Sea of Solitude has the story and visuals of a much better game. Kay’s story of loneliness is powerful, compelling, and clearly personal to the developers at Jo-Mei Games, and it’s enough to make whole game worth playing. Even if you’re fascinated by the story though, the tedium of actually playing Sea of Solitude will diminish its impact.

All in all, Luckslinger is a fantastic retro-styled game with just enough innovation to make it worthwhile.

Distant Star: Revenant Fleet is likely not for everyone. With a difficulty that scales to the size and strength of your own fleet, it has no problem seeing your force crushed and your desperate mission ended.

Traverser creates a compelling world with numerous interesting quirks and a solid story. While the puzzles aren’t what they likely could be, given the intriguing design and mechanics, they’re also not so awful as to make the experience entirely dull.

If you’re a hockey fan, there’s no real reason you shouldn’t buy this game; it’s leaps and bounds better than the version we received a year ago and worth sharpening your blades for.

Heavensward proves nothing other than that Square Enix can dress up old content without breaking it, and more needs to expected from the developers in future expansions.

If you’re a fan, it’s worth checking out simply for the unique visuals and demanding gameplay. If you’re not, there’s not anything innovative or progressive enough here to be a draw.

We Happy Few leaves me feeling conflicted. I don't ever want to put myself through that resource management slog ever again, but I can't discount its sharp wit and captivating writing either. Ultimately, I can't bring myself to give We Happy Few a wholehearted recommendation for the average player. This is a game that will test your patience, and if you're willing to stick it out, you'll be rewarded with a good story that was only let down by weird design decisions and flawed execution.

Mato Anomalies is a solid visual novel with an engrossing story that will keep you hooked as you meet new characters and experience how they interact. While other mechanics in the game fall somewhat short, players are afforded certain options to clear through them faster and get back to the story without much hassle.

While it’s not exactly reinventing the genre or creating anything brand-new, INK is a decent and inexpensive addition to the library of platfoming fans.

Although the game tries its best to teach new players the ropes, it falls short due to the overwhelming amount of techniques and options the player is disposed to out of the gate.

Titan Souls isn’t a bad game, it’s just noticeably lacking. If players are just looking for tough, often short, battles that involve one hit kills, then this is the perfect game. But, if a fleshed out, well rounded experience is what’s desired, then Titan Souls will leave you wanting.

Making a debut on new hardware has its pros and cons, but for NHL 22, the overt emphasis on Superstar X-Factors was a huge gamble to take that did not pay off. If this is your first NHL game in a while, then there is a solid foundation in NHL 22 with various game modes that can appeal. For fans who are hoping for more, however, it is disappointing to find little to no improvements despite all the hype, just like a draft pick that turned out to be a lemon.

By all means many may enjoy the experience to be had in 199X, however don’t expect a lengthy nor particularly engaging gameplay experience. You’re there to push the story along with your directional keys and space bar and little else.

Werewolf: The Apocalypse – Earthblood starts off on the right note, engaging players with the type of action I imagine werewolf fans will find exciting. It quickly runs out of puff, though, and what excitement there is to be had is spoiled by too much tedium in between. Ultimately, enthusiasts of the Apocalypse TRPG are unlikely to feel satiated by what is a rather shallow video game experience overall, which makes it difficult to recommend to those outside the hardcore fanbase.

To my surprise, Styling Star charmed me a lot more than I initially expected.

Ultimately, Brawl falls well short of being a great game. The control issues and, in my personal experience, difficulty finding players to match up with fail to capitalize on the visual design and setting.

It’s quite sad that Chamber of Time so actively works against you in many ways. The tediousness of everything, from school exploration to combat, can really start to drag on you after a while, even if you do enjoy the story and characters.

If you’re looking for something to pass the time on a flight with a friend, or just something to occasionally whip out once you’ve had a few drinks then it’ll do the job, but it’s unlikely to be a staple party game for years to come.

Arguably the biggest flaw with Overkill’s The Walking Dead is just how generic and bland it feels.

