A Little to the Left is a game that I ultimately ended up respecting more than I actually enjoyed it. I can absolutely see how this is going to be a slam dunk for many puzzle solvers out there, but the lack of clear solutions for some of the puzzles simply wasn't up my alley. Luckily I was able to skip or look up the answer for the content I didn't enjoy, and the less abstract and more organizational-styled puzzled did give me that endorphin hit when everything was finally neat and tidy.

Sonic Frontiers is a game with a lot going for it, but is somewhat held back by the technical issues of a character as fast as Sonic. It does provide a path forward into a new era of Sonic games that could revive the series and unite the fans behind it. Exploring the Starfall Islands can be as relaxing or as hectic as the player desires, and there is plenty of room for more games like this in the future of the franchise. The added mechanics of an open world and a skill tree allow for players to really feel the growth in Sonic's speed and strength as the game progresses, and the customization in the options allow for a grasp on Sonic's speed and manoeuvrability that no other Sonic game has yet attempted. This reviewer feels optimistic about the Sonic franchise to come now that it has taken some steps into a new frontier.

Overall, Asterigos: Curse of the Stars is a passable quality experience that excels when it leans into its Monster Hunter/Dauntless-esque multiphase boss fights, interspersed with more solitary bouts of exploration and subsequent discovery. Had the developers leaned further into this hypothetically simplified formula, while offsetting it with the existing rich and dense progression system, Asterigos could have proved its mettle as a more-than-worthy contender in the market. However, its poor control responsiveness, its often-needlessly ham-fisted approach to forcing linearity where it's not needed, and its debatable narrative quality, also collectively hold it back from reaching its full potential.

That relatively minor negative aside, Unknown Number was a lot of fun and is easy to recommend for those looking to play a short, novel game that brings its ideas together well. Actual decision points are relatively limited, so replay value isn't particularly high, but the experience is fun enough the first time through that that isn't a big drawback. I appreciated how Unknown Number became a bit more personal and expanded some of its concepts towards the end, and I'll definitely be in line to check out a sequel, spiritual or otherwise, if godolphin games ever makes one.

In all LEGO: Bricktales is a charming foray into a plastic moulded world. Creativity is encouraged, but players are more than free to blitz through with whatever roughshod constructions that they are able to make, allowing for some hilarity when people either question the quality of a painstakingly built bridge or compliment the artistry in a hastily constructed helicopter. For anyone that is a fan of LEGO, character creation, or questionable engineering, this isn’t a game to miss despite its few flaws.

Co-op games are generally fun to play with friends and family, and Fueled Up is no different. There is little in the way of a story, but that doesn’t matter so much as you and your friends try and complete their tasks on the spaceship before the evil space octopus catches you. The tasks aren’t overly varied, but the level design and the added mechanics give the game a challenging feel. The fun cartoon style visuals make the game suitable for all ages. Unlocking new characters as you progress through the levels adds a degree of replayability and the fact that you can play with friends online is a bonus. Fueled Up is a worthy addition to the co-op genre.

Players are free to talk to whoever they choose and can complete tasks in just about any order, giving the game an open world feel, despite the relatively small map. Wylde Flowers has a simplicity that allows gamers of all ages to play and has a visual style that would appeal to most. The bright cartoon visuals are akin to a more realistic Dora the Explorer, whilst the diverse characters are equally adorable, each with their own personality. Wylde Flowers starts out as a farming simulation along the lines of Animal Crossing but ends up being more of a life sim that encourages exploration and communication...oh, and witchcraft.

The tone is somewhat akin to a fashion fairy tale, though one that hews a bit closer to the old European legends than the modern Disney variations. Throughout the game it feels like there are darker implications of the world, dancing just beyond the player's comprehension. The few clues we do get through item descriptions and environmental storytelling paint a grim picture. It cultivates a sense of mystery and dread and keeps you plunging deeper and deeper into the castle.

