Port Royale 4 is a dense trade and economy simulator that doubles as a harsh reminder that I'll probably never get to see the Caribbean in real life. Despite this cruel reminder about my personal station in life, building my own little corner of paradise in this digital world was a chill, if sometimes repetitive, experience. The learning curve is steep if it's your first time in the genre, but if navigating screens and crunching numbers is your thing, you'll be in heaven. For everyone else, it might not be for you.
Ary and the Secret of Seasons is a family-friendly adventure that is meant to remind you of some of the classic action-adventure platformer games from the '90s. It succeeds despite some clunky menu screens and repetitive combat due in part to the delightful main character. Plus, for the gamer-friendly price of $40 bucks, there is a full-size adventure to be had here.
Wasteland 3 is a deep and satisfyingly replayable CRPG that is a love letter to fans of the post-apoc games from the late eighties and the nineties. It may not be the sharpest looking game in 2020, but for me, it is a perfect marriage of old-school ideas and current-gen looks and depth that I will be playing for a looooong time.
When it comes to sports videogames, I’ve never liked the arcade-style ones with over the top gameplay and superhuman displays of strength. At first glance, that is exactly what the Super Mega Baseball franchise delivers, but once you start playing, you’ll see that it’s actually a deep baseball simulator with smooth gameplay and a metric ton of customization options. Super Mega Baseball 3 is better than its predecessors and they were a lot of fun. Despite the silly aesthetics, Super Mega Baseball 3 is not just a good baseball game, it’s my favorite baseball series going right now.
Necrosphere uses an uber simple game design to make an otherwise difficult and frustrating retro platformer fun to play. Plus it cost only a five spot and plays great on the PS Vita.
Genesis Alpha One isn’t a great FPS, and if you’re looking for Mass Effect-like space exploration, you’ll need to keep looking. But if you like deep base-building sprinkled with light alien blasting and space mining, then Genesis Alpha One delivers big time.
Mutant Year Zero mixes exploration and stealth with turn-based strategic combat for a fresh, fun and exciting romp through the apocalypse. A must-play title that I wasn't expecting, but can't wait to get back to.
Timothy vs the Aliens is a game that seems to be targeting two different audiences. The jazz and the gangsters are undeniably cool to this "older" gamer, but the simple and short gameplay seems to be designed for a younger game player. As it turns out, there might not be enough here for either party. Sadly, a unique and shiny veneer can't hide this simple and repetitive platformer.
Knockout League mixes a ton of polish with some great nostalgic boxing action. The fact that it’s an intense full body workout is a plus, if you’re into that sort of thing.
Bloody Zombies is a fun game to jump into and mess around. It also has a ton of red meat to devour if you want to really dig in and master all of the combos the game has to offer. Toss in 4 player co op and a really cool VR option and you may just have a can't miss title.
A 2D side-scrolling platformer in VR is an odd mix, but Odd Bug Studio's The Lost Bear somehow managed to pull it off. The duration is too short, but it truly is like no other title in your collection. If you have an extra 12 bucks in your pocket, you shouldn't miss this game.
They say you can't go home again, but that is just what Cyan Worlds attempted with Obduction, a modern day version of its iconic title Myst. It looks beautiful, and the puzzles are challenging and meaningful, but the technical bugs and lack of innovation hold it back.
Observer is light on action/gameplay but offers an extremely deep story with interesting cyberpunk world-building and some bizarrely creepy dream images to keep you up at night. The voice acting is shaky more often than not, but the story is worth the price of admission.
Theseus is an epic cinematic experience, with action-adventure gameplay mixed with tense stealth sequences. Sadly, the simple controls and basic gameplay don't keep up with the amazing visuals.
With a level of polish not always seen in the early wave of PSVR titles, Archangel really shined. Thankfully, it was also a helluva a good on-rails shooter.
This bullet-dance is a joy to play. Like most things worthy of your time, it's tough to master, but feels damn near rapturous when you do. Whether you choose to play the flat version or the VR version, play this game.
The gameplay is frantic but ultimately redundant. The short campaign may turn off some, but for a measly 10 bucks, fans of the genre, who don't have many bullet hell games to choose from on current consoles, will probably get their money's worth.
In the end, the game’s biggest fault is the missed opportunity. I commend Deep End Games for swinging for the fences, but a big swing and miss is still a miss, and it’s a shame. If you love horror games, then I think you might find the unique basis for this game worth checking out, despite the lack of terror. For everyone else? I’m afraid I just can’t unconditionally recommend Perception.
FlatOut 4 is an over-the-top racer that's got the potential to entertain. However, the stingy payouts and an unrewarding unlock/progression system flattens a few tyres and holds back this decent game from being a great one.
Mortal Blitz VR has enough shortcomings to fill a virtual swimming pool, but the shooting and ducking for cover work so well--not to mention the lack of other quality PSVR shooters--that it nearly makes this a must buy.