Overall, Battle Cry of Freedom provides a fun and immersive Civil War experience that I hope to see grow further with future updates. For Civil War buffs, the game offers a good amount of historic immersion through the character creator, the available classes and combat roles, and the background music. The war simulator fan can enjoy combat that strikes a solid balance between historical accuracy and enjoyability. The game makes some ambitious promises, with massive maps and large amounts of people playing simultaneously, combined with a user-friendly gameplay. In this goal, it seems to have largely succeeded.

Telltale's resurgence is evident with a solid first episode. Graphical quality has increased immensely, as well as aspects such as; movement, sound and cinematography. Hopefully, Telltale and Deck Nine can capitalize on players' excitement and continue delivering fun episodes. For now, it is too early to judge the exact quality of this game as a whole. However, Episode 1 proved to be a promising start that can be built upon.

GolfTopia surprised me with how well it blended sports and management games. It's a game I see myself returning to often to touch up on my course and build new holes. But the frequent moments of waiting make me wonder how long I'll stay interested each time. Overall, if you're a golf fan, this is a game for you. If you're not, it's still worth a look.

Asterigos: Curse Of The Stars is a fun ride for all players and is friendly towards those who prefer a lighter or more challenging playing experience. It may not be as big of an open world as its counterparts, but still offers exploration that can leave you lost wandering into new and engaging encounters. The title does not overstay its welcome and leaves enough room for replayability with its side missions and new game plus.

Evidence 111 can be a bit messy with its murder mystery plot it shows a great proof of concept for future games in this interesting format. While the story can be a bit lacklustre the game is carried by its excellent voice acting and sound design.

If it's darkness you want, it's darkness you get. Angsty and emotionally turbulent, MAMIYA is a layered story of dealing with the complexity of the mind. While not entirely free of the stereotypes people attribute to these "edgy" narratives, there is a notable intellect to the way it progresses and alters the direction. If it were a little cleaner on the technical side and more level in its portrayal of sympathetic circumstances, this would be a game well worth remembering. In its current state, it's still a very entertaining, and impactful, tale of people.

You could say that Demon Turf is one Hell of a time. So much variety in worlds and challenges. Heavy emphasis on speed, flexibility, and experimentation. With all the freedom afforded to the player, Demon Turf manages to be a generally great platformer-adventure with just enough on the side to keep things eventful and fresh. If not for some bloated level design, and with heavier polish on outside elements such as combat, this would be a bonafide classic. Even now, it's a phenomenal option for platformer fanatics new and old.

The Suicide of Rachel Foster is a tense, thrilling experience for anyone who picks it up. If you are searching for something similar to PT, but without the horror aspect, then this is for you. But if you're looking for something to unleash a scream too, this may not be the title for you. Either way, if you want to understand the truth behind the suicide, then delve right in.

Aerial_Knight's Never Yield is a towering accomplishment in a genre that is often relegated to micro-transaction filled phone applications. "Never Yield" combines stunning artistic direction, fluid controls and a killer soundtrack to create an incredible project of passion that encapsulates solo developer 'Aerial_Knight's' immense talent. Boost that difficulty up for some of the best gameplay the genre has to offer.

While its main draw may be boring for some, I really enjoyed my time with The Pathless. The graphics and movement are especially brilliant, and the exploration always felt rewarding, even at its repetitive moments. While the writing is nothing to write home about, the connection between the player and the eagle companion keeps the story grounded emotionally.

Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore is a love letter to a pair of games that absolutely did not deserve it. It is also a difficult game to rate, considering its laser-focused vision. This is one of those schlock cases, where things that would normally be considered bad are instead good for being bad. That certainly works for the presentation, but I'm less sure when it comes to gameplay. Are things like the darkness and easy bosses legitimate flaws, or are they supposed to be bad because they were bad in the CD-i games? I'll certainly commend how faithful it is, masterfully recreating such a unique artstyle, and anyone who ever laughed at the myriad Youtube Poops those games spawned would get a kick out of this.

The Chant offers the player a trip into horrors not in the usual settings but at a yoga retreat. An insane cult and neon cosmic terrors separate The Chant from other survival horror games for its unique tone. However, faults in the visual and gameplay polish hold The Chant back from reaching the point of an instant horror classic. Instead, it is a sure-to-be cult classic worth the short journey.

Rail Route is a charming game that satisfies the simple desire to design a railway network, with all its quirks and challenges. Its minimalist vibe lets the game boil down to this one, simple concept. If you enjoy building a network, automating it, and watching it come to life based on your strategic insights and guesstimates, you'll have a blast. And with near-endless maps, this game offers a lot of molds for you to live your wildest network designer dreams.

Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration is about as definitive an Atari celebration as you can get. It doubles as both a game collection and an extensive history lesson on one of gaming's forefathers. Not every title is a winner, but in the end, younger players will gain a better appreciation for Atari's contributions and how far gaming has come.

Overall, I think Sweet Surrender VR is a good game, especially due to its mechanics. However, the content of Sweet Surrender could do with more polish. I recommend it to fans of VR games who are looking for a visually satisfying experience. Sweet Surrender gets the fundamental concepts right as a VR roguelike first-person shooter. Yet, the environments and limited enemy and weapon selection will have players grow tired of the industrial halls, cities, and laboratories. Sweet Surrender's constant stream of updates show a promising future, but also has to contend with other VR roguelikes such as In Death and The Light Brigade.