Persona 5 Royal is chock full of amazing music, beautiful set pieces, wonderful characters, and a compelling story that makes its length feel almost too short, despite the opposite being true. Royal is worthy of its shimmering title, and is sure to steal your heart!

Dragon Ball: The Breakers will probably live or die based on its initial release window. It is a game of growing pains so severe that it might scare off much of the audience. What that could leave is akin to a late-stage fighting game: the only players left are very good, forcing away even more newcomers. If players can get over this hurdle, and the one that simply playing the game provides, there's a depth to the mechanics that are satisfying to master. It is a game that offers a bit more complexity than competitor Dead By Daylight, but would have to sustain a player base to truly match it. Failing that, it could end another Friday The 13th; a totally fine game that can only be enjoyed with friends. As it stands now, though, a private game cannot exist without a full lobby of eight players, so even that might not be a realistic option. In a world with a glut of this genre, it doesn't do quite enough to require your time.

Tragically, The Outbound Ghost is not a flawless game. There are notable load times throughout, and frames can drop pretty heavily when entering or exiting areas and battles. Along with the load times, there are occasional difficulty spikes as you explore Outbound where a wandering MOB will do a devastating amount of damage or fight with surprising intellect, causing players to need awareness of their strategies even in field battles that aren't bosses. However, The Outbound Ghost is a game that does its best to capture the charming artistic style of Paper Mario, telling a surprisingly compelling tale of regrets and having very fun combat along the way that lends itself to a lot of replayability to try out new strategies or challenge yourself as a player! This reviewer certainly plans on spending a lot of time in Outbound, and recommends that any RPG lovers give this one a look!

Session: Skate is not a game I recommend anyone pick up that is looking for a casual experience to jump into once in a while. Instead, it's a project that needs (and rewards) a substantial investment of time to internalize and commit to muscle memory the unconventional controls and game "feel". While it has its flaws and frustrations, the simple fact is that there really isn't anything else filling this niche in the market right now, and, fortunately, fans of the genre will likely find a lot here to like.

Overall, Soulstice daringly makes the plunge into several genres and subgenres simultaneously, and ultimately comes away, predictably, as competent enough in most areas, but exceptional in none.

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.

Little Orpheus is an extremely short game. I suspect that most gamers will complete it in four or five hours. Being primarily a story-focused game, Little Orpheus has little to offer the player in replay value. There are no challenges to master, and no skills to perfect. The game does offer a new game plus mechanic in the form of The Lost Recordings, but this expansion is so pitiful that the developers might as well have not bothered with it.

Sunday Gold is by no means a bad game, but its tonal and game mechanical confusion, created as a result of the developers' honuorable attempt at originality, makes it hard to whole-heartedly recommend for anyone looking for a casual pick-up-and-play tactical heist game.

Return to Monkey Island follows the tried-and-true formula of past titles whilst adding a new flavour to the series. The vibrant visuals and wonderful voice acting are surpassed only by the quality puzzles and humorous story. And although I found most of the puzzles reasonably simple, this may be due to my veteran status when it comes to point-and-click adventure games. Return to Monkey Island is a wonderfully nostalgic journey with old friends and new, one that has me helpful that a further sequel is just over the horizon.

Blind Fate is a game of interesting ideas, both in setting and in gameplay. There is a sense that the developers held back in far too many areas for fear of overwhelming the player, and it’s detrimental at every step. Watching it in motion is pleasing enough, but rote gameplay and a completely unremarkable story really hamstrung a game that could have ended up being something special.

Isonzo may find itself somewhat hampered by its many technical shortcomings and modest amount of in-game content, such as the limited size of its current map pool, but with a bit of post-launch patching, and a commitment to continued content updates, Isonzo’s greatest days may hopefully lay ahead.

In all Pac-Man World: Re-Pac is a quality coat of paint that allows for gamers to experience an era of Pac-Man's history that was previously only available on the fifth console generation. It's a fun platformer with appealing visuals, smooth gameplay, and a simple but nevertheless charming story.

