Sadly for a game that is all about memories, Dear Esther just never does much to leave a lasting one.

While Kill the Bad Guy has more than its fair share of frustrations, they're never so bad that they overshadow the game's strengths. It's a simple puzzle game that handles variety and difficulty well, containing a decent amount of content. It's dark themes and constant justification of bloody murder may be rather blunt and uninspired but may appeal to those who want their brainteasers to be a bit more brutal.

Switch – Or Die Trying is a simply designed, yet polished game. It can hold its own and be an enjoyable experience for the right player. It's mostly for those who find pleasure in speed running levels and those who are avid platformer fans. For everyone else, maybe skip this one.

Lost Ember provided me an endless list of grievances at every turn, but that never stopped me from actively enjoying the game. It’s a technical mess with a terrible narrative and some poor design choices – but there’s just something so relaxing about running around the wilderness at your own pace. The gameplay’s done right, and there are some brilliant moments where everything comes together, but it’s hard to recommend a game in this state of disrepair.

Despite my love of physics-based games, I didn't have fun with this iO at all. At its worst, it's a mess where things just don't work the way you want, but most of the time it's just a dull platformer with lackluster visuals and repetitive level design. The concept is novel, but it left a lot of room to grow.

Cool on the surface, you’ll likely enjoy what you’re looking at. The style and idea of this evil world with female fighters who are an unlimited supply of clones is just awesome and unique. The major setback is the repetitive gameplay that isn’t varied. It’s like you’re just playing a demo for hours with no feeling of actual progression because of how many times you’ll be restarting. Without a really fleshed out story, you almost don’t have anything to really fight for. Seeing the conclusion of the story isn’t exciting because you expect it to just end without any dramatic elements in place. There just isn’t enough meat in it to satisfy your hunger. It’s a beautiful world, but not one you’re going to stay in for long.

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.

Four Sided Fantasy is a visually appealing game with low replayability. Its screen-wrap mechanic is a fun idea and works well, but it needs to be fleshed out to add more complex puzzles. I also experienced a few glitches as I progressed further into the game that forced me to quit the level and start it over. This game is a quick and easy Gamerscore booster, but needs some work to make it stand out. If the puzzles and mechanics were as creative and polished as the artwork, this might be worthwhile.

Aces of Luftwaffe – Squadron is an addictive experience you won’t want to miss. Even those who don’t normally don’t enjoy the genre will feel quite appeased with their decision to try it out. The skill system sets this apart from many others like it, and you’ll love maxing out each character and attempting higher difficulties. With only minor setbacks which is completely an opinion, some may consider this game near perfect. The achievement list is fun to tackle and nothing seems impossible or overly difficult. The fierce and frantic gameplay is eased with the generous four lives you get. While it won’t be for everyone, it will be enjoyed by most.

For what it’s worth, the extremely small amount of time you’ll play this game will be entertaining. You can do everything within a couple of hours but you’ll likely enjoy your time. I liked it a lot but I also played it on Game Pass. I would regret buying it for the asking price, so if you don’t have a Game Pass subscription or it’s no longer available in the library, maybe wait for a good sale. I don’t normally like to talk about pricing, but I think it’s pretty important that you know ahead of time what you’ll be enjoying won’t be for very long.

The subject matter is deep, almost invasive. It might be something that actually helps you consider your own destiny. However, the actual gameplay is bad. There are easy puzzles then there are ones that slow down your progress, making you wonder if it’s worth continuing because the experience hasn’t been that great to begin with. It’s kind of bland and sometimes boring. Some may like the personalized questions that allow them to have a bit of self-discovery but usually games are an escape from reality. Instead, Solo: Islands of the Heart can actually bring back those memories. It really depends on your own life and experiences. If you’re happy and together with someone, the game will feel pretty pointless. If you’ve had your heartbroken or are alone, it may just highlight your failures instead.

A well-presented and generally enjoyable experience for those who typically wouldn't enjoy match-three puzzlers. The story is a bit lame, and the image recognition screens are banal, but neither prevented me from taking pleasure in the otherwise relaxing experience that Azkend 2 offers.

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.

As always, the problem with Telltale's limited gameplay and choose-your-own-adventure formula is that the game can really only be as good as its story. Guardians of the Galaxy proves to be one of their weaker games, as it struggles to find its own voice within the obvious movie-based restrictions. Even though its uninspired and somewhat dull take on the franchise, it still manages to fit in enough funny and touching moments to make the series fun to play. Telltale has certainly done worse (I'm looking at you, post-Season 1 The Walking Dead), but they've also done a lot better. If you're even the slightest bit burnt out on Telltale or Marvel, this game will do you no favors.

