Despite my complaints, I actually enjoyed my time with Don’t Give Up, and I think, long-term, Taco Pizza Cat Games has the ability to create powerful stories that people will want to connect with. The game’s subject matter is of great importance, as is the way in which it connects with the audience. If nothing else, indies like this are showing the value of telling stories rooted in mental illness with both humour and empathy. However, the experience I had with Don’t Give Up was sadly diminished by technical issues and combat that leaves a lot to be desired and ultimately isn’t fun to play. There is absolutely good game hidden within it and damn does it have a lot of heart, but at this time the game misses it’s mark on the technical side, which makes it tough to fully recommend.

Not every game has to push the envelope, and Unlucky Mage certainly doesn't. Yet it could deliver better in terms of story and execution.

This is not the worst game ever. Somehow, the experience adds up to more than the sum of its parts, and it manages to be a mostly inoffensive adventure. Its predictability is a bit like comfort food, in that it recalls a childhood of being easily entertained. The battle system isn't interesting enough to hold up the game on its own, but fiddling with stats to avoid a level grind can be rewarding in its own right. There are probably worse ways to spend a couple dozen hours, but on the other hand there are also better.

Two Brothers will find most appeal with those who grew up in the earlier periods of adventure gaming, when players had to make their own way through the world.

It’s hard to recommend Dandy Dungeon on the strength of any one of its aspects. The gameplay is designed to be repetitive, and does too little to appeal much to either those interested in dungeon-crawling combat or puzzle-solving. The story gels well with the comically exaggerated pixel graphics and silly music, and delivers a good amount of cheekiness, though it’s unfortunately eclipsed by the game’s large amount of grinding. In the end, it’s not a terrible game, but its idiosyncrasies don’t push it beyond average, and may be too much for many gamers to swallow.

There’s just not enough in the overall package to make tERRORbane an enjoyable experience, especially for those looking for something more than flat parody.

Even if you're desperate for a PC game to play with friends, it'll take a major content patch or expansion for this to be a worthy experience, much less live up to its name.

If the game wasn't crippled by its glitches and save data wiping, there is an entertaining experience to be had.

Fairy Tail 2 has a core problem that it fails to solve. Its identity as an adaptation pits it up against both the original manga and the anime, which concluded far before this game’s release, putting the onus on the game to do something to provide an extra spark. While the gameplay systems are solid, they aren’t enough of a positive to overcome that fans would likely receive a more complete narrative elsewhere. Add to that the game’s technical issues, and Fairy Tail 2 ends up being hard to recommend.

Dragon Star Varnir is exactly what it wanted to be: a safe game. Most of the ambition went into the combat system, where it succeeded. There are moments where players can lose themselves in the story, only for the presentation to bring the excitement to a screeching halt. Most annoying is how it feels like it punishes the player for spending too long exploring through the frustrating little sister system that creates some tension, but is much more tedious than it’s worth. These time constraints make the playable cast feel much smaller due to an inability to use them all consistently. Dragon Star Varnir has it’s positives: witches are all heartwarming and interesting in their own way, while combat is also fun, with devouring dragons for cores a notable perk. It is just not enough to take this game higher than being adequate.

Bleach: The 3rd Phantom is not going to snare fresh fans for the franchise, but at least it does not fail so completely as to be unplayable.

I am frustrated with Criminal Girls 2, because on one hand it's a very solid dungeon crawler that most of the time doesn't outstay its welcome. It has the right pacing, the battle system has some neat little quirks to it, and yet the downside is that it becomes grindy in more ways than needed. While I didn't hate my time with Criminal Girls 2, I feel like it needed a much clearer direction to make the gameplay and story components more cohesive, and that's where it fails. If you liked the first game, this review likely won't sway you, but for those who are curious, just be prepared for a lot of scrubby brushes and goo flinging awkwardness.

Citizens Unite! Earth and Space has largely been mentioned as two separate games. That is because both games are played entirely separate and, except for a bunch of side-quests added in with a few new characters and encounters, nothing has been changed to either game to make this content feel like it needs to be there. With no payoff to the game-hopping the release feels longer and is just a detriment to two otherwise average games. If neither game has been played before this is a handy collector’s pack but there is no real need to delve too deeply for returning players unless a collect everything attitude is undertaken. The games look nice, with vibrant character work and their own unique feel in combat and talents, but with minimal character growth to them beyond mere caricatures it feels more chore and bore, than bringing in an excite to unite.

