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Echoes of Aetheria weaves narrative, combat, and exploration together wonderfully, with no one aspect of the game overshadowing another. However, dialogue is occasionally cheesy and design flaws cast a shadow on what is meant to be a tactical combat experience.
Pony Island is an incredibly clever puzzle-horror game that manages to immerse you in a screwed up world of ponies, code, and demonic machinations.
A tense, challenging, and addictive strategy game with strong atmosphere, weakened by excessive randomness that too often pushes things past "hard" into "hopeless."
Like inventing and describing a new color, That Dragon, Cancer tries to describe something indescribable, and does an admirable job of it.
While some more star power in the soundtrack would have went a long way, and the way Harmonix artificially pads the game's length with its song unlock requirements is ridiculous, Amplitude remains an exciting blend of rhythm action and electronica that does well by its predecessors.
One of the best examples of how good the Japanese RPG can be, even if no single aspect sets the bar for the genre.
Read Only Memories is a fantastic cyberpunk game whose biggest strength is its writing.
If you're a fan of suspenseful political games that balance surveillance and resource management with a dystopian setting, then Beholder is definitely worth picking up.
A strong entry for franchise fans, and runs fluently on PC to give the expressive anime visual style the opportunity to show off its fullest potential.
While Valhalla Hills doesn't have the presentation and energy of some of the more popular RTS games, it does manage to offer up an addictive experience that is a lot of fun. Listening to the intriguing sound effects of the Vikings mustering up their strength to work remains delightful and humorous throughout the entire game.
For the short time it lasts, Pale Echoes has an interesting and creative battle system, a compelling story to tell, and an interesting world to explore.
Steamworld Heist is an absorbing world wrapped around a decent game whose technical bits take away from a stellar personality.
Downwell is an unique take on the shoot em' up and roguelike genres that is sure to keep you coming back.
A beautiful, charming, humbling, and difficult experience that's a good fit for shoot 'em up fans, but perhaps strange and unwelcoming to newcomers.
Corgi Warlock has a great concept and decent core mechanics, but never quite elevates itself into an engaging or memorable game.
Given the lack of content, the game feels like a work-in-progress with some poorly conceived features and contrivances that only diminish the game's few strengths.
The additions of the wingsuit, dual tethering grapple hook, unlimited C4 and regenerating health system are all fantastic additions that would've made Just Cause 3 a breakout game in the franchise, if not for the dull story, repetitive story missions and technical issues ranging from long load times, to poor framerate and to constant disconnections for a single player only game.
An accessible ambassador for its genre, Xenoblade Chronicles X makes good choices building a world, but stumbles on writing you a guidebook to it.
The Old Hunters is a worthwhile expansion to one of the best games of the year and a shining example of how DLC should be made.
Guild Wars 2 continues set itself apart by being an MMO that stresses and encourages players to adventure and tackle challenges together.