Fell Seal isn't a game that breaks new ground, but it's still enjoyable to play regardless. The story is fun to experience and the gameplay is usually smooth and able to be played with little to no grinding. Character customization is impressively detailed in both aesthetics and creating class strategies. Overall, I enjoyed my time with Fell Seal despite the small issues I had with the difficulty spike and the graphics.

Katana Zero is on the short side, but it uses every minute of its 5-6 hour run-time well, packed to the brim with satisfying carnage and a brain-bending narrative. It’s not often that a game so completely blindsides me, entering my radar and winning me over so quickly, and it’s a wonderful feeling when it happens. In fact, my only gripe, and it’s incredibly minor, is that I wish there was just a little bit more of it to love. I have no hesitations about recommending this game for just about everyone.

In truth, Weedcraft Inc is an enjoyable business management game with some creative ideas as well as decent writing and a thoroughly fitting musical score. If you’ve always wanted to dabble at running a Cannabusiness, it’s a must buy.

Its run-time is just long enough not to wear out its welcome, and the mystery and tension keeps you going through to the end.

In this type of game, you often get disproportionate enjoyment from combat or dialogue. You’ll find yourself suffering though dialogue to get to the next battle or trudging through fights to get to the next piece of story exposition. In Grimshade, both are fine. Regrettably, that is all they are.

There are some janky animations and ugly models. No, the end-of-the-world narrative isn’t emotional or complex. Along with those flaws, though, is a game with a pretty world, nice music, and combat with a decent enough core to engage those not wanting to wrestle with weapon switches, parrying, cooldowns, or any other more advanced combat mechanics commonly found in similar games. While I occasionally found myself frustrated with my time in Windscape, I found myself relaxed and entertained more often than I wasn’t, and that’s all a game like this really needs to achieve.

The Prophet and the Warlock is a stellar piece of content, with wonderful new units and plenty to wrap your teeth around mechanically — it’ll bring joy to any Total War: Warhammer fan. But at the same time, I wish the factions could have had their own campaign goals, and considering this is a rivalry focused DLC, a focal point around which to centre their head-to-head. Ikit and Tehenhauin are both unique legendary lords, but in the end there’s no real reason it’s them and not any other of the Skaven or Lizardmen waging their ancient war.

It is a game that will be more to the taste of Bloodborne players than Dark Souls players, but if you enjoy tough yet rewarding gameplay, and an interesting world exploration, filled with scenery and intermittent boss fights, Sekiro will be for you.

Outward is a tough game to review because I know there are a ton of people that are going to pick this thing up and absolutely detest it, and, as I said, sometimes I felt that way myself. For the right kind of person, though, this game is going to scratch an itch that not many others can. Because of its relatively niche appeal, I don’t see Outward breaking any sales records, but it does seem like a game destined to be revered in the right circles for quite some time.

I can’t imagine it being an easy task for a studio to take on a new game in a much loved franchise and build it from the ground up, but Limbic did a terrific job. I feel like Tropico 6 is a bit like what Civ 5 was for the Civilization series - a fresh start that does away with some of the things that have held the franchise back, while adding some new mechanics that refresh the experience.

In the end, Generation Zero is simply too basic and fails to do anything special with its otherwise interesting premise and pretty graphics. The negatives tend to leech into the positives in the game and even some of the smallest issues are magnified when there's nothing more interesting surrounding them. Wrap that all up with some clunky UI and Generation Zero is a beautifully garnished dish that clearly hasn't been left in the oven long enough, if cooked at all.

Ape Out is a simple game, but one with the polish and charm to make it work. Perfectly embodying the mantra of “easy to learn, tough to master,” as the game’s significant difficulty attests too. It’s not a game that’ll you’ll want to play for hours straight, but it’s the perfect game to pop into now and again to harness your inner raging beast.

The Stillness of the Wind will not suit everyone. It is a game that is somewhat devoid of excitement. It is probably a closer example of a farming simulator than games such as Harvest Moon or Stardew Valley and their bright colours and fast-growing crops. It is more than that though. It is a game of survival, for both the elderly Talma, and for the animals that she tends. It is a game of loss as well, as we learn about all the family that lived on the farm but have left the nest. The Stillness of the Wind is relaxing though, allowing you to wander about doing your daily tasks however you please, but without goals to aim for, there is often the feel of emptiness which can lead to the game feeling a tad dull.

In general, I wish the story involving Detective Stone was more fun to follow. Following the stories of Chris and Diane was always enjoyable, so I'm sure that the positive elements of the game would still shine through with some tweaks on the typical detective story they're framed around. What was done right kept me playing, and when Rainswept tells its story right it is an interesting and engaging experience.

