Steamworld Quest: Hand of Gilgamech is an excellent addition to the Steamworld lineup and a fantastic game on its own merits. The story is simple but charming, and the gameplay alone is strong enough to carry players to the end. The sheer amount of customization and variety in character builds and combat offers a lot of enjoyable content to players both casual and hardcore. If you're a fan of RPGs, then you should try out Steamworld Quest. It's one of the most enjoyable indie titles on the Switch to date.

It may not be a traditional game experience, but that doesn't mean Kinect Party is boring. On the contrary, whether you're five or 50, messing around in Kinect Party is an enjoyably amusing time-waster.

Compared to past entries, keep in mind that Black Ops III falls squarely in the middle of the series in terms of overall quality.

Cursed Castilla: Maldita Castilla EX is a perfect example of the kind of well-crafted, hair-pulling experience that adventure fans know all too well. Controls are precise, the retro look is as authentic as you'll get without modern flourishes, and the gameplay feels perfect, even if it is highly difficult. Some will dislike the tedious means of getting a better ending, but those who cut their teeth on the 16-bit era of platformers will be right at home here.

Sifu is still a solid action game that feels tailor-made for those willing to put in the time to learn the systems. The subsequent patches have opened up the game to more players who lean on either side of the difficulty spectrum, but it remains challenging even if you try to make the game as easy as possible. The main adventure is a more than satisfying romp thanks to the deep fighting system. The new Arenas mode adds loads more life to the game, even if your only interest is seeing which movies get referenced in a given scenario. Players on both the Xbox platforms and Steam are rewarded for their patience with a very good game, while the Arenas mode alone gives owners on other platforms and stores a big reason to return to Sifu.

Overall, Age of Wonders: Planetfall is a solid sequel that differentiates itself sufficiently and improves upon the franchise's formula. It has a diverse mix of units and races, wonderful artwork, and what appears to be a massive range of strategies. Customizing your forces with an array of passive effects and active abilities is handled effortlessly by the UI, and it's very rewarding to use it in the tactical combat. The campaign should take anywhere from 30 to 60 hours to complete, depending on how quickly you play, and that's before stepping into the random scenarios and multiplayer, where a wide range of options and customizations can cater to your play style.

All in all, Etrian Odyssey Nexus is a solid entry in the series. It doesn't reinvent the wheel but is sort of a grab bag of everything that makes Etrian Odyssey work. It's very familiar, and longtime series fans may find that this outing played it too safe, but casual fans and newcomers should consider it a near-perfect place to start the series. All in all, Nexus is a fantastic end to the long handheld history of the franchise, and it provides a lot of hope for whatever comes next.

In the end, Horace is an engaging experience if you're patient or don't get riled up easily. The platforming isn't as infuriating as most precision-based platformers, but the obstacles in some rooms can be annoying. The instant respawns are nice, but they don't cancel out the frustration of occasionally spotty hit detection. The instant camera rotation can be dizzying, and the repetition of tricky jumps can get old, but the engaging story makes it all worthwhile, especially since this is quite a lengthy game. Horace isn't the next indie masterpiece, but it is good enough to be called a genuine sleeper of a game that people should play.

In the end, Redout is a very good racing game. It may not introduce anything completely new or revolutionize the genre, but it nails the fundamentals so well that fans will be glad that it exists. It has a great presentation and a decent track selection, while the amount of modes almost makes up for the lack of online community. If Redout represents the start of a comeback for futuristic racing, it is a good one, and genre fans will do well to pick it up.

At the end of the day, God of War III: Remastered is God of War III again.

After all those years of waiting, Black Myth: Wukong is a very good adventure game. Using a setting that rarely gets seen in the Western world makes the game intriguing, and that's strengthened when you discover all of the character background stories. The combat is just as varied as the environments you traverse, and while the game isn't as masochistic as other modern action games, it is difficult enough that a little patience and planning will still take you a long way in skirmishes. The presentation is amazing, but it stresses out even the best hardware at the moment. To optimize the gorgeous graphics in Black Myth, players need beefy hardware that can take advantage of various upscaling technologies. It is a worthy pick-up for patient adventure fans, and the title will keep players busy for quite some time.

