With a captivating storyline led by a splendid ensemble of characters and combat systems that remain involving throughout a 30+ hour playtime, Chained Echoes nails the tenets of any respectable RPG while rethinking many of the genre’s more creaky conceits.

Adventure Academia: The Fractured Continent’s storytelling might not be exceptional but it’s hard to find deep fault any of the game’s other attributes. Art is eye-catching and alluring, while traditional instrumentation offers a treat for the ears. But the most remarkable element is the game’s RTS-style battles, which offer an appreciated break from the norm.

Samurai Maiden is at its best when the game depicts a gentle caress or two hands demurely interlocked. But between those moments of heartfelt affection are long stretches of tepid action, which flirt with frustration across the game’s final hours.

The Rumble Fish 2 is a dishearteningly barebones port of the arcade game, lacking modern conveniences like lobbies, and being able to play in the original aspect ratio. Given the price (and the decision to resell characters included in the original game), you’ll want to think twice before getting into this fight.

Railbound delivers an absorbing collection of deceptively simple puzzles that will push your cognitive abilities. Brains might become sore but eyes will be soothed by the adorable visuals.

All the elements for a first-class blend of twin-stick shooting and engaging exploration are present in The Knight Witch. But a few blatant blemishes and frustrating encounters mean you might not fall under its spell.

Lackluster role-playing combined with exploit-laden five-on-five matches means that Soccer Story is a substandard contender.

Hatsune Miku Logic Paint S offers a sizable collection of puzzles and the lure of a serenade by the twin-tailed songstress. For vocaloid fans, that privilege will probably push the game toward requisite stratus. But just make sure you have a controller handy. Apparently, Miku doesn’t like mice.

Donut Dodo feels like finding a forgotten ‘80s arcade game, right down to the screen ratio and plucky chiptune soundtrack. Sure, developer Pixel Games sneaks in a handful of modern conveniences, ensuring that the game doesn’t feel like yesterday’s baked goods.

Game Type DX is the shoot ‘em up equivalent of an indie pop-punk album. It’s succinct, spirited, and aims a middle finger at the suits. Best of all, it’s priced at six dollars.

There are no safety nets, so Lunistice can feel like an extended tight-rope performance on its sky-high platforms. You’ll fall repeatedly, but with such an affordable price-point, it’s difficult to become too peeved.

Orbital Bullet is undoubtedly a novel roguelike action-shooter. But the frustration overpowers the sense of fun as enemy attacks become relentless in subsequent stages.

If you are yearning for controller-tossing difficulty and can tolerate a bit of imprecision, Aeterna Noctis offers an expedition that will test your reflexes and just as often, your patience.

With its simplistic sprites and standoffish pricing Mecha Ritz: Steel Rondo delivers a weak first impression. But a collection of different ship types and a difficulty level that changes on the fly means that danmaku devotees shouldn’t automatically overlook Yuki “HEY” Shouhei’s effort.

With support for cooperative play and AI assistants capable of helping with your daily tasks, Doraemon Story of Seasons: Friends of the Great Kingdom adds several welcome new features. But mostly, the game succeeds by capturing the heartwarming charm of Fujiko Fujio's source material.

One of the more timeless tactical role-playing games from the SNES library, Tactics Ogre: Reborn enriches its storyline with full voiceover and streamlines some of the repetitive elements. As such, only the battlefield sprites reveal Reborn’s age.

Apogee’s latest feels like a celebrative orgy of game violence. You’ll slide chainsaw-leg first through clusters of enemies, plunge down and destroy foes like a homicidal Spider-Man, or just reduce them to a pulp with a robust arsenal of firearms. It’s in Early Access, so there is still some uncertainty about the kinds of creative carnage the third act will bring. But there’s already more than enough hyperkinetic, over-the-top action to warrant a go as Johnny Turbo. [Early Access Score = 84]

Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration offers a comprehensive interactive history that meticulously chronicles the company’s remarkable beginnings and eventual sell-off. But due to licensing issues, expect to see some series gaps in the package’s collection of playable games.

Innovative and thoroughly polished, NeverAwake is ideal for shooter fans seeking a Burton-esque excursion.

With dual weapons systems right out of Taito’s Ray series and visuals that resemble PC Engine classics, Moon Dancer should delight fans of retro shooters.

Literally and figuratively, there’s a lot to dig in Dome Keeper’s mixture of excavation, resource management, and defense stages.

It’s been seven long years since the last entry in the fault series. While much has changed in the world, fault – StP – LIGHTKRAVTE delivers the same kind of heartfelt payoff it did in 2015. Only now, the presentation is approaching top-tier.

Chaos;Head Noah and Chaos;Child are two magnificent entries in the consistently compelling Science Adventure series. Unfortunately, both are burdened by a few blemishes at launch.

Now sixteen years old, Kamiwaza needed modernization rather than a feature-for-feature remake. There’s fun to be found, but at a $40 price, you might feel like a victim.

Everyone’s favorite otaku-dad returns for another bout of hyper-kinetic boss butchery. While Suda51’s impish charms continue to delight, performing menial tasks isn’t quite as comical anymore.

The Battle of Polytopia’s streamlining of 4X strategy makes things accessible, but also limits the kind of variability that makes campaigns enjoyable across multiple plays.

Potionomics’ different ingredients blend together well, mixing everything from deck building, resource management, and even options for romance into its shopkeeping simulation. Hopefully, the developers can temper the bitterness associated with the in-game competitions.

Whoever owns the rights to Bally-Midway’s cherished coin-op, probably wouldn’t have made a better game than Terror of Hemasaurus.