Make no mistake, Turrican Flashback is a nice retro throwback. But I wish Factor 5 and publisher ININ Games did more to make it the proper celebration of the series it could have been. Aside from four pixel-perfect ports, there isn’t a lot here to justify the collection’s $30 price tag. Sure, you get the usual features like the ability to rewind your game and save states and a few visual filters. But save for those modern amenities, Turrican Flashback doesn’t offer much else apart from the aforementioned soul-crushing challenge and a load of zany weaponry.

Hellboy Web of Wyrd is a title brimming with promise and love for its source material, reflected in its atmospheric visuals and intriguing narrative elements. It effectively encapsulates the grim allure of the Hellboy universe, offering a visually enthralling journey through its stylized, comic-esque realms. Yet, the game decides to tread the roguelike path that ultimately casts a shadow on its narrative strengths, often turning what could have been an engrossing narrative-driven experience into a slog through repetitively structured levels.

There are some real fault lines running through Redemption Reapers that are hard to look past. The story and characters just aren’t given enough history to make anything feel particularly meaningful; there’s no real driving force. Early difficulty spikes are extreme and frustrating, and poor stat growth, coupled with extremely low hit points for many characters, makes it feel like the odds just grow increasingly insurmountable – at least until you can go back and grind to obtain experience points, which you won’t be able to do for the first part of the game. While the dark atmosphere, gorgeous visuals, and haunting soundtrack are promising, and while the combat mechanics have some real potential, the balancing issues, difficulty spikes, poor AI, and flat storytelling simply bog Redemption Reapers down too much.

Crime O’Clock’s unique spin on the hidden objects game genre is worthy of note and should be praised for its creativity; unfortunately, it delivery gets in the way of an otherwise mechanically fascinating experience. The first couple of levels will interest hidden objects fans, but the last few will lose them entirely. Had Crime O’Clock allowed its story to unfold naturally and ramp the difficulty up gradually, giving players the freedom to explore these full and vibrant worlds on their own, I suspect Crime O’Clock would have received higher marks. Alas, Crime O’Clock instead serves as a reminder that a great concept can be bogged down by itself if not allowed to flourish properly.

Combined with the lack of balance, overly complex mechanics, and brutal CPU opponents, ultimately, I found plenty of roadblocks to my enjoyment in Battle Train. I wanted the art, humor, and overall play experience to mesh better. But sadly, it’s just one deckbuilder that’s hard for this fan to recommend.

Though I was hoping to start the new year on a high note, Wings of Bluestar just wasn’t up to snuff. It’s not a horrible game, but it’s incredibly mediocre, with bland design, poor writing, and generic boss battles. While it’s relatively affordable, it’s nevertheless very hard to recommend to hardcore shmup fans.

Raiden III x MIKADO MANIAX is ultimately a good if unspectacular rerelease of a nearly 20-year-old game, but it’s really only for die-hard fans of the genre. At the end of the day, this was only ever a solid entry in the series, and nothing here has changed that. The new music is nice, but not enough to justify the game’s cost. This is the sort of game that would be best reissued as part of a Raiden collection instead of being released on its own.

Shiren The Wanderer: The Tower of Fortune and the Dice of Fate isn’t a bad game, but the fact that there exist other Mystery Dungeon, more enjoyable (in my opinion, anyway), games made by the same developer certainly works against it. If you enjoy brutally difficult dungeon-crawlers that offer a selection of extremely lengthy dungeons that pull no punches, then, by all means, this game is for you. However, for those wanting something more varied, I might suggest some of Spike Chunsoft’s other Mystery Dungeon titles.

Aztech Forgotten Gods is a game that undoubtedly comes with issues in general feel when playing, and the questionable design choice in going with an open world. Having said all that, Aztech Forgotten Gods is also an experience that is loaded with such heart and ambition that it’s impossible not to enjoy your time spent in this world with this fantastic cast of characters. If you’re someone who can look past the rough edges that likely resulted from a modest budget, then I would definitely recommend joining Achtli in her conflict that not only pits her against the titular Forgotten Gods, but also her own inner demons in a way that will resonate with many.

