes as far as it should. I had fun with the game, but, given how close it is to Danganronpa, I’d suggest that you’re better off playing that.

With a little spit and polish or perhaps a bigger budget, Ary and the Secret of Seasons could have been a real standout that no Zelda fan should miss. However, at least in its current state, it’s hard to recommend as the game is anything but sunshine and rainbows at the moment. If Ary and the Secret of Seasons sounds like something you’d enjoy, that’s great. But I’d strongly recommend waiting for the game’s developers to iron out the kinks before plunking down your cash.

I enjoyed Bob Help Them’s wholesome nature and the action/puzzle/time management dynamic is an interesting idea. Unfortunately, the gameplay is too simplistic for its own good. Every action is performed the exact same way, and the gameplay doesn’t evolve over the course of its thirty-five levels. You’ll do the same thing in level one that you do in level thirty-five. There’s just nothing to spice up the gameplay, and the only real challenge is time management. It’s not a bad way to spend a lunch break, but it’s difficult to not want something more from it.

Between the half-baked gameplay loops, repetitive open-world busy work, and shockingly poor optimization, Redfall feels like a title that’s still in alpha, never mind a product that’s supposed to represent a flagship release for Microsoft’s premium subscription service.

I really wanted to rave about how great Nadir: A Grimdark Deckbuilder was. Unfortunately, while there are some genuinely noteworthy elements in the game, such as the unique combat and striking visual style, it’s ultimately held back by some problematic issues. The game is quite unbalanced in its current state, and the developers desperately need to fix some pretty glaring glitches. Until that happens, it’s hard to fully recommend.

All in all, I’d have a very hard time recommending the Jurassic Park: Classic Games Collection to anyone that isn’t a die-hard fan of the series or someone with a lot of nostalgia for these games in particular. Most of the entries are sparse in content and not all that fun to play, with the NES Jurassic Park game and the Game Boy version of Jurassic Park 2 being the only ones I was able to stomach for very long. Sure, it’s kind of cool that there’s save states, a rewind button, and in-game maps now, but it really doesn’t do much in relieving these overall tired and unfun games. Still, if nostalgia is your friend, you might want to check out the Jurassic Park: Classic Games Collection.