Yurukill: The Calumniation Games is certainly an oddity, but it’s not without its charm. It definitely shares some characteristics with the Zero Escape and Danganronpa games, even if it doesn’t quite hit the same highs.

Mail Mole is a very interesting concept that is largely executed well. It forces the player to adjust their brain to a new kind of 3D platforming in a way few games do. Its only real failing is that these ideas could benefit from being pushed further. Repeated concepts with only minimal iteration can make the mid game a bit slow. That being said it still represents a surprisingly original 3D platformer whose concepts I’d love to see taken even further.

Unepic is a standard dungeon crawler with standard combat, enhanced by its goofy characters and story. If you’re in the mood for a game that doesn’t take itself too seriously, and don’t mine the occasional weed/D&D/Star Wars joke, then Unepic might be for you. However, if you’re looking for an engrossing RPG with deep mechanics, your time is likely best spent elsewhere.

Flood of Light is a solid puzzler that brings a sense of calm and beauty to the genre. Its ambient piano music, accompanied by the constant rainfall surrounding the city, creates a relaxing atmosphere. While touchscreen use is possible, this game is best enjoyed as a handheld game as it’s easy to switch between controls and feel the light use of the Switch’s HD rumble. The mechanics are explained and demonstrated very clearly to get players started, but it’s important to think outside the box as the puzzles increase in difficulty. It’s easy to feel frustrated for a while on a certain area, but once you strike on the solution, the game feels wonderfully satisfying.

SILT is an interesting experience in atmospheric puzzle gaming. The underwater sound design muffling everything around you manages to immerse you into the sea bottom world as you solve the well designed puzzles throughout. There are a few areas near the very end of the game that get frustrating, but I could count the number of rooms like that on one hand. If you like something creepy, something that gets the gears in your brain turning, or for some reason just like the scary part of the ocean, you should definitely slap on a diving suit and jump headfirst into SILT.

Running around trying to solve puzzles with trial and error just isn't fun, but it is an improvement over the last game.

In the end, Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games is a great game. Sega took the solid foundation of the first title, addressed many of the concerns found with it, and made an excellent sequel that does justice to both the Olympic Winter Games and the Mario and Sonic universe. If you liked the first Mario and Sonic Olympic game, don't hesitate to give this one a try.

The value of ShadowPlay boils down to its controls and concept. Manipulating objects in 3D space feels perfect here.

Batman - The Telltale Series completely caught me off guard in the best way possible. The scene direction combined with the truly exhilarating action and drama made for an unforgettable experience from start to finish. There can be frequent load times and frame rate drops, but they don't really matter as it never gets in the way of the fun and exciting story. What did tarnish an otherwise fantastic game was the awful save system that failed me multiple times, making me repeat 3 hours of gameplay I had already experienced. But if you can get past that and are a fan of The Dark Knight trilogy or Netflix's Daredevil, you should feel right at home and won't want to miss experiencing this new series.

Shiftlings’ size-swapping mechanic serves as a perfect metaphor for the game itself. Simply put, it lacks balance. The cute art style would make for a perfect parent-child co-op experience, but the skill required for certain platformer-specific puzzles makes it a bit too difficult for a younger child to master (and/or have fun). The story elements that are fleshed out don’t really amount to much. It would have been better served without the bloat of the story. It harkens back to the oldest of game truths; as gamers, we ultimately don’t care how or why Bowser kidnapped Peach (possibly something cake-related?), we only care how we’re going to save her, and the playable journey ahead.

Rolling credits on Sky Racket left me feeling a little ambivalent. It’s a decidedly enjoyable experience from beginning to end, and it feels like an excellent co-op game if you have a partner to join you. That said, it’s definitely on the shorter side, and having more stages before the boss fights would have made getting to them more rewarding. The variety present here is great, but I can’t help but feel like this main course is leaving me a little hungry. If you don’t mind running through stages multiple times to achieve all of the objectives, or you’re looking for a fresh and compact co-op game, Sky Racket is certainly worth a look. The amount of content and the controls do leave something to be desired, though.

In the end, A Wonderful Life still feels like a game that was released in 2003, and whether or not you consider that a good thing will depend on what you’re looking for. If you’re looking for a very simple farming game to kill a few hours with here and there, or just looking for a trip down nostalgia lane, you’ll probably find yourself enjoying it. If you’re hoping for something as full featured and engaging as the modern games that have come out of the genre’s recent indie boom, then you’re not likely to find it here. Personally, I have enjoyed my time in Forgotten Valley and the experience of building a little family. While years can feel like they crawl by slowly, the progression you get to see as kids around the village get older and new people arrive in the valley is nice and satisfying to experience. I look forward to spending a lot more of my time in this sleepy little village.

