AER: Memories of Old is a wonder to behold with solid flight mechanics and a beautiful art style. It's a shame the story, dungeon exploration, and lack of things to do hinder the final product.
Battle Chasers: Nightwar is a solid turn-based RPG with great gameplay mechanics and intriguing characters. The art style in the actual game and cutscenes are excellent, and the rewarding dungeon exploration is always fun. While the technical issues and boring story detract from the experience, Nightwars is still an easy RPG experience to recommend.
Maize could have been quite a pleasant surprise with its clever writing and memorable characters. Unfortunately, it ends up failing both technically and interactively with a few instances of game-breaking bugs and poor optimization for consoles. The story is worth seeing through to the end, but everything around it ends up dragging Maize down.
Raid: World War II is disappointing on almost every level. Playing the game is a chore, and many of the core ideas are either clumsy or poorly executed. Even with the clever premise, your time is much better spent elsewhere.
The Solus Project ends up being somewhat of an anomaly with its version of survival and exploration gameplay. On one hand, the environments and setting are absolutely incredible and it becomes a world I want get lost in. Unfortunately, it's hard to recommend due to the cumbersome controls, unintuitive UI, and poor optimization of inventory management.
Yomawari: Midnight Shadows is everything I could want in a horror title, featuring a riveting story and a unique premise for the horror genre as a whole. Although the controls can sometimes get in the way, Midnight Shadows is an excellent adventure that will please any horror aficionado.
Morphite is most likely not the grand envisioning of No Man's Sky we all hoped for, but for being an indie budget title there is a whole lot to keep you invested in. The story alone is intriguing enough to see through to the end.
Overall, I really enjoyed Tooth and Tail and the anthropomorphic animals with their retro-like aesthetic were whimsical and charming to look at. There is a lot of strategy and fun to be had with the controls never feeling too complicated, even while using a controller.
Sine Mora Ex is a great place to jump in if you have never experienced the original title and are an absolute diehard shoot 'em up fan.
If you think you are up for the learning curve, I definitely recommend giving The Escapists 2 a try. It has definitely made me feel like a genius when I have formulated the perfect escape strategy, but also foolish when I squander the perfect getaway and miss the easier route. All of that is part of the fun and makes for a rewarding experience.
Smashbox Arena could have been a great competitive game to play on PS VR, instead it's just another generic VR shooter with an underpopulated online community. While the VR motion tracking is on the positive end of most VR titles and the simplicity makes its accessible to about anyone; the dull gameplay, poor visuals, and overabundance of glitches make it more of a chore to play through than needs to be.
Overall, Yonder: The Cloud Catcher Chronicles is a charming and visually pleasing experience that will remind you immediately of 3D Legend of Zelda titles, mainly The Wind Waker, in how the towns, island, and citizens are portrayed. The questing and story progression is okay, but it may become boring and tedious for some looking for more of an action oriented affair. The side activities alone, as well as with the crafting and farm management are what many will have to enjoy to get the most out of Yonder. Otherwise, if you are looking for something deeper, this may be a rather boring expedition.
SpeedRunners has officially become a title I will continue to enjoy coming back to for playing with friends and for satisfying my inner speed running dreams. While the single player experience is lackluster in execution and how the bots are controlled leaves much to be desired, the real winner of this title is the multiplayer and the amount of modes to quench any fan of speed running. Its addictive gameplay and unique approach to playing party games offers hours of replayability, all the while remaining fun to play. Go and get your friends, on or offline, and enjoy one of the best multiplayer experiences of the year.
Death Squared is well worth the investment and is definitely a title puzzle game enthusiasts should pick up and everyone else might find enjoyment from, especially with friends.
Overall, Circuit Breakers is a decent arcade shooter with a nice retro style aesthetic. I wish there was more variety and more extras, considering there are a good amount of titles similar to this already available on consoles and PC, and because of this it becomes hard to fully recommend as a purchase. You are pretty much getting a very basic twin-stick shooter missing any type of style or personality. However, if you are looking for a new local arcade shooter to play with friends, this may be what you are looking for.
Leap of Fate was a pleasant surprise in the crowded rogue-like genre and provides a great value for all the variations in play styles. While the game suffers from a sense of repetition after repeated play throughs with enemies and challenges, gamers looking for a solid action oriented affair will have plenty to keep coming back for.
Arizona Sunshine has an intriguing premise and enough customizations with the control scheme to warrant a play through if you have a PS VR. Just be aware, this has not been optimized very well from the PC versions, being held back by the restrictions from the inferior tech of PS VR. That being said, I still had fun shooting zombies and there still is much to like with the vibrant visuals and added multiplayer content, even if calibration issues and inconsistent aiming take you out of the experience far too often.
Pixel Heroes: Byte & Magic has a lot going for it at first with clever humor and many intriguing RPG, rogue-like systems in place, but the archaic design and multitude of navigation problems mar the overall experience. The Bitfather definitely had their heart in the right place creating this title, and it can be seen in the retro call-backs to many fantasy stalwarts. However, no amount of nostalgia can cover up the glaring control issues and dull, dreary combat present in the final product.
Nex Machina does not disappoint in providing an exhilarating gameplay and presentation experience. The lack of content and insane difficulty hold it back from being a classic, but there is no denying Housemarque crafted another memorable title.
Kung Fury: Street Rage ends up being a decent distraction from other major retail releases in short bursts, but is severely hampered by the lack of modes and overall repetitiveness of it all. What can be said is how Hello There definitely put in the work to show adoration for the 80's with a authentically crafted look into what made that era great. Street Rage is fun in short gameplay sessions, but its a game no one really needs to own unless you're a big fan of the movie.