Overall, I had a good time with Skyforge. The combat and the missions were enough to make me want to return to it, and the story was passably entertaining, if not exactly riveting. While it’s got some issues, I think that if it gets a little polish, it’ll be a pretty solid game. Pending the necessary currency clarity and a bit of cleaning up, it could fill an enormous void on the Switch and give us an MMO we need.

Romance of the Three Kingdoms XIV: Diplomacy and Strategy Expansion Pack will only please players who actually enjoyed the base game, and even then, only if they really enjoyed the base game. It offers a lot of weird padding that sounds fantastic on paper but ends up being just “enh” in practice. Often there’s a hope that DLC can save a title, but if the core mechanics were already lacking there isn’t much an expansion pack building on said mechanics can do. If you loved Romance of the Three Kingdoms XIV and want more action, definitely watch some YouTube videos showcasing all that it has to offer; if you didn’t fall in love with the base game and wonder if you should take the plunge, I recommend waiting until the inevitable release of Romance of the Three Kingdoms XV.

Beat Souls is easy to learn but hard to master; it’s also easy to like but hard to love. A lot of promise upfront unfortunately doesn’t carry through the rest of the game, which is a shame considering how finely tuned the entire experience is. I wish I could remember a single song or recall a fun beat pattern where I really connected with the game; instead, I’m left with the feeling that I would have put up with Beat Souls if either music or mechanics had been better. Still, if you’re wondering about how jazz or vaporwave-inspired tracks would work in a genre flooded with higher energy tunes, Beat Souls won’t break the bank for curious minds with disposable income to spare.

While Serial Cleaners isn’t without its issues, this macabre mop-’em-up has its moments, but only the most patient custodians of carnage will likely want to see it through to the end. The writing is fantastic, and the characters all bring something new and exciting to the table with their various talents. If you enjoyed the original game and can look beyond the grime and viscera that occasionally gunk up the experience, you might just find Serial Cleaners to be a dirty job worth undertaking. It’s not much, but it’s honest work.

Forgotten Fields, at first glance, is intriguing, meaningful, and deep. And maybe it is — it certainly has its beautiful moments that make you yearn for tropical beaches. But stunning cinematics and dazzling soundtracks can only carry a game so far, especially when movement sticks, cameras are broken, and gameplay itself just feels overall unfinished. Forgotten Fields is done — it’s playable — but I would love to see a lot more work before I can truly recommend this narrative game about narratives.

Fixeight may not be as good as its predecessor, but it’s still a fun run-and-gun game in its own right. The main action still feels fantastic, and some of the boss battles are truly thrilling. If Toaplan had focused on what worked best here, we might have even gotten a must-play title. Instead, Fixeight is worth checking out for players who enjoyed Out Zone or are picking up these games in a bundle.

Pumpkin Jack isn’t a bad game. But it’s not a good game, either. It’s just, well, fine. For some, fine is fine; I imagine that some people will buy this game and enjoy it, and that’s okay. However, as someone who really has a fondness for GCN-era platformers, I hold games like this to a higher standard. I expect, if you will, a certain level of greatness. Do I think that this game had the potential to reach said greatness? Absolutely. But it didn’t, and, unfortunately, it’s the end result that matters the most.

Can’t Drive This is an absolute riot. It’s ridiculous, over the top, and you’re practically guaranteed to laugh until you can’t breathe. It’s unfortunate that it runs out of gas so quickly, though.

RWBY: Arrowfell is the definition of a mixed bag. Rewarding and fast-paced exploration does provide some satisfaction, but the combat, which makes up the majority of the game, fails to impress through the awkward way in which character progression has been implemented. If you’re willing to overlook that, then RWBY: Arrowfell serves as a perfectly fine distraction that I feel does just enough right with its narrative, presentation, and exploration to make it worth a look for action platformer fans.

