Amnesia: Collection is a must have for horror fans. The game’s performance remains on point throughout, and although the visuals are somewhat dated, this surprisingly adds to the game’s eeriness in the grand scheme of things. The bottom line here is that for its asking price, you’re getting plenty of terrifying content in return, content that’s arguably a staple for survival horror as we know it.

Dakar 18 is held back from greatness due to a number of issues. Chief among these problems tend to revolve around the game’s poor handling and its over-the-top damage system. However, if you can overlook the game’s awkward foundation and forgive the overbearing co-driver, there’s a beautiful vast world to soak up, with no shortage of diverse content to take for a spin. Just don’t expect to be wowed.

The problem with Gnomes Garden is that, much like the recently released Gnomes Garden 3, its core gameplay loop just doesn’t evolve enough to maintain its initial excitement. There’s certainly enough content for its cheap cost, but even so, it’s content that doesn’t quite meet the standards that games of this type have been setting for years. Fun in small doses, but ultimately repetitive in the long run.

Armored Freedom is a waste of time, effort, money and HDD space. The sheer lack of gameplay depth, originality and innovation, grouped with the game’s clear focus on chance rather than skill, makes for an utterly underwhelming and overly frustrating experience. There isn’t a single aspect of Armored Freedom that I can commend. It’s a cheap cash grab, and nothing more.

Episode 1 really is a journey that tugs on your heartstrings and plays with your emotions, so much so that I can’t wait to see how the brothers and their relationship develops over the coming episodes. No doubt there will be many more horrific challenges in their way, but I am eager to see how things pan out. Life is Strange 2 is off to a great start.

Whilst not quite the best in the series, Mega Man 11 hits the spot. The game does a good job at modernizing the Blue Bomber’s latest adventure, and although the few subtle changes may not be for everyone, I have to commend the game for being widely accessible at the same time as respecting its hardcore roots. Despite its issues, this is a must have for Mega Man newcomers and returning fans alike.

Jack N’ Jill DX offers quite a decent portion of content in return for its very generous asking price. I take issue with the game’s simplicity and its utter lack of difficulty, ultimately making for an adventure that can literally be completed with just one finger. However, with that being said and despite its repetition, its homage to the Game Boy era remains somewhat endearing throughout.

If you’re after a strategy game that’s not as stressful as others in the genre, Valkyria Chronicles 4 is a great choice. Its beautiful art, story and characters are the icing on a well balanced game that rewards the time and effort you put into it. Keeping on top of some of the nitty gritty can be a bit much at times, but thankfully this doesn’t entirely negatively impact the overall experience.

This is the Police 2’s constant flurry of management objectives helps to keep players on their toes, but there’s no denying that this loop becomes fairly tired before too long. The addition of its strategic battle sequences helps to alleviate this to some degree, but when all is said and done, it’s hard to overlook its repetition. Still, for those that enjoyed the first game, the sequel offers a more refined and better structured experience.

FIFA’s vice-grip on the sports genre continues – FIFA 19 offers something for everyone. From the redesigned Kick Off mode to the Journey’s conclusion, there is a lot of game here. Legacy issues in career mode leave it short of being all it could be, however, which is inexcusable given how deep and rewarding games such as the NBA 2K series have made their career modes. That said, this is as good as FIFA has ever been.

Metroidvania games can often fall short as far as gameplay balance is concerned, typically requiring the player to contently progress and backtrack like a non-stop yo-yo. What makes Hollow Knight particularly special is that it leans on this very design, yet does so without at all wearing thin, thanks largely to its fluid play and its wonderfully dark, intriguing world.

Comparisons will no doubt be drawn to Overcooked, but to simply judge Catastronauts based on that alone would be somewhat of a disservice. High praise goes to the developer for their clever level design, and in particular, for how well the game’s diverse mechanics come together to produce such an engaging co-op experience. Short it may indeed be, but even so, Catastronauts is massively entertaining.

