The Town of Light is a fantastic story trapped inside a bad game. Tedium, repetitiveness and extremely slow movement combined with a purposefully dreary locale halt what could’ve been a great package. If you’re looking for a deep, emotional story that explores the abuse of mental patients in the 20th century, The Town of Light is well-written and features an ending that will definitely stick with you.

Morrowind is yet another quality expansion released for Elder Scrolls Online, with a nice mix of both nostalgic and novel content. This game is in my opinion worth your time whether you are a long-time veteran or beginning player of this MMO.

I did love that the levels were designed as floating isles that even if you fell off, you’d land, smooshed, at the beginning of the level again. No matter what happened, your gloopy character could scrape himself up and forge ahead. If that isn’t a statement about humanity, I’m not sure what is.

Victor Vran is full to the brim with ARPG content. While its narrative is light and its gameplay is limited, the well-designed levels and high replayability make this a worthwhile purchase for fans of the genre, and those who are just looking for a fun time with friends.

Overall, Tekken 7 is a masterful conclusion to a two-decade story, an invigorating online experience and a content-filled package that’s absolutely worth its release price. Bandai Namco has knocked it out of the park with this game, and has set the bar high not only for other fighting game developers, but also for itself as creating a sequel that is better than this will surely be a challenge. Whether or not you’re a long-time fan or new to the series, you shouldn’t wait another minute to pick this game up.

Its ending is ambiguous and open to interpretation, but it is impactful nonetheless. Rime starts off slow but comes barreling into a touching final act. Each distinct level is full of puzzles, and what Rime lacks in complexity it makes up for in heart.

While I enjoy the Power Rangers inspiration and numerous pop culture nods, Chroma Squad never provides enough incentive for me to continue playing after a while. You’ll end up finishing seasons and upgrading your studio more out of the knowledge that you should than because you want to. The combat which starts off strong wears thin, and I lost motivation to oversee my studio around the middle of season two. For all of its faults, Chroma Squad still manages to capture the charm of the television it emulates. In that regard, the game succeeds at being both a cheesy form of entertainment and a delightful tribute.

Although I do understand it isn’t the place for this game to depict reality because of the main purpose of the genre and series, this just saddened me that the Japanese developers don’t really want to share their stories outside of the usual pop culture aesthetic. I truly hope that we will one day receive a historically-accurate game based on Japanese history, instead of another mindless rendition of what they’ve done for the last ten years.

Black and White Bushido is simple. Without much complexity to itself mechanically, and a tiny amount of content available for the price, this isn’t a game that you need to jump out and buy straight away. Outside of the draw of its unique color-based mechanic, Black and White Bushido is an extremely average indie title that would be tempting to pick up during a sale but undeniably forgettable outside of one.

Overall, this is a game that I quickly became immersed in and one of the few review games that I will continue to play and replay even after my review is finished!

Overall, if you’ve got a thirst for some puzzle platformer fun, Embers of Mirrim is a well-made title which may lose you when it comes down to its story and visual appeal. It’s certainly worth your time and money.

Bit Dungeon+ is not very fun. I really didn’t enjoy my time with it even though this game belongs to my favorite genre. I spent ten hours in Bit Dungeon+ and I will say that is enough. The game did not give me any internal or external motivation to replay it. The difficulty spike, clunky controls, underwhelming music, and disappointing artwork lead to a game that is much weaker than it should be.

Overall, Skylar & Plux: Adventure on Clover Island is a good game which is let down by its short duration and technical problems on Xbox One. However, one element that stands out the most is the phenomenal and hilarious voice acting. If you’re looking for a casual platformer which can be completed in a few hours without the need for an extraordinary amount of skill, then this is the game for you. However, in its current form—especially with the frame rate issues—it’s not a title we can recommend. The developers need to patch this game as soon as possible.

Endless Space 2 really pushed the boat out with great animations and pretty decent graphical elements, but the constant performance issues do detract from the overall experience. I would recommend you check out a few gameplay videos before jumping in unless you’re a 4X fan. The game takes a lot from titles like Stellaris when it comes to politics, but stops short of being a great overall strategy game. If Amplitude pushed the envelope a bit further with a more nuanced political spectrum and ditched the turn-based aspect, I could have seen myself loving this game. But at the moment, it's just adequate.

