I know it may sound like I really hated I Am Weapon: Revival, but that’s not really accurate. The game isn’t so bad that it’ll make you throw down your controller in frustration, rather it's just bad enough that when you do stop playing, there’s little in the game to compel you to pick it back up again.

Black Sand Drift clearly wants to stand out in the crowd. Its atypical visual, musical style, overly complex plot, and high level of difficulty makes it feel like the developers tried to squeeze too many ideas into one game. And while I admire their ambition, I feel that they stumbled in the execution.

I can see how doing “more” than competitor Farming Simulator would be a goal to attract players, but it’s destroying the game. Farm Expert needs to do less, and do what it does better.

Zombie City Defense 2 is a great attempt to bridge the gap between hardcore real-time strategy games and more casual tower defense games. The intense, combat focused gameplay combined with the revolutionary resource harvesting mechanic make this a game that would entertain both RTS veterans and newcomers alike. Unfortunately, its relatively short playtime and lack of gameplay growth in the latter parts of the campaign keep it from being a “must have” game for strategy fans.

I really wanted to like Giant Machines 2017. I really, really did. It’s unfortunate that a game that can make me feel like I’m entering a darned megazord one minute can so completely turn me off the next.

On the whole, Jackbox Party Pack 3 has a stronger collection of games than each of its predecessors, making it the best one to buy if you’ve never tried them before. It’s just a shame that you can’t buy the majority of games from previous packs separately as add-ons.

My time with Nobunaga's Ambition: Sphere of Influence- Ascension may have been confusing at times, and I still don’t feel like I’ve entirely mastered everything it has to offer, but I did have a good deal of fun playing. The game could certainly benefit from a little life being blown into its cold, clinical presentation, but from storming castles to forging alliances and maintaining roads, I always felt like I was part of a larger living picture, and that’s a cool feeling to have.

All in all, Super Dungeon Bros is either a case of developer blindness or a product rushed through development with far too little time spent on QA and balancing. The aesthetics are polished and professional-looking, and the gameplay elements are all there, but the responsiveness of the controls, gameplay balance, difficulty and level design are so poorly done that it’ll take some serious patching to whip this title into shape.

It’s a game devoid of all but the most basic gameplay mechanics, humour, and design, and it will most likely take me longer to write this review than it took for me to actually finish the seven levels on offer.

Pacing issues aside, Rocketbirds 2 provides a fun experience that I wish spent more of its time focusing on the action, instead of mundane and rudimentary puzzling elements. Fans of the original will love this, and those looking for a throw-away action fix could do a lot worse than give Rocketbirds 2: Evolution a shot.

It's quick, it plays smoothly enough, but it's as though watching the notes of a gamer's idea of neat ideas suddenly thrown together and asking "Is this what makes a game great?" It is not.

It’s a little unsettling to see just how unfinished and unbalanced the game really is after two years in Early Access. Sovereignty: Crown of Kings has all the markings of a grand strategy game, but they’re just that – markings. The developers set out to develop a deep game but someone must have fumbled the marching orders. The playable part, at least when the game is not crashing, boils down to a game of Risk with more different units and the occasional card to boost the units in the field and everything else is just fluff and distraction. Recruit, move, attack, defend – rinse and repeat. It’s serviceable but not a lot of fun.

All the Delicate Duplicates shows remarkable integrity to its ambivalent tone and psychological themes, but it’s often the same integrity that renders its puzzle-solving mundane. Fans of resolution will likely find the ending underwhelming, but in terms of original world-building and character development, it’s an appreciable two-hour wander.

I really want to love Homebound, and there are certainly elements of the game that I did enjoy quite a bit. I like that it’s designed to be a short, intense experience, and is priced to match. I appreciate the presentation, which is better than many of the bigger budget games available. I love how immersive the design of the HUD and details of the environment make the experience. Unfortunately the things that Homebound gets wrong are exactly the issues that undermine each of these positives, turning the experience into an overall negative one.

I don’t think that Unexplored is ever going to knock anyone’s socks off, but it is a fun little game that I think is worth it’s low asking price. It probably isn’t one that I’ll be coming back to much after my time spent with it for this review, but, then again, not everything has to be. It’s dungeons do feel pleasantly organic, but outside of that it just doesn’t really do anything outstandingly better or differently than others in it’s genre. For some this sense of “been here done that” may be too much, and I think that’s reasonable. For others, solid is more than enough to warrant a purchase, and I think that’s just fine too.

The playing field is so dramatically stacked against you, and the rules of engagement so staggeringly poor and badly realised that the whole experience is incredibly frustrating rather than rewarding. The presentation is lacklustre to say the least, and the game struggles to bring anything worthwhile to the table. A one-man development project is admirable, and his continued support with the release of new maps is to be commended. Unfortunately, the title fails to fulfil its basic tag-line premise of being at all ‘tactical’, or offering any kind of ‘sandbox’.

