Join Joshua Zajaczkowski's as he presents his video review of Blackguards 2 for PC by Daedalic Entertainment.

John and Erik finally have there hands on the new RetroN 5 and have put in some play time on the system. Here is there review and feelings on this long awaited console.

Jsaux has one of the top suppliers of Steam Deck accessories. They seem to be ahead of the pack when it comes to release new high quality accessories for the Steam Deck. Let’s take a look at some of their new products and see if they are must haves for Steam Deck owners

One of the Sega Genesis Systems strongest genres was shooters or Shoot’em Up’s. The Toaplan releases are regarded as some of the best on the system which is way they are expensive and sought after these days. Retro-Bit has released the Toaplan Shooters Collectors Edition. An affordable way to get four of their classics for the Genesis. Join John as he takes a look at what you get with this collection and see if it is worth spending your hard earned money on.

For four years LucidSound has made premium, affordable gaming headsets that have not only had great sound but great build quality. With the release of the Xbox Series X/S John had the chance to try out the LucidSound LS50X Wireless + Bluetooth Gaming Headset.

For years retro gamers have wanted high quality wireless controllers. For the past few years 8bitdo has tried to fill that void with wireless DIY and controllers. But last year Retro-Bit showed off their officially licensed Sega controllers, both wired and Bluetooth controllers. John takes a look at the Retro-Bit official Sega Genesis and Saturn Bluetooth controllers. Are they worth your hard earned money? Let’s find out.

One genre of games the Nintendo Switch has been lacking is racing. There have been a few, the best being Mario Kart. Aquiris has set out to change that. Enter Horizon Chase Turbo, an arcade racer that pays homage to Outrun and Top Gear. Is this game worthy to be in mentioned with these classic games? Let’s find out.

Peter Leigh (the Nostalgia Nerd) who has taken his addiction of retro consoles and turn it into a successful YouTube channel has curated a new book that adds to the preserve the history games and gaming consoles in his own special way. Is is a book worthy of your bookshelf? Let’s find out!

Gaming history is important to preserve. Many restore old consoles and games but there are also several book out there that have a visual history of video games. The Game Console: A Photographic History from Atari to Xbox is one of those books. But this book sets itself apart from the rest.

Retro collections are very popular right now. With Namco, Sega and Nintendo releasing systems and game collections that have been well received. Now NIS America is releasing the SNK 40th Anniversary Collection for the Nintendo Switch. How does this collection of games hold up? Lets take a look.

John from The Gamers Lounge takes a look at a few accessories from PowerA for the Switch and Xbox One and shares his thoughts if they are worth your cash.

Bitmap Books over the past few years have been the gold standard for affordable, quality book about video games. From their visual Commpendium series to game and box art books Bitmap has covered games from the arcade to the Neo-Geo. Now their new book the Art of Point and Click Adventure Games takes a look at one of the most loved genres in gaming history.

In this Video John takes a look at MegaCat Studios latest game for the NES, Genesis and SNES, Little Medusa. He looks and what comes with the complete package, shows off some gameplay and shares his thoughts if worth you hard earned money.

Bitmap Books over the past few years have become the leaders in publishing books about video games. The newest addition to the Visual Compendium is for the SNES/Super Famicom. Does this one stand up to past releases?

The NEOGEO was the pinnacle of video gaming. An elite, exclusive console that didn’t just emulate the arcade experience – as so many 8 and 16-bit consoles tried to do – it was the arcade experience, pixel for pixel on your TV at home. NEOGEO: a visual history is the first officially licensed NEOGEO art book of its kind released in the English language released by Bitmap Books. Have they produced the bible for the NEOGEO fan?

The one thing that makes the Nintendo Switch stand out over the PS4 or XB1 is the ability to play with friends and family anytime, anywhere. At first glance Party Planet my look like shovelware, but with 30 games and up to 4 players you quickly see that the game could be the perfect game to play with family and friends of all ages.

There are always a host of new accessories released when a new console hits the market. Some good, some bad. Bionik has released a line of new accessories for the system and John from The Gamers Lounge was lucky enough to get a couple to test out. Let's find out if they are any good.

Did you know there are new NES and Genesis games released in 2017? Enter Mega Cat Studios who is producing high quality releases for the NES and Genesis. The Gamers Lounge was luck enough to be able to check out some of their 2017 releases. 

The Nintendo Switch released on March 3rd 2017 and like with any new console release there are a lot of different accessories hitting the market. John of the Gamers Lounge was lucky enough to get his hands on several different ones and he shares his thoughts if they are worth your money.