Some fun can be had by those who enjoy narrative and puzzle style adventures, especially as we fast approach the spooky season.

The difficulty in this platformer is beyond frustrating. It has its moments but falls just as often as you will. You won’t even worry about your times; you’ll be more concerned with surviving. The ranks end up feeling like you have to find the faster routes which require a lot of upgrades. It’s either you complete the level with a low ranking, or you find an alternate route to get a cheated S rank. There’s really not much in-between. This leaves the whole idea of speed running in the dust. It just doesn’t work, and I don’t feel many people will enjoy trying to obtain better times. Razed is playable even with its flaws, but how much you play will be up to your patience and determination.

Because of the horrible glitches I experienced along with a confusing end sequence, I was not able to enjoy it entirely. It’s not a bad game, in fact quite the opposite. There just was no room for that much error. With only one game mode heavily focusing on story, it just has to be done right. You can complete the whole adventure in just a few hours. Is it scary? Yes, they have done a fantastic job with jump scenes and being lost in the eerie woods. I wanted to give it another try, so I started a new game. When in the first area I could not get Bullet to fetch the hat for me, I force quit the game and decided not to bother. If they ever fix the issues, I may revisit the forest and get lost all over again.

The idea is really good. I just love being able to put myself in a job that I normally don’t do. I think that’s why the simulation games are so popular. I wanted more out of it. I didn’t mind it being short, but sometimes it felt there was less control than you should have.

Enigmatis: The Ghosts of Maple Creek isn’t horrible, but it isn’t great. It finds itself somewhere in purgatory, floating in between the spectrum. On one hand, you have a game that lets you skip all the gameplay, and enjoy a simple ghost tale. On the other hand, you have a game with roundabout puzzles that are not so fun to play through. Either way, Maple Creek is filled with mystery and trash.

For the brief moment it lasts, SPIFFING is a great game with an excellent script and a fairly high standard of production. Unfortunately, it's so short that it feels like a tutorial or a demo even. I'm known at XBLA Fans for commenting on game prices too often, but I can't ignore the fact that SPIFFING weighs in at nearly $20, yet lasts for less time than a decent TV drama.

The story, the script and the characters in Knee Deep, as well as the setting, all contribute to a fantastic experience that is entirely unique at the moment. Knee Deep a game for anyone who wants to experience something a little calmer, a bit more cerebral and a little bit different to the norm.

I think there’s a lot of room for improvement but it’s still a fun game. As a whole though, I didn’t feel like spending much more than a few hours with it. The design and atmosphere was great, but there were too many things I found to burden the overall experience.

Manual Samuel starts well but sadly loses steam fairly early on. Which is a real shame as I wholeheartedly loved the first hour or so into Sam's nightmare day. The game is at it's strongest when it's gamifying the mundane aspects of life, but this one trick pony loses its appeal when it tries be a proper game with fighting, boss levels and high scores.

Like a trip to Whole Foods, Organic Panic is not without its share of fun, but its cons unfortunately outweigh its pros. Destroying the environment and flooding out meat and cheese monsters has plenty of charm, but some variety and polish would have gone a long way toward extending it. This is definitely not a bad game, but it does get a little boring — just like veggies.

Besides a unique concept and beautiful presentation, Sinner falls short on content and playability. You never care about your hero and the bosses can be extremely frustrating. With no difficulty option, you’re forced into an uphill battle against the bosses. You aren’t offered any hints on how the world works, and you’ll be often stuck wondering what to do next. I enjoyed what I played, but it got stale very quickly. I felt no reason to continue my journey after beating most of the sins.

Song of the Deep occasionally shows flashes of promise, but ultimately they're just that: flashes and promises. Too often it feels like Insomniac was just going through the motions, leaving players with something of an empty shell of a new and impressive adventure.

I had a great time playing through Rise & Shine, but sadly, I know I'll never go back to it. I wanted to complete it; I very much so enjoyed the final twist of the story and the end "solution" even more. Enjoying the end, however, doesn't change the fact that the glitches, bad button layout and overly annoying self-awareness, really make it hard to enjoy at times.

NBA Playgrounds has many small issues and problems that create a game that is equal parts fun and also frustrating. It calls back to classic arcade style games and in some ways succeeds in doing so, but it also fails in a handful of ways. The online mode is a no zone if you want to have fun at this point. However, the substantial roster size of NBA stars and gameplay that is entertaining to watch, and at times also fun to play, will make it appealing to those who want a different basketball experience than the usual sim.