I think The Outfit was a good first effort, now all the need to do is wrap the DOD feature in some innovative solid game play and you’ll have yourselves a real winner.

Insurgency: Sandstorm isn’t the prettiest game I’ve played, graphics could be crisper and cleaner, but it’s raw and gritty. As someone who isn’t as comfortable with PvP gaming, my reflexes can’t keep up anymore, though I thoroughly enjoyed my time playing Insurgency: Sandstorm. Co-op play with a team against AI was a much more pleasant experience than I anticipated and actually found myself wanting to play more than expected.

Curious Expedition 2 has a really great ‘choose your own adventure’ vibe to it. Although not a fan or the combat in the game, it intrigued me enough to keep playing for many hours and I can see myself going back to play more of it in the near future.

If you're looking for a fun couch co-op game, then Degrees of Separation is a lovely 2D puzzle platformer that should definitely be experienced. The beautiful hand drawn backdrops, great music, with interesting narrative that cleverly tied into the game mechanics made this a pleasure to play, but at times the platforming and the puzzles can sometimes be frustrating and ruin the fun. At a mere $29.99 CDN, playing Degrees of Separation makes for a cheap (but fun!) date night in with your Player 2.

If Bugbear could solidify the vehicle control in the racing mode, this game would be 100% solid in every aspect. Even so, a great sophomore effort.

In the end, H.A.W.X is a fun game to pick up and play with some buddies online in either co-op or even online versus but for anything more than that it’s a bit disappointing.

I'm not really sure what would be a benefit to the game, its still fun, it just seems like maybe the "World" needs to be bigger.

A lot of modern gamers may not appreciate the retro appeal of a game like Scott Pilgrim or the excitement for it’s long awaited return. A lot have become accustomed to the realistic graphics and heavily detailed designs of current AAA games, and in that case, Scott Pilgrim isn’t likely to change their mind for their preference in games, nor convince them to play it. For the indie loving or retro fan like me, this was exactly what I needed to remind myself of the joy and the frustration of the genre.

Simply put, Guns, Gore & Cannoli 2 is a good sequel that is worthy of your time, especially if you played and enjoyed the first game. It’s more of the colourful, bullet-heavy fun that its predecessor offered, and stands out amongst the heap of available indies on modern day consoles. It is repetitive, however, and doesn’t take too long to 100%. Even then, there’s reason to go back through with friends.

It’s unfinished, but I’m highly optimistic that it will improve as new content releases and its Battlefield multiplayer at its finest, and that alone may sell the game for the longtime veteran considering what’s to come. I very reluctantly recommend Battlefield V in its current state, but I must stress my disappointment that EA and DICE willing released a game that feels kind of unfinished.

The value of getting all four of these games, plus the DLC content, for the cost of one title is nothing to balk at. Even I, who has, if nothing else, proven that I’m terrible at these games, have found enjoyment in what was presented. If this sounds at all like it might be up your ally then take it from me; put on some cozy socks, find a snack or some tea, pick a good wall, and start burning those calories. Burn them good.

Star Hammer: The Vanguard Prophecy has a very, very deep learning curve, a gargantuan management system that has to be attended to in great detail with every turn, and a story that doesn't deliver an experience that makes you feel connected. I thought long and hard whether or not it justified its cost to gamers, and came to the conclusion that it didn't simply because of its high price point.

I always enjoy when a twin-stick shmup tries to do something different, and while Curved Space is unique in some of its design choices and is a completely competent entry into the genre, the runs can be quite lengthy and monotonous as you’re simply redoing the same objectives on each stage before repeating it all over again. Those that enjoy climbing leaderboards will have near endless replayability while others may simply enjoy staring into the void of Curved Space.

The graphic style is similar to other visual novels out there. 2D characters appear pasted over the backgrounds and they slide in and out of shots. There is no voice over, so there is a lot of reading involved. I am happy that there are a lot of ways to customize the text windows as well. In the beginning I found it difficult to read the white text on the light background, but I was able to pop into the options menu and make a dark window to make the text stand out. This is highly appreciated, especially in a game with as much reading as this had. As with other games of this genre, you can manually tab through text, or allow it to auto play. Fast forward is also available to you. This was particularly useful when playing through a second time, only wanting to pick the alternative dialogue choices and decisions, and not needing to see everything I had on my first run. There are over 50 original songs in Kuroi Tsubasa, all created for the game and there are two music videos in game as well. The console release also has a bonus chapter not available before.

I seem to never get tired of riding an outhouse down raging rapids, call me silly.

