This revival of the miniature racer has a promising core, but poorly-handled multiplayer and a lack of replayability leave it sputtering on the starting grid. Micro Machines World Series might fulfill a night of local matches, but that’s about the extent of its strengths.

The story and puzzles are decent in Aporia: Beyond The Valley, so it's a shame that the world is roughly designed, there are consistency and technical issues, and the horror element is shallow.

Yonder: The Cloud Catcher Chronicles is an enjoyable enough adventure, but it’s missing a hook to get players invested. The game wants you to get lost in the economy and exploration it offers, but in just performing these menial tasks for their own sake it fails to create any moments where the entire experience is more than a series of distractions.

Nex Machina is another impressive addition to the portfolio of Housemarque. It’s a top-tier shooter with dazzling visuals that never lets up on the action.

Derelict Fleet feels like something that was unearthed by a science team digging for artifacts from the early 2000's. This is a game that was somehow preserved until a 2017 release, and now has the audacity to ask for $10 from unsuspecting players. Not many redeeming qualities to be found here, nostalgic or otherwise.

The Golf Club 2 is a satisfying and challenging golf simulation that succeeds thanks to the depth and quality of its core mechanics and number of courses available, despite a lackluster visual presentation and lack of proper online multiplayer.

While most players will likely see where its influences lay, the dystopian world of Black The Fall succeeds on many occasions in creating a distinctly disquieting atmosphere, while a trial-and-error-based puzzle design offers just enough interactivity to keep its spooky narrative kicking.

Tekken 7 has reached a peak for the franchise in terms of combat quality and character variety. However, some online issues and lack of diverse modes for both online and offline play hamstring the game a bit. Still, whether you are a Tekken fan or fighting veteran, or complete newcomer, there's a lot here to get stuck into.

While ultimately for the fans, Activision and Vicarious Visions successfully bring nostalgic PS One classic romping back into relevance, while including some extra bells and whistles that (save for some control slips) allow the originals a greater depth.

Cars 3: Driven to Win has the potential to be an enjoyable enough kart racer, with plenty of content and true-to-film art style. Unfortunately, frustrating AI and poor presentation, on top of a full asking price, keep this title from reaching a podium finish.

Conarium's fascinating world is closely based on a Lovecraft story, taking players through ancient tombs abandoned for eons. The adventure puzzles are a bit too simple and its rough edges needed smoothing, but it is still a faithful adaption.

The metroidvania-lover in me wished Randall turned out to be more enjoyable. There are some interesting ideas here, like the use of mind control, but the good of that is buried under a litany of technical problems and just general sloppy design. Like the titular hero, I found myself frequently battling headaches during my time with the game.

Tokyo 42 offers a stylish, polished, well-presented open world that’s unfortunately just not an awful lot of fun to do anything in. A few nice touches put a spark in its heart, but they can’t light up the overall experience.

DiRT 4 is a better rally game than DiRT Rally because it has improved career progression, better multiplayer, randomized rally routes, and some casual-friendly options. The procedurally generated rally stages are a game changer and help to provide lasting value.

Rough edges and thin map selection aside, Rising Storm 2 offers up an intense and immersive recreation of the Vietnam War that will thrill, terrify and occasionally infuriate anyone brave or patient enough to get past its initially steep learning curve.

OVIVO may be a bit artsy for some people, but the game is relatively short and always throwing something new your way. Even if it doesn’t leave a lasting impression, the game is good while it lasts.

The smattering of flaws aside, NBA Playgrounds manages to be a fun multiplayer street hoops experience that is at least partially successful in recapturing the charm of NBA Jam. Player decks and lottery pick meter are subtle but effective elements to help give the game a bit of its own character.

The Fidelio Incident is a solid exploration adventure that's elevated by an interesting premise, engaging story and great voice acting.

Mirage: Arcane Warfare has some of the most fun and exciting melee combat around, but squanders the unique mechanics on dull game modes with low player counts in a transparent effort to ape Blizzard’s recent smash hit, and this ultimately works against the strengths of the gameplay to the point of bringing down the entire experience.

The Walking Dead: A New Frontier lacks meaningful gameplay and its episodes needed greater distinction, but it still provides that same appealing Telltale drama about an unconventional family thrust into dangerous situations.

If visual quality is what Tequila Works had in mind, three years have been well spent on fabricating a stylish, truly wondrous environment, despite drawing obviously from previous adventure accolades. It’ll likely underwhelm if approached explicitly as a puzzler, but Rime’s brief tale manages moments of genuine poignancy. The PC port is in dire need of patching, however, if such charm is to survive.

It may have some flaws, but Rakuen really is an adventure worth taking. It successfully executes on modest heartfelt ambitions, and perfectly captures the vision of its creator - a rare occurrence in modern game design.

This is likely their best game since NetherRealm was founded within Warner Bros. The formula seems so perfect, it’s hard to imagine anyone not finding something to enjoy in Injustice 2. Whether you like fighting games, DC Comics, or just superheroes getting into visceral combat, this is a sequel worth checking out.

Seasons after Fall is a lovely looking adventure that has some charm and decent gameplay, but it gets far too bogged down with repetition in the second half and this ultimately leaves an unsatisfying impression.

Strafe has the look and style to stand out, but Pixel Titans should have been focusing on making sure the game was not only fully functional, but actually fun to play, as well.

With some solid gameplay - and there is lots of it to be found - Puyo Puyo Tetris might just be one of the definitive puzzle games of 2017, particularly on the Switch where the handheld, play-on-the-go nature fits it like a glove.

Empathy: Path of Whispers attempts to tell a series of intriguing personal stories in a mysterious, abandoned world. The end result however is a visually dated, largely boring, and technically broken game that doesn't deserve your time and money.

The Surge is a remarkably solid action-RPG that uses its premise to wedge a number of interesting design quirks into a familiar formula. Not terribly deep, but a wrench-swinging, robot-pulverizing good time nonetheless.