Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair is a really strong platformer with good level design and excellent visuals. Certain aspects of the game don't mix well together, but it's a good time overall.
Code Vein is pretty fun, but it's dragged down some by some rote characters and dialogue and mediocre, tedious level design. It's also probably too easy for genre fans, but it's a solid game in its own right.
The Surge 2 isn't a bad game, but it gets some pretty big things wrong. In the end, I had some fun with it, but the broken parrying, awful enemy placement, and bland level layouts made it more of a slog.
Applewood has a ton of heart and great gameplay to back it up. The story, controls, and game design are all top-notch. We wholeheartedly recommend this one.
Spyro Reignited Trilogy is a joy to play through. There are a few issues with the port, but it's a beautiful game that's a joy to get lost in.
Blasphemous might be derivative, but it's one of the best, if not the best Metroid-like I've played this year. Not only is it downright gorgeous, but the gameplay is uniformly excellent and hunting for its many secrets make it a puzzle well worth exploring.
While it's true that GreedFall has some serious problems with variety and bizarrely re-used assets, the story is great and the combat and game systems are quite good. Anyone willing to look past its problems and dig into the narrative will likely have a good time with it.
I can’t recommend that anyone play this game unless they just want to be truly surprised by how bad it is.
Minoria is another strong game from Bombservice. Although it isn't necessarily better than their last, it's an enjoyable experience with great controls, good art, and an interesting story.
RAD has excellent gameplay and great visuals but is very, very difficult. Fans of extremely hard games will likely get a kick out of it, but people looking to slowly power up in order to make their rogue-lites easier should stay away.
Oninaki does a lot of things right. It has a compelling story and solid gameplay but doesn't take either far enough to reach the level of greatness.
Ion Fury may look like it plays it safe, but it delivers an exemplary first-person shooter that's better than many of the games that inspired it. Genre fans will be missing out if they choose to pass this one up.
Metal Wolf Chaos XD isn't particularly lengthy or challenging, but it's very entertaining and downright hilarious. As long as you're okay with playing what's mostly a straight port of an Xbox game from 2004, there's a good time to be had here.
Silver Chains has a spooky atmosphere and an interesting, if typical, narrative. But its horrifying performance issues and the completely horrible final sequence put a pretty big damper on the game as a whole.
I did mostly enjoy the game as a whole and don’t regret my time with it, but it feels uneven and frustrating to me a lot of the time.
Fantasy Strike is an excellent fighting game with rewarding gameplay. I can only hope the amount of players increases.
Earth Defense Force 5 is very familiar, but it's the best game in the series and a huge amount of fun. Fans of action games will find a whole lot to enjoy with this one.
Eagle Island is vibrant and worth a look for its world and story, but the combat lets the overall experience down.
Bloodstained has some mighty big shoes to fill but does so admirably. It delivers a classic, yet satisfying experience that fans have been wanting for years.
Anyone who enjoys classic-styled FPS games owes it to themselves to play Amid Evil. It’s a wonderful game that stands on its own.