Think of the Children’s main drawback is that it utterly lacks any form of balance as far as its difficulty is concerned. The problem this creates is that when playing solo, you’re required to fulfill seemingly impossible objectives through large quantities of frustrating multitasking. The game does indeed shine much brighter with other players helping out, but not quite enough to justify an easy recommendation.

Forza Horizon 4 is the most stunning, deepest and most engaging Forza Horizon game to date. The sheer volume of utterly diverse and wildly interesting content pushes the game’s longevity through the roof. There’s no shortage of activities to take to, set across a sprawling, vividly detailed representation of Britain. Safe to say that if you enjoy the series, you’re going to love this.

Fishing Sim World offers a soothing, robust and faithful representation of its real-world counterpart. I take issue with the game’s lack of atmosphere and its hands-off tutorial system, but outside of that, there’s little else to scoff at here. When all is said and done, Fishing Sim World manages to tick many of the boxes that it needed to, it’s deep, diverse and packed with choice.

Much like how gambling works in real life, if you throw your money at this, the only winner here is the developer.

Pillar’s drawback is that whatever message it’s trying to relay, is completely undermined by its overly basic puzzle design. I commend the developer for creating something unique and somewhat various, but in the face of its sheer simplicity and its vagueness, boredom strikes far sooner than intrigue. The end result makes for a game that seems as though it has a lot to say, but ends up saying very little at all.

Speed Brawl is a fun and inventive take on the side scrolling beat-em-up. Encouraging fast combat by design, skillful play will see competent players likely performing amazing looking feats. Sometimes though, the game just takes the wind out of your sails, leaving you plodding along and scraping by for any chance to get going again.

RGX: Showdown is a thrilling and wildly fast paced minute-by-minute racer. The game’s generous asking price is easily justified by its healthy content depth, and although some niggling issues hold it back from greatness, I cant think of any other racer on the market that offers this much fun for such little cost. Don’t be alarmed by its lack of promotion. RGX: Showdown is well worth your attention.

My Brother Rabbit’s dual story offers a charming, warm and somewhat emotional adventure. Special mention goes to the game’s gorgeously drawn artwork, together with its wonderful soundtrack. It’s easily the most distinct point-and-click game that we’ve seen from Artifex Mundi so far, and despite its lack of difficulty, it’s a journey worth taking, one that’s filled with character and splendor throughout.

NHL 19 is quite simply the best ice hockey game ever created. There’s a massive depth of content within, all of which is magnificently upheld by its refined gameplay mechanics and its overall improvements. The game isn’t entirely without fault, but there’s no denying that this years installation is deeper, more varied and a hell of a lot more fluid than any game before it. Fans of the series, don’t pass this by.

Although it’s nowhere near as compelling nor as deep as its inspirational material, Anodyne offers a fun, worthwhile and well paced journey. The game uses its few gameplay mechanics to great effect, and although it would have been nice to see more innovation and depth as far as its combat is concerned, there’s no denying that Anodyne is one of the better examples of Zelda-esque adventuring.

This collection offers a nice selection of distinctly themed classic beat’em ups, including two console debut titles: Armored Warriors and Battle Circuit. It’s a shame that when playing online with more than two players the game’s framerate dramatically spikes, but with that to the side, there’s little to scoff at. When all is said and done, the Capcom Beat ‘Em Up Bundle is a must have for fans of the genre.

If you loved the original Destiny, you need to play Forsaken. If you loved Destiny 2 at launch but fell off (as I did) because of the disappointing endgame and dumbing down of the core mechanics, then you need to play Forsaken. The only thing more surprising than the turnaround Bungie have achieved is that they have done it twice now – lets hope they don’t need to do it a third time.

Despite the lack of evolving gameplay functions, Wenjia’s interesting use of its realm-swapping mechanic, grouped with its environmental puzzle design, is truly what keeps the adventure fresh throughout its short run. Wenjia is by no means a groundbreaking game, but its beautiful visuals, together with its simplified concept, makes for a decent adventure that’s soothing, charming and laid-back.

