Neon City Riders isn’t a bad game by any means. It is just severely hampered by some puzzling mechanics and design flaws. While the titular city itself may be oozing with personality and neon allure, wading through the game’s main quest feels far too cumbersome. It could, by all means, be a fun time for the ridiculously skilled or incredibly patient, but we can’t help but feel that a majority of gamers won’t put the time in to overcome the early-game difficulty curve.

I can't say that Olija is a complete misfire. The way that the characters and enemies are animated in this pixel art style is superb. The world of Terraphage is fantastically bleak and it says a lot that my biggest criticism that I wanted to spend more time there. Unfortunately, the combat mechanics and story lack the depth that I wanted them to have. There are some good ideas here, but Olija is a voyage that ends far too soon.

There are a number of elements present in Cygni: All Guns Blazing that underwhelm. From its unremarkable enemy designs to its banal story, it simply doesn’t feel like it has a strong identity. However, for all its shortcomings, it does deliver seven action-packed stages of controller-gripping, shmup goodness. The ship customization stuff is neat, the energy allocation mechanic is novel, and it features some highly enjoyable boss battles. When all is said and done, I doubt Cygni will make much of an impact with the general gaming populace, but I suspect that bullet hell fans will find something to love here.

I do truly wish I could call this a diamond in the rough or some classic in the making, but that’s just not the case. Aragami 2 is fine and while I am likely to revisit it one day, I wouldn’t say you need to rush out and play it right now.

Eventually, Best Month Ever becomes a largely run-of-the-mill road trip; you know, the sort of trip you don’t mind embarking on, but would be perfectly okay if it has to end prematurely. In other words, it’s not exactly the most thrilling or boring of journeys, but also one that needs frequent pit stops to sustain your interest, if you wish to see the game through to its conclusion. What’s unfortunate is that Best Month Ever also unabashedly pines for several playthroughs, as evident in its myriad endings, but the vehicle it’s run on guzzles your stamina and patience like the least fuel efficient of cars. Unfortunately, I only have the capacity for a single excursion or two; I don’t think I can stay awake as the road trip sluggishly cruises towards its destination.

NBA 2K22 is an almost impossible game to rate, because it’s a damn good basketball game at its core. The biggest problem is how it tries to be anything but a basketball game, and while that doesn’t damage the overall quality on the court, it makes it hard to root for it. It’s the ‘03 Lakers, and I hate the ‘03 Lakers.

I desperately wanted to love My Hero Academia: All’s Justice. It looks, sounds, and plays better than One’s Justice, while having tons of details that fans of the series are going to love. And in Free Battle, where there's no ridiculous difficulty spikes, they probably will. It’s just a shame that loving All’s Justice outside of that mode too often feels like getting hit with a Delaware Smash, leaving it as a decent and incredibly frustrating game that should have been great. Hopefully it will be with some sorely-needed balance patches.

Persona 5 Tactica is undone by the fact it's unsure if it's putting the Persona twist on the tactical grid game, or using Persona characters to introduce newcomers to the genre. Maps and missions are repetitive, the more interesting elements that each Persona brings are sanded off, and there's an overreliance on basic gun and melee attacks that don't suit the Phantom Thieves at all. But when it clicks, there is an unmistakable charm about the Phantom Thieves themselves, and drawn-out though they may be, the epic scale of the bosses is a good shake-up for the genre. It's not the perfect goodbye of Strikers, but it is a sign that the sun should set on the Phantom Thieves in peace.

The Patrick Star Game is fun, and to see the original cast return for it is a wonderful thing, but this deep-sea sandbox remains in relatively shallow waters despite a rich history of references and callbacks. It’s probably a safe bet to keep your kids entertained for a good while, but for us adults who still have a soft spot for SpongeBob SquarePants, this is still a solid recommendation - just when the game is on sale and you’re looking for something simple to mindlessly work away at.

The Fabulous Fear Machine is a metaphor, but not really. The propaganda machine that shapes society is very real, and it's used to tell us what to believe, what to buy, who to hate, and how to behave, all to benefit and enrich those of us who deserve it the least. The titular Fear Machine is based in power dynamics, class consciousness, and the susceptibility of society at large, but after playing, I’m not sure if Fictiorama Studios understood how its own machine actually works.

Tower of Babel - No Mercy is a light-hearted game that is easy to pick up and play for pretty much anyone, while getting good is a bit trickier.

The best throwback games borrow aesthetics, iconography, and mechanics from the past, and blend them with modern sensibilities. Evil West does the first part beautifully, but can’t quite pull things together for audiences today.

Switchback VR is a steady rail shooter that offers decent variety and an interesting tour through some old levels, but never tries to earn The Dark Pictures name. The choices don’t matter, the Curator is just a creepy Where’s Wally?, and the stakes or even setup for rescuing characters was lost on me. However, it’s reliably spooky, action-packed, and has the best designed villain in the series. It’s a rail shooter obsessed with its own past, so it makes sense that it’s two steps forward and one step back.

