All in all, Hell Let Loose is another typical World War II first-person shooter in the sea of the genre. Although there is nothing special about the title to make it stand out, it offers hectic 100-man battles on historically accurate locations with tremendous attention to visual and audio detail. Does it deliver all this without flaw? No, not exactly.

For those that want an in-depth city builder, Per Aspera is perhaps not the right game, especially as it constantly battles with the ethicality and morality of its very conceit. For those who want a rich sci-fi experience, the clash between the complexity of the problem and the simplicity of the mechanics may cause players to find themselves stuck in a progress bottleneck. Regardless of these criticisms, it’s impossible to write off Per Aspera because it attempts something novel and is so close to sticking the landing that its namesakes seem incredibly fitting – “through adversity to the stars” -there are plenty of hardships here, but in the end, it reaches an unlikely, dazzling goal via its storytelling.

Like many other life simulators, Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town will probably benefit from sunk cost fallacy (if you make it past the first 20 hours, why not another 20?), but if you want a farm sim to wholeheartedly commit to, seek your pleasure elsewhere.

It’s been seven years since we first saw Ys: Memories Of Celceta but this PS4 remaster proves a welcome return for Nihon Falcom’s juggernaut franchise. Bringing us real-time combat, an enjoyable storyline packed with humour and appealing visuals, Ys is a must-have for JRPG fans. Whilst there’s no new content for those who previously beat it, MOC remains a thoroughly enjoyable title and, old fan or new, comes strongly recommended.

Haven is a game about taking time out – it’s about staring into the endless mesh of rust and stars and considering where you are, who you’re with and where the both of you want to be. Some of the mechanics are a little rough around the edges, and the overall experience doesn’t quite feel perfect. But neither are relationships – Haven explores one that’s really special, and I’m beyond grateful to have spent time with it.

No Straight Roads won’t impress punk fans with its devotion to palatability and conventions; it’s not wont to hollering “F*ck off nazi punks“ and pointing a middle finger to the authority and the Man. Instead, it’s content with embodying the irreverent goofiness of pop-punk bands, with the dynamic duo of Zuko and Mayday making loud, emotional proclamations about saving rock music against the tyranny of EDM without a sliver of irony. It’s all the more charming for its lack of pretension, and the polished veneer of its absolutely heady soundtrack, which is perfectly in sync with the intoxicating rhythm of its boss battles, makes this a game worth headbanging to.

Altogether, this makes Dungeons of Naheulbeuk a real mixed bag. Its slick and well-observed aesthetic is undercut by rote humour and tired cliche, and its combat has great potential smothered by layers of random chance and obfuscation, with the great swell of combatants meaning that you can sit helplessly as a cavalcade of attacks all target and take down a character before you have a chance to act. There’s definitely something here to enjoy if you’re a diehard tactics fan with a keen eye for optimum strategy and luck mitigation, but it feels like a lot of effort for little reward.

On its surface, Moncage does so many things I like. Its narrative is conveyed through interaction, rather than through text or cutscenes. Its predominant mechanic is clever. It’s short. But it stands as an example of just how easily a game can be undone by only one or two critical shortcomings. There’s a world in which a few chewy brain teasers would be enough for me to overlook some one-dimensional characters–this is a puzzle game after all. One-dimensional puzzles, though, are harder to forgive.

The often severe frame drops and occasional bugs that led me to restart a level aren’t that big of an issue, and they can be always be fixed after launch. But the specific tone around the game, and the message it leaves as it neglects to listen to the learned lessons in the past few years from similar experiences in the indie sphere, can’t be solved with a patch.

Despite Sheltered 2’s attempts to pander to this crowd, it largely fails to bring any new ideas to the table. Its mindless interactivity with its post-apocalyptic world, combined with an obtuse crafting system, has resulted in a game that is more annoying than tantalising.

It’s easy to see what Ary is aiming for. The ambition is certainly there, but the execution is off. Way off. At best it’s a clunky mess. At worst it’s broken and near-unplayable. It’s clear Ary was in need of a few more seasons of development before release.

I anticipated a touching, engrossing tale of a heartbreaking and folkloric haunt. What I got was a bog-standard, overly conservative horror game mired by mechanics more ancient than the game’s late 1800’s setting. Like the lifeless meatbags which stalk its murky hallways, Maid of Sker is best avoided.

I came to Orangeblood almost determined to like it. It had everything, seemingly. Gorgeous 90’s inspired art design, the promise of a funky soundtrack, JRPG style but in a more modern setting… I was so ready to fall in love. It’s only two weeks into 2020 and I’m going back to being jaded and miserable and its this game’s fault.

