Destroy All Humans! 2 Reprobed is a stellar remake of a beloved classic. As you deal with the KGB, hippies, and strange humans alike, there’s nothing quite as entertaining as watching Crypto continue his crusade to destroy all humans and become ruler of Planet Earth. This will definitely hold you off while we wait for a true sequel to the series.

SD Gundam Battle Alliance is an entertaining crash course in the Gundam series. It’s approachable no matter your level of fandom as it offers remixed historical battles with the added context of the true matchups. There’s so much to unlock and enjoy across each mission, but the repetition can weigh on the experience. Regardless, this is an addictive action game that mobile suit fans everywhere will enjoy.

Animal Trail * Girlish Square is a 4-hour-long VN, where what you see is what you get. It’s cute girl shenanigans, a self-insert protagonist, and some ‘extras,’ should you get the title’s patch from Denpasoft. As I opened this all with, best reserved for a Friday night.

Dusk Diver 2 is an enjoyable action experience where players can embrace character customization, upgrading, and cosmetic alterations at their leisure. The fusion of congenial hub activities and plentiful combative encounters provides a fulfilling gameplay balance where neither side overtakes the other. Even though the narrative is not exactly all that memorable, the assignments are sometimes full, and the combat isn’t for everyone, what is here will certainly engage fans of the first game. This is simply more Dusk Diver, for better or worse.

Endling: Extinction Is Forever is a visually beautiful game with a heart-touching journey and a unique perspective. The simple controls allow you to take in the world and manage the stress of the situations without it being overly complex. The developers have done a beautiful job creating situations that make you feel attached to your fox and her babies and generate stress as the world around them changes. This is a lovely addition to any gaming library and had me gripped for hours. If you want a fresh survival experience, look no further.

Hell Blasters doesn’t reinvent the genre template too much, but it provides a decent enough package for fans of indie shmups. The story mode alone might be worth a look for fans after a classic gaming experience, and it’s one area the game does a great job of taking seriously in both presentation and gameplay execution. The core shooting experience itself is nothing too remarkable, but various modes of play and difficulty settings can make this an inexpensive shooter to jump into occasionally, and works nicely on the go when played on Nintendo Switch.

Midnight Fight Express is a title in which I can see a solid concept – make the player feel like John Wick. Plus, there’s focus and passion put towards that goal. It gives the player plenty of tools to take down their myriad enemies, including some entertaining uses of the stage elements. Of course, there’s a power fantasy element in any game where you can get your enemies hit by trains or crushed under shipping containers. Sadly, the stop-start nature of its stages brings the fantasy down a few notches, taking you out of the experience too frequently. That being said, for those that can hold onto it, it offers a fun thrill ride that keeps the tension going as you rush into the next fight.

Cursed to Golf has so many good ideas that never truly come together. I never really cared about the story; all I was left with was a zany roguelike golf game. Random glitches aside, I could help but feel cheated no matter how much time I invested. Still, it’s undeniably clever, and the puzzle nature of the courses have you mastering your form to get through purgatory as quickly as possible.

Regardless of potential differences in taste, I can confidently assert that Soul Hackers 2 weaves a magnificent tale of sincere humane understanding where strife, love, and belief wondrously coalesce. It isn’t afraid to agonize its cast to produce respective, varying levels of catharsis, ultimately crafting a courageous title at the apex of Atlus’ catalog.

From the constant localization mishaps to the design feeling like a copycat, I was constantly left with the urge to just drop the game and play something else, as it had failed to keep me engaged for more than a couple of minutes every time. Further, as much as I tried, I just couldn’t stop comparing it to Genshin Impact, which harms the identity it’s trying to pass as. And only time will tell if this will ever change in the future.

Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is a game that almost suffers from its own perfection — every individual idea really is a perfect combo of the lessons learned from Xenoblade 1 and 2. But together, it can’t quite maintain a consistent quality. These are some of the highest highs the series has ever given me, but the occasional lows make for a game that’s only ever so slightly flawed to perfectly work.

Hard West 2 is a tactically challenging work of art with a beautifully depicted environment and unique features that, much like its name, become progressively harder as you advance. Hardcore fans of tactical RPGs will savor what it has in store with its distinct combat system and necessity for well-thought-out strategies. Still, on the other hand, casual players may not be too happy with the level of difficulty as the game punishes aggressive and lackadaisical gameplay.

RPG Time: The Legend of Wright is a game that has already had a difficult time finding an audience on the Xbox. That can partially be blamed on the deluge of titles coming on Game Pass, but having now played it, I would also say that it’s a game unable to make it clear who it’s supposed to be for. There will absolutely be a niche community that bands around it for its charm and the genuine fun that can be had if you can manage to become immersed in it. It’s a unique and at times, genuinely charming and imaginative experience. But I think that many children will likely be turned away by an excess of dialogue and many adults by an excess of hand-holding. It leaves me torn between singing its praises and being frustrated by its shortcomings.

Cult of the Lamb has the addictive nature of most roguelike titles that will cause you to burn off several hours of the day. You’ll slowly hunt down heretic rivals through roguelike mechanics with the added layer the customization found in the village sim systems. As you keep the cultists satisfied, their loyalty grows, and you’ll fight the urge to become the twisted being who executed our poor lamb that started this adventure.

