Given the novel’s taut pacing, likable leads, and first-rate aesthetics, Anonymous;Code serves as one of the most approachable entry points into the Science Adventure games. It might not top the emotional crests of Steins;Gate, but it's every bit as wonderfully mind-bending.

Rune Factory 3 Special makes few missteps in this remaster of the 2010 DS title. But for Switch owners, the availability of the technical superior Rune Factory 4 Special makes this effort a bit superfluous for all but the most fervent franchise devotees.

While Hamster Corporation’s emulation is impeccable, Taito’s gems don’t receive any sense of context. Sure, this meets the requirements for digital preservation, but the essential historical accompaniments are missing.

While a multitude of titles have paid homage to SNES-era role-playing times, Sea of Stars is one of the few efforts that truly understands what makes the source material so beloved. Charmingly wholesome and aesthetically adept, Sabotage Studio’s follow-up to The Messenger will keep you beguiled through its blissful 30- (or so) hour campaign.

Rhapsody: Marl Kingdom Chronicles demonstrates the prodigious aptitude of Nippon Ichi’s early years. Across the two titles in this anthology, we follow characters at pivotal points in their lives. Despite the fairy tale-esque simplicity, expect your heart to be warmed by three generations of cheerful heroines.

Despite a few frustrating moments and a bug that prohibits completion, Sprawl’s six-hour jaunt is remarkably fun. Across that succinct span, you’ll master bullet time-enriched gunplay while parkouring about. If Max Payne with relaxed gravity sounds remotely interesting, consider spending an afternoon inside this dystopia.

Dust & Neon provides some engaging twin-stick firefights across its brief missions. Between the taut pacing, tough play, and the allure of meta-game progression, this is an above-average action-roguelike. If you aren’t burned out on the genre, Dust & Neon is worth hunting down.

Unless a miracle patch materializes, Die After Sunset might be doomed after launch. Gunning down the game’s relentlessly respawning enemies just to earn mediocre perks isn’t enough to lift this colorful third-person shooter out of the pits.

While entertaining in short doses, Quantum: Recharged enhancements don’t change a rather simple formula. Sure, spinning around and leaving traps feels fluid and is mildly satisfying. But the advancement of increasingly dangerous enemies across every game grows stale before long.

At launch, Hammerwatch II doesn’t live up to the legacy established by its predecessors. It’s evident that Crackshell wanted to push play toward an open world. But convoluted characteristics like vague quest details, an underdeveloped day/night cycle, inadequate control schemes, and time limits on quests all work to undermine the studio’s ambitions.

At $15, UFO: Unidentified Falling Objects offers a compelling campaign, standalone challenges, and a robust multiplayer component. Fans of action puzzlers like Mr. Driller or Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo will want to take UFO for a test flight via Steam demo. Despite the simplistic visuals, play is stellar.

Individually, PixelJunk Scrappers Deluxe can be a chore. But with a group of friends, the game can feel like a sport as you cooperatively chase down goals and attempt to clean up the dystopian world of Junktown.

Much like "A Star is Born", White Album: Memories like Falling Snow watches the effect fame has on a relationship. Sure, some of the character flirt with cliché and some of the routes are predictable, but the visual novel's exploration into the underbelly of the music idol life industry make it worthwhile.

Sure, they’re not much depth to Witch's Rhythm Puzzle. Disrobing these sorceresses in strip Tetris-style matches is the real allure. But given the game’s pixel-art visual style and how the rhythm component timing can be challenging, the game ends up being as silly as it is sexy.

Many director's cuts can be a dubious proposition. But Akiba’s Trip: Undead & Undressed main rip-off is centered on the removal of antagonist apparel. For many, that will be a very good thing.

If you’re seeking a unique roguelike, look no further than Ninja or Die. Runs are split between soaring across the screen and managing your inventory, which might seem like a dissonant approach. But that kind of creativity is overflowing in Nao Games’ inaugural outing, which is poised to become one of this summer’s sleeper hits.

Remnant II is the exemplary sequel that truly improves on its predecessor, with dozens of additions and changes that thoroughly improve the experience. While the single-player experience is worthwhile given the game’s adept procedural level generation, the campaign truly shines with a couple of friends or even anonymous players - courtesy of the convenient Adventure Mode.

You’ll need the hand-eye skills of a surgeon and the patience of a monk to make it through Mr. Run and Jump vibrant worlds. Although there’s fulfillment, there’s also the frustration of making a small error in timing, before repeating the same challenge for the twentieth time.

A distant descendant of Sokoban, Hafiz Mohd Rozlan’s Cramped Room of Death offers an extended test of engrossing, turn-based brain testers. Guiding a super-sized sprite through a labyrinth filled with enemies and chokepoints will put your intellect, and occasionally your persistence, to the test.

Awakening still offers an adept adaption of Oda Nobunaga’s (or any other daimyō) attempt to unify Japan. But a push toward accessibility means that the strategy has been simplified, with your retainers doing the bulk of the work. If you’ve been waiting for an entry point for the property, this might be an opportunity worth seizing. The rest of us should stick with the game’s superior predecessor.

Dragon Quest Treasures isn’t one of the beloved franchise's best spin-offs, but it’s a worthwhile adventure that succeeds due to an imaginative location and an invigorating sense of autonomy. Dragon Quest XI’s Erik and Mia might not get the backstory they deserve, but their younger days make for a diverting action-driven experience.

At best, Ed-0: Zombie Uprising recalls those wonderfully offbeat PlayStation 2 titles that would intermittently emerge from Japan. Unapologetically janky, this is the interactive equivalent of a pulpy B-movie, with ambitions that obviously outstrip the game’s budget.

Not long ago, it was evident when you were playing a fan-made project. Touhou: New World delivers the visual splendor and absorbing action of a corporate-backed development team yet was crafted by a small team of hobbyists. Lessening a bit of bloat and tweaking some balancing issues would let this David humble an industry of Goliaths, much like Reimu’s takedown of New World’s bosses.

Is a modern artistic work that still holds up 25 years later a classic? Atelier Marie Remake: The Alchemist of Salburg makes a strong case for admitting GUST’s inaugural entry in the role-playing hall of fame. While the foundations are comparatively simplistic and the relationships can seem cartoonish, Salburg’s cycle of friending, fighting, gathering, and mixing ingredients is nearly as absorbing as ever.

Innovative and thoroughly polished, NeverAwake is ideal for shooter fans seeking a Burton-esque excursion through a young girl's psyche.

The Legend of Heroes: Trails into Reverie comes with one of the biggest prerequisites in modern media. You’ll need to have played at least four, and ideally six, 40+ hour role-playing games to fully appreciate the intricacies of this title. That’s a substantial expectation, but if you have committed to the property, Reverie’s assemblage of personalities provides an impeccable farewell (and playful introduction) that will undoubtedly tug at your heartstrings.

D Life’s molten display of whirling particles is hypnotic, while its ‘capture colors in a ring’ play mechanic is relaxing. Oddly, a synthesis of these two sentiments isn’t all that common in gaming. As such, D Life is recommended for those who are delighted by interactive ingenuity.

Alongside Raiden, and R-Type, Taito’s Ray games rank among the best STG franchises of the twentieth century. As such, Ray’z Arcade Chronology is essential for fans of the genre, compiling a trio of time-tested shooters.