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.

Monster Hunter will always rule the roost in these areas. What Toukiden Kiwami strives to do though is supplant the giant by focusing upon nail-biting action and tactical formation rather than grinding. In this way, Toukiden Kiwami succeeds in being a game that any fan of taking down immense challenges should keep a close eye upon.

It brings back the old-school charm of the series while experimenting with various new mechanics with a good degree of success.

It is more than a well crafted homage though; it is a game that links the past to the present in grand fashion and is definitely something you should pick up to pass the time.

Smooth, intuitive controls make getting the hang of playing a snap, and the relative ease of early goings make it an ideal for those interested in something new, with enough challenge in its latter stages to delight puzzle players of all ages and skill levels.

For those who like to get something different out of their games, Shelter 2 offers a fresh take that successfully builds on the formula of the earlier title without tangling it up in new or difficult features.

Castle in the Darkness proves itself to be worth way more than the price of admission with hours of good ‘ol fashioned platforming action for only $5.99 on Steam.

True to Revelations 2’s nature of throwing more questions than answers at you since its debut episode, the player is still left with too many mysteries even at the very end.

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.

What you are instead left with is something that departs a bit too much from what fans probably wanted. Instead of fixing the few issues The Evil Within had, they introduced something completely new with a whole new bag of troubles. Fortunately enough, the story is interesting enough and holds up pretty well, and for some that may just be worth the price of entry.

With an unimpressive overall aesthetic, floundering controls, and skimpy level design, I’d say your money is better spent on something with a bit more meat to it.

If you want a wonderful, head-nodding score to keep you in tune with your inner psychopath, look no further. This game is outrun music at its finest.

After completing three episodes with three equally gripping cliffhanger endings, I’m all prepared for one hell of a finale when the final episode releases next week.

Sid Meier’s Starships does away with all of the research tree and diplomatic hard work that often comes with a 4X title, replacing them with some brilliant turn-based strategy combat and just enough world conquering to keep any evil genius happy. This is the sort of game the Romulan Empire would love.

Downfall’s six chapters may seem short when compared to Dante’s 20, but they feel more padded out here than some of the missions do in the original game.

Ori and the Blind Forest is proof that those who want a game with a deep story and top-notch gameplay can have their cake and eat it to.

While the simple look and chiptune soundtrack may make players think that there’s not much to this title, that couldn’t be further from the truth. The sheer number of story quests, side missions, and loot, combined with a vast variety of character possibilities, establish far more than enough content to justify the $7.99 price.

Shiftlings is a fun game. It’s rare when a game can nail fart humor and also have it be completely in context. The puzzles are fun, and there is really some fantastic level design that never gets in the way of the game. Unfortunately all of this may be hard to realize when all you can see is a sometimes frustrating single player experience.

If Homeworld Remastered Collection were to be released now as a totally new title rather than a classic game with a polished sheen, it would be a complete revolution in strategy gaming. As it is now, Homeworld 1 & 2 stand up incredibly well to their modern contemporaries thanks to a little elbow grease and a lot of fiddling. Yes it may not be as great as it used to be, but it’s definitely a more cohesive experience.

Aaru’s Awakening is a phenomenal piece of art, and a solidly built game to boot.

The game executes everything extremely well. Agarest: Generations of War 2 is absolutely the best game of the franchise and one of the greatest JRPGs of its time.

Contemplation certainly doesn’t let up in terms of action and horror. The increased variety in enemy types and game mechanics is certainly welcome, and with the story picking now too, it will be exciting to see how the mystery unfolds.

While other games may offer a laborious grind to the end, OlliOlli 2: Welcome to Olliwood brings you a new kind of grinding that never gets old and keeps the sparks flying for hours to come.

While War of the Human Tanks: ALTeR probably isn’t in-depth enough for hardcore strategy fans, it’s got a certain charm and the novel-style story and human drama inserted through it add a wonderful depth to the experience.

Oblitus puts a whole lot of content into a small, tightly-made package. The overall aesthetic and backing music are great, and the constant threat of death taking all of your accomplishments away drives play very well.

Actively making the zone worse by radically changing how Zora Link functioned seems like a huge step back in comparison with the rest of the small positive changes that the game made.

It is fan service at its best and there is absolutely no harm in that. Unfortunately it is slightly bogged down by the weight of one of its largest features. The hub world of Toki-Toki city is a great idea that serves its purpose but adds a bit of clunkiness that makes getting to the fun bits a bit of a chore. And fun is something that should never feel like a chore.

Penal Colony provided just the right amount of backstory and twists to leave the player wanting to find out what’s next in the story. Survival horror makes a triumphant return with Revelations 2 and this is another significant step in the right direction for the decade-old series.