Cursed to Golf is one of those games that I wasn’t sure what to really expect but came away not only surprised, but smiling every time I played. Even though I’ve yet to ascend out of Golf Purgatory, I’m enjoying each attempt, getting better with my shots and strategizing when to use my Ace Cards. At $25.99 CAD, the price might initially seem a little high for an indie golf game, but the roguelike gameplay and high difficulty adds near endless replayability on the links.

I can honestly say that Cult of the Lamb was a pure enjoyment with every minute of gameplay and worth every penny of the $24.99 price tag. Massive Monster Studios has an iconic hit on their hands with Cult of the Lamb and that is thanks to a simplistic yet fluid gameplay mechanic, combined with a creative community management balanced with exploration and depth that rival some mainstream titles. After playing this, I am looking for something this year that can come close to touching this for Game of the Year. I can say that I'm a devout believer and 100% converted follower to fan.

Being a simulator game, there is of course a grind, but it’s much more manageable when you’re spending most of your time actually playing games. With over 35 arcade games to purchase and play, you might forget that you’re playing a game within a game, but it certainly reminded me of finding a cool arcade as a kid where I would dump all my quarters after school. A ‘rags to riches’ story where you can also start raking in the money, one quarter at a time.

Tinykin doesn’t do anything original in the platforming genre, but that doesn’t matter. What it does, it does really well. I played the whole game through is one sitting of about 6 hours and had a silly grin on my face the whole time. While that may seem really short for some players, I appreciated that it didn’t overstay its welcome. It showed up and gave me a solid gaming experience and moved on. I didn’t get bored or find myself just wanting it to be over. While I would have liked a few more mechanics to mix it up in the later levels. I was so enthralled with the environments that it didn’t take away from my overall impression of it. This game was full of clever dialogue, enough puzzles to keep me happy and a narrative twist that kept me on my toes. It’s quirky from start to finish and proof that good things can come in small packages.

Tribes of Midgard did a great job of transitioning to console, feeling natural on a controller without feeling overwhelming like many PC to console ports. There’s a mountain of content to get through for the most dedicated but you’ll have to get over the learning curve hurdle before it all makes sense. While playable solo, I highly recommend finding some friends to play alongside with, as I wasn’t enjoying myself playing alone, but with some friends it made a world of difference.

If you’ve found yourself missing PT, or wanting something similar, MADiSON is worth looking into. It can be frustrating, but it’s a decent horror puzzler from a small team with a lot of promise.

For all of the things I enjoyed about Way of the Hunter, I was constantly reminded about all of the issues and bugs along the way. There’s some great ideas here, and while it may be a bit basic with its weapon choices and handful of animals to hunt, there’s quite a feeling to be had when you finally track down your kill after spending the last hour attempting to and about to give up. With some polish and patches I could see Way of the Hunter being quite immersive and fun to play alongside friends, it’s just a shame that it’s currently held back by a plethora of issues that frustrate. I have no doubt this will improve in time, but in its current state, Way of the Hunter will absolutely reward the dedicated fans that can overlook its numerous shortcomings and have a mountain size of patience. For the rest of us, you’re going to become more than frustrated and have hours with little to no progress.

Sure some may scoff at the just under $30 CAD price point for such a short campaign, but this is why there’s a saying of "quality over quantity", and Firefight Mode helps with this near endless replay value. It’s been a long time since I’ve had this much fun in a shooter while also feeling like a complete badass from start to finish. Severed Steel rewards stylish parkour that’s fun to pull off while testing your shooting accuracy in bullet time that has you feeling like John Wick was in The Matrix.

RimWorld is not for the faint of heart, in its content or gameplay. It has a massive learning curve and may be one of the most difficult games to learn for new players like myself. As I started this review, I talked about my fairly negative experience at the beginning, but now I can’t stop playing it. The characters are all different; They live, they die, you learn and start again. It’s punishing, it’s brutal, but also complex and addictive. I’ve completely changed my mind about RimWorld over the past two weeks and I am so happy I stuck with it.

