The biggest offender in what affects this games overall experience is its repetitiveness. Sure new enemies are introduced often, but the one hit death mechanic can become quite frustrating. Having a dozen near useless abilities doesn’t help either when you learn which few overpowered ones to save up for instead. Unless you are longing for those Scorched Tank days from way back when, you may want to 'spear' clear until a decent sale.

So, even though Riddled Corpses EX seems like a shallow game, the replay value is off the charts and not seen in some big AAA titles that we pay $60+ for today. COWCAT has created a game that is so addictive it should almost be considered a controlled substance and that, for such an indie title, is something almost never seen in the gaming industry.

It’s not that Earth Atlantis was a bad shmup, it was simply kind of dull. The majority of your time will be trying to find your way to the boss located on the map without any indication that you’re going the right way or not. You'll also be restarting from checkpoints because of the later bosses that are quite annoying to fight. If you’re dying for a new shmup to kill a few hours you could do worse, but I’d wait for a sale before entering the depths of Earth Atlantis.

Vampyr is a flawed but somewhat impressive experience that plays differently than a lot of other games. It isn’t something that will appeal to a wide audience, but it’s worth checking out if you’re okay with a slow burn and don’t mind lots of reading. Just don’t go in expecting another homerun like Life is Strange. This is a very different game, and one that does tend to be overlong.

Fun would be a good word to describe Disco Dodgeball with. It’s not a GoTY contender, but it isn’t the worst thing I’ve ever touched either. It simply is what it is and does that thing well. It looks serviceably good while selling its theme perfectly, it sounds like a night on the town in your twenties and plays as well as a dodge ball game ever could. Disco Dodgeball is a great game for kids and grown-ups alike, and offers up enough content to keep the player busy for a long while.

While Gorogoa is an amazing experience, it’s a very brief one with little to no replay unless you’re chasing the few achievements you missed the first time through, or you may really want to experience it again afterwards with a better grasp of its mechanics. As a puzzle game, it’s unique, interesting and absolutely gorgeous. It’s obvious that Gorogoa was a labor of love, and it shows. Mechanically it’s ingenious and what it lacks in length, it makes up in quality. Quality over quantity is the perfect slogan for this unique puzzler that I’ll remember for quite sometime.

With all of the drastic improvements made to their formula, this was the most enjoyment I had from an Artifex Mundi title yet. They relish in having their own style, puzzles and pretty much go unchallenged in the genre. If more improvements, like the ones included here, continue to advance, I’ll be even more excited for all of their releases. While still a short affair and not too challenging, I had a great relaxing few hours solving puzzles, Rune Battling and saving the world.

Monster Slayer is a well built game for anyone that likes rogue-like games, where you'll find yourself dying over and over again and having to restart. I like the graphics and the layout, but it just wasn't my kind of game. I may never be a Monster Slayer, but that doesn't mean you can't give this game a chance. Try it out, you may just find that you like it!

Drive on Moscow is very unfriendly towards new players if you’re not willing to put in the time to learn all of its strategic intricacies, though if you put in the time and really plan ahead, there’s some great historical gameplay to be had within, even if it looks extremely bland and uninviting. Sure, it’s going to only satisfy a very specific niche, but those fans will most likely really enjoy this theatre of war.

Even though trailers may suggest a horror experience set in the lonely woods at night, it’s not exactly that. Its substory is its real strength, but is hidden behind hidden optional collectables littered throughout the woods. It does have a tense and eerie atmosphere, but lacks depth and interesting gameplay more than anything else.

City of Brass is a perfect platform for gamers that enjoy speed running and adrenaline chasing, but it is also a great experience for the less dedicated that just want to run around and eventually say they overcame something momentous. While it isn’t for everyone, City of Brass has taken an old-ish genre that few think about anymore and turned it into gold.

From customizing your tank, to your campaign, to your multiplayer/single player experience, and so on, Battlezone offers you almost too many choices. However, that is the strength of the game and it works brilliantly. Battlezone is easily a must have purchase if you enjoy tank combat, arena combat, or are a fan of the classic Battlezone from 1980.

