A Ghost of a Tale is a solid vision, and done justice given its the development constraints.
Apocryph's stylish commitment to the classic shooter genre tradition, and its dark fantasy vibe, make it the most distinctive and appealing of these games. That design also lets the game down when it comes to delivering a satisfying shooter, but people who can still pick up Heretic or Hexen and enjoy them for what they are will also be able to get a couple of hours of frantic fun out of Apocryph.
Fate/Extella Link is a delight. It takes beloved characters from a beloved anime franchise, and then appropriates the Koei Tecmo Warriors gameplay structure with such style and panache that Koei should be taking some notes itself. If only the developers hadn't gone with the ham-fisted sci-fi elements. Fate doesn't need that stuff.
Blood Waves is the kind of trash that reflects badly on all indies. The developer has taken an established, popular genre, copied the basic elements of it wholesale, but done so in such an incompetent and soulless manner that it's hard to see the game as anything but pure cynicism.
Rico is too limited to reward sustained play, but in short bursts, whether you're playing in single player or co-op, it can be a blast.
Left Alive is a bundle of genuinely brilliant ideas, let down by frequently shoddy execution. A resoundingly anti-war war game, with a deep understanding of the way that war complicates personal and societal morality, Left Alive asks all the right questions that a game about war should.
Eternity is a misfire. It's such a pity to see a project that had such good intentions fall to the wayside, but it's hard to share the feeling that for a new developer, making its first game, Eternity is an overreach in just about every way. I'm sure we'll see something much more refined and mature next time around.
Assault Android Cactus' greatest weakness is that it defines itself as an "arcade dual stick shooter" in such a traditional fashion that it's limited by that.
Stellaris is an aesthetically beautiful and rich in storytelling, and I'm fully enamoured to it.
I'm all for developers to look for ways to reenvision the classics - look at how incredible Tetris 99 is in breathing new life into a puzzle classic that's over 30 years old. What I have no tolerance for is games that only do the most superficial thing to spin a classic as a "new game." History 2048's "history" adds nothing to 2048, so right down to the title, this game is a false promise and a poorly executed mess.
The Caligula Effect progresses at a fast enough clip that, for the second time over, I haven't wanted to put it down.
Dead or Alive 6 is amazing. It’s the best looking fighting game out there, bar none, and has a combat system that is both instantly accessible for newcomers, without feeling condescending, and yet also offering plenty of depth and complexity for experienced fans.
Meow Motors has its issues, but overall, it gets away with it all. It's a bright, colourful, charming and cheap little kart racer that kids can enjoy, and people who never seem to tire of kart racers will have a compulsive need to buy and mess around with.
If you can get a group together, then Hell Warders is a lot of fun that you won’t soon forget. The action is tight, the challenges is robust, and the setting is impeccable. For single player tower defence, there are better options
Massira comes across as a immature project. Not "immature" in the sense of being juvenile - it's actually achingly sincere and I wish it didn't deserve criticism, but "immature" in the sense that the developer clearly lacked the confidence to create something outside of standard gameplay tropes, and those tropes really let Massira down in the end.
Unfortunately, presentation does matter, and I found it far too hard to care about anything going on in this game precisely because, for the most part, Magic Scroll Tactics looks like a game where the developer just forgot to replace all the in-development placeholder art with the proper visual elements. Coupled with a narrative that's quite unforgivable for a JRPG, and it's a game that deserves a sequel that can properly realise its ambitions.
Once you get over the initial hump with Tangledeep, you’re looking at a game that you can play over the long term. If nothing else, it’s lovely to know that there are some developers out there that understand what Rogue when creating their “roguelikes.”
Sadly, Alvastia Chronicles is yet another conceptual failure and broken mess of a game.
Modern Combat: Blackout isn't a great game by any stretch of the imagination, but it's playable enough, and it's the only military shooter of its kind currently available on the Nintendo Switch.
Tokyo School Life is a sweet and charming story of warmth and good characterisation... and an earnest and genuine attempt to highlight everything that is great about Japan.