There are often laugh out loud moments in the game but these moments punctuated the tedium that defined most of the game.

The game is worth at least one playthrough to experience the beauty and vibrancy of the colorful, relaxing world. Though without plot or characters, many will find themselves to be disinterested.

There are a lot of funny moments to experience. I really liked the humor, and it was wildly entertaining to run around and experience the interesting characters and the town. The game can be pretty difficult, with a lackluster hint system and too many items to interact with. The dream system was really clever, but at times, it could cause some headaches with figuring out what to do. A little adjustment with interactions and the hint system would have went a long way.

Twenty years later, untouched and carrying a $20 price tag, Duke feels more like a washed up has-been than the kick ass hero I remember.

I know I’ve mentioned it already, but it’s worth repeating the story truly is awful. It’s like a poison that leaked into otherwise good characters and dialogue. If you want a mystery game, don’t bother. If you want to curl up to some good voice acting and chill out while someone else drives, then maybe consider calling shotgun.

There’s a lot of beauty to behold in this horror game. I can admit, maybe one of the best-looking ones I’ve seen (horror/walking sim). And while I did enjoy my time playing through it, there were some annoying bits that take you out of the atmosphere. There were a few puzzles that just seemed like time wasters. Being kicked out of the game at the menu was actually ripping me away from what I was enjoying (walking around the atmospheric horror). The story didn’t catch me as depressing, even though it was the main theme. I didn’t care about the character enough. The narrator was great at first, but eventually became an annoying philosopher whom I just wanted to shut up. He wouldn’t stop making everything have some deeper meaning. Then there were the words placed around for a puzzle. Like it would say “sound test” on the floor. It made me think of a pirated movie where the editing hadn’t been completed yet. It started off great and with promise, but then the need for the game to be “unique” threw it off the rails, not being able to be saved by the storyline.

Most video games have a singular purpose of entertaining players. Whilst there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that, every so often a game comes along that strives to do that little bit more, bringing with it a political message or a life lesson to be learned. The Worldwide Fund for Nature Earth Hour-inspired TurnOn, the first console release from newcomers Brainy Studio, is one such example.

Outlast 2 has some problems that left me frustrated for most of the first half of the game, as well as some questionable segments later in the game. Even with that said, it also offers a gripping story revolving around the main character and religion, that left much to be interpreted and theorized, yet kept me interested throughout the game. The gameplay won't wow you, but it can offer some solid scares, and will definitely provide players with some disturbing scenery. If you enjoy the horror genre or liked the first Outlast, then you most likely will like Outlast 2. If not, then you may easily get frustrated or turned off by the experience.

If you don’t mind grinding through to unlock everything, then it’s a pretty enjoyable experience. If you’re an achievement hunter you will probably like how you must obtain everything in order to get all of them. This is especially true with beating the game while only using a specific type of weapon. It encourages you to do everything possible in the game. However, if you don’t like replaying things numerous times, then it will be a short experience with a “that wasn’t worth it” feeling. The biggest sting here is the price tag which, unless you fall in love with the combat system, may lead you to feel dissatisfied with your purchase.

Horizon Chase Turbo is best viewed from the perspective its designers intended. In that sense, it’s a rather fun title, and might actually make a great option for younger drivers who are a bit overwhelmed by the “Forza” franchises. Achievement hunters may be turned off by all the grinding, and driving purists will have issues with the frequent collisions. However, when played as an occasional diversion instead of a campaign – just as one did with its arcade inspirations – this is one horizon that racers certainly won’t mind chasing.

I will probably go back and complete the third tier just to get my last achievement, but after that there isn’t much of a point in playing since unlocking the legendary character after tier 1 essentially negates all other cool aspects of the game. This might be one of the few times I felt disappointed after becoming overpowered early on in a game. Still, it’s a decent little dungeon crawler that should satisfy a good population of people.

Despite my grievances I enjoyed the game: it’s a solid, beautiful space exploration game — but one with too much space in between the good parts (pun intended).

I don't think that there is really any new content here for fans who played the game comprehensively the first time around, so it is those returning players who should consider their purchase most carefully.

The amount of time needed to master the end parts of the game seem broken and unfair. Difficult just to be known as difficult. Practice makes perfect, but if you don’t enjoy practicing then you’re bound for failure. The King’s Bird barely gets my recommendation, but enough of it was good for me to say it’s pretty decent.