If you’re a survival horror fan, you should check out Alone in the Dark. Although it’s a bit dated and a bit flawed, it remains a rather solid game; so much so that I enjoyed beating it twice within one week. Don’t play it for the combat, but do so for the story, sound and settings. It’s worth checking out for sure.

If you played any previous Legacy of Kain games, then this is one you will have to pick up.

Let's spend longer than a year developing the next one. After the thrill of wielding the light saber wore off, its faults were all too clear.

Trophy knows what it’s trying to be, nothing more, nothing less, and it succeeds in every way. Is it going to be for everyone? No, but for those that enjoy classic 8-bit gaming and enjoy that retro gameplay or wants some nostalgia, Trophy fits the bill. While it may be a Mega Man clone at its core, “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery”.

Truck Racing Championship may not be the most polished or impressive race sim out there, but it’s meant for a specific audience, one that I believe will appreciate the authenticity to the ETRC sport and trucks themselves. It’s a different racing experience than I’m used to, but it definitely piqued my interest in the actual sport, something I had never heard of or paid any attention to until playing Truck Racing Championship, even if the game itself wasn’t terribly robust.

Chorus is a fantastic space shooter that is woven together by a story that is great on paper but lacks proper execution. Its overall plot is very interesting, but the dialog and cutscenes didn’t do much to pull me in. That being said, Chorus is the most fun I’ve had in a very long time with a space shooter. With a packed holiday season, I found myself doing the impossible; I delayed playing more Halo Infinite and I died on purpose in Chorus to replay some sequences because they were that much fun. The abilities, the weapons, and the lightning-fast combat make it a joy to play. There is a lot to explore in the world, and I am hoping that this isn’t the last we’ve seen of Nara and Forsaken.

Subnautica is a fantastic exploring and survival game that I cannot wait to dive deeper into, but it is in desperate need of a patch that fixes the pop-in and framerate. I’ve completed a lot of what the game has to offer, but I know there is so much more of this ocean planet to explore. I learned of a fear I have that I didn’t know existed, and learning about that fear makes me respect guys like Jacques Cousteau and the guy in search of the blue diamond in Titanic so much more.

For a game that centers on life and death, it’s odd that there’s virtually no life within its world that you actually care about. Because of this it’s hard to become truly invested in it, and the constant ‘stop and go’ doesn’t help when you’re trying to keep momentum and fluidity constant. While there are some reasons for some to play through more than once, and find all of the secrets, I found that I was content after seeing the credits roll. Regardless of all its shortcomings though, I’m glad I experienced Valley and got to explore its intriguing world.

As I played I was pleasantly surprised with the number of homage to some of the classic games of the past such as Zelda and even Metal Gear, so if you’re looking to take a walk down memory lane with a crap load of guns and explosives, then Mercenary Kings should be on your radar. For $19.99 you are getting an overwhelming amount of content that should keep you and your trigger happy friends amused for quite a while.

Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town is adorably cute just like the original game, but it does feel a bit dated at times, even from simple things like switching tools that require a bunch of D-Pad presses. Even though many mechanics have been updated and modernized, it’s still quite a time commitment to get your farm back to its former glory. While the $49.99 CAD asking price seems a little steep, I’ve had hours pass by simply because I wanted to work on my farm ‘one more day’ before calling it for the night, constantly being distracted by one task or another.

To unlock the top tier attachments, and modes, it will take some dedication, and eventually gameplay does become easier, but no matter how good you get you’ll eventually crash or have the sun set on your gameplay. The pace is frantic, the speed is tense, and Race the Sun is a perfect pick up and play game that allows for short burst play. I don’t suggest sitting for hours at a time with it, as the courses change each day, but if you’re looking for a quick in-between game, you can try and Race the Sun, but your enjoyment may vary depending on the day.

It makes me happy that THQ Nordic and Purple Lamp Studios took their time to make a proper remaster with more than just a simple shiny coat of paint, and it shows in the final product. Other than the multiplayer being a slight issue, SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom – Rehydrated is a solid choice for any SpongeBob veteran. It's not very often that a classic is showcased so well that it even makes me reminisce of how awesome my childhood really was. I've always been a fan of SpongeBob SquarePants, from the TV Shows to their games back in the day, and it still makes me happier than Mr. Krabs seeing money, especially this remaster. Well, I gotta keep exploring Bikini Bottom to help stop Plankton!

Meet Your Maker gives you a really unique first-person shooter/dungeon crawler experience with fun base building that can all feel pretty rewarding if you put the time into it, though that comes with either the lack of a story or an extremely lackluster one. All of that can be easily ignored with its uniqueness and can keep even frustrated players coming back later for just one more base raid.