If you are a fan of classic arcade games, I’d highly recommended Space Dave!, as it’s a prime example of a great pick-up-and-play game. The addictive gameplay had me always wanting to come back for one more round over and over again, proving that Choice Provisions successfully executed on what they were trying to deliver - a solid arcade experience.

Although some elements have aged well, large swaths of the game design serve more as a look back at 2005 than a modern piece of entertainment. That being said, if like me you have a penchant for the strangeness of the sixth generation of gaming, you’ll likely be able to see Stranger’s Wrath for what it represents. Like many remasters from this era, it is best played with its original release era in mind.

Seriously, EA, don't invite that "GET IN THE HOLE" guy back again.

After getting over the fact that Hans walks too slow, I really started to get captured in the mythos surrounding the castle. The story was engaging and the puzzles were satisfyingly difficult, the only issue being it really is only a one and done experience. A worthwhile experience, but you can really only be shocked by a decapitated head surrounded by dancing goats once.

Candle is just fine. With some unresponsive controls and frustrating puzzles, it doesn’t stick the landing. That isn't great, but there is enough to like here if you are craving a new puzzle platformer. The presentation is, thankfully, utterly brilliant. Once it is all over though, you won't really feel a desire to return. The experience is an uneven one, but it balances just enough on the right side.

Nostalgia is a classic RPG with enough tweaks to make it feel new, and it's very enjoyable because of that. It's a no-brainer if you like the genre, and even newcomers will find something to like.

Smoke and Sacrifice is like a fine cigar, a slow burn from start to finish. It can be very challenging at times, but the reward is worth it once you complete a quest that seems impossible. The intricate crafting and compelling story only compliments the beautiful art direction. Smoke and Sacrifice is a single game that beckons to becomes a series.

The brief length can make it feel a little less ambitious, but I can't say I was let down by this whimsical short story of a video game. Lovely art, a cute story, and solid puzzle platforming help make The Liar Princess and the Blind Prince a pleasant ride.

I still have a lot more to see and do in Cris Tales, but the strengths heavily outweigh the weaknesses so far. There's no getting around the frustrating load times, but these are primarily disruptive during dungeons. The lack of an autosave function is a curious omission, forcing you to save frequently lest you fall in battle and have to replay a particular segment. Fortunately, you can save anywhere on the overworld map and save spots in towns and dungeons are numerous. I'm excited to see how it all comes together, so please look forward to the full review posting soon, I suppose in a future slice of time.

Just Dance 2017 is, simply put, fun. It's fun with others. It's challenging both mentally (to learn the choreography) and physically. And it has a lot of music to offer. Just Dance 2017 gets that way not by being a technical program obsessing about judging the details of your physical movements, but by doing everything in its power to make you forget everything but the music, the choreography, how they intertwine, and how you're ever going to be able to catch your breath in time to keep up with it.

As a game, Dex’s progression mechanics and choose-your-own-adventure style of exploration and story-telling make it an interesting and worthwhile diversion. The main story doesn’t achieve the greatest of heights, and the different possible endings are a little lackluster, but there’s enough substance in the journals, emails, and character interactions to push you all the way through. The combat could stand to be a little more engaging; as it is, it feels more like just a means to an end, but the shoot-’em-up like hacking mazes add satisfying, albeit challenging, depth. Greater accessibility options would have been a nice addition to the Switch port of this 2015 PC title, but it does enough to justify a space on your digital shelf if you’re a fan of 2D narrative-heavy action games or future-noir RPGs. Just don’t expect it to hold your cybernetic hand.

It's a simple, bland, but competent game for kids and no one else.

If you’re looking for a solid platformer, you may find Shu to be your remedy. While it never really shakes up the genre, it ticks all the boxes that platformer fans enjoy. Shu’s main campaign doesn’t last very long, just a handful of hours, but it’s designed so that players will want to continue playing to find every collectible and improve their timing. If you’re the kind of player that likes that sort of challenge, Shu may just be for you.

While it is a little short at six hours, Red Fly Studios' inaugural Wii game is a fantastic 3D platformer with amazing music, wonderful art direction, solid puzzles, and a great sense of exploration.

Zombie Incident is a fun little game, though there are some annoyances to be found.

If you can get past its brutal challenge, you’ll find a rewarding experience, even if it can be an exhausting one.