Definitely not a fairy tale, but if you’re okay with playing something with a darker, more mature tone then it’s worth giving this a go. Exploring every inch of the labyrinth is addictive, and its unique battle system and an in-depth character creation system will keep you busy for quite a while.

Ghostwire: Tokyo is the game I think we were all hoping for when it was announced. The eerie streets of an empty Tokyo draw you in and promptly scare you senseless with some fascinating enemies lurking around every corner. The story shines exactly when it needs to and then fades into the backdrop, allowing you to experience this sensational world. From the incredible voice work and writing, to the well-paced combat and city exploration, this is a must-play experience with plenty to do across its 20 hours.

Mafia II is a very fun game to play with a fantastic story, presentation, and graphics. There are a few issues that hold the game back from being a real contender such as the lack of gameplay variety and the linear story.

Utawarerumono: Mask of Truth is an interesting hybrid of visual novel and strategy RPG that tilts, unfortunately for me, toward the former. As someone who didn’t much understand the story thanks to its awkward retelling of the events of the previous two games (and who didn’t enjoy the parts I did understand), I found the 1 to 2 hours of reading in between battles to be nearly unbearable.

This is an adventure that is absolutely worthy of your time. All it will take is a single dungeon before it has wormed its way into your heart.

If you’ve been chomping at the proverbial bit, in preparation for Farming Simulator 22, most likely you are going to be extremely pleased with this outing. It takes the more surface-level mechanics found in prior installments and then builds upon them immensely. While it certainly has its fair share of issues such as terrible AIs and tutorials, which hopefully can be improved through post-release patches, this new level of depth helps drive the franchise well into the PlayStation 5 era. Using this year as a foundation, I can’t wait to see where the series goes in the future.

Crossing Souls has a bunch of elements that should be right up my alley, but some flat writing and uninspired design really keeps it from hitting the desired marks. There’s a good idea here, and I have no doubt that a teen adventure starring ghosts and Egyptian Gods could be really dope, but a cool concept doesn’t make a great game. Instead, it just makes the end result all the more disappointing.

If you haven’t played the Patapon series prior to these remastered versions hitting the PS4, I strongly urge you to do so. They are challenging yet fun, and the music gets stuck in your brain like the best earworm you could ask for. All we need now is a timely date for Patapon 3 Remastered and for PlayStation to bring Patapon merchandise back to the PlayStation Gear shop.

While The Evil Within doesn’t quite reach the iconic Resident Evil 4‘s level of brilliance or scariness, this is a satisfyingly gruesome adventure.

I typically don't mind short campaigns, but an experience just over 5 hours that doesn't leave you wanting more is certainly not a good thing. As a whole, Syndicate is a functional shooter that employs some interesting concepts but fails to really flesh them out to their fullest.

Just because a game is hard, doesn’t mean it is gratifying. Though it certainly has moments of brilliance, these glimpses are few and far between. It also doesn’t help matters much when the borderline mean-natured presentation and combat mechanics continue to over-emphasize failures, instead of trumpeting successes.

While the graphics in Penal Colony are pretty disappointing, the atmosphere, pacing, and amount of content are easily worth the price of admission.

As good as the PS3 version is, it's not as impressive as the Vita version, simply due to the fact that the PS All-Stars on the Vita so closely matches the experience of a home console-something I've never yet seen. It's a technical marvel.

Concrete Genie has plenty of depth and heart, feeling freeform enough to relinquish creative control to the player, but also guided enough for those that might feel they lack the creativity or patience to make compelling art. It’s pacing is brilliant, keeping great momentum as it works its way through the narrative, even it it stumbles slightly when it comes to giving certain mechanics room to breathe.

Perhaps the best way to describe how infectious the cheer and simple fun in Persona Dancing: Endless Night Collection is to reflect on how it stays with you after you put it down. Hours or days later, you’ll find yourself tapping your foot to a song you played, and rather than just leaving it at that, a temptation emerges.

Causal racing fans looking to simply mess around with their dream cars will find more tension here than it is really worth to get what you want out of the game. But, hardcore racing fans who have no concept of repetition being a bad thing, will find the game’s 22 different locations and five very diverse race types an interesting departure from the status quo.

Everything considered, Attack on Titan 2 is an improvement on the first game in every way, but retreading old ground makes it hard to justify the “2” tacked on to the end. It’s a great opportunity for anyone who missed the first game to get a far more comprehensive Attack on Titan experience, and there’s definitely more content and improvements for those who did play it.

If Asksys Games and Nihon Falcom were serious about porting Tokyo Xanadu to the PS4, there was a lot more that could have been done. Graphics needed a major overhaul, and the additional side stories were merely fluff that didn’t contribute a lot to making an already bland story more interesting.

The top notch 2D visuals help bring the game to life with movie-inspired characters and storyline. The lack of an online co-op mode holds Shank back from being a real enjoyable co-op title, and it really should have been included in the package.

The incredibly lenient death system will be seen as a boon by those who suffer through horror games and love only having to experience a particularly scary section the bare number of times that is necessary. The save system also encourages a pick-up-and-play mentality, which is a nice fit on the Vita.

Samurai Warriors 5 is like comfort food for gamers. It’s just like you remember, only this time a bit flashier, and with a few extra tweaks to play with. Since it covers Nobunaga’s younger years, it’s also a great entry in the franchise for new players to pick up. Veterans will no doubt rely on muscle memory to power through the Hard mode, but otherwise this is a fun Musou that anyone can play. Grab a friend and get to slicing!

At its core, Thieves in Time is an average platformer that has some pretty art and that Sly Cooper charm. Fans of the franchise will love it because it’s more Sly, but those looking for something that goes above and beyond will likely be left feeling a bit disappointed.

Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number is everything the first game was, with improvements that change and evolve the game enough to feel like its own bloodthirsty monster.

After an entire calendar year in Portia, there’s still so much more for me to do. There are new areas to unlock and explore, buildings to reopen, and I still haven’t convinced Gust that we should be married and become a powerhouse architect firm. I may not reconstruct every single lost relic that lays beneath Portia in the ruins, but I’ll be damned if I don’t get Gust to wear my ring.

Much of the fun in Carto is that you never know what new things you’ll discover next. It’s a real joy to find new map pieces and see what new areas you can explore, as well as the new characters that you’ll get to meet next. This is a super chilled out puzzle game and quite possibly one of the most relaxed and wholesome adventures that you’ll have this year.

The Medium is an admirable horror experience from a developer that has been making a lot of huge strides for itself in the world of horror game development. It’s not something that is going to change the world of horror games, but it does enough unique things with the simultaneous dual-world mechanic to stand out. Like many horror games before it, it fails to balance its tension with certain gameplay mechanics that can turn from fear to frustration pretty quickly, but these are spaced out enough that it never ruined the experience wholesale. For any horror fans looking for a Silent Hill-esque game to fill that ominous void, The Medium will at least scratch that itch.

With a lot of customization options, Mega Man Star Force Legacy Collection allows you to enjoy these seven RPGs on your own terms. They’re a lot of fun to revisit, and the more action-oriented approach makes them meaningfully different from the Battle Network games despite their shared DNA. It’s a no-brainer for Mega Man fans and those hankering for some action RPGs to play.

Fans of the cartoon and original game will love all of the improvements and visuals, and will most likely embrace the nostalgia. Everyone else will have fun and then move on.