An action game that is fun in the moment, but is quickly forgettable thanks to a poor story, one-note characters, and mixed visuals. While the actual gameplay itself is incredibly enjoyable, there just isn’t enough new content to justify this game’s existence.

If you loved Outlast for its story and the fact that it stripped away any sense of viable defense, then there's something special waiting for you. The story really does sing. But if you were hoping for something a bit more fresh and different in a genre that has started to become one-note, then you may be disappointed by what Outlast 2 has to offer.

Despite how negative I sound to this point, Super Lucky’s Tale isn’t a bad game. Everything about it is fine, adequate, and distinguished as an effort.

I think the most disappointing thing is that, at the moment, there is very little replayability. After only about five hours, I beat the game, which included the three extra DLC dungeons and gods from the Valiant Edition.

What Hunter Gatherer is missing, really, is content. There’s not an awful lot to do, but it can take a while to get the hang of accomplishing it.

If you strip that away from Cris Tales, what you have left is a charming and serviceable RPG that is also packed with quite a few flaws and questionable design choices. Cris Tales is definitely worth a playthrough if you’re looking for something light-hearted and a little bit old-school. Just keep your expectations low when it comes to time-based gameplay.

Danganronpa: Ultra Despair Girls offers an exciting and decidedly chilling story for fans who have followed the series since its inception, with callbacks to the original game and important revelations those in touch with the games won’t want to miss. Unfortunately for newcomers or those who aren’t as in tune with Danganronpa, there’s not much here to convert anyone.

The moment-to-moment combat, smooth animation and attractive visuals are serviceable enough to see most players through to the end of the game’s modest duration, but it’s impossible to walk away from Chasm without feeling like the game is a missed opportunity.

When it comes right down to it, I’m just not getting what I used to out of Madden. It doesn’t do much for me, and issues that I’ve had for several years are still there. That’s why I suggested a break at the beginning of this review. Something tells me it wouldn’t spell the end of the world. And yet, something else tells me dreaming of such a thing is wishful at best.

Brigandine: The Legend of Runersia is a good addition to a genre that is gaining popularity. While it may lack the accessibility or even the swifter pace of other titles, it still manages to deliver a strategy roleplaying experience that is largely good on all fronts, supported by six distinct kingdoms and storylines. As long as you can accept that it might feel repetitive in a long game, Brigandine: The Legend of Runersia is an experience worth trying out.

Madden 20 is fine and serviceable but other than The Yard (and that’s a stretch), there’s almost nothing that is worth getting excited over this year. Here’s hoping the new home consoles do something to move Madden forward at some point in the near future.

At its core, Infinium Strike is a game of learning, devising, and applying. And while the story is pretty laughable and 30 missions feels a bit too short, the gameplay definitely feels crisp and well thought out.

The online leaderboards and tournaments alone may be worth the price of admission if you’re the kind of person who likes stacking your skills up against the general populous, but enabling online play would have gone a long way to improve the multiplayer experience.

Jupiter & Mars may only be a few hours long but it feels like a drag. Its message is admirable but swimming through its empty world is tedious. The basic stealth sections, block smashing mechanics, and environmental puzzles simply aren’t a lot of fun and the visuals are too lifeless to make it a world still worth visiting.

Both the story mode and multiplayer modes succeed best while playing with others in the same room, but poorly implemented in-game currency, a repetitive and short story mode, and currently broken online system hinder this title, so the fun moments get lost within the frustrating ones.

Mario Party: Star Rush has some fun and original mini-games, and looks great. Toad Scramble’s new fast-paced simultaneous is enjoyable enough, but it’s too bad it can’t be played online. What is also unfortunate is that luck plays way too much into who wins and loses and will inevitable frustrate players. Some minor tweaking along with the inclusion of online play could have made this one of the best entries in the series in a long time, but instead, it’s another disappointment.

If you’re looking for a vibrant world to explore in virtual reality then Windlands is certainly worth trying. However, if you are looking to feel like Spider-Man seamlessly swinging around a new landscape, keep in mind that poor traversal mechanics and awkward movement will make that feel less authentic that you might have hoped.