Super Street has a lot of potential. Though, as it stands, the developers need to address the game’s many problems before this racer can be taken seriously. The most notable of issues being the game’s horrendous physics, its terrible handling and its overly aggressive, T-800 AI. Praise goes to the game’s DIY concept and its impressive list of parts, but this means very little in the face of its several downsides.

This may indeed be somewhat of a cliché, but this game is the definition of easy to pick up, yet very hard to master. Despite its unforgiving steep difficulty curve, Razed is a fun, vibrant, and engaging speedrunner. The pace of the game is sensational, and its constant introduction of new and interesting mechanics ensures that repetition is kept at bay, throughout.

Less of a puzzle game and more of an experience that heavily relies on reflex and cognitive multitasking, Neonwall isn’t half bad, but it’s likely only going to appeal to a very specific crowd. There’s a few technical issues to contend with and some poor camera behavior, however, credit goes to the game’s distinct originality and its constant stream of interesting gameplay mechanics.

Nefarious is a game that could have been much more than what it is. Instead, what we get is an adventure that does something wrong for everything it gets right. Despite its interesting bad-guy concept, Nefarious handles about as well as a lizard on ice. There’s some good ideas running through the game, but it’s ultimately bogged down by some poor design choices and an overall lack of refinement.

This is by no means a revolutionary platformer. The ability to harness the power of day and night is an interesting concept, and it worked well in setting this game apart from others of the like. The beautifully crafted landscapes are an experience all in their own. If you appreciate games for their visual qualities and aren’t put off by the lack of story, it would be worth crash landing and venturing into this world.

Revenant Dogma looks and plays as though it’s been spat out of RPG Maker 2000. There’s very little depth within, and any depth that it does offer is usually puddle deep. The game may well be accessible and house a decent soundtrack, but in the midst of its near complete lack of innovation and originality, that’s hardly a selling point. Furthermore, Revenant Dogma is free on iOS and Android. Go there to avoid suffering a loss.

Time Carnage seems much better suited for VR platforms. Though, nevertheless, even with that support in mind, I dare say that the novelty would be almost instantly chased away by the game’s repetitive structure and its sheer lack of evolving gameplay. The game’s arcade mode and challenge mode offers some fleeting fun, but before that, you’ll need to hit the tiresome campaign to unlock needed features.

ADIOS Amigos is a fun game that accommodates both solo and local co-op play, across a small variety of well designed modes. The controls take some time getting used to and the entire journey can become repetitive before long, but with that aside, its decent gameplay mechanics coupled with its light-hearted sense of exploration, drives ADIOS Amigos in all the right directions.

Out of the Box’s story is oddly compelling, with its characters just interesting enough to keep you going. Its gameplay loop leaves something to be desired, but if you can work through it, there is an enjoyable time to be had here.

Shadow of the Tomb Raider offers an epic journey that’s jam-packed with heaps of fan service. There’s more depth and gameplay diversity here than in any game before it, spanning a lush, rich and deep world that’s crammed with activities, secrets, and an impressive variation of deadly tombs. Despite some minor issues with the otherwise solid story, this is Lara’s most defining adventure yet.

Sigi – A Fart for Melusina’s core formula clearly targets both the speedrunner and the achievement hunter audience. Its very generous price-tag justifies its very short length, and despite some uninspired boss encounters, this game, largely due to its accessibility, its solid design and its tight controls, remains a joy to play from beginning to end. Short-lived indeed, but fun and enjoyable nonetheless.

Dead Age is intuitive and houses a good concept, but greatly lacks in the visual department. Fans of the likes of the original Final Fantasy games may pull more enjoyment from this title than I did, given its style and its turn-based functionalities, but outside of that, there’s really not a lot going on, and the slow gameplay really holds it back.