Over the past few years books about video games have been very popular kickstarter with Artcade, the Genesis Collected Works and more. Bitmap books have been on the for front releasing several high quality books in their Visual Compendium Series. The series includes Commodore 64, Amiga and ZX Spectrum. After a very successful Kickstarter the forth book NES/Famicom has officially been released. Does it get the Nintendo Seal of Quality? 

Everyone's major complain with the NES Classic Edition, other then not being able to find one, was the extremely short cable on the controller. This could be by design since the reset button needs to be pressed to change games or it could be just bad overall design. But now that problem has been fixed thanks to My Arcade with their NES Classic Edition Wireless controller. Is it a worthy controller for the money? Lets find out!  

This past April Geek Line Publishing ran a successful Kickstarter to fund their next book. The Nintendo 64 Anthology, the ultimate guide to everything N64 and celebrating the 20th anniversary of the system. Raising over €67,000 (or $70,000 US) the campaign surpassed their goal and now has offically been released. Is this book a fitting tribute to the N64?

Cable and satellite bills have gotten expensive and more and more people are cutting the cord. There are many options out there to stream entertainment to your home, Fire TV, Apple TV, Roku and more. Main Brain TV wants to do more. Live sports, TV, movies and more with now fees. Sound to good to be true? John from The Gamers Lounge has spent a month with device. Does it live up to its promices?  

Most gamers from the 70's, 80's and even the 90's remember the arcades. Tim Nicholls is one of those people and he has taken his passion for the art of the arcade and turned it into a book. Not only is Artcade a book of just arcade game art, it is a lasting record of the golden era of video games that any gamer would enjoy. 

LucidSound is committed to providing gamers with the ultimate experience in sound by creating high-end audio products at affordable prices. With there second headset, the LS20 they are out to show you can spend $100 and still get a quality sounding and made headset. Have they succeed? Check out John's review!

Valkyria Chronicles was originally released on the PlayStation 3 in 2008 and at the time was considered by some to be a revolutionary take on the tactical RPG genre. Hailing an average score on Metacritic of 86 and selling just over 1 million copies worldwide it spawned two sequels on the PSP and last year was released on PC. Now the Remastered edition makes its way to the PlayStation 4. Does this 8 year old game still hold up?

Earlier this month the Disney Infinity team announced rather than releasing Disney Infinity 4.0 that they would continue to support 3.0 with new play set and figures from there four core brands at The Walt Disney Company: Disney, Pixar, Marvel and Star Wars. The first was released this week, Marvel Battlegrounds. John at The Gamers Lounge was lucky enough to be able to review this play set.

Several months ago the Amiiqo device was released that gave you the ability to copy or emulate Amiibo’s. The big drawback to this device was you had to own an Android phone with NFC capabilities. But the folks that brought you Maxlander (for Skylanders) have now released their Amiibo device, NaMiiO. How does it compare? Check out our review!

Eight months ago, Joetsu Electronics released L2-R2 Grips for the 2000 model Vita. This grip greatly improved remote play by adding physical L2-R2 buttons to the Vita. 1000 model Vita owners were left in the cold, but with a new year comes grips for the 1000 model. Let’s take a look at this new product.

The Yakuza series has always had a strong cult following. Originally released in Japan in 2005 by Sega from director Toshihiro Nagoshi, telling the story of Kazuma Kiryu of the Tojo Clan. Every time Japan would get a new game in the series, the West would beg and plead for Sega to localize it. With most of the main games of the series released in the west, minus Kenzan!, Ishin!, and the two PSP spin-offs, Yakuza 5 seemed that it would not be heading to the West anytime soon. Originally released in Japan in 2012, Sega said they could not afford to localize 5, that they did not have the manpower or money. But, thanks to Sony’s #BuildingTheList campaign, they announced in December 2014 that they would be partnering with Sega to release the game digitally on PSN in the west. Now almost one year to the date of that announcement, the game has been released. How does the three year old game hold up in the tail end of the PS3 lifecycle? Read on to find out!

Puzzle games are often overlooked and passed over.. But Unwording is something that should catch gamers’ attention. One part puzzle, and one part adventure, this game has a little bit of everything even if it's on the shorter side of things.

Shumps have always had a soft spot in my heart. Raiden III x MIKADO MANIAX is a nice port of a PS2 classic and it adds a lot of options.. There should be enough there to keep fans of the series busy for a bit.

High on Life from Squanch Games is an interesting take  on FPS games. This humor based FPS should keep gamers interested through most of the 10 hrs it offers in gameplay. Is there enough to set it aside from an already crowded marketplace of FPS titles?