As said at the start, Omega Quintet is a game with appeal to fans of previous Compile Heart games, but is highly unlikely to get many more on board. The battles and exploration are decent, but are completely overshadowed by familiar issues with the rest of the game. There are other titles from the company with more widespread appeal and less aggravating design decisions.

My World, My Way is certainly for players who are into collecting items from battles, and very simple, but sometimes challenging, dungeon-crawling.

For some it may be worth trying out, but there are many JRPGs on the DS right now that are more fun, more charming, more worth your time, and more likely to remind you of the good old days of being a young RPGamer.

I wasn't really sure what to expect from 3D, having never seriously partaken of this series before. The experience, with its annoying mechanics and impenetrable narrative, has soured me on trying any more. Fans of other Kingdom Hearts titles will probably have a completely different reaction as they have already learned to cope with the mechanics and have some clue what the hell is going on. Absent from this conditioning, I find I have no interest in learning what else this series has to offer.

It's a serviceable package, but could have been so much more if its mechanics matched the sweep of its story and the story didn't wear itself out on tangents. The participants in the Holy Grail War are nuanced, cleverly designed characters, but they gutter and die before becoming truly awesome.

Utawarerumono is a property that deserves greater awareness, but unfortunately Utawarerumono Zan is unlikely to help. It might serve some as a brief reminder of events, but taken in a vacuum neither the storytelling nor gameplay do enough to warrant much attention. At least there is the remake of its first title to look forward to in 2020.

Warsaw starts well enough. Its eye-catching premise and style do a good job getting players’ initial attention, while the brisk gameplay loop gets players up to speed quickly. However, the loop gets tiresome a short while in, with rather shallow depth and no narrative to support it, and so the experience of the game itself will not linger too long in the memory. But if nothing else, Warsaw still gives encouragement for others to learn more about one of the darker times in history and find further respect for those who fought through it.

While it might not be the most pleasant-looking game or have a ton of depth, Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars is still enjoyable and at its best when played in small doses.

Capes starts off with an interesting superhero premise of a dystopian city that is controlled by the villains. At the start, the gameplay can be rewarding and engaging, while the characters are well voice-acted, and the game has some nice tactical gameplay until the mid-game. However, things don’t manage to carry through and the latter parts of the game leave much to be desired. Those looking for a new superhero strategy game will get some enjoyment out of Capes, but could easily find themselves hoping there was more to it.

It's a game that has a lot of promise, but feels cheaply made. There's some great ideas that are overshadowed by gameplay elements that don't add anything meaningful to the overall experience. While I loved the overarching themes and the characters, those elements were outshined by boring, repetitive gameplay, with boring and repetitive tasks that felt directionless most of the time. I can only hope, if a sequel is made, that Gust refocuses on how they want to make the gameplay interesting, because as it stands Blue Reflection lacks meaningful gameplay that doesn't work well with the storytelling it is attempting to provide.

The nostalgia present in the Disney worlds is a treat for all, and it's easy to get attached to the cast. However, there's very little about the gameplay that impresses, and those bits that do try and get away from the uninteresting battles are frequently interrupted or still have issues plaguing them.

Creature Keeper demonstrates a promising foundation, but it requires considerable refinement to truly realize its potential and become a consistently enjoyable adventure.

For all its flaws, it did genuinely surprise me in areas and had twists and turns that were unexpected. It's a pleasantly mediocre game that could have used tons more polish to create a better experience.

Fans of Organization XIII will enjoy some insight into their favorite characters' daily lives, but many fans of the series may be turned off by the lackluster controls and odd story directions taken with this portable spin-off.

Ravenlok is incredibly endearing on the surface with its charming visual style and vibe. It’s just a shame that the underlying game never completely lives up to that charm factor. With combat that ends up tiresome and an underwhelming story, there’s always a feeling that the game is missing something. The game fortunately doesn’t stick around too long, coming in at around six hours, but it’s disappointing that those six hours are not more memorable, as there are glimpses in Ravenlok that could have been something special.