Astral Chain successfully combines great action, exploration, and puzzles together with a strong narrative. Despite a few problems with pacing and repetition, it's a fun, engaging, and above all original experience.

Crytek have made something that feels truly distinct with Hunt: Showdown. The tense, high stakes PvP action blends well with southern swamp-horror PvE to create a fresh and compelling multiplayer experience, though the extreme lethality of the combat and a current lack of content might leave you hunting for a sale.

Blair Witch, much like the rest of the franchise, is a disappointment. It's not scary, it's rarely interesting and it's not particularly fun to play. It has a solid look, but is lacking in just about every other department. I say this begrudgingly, but you're better off watching the films.

Gears 5 offers a familiar action experience that should satisfy fans who gravitate towards its expanded multiplayer options. And yet, the uneven campaign and lack of significant gameplay innovations mean this latest chapter does little to draw in the uninitiated.

Telling Lies makes great innovative tweaks to its gameplay formula, and offers a high-quality live-action adventure, but it completely fumbles merging these two elements together. A word of advice would be to try your hand at the puzzle and discovery for a while, and then eventually just watch the clips outside the game to enjoy the narrative.

Wreckfest may feature some lackluster racing, but its dynamic vehicle deformation is so dazzling that it almost doesn't matter. Barreling across tracks that gradually fill with automotive debris, or jumping into a demo derby to wreak some havoc yourself, serve to fulfill a destruction-fueled niche that knows no equal on consoles.

The Dark Pictures: Man Of Medan takes a while to get going, but eventually the scares start kicking in, and it’s a lot of fun screaming alongside your friends. This is a game that’s meant to be shared and is a blast to play in groups. A promising start to the horror anthology that will hopefully only get better with subsequent entries.

Guiding a clan of primates through generations as they evolve certainly makes for a unique experience, and there are times when Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey comes together. But a lack of guidance on basic gameplay mechanics, as well as some clumsy controls and unsuccessfully executed ideas, make for a highly uneven game.

With the vast array of wacky mutations and other random elements, you can milk a whole lot of enjoyment out of this $20 adventure. Roguelike aficionados and retro gamers alike should definitely give RAD a look.

Erica offers a very casual take on the adventure game genre with a rather convoluted story, but a great price and solid production values make it a novelty thriller that's worth a look.

Control offers some of the best combat from Remedy, balancing supernatural abilities with a handy service weapon. Its non-linear twisted levels, populated with varied Hiss enemies, make for an appealing supernatural world. With a better protagonist and some fine-tuning, it could have been truly extraordinary.

Fire Emblem: Three Houses is a long and content-packed experience, which sometimes makes the grind become more pronounced. While I was able to ignore the dull elements for a long time, it eventually weighs the game down.

Presentation and polish aren't its strong suit, but Remnant: From the Ashes features gripping third-person gunplay and simple but satisfying progression that enable enticing entertainment regardless of whether you're playing cooperatively or solo. The visceral variety and delightful design of the environments and enemies elevate Remnant above other Dark Souls doppelgangers.

Lost Orbit: Terminal Velocity is a competent action-scroller that often reaches stellar status. It's a cool little indie with some neat ideas, and definitely worth taking for a spin at $10.

The Great Perhaps is a nice looking adventure game that takes players on an interesting journey with solid dimension-shifting gameplay. Just be wary of the poorly handled mood swings and occasionally annoying design elements.

Exception is a bog-standard platformer that rarely rises above mediocrity. Its saving grace is an excellent presentation and a fire soundtrack that you should check out even if you have no interest in playing the actual game. Otherwise, look elsewhere for your platforming kicks.

Quench is an okay puzzle game that has a few solid mechanics with a noteworthy art style, but its linearity and awkward controls don't help offset the somewhat steep asking price.

Dynamic empire management and deep tactical conquest forge the perfect alliance within the colorful sci-fi worlds of Age of Wonders: Planetfall. With nearly endless replay value, it is one of the most tantalizing turn-based games in years.

Metal Wolf Chaos XD has moments of entertaining mayhem, but they are hidden beneath layers of dated gameplay, nonsensical story, and gated behind a high asking price. Instead of being able to potentially discover a lost classic, mech fans get a rusted out blast from the past.

Wolfenstein: Youngblood is an adequate shooter, buried under a glut of unnecessary RPG elements and an obnoxious focus on cooperative play. Fans should look to the other games in the series to quench their thirst for straightforward Nazi killing.

Tetris Effect reflects the classic puzzle game through a particle filled kaleidoscope, putting players into a mesmerizing trance with its unique presentation, alongside classic gameplay. Its price point might jolt you back to reality, though.

The simple synergy-focused combat can be fun with some friends, but Ultimate Alliance 3's padded plot proves pernicious for its diverse cast of wretchedly one-note characters. Add to that a campaign that's poorly paced and painfully inconsistent performance, and you're left with a repetitive and unexpectedly plain package that doesn't adequately justify the revival of a franchise.

While a few finicky mechanics and a lack of content outside the campaign keep this from getting a universal recommendation, $20 still gets you a memorable experience and offers a deliciously fun twist on the sidescrolling shooter formula.

Super Mario Maker 2 is a perfectly fine way to pass the time, though you'll quickly begin to see the seams. As far as game-maker tools go, it's probably the easiest to use - but that doesn't mean it's the most entertaining or diverse.

Etherborn is a creative and occasionally maddening puzzler that will test your brainpower. However, there's not a ton of content here, and the backing narration often comes across as pretentious nonsense.

Painfully plain mechanics and an inadequate narrative render SolSeraph insufficient entertainment for nearly anyone. ActRaiser fans will find its flaws indefensible, and anyone else who manages to stumble upon it will fail to be captivated by the excruciatingly repetitive tower defense and tiresome action platforming.

Sea of Solitude dives into a broad range of mental issues and treats them carefully enough to be both educational and emotional. It’s just a pity that the bland gameplay drowns out some of its best parts.

Traffix is nice little game that takes a seemingly straightforward puzzle concept and makes a fun experience out of it.