Despite promising a fresh take on the farming genre, the execution just falls short. Decent farming mechanics aside, the clunky combat and slow burn of a story really just take away from the experience.

If you’re a die-hard that’s looking for something new, and you don’t mind slogging through uninspired dialog and lagging controls, you’ll probably find yourself enjoying Attractio well enough to be worth a look. Otherwise, though, I’d have to say you can get a better overall experience by sticking to the more well-established titles.

Berserk and the Band of the Hawk provides the rich story that fans of the manga and anime will certainly appreciate. Unfortunately, the feel of the gameplay itself captures the unique nature of each character, but never feels like it shares the same soul as the series it’s based on.

Sugardew Island is a cozy game with a twist, but unfortunately its unique selling point doesn't quite deliver. All the elements are there for an engaging addition to the farming simulation family, but until the gameplay becomes more varied it won’t live up to its predecessors.

Ultimately, Guards embraces a design so simplistic that it feels as though it’s falling short of itself. The gameplay can be fun and challenging, but it also falls into a rut pretty quickly. Unlocking and upgrading all of the available heroes takes a considerable amount of time, with most of your time spent retreading the same roads over and over.

Wanted: Dead tries to rekindle that flame of passion for gaming’s earliest titles, and while it might resonate with some who unconditionally loved this era of gaming, the final product is very unsatisfying and a reminder of why going back in time is a double-edged sword.

Breakpoint attempts to push the series forward but often feels stuck in the mud from its own systems.

Robinson: The Journey was one of my most anticipated VR titles and the final outcome is incredibly disappointing. The control scheme feels like an afterthought, motion sickness plagues the exploration and puzzle-based gameplay, and a number of technical hiccups lead to things taking far longer than they really should or, in some cases, so infuriating you’ll feel like giving up.

It’s not one of my favorite indie puzzlers on the Switch right now but if you’re someone who wants a quick and silly physics-based game to play with a friend, it’s fine for that but I wouldn’t rush out to buy it.

If you’d like to experience what makes Secret of Mana so great, you’ll find little in this remake. Stick with the original – that’s where the real legacy lies.

Hopefully one day we can get a decent sequel in the series with the tight controls, intelligent AI, and fun city-building mechanics we deserve.

With this latest installment, it feels as though Machine Games is both running out of ideas and losing the plot a little with what fans have celebrated about this modern era of the Wolfenstein.

The development team has to be applauded for pushing the boundary of the horror industry with its ideas. It’s just a shame that it stumbles so heavily when it comes to the execution and dilutes its strongest element with generic, repetitive gameplay.

If you’re a fan of juvenile jokes or simply looking for something that feels like an off-brand Deadpool, it may be perfect for you. Still, with technical issues and a flat story, the $39.99 price on Steam feels like a bit of a reach.

Some difference between characters would go a long way, but the pace and design of the game make it a blast to play. There’s a multiplayer option, as well, but it’s local only — no online play here. For the $12.99 price on Steam, I’m not sure that style alone is enough to make a solid case, but if you’ve got a hankering for a unique style of fighting game, you may find it worth the buy. Otherwise, you’re likely better off finding something with a bit more substance to fit the flash.

Gift of Parthax is a serviceable, if dime-a-dozen arena-brawler.

A stylish and fast-paced game that’s got plenty going for it, yet suffers from some lack of consistency.

In its worst instances, the game crashes and breaks, which is something that should never happen in any video game.

While its soundtrack does a very solid job of engrossing you in its established world, the aesthetically unpleasing presentation takes away from this emotional adventure.

Its absurdity, alongside occasional quips do end up pulling their weight, but it’s not enough to save Piku’s journey from being inoffensive and simply forgettable.

Mario Party: The Top 100 was such a strong idea, but it unfortunately falls flat as an actual full-priced Mario Party title.

This game of fisticuffs quickly falls flat due to its lack of expected depth and content most modern fighting games can offer.

Even for someone as desperate to be captivated by a light-hearted adventure like me, Ary and the Secret of the Seasons is an exercise in frustration that isn’t likely to improve your mood.