While playing AO International Tennis, I found everything from the tutorial to the actual in-game experience to be pretty good. Sure, I wasn't the greatest at becoming the next Rafael Nadal, but the experience was something I enjoyed as I played. That being said, fans may find some control issue here and there, as I did find that some of my shots didn't go where I aimed, and that reaction time was off now and then. Regardless, I have never been one to pick a sports game as my game of choice, let alone tennis, but you may want to consider this one, especially if you are craving some tennis on your Xbox One.

The story and characters are interesting, the gameplay is solid, boss fights are interesting and memorable, it looks beautiful, and the gameplay is fantastic. Fans of the series will enjoy seeing some backstory while new fans, like myself, now have an entry point to start from, bringing them into the series.

At the end of the day, Super Mega Baseball 2 is another home run for a talented studio. Hopefully you were able to get it while it was free with Gold, but if not it’s certainly well worth the price of admission, especially since this console is sorely lacking good baseball games. Sure, it may not be a realistic MLB experience, but it’s good fun.

Laser League is fresh, new and exciting, and even though it emanates an obvious Tron vibe with its visuals, I applaud its innovativeness and accessibility for those looking for something different than what’s offered now in the competitive landscape.

As a creative outlet this game has potential, but unless they give gamers more to do with their robots during the end game, then there is little reason for players to play long term, let alone justify the costs involved with getting more parts for their robots. It’s a shame that with all of the customization options that they gave us, Robocraft Infinity couldn’t build itself up into something more.

If you're a fan of The Walking Dead, zombies, survival horror games, open world action adventure games, then without question State of Decay 2 is a day one purchase.

Overall, Forgotton Anne is a phenomenal addition to any gamers collection. From the character development to the beautiful hand-drawn art all the way through the game, it is evident that love went into this game. You'll see that from the beginning all the way to the end. Go out and buy this! I promise you, this will not be a game that will soon be forgotton.

So, what's the verdict? While Masters of Anima has a couple flaws, I believe this game is worth trying. It may not be my kind of game per se, but I know there are gamers out there that like DOTA-like games, and this has a similar feel to it. If you like strategy based games I would give this one a try. The story is good to follow and I didn't mind the the overall concept of Masters of Anima at all, even though it wasn't my cup of tea.

While Phantom Trigger looks attractive and very inviting, the lack of any meaningful progression and repetitive combat throughout really hinders its enjoyment.

Regalia is a great example of crowd funded games developing something that is tremendously fun to play. While other indie games try to be fun, they all take a knee to Regalia. You'll even find a few nods of respect to other tremendous games. When you look at the other releases that are out there on the Xbox platform, Regalia is truly a king amongst them.

It’s simplistic in nature, but there is some depth and strategy needed to be consistent and successful, and that’s only if luck is on your side. If you put in the time to slowly progress, you’ll enjoy your dungeon crawling experience, even when you’re dying every few floors, it’s just a shame that the majority of your success is out of your hands and relies on pure luck.

Octahedron is hard in the obnoxious way that many old NES platforming games are. It kills you without remorse. It gives you little time to become warmed up the play style before ramping up the difficulty. New and fun ways to die just crawl out of the walls like a damn horror movie, but hey, it looks pretty while doing it.

This game, in my opinion, could be compared to Cuphead and Super Meat Boy in respect to the each games difficulty. Every move you make could mean you move forward, or you die and have to start all over. The other beauty of this game is its unlimited deaths. You could die twenty times in a row if you wanted to and you'd still go back to the level you're on. I'd recommend this game to anyone who's up for a hardcore puzzle challenge.

The Adventure Pals is a solid indie platformer and nothing about the level difficulty felt unfair, as the movements were quick and snappy. I would recommend this to anyone looking for a laid back type of game. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to collect some more cupcakes!

The final drawback though comes from the reality that Enigmatis 3 is not a long game at all. You can go through the game in about a day, and 2 if you wanted to get all the achievements, but despite all of this, it goes without saying that if you enjoyed the other hidden object puzzle games from Artifex Mundi, then Enigmatis 3: The Shadow of Karkhala should be on your radar as a must have game.

Farming is hard work and takes time, and it’s no different here. You’re going to have to put in the hours to have a large, successful and profitable farm, but if you’re willing to do so, you’ll enjoy all that there is to do in Pure Farming 2018 that the competition simply doesn’t offer. If mod support and multiplayer are included in the hopeful sequel, there will be some serious farm sim competition in the genre.