Forts' multiplayer is enjoyable, as trying to scramble to design the best tower and destroy your friends is every gamer's truest of dreams. The single-player is pretty fun, too, if not for the sometimes stupid, sometimes brilliant AI, and the wonky physics. By all means, buy it for the single-player. Just make sure you have friends, because you're going to need them to truly appreciate this game.
The shame of it all rests in that Frontier Days: Founding Pioneers isn't broken. It functions perfectly fine. This means that it was developed in such a way that it was left a bland, emotionless husk of what it was trying to imitate. For a game without microtransactions, it manages to feel like a tremendous cash grab. While it's easy to say any game was made with love in it, this feels like it was terribly misplaced.
Romance of the Three Kingdoms XIII: Fame and Strategy Expansion Pack is a great release, both in terms of its base, but also when it comes to the expansion element, which is where all too often other games can go off the rails. They either don't offer enough change to be justified, or they change things too dramatically when it was neither necessary, nor called for. The Fame and Strategy Expansion Pack manages to find a nice spot in the middle. Any fan of the original would be remiss to overlook it, and any newcomers should pick it up with the base game for a fantastic experience.
While Herald: An Interactive Period Drama has some incredibly annoying issues, it's still shaping up to be an interesting experience overall. With some of these rough edges filed down, this could be one of the most compelling visual novels around. Hopefully, the next two books take what this game excels at and makes them even better, with feedback from gamers taken on-board.
Fourtex Jugo works well enough, but that doesn't resolve its problems. Everything here runs the gambit between lifeless and annoying; there's no rhyme or reason to how the game functions, and nothing that does make sense is engaging. This seems all too happy to make the player feel stupid, and comes off like the arrogant jerk telling everyone how cool he is.
The Deer God gets points for trying to mix things up in two genres that are growing increasingly stale. It's a balancing act that the game manages to maintain, but much like the tightrope walker who never falls but is always flailing, the illusion is definitely broken. Perhaps if the formula was tweaked to make the experience a bit more fair and to have a lot more going on, The Deer God would be the game it clearly set out to be.
Shiness: The Lightning Kingdom just feels like it's got the wrong kind of rough edges. While imperfections often give character, here they just make enjoying the experience all that much harder. It's upsetting to see a game with so much going for it falter for clunky combat, lacklustre platforming, and being too big and too open too early. However, any action RPG fan owes it to themselves to play this one-of-a-kind adventure, because the good outweighs the bad, and this is a powerful experience Samir and the rest of Enigami should still be proud of.
Late Shift would be a fine movie, although it would falter from an odd lack of direction from time to time. As a game, though, Late Shift just feels too disconnected from the player to justify even giving them control. It does allow you to steer the story, and on occasion it feels like the decisions that have been made actually mattered. Still, the player's involvement just feels like the movie occasionally wondering where it should go.
forma.8 is all about exploring the environment, and to that end, it gives plenty to explore. With some clever enemies and bosses, and one of the most beautiful, yet minimalist, art styles around, it manages to set itself apart from so many other Metroidvania games. It suffers from its touchy controls, but is still worth a trip.
Specter of Torment feels like a new mode more than a sequel or an expansion, and it benefits from this. With a new story, completely new move set, and a much darker tone, it's a must-play for fans of the original release. Make sure to grab a controller, because the keyboard isn't ideal for everything Specter Knight is capable of. Congratulations, Specter Knight; you're too good for a keyboard.
Castle Battles is something even people who are intimidated by strategy games should invest in. While perhaps players who enjoy deeper experiences will find the simplicity trivial or beneath them, this game is just satisfying enough to give them the successful feeling that they want. There are some minor issues, but they don't make the game any less fun, or any less worth your time.
More of a zen experience for the mind than a puzzle game, Induction lives to see you succeed. Every so often, it feels like it's not using its full potential, but this isn't like a lot of other puzzle games, which make players feel bad for having to set them down. Setting down Induction is a time to reflect on what you know and what is being asked of you, and it's so powerful that this may be one of the best puzzle games to come along in years.
Kona has a lot of potential, and with it being the first part of a series of games, hopefully its missteps won't squander its future potential. There's so much beauty dripping from every corner of this game that everything feels genuinely special. Kona only falls because of its technical issues, but it falls hard. With a bit of refinement, this could be a modern classic. Right now, though, it's a lot of potential that never quite cuts it.
Rain World has so much potential, it's infuriating to watch it crumble under the weight of trying to be difficult. There seems to be a new mantra in gaming that the game's not good unless it's brutally hard, and this is clearly misguided. If it controlled better and gave the player a bit more sympathy, Rain World would have been sublime. As it stands, though, Rain World is just an angry experience, yelling at gamers for every little mistake.
Tiles is one of the most mentally satisfying puzzle games to release in a while, at least in terms of the single-player. The multiplayer mimics all the levels from the single-player, to the point where they unlock at the same rate. This lack of variety means playing together will have one person, the one who plays the game more, at a clear advantage. There's a simple fix for that if it bothers you. Don't play the multiplayer. Enjoy the ingenious single-player mode, because it's a fantastic experience in every right.
The Great Whale Road manages to balance its many moving parts just fine; it's just that one of those parts doesn't hold up its own weight very well. When it's about progressing the story, or keeping your village going, this game feels really good. Combat doesn't manage to hold itself up to that same standard, and fails to feel like anything other than an add-on.
Old Time Hockey might not have the ease of entry to attract new players to the sports genre, but it will definitely make fans happy. While its barrier of entry is high, the rewards are a game that delivers enough charm and intrigue to keep you coming back for more punishment. Worst case scenario, put ice on your lip, and get back out on the rink.
Angels of Death will click with those who hunt through it's rough gameplay segments and take in its interesting story. While the gameplay may be rough, the story and the atmosphere are enough to recommend this to any fan of the genre, and the puzzle qualities found within are interesting, even when they falter. This is a small game that manages to be creepy, even if it stumbles slightly along the way.
Everything will no doubt be included in the "Is it or is it not a game?" debate, but it is an interesting space to explore. It's exactly as odd as it sounds, and many may walk away from it begrudgingly. If you stick it out, though, you may find something here that really scratches an itch you never knew you had. The problem is: how long can it be scratched before the itch goes away?
Toukiden 2 has a rough start, but manages to pick it up and be a solid member of the monster hunting community. It will manage to hook you in, with its engaging world and simple crafting system. Unfortunately, it might lose you to the weird and often dense AI, and the unimpressive story.