Semispheres runs very smoothly. The controls are simple and intuitive, the design is beautiful, and the music only adds to the overall meditative aesthetic. Sadly, it's over just as it begins, providing a pleasant but fleeting challenge to the player.

It’s taken me a while to get here, to a place where I can calmly say nice things about For Honor, but I’m glad I made it. We’ll see how it progresses but given their commitment for the long haul, Ubisoft may have dug out a space in the multiplayer market we didn’t know was there.

We Are Chicago raises real issues that still plague parts of America, and encourages young people to stay away from gang violence, and this goal is praiseworthy – but between the flat graphics, the uninspired characters, and the nausea-inducing camera movement, We Are Chicago isn't an enjoyable gaming experience.

So that’s the importance of a retro game, and Alwa’s Awakening demonstrates it beautifully. With a few tweaks to make it a little more palatable to the modern gamer, Alwa’s Awakening captures the joy that can come from conquering a difficult experience. It doesn’t do anything new, but in bringing back the old, it shows how fun finding your own way can be.

A title that appears to have been a labor of love, but also and unfortunately, that fails to be anything more than that. For fans of visual novels, dating simulations, and dragons mixed with sexuality, crime, and suicidal tendencies, Angels with Scaly Wings might serve to impress you, but if these aren’t a draw, then pass. Art, animation, and music leave something to be desired, and puzzles, mystery and storyline are only interesting because you’re dating… Well… Dragons.

With an intricately crafted world, innovative and engaging battle system, and delightful array of scenery and music, Shadows of Adam is a splendid and true tribute to the SNES JRPG. The bugs one might encounter in beta versions are overshadowed by pure awe and captivation—a relentless desire to play more and more.

Wacky Spores: The Chase is a strong showing from the one-man show Lorenzo Bellincampi. This endless runner ditches substance and opts for style: you won’t find plot or character development, but the popping visuals and sharp audio promise hours of fungal fun.

Rebellion Development took the groundwork laid by Sniper Elite 3 and improved upon nearly every aspect. Its large-scale environments feature an intelligent layout of objectives and abundance of sniper-aiding verticality. While Sniper Elite 4's music and story aren't going to win any awards, they aren't enough to take away from the respectable amount of content and addictive, strategy-based gameplay.

For new-comers and veterans of side-scrolling, bullet-hell, shoot ‘em ups, Bleed 2 brings forward a fluid and action-packed adventure. Its solid gameplay and stylized visuals improve upon the original title of 2012, but its $10 price tag, considering how quick a playthrough is, might only be worth it to those competitive players who regularly top leaderboards and are casually crowned, “Greatest Heroes of All Time.”

Sovereignty delivers a grand-strategy conquest game with that nice, old-school feel. The audio and visuals are unadorned, and some navigation can feel clunky and cumbersome, but the gameplay is satisfying and polished, with challenging AI and a rich narrative backdrop.

With so many strategy games to choose from, Realpolitiks ultimately fails to stand out. While its variety in features and missions is welcomed, it also forces errands few will enjoy; they make it difficult to stay in control, these arbitrary tasks impeding if not outright discarding a player's grand approach.

While it's commendable that a two-man team set out to create an adventure of relatively broad scope, Hero is difficult to recommend. Its music and sound effects are good, but the lackluster graphics, lack of polish, and uninspired gameplay are too glaring to ignore.

The Frostrune stands out among Point-and-Click and puzzles games, masterfully connecting gameplay, art design, sound, and story to craft a beautiful and satisfying experience.

Urban Empire boasts a political system crafted with fun and originality in mind, as well as historical accuracy and gorgeous aesthetics. Yet even such impressive features do not make up for a lack of dimension and depth on which the success of simulators almost exclusively depend.

Whether one sees Linelight as more than just entertainment, is completely subjective. Objectively speaking, Linelight is fresh, inventive, and offers a deceivingly simple premise with incredibly engaging and satisfying gameplay.

Disagea 2 is a fantastic release that plays quite smoothly and has a tremendous amount of depth and playability to offer. Granted, the combat mechanic can seem repetitive, but there is a staggering number of classes to recruit, along with new abilities to unlock and level up, and new maps and aspects to explore.

For the returning Tales fan, Berseria is no doubt an insta-buy, and for those who are curious or have never played an entry, it is the perfect place to start.

While the price point is a little steep for what seems like a simple old-school puzzler, depth and mechanics make Warlock's Tower worth it for those who can appreciate good design.

Xenon Valkyrie is enjoyable, given you have a knack for the brutally challenging and are willing to invest time and tolerance to unravel what this rogue-like has to offer.

One of the best virtual introductions to a new language. Thanks to Learn Japanese To Survive! Katakana War, one could be well on their way to learning Japanese while immersing themselves in a genuinely fun game.

While there are dozens of Sci-Fi Survival games to choose from, ION LANDS has blended a remarkable combination of elements to create a saga that stands out from the crowd.

A House of Many Doors is a terrifying trek through the unknown, a disjointed story with startling descriptions of lost memories and slow declines into madness. It is beautiful, haunting, gripping… and boring. It is simply hard to identify with it, and complicated to understand, which prevents it from truly capitalizing on its amazing elements which would otherwise stand alone so well.

Nyheim is a strikingly illustrated dice-rolling game which emphasizes the challenging survival element inherent in any post-apocalyptic title. While the difficulty seems challenging at first, once you have established certain strategies, Nyheim risks feeling repetitive.

Although it isn’t an exploration game per se Diluvion remains full of wonders, as long as you remember nothing is instantaneous underwater. Movement will be clumsy but graceful, and each vista carries either riches or treacherous death. The unknown beckons. Diluvion tugs at the soul of the land-bound adventurer that longs to experience the mysteries of the deep. It ties together RPG elements, resource management, combat, and the salty appeal of a marine environment in a brilliant blend of whimsical and exciting.

An insightful story with fleshed out characters and captivating dilemmas, not to mention a great soundtrack, A Normal Lost Phone is the kind of experience that inspires you to get back into the world with a renewed sense of compassion toward all those who live in it. At $2.99 on Steam, some would argue that makes it worth it.

Warhammer 40,000: Sanctus Reach provides deep gameplay with a simple recipe: easy-to-learn combat rules and units… lots and lots of unique units. Despite minor bugs and a lack of flair – no cutscenes, little narrative, not much in the way of physics – Sanctus Reach is a solid entry in the Warhammer franchise, and an excellent turn-based tactical game to boot.

Mainlining puts you in the shoes (and at the desktop) of an agent for the government spy directorate MI7. Occasionally irksome gameplay is balanced with rich aesthetics and an engaging story, making Mainlining a fine choice for fans of the point-and-click genre.

If you want something deep, different and definitely fun to dip into for a bit, this is one I’ll recommend all the way to the bank, where I will then play a card to steal all your money and ascend to gremlin godhood atop my never-ending pile of cash.