The game uses the golf word par to give a number of how many shots a hole has to be completed in. In reality using the word par in place of number of shots allowed is a misnomer because completing a hole under par carries no benefit. That might just be the developers way of making the game be more golf like. However, even though Cursed to Golf really isn't a sports game or a game of real golf, it does hold a whole lot of value when it comes to fun. The graphics aren't the latest and greatest but the feeling of accomplishment of actually negotiating your way past each level is worth the price of admission. It's also worth a bunch of satisfaction knowing that you indeed did escape purgatory, finally!

Overall, Scathe is a perfectly adequate shooter. However, it fails in its intended purpose of adequately supporting either a bullet-hell playstyle, or on the flipside, a slow-paced tactically-driven experience. Its current mechanics and balancing make it unclear what demographic the developers are attempting to chase. With a few months of sufficient patching and overhauling, it’s possible that Scathe could transform into one of the best Doom-esque indie FPS games currently on the market. For now, it’s definitely worthy of being added to one's wishlist. Whether it's worth purchasing outright, however, is a question worthy of far more doubt.

Marvel's Spider-Man: Remastered is a fantastic game full of classic Spider-Man charm, with fantastic movement and smooth combat that emphasizes the nature of the web-head. With a compelling story and good character moments, this reviewer is going to be very much looking forward to Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales when it comes to Steam, and Marvel's Spider-Man 2 when it finally releases. Here's hoping it will be soon.

Rollerdrome is beautiful to watch and satisfying to play. I would easily consider it to be an encapsulation of what makes games special. It has gameplay that is challenging but rewarding. There is an adequate level of assists to turn on for those not looking to be beaten down too much. And there's a level of replayability that can satisfy the perfectionists and score hunters. If it came packed with a story that took a few more chances it could have reached a near-perfect state. I'm still left feeling that this will lead to further adaptations of the action sports formula, but at the very least it's a game that knows what it wants to be and delivers exactly that.

The level of detail in Cult of the Lamb is surprisingly deep. The combination of RPG-lite style adventuring and the management of your followers ensure that the game is never stale. With each run through a dungeon different from the previous run, gamers will encounter a range of enemies. Players will no doubt spend differing amounts of time with each depending on their personal preference, but I personally found myself managing my followers more than the hack-and slash portion of the game. Either way, the cute visuals, the awesome soundtrack and sound effects, and the fun simple combat means that Cult of the Lamb is a game that any budding cult leader should pick up.

The game seems to climax with a decision about committing violence or not (there's a split achievement for either attacking or not attacking), but I honestly never even saw the potential victim of my antlers and don't know why I would randomly stab a fawn even if I did. There was no narrative set-up or pay-off, save for the frustrating 10 minutes I spent earlier in the game getting randomly KO'd by teleporting bucks. Therein lies the problem with Deer Journey. It doesn't have the gameplay to work as a "game", it doesn’t have the narrative (explicit or implied) to work as a passive story, and it doesn't look good enough to be a visual treat (in fact, the animations are quite poor). Every time I thought something might be about to happen and set the direction for the game, it would turn out to be another level that had me simply run straight for an awkward amount of time while some admittedly pretty music swelled.

Recipe for Disaster presents what, on paper, is a great premise for any management game, but ultimately stays true to its own name, being a disastrous mess of a game concealed by a superficial coat of visually-engaging paint, that makes one want to drown oneself in a pot of overcooked stew.

Aside from a few instances where your landings become hard to calculate, this platformer that relies on jumping and movement puzzles largely comes together. I almost expected a game steeped in the depths of hell to be a bit more devilish to its players, but the parts of the game that work as intended are minimally challenging. That’s probably Hell Pie's biggest fault: it doesn't do enough to stand out. This genre of game is having quite the resurgence, and I'm afraid it won't stand the test of time. At the end of my experience, I enjoyed the game as a whole, but a large part of that depended on my need to finish it for review. I doubt it ends up on many game of the year lists come December, but Hell Pie puts forth a solid effort to rekindle the golden age of platformers.