I enjoyed my time playing The Textorcist a lot more than I thought I would. Its unique mash-up of genres scratches an itch that I didn’t know I had.

Known long-time fans of the series have put in far less time playing VI than they did previous titles, and I am no exception. The Rise and Fall expansion did little to improve this and I found it to be among the weakest expansions ever released for the franchise. Gathering Storm, though, sings a different tune and may be one of the best. It introduces possibly the best diplomacy system I’ve seen in any game, and a climate change mechanic that ticks boxes I’ve long wished to be there.

There is a slight underlying frustration in Tech Support — an inability to articulate exactly what you want to say. But a part of me feels like it perhaps adds to the experience. There is an overall feeling of being trapped, whether that’s in the endless cycle of query and response, or in the narrative. It plays on the fact that Tech Support is both a permadeath game and one that relies heavily on decision-making and branching narrative paths. On the whole I’m impressed by how much the game accomplishes using comparatively little, building what amounts to, a fairly full-on gaming experience. In many ways, Tech Support could be a hell metaphor for troubleshooters.

Tannenberg takes what made Verdun fun, and improves upon what made it awesome. The new environments in particular really make the potential of a WWI FPS/Simulator really stand out and stick with memorable moments that last long after a match is over. The developers proved themselves with their support of Verdun over time, which gives me reason to believe that Tannenberg is only going to get better from here.

In my opinion Exodus is quite easily the best Metro game ever made — with the combination of huge explorable areas, each with unique post-apocalyptic charm, and a wonderful tactility, expressed in the way you interact with the world and in the crafting system. The story, though at first seems somewhat silly, adapts, just as the characters following the narrative do. Metro in the past for me felt like it was never reaching its true potential, too much like a corridor shooter but never really a *true* survival game. But with this installment, the series has truly spread it’s wings. Metro shmetro, I hope they never go back.

Overall I appreciate Lovecraft’s Untold Stories for being a procedurally generated roguelike that stands out from others in its genre with a unique atmosphere and spooky tone. Being more concerned with resource management and exploration than twitch bullet-hell gameplay was a smart move, even if that falls apart a bit when the combat does come around. While it has its flaws, this is a game I won’t have a hard time recommending to those interested in the genre- a perfect little game to fire up know and again late at night with the lights turned off.

Overall, Unruly Heroes is a blast to play! I enjoyed learning each characters' abilities despite tending to stick to one play style in games that let me switch. Being able to switch characters on the fly is the perfect way to coax players like myself into experiencing fully what Unruly Heroes has to offer, and I'm glad that I did. The game always surprises and makes exploring super enjoyable, but with a bit of a stronger story element I think it would have been tied together just a little better.

The Band of Bastards DLC took me around three to four hours to see through all the way, which is a pretty good chunk of content for the price tag of $7.99. The characters and more of the combat I know and love definitely make this a DLC worthy of being part of Kingdom Come: Deliverance.

Overall, I can see the game appealing to puzzle-loving gamers of about equal level or experience and ability - perhaps even romantically involved couples, as the developers suggest. For gamers looking for a bit more casual fun, some other game might be a better choice.

Re-Legion is a great example of a good idea that is failed by the sum of its parts. It's not a bad game by a long shot, but it's also not what I would call great or even good. It's serviceable, it works (other than two frustrating crashes), it has a beautiful visual aesthetic and a great lead voice actor. But when you make a game centered around building a cult, when you set out with the intent of making player choice matter so that you have a real option of peace or chaos, you have to make it so.

If you’re looking for to scratch that dogfighting itch in a beautiful looking game featuring a sci-fi setting that’ll throw unknown challenges in your path, look no further than Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown. If, however, you’re looking for realistic combat simulation and a down-to-earth relatable story, you’re better off looking elsewhere.

Genesis Alpha One, at its best, is an engaging resource-management sim that gives a good approximation of what I imagine running a ship out in the middle of space would be. However, the first-person perspective seems to have shifted the design towards a combat-oriented game with resource management elements, and unfortunately that is not where the game’s strengths lie. If you can get on board with the lacklustre gunplay, there’s some fun to be had organising your ship and crew, but the combat elements seem at odds with the slow pace of the rest of the game.

I wasn’t sure about episode one, but Rules for me has solidified Life is Strange 2 as an independent gaming body, and one, that so far, I think I might end up preferring to the first. Though, just as a side note, DONTNOD should go back to selling episodes individually as well, considering the games ongoing episodic format.

Astral isn’t the worst game I’ve played, but it’s a game in which virtually everything that it aims to do is done better elsewhere. Even if you’re looking for something in the niche of horror-esque side-scrolling platformers, you’d probably be best served looking elsewhere.