Exploring the island of Xanadu is engaging in many ways. When you’re not finding loot or battling enemies, the cartoony visuals bring the island to life. For the intimate setting the locations are surprisingly varied, and considering this is a 2005 game it holds up pretty well. The aesthetic lends to the game’s sense of humor, whimsy and charm. It’s not every game where you have an adorable young sidekick pack you a lunch before you leave the village.

Cloudbuilt is a fine game. It’s not a great game. It’s not a really good game. It’s fine.

Vampyr is a welcome return of vampirism in games, but it's far from perfect. The shortcomings in the way consequences are presented in feeding deal a hard blow against the game, and the number of side quests that feel like filler content rather than interesting stories is a shame. But the main plot, the smoothness of the combat, and the setting along with its cast of main characters definitely prop the game up as a good playthrough. It may not be a new Vampire: The Masquerade - Boodlines, but it's definitely a game I can sink my teeth into.

It's easy to see Sniper Elite: Resistance as one of the few games extending the life of the "B game" because it really is. It's not completely unpolished, nor does it lack heart. Some of its jankiness can even be amusing, such as the time I sniped an officer 100 feet away, only for his hat to land next to me a few seconds later. Some inconsistencies can nevertheless be as frustrating as the fights against other players can be thrilling. It's a relatively brief experience that's banking on a bevy of modes to maximize replayability, and it does that well, too, as long as the player meshes well with the core gameplay and, more critically, can customize the experience to their liking. Whether or not it's "worth it" is more broad than all of that, though. It's telling that this is the first entry in the series to forgo a number without being an entry in the Nazi Zombie Army spinoff (or VR, if you count that). It does not make any significant advancements in the long-running series, but it also doesn't falter harder than the others, either.

All in all, the combat and gameplay is unchanged, and I’m OK with that. Even in a world of beautiful advanced RTS titles like Starcraft II the game holds up remarkably well.

The Showdown Effect is a good game, and if you're a fan of platform-based competitive online, it's one of the best offerings available today.

If you're a fan of Fairy Tail, well, you probably already bought the game. If you're not, then I doubt this game will persuade you, but if you're at all curious, and don't mind being thrown in at the tail (see what I did there?) end of the story, then I think theres a lot of fun to be had in the world of Earth-Land.

Obey Me is a solid debut from Error 404 Game Studios. It certainly has its flaws with its script and playthroughs can become repetitive, but there’s a lot to enjoy here. Combat is satisfying, its darker aesthetic works well and holds a lot of replay value, though it’s a game best experienced in smaller playthroughs. If you can get around its flaws, brawler fans will find a lot to like here and if you can play with a friend, it comes recommended.

Don’t Be Afraid - The First Toy is difficult to review in the same way I review other titles because it isn’t meant to be a full release. While it’s a self-contained story, it’s very clearly an advertisement for something yet to come, though I was still able to enjoy it for what it is. With an asking price of zero and such a short run time, there really isn’t any excuse for horror fans to give this spooky exploration puzzler a shot.

All in all, King’s Bounty is starting to feel a little old. You explore the campaign map’s islands, fight chess-like battles with stacks of fantastical armies, cast spells to buff your units or hurl pain at those of the enemies and that’s pretty much it.

Watch Dogs still has quite a way to go before it becomes a 'must buy' series, but in the short term it's at least on an upswing. With a more likeable protagonist, a city filled with more content to do outside of the main story, and an addicting albeit simplistic co-op system, you may at least want to consider picking up Watch Dogs 2. Especially if you can find it on sale.

Project Songbird gives up a must-see story, for anyone who wants to understand the negatives of the creative process, or who can relate, with or without Dakota's level of tangible fame. Just because the game initiates a dialogue about creating against expectations doesn't mean it needs to be given credit for doing so when the end result just simply doesn't work, though. Both the actual combat and the stealth options lack satisfaction, and look much worse in contrast to the rest. In hindsight, while the ambition was clearly there, the stripped back version would have been better, and still would have had enough for a complete experience.

In the end, No Man's Sky is an addicting grind fest of a game that can successfully lure players looking for a relaxing experience of discovery further and further into the vast unknown. It's not action packed, nor is it story intensive. At times it is an intriguing push forward, at others it is a slow burn of slow travel. No Man's Sky certainly isn't for everyone.

Steel Division 2 didn't blow me away, even though I did enjoy myself watching my army blow away the enemy. It's a very well put together game, a beautifully detailed game, but it feels a bit basic. There's a lot of potential in there that I'd like to see elaborated on more. I'd like to see more done with the General's Map table, I'd love to see an encouragement of deeper tactics in the actual battles. I think Steel Division 2 is a great way to kill some time in the annual summer gaming drought, but beyond that I'm not sure I'll be picking it up again any time soon.

Guild of Dungeoneering is easy to get into and understand thanks to its simplicity, but it is that simplicity which ultimately prevents it from being something great.

Planet Diver is a strange yet enjoyable take on vertical scrollers. What it lacks for in depth, it makes up for in its style and construction. It likely won’t last you long, but for those curious, Planet Diver is a curiosity worth playing.

Card Shark is not going to change the video game landscape, but it has enough tricks up its sleeve to compete in the indie space. The whole package feels fully realized, even if it doesn’t hit on every one of its mechanical gambles.

It’s fun to write stories, and this game is a must for those who feel the desire to tell tales, in whatever forms they may be.

Space Run Galaxy takes the core idea of resource management and creates an enjoyable game that requires fast hands and a quick mind. While the online aspects of the game feels a bit uninspired and the speed of gameplay can be prohibitive to some players, it is a great game for anyone looking to play a new kind of RTS.

All in all, The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing III is a little too complex for its own good. It’s always nice to have variety, but when you have to trawl through everything and the kitchen sink to find your ideal build, it takes some of the fun out of it.

It doesn’t have much of a story or a big sprawling singleplayer campaign with characters, but then neither does Chess or Draughts, and they’re still fairly solid strategy games!

You get more than a simple head-basher. Instead, you have action, stealth, roleplaying, and even some light strategy that brings out the simulation in survival-sim. Your choices have weight. Zombies are deadly. The good guys don’t always win.

In an industry with dozens of titles vying for the top spot in their genre, stagnation is a death sentence, and I fear that without a change on par with the Modern Warfare revolution that rose the series to where it is, the spirit of Call of Duty is destined to soon become no more than a ghost.

Anyone looking purely for tension and scares could, and should, check this out. Anyone hoping for scares - and - a captivating plot will likely be disappointed.

Once you've become accustomed to the pace of play and mechanics, Solium Infernum is a charming and strategic game. If you can get over the slow movement and learn the rules, you'll find an engaging grand strategy game that is rewarding on subsequent playthroughs. And, if you've got a few friends to betray, the overall experience becomes heightened. I struggled with that pacing at times, but after sinking more time into it the hurdles because less and less imposing. The only problem is you have to spend that amount of time over a series of rounds, rather than a long one or two.

For all the moments of greatness that Brutal Legend has, it is brought down by a lack of unified gameplay structure.

Sunset isn’t like many games you have played before. While it has some pacing issues at times, the game’s portrayal of its themes and narrative are intimately personal and, wholistically, deeply effective.

Solstice Chronicles may lack some of the charm that made the first game one of my favorites of 2015, but it still stands on its own two feet as a good game in its own right, held back once more by a weak narrative, weaker level designs, and a fear of throwing too much at the player at once. Please, throw more at me. Please.