Elea’s opening episode serves as an interactive trip into a fractured, nonsensical story, in which consistency seems to be almost completely absent. While this alone wouldn’t be a bad thing if the storytelling was better produced, the main drawback is that barely any of the game’s aspects come together well at all. Despite its impressive visuals, the end result makes for a very awkward and bland experience.

The art style is quite good. Characters are well designed and everything is colorful and has a chucky look to it. Sadly, the game around it is just a poor attempt at following a trend in gaming. A good rogue-lite puts the fate of the player in their own hands; success or failure depends on your grasp of the mechanics. Here, unless you are really a fan of the X button, frustration soon gives way to boredom.

V-Rally 4 is a deep and challenging experience. There’s an undeniable issue with the game’s somewhat overly loose controls, but with that to the side, this is every bit as engaging as V-Rally has always been. Everything from the game’s stunning visual and audio presentation to its dynamic systems and its content diversity, has been developed meticulously to produce one hell of a tense second-by-second racer.

Arcade Islands: Volume One is a bundle of over thirty borrowed ideas, spread across a range of themed islands that encompasses them. While some of these games do indeed relay a good degree of fun, several of them either handle poorly, serve as filler or prove to be more frustrating than they’re worth. There’s certainly some value and depth to this collection, but it’s a far cry from both quality and innovation.

Issues with its fluctuating difficulty curve and its short campaign length to the side, Ninjin is a decent beat ’em up that does a great job at combining its varying elements together to produce such a fast-paced and chaotic adventure. The gameplay goes a lot deeper than expected, and with support for both online and local multiplayer included, there’s little to scoff at here.

Bad North is a fun, challenging RTS Roguelite. The visuals paint a charming picture, giving you a false sense of security until the Vikings begin their assault. As your island is bathed in their (or your own) blood, the game keeps you on your toes despite the simplistic interaction you have. This is absolutely worth your time, even if the genre isn’t usually up your alley.

The Golf Club 2019 is as close to real world golf as you can get. HB Studios goes above and beyond to strike a fine balance between accessible and challenging. With its repetitive commentary and its plastic avatars to the side, there’s very little to scoff at. The game’s functions are remarkably fluid, precise and deep, allowing players to immerse themselves in an authentic and faithful representation of the sport.

Naruto to Boruto: Shinobi Striker captures the essence, the speed and the personality of Naruto magnificently well. It’s deep, engaging and distinct. There’s certainly some adjustments needed for class balance, and matchmaking can indeed drag on for longer than it should, but when everything clicks into place, there’s little else that comes quite as close to the source material as this does.

An evolution. While the loss of the Champions League License and legacy issues associated with that keep it from the top of the table, its exemplary on-the-pitch action definitely keep it within reach of its rival. If you love PES, this won’t change your opinion, but it also likely won’t convert you if you do not.

Shikhondo – Soul Eater’s drawback sits not with its steep cost nor its lack of content diversity, but with its lack of gameplay variation. The game’s main mode takes little over ninety minutes to complete, whereas its additional modes are served merely as segments taken from that offering. This game may look great, sound good and perform well, but its lack of basic evolution massively hinders enjoyment.

The Videokid is a simple yet competent take on Paperboy’s core design, complete with shed loads of cameos and references from the 80s and early 90s. The gameplay loop can indeed become frustrating when errors occur outside of player control, grouped with its steep difficulty curve, but for the most part, this is a well developed experience that achieves much of what it sets out to accomplish.

Strange Brigade is a treat. One that’s jam-packed with action, charm and personality. Everything from the game’s multi-branching level design, to its impressive variety of enemies and weaponry, rarely fails to excite. The game’s mashup of heavy combat, puzzle solving and collectible-seeking, makes for a gorgeously detailed adventure that’s constantly fun and dynamic. This is among Rebellion’s finest work to date.

Popular games get liberally borrowed from all the time, yet Smash Bros. seems to have avoided this somehow. Brawlout takes on this challenge, but its lack of modes, iffy character balance and poor online offerings, all fail to inspire that same spark that Mario and friends have mastered so well. The basic gameplay is OK, but without the same love, spectacle and reverence to lean on, it all falls flat.

