ABZÛ is a beautiful experience. It’s still technically a game, but one that can be appreciated by anyone who loves bright colors, art, fish, meditation, and more.

The dynamically generated world and character leveling systems help to emphasize its infinite replayability.

Headlander is a tease — a conglomerate of great ideas that tapered at the halfway point in favor of very basic “find the right color robot body” mechanics, lack of continued humor, and a middling story at best.

Vita’s already seen a number of dating sims, but none of them combine action-RPG gameplay with visual novel elements like A.W.: Phoenix Festa. Because it handles both of these decently, it’s worth checking out for fans of the Asterisk War franchise and anyone who thinks they might enjoy such a combination. Unfortunately, it’s way too light on narrative to leave much of an impact; for a game about a tournament, it lacks the sort of excitement and tension you’d expect, and even the dating sim elements pay off in thin dividends.

Been yearning for something a little more challenging and unforgiving than usual? Shiren the Wanderer: The Tower of Fortune and the Dice of Fate might just satisfy your craving.

Fairy Fencer F: Advent Dark Force honestly has a lot going for it, but failed to seal the deal in the end. No matter the ending, I felt more frustrated than anything with all the monotony thrust upon me. Perhaps if the stories weren’t so predictable, or perhaps if the grind wasn’t so prevalent I would have been able to overlook one or the other. Instead, I wrapped up my adventures with Fang with wistful dissatisfaction.

Moon Hunters is worth playing, just not on PlayStation 4. The lack of online play is a devastating blow to the overall package. Throw in the constant technical issues, and you have a bad port of what is a really interesting game.

Lifeless Planet released at a time when the game has the biggest chance to make a name for itself. It’s just a shame the end result feels more like a prototype than a fully fleshed-out game.

Gal*Gun: Double Peace has a surprising amount of heart for a game that has its head lodged firmly in a gutter full of panties. The characters are likable, the plot is goofy in its seriousness, and the premise is so over the top that I couldn’t help but laugh. Sadly, the gameplay simply doesn’t hold up its end of the bargain.

ADR1FT may have atmosphere, but it doesn’t have much else.

It would be hard to say that Kill Strain isn’t at least ambitious. The game was a studio’s first outing in a relatively immature genre, which attempted to take a dramatically different approach to many of core mechanics that define MOBAs. Though carefully calculated, these risks fall flat in execution, resulting in a confusing and joyless experience.

Neverwinter is strongly recommended for RPG fans, and even more so for MMORPG fans. There are a couple of hiccups from a technical standpoint, and the controls aren’t perfect. Graphically, we’ve all seen better, as well. But there is a whole world of Dungeons & Dragons-inspired adventuring to be had in Neverwinter, and you can see as much or as little of it with friends as you so desire.

Overall, the cumulative effect of the game’s themes is still a very powerful one, and I enjoyed most of my time with it, but I can’t help but feel a little let down by the flaws that kept it from reaching its full potential.

10 Second Ninja X is one of gaming’s simple joys for those who relish repeated challenges in order to shave fractions of a second off of leaderboard high scores. The downside is that it fails to cater to the players who don’t immediately appreciate that level of challenge, shutting the door to them pretty quickly.

It captures none of the camaraderie or the imagination that’s seen in the films. There’s no personality here, and gamers are left with a $50 twin stick shooter that doesn’t have a single interesting idea in it.

The game does deliver an initial burst of exhilaration, but this is unfortunately unsustainable beyond a few outings. When the dust settles, what remains is a run-of-the-mill class based shooter, set in a series of drab environments. This is a genuine case of getting what you pay for.

On the surface, everything about Merryn’s adventure is absolutely charming. The deeper you and Merryn go, the game loses its luster, but it’s still worth undertaking the journey if this style of adventure game sings to you. Just be aware it may not be a complete pleasure cruise.

Lost Sea harbors (see what I did there?) a good idea and bright visuals with flawed execution.

Furi is an action packed, violent game that does a great job of marrying two genres together.

Romance of the Three Kingdoms XIII undoubtedly has a cult, niche following, as games don’t usually receive that many sequels without such a following. However, this is one niche that is as obscure for newcomers as it is deep, and it’s certainly an instance where real-time strategy simply does not fit on the console with a controller. If you’re a fan of this series, save yourself from grief and pick it up on PC.

Ultimately this feels like a one trick pony that has been stretched to every conceivable limit. Though it may be initially enchanting, it won’t take long before Grimm’s spell wears off, leaving players wondering if getting some pizza is really worth all of the hassle.

LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens is a solid LEGO experience — certainly in the top tiers as far as LEGO games are concerned — but still just a LEGO experience that isn’t looking to change the status quo while bringing the heart and soul of a critically and commercially lauded film to your console, brick by expected brick.

Prison Warden is what will offer me some longevity in this game, since I can mess around with how the wardens affect the gameplay, and how each map runs differently. I get bored easily, and I will say that I found myself unchallenged after I got the hang of things. Prison Warden can help with that.

NERO is not fun. NERO might have a powerful story. NERO might look pretty. But NERO is not fun. Nor enjoyable. Or engaging. Or really anything that may have driven me to want to keep playing.

Not much about the game stands out as must-play, but it’s a good recommendation for RPG-loving friends who are looking for a sci-fi/steampunk RPG to play.

Both on its own and as a piece of the cumulative ZE puzzle, this easily has the best narrative I’ve seen in a game so far this year and should go down as one of the all-time greatest stories told through the medium.

The game’s presentation feels very dated, graphics performance fluctuates, players new to the franchise may feel left out in the cold, and the story is somewhat predictable. Yet, despite these issues, the game is ultimately very fun for RPG fans, both Japanese and Western, thanks to the meaty campaign, countless strategy options, and numerous unlockable and upgradeable skills and roles. Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness is a perfect time-sink to game away those lazy summer afternoons on.

Grand Kingdom’s blend of board game-style map exploration and intriguing lane-based combat is something you won’t find anywhere else on PS4, and that’s really what makes it something to be savored.