I enjoyed my time with Welcome Tour. Just be aware of what you’re getting if you decide to buy yourself a ticket to this, Nintendo’s other museum. It’s not a bad game, it’s just not entirely a game; that, coupled with the higher cost if you want to experience all the program has to offer, results in a product that won’t be for everyone.

It has glimmers of smart ideas, and the developer could have been a perfect fit, but it just doesn't live up to its potential. It feels rushed and dull, and the show deserves better.

Hatoful Boyfriend: Holiday Star isn't a lump of coal by any means. Rather, it feels more like unwrapping a present and getting socks.

I knew the writing was on the wall when Everybody 1-2 Switch! was announced in the same month that it was released, with little fanfare from Nintendo. Everybody 1-2 Switch! is fun in the same way that watching a bad movie is fun. If you’ve got some good friends together and everyone’s in a silly mood, you might have a good time throwing on Everybody 1-2 Switch and having a laugh at the absurdity of it all. But after about 20 minutes of this, most sensible people will ask you to close the game and launch Mario Kart, Mario Party, or even Switch Sports before they sink more of their precious time into Everybody 1-2 Switch!

A golf game developed by some of the people who brought us Burnout seemed like a great idea on paper, but it was poorly executed as globetrotting means nothing in this game, it isn’t very well optimized on PC, and its repetitive gameplay can get old real fast.

Bakugan: Champions of Vestroia is certainly the best of the recent Bakugan video game adaptations, though it’s far from a masterpiece. The world is neat, and WayForward does an excellent job with the Bakugan creatures themselves. Battling is solid, as it does a great job at mixing real-time and turn-based elements. It could have greatly benefited from some new Bakugan types for diversity’s sake, or a more unique story. Regardless, Bakugan: Champions of Vestroia will surely satisfy most fans of the franchise.

I also wish some narrative sections played out to their end and the choices mattered a bit more, but Foreclosed tells its story and gets out. I can’t fault it for not overstaying. If you want a snappy cyberpunk adventure it might be worth seeing how the story of Evan Kapnos and his fight for his own identity play out. Just be prepared to deal with some average and occasionally frustrating gameplay all along the way.

To put it simply, if this was one of those retro re-releases that are basically fancy emulators with additional screen filters and save states, maybe online play as a treat, Star Wars: Episode 1: Jedi Power Battles (whew) probably would’ve been alright. Instead, we have this bizarre Frankenmaster that looks and sounds like the end result of someone playing with a PlayStation emulator for the first time and pushing the sliders all the way up. Preservation is important, even for games that aren’t “classics.” This isn't the preservation you've been looking for.

Ultimately, Battle of Z offers Dragon Ball Z fans more of the same: another chance at seeing their favorite characters pummel each other. However, without a real fighting engine to support the game, hardcore fans haven't just played this before, they've probably already played something better.

I wanted desperately to find a good game underneath all the bugs in Redfall, and every now and then a tiny ray of light would shine through and give me hope. I took my time to give it a fair opportunity where others wrote it off only a few hours in. Unfortunately, they were right, and this will go down as one of the more disappointing games that I’ve played in recent years. All we can hope for now is that Redfall’s disastrous journey serves as a warning to Microsoft and its stable of development studios. Not because the world’s second-largest company can’t take the hits, but because players deserve better.

It's really only good for mindless entertainment. I guess the same can be said of most YouTube channels, too.

Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance delivers a solid D&D adventure, with exciting combat and a slew of monsters to take down. Though my experience was a bit dulled by crashes and some minor bugs, it certainly didn’t ruin the game for me. Dark Alliance fits in nicely in the pantheon of Dungeons and Dragons games.

With NBA Live 15, EA Sports makes minimal progress at best, but can't seem to find a solid enough identity for its hoops sim. The gameplay is all over the place, the modes don't show enough improvement, and the visual splendor is dulled over by commentators who feel like they want to be somewhere else.

As is, Airplane Mode doesn’t make it off the runway. I’d rather fly Spirit.

If Akiba's Trip: Hellbound & Debriefed catches you having too much fun, be prepared to have that stripped from you like a finely quaffed set of Shadow Soul clothes. This game is a constant chore to enjoy and should be reserved for the folks that really want to see where the series began.

