The fact that it's free makes up for the fact that it looks free. You won't appreciate it for its art, and you won't enjoy the frame rate drops. Nonetheless, Dead Maze provides a fun, genuinely free-to-play experience.

In this debut beat ‘em up from Deadbeat Productions, chunky graphics mix with smooth mechanics. Add a layer of cheesy one-liners, sandwiched between saucy superheroes and crusty villains. You hold something tasty and classically-inspired in your hands, if perhaps a little unexceptional. It’s not Disneyland’s Monte Christo, but an enjoyable BLT.

Just in Time Incorporated is Just Okay. It’s a great concept, but the execution is lacking. As it stands, the puzzle solutions feel too stilted and leave you craving more challenge, however, the brief title is still more enjoyable than not, with humor that consistently delivers. Though fairly polished, and with mechanics that plainly work, we get the impression that there's a great game in Just in Time – just not this time.

An impressive amount of mechanics and a nice variety of play styles are available, yet Weedcraft Inc lacks depth in social interactions and suffers from a few tedious features.

Despite its quirky humor, Vicious Circle doesn’t provide enough variety in gameplay to hold your interest much longer than your average asymmetric multiplayer game.

Don't expect much from the visuals, music, or story in while True: learn() and simply appreciate it for its puzzles.

No70: Eye of Basir is an ambitious title; while the visuals and audio are noteworthy, in the critical areas of story and gameplay, Basir is passable, not exceptional. The brief plot explores, then seems to abandon, what appeared to have been a key plot point, and, at times, it’s a bit unclear who your character even is. Issues with performance and geometry clipping, combined with some sloppy foliage and prop placement, occasionally break immersion: No70: Eye of Basir is a flawed gem with some good facets.

Quirky and deliberately cheesy, Earth Defense Force 5 boasts hours of enjoyable if straightforward content.

This slightly peculiar game has a surprising amount of appeal, despite a few small flaws. Pretty environments paired with decent replayability provides a fun, relaxing few hours, at the very least.

An interesting take on the post-apocalyptic genre, full of beautiful vistas and a streamlined interface, but moments of awe are punctuated with run-ins with the buggy and inconsistent AI.

A fun and refreshing take on the zombie fighting co-op experience that is hindered by network lag and unimpressive AI.

Trackless is a neat little experience. The puzzles are not very challenging, and it doesn’t take long to get through them, but the message is unique and thought-provoking somewhat. This title offers minimal raw entertainment, but the art and music have their own characteristic appeal, and the ending is a fair payoff for a brief time investment.

Five Elements is an original, challenging, and solid real-time strategy game. Apart from those accolades, though, there’s not much else to wow the player. If you're a lover of strategy and puzzles for the sake of strategy and puzzles, you will most likely find it a worthy addition to your collection. If you aren't, then Five Elements may prove to be frustratingly challenging and lacking enough of a storyline to keep you going.

While not everything works, the cartoonish world of Viktor, a Steampunk Adventure shines, and the comedic-relief factor makes it an even more worthwhile addition to a point-and-click library. Although it's a relatively short journey – roughly four to five hours, give or take a few mini-games – the lasting quality of the humor and overall narrative make this title stand out in a sea of puzzle-laden adventure games.

The genre-bending Masters of Anima is most compelling for its fusion of RTS and environmental puzzling, all of which is complemented by a richly simple art style. The gameplay, however, is as delectable as the storytelling is stale, causing Masters of Anima to feel more like a preview of something great than the actual thing itself.

A darkly humorous and entertaining addition to the series, with a charming assortment of unique characters and a host of interesting choices that doesn’t always translate well into the visual novel format. Fans of the series will enjoy seeing their favorite characters in outlandish scenarios, but the lack of any lasting consequences ultimately detracts from the title’s overall impact.

Sticking to the established 4X formula helps to make Warhammer 40,000: Gladius – Relics of War enjoyable, but also keeps it from greatness. For fans, there is fun to be had in growing an army of Terminators, Assault Space Marines, and Predator tanks to crush your enemies with. But, after all the toys are smashed and the maps explored, there is sadly little else left to do.

Age of Fear 3 is a lot of fun, and if you like to think long and hard about your next move in war games, pick this one up. Good tactical combat, restrictive movement and no-hex system create more realistic troop movement. Large armies and RPG-like leveling system will be rejoiced by many types of players. This expansion specifically is light on material but if you're a fan of the original game, get it. It won't add much or fix existing bugs, but for $4.99, it's a welcome addition to an already good game.

If you can look past the rough edges, there is a lot of fun to be had in the charming world of Mara.

Chook and Sosig: Walk the Plank is a charming point-and-click adventure that offers fun for all ages. Despite a few errors in execution, the humor, premise, and choice of endings deliver something for everyone to enjoy.

A humorous and beautifully drawn point-and-click adventure, Angelo and Deemon: One Hell of a Quest is fun to play, but unfortunately falls flat story-wise.

Demolish & Build 2018 is a franchise heading in the right direction. While there could be a significant amount of development and tightening of the mechanics and controls, there are many improvements over the previous title. It’s an enjoyable, cooperative sim experience, despite an emphasis on demolishing stronger than on building. A good one to watch for patches, improvements, or to pick up during a Steam sale.

Ayo shares with its audience a sincere message encapsulated by game, and continues the progression we have seen recently of video games used as a vehicle beyond the immediate capacity for ‘interactive entertainment.’ Despite a clunky camera and some problematic puzzles, this platformer boats a solid foundation, with promise of several hours of enlightening fun.

A JRPG that will appeal to fans of the genre with its interesting setting and unique combat system, but it's ultimately marred by tedious battles and dull dialogue.

NieR: Automata contains twenty-six different endings, which inevitably incentivizes those who want to see all possible conclusions. But, the apparent lack of story, which drops off for a good while after the introductory level, is stinging, and you must have enough commitment to see past this. The combat is unique and, at times, refreshingly variegated gaming styles emerge from NeiR — from hack-and-slash to arcade-esque air fights — but enemies themselves show little variation and predictable movement. If you are looking for a hack-and-slash with extraordinary graphics and a fair amount of character customization, then it is likely you’ll enjoy playing this release.

Even those who don’t normally play point-and-clicks can enjoy Darkestville Castle, but only the die-hard devotees of the genre will be able to persevere past the inevitable and frequent bouts of frustration from struggling through convoluted puzzles. An intriguing story and captivating art style round off this puzzling puzzler.

Despite issues with AI and a level of complexity that will likely frustrate new players, Age of Wonders: Planetfall is a well-rounded experience with stunning visuals and extensive replay value.

With strengths in vehicle handling, Monster Jam Steel Titans is a very fun title to play, but ultimately lacks longevity and replayability.