Hell Pie is absolutely over the top with attempting to be purposely obscene and gross, and it succeeds at doing so. While its core gameplay as a 3D platformer is worth the play alone, your enjoyment will lie in how adolescent your sense of humor is. I’m a twelve year old at heart, so of course I laugh at farts, fighting Nazi turds and other taboo topics. While the shock value wears off in the later half, thankfully Hell Pie can fall back on its solid platforming gameplay, simply being a fun game at its core. If you need a cheap laugh and want to just have some fun, Hell Pie is the disgusting and obscene game you might have been looking for.

I enjoyed what I played, I just wanted more. Rayland looked great and had fantastic music but it was a bare-bones puzzle game though. For the low price, it’s a good enough puzzle game to quickly bulk up your Gamerscore, I just wish it had made my brain work a little harder.

Train Valley: Console Edition was oddly addictive once I learned all of its intricacies and mechanics that wasn’t taught well from the beginning. Sure there’s not much substance under the surface other than delivering color coded trains to their respective stations, and the first hour or so will be frustrating, but it eventually clicks and become quite entertaining to make intricate track layouts and having trains narrowly miss one another as they pass by one another. Choo choo choose Train Valley: Console Edition if you want an addictive locomotive puzzler, albeit with some initial awkward controls.

If you're a fan of fast-paced first person shooters, Bright Memory: Infinite is definitely a game for you. There is a distinct smooth combination of ancient Chinese mythology style combined with futuristic technology. While quite a short game, able to be completed in a single sitting, it was entertaining from start to finish.

Mothmen 1966 is a very brief visual novel with an interesting story, akin to a short story or something I swear I saw on an episode of X-Files once. While the price may be a little steep given the hour or two long adventure, at least you have an interesting take on Solitaire you can challenge yourself with, as long as you can handle the annoying menu base controls.

For a HOG that should last 8-10 hours or so depending on your skill level and dependency on built-in hints, the $12.99 CAD price tag is by far more than a fair price. I’m definitely going to go back and play the first game as I wait for the trilogy conclusion, hopefully sooner than later. While I wasn’t a fan of the abrupt cliffhanger ending, True Fear: Forsaken Souls Part 2 certainly knows how to engross you an in interesting story, test your puzzle solving skills with a horror backdrop and is one of the better HOG’s I’ve played in recent memory.

Although there are some extremely heartbreaking moments in the game, and I found myself ugly crying during parts of it, Herobeat Studios created a beautiful game with cute foxes and a really important message. I have not been this emotionally moved by a game in a long time. Many of the things shown in game are based on current real-world events, and a lot of it was hard to stomach. Enthusiastic social commentary, a compelling story and beautiful graphics really gave me something I wasn’t expecting from a game with cute foxes at the forefront. Even with the slightly basic gameplay and repetitive nature, the game (and particularly the ending) hit hard and will leave a lasting mark for some time.

Priced at just over $20 CAD, there’s certainly some value here, and although it is fun especially once you start purchasing all of the upgrades, it does get quite repetitive, even with the procedurally generated levels. Firegirl: Hack 'n Splash Rescue DX might not set the world on fire but it is an adorable take on firefighting.

Even with all the issues I had, even one forcing me to restart a build from the beginning, I still found it oddly relaxing and couldn’t put it down until I was done with my current house. Given that you’re not forced against a certain time limit or other factors, you can easily play this at your own pace and enjoy it while doing something else. Priced at just under $20 CAD, some may scoff at how ‘indie’ it may perform, but this is probably the most entertainment I’ve had building houses on my console, though I question its longevity and replayability long term.