Soccer Story is by no means a perfect game, especially where there are bugs and glitches that require a hard reset and cause a loss of progression, but it does manage to deliver an entertaining time on occasion, even if it doesn’t necessarily have to do with the ball on the pitch. It might not be a great recommendation for those that are looking for more soccer action, but as a narrative-driven roleplaying title that just so happens to involve soccer, Soccer Story remains something worth checking out if you temper your expectations.

There’s too much in Double Cross that either bores or frustrates for the quality moments to be worth struggling towards.

At least for now, unless you’re really itching to play a brand new looter game, you can probably give this one a pass.

If you’re really looking to enjoy Crysis as it is meant to be played, I’d recommend booting up your PC and playing any of those versions. At least that way you won’t be limited in terms of fidelity, which will also likely improve gameplay fluidity simultaneously.

PES 2017 on PC is a mess, especially when comparing it to the PS4/Xbox One version.

Bugs, choppy frame rate, and some finicky controls make exploring the drab and sterile environments a clunky chore. There is something here, though.

Forcibly pushing players together in order to tackle the later main quests isn’t the experience fans wanted, nor is a PvP system that requires consent before it really kicks off, regardless of where you are.

Survive is a serviceable game, but its story and writing lack the one thing that drew fans to the series in the first place: heart.

For every improvement it offers, the Remastered Edition also takes some serious steps backwards that I can’t imagine longtime fans enjoying this one for too long either. Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles is a game that I hoped to love, but with all of its shortcomings in the Remastered Edition, maybe some things are just better left in the past.

A faithful remaster of a game that time has not been kind to. It fails at modernizing it for 2018 standards, making it feel like a clunky mess to play. It pains me to say this because of how beloved the series is.

Ultimately, Gear.Club Unlimited it a very basic game in comparison to many other console racing titles.

Considering how enjoyable getting behind the wheel is in Need for Speed Payback, it is frustrating that so many elements don’t work in the overall experience. You may spend most of your time having fun racing but the b-movie story that stars unlikable characters, the presentation inconsistencies, and the poorly integrated upgrade system are frequent frustrations.

If you’re in the market for a good team-based, third-person shooter game, look elsewhere. You can certainly find better shooter games that aren’t plagued with sticky cover mechanics and awkward animations. And if you’re looking for the next terrifying Resident Evil game to satisfy your zombie-killing tendencies, this isn’t the game for you either; Umbrella Corps is simply a mediocre third-person shooter hiding under a Resident Evil skin.

Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town does have that compelling farming gameplay loop that we’ve seen time and time again in different series, but it lacks depth — much like the rest of the game — to keep farming sim veterans coming back. At a time where the likes of Stardew Valley continue to push the genre forward and provide greater longevity, it’s difficult to recommend this rough-around-the-edges excursion to Olive Town.

Overall, how much joy you’ll be able to find in Utawarerumono: Mask of Deception comes down to how patient you are willing to be with the game’s many missteps. If you manage to hang in there and look beyond the ugliness of the misogynistic themes and a cast that errs on the side of okay but falls short of its potential to be great, you will undoubtedly find an enchanting story that’s actually worth your time.

Blade Arcus from Shining is one of the best games to pick up if your interested in learning or teaching someone how to play a traditional 2D anime fighter. The simple mechanics and beautiful visuals are enough to keep someone enticed long enough to feel adequately comfortable to move onto more popular and complex fighters. But the bare-bones content and uninteresting story/characters certainly won’t keep most around very long outside that.

Scratch the surface and you’ll find a very shallow car combat game that simply doesn’t have what it needs to pull you back in over and over again. Destruction AllStars is unlikely to be the next PlayStation Plus success story.

Despite the fact that Red Game likely works better in its original mobile form, it still offers some fun.

Road 96: Mile 0 feels like a missed opportunity. Rather than building on what the original game had done so well, it deviates to tell an uninspired story with a gameplay mechanic that just doesn’t really feel all that interesting to play. Road 96 fans will find something to like here, but don’t go in expecting an epic sequel. Even at just five-hours, it can feel like a bit of a drag to finish.