The game is extremely fun, and I would highly recommend you check out this title in the Xbox Store. It’s truly one of those hidden gems that people really need to find and play. Rain Games did an excellent job on this title, and I would recommend you check out some Let’s Plays if you get stuck in a specific area. The game is around ten hours, which makes it an extremely great value for the price of admission.

Seasons After Fall provides a decent platforming experience elevated by great art direction and a cute little character in the form of a fox. There are a ton of platformers and puzzle games on the market, some even with foxes of their own, and though many surely have more rewarding gameplay, Season After Fall’s aesthetic makes it stand out.

The Surge is a fantastic starting point for those who may be intimidated by the likes of Dark Souls or Nioh. It may not be as polished or well designed as the games it’s trying to emulate, but it is more accessible for the mainstream audience. With satisfying combat and a unique dystopian setting for this genre, The Surge is still a good game regardless of its shortcomings.

This game has clearly had love put into it from the team, without the bugs and limited content I could easily see it being worth your time and money. Sadly, in its current state, you’re better off playing something else.

If you are looking for a good reason to hop back on Forza Horizon 3, this is an amazing one. With some of the most intense racing I’ve experienced in years...for $20 you simply cannot go wrong.

NBA Playgrounds doesn’t look impressive, it’s quite repetitive, and there isn’t much content on offer. With the right setup and good enough reflexes, Playgrounds is a cheap and effective substitute for the still-missing NBA Jam series.

Dreamfall Chapters for me was a wake-up call to a series I had previously missed. As an introduction to the series, it’s exciting as a standalone title, while long-time fans are sure to find a satisfying conclusion to this twenty-year saga within a package of interesting story and competent gameplay.

Prey is easily one of the best games to come out this year, and I highly recommend picking it up if you’re a fan of BioShock or Dishonored. Arkane skillfully wove together a cohesive narrative, engaging gameplay elements, and a vast environment open to the player. Talos I is an incredible achievement in design and the world of Prey is as intriguing as it is chilling. Its performance issues can be bothersome but aren't a huge detriment to an otherwise excellent game.

If you’re looking for a simple, affordable game to remind you of the days of '90s hyper-violence, Butcher has you covered. Offering you hardcore, gut-blasting fun throughout over twenty levels is a good deal for its price tag. While it doesn’t get old, it does distract from the feeling of variety that the games it takes inspiration from had in excess.

Overall, Death Squared is a successful, fun puzzle game for all ages. Entice your non-gaming friends with it before throwing them to the wolves of competitive first-person shooters. Just be sure to play it with someone.

I really am not sure what Valhalla Hills was trying to accomplish. It is a bit god simulator without the fun of being able to terrorize your humans. It is like a city simulator, but the city gets destroyed every few minutes as a new map is generated. It is like a puzzle game where every puzzle is solved the exact same way. I really liked the first few levels of this game while it was new and fresh, but it just doesn’t have the staying power I was hoping it would have.

The Ringed City is a totally competent but uninspiring end to the brilliant Souls series, embracing many of its best and several of its worst traits. It’s beautifully macabre and frustratingly tedious, yet isn’t close to being bad enough to take the shine off a wonderful game, offering subtle nods to the series’ past and its probably nonexistent future. The sun finally sets but it will always be praised.

What Remains of Edith Finch reminded me why I love video games. For the past few months, I’ve been in a bit of a slump and haven’t enjoyed too many games. Nothing really clicked with me. What Remains of Edith Finch changed that. I love video games because they have the ability to tell stories no other medium can tell, at least not in the way What Remains of Edith Finch does. I could see this game as a book but I truly don’t believe it would carry the same emotional resonance that it would in that form. The stories are told in such unique ways, and even though this particular title falls into the genre of a “walking simulator”, it manages to be one of the best video games I’ve played in a very long time.

There’s clearly a great game here, but I’ll be playing it on PC instead.