Hints and repetition aside, Freshly Frosted is a welcome addition to the puzzle genre on Xbox. I love a good donut and I love a good challenge. I swear I will be chanting “Frosting, Sprinkles, Whipped Cream, Cherries” in my sleep for the next couple weeks. From moving box to box, going from making one type of donut to four or five different donuts with four diverse types of toppings, it’s a fun adventure for someone who wants the challenge handling multiple conveyors going all over the place and delivering sweet goods. I am very eager to see what Quantum Astrophysics Guild has to offer in the future because if it is anything like this sweet delight, I want in on the goodness it offers!

When I finished the hotel section I was ecstatic, thinking I was done, then it opened up to a completely different section. FOBIA certainly overstays its welcome though if you have a great memory or keep track of how to get back and forth from area to area without a map you might not have as much time wasted from constant backtracking as I did. Priced at just under $40 CAD, there’s certainly a decent amount of gameplay to be had, though you’ll need to be a fan of puzzles, inventory management, backtracking and fighting the same enemy repeatedly in FOBIA - St. Dinfna Hotel.

With the reminiscence of the past and the continued challenge, Adventures of Chris has turned out to be a lot of fun to play. The dialogue throughout is hilarious and really adds great humor. Overall, Adventures of Chris is worth playing, especially if you were a gamer in the ’90s, so see if you can find the hidden gems curated by the developer. I found that the fact that someone chose to make a balloon world in the sky as if there was a place that our balloons we let go of as kids actually went somewhere instead of just popping or becoming a hazard to nature. Give this game a try, I promise you will laugh!

What Eternal Hope lacks in originality of its gameplay it makes up for in heart. It’s a story of love, loss and redemption. Ti’bi, like a lot of us, is just struggling to keep moving on and moving forward. Clever dual dimension gameplay and a simple but emotional story make this a great little game if you want a heartfelt adventure to get lost in for a few hours.

While I don’t think Matchpoint will dethrone Top Spin, it’s without a doubt the best Tennis game since with its unique control scheme that allows for some serious skill play. Smooth animations and ball physics feels great and authentic, though the lack of Doubles seems like a serious miss as does not having many of the top stars of the sport. Not quite an Ace, Matchpoint is far from giving Tennis Elbow as well and a great first showing from Torus Games.

A lack of meaningful customization, slippery and borderline broken controls based on which vehicle you want to race, and PowerPoint slide deck animations was a constant disappointment and frustration. Yes there are three full Career Modes to sink time into and track designs were quite good with varying elevations and layouts, but the myriad of issues makes MX vs ATV Legends a low point for the series, even at its normally reasonable $40 CAD asking price. I normally wouldn’t recommend getting an older game in a series, but when MX vs ATV Reflex from 2009 is still the best in the series, that speaks volumes.

Redout 2 is absolutely fast as advertised, but it’s going to take some time and dedication to learn its unique twin stick steering and dual boosting mechanics. Even with the difficulty turned down, I can see the way over tuned challenge being a turn off for some, especially since you’re likely to fail the tutorial races. Redout 2 is not new player friendly, but put in the time and it eventually turns into an addictive antigrav racer.

I absolutely commend a small solo developer for actually being able to create a passion product to completion for others to enjoy, and while it may not appear visually impressive, you can feel it has some heart and passion to it despite its flaws. While there’s not really any replay value aside from trying the harder difficulties, the low price makes it more bearable of an experience.

If you’re looking for a great game to spend your summer with, look no further than Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge. Dotemu and Tribute Game have knocked one out of the park with this return to the days of 80's and 90's beat ‘em-ups, and have done so in spectacular fashion. Thus, this title will surely be in the running for Game of the Year.

Autonauts is a great game for anyone to play, from kids through adolescents and even adults. Some understanding of coding would be an asset but isn’t necessary to learn and enjoy your time with it. With the ease of learning this game, the challenges and the creative problem-solving involved, Autonauts is a game that you can easily enjoy for several hours at a time. I certainly enjoyed playing it and look forward to several more hours spent automating Autonauts' cute little world.