The Mummy Demastered truly wants to step out of the marred shadow of its source material and in some ways it does. It cleverly incorporates the essence of Contra to the well-established Metroidvania formula. However, the technical issues experienced throughout are hard to ignore. Along with the crippling setback of multiple deaths and a useless roll maneuver, the challenge presented feels close to cheap at times. Anyone looking for something along the lines of a Metroid or Axiom Verge can have fun with Demastered. Just know going in that this Mummy carries a curse.

The Assembly on Xbox One is a technically proficient decent walking sim, with great graphics, voice acting and surprisingly superior immersion for a low budget version of a VR experience. That said, the story in any walking sim really needs to be the main feature. It's unfortunate then that The Assembly is something of a snore-fest.

Reviewing The Bunker is a bit like reviewing a movie. I've played it once, but like a good movie, I will want to experience it again sometime in the hopes that I catch a few of the little details that I might have missed first time around. It isn't a fantastic game though, and so I don't have any intention to play it again right away.

Active Soccer 2 DX plays a simpler game of football than its modern peers, making it less entertaining for solo players, but I think the opposite could be said for when you want a quick match with pals – especially when there are lots of them.

I like aspects of Planetbase, and I want to like all of it because it’s a nice premise, but it’s really hard to look past its frustrating aspects. The slow pace of expansion can make it a relaxing game to play, but when those frustrations creep in it wipes out any chance of relaxing. In a world where Cities: Skylines exists as such an excellent city-builder on Xbox One, Planetbase suffers in comparison. Going from landing party to self-sufficiency to thriving extra-terrestrial metropolis is a pleasing arc, but at times the game conspires against your efforts to play it.

There are clever dialogue moments and lots of humor thrown in showing that it was a fun project that doesn’t take itself too seriously. The music is an absolute pleasure and I was impressed with how many tracks are present, changing as you play. The overall mood for Desert Child is casual. You can play it without stressing about losing. You really cannot lose. Just based on your actions the game might take longer to complete. It’s a somewhat brief experience but is entertaining. Nothing in it will blow your mind but you won’t regret your time while on Mars, chilling and making your dream of success a reality.

Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden is a clever take on the turn-based RPG, blending it with freeform exploration in a way that feels natural and satisfying. It’s unfortunate that the rest of the game can’t match the well-realized concept, giving off the sense of a great execution that wasn’t fully baked. For the genre, it’s a surprisingly bite-size experience that, while may not be the most friendly to newcomers, fans should definitely check out.

Sterdenn is a solid shooter. It's perfectly competent and features a really solid and completely unique randomisation mechanic that's worth exploring. Outside that, it is a little repetitive, and beyond the first couple of hours I doubt it has the longevity to attract casual interest.

TrackMania Turbo is a game I enjoyed more the more I played it, with the tracks growing more difficult and complex as I became more skilled. This game can pack more adrenaline into a single sitting than other racing series can pull off in an entire game. Unfortunately, it takes a few wrong turns, displaying more than its fair share of odd omissions, additions and design choices that take away from the fun.

As it is such a blatant Zelda clone, Oceanhorn will certainly appeal to those people who wish to relive the classic 16-bit era of simpler, cuter action adventure games. For modern gamers, there is still a lot of content here and a ton of serviceable action, but the structure and repetition that creeps in later may begin to grate on some.

There is no doubt in my mind that Sheltered is now a very accomplished game, and easily my favourite survival simulator, but due to the control issues and general clunkiness, it certainly won't appeal to everyone.

Functionally, the game plays fine, but with the lack of any real variety of enemies game to make it interesting for more experienced players, and we now have a bit of an oddity that's not particularly accessible to casual players and is unlikely wow diehard shmup fans either who'd be able to find similar, yet more compelling, shoot-em ups elsewhere.

Victor Vran is an ok dungeon crawler. There's nothing majorly wrong with it, but the Motorhead add-on shows us glimpses of personality that the main game lacks and the limited customization holds it back from being anything more than average. One of the main draws for these types of games is the loot, but when most of the loot is same or didn't change much, there's not a lot of reason to keep going. Whilst the fighting itself is satisfying, and the co-op (both online and offline) modes kept the game interesting socially, the longevity just isn't there. Unlike The Witcher 3, which I've still to finish. Thanks for the constant reminder Victor.

As a horror walking sim adventure, it hardly barely reached it’s potential to keep the player engaged. With no clues or help along the way, it’s a blind struggle to figure out what to do next. It’s not a bad game, and with a few added tweaks it would be much better.