Embr demonstrates plenty of potential to be a very enjoyable game to play either alone or with friends when it finally comes out. The developers at Muse Games have warned as more content is added and the game approaches the end of Early Access the price may rise slightly, so you may want to get in on the fire-fighting action before the flames become too large. [Early Access Provisional Score = 75]

While it doesn't add too much to the genre, it is easy to get into and makes sure that players who might be new to survival games shouldn’t be too overwhelmed. This makes it a very good entry point into the genre, but it may not do enough to set itself apart for people who spend a lot of time playing survival games. [Easy Access Provisional Score = 78]

Instead of being mysterious and enigmatic, it’s more of a Rubik’s cube: spatial, memory-based, and unfortunately something I didn’t have the patience for.

Despite recently leaving early access, Clandestine is a game that isn't quite where it needs to be. As it stands, it isn't worth its asking price. The gameplay shows glimpses of what could be, before promptly shattering those glimpses with yet another death caused by glitches, another death caused by being stuck in cover and another death caused by poor gunplay.

Crashday Redline Edition is most certainly a labour of love for the small development team, but it doesn’t hold up in a modern setting. There are games with better car handling out there, there are games with better car combat and there are games with much deeper and interesting story modes. Unfortunately, there just aren’t many reasons you would pick Crashday over them.

Apartment Story is two ideas mixed together, and one of them works really well while the other drags the experience down quite severely. I can't help but imagine that the core concepts of an interactive home invasion that asks the player to make choices and deal with the consequences couldn't have made for an enjoyable and tense experience if it weren't for the confusingly repetitive and out-of-place sim elements that necessitate walking and waiting in-between everything interesting. At the end of the day, the good parts don't quite seem worth the bad, and it's difficult to recommend the title when technical issues are also holding things back.

I ended my time with Realms of Ruin feeling like it was a game stuck between two genres. It has the combat rules, unit counts, and sluggish movement of a pure tactics game, set on a map scaled for an RTS, but it also forgot to bring either tactics or strategy in a meaningful way. In some respect it feels like a strategy game from before they were "figured out" in the 90s. It's a game of rock paper scissors, where each player knows what the other is throwing, and has but a single counter to it. There just isn't enough there, and for a game that is asking a premium price, I think the bar is much more visible, if not higher. And this is without taking into account the other, better, Warhammer strategy games already on the market. Just like its full title, Warhammer: Age of Sigmar - Realms of Ruin is a tad exhausting, a bit confusing, and could benefit from losing about 60% off the top.

Worse still is the insipid pop music that every venue in 2021 America plays at ear-popping volume. To add insult to injury, the music gets momentarily louder whenever you admit a guest to the club, making it even harder to ignore. The result is a mounting annoyance that drove me to mute the entire game.

Phantom Fury is, at its core, a very confused game that doesn't seem to know exactly what it wants to do, but what it does do, it doesn't do particularly well. What could have been a superb throwback to the classic FPS games it so obviously is influenced by, ends up coming across instead as a poorly-executed mishmash of mechanics from each of said inspirations, thrown together without any clear underlining rhyme or reason. Adding to that its bizarre technical shortcomings and hiccups, and Phantom Fury becomes a ridiculously difficult sell. Even for players looking for retro-inspired games, there are already so many better alternatives on the market, letting Phantom Fury dissipate like the disturbed lingering spirit it is may be entirely for the best.

It is a failure, plain and simple. While there is still hope that it can be salvaged, with time, that's no excuse for a launch like this. One can usually forgive a bad launch. However, it is far more difficult to forgive an unplayable launch...

If you are a sucker for an interactive trip down memory lane, especially one with pleasing aesthetics and entertaining writing, then Super Rad Raygun might be the game for you. If you’re looking for a quality platformer with good level design, interesting enemies, and solid gameplay on the other hand, look somewhere else. The developers may be able to whip the title into shape with patches in the future, but until then I can only recommend it to those with nerves of steel.

When it comes down to it, Rise & Shine is unable to create an engaging experience by itself, with mechanics that are not utilized to the best extent. Worse, the game feels like a chore to play, as I felt that I had to rely predominantly on luck in order to advance through much of the game. For all the strength of its graphics and introductory stages, Rise & Shine is unable to create a compelling experience worth playing.