While playing EDENGATE: The Edge of Life has plenty of issues, I still enjoyed my couple of hours with it. Mia is an interesting protagonist, the atmosphere is strong, and it doesn’t overstay its welcome. This is a case where a game being short plays to its advantage. Considering the game’s low price, I’d recommend anyone interested in it give it a try.

Big Bang Pro Wrestling looks great, and parts of it hold up really well, even 22 years after its initial release. Its gameplay is a somewhat odd mix of simple mechanics, which require a bit too precise of timing and positioning, but get some friends together who loved wrestling in the era it was originally made, and I’m confident you’ll have some fun.

Seven Pirates H is a flawed but enjoyable game. An extremely unique system of leveling up, a light-hearted plot, and a cast of adorable characters somehow manages to mix charming and lewd in a surprisingly effective way. Unfortunately, the game is hampered by uninspired dungeons, combat that eventually grows repetitive (especially considering enemies tend to be far, far weaker than boss fights, which can be a slog), and an over-reliance on the booby training gimmick. Perhaps the game’s most damning flaw is my least favorite design choice ever: forcing players to revisit every single dungeon to fight a new boss as part of the story. Still, even with the obvious flaws, if you’re looking for a silly RPG with over-the-top fanservice, Seven Pirates H is very, very likely to scratch that itch.

I liked ILA’s story a great deal as well, and think it explores emotionally challenging situations in a mature way, which will work for all ages. I also believe, though, that the overall experience doesn’t fully come together in a satisfying way. With some more interesting puzzles, a bit of work on the skating sequences, and slightly better pathfinding, this could be a real winner. For now, it’s a nice enough game that doesn’t reach its full potential.

In the sake of fairness, I’ll admit that I genuinely enjoyed playing through Malgam Lord, and I think that it definitely has a niche fanbase that will enjoy it just as much—if not more than—I did. Despite any personal enjoyment, however, I can’t help but feel as though it’s ultimately a very middling game. While Maglam Lord does have some decent high points in terms of its story and setup, its bland level design, repetitive combat, and compressed crafting system weigh it down to an unfortunate degree.

Brigandine: The Legend of Runersia offers an intriguing point of entry with a story told from many different perspectives, a ton of gameplay over its many campaigns, and a ton of options to strategize and plan out your upcoming attacks. I may wish the attacks themselves were more exciting or that the story had more payoff, but those who are fans of both traditional strategy RPGs and more PC style strategy titles will still find this interesting hybrid worth a look.

Lemnis Gate firing on all cylinders can be a delightfully cerebral experience, its time loop concept and diverse character roster paving the way for some truly spectacular moment-to-moment gameplay. It’s just a pity then that at launch, the majority of the player base, at least outside of the higher ranks, seem unwilling to embrace the whacky concept. Given time, though, once a core of dedicated fans develops, Lemnis Gate has the potential to provide a truly novel alternative take on the hero shooter genre.

I spent an embarrassing amount of time playing Legend of Homebody, but I have no regrets. I feel like I saw a peek into the daily routine of a freelancer trying to find what works best for them, really giving their all into this lonely yet rewarding lifestyle. The translations really should have been attended to better, but that doesn’t stop Legend of Homebody from being simple, addicting fun. If you’re looking for a different kind of casual strategy game, you could do a lot worse than Legend of Homebody. Can you make the freelance life work for you?

If you enjoyed Fatshark’s previous projects on Vermintide and its sequel, or you’re just an overall Warhammer 40K fan, then you will feel right at home with Darktide. As long as you can dig past the rough state the game is in right now with unfinished content and performance issues, then there’s truly an addictive and satisfying cooperative horde shooter lying underneath all those corpses.

Overall, Red Colony is a fun game, but not a great game. I think if the dialogue was polished up, if the weapon system was rebalanced some, and if the puzzles were just a little more challenging, this game could have been something special. Like a house in need of work, it’s got solid bones. It just needs to be spruced up a bit. As it stands, you can beat the game in under 3 hours. I was entertained during my hours with the game, and I got several enjoyable jolts of adrenaline for my troubles. If you can look past the flaws, I think you’ll find an enjoyable experience.