Planet of the Apes: Last Frontier’s core functionality relays little more than a choice-driven interactive experience. We’ve seen this formula many times this gen, and although it can indeed work when effort has not been spared, here, it just doesn’t add up. Indeed, Last Frontier offers a decent multi-branching plot, but its hands-off approach and its poor production value holds it back, tremendously.

Of course, Shenmue is showing its age, but both games are still more than capable of capturing attention in a way that many other games simply can’t. Everything from the characters, to the world, to the amazing score and story, is clearly a labor of love. Even if, like me, you still have the old DC copies kicking about, this collection is absolutely the best way to experience these games.

Don’t be fooled by the store’s slick images, Tyler Model 005 is a terrible game. There’s not a single quality that I can praise the game for outside of its somewhat competent upgrade and cosmetic system. This is the very product of lazy, rushed and sloppy development, making for an ugly experience that’s riddled with bugs, poor optimization, frustrating functionality, and heaps of loading screens, throughout.

The story is quite original and kept me engaged just to see what happens next. State of Mind is well written and does have a lot of quality voice talent, despite some audio issues that persist throughout. The technical performance remains very smooth, though its visual details and its intriguing plot is what holds everything together. By and large, this is a game for those that relish single-player experiences.

Inquisitor Martyr is a great game despite the occasional technical flaw. There’s no shortage of mission, weapon and enemy variation within, making for a Diablo-like experience that’s faithful to the source material. Support for local and online co-op is present, though, regardless as to whether you go into this as a solo player or with friends, Inquisitor Martyr’s engaging gameplay will keep you firmly entertained.

Socketeer is fun to begin with, I’ll credit it with that. The problem, however, is that the game is littered with cheap deaths and frustrating elements that punish you for merely being curious or even just slightly careless. This is an unforgivable design choice for a game that incorporates perma-death functionality and boasts hidden secrets. Enjoyable in short doses, yes, but even then you’re likely to leave annoyed.

Treadnauts is a fairly passable couch party-like game that houses some interesting ideas and design choices, but is fundamentally flawed as far as varied gameplay content is concerned. This is the definition of fun in short doses, though, tiresome and boring in the long-run. There’s enjoyment to be had through the use of the game’s various modifiers and maps, but that’s pretty much as compelling as it gets.

Despite some very minor issues, F1 2018 is the best of its kind, and certainly the best in the series so far. The high level of visual and audio detail, grouped with the care and attention to authenticity, collectively makes for an experience that’s robust, faithful and deep. Codemasters’ subtle yet noticeable changes over F1 2017 takes an already distinguished racer and makes it bigger and better than ever.

Although many comparisons can be drawn from such games as Stardew Valley, Graveyard Keeper very much stands on its own two feet. This game will not be for everyone due to the play-style, however, if you are partial to the pixelated farming sim genre and have a curiosity for something a little darker, I fully recommend that you consider adding this game to your collection.

Hero Defense’s gameplay systems are serviceable, at best. Credit needs to be given to the game’s decent combat mechanics, which is arguably the game’s strongest aspect. It’s a shame, then, that much of everything else within is either half baked, too basic or fails to fluidly connect to the game’s core foundation. Hero Defense is definitely a lot of fun, but it’s hardly an ambitious, nor deep, adventure.

Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes takes a simple concept and makes it something that’s hilarious, tense and massively entertaining. It helps that the game is very accessible and easy to understand for both the direct player and the off-screen participating helpers, alike. This is undoubtedly the best party game in recent memory, one in which losing is every bit as fun as winning.

Polygod offers a challenging, randomly generated experience that’s constantly engaging and fun. There’s a lot of variation here across the game’s levels, its enemies and its pacing, which collectively ensures that repetition almost remains completely holstered throughout. There’s certainly a steep difficulty curve to begin with, but its greatly addictive core gameplay loop will keep you coming back for more.