Brook has a reputation of making reliable and practical hardware and accessories. The Gamer’s Lounge got its hands on one of its latest releases, the Vivid for Switch. It's a nice controller that should feel at home with most gamers, but can it stand up to the test of Smash and Mario Kart?

Gunfire Reborn mixes up several genres, gamers will see a bit of FPS, looter shooter, some RPG elements, and roguelike elements blended together. This ends up being an interesting game with some good concepts, and this game is best played with friends. Gunfire Reborn has some charm but The Gamer’s Lounge has to ask what's the hook?

Haiku, the Robot is a metroidvania based game from Mister Morris games. The quirky character who serves as the protagonist yearns for adventure is set in a machine based 16 bit environment. The game is pretty challenging but it offers some interesting elements that should keep gamers entertained if they are fans of this genre.

Cotton has always been hailed as some of the best shmups gamers can play, especially if you like cute-em ups. The Gamers Lounge has spent some time with this game and we can say it is intriguing. There is a fair amount of stuff to keep gamers playing for a bit.

B.i.O.T.A is an interesting action platformer with some metroidvania elements. The fun color palette swapping options should take gamers back to a time when games were simpler. The game can be tough but there is enough to keep gamers interested.

Feel like using a different controller with the 360 or Xbox One? How about a PS3 controller? The Wingman XB will let gamers do this and supports a large list of controllers, that work with 360, Xbox One, PC, Original Xbox, Xbox Series S/X. The Gamers Lounge has spent some time with the Wingman XB and has some good things to say.

Andro Dunos II is a sequel to the 1992 Neo Geo shmup. This is fun game that has a lot to offer and seems to be generating a lot of buzz. There is something for newcomers and fans of the series, and The Gamers Lounge can’t get enough of this game

This black and white FPS has an old school theme and features a creepy atmosphere and soundtrack. There should be enough to keep FPS fans interested, and the low price should bring newcomers in, but is there enough to keep gamers interested?

Yacht Club's most recent venture into the Shovel Knight universe is an interesting spin off of its other Shovel Knight games. One part rouge-like and one part puzzle game, Pocket Dungeon is both fun and challenging. There should be enough content and challenge to keep fans and newcomers interested in this game.

The sequel to the well-received game of 2020, Heaven Dust 2 brings more of the survival horror to the indie genre. This game can be best described as mini Resident Evil and that’s not a bad thing. The game should scratch the itch for fans and newcomers to the genre.

If somehow the Metro series was ever combined with some of the pieces of Fallout 4, the result would be Cherynobolte. This is a game that straddles several genres while trying to keep it all together. This might be one of those unique games that’s well worth a playthrough for those who are looking for something a little different these days.

Dandy Ace is a colorful adventure, featuring magic combined with a roguelike. This is an interesting twist to the genre and for fans of roguelikes this might some thing unique enough from Neowiz to keep gamers’ interest. The Gamers Lounge has been following this game since the beta and has good things to say.

R-Type has made its way onto the Switch. Games have been waiting a long time for a new game since it's been at least 20 years since a game in the series has come out. While it's good to have it on Switch, there seems to be a few things missing from the final product.

Biomutant is an interesting action rpg that has a lot to offer. While the game struggles sometimes on what Biomutant’s identity should be, there is plenty to see and do and there is enough content to keep gamers coming back to at least finish the story. The Gamer’s Lounge has spent a lot of time playing this game and has some good things to say.

Save me Mr. Tako Definitive Edition is a retro inspired classic in the image of Gameboy games. There is plenty of homage to older games and this cutesy platformer will have gamers coming back for more. The Switch is the perfect place for games like this.

Knight Squad was a fun chaotic multiplayer game. The 2nd game takes what the first game started and expands on it. If players are looking for a fun multiplayer game for gamers of all ages this is a great title to have.

Were you one of the small class of gamers that had a Neo Geo Pocket back in the day? If you were then this collection is a perfect way to dive back into some of your favorite handheld memories. The Gamers Lounge has spent some with this collection and is happy to say this collection is worth at least looking into if you are a fan.

Colt Canyon takes the roguelike genre and heads to the Wild West. This challenging game has some fun unlockables and should keep gamers busy. There are a few shortcomings but The Gamers Lounge still had fun.

Drake Hollow is an interesting take on the survival genre. It has a lot to offer and it should keep gamers interested. Is there enough of a difference between it and other games in the genre to draw people in? The Gamers Lounge seems to think so, especially if players have people they can play with, which will make the game more enjoyable.