Similar to how Citizens of Earth is a fun, yet imperfect, ode to Earthbound, so too is its sequel an interesting but flawed take on the RPG genre.

Little Town Hero is a classic case of “has potential, but woefully executed,” and that really sucks to say when it seems to have so much going for it on the surface. Lovely graphical style and aesthetic, pretty animations from both characters and monsters, and the occasional banger in the soundtrack. And yet, it wasn’t meant to be. Maybe next time, Game Freak.

There’s plenty of good here that’s sadly held back by a variety of issues that don’t necessarily lie with its developers, but most likely within finding the ideal balance between the genres it embraces.

Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden feels entirely spread too thin. Without much depth to its name, it remains a unique setting devoid of personality.

Sticking with The Town of Light’s slow, meandering storytelling and linear exploration in the early chapters does pay off eventually, but if the dark and often distressing tale of Renee and the happenings in World War II era insane asylums doesn’t interest you, there is very little to see that wouldn’t be even more of a turn off.

Need for Speed is likely to disappoint just about anyone who tries it out. Whether you’re a casual fan looking to scratch a racing game itch, a younger player, or a loyal fan, there’s bound to be something that frustrates you. Its story is run-of-the-mill, its competitive gameplay is undercooked, and its open world features are dull. Need for Speed tries to cast a wide net and instead comes up empty.

Defiance 2050 is fun to muck around in for a couple of hours, but its lack of polish and outdated graphics severely hold it back from even getting close to the level of its current competition.

While the art and effects are certainly cool, the lack of gameplay depth and penalty for not ‘buying in’ to the game are huge turn-offs.

What I’m left with is a passable, extremely repetitive game that offers up brief bursts of catharsis muddled in a misguided sea of queasy colors, and all wrapped up in a convoluted and uncompelling plot.

Party Hard falls flat in execution and bores in some cases. It’s a dour middle ground between a playground for murder and a puzzle: too restrictive in weapon / trap choice and infuriating to enjoy completely, and too simple and redundant to boggle the mind.

That leaves The Executioner feeling more like a tacked on add-on than a true expansion. Fun, but better off as something separate from The Evil Within.

You won’t find anything that’s truly groundbreaking here, but you may find a relaxing experience if you’re the type of person that’s always wanted to grow a desk plant but just haven’t had luck with the real-world variety.

In the end, Roving Rogue makes a bit of a splash with its interesting means of storytelling, but that’s about it. From the frustrating controls to the uninspired level design, the rest of the game falls pretty flat. It’s not necessarily awful, mind you, just uninspired and a bit frustrating.

This game so difficult to play through in the first place: the clunky and robotic feel of your characters and their movements. Extended Dream Edition is a regurgitation of the same nightmare that surfaced last year, and I can’t recommend it to anyone who isn’t already utterly enamored with the game’s beautiful aesthetics.

Nobody expected the latest Bubsy game to be any good and I’m sorry to say that those expectations were completely correct. Stay far away from it. Go play Mario or something instead.

While it’s nice to see something that’s taking a new angle on the style, I just couldn’t find my way into it well enough to really enjoy it for what it was — and at the end of the day, a game that I’m not able to have fun with isn’t one that I’m going to keep playing until I get it right.

It doesn’t stack up to its counterparts on consoles or PC, but it’s certainly a serviceable port. The UI can be cumbersome and unintuitive, and the gameplay itself is incredibly slow paced, but the simulator style has made the transition largely unscathed.

If you’re a big fan of the hyper-precision platforming genre, it’s got a pretty good take on it with some great dressing. If you’re looking for an action-oriented stealth experience, though, steer yourself elsewhere.

The true problem of Babylon’s Fall is that it has no sense of identity. There’s nothing that sets it apart from games like it, and it only shows itself as a poor comparison to other, free, games. Babylon’s Fall feels like it was made to check a box, because it is just so empty and slapped together. The cookie-cutter levels only serve to wear you down as you just want to make it through main missions that are just about your only way to play the game.