Fall of Light doesn’t quite live up to its inspirational material, but even so, this is well worth your time and attention if you’re a fan of the core “Dark Souls” formula. There’s heaps of weapon, enemy and environmental variation across the board, all of which is tethered to an interesting world that’s full of lore and mystery. Camera annoyances to the side, Fall of Light is one that fans of the genre will thoroughly enjoy.

The Walking Dead: The Final Season is off to a fantastic start. Telltale looks to have finally returned to true form here, serving up a well paced story that’s thrilling, engaging and consistently tense. Credit also needs to be given to the writing and the voice acting, which is the best we’ve seen from Telltale for quite some time. If this quality is maintained, the series is certainly set to go out with a bang.

Airheart isn’t a bad game, but it could have been much more than what it is if the developer had spent more time refining the gameplay’s systems to better feed into one another. The end result makes for an experience that sounds more compelling in description than it actually is in practice. Still, with its difficulty spikes, its squandered potential and its lack of story to the side, there’s some fun to be had here.

An absolutely enjoyable puzzle platformer that has charm, style and enough funny, well written dialogue to propel a simple, yet effective story. Beautiful art and designs round out the package neatly, however, some poor physics-based puzzles and repetitive music lets the experience down a little. That said, it’s certainly worth a play through nevertheless.

Megaton Rainfall is one of those games that clearly houses a great deal of potential, but sadly fails to meet it on almost all fronts. Credit needs to be given to the one-man developer for the sheer amount of ambition here, that much has to be said. However, the end result, despite its environmental diversity and its clever mechanics, makes for game that’s short, sloppy, visually bland and ultimately uninteresting.

Mega Man X Legacy Collection 1 & 2 offers a great blast from the past, complete with new and upgraded features as well as some additional extras, such as the history-rich museum mode, added modifiers and more. The gameplay is solid and is still as hard as ever, offering a real old-school and varying challenge, if you so choose it.

Defenders of Ekron is passable at best. I wont deny that the game shines at its brightest and is at its most exciting when there’s a lot of action on screen, but the moments that lead to that, despite some interesting ideas, often struggle to maintain grip. There’s also a few technical issues and poor design choices to contend with, on top of the game’s play-it-safe story. Fun indeed, but hardly compelling.

With today’s modern additions such as leaderboards and online multiplayer for 16 players, Forsaken: Remastered’s 360-degree movement gives it something unique in today’s crowded shooter market. It might just be the resurgence needed for a game that didn’t get a chance to shine all those years ago.

The Onion Kingdom is bigger, better and more detailed than ever before. Overcooked! 2 takes its compelling concept to the next level through added mechanics, new additions and heaps of clever functionalities. The game’s difficulty may spike from time to time, but nevertheless, it goes without saying that Overcooked! 2 offers a robust co-op centric experience that rarely gets old, with online multiplayer to boot.

Dead Cells is easily the best rogue-lite action-platformer game this gen. Developer Motion Twin’s care and attention to not only the game’s visual and audio detail, but its wonderfully developed multi-tiered systems, goes hand in glove to produce an outstanding experience throughout. The sheer amount of enemy, weaponry and functional variety within is as dizzying as it is impressive. Simply put, Dead Cells is epic.

Maximum Football 2018 is a game you’ll want to avoid for many reasons. Take your pick; extremely dated visuals, daft character animations, puddle-deep gameplay mechanics, graphical faults, technical problems and a complete and utter lack of polish across the board. Sure, the game’s main performance may be passable and it controls well for the most part, but that’s the max limit of the game’s pros.

Castaway Paradise has an obvious comparison to Animal Crossing, but in its current state, it’s a long way off before it’s anything truly alike. There’s an endearing quality to the game, but its repetitive gameplay loop, its bugs, and its basic visuals, ultimately holds it back. That said, this is indeed fun in short bursts and there’s no lack of quests to fulfill and things to collect. Just don’t expect it to meet its inspiration.

