It’s got a lot of little issues or oddities, but it hard charm and heart, and at the center of it all is a decent platforming title.

Way of the Samurai 3 is a great idea that is just lost in the past. The developers really had an opportunity to fully realize the potential of the game with the new hardware and failed.

Even though the bargain price point justifies its rather short length, the sequel bait ending and lack of variety in the gameplay leaves much to be desired. However, a visual novel lives and dies by its story and this one’s well worth reading. It just remains to be seen where the series goes from here.

LEGO Horizon Adventures is a weird game. On one side it is well-designed, looks good, and the voice performances are outstanding. On the other hand, I am not sure it will have a wide appeal. Horizon is the most successful polarizing game I have ever seen. Everyone has played it and it feels like a majority do not care for it. Combine that with a LEGO game and you get an awkward experience that feels like the definition of “who is this for?” Still, it is a solid game that anyone who wants more of that world will certainly enjoy.

As it stands, it’s a difficult title to recommend at the current asking price, except to those that are die-hard fans of the genre.

Suffers from ancient game design. If you enjoy mindlessly mowing down hordes of enemies level after level then Sam may be right for you. There is nothing mechanically broken per se, but the tedium will wear on gamers accustomed to epic events and intelligent AI.

For players with a party of friends to enjoy it with, Wild Run is infinitely more enjoyable, but simply as a racing game, it feels painfully average.

Perhaps with a better balanced career mode and some optimized loading times we can finally get the tennis game we have all been dreaming of, for now TS2 will simply have to do.

If you already own it on the previous consoles there isn’t much here to warrant a second purchase, but with a few tweaks and some polish this game could easily make a comeback in the world of games.

Lords of Shadow 2 is worth playing through if for nothing more than to get closure to the series, but it is easily the weakest of the three Mercury Steam entries to the franchise.

A gorgeous game that plays well and offers a unique experience all around. The frustration of going back to see all it has to offer, though, is a huge barrier to entry. While the price point of $20 is appealing, a simple stage select or a modern save system would have vastly improved the experience.

Amazingly I still had a fantastic time with the game thanks to the idea that I am a huge movie buff.

Soulstice is a solid outing that I wanted to love and recommend more. It borrows heavily from games like Bayonetta and Devil May Cry without fully capturing what makes those titles so special. Still for a fairly new developer taking a stab at the genre it is filled with promise and in an era where games are supported I hope a patch can sort out of some the minor issues over time. I had fun with the game and hope they continue to improve on their craft. I am always down for character action games and if you are like me and miss the days when these were a dime a dozen, Soulstice is likely right up your alley.

The town of light does some really unique and innovative things for the horror genre but its adventure game aspects are simultaneously mundane and confusing. Still, its real-life horrors stick with you longer than the more fantastical and gruesome images that are commonly seen in other games.

Ultra Age is anything but ‘Ultra”, and that’s alright. While its not the best example of a modern-day Devil May Cry it is however an excellent example of Devil May Cry from the PS2 era. Whether on accident or on purpose the game felt just cheesy enough that it could be an homage to DMC’s heyday or maybe it is just a cheesy story about a kid looking to find the secret to immortality. Whatever side of the line you land on, the constant will be that Ultra Age is a lot of fun to play. While its systems might not be deep; the enjoyment of juggling combos/blades and enemies is worth the 7 hour length.

Project Warlock isn’t going to set the world on fire, but what it sets out to do it does well. I found myself loving certain sections while struggling with others. With a few tweaks it could easily become a fan-favorite title that scratches that itch so many other games attempt and fail at.

Double Dragon Revive is a love letter to the franchise, but one that occasionally forgets to stamp it properly. It’s not bad game per say, there are flashes of brilliance where it all comes together, and for those moments, it feels like the return I hoped for. But just as often, it reminds you that sometimes, bringing back the past isn’t enough. If you grew up with the Lee brothers and just want to relive the glory days with a friend, you’ll probably have fun as long as they can come over your house. If you’re new to the series, though, this isn’t going to make you a believer.

At its heart Super Mega Baseball feels like those old games I loved, I just wish they would have just focused on making the core game work and left out the additional systems, which not only don’t enhance the game but actively detract from it.

In the end, The Silver Case is a strange, but interesting title. I can’t really fault it too much for its design. This is a game from 1999 after all, but some of the dialog choices made and what could have been fixed a bit in a new translation could have helped the hokey exchanges from time to time. While it’s not a bad game, it is most certainly an acquired taste, but when you dive into it, the story is what will propel you to keep going, and it’s actually not bad as long as you can look past the old mechanics.

Stiff and smooth animations just make it comical at times. A moment of screen stutter also occurs when the game auto-saves at times, highly annoying but I was able to largely get used to it. All these issues aside, I was still having a blast playing this, and I can see myself stepping into the world of 7 Days to Die on and off at times.

As much as I liked The Dark Descent, A Machine for Pigs feels more like a quick expansion than a full on sequel. Fans of the first game will enjoy this quick romp through a new environment, but with its short play time, no replay value and removed mechanics, I still have to recommend a price drop.

Super Cloudbuilt is a game I thought I would enjoy playing and ignore the story. The reverse ended up happening. The narrative is interesting and the one thing that kept me playing. The game surrounding it fell flat for me on so many levels. I wanted to love it more than I did, but in the end it never clicked with me.

Mortal Shell is built around a solid foundation with a fun and responsive combat engine propped up by strong visuals. While some obtuse design choices and an uninteresting world holds it back from escaping the moniker of being, “just yet another souls-like”, it’s guaranteed to scratch that itch, at least a little.

Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl is a solid alternative to Smash, and it is on basically every platform. It won’t overtake the king or even make it worried, but for the lower price (I have seen it on sale for sub $20) it is more than worth checking out. I had a ton of fun with it and just wish it had a bit more content and a bright future.

For the hardcore JRPG fans, There’s some good to be had here but only if you’re willing to wade though some pretty rough mechanics and difficulty.

Giga Wrecker Alt. is a game that teeters on the brink of a great experience. It has some wonderful ideas that are hampered by the lackluster controls and frustrating execution. The world and its surroundings are great, the ideas are fantastic, but it just never hits that sweet spot of being something I felt compelled to keep coming back to. I struggled to get past some parts while others were a pure joy to play. It is the definition of mixed emotions.

FIFA 16 has a few nice additions, but failure to fix some of the franchise’s ongoing problems, along with a massive focus on FUT leaves it feeling stale; especially seeing as PES seems to be scoring highly in reviews.

A decent offering. It does have some control issues however, and can be very frustrating at times because of this.