Despite the development complications along the way, Digimon Survive offers a final product that fulfills the original promise from its development team. With a tragic tone, it brings a new frame for the Digimon universe as a thriller VN with an enjoyable multi-layer SRPG combat. It’s become one of my favorite pieces of Digimon media, and it was worth the wait.

There was a lot of meticulousness shown in the creation of a story-based game like South of the Circle. Though it’s not perfect, and the gameplay may not be to your liking, the level of interactivity and immersion that emanates from Peter’s life is impressive. Just like a cinematic film, it left me thinking about the experience. the characters, and what I had just witnessed. I felt like I had left a movie theater with a satisfied grin on my face.

Undergrave sports a concept that is interesting on the surface and combat that is done competently, but the lack of teaching and boring room design puts it behind games like Necrodancer in terms of quality. While not a bad romp to play, it doesn’t offer much to make me want to return to it. I didn’t completely hate my time with Undergrave, but I wish it had given more care to teach me how to play it.

Outriders Worldslayer is a decent expansion to a game that was flawed upon its release. Loot is plentiful, and playing with friends over comms can be a blast. The repetitive gameplay loop and breakneck pacing leave much to be desired, especially when playing solo. Worldslayer won’t convert anybody who wasn’t already on board with Outriders to the cause, as it shares many problems with its predecessor. Still, Worldslayer will give fans of the base game reason to return to Enoch’s world.

Hindsight offers a look into a life that could very easily be one of our own. It’s a glimpse into a very personal subject that many people can relate to and handles it with maturity and grace. As a game, it offers a short, bittersweet ride that might be too costly for some. But as an ‘experience,’ it delivers satisfying emotional catharsis and is a poignant reminder that we don’t always know the whole story regarding our friends and family.

Vesteria Saga II: The Sacred Sword of Silvanister is a fantastic SRPG that scratches an itch for fair challenge and minimalism that we haven’t had in a while. It’s definitely for more hardcore fans of the genre and is missing a few things, such as concise or clear tutorials or difficulty options that would let those interested in this medium jump in.

Nope Nope Nurses is a courageous erotic experience solely for those delighted by severe female domination and male masochism. While its length is only a handful of hours and the price point is questionable, what is here is genuinely qualitative, thanks to the remarkable voice acting, shamelessly ferocious H-scene content, and unexpectedly engaging character writing.

Frogun is an excellent entry in the platformer genre in spite of the frustrating backtracking that you have to do at times or the aiming sometimes leading you to your doom. But if you’re willing to overlook them and play something to pass the time while on vacation or dealing with the summer heat, then Frogun is a fun colorful platformer that provides heaps of nostalgia for longtime fans of the genre.

While the attempt is commendable, this game falls flat in providing an enjoyable experience, though there is tons of room for improvement. If you were a fan of the predecessor, the price of admission to experience a new chapter in the SENSE anthology may be worth it for you. However, as a stand-alone product, you may want to wait for a future title that works with the presented mechanics in a more refined way.

The rather short total play time might be a downer for certain players, and the grinding being almost required might get annoying, but in essence, this remake of Live A Live felt like a qualitative title that had so much love and time put into it, to make this JRPG masterpiece from the Super Famicom now available to a broader audience, and this time, outside its home country. It’s not perfect, of course, but it does so much, so right.

Long Live The Queen is a deconstruction of the princess trope for what you will eventually discover about its world and characters. It takes time, effort, and patience to see the best that it has to offer. Those looking for another Princess Maker experience will probably already know not to look any further than here. For everyone else, the main caveat is that it takes a lot of commitment to see the worth of Long Live The Queen, but as a triumph over adversity tale and one that runs smoothly on the Nintendo Switch with its touch screen making reruns all the more seamless, Long Live The Queen will undoubtedly surprise you one way or another.

It’s safe to say that Stray wasn’t what I was expecting it to be, but that’s why I try to go into any game with as little advance knowledge as possible. Keeping an open mind to let this title be what it is and draw me into its world left me with a range of emotions by the end. I don’t know that I was expecting a game about a cat to make me cry for the reasons it happened, but I’m certainly not complaining. Anybody with an interest in cats, dystopian fiction, or questions about what makes something truly human, will feel right at home here.

River City Saga: Three Kingdoms is a low-stakes 2D adventure that offers a varied array of customization options to influence its beat ’em-up combat. As explained previously, there isn’t exactly a well-kept balance, but there is genuine fun here for those simply seeking an experience where they can turn off their brain. Moreover, the narrative can be seen as an enjoyable adaptation of the Three Kingdoms in spite of its rapid pace, acting as a loose entry point. The repetitious gameplay loop likely means long play sessions won’t be the norm here. Still, there’s a decent chunk of content dedicated fans can pursue.

Whether you’re a visual novel veteran or a newbie, A Clockwork Ley-line as a series is a great entry point into VNs. With a completion time of around 15-20 hours, you can pick it up and play it in short bursts, but it’s also just as easy to get lost in it because the story is that good. Personally, I’m very excited for the third chapter, and my only wish is that this time, we don’t have to wait too long for the series finale, and it gets released sooner than later, like clockwork.