Hiccups aside, Puzzle Quest 2 is a fine sequel that is sure to please fans of the original as well as draw in plenty of new players.

Stick It To The Man! is a great adventure game whose only crime is that it's over before you know it.

What's incredible is that Big Huge managed to introduce so many fresh ideas to the game yet still maintain the essentially balanced gameplay that remains as addictive as it always was.

The level of detail to which you can personalize and tweak MLB 2006 definitely makes this game one to consider.

Panzers is one of the best RTS games I’ve played in the last ten years, although I’ll put in the disclaimer that I really, really hate base building.

Prince of Persia is fun. It isn't really challenging, and it isn't really lengthy, but when you play it, you're going to have fun.

Senua's Saga: Hellblade II is a beautiful but ultimately hollow game. The fantastic presentation props up a story that is less personal and engaging than in the first game, and the gameplay feels like an afterthought. It was great to see Senua again and to see her outside of the grief-misery she was enveloped in during the first game, but beyond that, there's not much to Hellblade II. It's a short and less memorable experience that shows off Ninja Theory's visual craft to its fullest — but it achieves little else.

The only caveat is that true novices to this gaming genre will have to take a quickie crash course in Pigskin 101.

I found Kena: Bridge of Spirits to be one of the best treats of the year, both for the eyes and for the soul. Not only does it show elaborate craftsmanship, but it also feels like it was infused with joy and awareness. I'm happy it's here, and I look forward to seeing where Kena's bridge can lead.

Marvel vs. Capcom 3 has never been a bad game, and neither is Ultimate. It's important that you know exactly what you're getting into, though. It's been built to appeal to a fan community of die-hard experts, who spent 10 years playing Marvel vs. Capcom 2 at increasingly high levels of performance, who own their own customized fighting joysticks and who've been researching their team for the new game for the last six months.

All in all, Final Fantasy VIII: Remastered is a solid port. The new character models look nice, and the additional features are all welcome. At its core, it's still Final Fantasy 8, and almost nothing has changed about it. If you were a fan of the original, you'll like the remaster, and if you weren't, then it's unlikely this will change your mind. This is likely the definitive version of the game, blurry backgrounds and all, and it's well worth picking up for anyone who's looking to experience FF8 for the first time.

Gears Tactics is a solid turn-based strategy game that has something for genre veterans and newcomers alike. The faster pace and more aggressive style of the game will appeal to fans of the franchise, while the tweaks to established elements, like action usage and overwatch, will also tickle the fancy of strategy fans. The brutal difficulty may be par for the genre, and while the lack of multiplayer will turn off some players, the strong campaign and post-game skirmishes will keep others interested for quite some time. Both the series and Splash Damage are relative newcomers to strategy, but they've done a good job of convincing people that they can handle the challenge.

A solid and enjoyable sequel. The tone has changed, but the characterization and combat are back in full force. There are a few nagging complaints here and there but nothing that should sour the experience for people who enjoyed the first game. At worst, it feels too familiar in both strengths and weaknesses. Almost every complaint and praise about the first game can be leveled at the second. ToCS2 is not a game for newcomers at all and is only for fans of the first. Likewise, be prepared for a game that leaves as many questions as it answers. It's a more satisfying ending than the first game, but there's still a lot more going on in Erebonia.

Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes is an interesting "what if?" direction for the franchise. It genuinely feels like an alternate universe take on Three Houses with action combat, rather than feeling like a mere license. The core gameplay is a lot of fun but becomes one-note as you get more powerful, but it's not enough to sour the experience. Overall, it's a good Warriors game and a big improvement over the first Fire Emblem Warriors.

Without a shadow of a doubt, Buzz! Quiz World is the best trivia game on the PS3.

The fun of the original title is still here but has been amplified with the addition of new maps and classes.

Old World has its moments, but it's a very niche offering. I wouldn't recommend it to someone who isn't hardcore about 4X games because the learning curve is brutal. However, if you've played the rest and you're looking for something new, and especially if the overload of stats is something you find compelling, check out Old World. At the very least, you get to enjoy Christopher Tin's majestic soundtrack.