While there are some technical difficulties that need to be worked out, The Flame in the Flood is still moderately enjoyable.

As a children's game, Disney Infinity 2.0 definitely delivers an adorable casual game experience. But as a game solely for grown-ups, it's a little lackluster due to repetition and lack of online play in the current Play Sets available for Disney Infinity: Marvel Super Heroes.

This time around, Kickstarter actually did come to the rescue, delivering a game that is very much worthy of being called the spiritual successor to Banjo-Kazooie. Yooka-Laylee is a game for fans who miss the N64 days of running around a huge, open map, collecting a bunch of stuff and having a bit of a laugh. It's cute, it's funny, and a few minor technical issues aside, it's exactly what it promised to deliver.

Warp is good fun and definitely worth a playthrough. You'll have a great time figuring out the puzzles and popping humans like water balloons. It is an arcade game, so Zero doesn't stick around very long, but it's a fun ride while it lasts.

War of the Roses is shallow and unrefined, but if you want what it's got then you'll have a great time with it.

Dragon Quest Treasures is some of the most fun I’ve had just exploring a game world all year, between its great world design and excellent soundtrack. This treasure hunt is a delight for players of all ages and one of the more unique experiences I’ve had on Switch in recent memory. The strange combat system will disappoint some, but if you can just get over that and a few other little quirks, this is an adventure well worth taking.

The true masterpiece is the endless struggle to create art. Jump scares and predictable tricks in horror games won't work anymore. The story of the artist is intriguing while still making you feel tense and uneasy about what you see. Layers of Fear made story, gameplay, and atmosphere work together in harmony.

A few weaker sections do little to tarnish the fun of this old-school rooted shooter.

Lost Dimension is a fun and deep tactics RPG with interesting mechanics and a horrible story with horrible endings.

A surprisingly well crafted multiplayer shooter full of options, amusing cartoon violence, and rock solid action. That Loadout does all this, and provides a respectably balanced free-to-play ecosystem, is encouraging to see.

The Journey Down: Chapter One combines an intuitive control scheme, HD graphics, and classic point-and-click adventure gameplay to set up an intriguing story. The first episode lags a bit, and the voice acting doesn't add nearly as much as the improved visuals, but still shows a lot of promise for a potentially great series.

Mass Effect: Andromeda is a game that takes few risks and pushes few boundaries. It's a Mass Effect game designed to make fans of the series feel at home, but technical issues and lackluster writing leave it feeling like a missed opportunity to regain the prestige the franchise once enjoyed.

Star Wars: Battlefront does a fantastic job of transporting players into the Star Wars universe for a big initial kicker, but that ultimately fades when you realize how light it is on content and game features. A textbook case of style over substance.

The Political Machine 2016 is a fun simulation game to play despite its serious subject matter and repetitiveness. On the plus-side, the game requires no real understanding of US politics to play - Robotic Elvis proved that.

rain's premise is certainly interesting, and as far as aesthetics go, it does put you into a somber, yet intriguing world of dreariness. But rain's gameplay doesn't live up to its setting, and doesn't offer much more than the occasionally tricky puzzle or stealth sequence.

Guild of Dungeoneering is simple, light-hearted fun with an adorable sketchbook aesthetic and delightful humor. It's not perfect, but as obscure indie games go, it's certainly top tier.

NiGHTS into Dreams is a meaningful game wrapped in a package of challenging yet thoroughly enjoyable gameplay.

It's gorgeous in motion, and can be a satisfying little puzzle-platformer, but prepare yourself for some trial-and-error, garnished with repetition.

Papo & Yo isn't always pleasant, for reasons both technical and emotional, but its cleverness is exceptional. It's a world of pure imagination, for good and for ill, and while its puzzles aren't the most challenging you'll find, their presentation is so unusual that you'll race through them just to see what comes next.

Dark Quest 4 was a lively, immersive experience, with a style of play that kept me coming back for more. If you’re a fan of turn-based action, TTRPGs, and fantasy games, you’ll get a kick out of this title. It’s got a rich single-player mode, an in-depth map builder to help you make your own levels, and a multiplayer mode as well.

A superficially-twisted, Dear Esther-like game of linear exploration punctuated by flowery narrative - but scary, it is not.

I love playing Dungeon Siege III despite its many flaws, and if you don't mind that the overall experience is pretty shallow and meant for single player, you probably will, too.

If there is one thing developer Everstone Studio has delivered on, it’s the sheer size of Where Winds Meet. Players will have no shortage of things to do and treasures to uncover as they explore the region and tackle quests and side quests. However, every free-to-play game has its hurdles, and Where Winds Meet’s success will be anchored on how players connect with the storyline and how motivated they become to explore what is, at its core, an overwhelming amount of content. The game’s future hangs in a careful balance between paid premium content and a world with enough rewarding material to keep players coming back for more.

Assassin's Creed Rogue is gameplay-wise more or less an unofficial sequel to Black Flag, in that it inherits virtually every enjoyable element from last year's title. The combat can be a bit repetitive, which is particularly true for those who played AC4 extensively, but it's a solid last-gen entry in the series all the same.

Anarchy Reigns may not have an incredibly in-depth story and also has some nagging flaws that detract from its otherwise entertaining gameplay, but it's enjoyable enough to warrant a playthrough.

Steep is a great accomplishment, but it feels like it was rushed. I expected this game to be a 2017 title, and having it now, faults and all, makes me wish they'd have held off on releasing this game until it received a bit more polish and gameplay refinements. In its current state, it's a frustrating game to play with occasional flashes of brilliance.

It plays out like cold-hearted cash grab, seemingly spat out just so the Wii U has something on its eShop this holiday season. A stuttering, stunted selection of nothingness.

Stunning, detailed, and passionately made, it has many redeeming qualities. Still, test-driving the game via its demo before committing to the full game is advised. Peeking behind the curtains of Hollywood is tantalizing, but if you don’t keep your wits about you, it’ll end in disaster. And in a murder mystery, that can prove lethal.