Cyber Shadow is the perfect reminder of 8-bit classics like Ninja Gaiden. The game features excellent combat with continued evolution in abilities as the game progresses. While it is a little on the short side, there is still plenty to offer for fans of the genre.

2020 was a rough year but 2021 is looking better and better. It was recently announced that Scott Pilgrim vs The World is getting a re-release on modern consoles. This is a game that people have been begging to be ported to newer consoles for years and that time is now. The Gamers Lounge got a chance to review it and its everything we wanted from this game all over again.

At it’s core, Ghostrunner is a free running game thrust into a sci-fi dystopian future. The game’s free running and fast paced combat may be different enough to grab interested gamers. But the frustrating gameplay and strange performance issues on the Switch may turn some interested parties off.

Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning’s original release was in 2012 and was highly praised for its gameplay and story. Re-Reckoning attempts to get the game up to modern standards, while the attempts are good, there are some parts of the game that have not aged well. This game be be best suited for those who were really big fans of the game a console generation ago.

Serious Sam is back and it's been awhile. The official 4th game in the series doesn't disappoint. Newcomers and veterans alike should enjoy this game, there is just enough to keep people interested.

There can never be enough cute animal platformers. Sheepo is a fun game where players wander through dreamlike levels exploring. The plethora of interesting puzzles, good music, and basic metroidvania elements keeps everything interesting.

Demons and explosions rock this world. Gamers are ready to take their demon blasting to the next level. Hellbound should remind gamers of the frantic pace of Serious Sam and Doom 2016. The Gamers Lounge has spent some time with this fast paced FPS and we want more.

Postal, a franchise that graced the 90s when FPS games were becoming kings. Postal was one of the games that was banned in many countries for its no holds barred on everything. The series is making a return and here is Postal 4 No Regrets.The Gamers Lounge has spent a few hours with it and this is what we think.

If you let this game in, you will lose whole weeks to its engrossing depth and complex interactions. It’s a beautiful expanse of a game that stretches outward from the vertical slice seen during NextFest, and it demands you invite it in.

Unfortunately, while Harmony: The Fall of Reverie is a gorgeous, finely tuned visual novel with an affecting story and clear care put into every inch of the game, dissonant mechanics and sometimes confusing narrative choices are that more glaring. The result is, frustratingly, an excellent game dragged down by some of the same things that make it so excellent.

Shadows of Doubt has had a six-month early access period shows it growing by leaps and bound and its unorthodox focus and procedural story-generation engine make it stand out even among the high number of narrative-generation games coming out these days. An instant indie classic for fans of immersive sims, film noir, and weird dystopian adventures.

It’s intricate, just technical enough to grasp, and genuinely fun in a way few strategy RPGs reach for but fail to grasp. While it does have the odd technical glitch, if this sounds at all like your kind of game, saddle up your homicidal pony and head for the nearest Emissary.

Terrascape doesn’t need to be some grandiose and weighty thing. It’s a beautiful little game meant to be played as a break, or as a wind-down, or otherwise in those moments when you need to take a breather. It’s a relaxing city-builder. As a relaxing city-builder, it’s a gorgeous, lovely little game.

The tension and long stretches of running a checkpoint and the paranoid terror of the criminals who run the area work beautifully, making Contraband Police a game that, while rough-edged, is well worth the time and energy.

It’s not often a game is a strong argument in favor of early access. Since I first played Moonshine, Inc. in what could be considered a “rough draft” phase, it’s made leaps and bounds in getting closer to a released state. But the operative word there is closer. While playable and a lot more accessible in its current state, it is still very rough, with bugs and quality of life issues that are still somewhat frustrating. It’s a game with good ideas, but one that needed a little more time to cook than it got, resulting in some solid concepts and a sloppy enough execution that perhaps they should spend some time working out the kinks that make it less than worth the time and money.

It’s really dangerous to like any game a lot in early access, as a game will change a great deal before it gets to that fabled 1.0. Things will shift, parts of the game someone thought would be a big part turn out to be less consequential, or that thing that felt really inconsequential ends up becoming a big part of how players engage with the game. But Black Skylands is good, very good, and has the potential to be properly huge as it builds. It’s a gorgeous balancing act, managing a sense of adventure with a dark storyline involving war, a high-flying airship combat-and-exploration game with a top-down action-adventure, and the sheer amount of freedom and stuff to do is mindblowing.