One More Dungeon is a basic game that doesn’t even try to evolve its quite frankly dated concept. There are far better roguelike dungeon crawlers available on the market for a similar price, removing much of the appeal that this game clearly doesn’t have to spare. Despite that, if you enjoy simplicity and can forgive the game of its issues and shortcomings, there’s some fleeting fun to be had here.

The Z Axis: Continuum isn’t likely to rock your puzzle-loving world, but it does enough to stand out on the merit of its interesting, manipulative mechanics. The game slowly feeds you into the basics of play before throwing larger, more complex levels your way. It may indeed be lacking in the visual department for more reasons than one, but it still goes on to present a brain hammering challenge nevertheless.

The game remains compelling throughout the entirety of play by introducing new features at a decent pace across its broad content, ultimately ensuring that any sense of repetition is kept at bay.

Jump Gunners’ most alluring feature is that due to its healthy serving of weaponry and its deep pool of destructible maps, the game constantly feels fresh and engaging, despite leaning on the same concept from beginning to end. If you’re on the market for a couch-play game that’s as over-the-top as it is action-packed and diverse, Jump Gunners should most certainly be on your radar.

Don’t be guided by the game’s daunting history. No Man’s Sky is now a near-outstanding experience that sits in a league of its own. Despite some issues with the game’s textures, delayed rendering and some unstable framerates, No Man’s Sky is a diverse, deep and ambitious player-shaped adventure that’s constantly intriguing.

An outstanding conclusion to an epic trilogy. Stoic has once again showcased their care and attention to detail across a range of the game’s features, visuals and mechanics. It’s compelling, distinct, oftentimes daunting, yet wholly captivating. The end result is one that will stay with you for years to come, and although it’s hard to say goodbye, The Banner Saga goes out with an emotional-toying bang.

Gene Rain is a complete waste of storage space. The game’s nonsensical and incoherent story confusingly bounces around like flubber in a basketball court. It doesn’t help that the voice acting is the worst I’ve heard since the original Resident Evil. Grouping that with the game’s sluggish controls, its bland locations and its lack of originality, collectively makes for one of the worst cover-shooters this gen.

Train Sim World is a robust yet accessible game that caters for a wide range of its material’s responsibilities. The game does a good job at feeding you into its intricacies and once there, rarely fails to maintain its allure. It’s also quite free in its approach, enabling players to explore and drive at a leisurely pace. Not perfect nor groundbreaking by any means, but it does achieve what it sets out to accomplish.

It’s a shame to see that issues with the framerate and the daft character animations are still yet to be resolved, however, with that in mind, Ripples presents the best and most balanced episode in the series so far. I’ll credit the voice acting too, which sees a notable improvement throughout. The mansion is as stunning as always and the story that’s set within remains intriguing, exciting and fairly well paced.

Candle: The Power of the Flame delivers a gorgeously detailed and thoroughly well executed puzzle adventure. From start to finish, the game does an excellent job at keeping the player engaged through its clever functionalities and environmental mechanics. There’s some issues with slow, sluggish movement, but in the face of everything that Candle gets right, this one problem is easy to overlook.

Guts & Glory is a game that’s far too bare for its own good, consisting of little other than a range of challenges across a variety of uninspiring maps. The game’s most defining aspect is that it’s brutally gory, and although it is indeed fun to begin with, repetition swiftly rears its head soon after. Furthermore, performance issues, dated visuals and a lack of content diversity mars this already bland experience.

Tempest 4000’s price-tag is wildly unforgivable when you factor in the meager content that you’re getting in return. This is greed at its absolute finest and despite the series’ fame for being colorful and fast-paced, which indeed the game is, there’s just not enough content within to justify its cost. Easy to get into and nostalgic Tempest 4000 may be, but it ultimately becomes bland and uninteresting quite quickly.

