While the content is very short, it is also a very enjoyable experience overall. The game itself does a great job of telling Leliana's backstory, featuring fully voiced cutscenes throughout Leliana's Song.

It's a completely generic affair, however, that does not stray from your typical formula of level grinding and copious, repeating dungeons.

I love a well done noir film styled game. This one has perfect sound design, shocking and unique visuals, and integrates the gameplay with those visuals.

I genuinely appreciated what We Happy Few was trying to accomplish. Its unique perspective to storytelling and compelling setting kept frustrations at bay for far longer than they had any right to. I even think that the game has the potential to course-correct though their future DLC. However, this doesn’t change the fact that the game has serious issues that make this full retail release feel more like a second round of Early Access. I cannot in good conscience encourage anyone to purchase the game in its current state.

If you’re a huge puzzle fan, like me, there’s something here for you. But in all honesty, there are plenty of puzzle games out there that wouldn’t come with this big of an asterisk. Go play those.

When I sat down to write, I was prepared to be more positive about SOCOM 4. Multiplayer and co-op make for a ton of fun and the game is built solid from the ground up, but don't waste your money if you only plan on playing SOCOM 4's single-player campaign.

Deception IV: Blood Ties is one of those games that wants you to spend a fair amount of time setting up traps, but then gives you ever chance to skip all that and easily defeat each level with minimal investment.

Strength of the Sword 3 has a fairly decent set up, but the game is hampered by a lack of tuning with input, camera, and a fairly awkward dashing mechanic.

Cool as it sounds, if you stick a circular saw on the front wheel of a motorcycle, it might slash the tire, or sever the brake line, or spark through the spokes. As good as Steel Rats is at world-building, it often fails when it lets you take control. Sometimes the answer it finds isn’t the answer it needs.

If you can look past the sadomasochism theme (and I won’t blame anyone who can’t as it constantly irked me the wrong way) then you’ll find a redeeming RPG. The star of Criminal Girls 2: Party Favors is its battle system, which is a fun twist on turn-based gaming. While I wish it was in a different game, for now I’ll have to stoop to spanking girls that clearly don’t enjoy it in order to experience it.

Snow Place Like Home is the weak link in the King’s Quest chain, with weak environments, terrible puzzles, and a lack of any real immersion in the narrative choices as Chapter Four gives players the cold shoulder.

Gotham Knights has a few interesting things going on. It’s just not enough to elevate it to the level of previous Batman games. Now, sure, technically speaking, this isn’t truly a Batman game, as the focus is on his legacy of proteges. But the Arkham series of games has elevated expectations quite high, and while Gotham Knights didn’t hit them, it has moments where it does feel like something interesting is brewing. With more to do in the city, and an easier method of switching characters, perhaps this could be the start of something greater.

Nights of Azure is a bit shorter than your average JRPG, but it jam-packs a ton of variety into its 20-25 hours of story — and if you stick around to collect everything afterward, you’ll have even more time to sink your teeth into the game’s various systems.

Modern Combat: Domination is a valiant attempt at trying to go head to head with shooter genre giants such as Call of Duty and Battlefield and is, to some extent, successful, but overall the title fails to bring anything new to the table, or build upon other titles.

The Pact is filled with uncomfortable moments that force the player to choose between the right thing and their cover. It also makes important moves to flesh out the season’s story arc, and ends with an awesome teaser for episode three. Telltale Games is on a roll this season, and The Enemy Within continues to be some of the developer’s best work.

The fourth instalment in the Port Royale series will keep fans happy with its upgraded features and a bigger map than can be found in Port Royale 3. For newcomers to the genre, they’re likely to be overwhelmed at first with all of the aspects that need to be understood to create a prosperous empire. However, developer Gaming Minds has tried to make the game as accessible to those players as possible. In this, they’ve largely succeeded.

The cinematic slicing and dicing of enemies, with arms flying around haphazardly makes the game fun to watch, while the repetitive nature of the combat can make the game boring and tedious to play.

There’s a lot to like about Rise of the Dragons, even if it doesn’t fully click and deliver a new all-time great brawler. The core action is fluid and enjoyable, some of the unlockable characters are a blast to play, and the roguelite elements work well enough (even if it’d probably be better to just play as fully powered characters from the get-go). However, the stages and the boss fights aren’t unique enough to make this a truly memorable experience. It’s doesn’t add a ton to the franchise’s legacy, but it’s easy enough to settle into and be a worthwhile new diversion, especially in co-op.

Voltron VR Chronicles is an amazingly immersive way to jump into a Saturday morning cartoon, something I’ve only dreamed of my entire life. It’s not going to provide an engaging gameplay experience for anyone looking for a challenge, but it’s an innovative new way to participate in the action of a popular animated series.

Overall, Sniper Elite 3 does have a fun kill-cam feature, it does have online co-op and it does have an interesting multiplayer. But, almost everything about it feels like a rushed product that simply cannot be ignored.

Both games have been ported nicely, with a few new features that weren't there originally.

If you’re looking for a feel-good gaming experience, it’s probably best to steer clear of The Town of Light. It’s a darkly haunting narrative that touches on a subject matter that doesn’t get anywhere near enough attention nowadays, while also avoiding falling into the trap of sensationalism. As long as you can get past some of its legitimate structure issues, not to mention a general lack of a cohesive gameplay thread, it provides a depressing, yet unforgettable quest into a person’s descent into madness. While this is definitely not an experience that I plan on putting myself through ever again, it will undoubtedly stick with me for a long time.

Gravel is a nice change of pace from the simulation-heavy racing games available elsewhere in the industry. While decidedly light on content outside of the main campaign and devoid of any real multiplayer options to speak of, the most important part of any racing game, the driving, is consistently fun.

Worth checking out if you’re into horror games. While the main story is a bit simplistic, and it is far too easy to overlook a key item resulting in unnecessary time spent back-tracking, White Day has a perfectly terrifying ambiance.

It’s always a shame when a game has such an incredible foundation and never becomes what it should. Fans of LEGO games and of the movie will have fun regardless, because we’re a bit crazy like that. But if you don’t fall in the crazy category, best bet is to wait for the next LEGO game that will hopefully feature this same innovation.

For all of my criticisms, Marvel’s Avengers is still a game I can’t wait to get back to playing. While there’s a lot of work to do, it gets one main thing right: it’s fun to be an Avenger. Crystal Dynamics captured this incredible feeling of being a superhero and distilled it into a digital environment. Combat is deep and nuanced, with far more complexities and character than your traditional superhero brawler. Right now, Marvel’s Avengers is a bit rough around the edges, but “good isn’t a thing you are. It’s a thing you do.” If Crystal Dynamics can smooth performance and squash bugs, as well as build out a more compelling endgame experience, it has a lot of potential to be one of the most memorable and replayable loot brawlers of this generation and next.

There is a lot of love with Soundfall. The music never fails to suck you in to each leve,l and the story and characters are cute. However it’s not all solos and encores, as the level design is rather bland and repetitive and the multiplayer leaves a lot to be desired. If you are in the mood for a dungeon crawler with a nice twist, you have a gem in Soundfall. Just don’t go expecting an overly deep loot system or anything too complex. It’s a rather straight forward game that’s all about getting lost in the sounds, which honestly can be rather nice to do.

City of Light isn’t a disappointing ending by itself, but it’s a ham-fisted conclusion to an unfulfilling take on an overplayed hero.