As a single player game, Death Squared is a fairly run-of-the-mill puzzle game. But add a few friends and play as a pair or in a team, and Death Squared become a heap of fun. Sitting down on a couch with a group of friends to discuss (read: argue about) how to solve the next level is as enjoyable as it can be frustrating at times. But the game is wonderful as a party game, one that even a family could play without any worries. Although there isn't much of a story, the puzzles are well designed and will often take a few attempts before getting right. With the great voice acting giving the game a light-hearted nature to ease any frustration that may evolve from the puzzles, Death Squared is definitely one that will have your friends coming back to play some more.

Ultimately, Shock Tactics is a bland and forgettable game that did little to engender itself to me in any way, shape or form. While the AI is particularly bad, the rest of the game does not try and elevate its mechanics and presentation into something that is more than just a copy of XCOM.

Overall then, Manipulated is only worth the small amount of money it costs if you’re willing to play through a couple of hours of puzzles for a slight twist and the small amount of payoff which comes from it. The puzzles aren’t particularly tricky, and the platforming and combat is completely unnecessary.

Symphony of the Machine does what I'd like to see more VR games do. It doesn't try to shoot above its developers ability or resources and promise a life-changing experience. It doesn't rely on gimmicks that quickly lose their luster. It doesn't toss VR in for the heck of it just because it can. It's a title built from the ground up for room-scale that delivers a game not possible with a mouse and keyboard that accomplishes what it sets out to do efficiently. Symphony of the Machine is an easy recommendation for anyone with a VR device.

It's always ambitious to take this route, and for that much I have to at least congratulate the developer on daring to tread this difficult subgenre. I can see what was supposed to be, and how if it was able to be pulled off, could've become one of the greats of indie horror games. Luckily the memories themselves are interesting enough that I kept pushing forward, even if the 'here and now' aspect of the game left me feeling wanting. It's perhaps those alone that keep Inner Voices from falling out of my favor. Those moments are what save the day and bring the game out on the other side as a decent journey for a low price.

I want the readers to take this score with a grain of salt. I went with what I thought was fair without letting my complete lack of fun butcher the score. It's functional, and I can see how those who have run out of challenges would love to run through this gambit. But it's just not for me. It's not fun for me at all, not due to poor design but due to there being only so much I can take before I throw in the towel. Tormentor X Punisher, you win. You brought out the anger in me. Now please, get off my computer.

Given the problems especially with flight physics modelling and the focus on shooting, I cannot say that I enjoyed my time with the game very much. There’s no joy in flying when the plane does not behave as it should behave and you don’t get to land and take off the pretty things. On the other hand, I can see this title having potential: a few fixes here and there and proper flight stick support for my Thrustmaster T.16000m (and other joysticks) and this could become a very nice game. Unfortunately, it is not there at the moment and I am reviewing the product as it is here and now - as it is, there are other flight combat games out there that are more enjoyable to play, even if they lack the kind of story Iron Wings offers.

If I was to give Crimson Earth any praise, the gore and dismembering effects are rather satisfying. Chunks of zombie flesh will fly off individual limbs in a surprising amount of detail. However, this is a miniscule glimmer of hope in a product that just shouldn’t be sold. There might be a possibility of future updates, but it isn’t an Early Access title, so I wouldn’t keep your hopes up.

In reality, there’s nothing new to be found in Next Jump: Shmup Tactics. It has very basic turn based combat, and a space traversal system that lacks the options and variety of FTL: Faster Than Light’s five year old method. It’s cheap though, so it could be worth a couple of hours of your time if you’re looking for a quick blast of action.

It could've had a substantial plot, it could've been more than just functional, it could've been a lovely outing trying to get things under control deep in dino territory. But as it is, it's a hot mess. Ending right after the plane crash, would've been a blessing. I hate to be so scathing, but I've lost my patience seeing good ideas take a backseat to rushing to release.

Ticket to Earth is reasonably fun, particularly in short bursts. The combat system is extremely intuitive, and allows for some experimentation with various strategies. And with the variation in enemy types, different strategies will definitely be used from time to time. Ticket to Earth is full of colour which belies the serious tone of the game, but goes well with the more casual feel of the game. The strategic combat is anything but casual, however, requiring some thoughtful planning in the moves, especially if you're looking to complete all the mission goals for each scenario. Episode One only lasts around five or six hours, but with three more episodes coming soon, Ticket to Earth will keep us entertained for hours with its great blend of puzzle and strategy.

The DLC’s best effect, however, may be that it could bring back players who gave up on the game before all the above-mentioned updates and let them see how much the general gameplay has improved. This is, indeed, a pirate title that you should try out.