I had high hopes for the original game but came away underwhelmed. Danger Zone 2, however, rights some of the issues with a much better visual style and far more interesting courses. Some wonky physics, repetitive, bland background detail and a lack of things to do, lets the game down on occasion. Though, the core gameplay loop is still as fun as it’s ever been, smashing through traffic and causing carnage is a blast.

A must have for any fan of horror. The game’s eerie atmosphere makes for some great scares, with its gory cutscenes and psychotic characters collectively relaying a truly 90s-esque horrific experience. The controls are clunky at times and enemy position isn’t always made clear, but with most of the other bugs now remedied ahead of release, I highly recommend giving this a go.

Mugsters offers up a great deal of variety across its sizable portion of well developed, colorful, physics-based levels. There’s a few issues present, such as the daft AI and the counter-intuitive camera, but even so, the game remains fun, engaging and wide open to choice. Whether you’re exploring, innovating or even just messing around, Mugsters’ puzzles will keep you entertained for hours on end.

Inspired by Perm culture, The Mooseman offers a stunning journey that’s well paced, gorgeously designed and thoroughly engaging. For its cheap cost, the game does a good job as far as its gameplay diversity is concerned. It would have been nice to see some more effort spared for its localisation, and although it’s short, it uses its runtime well to relay a decent blend of platforming and puzzle elements throughout.

The epitome of FPS bullet-hell. Despite minor issues with the game’s framerate, this is a shining example of how several gameplay elements can be seamlessly slapped together to produce a near outstanding outcome. The game’s action-packed structure rarely buckles, which when grouped with its fantastic design and uncertainty, makes for one of the best shooters in recent memory.

The Long Reach’s drawbacks sit with the game’s lack of structure, its counter intuitive puzzles and its infrequent readability issues. Though, even with those frustrations in mind, the game still provides creepy, simplistic entertainment. The game’s atmosphere rarely wavers, which is upheld further by its beautifully crafted pixelated visuals. It’s not groundbreaking by any means, but it does enough to stand out.

The Path of Motus is not going to blow you away, but if you’ve ever endured the matters of its sensitive subject material, I highly recommend that you consider diving in. The gameplay itself is nicely paced and presents a gradual challenge that will test your morality, as well as your platforming and puzzle solving skills. Unfortunately, however, its short length and its basic visuals hold it back to some degree.

Nidhogg 2 doesn’t stray too far from the concept of its predecessor. This, depending on what you want from a sequel, will be for the better or for the worse. Regardless, there’s no doubt that this game offers one of the best and most tense 1v1 experiences in recent memory. What I found most compelling is how in-depth and robust the game can be, whilst remaining totally accessible and fluid throughout.

The Spectrum Retreat’s greatest achievement is how engaging, challenging and unnerving the whole experience can be. The drawback however, and the bane of most puzzle games, is that there really isn’t much longevity to it. That said, Dan Smith’s debut project is certainly a game that any fan of the genre should try out, and for his first attempt, Dan shows a great deal of promise for his future in game development.

A step up from its already impressive predecessor. Despite the occasional bug throughout play, the game offers up a refined experience that never wavers its pace nor its excitement. This is everything that a sequel should be, which is to say that it takes what worked in the first game and makes slight, yet notable improvements to maintain its distinct allure. Vermintide 2 is a must have.

If the absence of Left 4 Dead 3 has you itching for something alike, Earthfall will just about do the trick. It’s a shame that the game doesn’t do much to innovate, and repetition will indeed sink in once you’ve plugged in a few hours, but with that said, the core structure and its gameplay loop is compelling enough to justify a recommendation. Basic it may well be, but it’s fairly action-packed and exciting nevertheless.

At best, Gekido Kintaro’s Revenge is a passable game that should please just about anyone who enjoyed the original. The additional features within deserve a special mention and they certainly make the price of the game much more generous. However, there’s no denying that the game’s age shows far too much and despite its limited capabilities, the difficulty can make for one hell of a frustrating and repetitive experience.