The crux of the issue is simply this: Gods Will Be Watching thinks it is smarter than it actually is. It tries to weave commentary into its story but only succeeds in imparting pessimism.

With 2.5 hours under the belt, I can say the ending was sudden, surprising , and not fulfilling by any means. It did not strike a chord that rang in success or failure. In fact, thanks to the stiff animation of the scene, I actually blurted out a laugh. The setting, the lore behind it, they’re ultimately squandered as far as horror goes, or even as adventure. What Through The Woods ultimately boils down to, is a couple hour walking simulator with an interesting narrative trying to be played out by the most unlikeable character I’ve ever seen in a game.

It doesn’t look or sound particularly good, there are loads of issues, and there’s barely anything original about it. But when all is said and done, this is still a Tower Defense game.

With Construction Simulator being the fourth game in the series, I have a very hard time believing that the developers would release a final product with bugs that stopped game play like I experienced. What I was able to play was fun, but these bugs seriously diminished that enjoyment.

Kill the Bad Guy is a game that would feel right at home as a budget priced game on a tablet considering the basic mechanics on show. On a PC it looks boring, isn’t particularly fun to play, and there’s not enough content to merit the price tag.

The team at Orange Juice have tried hard to provide a retro feel to Flying Red Barrel, but in the end, it feels like a game that could have been made twenty years ago. The boss battles are enjoyable, but the lack of any upgrades means that each level feels basically the same - but with new opponents. The poor collision detection for enemy fire, the screen that limits your view and a storyline that can only be glimpsed at while you’re frantically fighting the enemy seriously let this game down. If you’re looking for some retro vertical scrolling action, I would suggest Shooty Skies. It does everything Flying Red Barrel does, only much better and with more variation.

The best adaptations feel like they exist in the world of the original, rather than trying to redo what has been done. Starship Troopers: Extermination accomplishes that. It gives you the familiar action from a new perspective. The fights herein are chaotic, seemingly-insurmountable, tactical, and satisfying. The Troopers' signature assault rifle feels as it should, the Arachnid are tough-but-not-to-tough, and building defenses feels meaningful. The biggest knock against its effort can easily be addressed as the game lives on: it is entering a crowded market without much innovation, and a relatively light plate of classes and weapons. As a package, it can be exhilarating, especially with a group of friends, big or small. [Early Access Provisional Score = 90]

It is a shame, then, that this is such a clunky, ugly mess of a game. It is rare enough that an English version of a Romance of the Three Kingdoms comes to Western shores by any other way than import and it makes me sad that – this – will be the first experience with the series for new players.

Evoland is a cheap, short adventure game and if you are looking for an afternoon trip down memory lane, the ten Euros it costs is not that big a price to pay. If however, you are looking for a good indie game to spend a few days with, you will be better off looking somewhere else.

The main thing lacking is the enjoyment.

Spectra is hugely disappointing as a music based racing game. There are plenty of games that try to use music to create gameplay, that have soundtracks nowhere near as strong as Spectra’s but they do it better.

Sure, the animations and the scenery are well made, the game is technically solid, and the voice acting is … bearable, but everything that makes a good graphic adventure an adventure is missing here.

Flat Kingdom is a platformer with a neat premise, but the idea of a trinity of characters performing different abilities has been done before, and better. There are ideas here that work, but the issues outweigh the positives. Unfortunately, Flat Kingdom’s biggest sin is that it’s just a bit boring.

Aaru’s Awakening could have used a couple of more months in the oven to tweak and test the controls and pace of the game. Who knows, if it’s well supported, those tweaks might be coming and they might actually improve the experience.

As the first episode stands, however, The Descendant is a poor adventure game that fails to engage the player on every front. It is tedious, bland and bizarre. This may be the first part of the game, but it’s a game I wouldn’t recommend anyone to try.

Forspoken is not worth either your money, or your time. Even were it offered for free, perhaps as part of a free weekend promotion on Steam, or as one of the rotating weekly free game giveaways on the Epic Games Store, it would still be too high a price to pay, as the time investment costs far outweigh the doubtful pleasure of experiencing what little Forspoken has to offer.