I Am Setsuna is a great game, but that's all. It falls short of it's full potential in a few different ways, but fortunately the excellent soundtrack and brilliant art direction make it a joy to experience.
Tennis in the Face is not going to amaze or disappoint players, it's a serviceable physics-based puzzle game designed to provide a short, but challenging experience.
The bloated and often confusing narrative might be a bit too much for those that aren't already fans of the Fate series, but for those willing to brave the ridiculous amount of dialogue a satisfactory Musou game awaits them underneath.
At first glance, The Outer Worlds on Nintendo Switch falls massively short of the bar set by other ports to the hybrid console. Everything has been scaled back in an effort to get it working as smoothly as possible on the machine, but there are still major problems with how the game performs. Even so, I found myself still having a lot of fun playing The Outer Worlds on the Nintendo Switch, which is a testament to just how brilliant this game truly is.
Nexomon: Extinction is a solid take on the monster training genre with some interesting gameplay tweaks on the Pokémon formula and narrative decisions. The higher difficulty saps some of the pace and enjoyment of adventuring, making me hanker for a return to a Pokémon game. Still, if you're after some monster catching and battling, Nexomon: Extinction will do the job.
Honestly, it's difficult to recommend Crysis Remastered. Its premise and design remain impressive to this day, but poor optimisation makes it difficult for players to enjoy the new graphical additions. If you already own a copy of Crysis, you aren't going to miss out on much here.
Fatal Fury First Contact is a solid little fighting game, but it has little to offer beyond that. Unless you are specifically a huge fan of the Neo Geo Pocket or all things Fatal Fury, there are definitely better fighting games you can spend your money on.
A Tale of Paper is a great concept with an excellent presentation that's slightly ruined by some poor platforming design. If you're willing to stick it out though, you'll be rewarded with a gorgeous world to explore and an equally captivating score.
Rust Console Edition manages to transcribe the wildly popular PC experience, but a few key missing features mean it falls short of what it should be. It could be great in time, but right now it feels like a disappointing misstep in comparison to the fleshed out PC version.
Senran Kagura Estival Versus is a game about boobs, there's a fairly competent fighting mechanic alongside this, but titillation always remains at the forefront. Fans of the series will be happy with the content on offer, but casual players will likely find the sexual themes a little bit too intense.
A reliance on meta-jokes and pop-culture references, alongside irrational puzzle design leave this point and click adventure falling short of its true potential. Fans of the genre will likely find enjoyment here though, if only due to the obvious inspirations behind the game.
For those who want a challenging platforming title on the PS4, DeadCore is right up your alley. For casual gamers out there, I would recommend going elsewhere.
Mecha Ritz: Steel Rondo is crude and simple, but manages to passably provide an enjoyable Genesis inspired Bullet Hell game.
theHunter: Call of the Wild is a game that will appeal to those who have a genuine passion for hunting, but due to the general lack of content, a poor UI and the horrendous movement speed, I don't think those outside of the hunting world will enjoy it.
feel like there's a lot of potential to be found in GARAGE: Bad Trip, but the poor controls and lacklustre sound design spoil an aesthetically interesting game.
Vane is a strange game. Its art direction and visual design frame a grandiose, otherworldly affair, but its puzzle design and narrative squash those expectations, ultimately providing a frustrating experience with fragments of its original vision.
Dusk Diver is a game that promises a lot with it's gorgeous visuals, but the combat ultimately falls short. Its basic combo system and missable story are not enough to even come close to some of this year's stellar action titles.
In an industry filled with excellent couch co-op games, it's really hard to recommend Shakes on a Plane. The gameplay is incredibly simple, offering very little variation outside of the core campaign mode. Unless you're desperate for a multiplayer game, having finished everything else, this is one flight you can probably miss.
Elite Dangerous: Odyssey is an ambitious addition to the Elite formula that doesn't quite hit the highs it should. It instead serves as a preview of what the game may be like in 6 or 12 months from now, and is hard to recommend as it currently is. Personally? I'd wait and see how Frontier Developments improves the game. Let's face it, there's still plenty to explore in Horizons.
A lot of Caveman Warriors' design feels outdated; it's a title that relies on mediocre action-platforming, on top of average cartoon visuals and a simplistic combat system. It never goes out of its way to impress you, but it also won't leave you wanting more.