When it finds itself, Samba de Amigo proves that it deserves to be revived more often than it is. But it loses this streak too quickly. Samba has far more potential than a few fun dances to keep the family busy over the holidays, I just hope it doesn't take Sega a bunch of DLC packs and another 10-year hiatus to realise that.

It’s a bit difficult to nail down who The Otterman Empire is for. On one hand, the premise, content, and control scheme seems perfectly fine for older kids. However, the party game aspect and strategy required to master gameplay feels suited for co-op couch parties. But maybe that’s the point. The Otterman Empire won’t blow you away with anything new, but it is an otterly fun time that is accessible to a wide spectrum of gamers and abilities.

In a genre crowded with self-serious shooters, there is something refreshing about a series so deeply committed to its own identity. Even when the bit falters, even when it reaches for the lowest-hanging fruit, High on Life 2 never feels timid. It is garish and intermittently incisive. At its best, it makes the threat of human extinction feel like an open mic night you’re moderately glad you attended.

While the slow-paced nature of Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey was a bit too much of a slog for me, there are plenty of players who will be up to the challenge. An effective ‘Human Simulator,” the ambition of the game is seen in its graphics, audio, and overall immersive long-haul gameplay. Just be prepared to put in the time. After all, evolution didn’t happen overnight.

Ultimately, Tennis World Tour 2 succeeds in what it sets out to accomplish. The authentic look and feel of the entire game is something that hardcore fans of the sport can appreciate. Unfortunately, the game is also limited in that same sense, as the learning curve prevents more casual players from taking the court in a quickly accessible way. That said, if you’re willing to stick with it, Tennis World Tour 2 serves as an overall satisfying tennis title.

Crash Drive 2 is a harmless game that provides plenty of chances for players to have fun when in need of some mindless driving action. Unfortunately, in terms of on-the-go gameplay, it’s the missed opportunities that could have made the Switch version of the game stand out from the mobile version.

If you liked Immortals, this is basically the same game again, but shorter and with Chinese myths. It’s a shame that a different studio couldn’t, for whatever reason, make its DLC distinct from the base game, but if you want to experience a little bit more of Immortals Fenyx Rising, Myths of the Eastern Realm has you covered. It’s a disappointment, but it’s not a disaster.

If you like playing games that ask you to make difficult decisions that you’ll agonize over, then this could be the game for you. Otherwise, Yes, Your Grace demonstrates that sometimes it's not good to be the king.

When it comes together, Mirage does manage to evoke the same feelings I had back in 2007 running round Acre for the first time. There’s an exquisite stealth sandbox nestled away in here, but a few excellent missions don’t make up for the frequent bugs, lifeless city, utterly pants combat, or the fact it completely wasted The Expanse’s Shohreh Aghdashloo on some of the flattest, most perfunctory writing the series has ever seen.

Game Builder Garage feels like the perfect place to build a game prototype. You can create a basic idea, see if it works and is fun, and then maybe take that concept into a real game engine development kit - but not much more. It can truly pique the curiosities of kids, and I hope it does, but it's launched in a world where it has big competition, and the depth and charm of those tutorials which only Nintendo could pull off so well can't carry the rest of the experience.

For as awful as the script and plot are, the gameplay itself isn't that bad. It's a more than passable take on the XCOM formula that adds some unique and fun mechanics, but there are dozens of tactical strategy games out there right now that play just as well and are ten times less agitating. It's possible that your sense of humor will align with the brand of comedy that this game is putting out - and God help you if it does - but even decent strategic combat isn't enough to make the experience of playing The Dungeon Of Nabeulheuk any more palatable. I am so happy that I don't have to type that word again.

Unless you really want to see an ear of walking corn fire machine gun rounds at a zombie dressed as a football player, Plants Vs. Zombies: Battle For Neighborville is far from the best option for a multiplayer shooter on the Switch.

If you have spent any time whatsoever in a battle royale game (namely Fortnite), you’ll know exactly what to expect when dropping into Darwin Project. The Hunger Games element of the game is very cool and intriguing, but doesn't feel quite as impactful as I was hoping, especially considering that the game’s overall Twitch viewership isn’t very high at the time of this writing. It has its charms and is worth a try if you’re in need of another free-to-play battle royale, but Darwin Project is ultimately just another average drop in the bucket for the genre.

My favorite part about the game was the animation. I loved the doll art style, and it fit really well with the quirky plot. The gameplay was okay, though it would have benefitted from clearer audio and more locations. Overall, Clea 2 was definitely worth playing through, but I’m unlikely to replay it. I’m hoping for a Clea 3 that expands upon the characters and setting, and a game that further improves upon the mechanics.

The experience is a constant tug of war between its disparate good and bad qualities. But Digimon Story: Time Stranger thrives on its good, and save for the eyeroll-inducing DLC dilemma, its bad doesn’t feel intrusive so much as uninspired. A colourful cast of characters gradually comes into its own, resulting in one of the most compelling Digimon video games to date.