I'll say this much, if you try and play Metamorphosis as a substitute for a book report, you'll probably fail your English class. But as a game that's inspired by Kafka's classic tale, this is not bad at all. The platforming is competent, the puzzles can get creative, and the characters are often interesting. The downside is that the performance lag can't be ignored and sucks a lot of the fun out of this game. The other thing worth noting is that this is a very brief adventure. Even novices should have little trouble getting through the full story in anything more than four to five hours.

Escape Dead Island disappoints on multiple levels, from its lackluster gameplay, to its awful storytelling.

Mighty No 9 does present a few concepts that feel like they could have been the next iterative step. Even if it had avoided its many pitfalls and baffling design choices, though, it's likely a few decades too late for such minor improvements.

If the idea of playing a shooter crammed on top of a modern edition of Drug Wars, full of pseudo ironic stunt casting and roguelike gimmicks sounds like a good time, boy do I have a game for you. The only game for you, really. All snark aside I don’t think I’ve ever played a game quite like Crime Boss: Rockay City. It’s a massive swing and a big miss, with enough force to crack the sound barrier while the ball stays in the catcher’s mitt. It’s neither a cynical corporate cringe like Sharknado, nor is it a low-budget dud you’d expect to see a crew of robot puppets heckle. It’s weird, loud and uncanny. Frankly I’m surprised Christopher Walken didn’t show up.

Contra: Rogue Corps may not get high marks for reinvigorating the Contra series, nor does it innovate or do anything exceptionally well. But a game that you enjoy playing doesn't have to, and I found myself enjoying this raucous shooter more than I thought I would. It may have its own fair share of problems, but its low price and low barrier entry make it a serviceable and potentially hilarious time to be had solo or with your friends. Just drop the Contra from the title if it bothers you so much and give it a try.

Fallout 76 is a bit of a disaster, which is a shame because there are good ideas and good bits of content here. There wasn’t a single play session where I didn’t have a lot of fun, but there also wasn’t a session where something ridiculous didn’t cause frustration. It feels like it should have been released into early access as a work in progress for the next several months, thus alleviating some of the frustration from poor performance, bugs, and balancing issues.

I know volleyball and dodgeball are totally different activities, but the inspiration is pretty obvious here. And if you want to play a sports game like this that’s wacky, over the top, and still has a competitive element, Mario Tennis or the Kunip-kun Dodgeball games are much more fulfilling in every way. And if you’re just a Fairy Tail fan looking for something fun to play with these characters, Fairy Tail: Dungeons or the GUST-developed RPG from a few years ago (with a sequel coming soon) are much more successful in nailing their own concepts. It’s a shame, but aside from some fun visuals and occasional on-screen wackiness, Fairy Tail: Beach Volleyball Havoc doesn’t deliver in either the volleyball or the havoc.

The finished state of Balan Wonderworld is disappointing to say the least. For all of its style, I was really interested to see how they would expand upon the preview. The aesthetic and characters are there, the music is captivating, the level design made me want to explore and experiment where I could, and the abilities mostly gave me options to do so. However, these things are held down by a lot of contrivances and outright holes in either functionality or context.

If you're looking for a deep, well-rounded driving simulator with a career mode, then Taxi Life is going to fall short on all accounts. There are a variety of similar titles available that do everything that Taxi Life offers and do so much more competently. Taxi Life can look pretty at times, but it's a big ask to overlook its many bugs and short-comings. Driving a taxi around a city isn't the most interesting idea to begin with, so Taxi Life needed to get all the details right, and unfortunately it doesn't come close to doing so.

Stratton Studios succeeds in creating a fun Halloween game with Costume Kingdom. The trick-or-treat and costume mechanics are inventive, while the battles heavily lift from the Pokemon formula. The story and world feel a bit shallow, making the overall experience a bit forgettable. Costume Kingdom is a sweet treat to have for the spooky month of October.

Wrath of the Mutants is a functional beat ‘em up. I’ll give it that. If you liked the 2012 show and want more TMNT beat ‘em up goodness to play, it’s fine if your co-op friends are nearby. Otherwise, there are far better options at similar or cheaper prices, even within this IP.

Blue Estate shows that an on-rails shooter can work efficiently on PlayStation 4.

Despite its deceptively intriguing prologue, Vane quickly goes from a journey of discovery to a laborious chore, mainly due to the abundance of technical issues and a lack of a decent save system.