Decent production value and acting are all this has going for it. Even so, Bloodshore is one of many projects that don’t ever have to be interactive, and unfortunately, it won’t be the last of its kind.

A historical video game prioritises and engages with contemporary agency and understanding of the past over the historical document. The Amazing American Circus is not even a historical document, but a media text taking the form of a video game.

There are aspects of Brotherhood United which are promising, but at this point, it’s an experience which feels unpolished. I had the game crash on me as well as several sections where the background music just wasn’t there. Overall, it just feels like a game I could have stumbled upon on Miniclip back in 2003, and it wouldn’t have felt out of place, nor would it have stuck in my mind.

Vane simply doesn’t live up to those games it so achingly apes. It lacks the clearly defined objective and unique aesthetic of Journey; the emotional attachment of The Last Guardian; the intriguing ambiguity of Inside; the charm of Rime. Instead, Vane feels clunky and pretentious, any sense of wonderment outweighed by unnecessary frustration, sluggishness and a lack of clarity.

Devil’s Hunt is a game with obvious flaws, many of which players might excuse for a chance to tear the head off a hulking demon lord or throw unholy lances through the grotesque, glowing body of an angel. There are many more who will watch the trailer on Steam or YouTube and decide the ‘80s metal album aesthetic and combo-happy combat are worth stomaching a story with an infuriating number of dropped threads and unanswered questions. But none of it is worth a writing team that seems to believe rape can be used and excused on the altar of motivating their male protagonist.

The concept seemed safe enough, but by making the lore so vague, the dialogue and RPG elements so weak, and the combat too clumsy, Paranoia hasn’t lived up to expectations. With a name so blunt you’d be expecting to feel chills, to be looking over your shoulder, to thrive for triumph over an oppressive system that you fundamentally disagree with. Paranoia does none of this, and instead offers up a diluted, animated version of their table-top success. There’s a joke in there somewhere regarding board games/bored games, but so powerful is the ennui I’ll let you figure that one out for yourselves.

Away: Journey To The Unexpected is a game with charming moments, but they aren’t enough to save a dull experience. The highlights are the interactions with your family, but those are at the beginning, then the end of the game. Even the end boss is incredibly easy. It’s an interesting idea, but it feels like a massive letdown in a game that is full of them. The end boss of letdowns, I guess. The only thing I can say in favour of Away is that you should take its advice: stay away.

Narcos: Rise of the Cartels is not a broken game, nor is it ugly or offensive. But it is joyless. It feels cold, like a corporate cash grab, and suffers from a fundamental misunderstanding of its target audience. There are interesting elements and attractive qualities, but the game overall fails to deliver much of anything to anyone in particular.

The story itself is told through comic book panels that do inject a bit of colour and personality into the game, but it’s not enough. This is soulless, empty and unpolished – a total whiteout. In old Norse ‘fimbul’ translates as mighty or great. But this particular Fimbul is anything but.

I suspect Of Bird and Cage works best as an album first, and maybe a speed runner video as a distant second. Perhaps by the end Gritta escapes her prison and finds the support she needs to reclaim the light of her life in one of the possible endings, but given the oppressively deep hole she starts in, I’m not convinced that the game believes she deserves it. Though she most certainly does.

It wouldn’t be fair to Mechajammer not to acknowledge everything it tries to do and bring to the table, but in a world where I’m spoiled for choice when it comes to roleplaying games, mediocre just doesn’t cut it. In its current state, mediocre is the best that Mechajammer can hope to be. On paper, Mechajmmer has everything it needs to be a sleeper hit, but in reality, the only thing it’s hitting is the very bottom of my Steam library, where games I don’t finish go to be forgotten.

Eternity: The Last Unicorn’s one redeeming quality doesn’t do much redeeming, though. The game still has some major issues, first of which is simple—it’s not fun to play. Nostalgia is a feeling video games and entertainment have been profiting off increasingly within the last few years, which is great when the end products are well-executed. But instead of pulling inspiration from the Nintendo 64 era of gaming, Void Studios just made a game that belongs in it.

With its numerous glitches and flaws, Broken Porcelain instead becomes a superfluity of horror game tropes; its cheap jump scares, laboured stealth encounters, and confusing plot now an unfortunate fixture of what used to be a promising survival horror series.

Overcrowd is extremely fast-paced, even considering the fact that you can play it at normal speed and pause it whenever you want. It’s all about split-second decision making and prioritizing. Sometimes there are multiple issues that need to be addressed, but not enough people on staff to take care of them. It’s all about looking into what needs attention the most and going down the list from there, and that can be tough to grasp on your first, second or even fifteenth try.

As is, SpaceEngine is a robust and fun toy chest for anyone even slightly interested in astronomy.