James Cunningham
Kromaia Omega is a giant hyper-saturated burst of color, speed and heavy firepower, as stylish as it can be difficult, and it's impossible not to forgive a few questionable design elements when the enemies are swarming and the action takes off.
DariusBurst Chronicle Saviors is a massive shooter with seemingly endless gameplay in its multiple sections.
It would be easy to blow off Earth Defense Force 4.1: The Shadow of New Despair as just another HD remake, but that wouldn't give it credit for how much better it plays now that it's got appropriate processing muscle behind its enemy-packed levels. Simply put, Earth Defense Force has never looked or played as good as this, and while the framerate still drops a bit when the action gets particularly intense, it's never anything but playable.
In order to get the most from Turok, it's important to approach it as a remnant of the '90s, rather than a modern game.
All these elements come together to make an arcade-style game that easily lives up to its Pang/Buster Bros.
Gravity Rush Remastered is close to perfect.
If the story is nonsensical, the fighting and platforming are great fun.
Starward Rogue is easily the best arcade roguelike since Binding of Isaac: Rebirth and while it doesn't stray too far from its inspiration's influence, it makes up for this by executing its formula incredibly well.
While a little more realism would make American Truck Simulator more fun, paradoxical as that may sound, there's no escaping how fantastically playable it is.
While it takes a bit to get all its gameplay elements into place, Return to PopoloCrois: A Story of Seasons Fairy Tale is thoroughly charming from the very start.
While the story can be a bit much at times, The Witch and the Hundred Knight's gameplay makes returning to Metallia's swamp a tempting prospect.
Trackmania Turbo is a giant, gorgeous world of arcade stunt-racing action.
Samorost 3 is a fantastic point & click adventure game, and a perfect sequel to the previous two.
Lumo is a big, puzzley, dungeon-romping love letter to the history of gaming, filled with references to a huge number of titles but still more than able to carve out its own identity.
Score Rush Extended is a fantastic remake of what had already been an excellent shooter.
Anarcute is a warm and fuzzy, utterly adorable game that plays with mob violence and social unrest.
Time Machine VR is the kind of game you tend to see at the start of a new technology.
While the PC port is a little janky, the actual game of Little King’s Story is as instantly likeable as it’s ever been.
DOGOS is close to being a fantastic free-roaming shooter and only held back by a few small issues and a giant glaring one.
The Metronomicon is bright and upbeat fusion of two genres that shouldn’t fit together as well as they do.