A Tale in the Garden might be one of those games that could be easily overlooked, but it really shouldn't be. Although it is short and relatively simple in its nature, it's a beautifully crafted game with relaxing gameplay, which is ironic given the mysterious and even dark theme the story brings. The story is intriguing, and the gardening aspect is therapeutic, but also incorporating some subtle time management. The background music provides an appropriate setting for the mood, whether you're working on your garden or battling with Filomena's lost memories. Overall, A Tale in the Garden is an attractive game if you're looking for something with a compelling story and relaxing gameplay in a short timespan.

Arms Trade Tycoon: Tanks is a great way to learn about the development of this throughout World War I. With a solid look into one of the most underrated aspects of warfare, you'll be tasked with developing your nation's battle tanks. Will you lead your nation to victory, or get ground to dust by your competitors?

Outriders fails in many areas as its story is useless, lines are delivered terribly and cutscenes are awful. Despite this, PeopleCanFly has created an amazingly fun gameplay loop that will entice any loot junky out there. It may feel like a 15-year-old game at some points but once you get into the combat all of these woes will be forgotten.

Touhou New World is a chill gaming adventure through the mystical realm of Gensokyo. It's got a pretty good soundtrack that aids you on your adventures and battles throughout the game. The game is laid-back and includes loads of missions and side quest. There's a lot of unique ways to customize your character and build stats. Just keep your cool when you hit a rough patch with some levels due to some of them being a bit challenging. If you're all about that haptic feedback, this game might not hit the spot. Hardcore gamers might find it a bit mellow compared to the grand RPGs or high-intensity action games.

In a market where games are defined by either an intense combat system, a deep narrative, or both, there’s a place for relaxing experiences like TASOMACHI. The story and gameplay keep it simple and manages to achieve its desired pace and style. The surprising depth and detail of the game’s gorgeous landscapes are strained by the lack of variety and meaningful characters – leaving the areas full of exploration potential but devoid of life. Despite this, the game succeeds in building a chilled-out, unique world for players to immerse themselves in.

Game Over - A Musical RPG?? blends RPG mechanics with rhythm-based musical duels, reminiscent of Guitar Hero. Its pixelated art style, humor, and morality-driven choices make for a unique experience. While its music-driven battles, soundtrack and gameplay shine, minor bugs and the potential for overwhelming audio may affect long play sessions.

Nanotale - Typing Chronicles raises the bar for typing games across the board. This is a title that proves teaching tools can make entertaining games as well. The version of the game I played will need some patches before release, but after the bug fixes, I have no qualms recommending it to anyone looking to brush up on their keyboard skills.

Pacific Drive: Whispers in the Woods is an excellent DLC that lets you step into a wild ride of 8 to 12 hours of content. The design of Whispering Woods is totally unique to the Exclusion Zone, and it always surprises you with new challenges, the more time you spend in it. All the new characters give the vibe of a fanatical group obsessed with anomalies, which matches the theme of Whispering Woods. Moreover, the fact that the DLC includes full voice acting for the new content is very appreciable. However, there are some rough edges in the overall gameplay loop of the DLC. One of my biggest critiques is the use of Harmonizer to repair the new Attuned Car Parts. It takes a lot of time walking around and clicking dozens of times to transfer harmonic energy around the car.

As it stands right now, Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion is a quirky and fun game with some interesting ideas and an adorable mascot. The gameplay didn't leave a huge impression on me, but I wish I could have committed more crimes with Turnip Boy before the credits rolled. While I currently have a hard time recommending a game this short with its current price tag, it is encouraging to see that the developers plan on expanding the game's mythos with free updates in the future. I can't wait to see what responsibilities Turnip Boy avoids next.

Backbone seduces you into its world with its incredible style and characters. I was shocked by the game's first major twist and didn't want to stop playing. The writing is a highlight, and the music is dazzling. I was a bit let down to discover that my choices had little impact on the game's narrative, and the conclusion left me with more questions than answers. I don't know if a sequel is on the horizon, but Backbone is an overall interesting game worth checking out.

Many smaller games outside the triple-A realm, want to achieve the hidden gem status, but a hidden gem is exactly how I would describe Sword of the Vagrant. Its radiant quality shines through for such an encapsulating fulfilling experience. It doesn’t rewrite the genre, but it certainly punches well above its weight and should be high on the list for anyone wanting to experience a great little gorgeous adventure.

DariusBurst Another Chronicle EX+ is a decent game that heavily leans into the arcade genre. It fully commits to the theme, sometimes at the expense of player enjoyment, although you can’t deny the immersion. Gameplay is quite repetitive, and overly challenging, meaning there’s a skill barrier to enjoyment. The high production value definitely wins the game some points, and the audio and graphics are both very impressive throughout. Whilst I have no doubt that fans of arcade games will enjoy this, the difficulty and unvaried nature of the game makes it relatively inaccessible to gamers outside the genre.

The multiplayer action of Chivalry 2 has depth, replayability and, most importantly, it's fun. Torn Banner Studios have built upon the success of the original to create a game that could have a lasting impact on the gaming landscape. However, there is a distinct lack of variety in other modes and many key features are missing in regards to quality of life and accessibility. Modern multiplayer games are an everchanging experience, regular support and updates is a promise that the developers need to keep. Perhaps in a few months, the game will be in a better state with the inclusion of new modes, added customization and a greater parity between platforms.