MXGP 2019 is a safe bet for those looking to race with the full weight of the real MXGP behind the game.

If you can get through the glitches and barebones plot, there is a good game to be played. I had fun with Blackgate. I will be playing through it again because this is the style of game I really like. It certainly could have been better, but Blackgate is still an above average experience.

Combine the puzzles with top-notch graphics and plentiful entertaining dialogue, and you have something worth playing.

If you’re a diehard for fishing games, I suppose this one is fine. It doesn’t have any magical qualities that will lure non-genre fans to the party, though. That’s okay too, I suppose.

Hellpoint is a sci-fi Souls-like with one killer feature: local split screen co-op. The rest of the game lacks the polish of its obvious sources of inspiration, and ultimately the technical issues including a wildly inconsistent frame rate, hit detection problems, and interface glitches hold Hellpoint back from achieving more. But if you’re looking for a Souls-like hit that you can take with a friend, you may want to check out Hellpoint, albeit with tempered expectations.

The sheer idea of a gigantic extreme winter sports sandbox is extremely compelling. While the game manages to live up to some of its potential by offering up an expansive, beautifully detailed map and an extensive collection of modes, it falls short on several fundamental elements, critical to the success of a new franchise. Odd storytelling, inconsistent controls, practically non-existent tutorials and imprecise collision detection all combine to derail what should have been a new premier franchise for Ubisoft.

While it started out as a great experience, sadly, much like the floppy tentacles of Octodad, Dadliest Catch couldn’t hold itself up and began to flail wildly all over the place. The hilarity and novelty wear thin quickly and there was too often that my tentacles became glitched inside of random objects or the environment itself.

While The Heist has a strong story—or at least the start of one—it doesn’t fill out the world or give Peter any additional gameplay growth.

A game that starts you out with a bang from the very first menu, but starts to fade down the stretch. The bland environments, serious lack of depth in the enemy department, and the repetitive nature of the combat don't do it any favors either.

There’s a lot to do in Rebel Galaxy, it’s just a shame that it’s all too often the same things to do. That’s the selling point for this genre, yes, but there’s so much repetition that I never felt particularly engaged.

Ultimately, Touhou Genso Wanderer is a solid, if unspectacular, dungeon crawler. It’s in a strange area in-between accessible titles like Pokémon Mystery Dungeon and ones built specifically for hardcore players. While it’s not as good as the top of its class, there’s still some solid fun (and challenge) to be had if you’re looking for something new.

Crimsonland is a fun game to sit down with two or more players while trying to compete for a spot on the leaderboards, but it ultimately feels more like a distraction itself, than a twin-stick murderfest without distractions.

My hang-ups with the aiming aside, the PlayStation 4 version of Resident Evil Revelations is the best version of the survival horror outing. The problem is that it’s 2017. It’s been over five years since Revelations (or I guess it was technically “Revelaitons” then) released on Nintendo 3DS, and what was once a technical marvel is an outdated-looking title on current consoles.

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

Perhaps the biggest downside is that, as of right now, Monster Harvest isn’t particularly long for a farming sim game. I think I finished it in just over twenty hours or so. To be fair, I was grinding so I could write this review, but by the time I finished the first year in-game, I had already reached my maximum XP cap and unlocked the bunker. In the first week of Year Two I had fully upgraded all of my tools and had enough materials (just short on cash) to finish upgrading all of my farm buildings. In week two I beat the SlimeCo boss. If the developer doesn’t have plans to make events a real part of the game or expand the story and dungeons, this unique experience just isn’t worth a full price investment.

Granblue Fantasy: Versus is a decent fighter whether you play solo or not. My biggest drawbacks are the “story” and the game’s eleven-character starting roster. I suppose the plus side of having so few characters means that you’ll pick a favorite pretty quick and have time to master their command list. Some of the series’ more popular fighters are coming out as DLC relatively soon. Not a great selling point, if you ask me. But with roots in the gacha-game genre, I shouldn’t have expected any less.

Having only one bullet is a nifty gimmick which can introduce some level of strategy to the madness that unfolds, too. Modifiers and an assortment of game modes help to increase the title’s longevity, but there isn’t a whole lot of content to speak of, including one of the shortest campaigns we’ve ever seen.

Ends up being its own worst enemy. A quirky, genuinely funny localization manages to shoot itself in the foot by relying on lazy jokes about breast sizes far too often.

Smash Hit Plunder is an extremely entertaining game. However, if you’re playing the game in single-player exclusively, expect to get burned out rather swiftly. Unfortunately, aside from keeping onlookers busy, the social screen mechanics don’t deliver much more than an interactive distraction until they get their next turn under the visor.

Albert & Otto is a decent puzzle platformer with some interesting ideas. It’s a bit rough around the edges, but hopefully this has set the stage for some refinement if a second episode is ever created. Check out Albert & Otto if you desire a short but intriguing puzzler and can power through some awkward platforming.

The questing formula is pretty basic and repetitive, with the other two unlockable modes providing little relief. It is a game that doesn’t keep you engaged for long, but while it does have you there, it provides good entertainment.

The Wizards nails the dream of having magic at your fingertips, but never goes as far as to make the magic feel all that useful.

An intriguing horror experience with some neat ideas, but it doesn’t seem to have the muscle to make those ideas work as well as they could. It’s a short, concise experience, but it’s often interrupted by frustrating trial and error challenges that interrupt the flow with frequent checkpoint loading and rewatching cutscenes.

The fast-paced action, stylistically exaggerated attacks and intense give-and-take help deliver a genuinely enjoyable experience. However, things tend to run out of steam rather quickly. If you are looking for an entertaining way to burn a few hours, look no further. If you have aspirations of extensive replayability, however, you will be better served rolling on by.

RAGE 2 is a culmination of many gameplay tropes we’ve seen year after year. That isn’t inherently negative, but when it doesn’t do many of them particularly well, it makes you just want to go play better games. Traveling across the map is a slog, the menus are slow and clunky, and there were significant texture issues that broke the immersion for me.

It’s not the best or the worst otome I’ve ever played, and most of the romance routes are rather sweet. Getting there, especially for completionists, is a beating and never feels fully worth it, but when you see the lovely couple finally come together, you can’t help but feel warm and squishy inside.

If it sounds as if I’m overly frustrated with The Long Dark, it’s because I am. The sheer number of times that it hints at being a special game that entirely dominates every single survival-based title that has come before it is staggering. But for every one of those times, there’s another time where it’s broken, bugged, or just plain poorly thought-out.

LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5 – 7 won't surprise you. It won't wow you with amazing graphics, or incredible sound, or a gripping storyline. It will, however, entertain and charm you if you are a fan of the Harry Potter franchise.