Some of the most fun I’ve ever had with a game based on a popular franchise tailor-made for smartphones.

Fe's charm is in its concept and its songs, as I learned new songs with different pitches and tones, and learned to communicate with new wildlife. It also has flashes of visual brilliance, thanks to its use of soothing water color landscapes. But a humdrum story, lack of direction, and inconsistent controls didn't leave me wanting an encore.

It's hard not to be charmed by Dragon Quest Builders.

Admittedly, many of the flaws or problems I have with Dynasty Warriors 9 are nothing entirely new to the series. It’s just that now there’s a whole new layer of problems that have been put on top of them that make the original issues that much more apparent. For almost every aspect of the game's features that I felt were on par with the quality of past titles, there is a contradiction.

On one hand, Dandara is a perfectly serviceable romp through a series of well-designed and attractive environments; on the other, it's a deliberate yet confusing sidestep of well-established gameplay conventions.

Even though Monster Hunter: World does have events, it falls short of what it would take to keep me invested for the long haul, but that’s okay. As a first-time player of the series, Monster Hunter: World has given me unique experiences and memories that, for better or worse, other games will be measured against for years to come. That has to be a win.

The Sprint Vector experience serves the VR platform in a couple different ways. It fits into your home as a competitive romp among friends or online and as one of a growing number of virtual reality games that can be worked into a fitness program. It also supplies a combination of competition and match length that fits into VR arcades. Either way you slice it, Sprint Vector is a pretty great value that deserves a spot in the VR ecosystem's upper tier of games.

Dissidia Final Fantasy NT is an amalgam of both positive and negative design choices, but overall it’s an excellent combination of interesting fights, varied characters, and entertaining fan service. It’s a worthy successor to the last home Dissidia release, and while it’s not perfect, it’s certainly a slick and stylish way to spend a few hours unlocking new costumes and moves.

It's fast, frantic, and quite fun overall, but the surprisingly steep challenge and general lack of variety might have players moving on after only a matter of hours.

It can be both profoundly beautiful and anxiety-inducing at the same time. Just realize that while the looks are on par with modern releases, the controls and camera are still stuck in the past. But they are not so dated as to truly deter from the game’s overall quality. Just maybe make sure there’s someone around to give you a hug after it’s all over.

The short Story Mode and the repetitive nature of the mini games available make for a game that you probably won’t come back to after you’ve exhausted what it has to offer.

Those who are looking for one of the year's first true single-player challenges should look no further than Celeste. The team at Matt Makes Games has crafted a tough, yet not entirely unfair platformer, one wrapped in a touching narrative with some memorable characters.

This is truly the best Dragon Ball fighter I’ve played since the Super Famicom imports. It’s pure fighting bliss that makes you feel as OP as the characters on the show by adding so much style and flare. Longtime fans and newer fans who may just be familiar with Dragon Ball Super will find something to enjoy here if they’re fans of fighters.

Life is Strange: Before the Storm is a beautiful journey through Chloe Price's teenage years. It's a brilliant exploration of what happens when a directionless teenager meets a special person that changes the course of their life forever. It's a journey that explores the themes of loss, love, finding one's self, and whether the road to happiness ultimately lies in truth.

At its core, Gang Beasts is a lot of fun. Between its wacky physics, creative level design, and copious amounts of character customization options, there's a lot here for groups of friends to enjoy. If the online element pulls itself together, there's enough reason to keep coming back for a few occasional matches and some new laughs. It's worth a try, because the laughs I did have while playing this have been priceless.

If you're looking to expand your horizons or simply get your start in the horror genre on your shiny new handheld, you could do way worse than this double shot of high-octane zombified horror game. It's not the classic Resident Evil adventure you may remember from your original PlayStation or GameCube endeavors, but it's certainly a worthy buy, motion control issues and all.

With Xenoblade Chronicles 2, every item down even the darkest corners of my inventory has a purpose. It can feel overwhelming at times and you'll surely pull your hair out trying to decide what to sell, if anything, but hardcore players will be rewarded kindly if they want to spend the time. More casual players will find some fun too, but won't be punished if they decide to obsess over every little detail.

Aside from its robotic hostess, It's Quiz Time is as robust a trivia game as a person can find on the next-gen market. The rich variety of questions makes this a fun game to return to on a regular basis and some of the inventive round types makes this even more fun to play with groups of people. This has the potential to be every bit the fun party game that Buzz! once was, but just remember that the more, the merrier.

If you enjoyed the first Lego Marvel Super Heroes, there's no doubt you'll love this one too. If you're looking for a sandbox where you can play with just about any of your favorite Marvel characters you'd like, this is your stop. If you're looking for a challenge, look elsewhere.

While I can't rightly say they're everything that a die-hard Pokemon fan wants, they're very clearly games that rank among the most-polished and most-appealing titles available on the Nintendo 3DS hardware. The attention to detail is so thorough that it's easy to forget these are products designed by a team.

While I can't rightly say they're everything that a die-hard Pokemon fan wants, they're very clearly games that rank among the most-polished and most-appealing titles available on the Nintendo 3DS hardware. The attention to detail is so thorough that it's easy to forget these are products designed by a team.

Skyrim on Switch is as good as I hoped it would be. I still find new areas to explore and new secrets to discover. Being able to take this awesome title on the go truly showcases why the Nintendo Switch is king. Sadly, Skyrim is a 2011 game, and at times it really shows. Because of this, it doesn’t stand up against a game like Breath of The Wild, though that comparison may not be fair. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim proudly stands as the second best RPG available on Switch. If by any chance you’re a Switch owner that’s never played Skyrim, I’d recommend picking it up.

Star Wars: Battlefront II is a pretty good game and you’re going to get it if you’re a fan of Star Wars, no matter what anyone says. I’m just thankful that the game is an improvement over the first attempt and is incredibly fun solo, or with friends online. The loot crates diminish its value greatly, and it’s a shame EA forces them down your throat as part of the core gameplay, but the game looks gorgeous and is enjoyable to play.

In an effort to adopt the stylings of other popular, open-world racers, Need For Speed: Payback presents some fun ideas with poor execution. It also misses an opportunity to elevate an NFS staple with a tacked-on, linear version of Pursuit that annoys while simultaneously reminding me of the absence of a Burnout game on the market.

Doom on Switch is a triumph of the human spirit. It is just one more feather in Nintendo’s cap as third party developers are flocking to the Switch. Panic Button deserves extremely high praise for this port. It may not be perfect, but Doom on Switch offers players a new way to play one of the finest shooters to come out in recent history. The ability to pick it up and play for short bursts outweighs many of the technical limitations.

I needed a single player game to remind me that quality storytelling is still worth years of developer resources. When loot boxes are falling from the skies in World War II, and everyone needs to sell you meaningless crap through microtransactions, Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus gave me an experience that was deep and entertaining. Personally, it’s probably in my top five games of all time.

It's been a long time since I've lost myself in a game to the point that its jaunty tunes are running through my head throughout the work day. Super Mario Odyssey has done that and will continue to do that for a long time. There's plenty to see on this journey, so book a one-way ticket and enjoy the ride.

Call of Duty: WW2 is competently made by a skilled team. I just wish some of that talent and skill could be put towards anything other than this yearly pile of linear shooting rehash. The game runs well and is very playable, so things aren’t all that bad, they just feel soulless. All I could think of while playing is how I would rather be killing Nazis in Wolfenstein 2. [Provisional Score = 50]