A marked improvement over past Oregon Trail games? Certainly. It’s gorgeous, addictive to play, has a ton of content (and more on the way) and it’s worth it for those initial vibrant bursts. But once those bursts wear off and the honeymoon period is over, you’re left with a game that while interesting, fun, addictive, and great to look at, is also shallow and needlessly cruel. It’s a game that matches its legacy— fond memories of the good times you have while playing it, but a hesitation to start things up again once you finally make it down the Trail.

It’s a logistics simulator, to be sure— you’re building a futuristic train network on an alien planet— but there’s a low enough difficulty curve and enough wit and guidance that you don’t feel like you need an advanced degree in programming or three hours with graph paper to plan things out. It’s one of the most relaxing dystopias you’ll ever have the pleasure of experiencing, and manages to make programming and logistics a lot of fun without sacrificing those beautifully complex networks of supply lines and ever-expanding production. If you’ve ever wanted to get into a game with just the right amount of crunch, you can’t do better than Railgrade.

There’s a key to difficulty in games, and it’s often hard to work out. It’s a fine line to walk between frustration and satisfaction, between the relief of pulling off a difficult fight (and the knowledge of actual consequence), and making that difficult fight still easy enough that the player wants to keep fighting, rather than logging off to play something more relaxing. It’s a balance not every game can strike, as seen from the number of people who give up on Fromsoft titles. Deadlink, on the other hand, manages it pretty easily. The fights are difficult and the arena setting can turn into an absolute meatgrinder, but every time you squeak out a win, every time you pull that luck and skill together, you feel like a cybernetic neon god. It’s the best feeling in the world, and I can’t wait to see how they expand upon it from here.

Having received a free copy of the game, I feel like I was overcharged for the privilege. While there are some moments where the ambition of the premise shines through, it’s a severely broken game, so broken that I couldn’t even get an hour into it without the game soft-locking me within its opaque, typo-ridden purgatory. I’m sorry that I have to write this— I hate writing bad reviews, especially for games that seem relatively ambitious— but I need to remain true to my experiences.

I feel a little sorry for Grid Force: Mask of the Goddess. It’s a game that wears its influences clearly, from the anime and webcomic-inspired artwork to the bright colors and parallels to the deckbuilding/action/rhythm roguelike One Step From Eden. There was also clearly care and time taken with the premise and worldbuilding— the characters all look unique, there’s clearly some deeper mythology at play with the world and its various goddesses and champions, and that style even figures into some of the tactics and elemental mechanics at play in the game. It has a very impressive look to it, and that’s at least half the battle of any game right there.

Now if only it played as good as it looked.

While the moon-logic puzzles can get annoying and sometimes the game will get pulled into an unwinnable state, it just incentivizes you to play a little closer and a little more conservatively. Foretales is a gorgeous, fun, and unique take on card battlers that promises hours of play and replay, and a world you’ll want to revisit even after your first journey.

I really, really, really want to like Sunday Gold.

I should. It’s a retro-futuristic adventure/heist game taking place in a dystopian city based on ‘70s London Gangster tropes. The art style is an odd and impressionistic one similar to Disco Elysium, one of my favorite games of all time. And the idea of planning heists and putting together evidence to take down a megacorporation is brilliant, especially with the setting details placing the monolithic Hogan Industries at the center of everything from shady pursuits to violent sports. Even some of the mechanics are interesting, with various minigames used to represent the main characters’ abilities. But looking at those mechanics reveals the underpinnings of Sunday Gold, a game fighting itself and the player every step of the way. And unfortunately, that brings the whole package down, somewhat. So in the interest of honesty, I apologize, but I have to be true to my impressions.

Chances are, you already know whether or not you want to play Roadwarden just based on the screenshots alone. It belongs to a very unique family of games with its pixelated sepia visuals and deep text-based gameplay. With games like these, it’s important to meet them on their own terms— yes, they can be frustrating and complex, but the audience they’re aiming for appreciates that complexity, frustration, and density. It’s a game where the mechanics and the story are so intertwined that one requires learning the other, and rewards careful study of both. But that being said, does Roadwarden thrive on its own merits and work as the kind of game it strives to be?

Well, sort of.

If you like life sims, if you like games you can sink hours into satisfyingly, if you like visual novels or weird stories or branching plots, I Was A Teenage Exocolonist is the game for you. Jump on board the Stratos when it finally launches, a new life awaits you in the offworld colonies.

Sweet Transit, a new rail simulator/citybuilder currently in early access, is a deceptively frustrating game. From the start, it presents itself as something of a pleasant, relaxing, folksy builder game, with a bluesy americana soundtrack by Ely Robbins, a Western-style aesthetic with its laborers and “beginning of the rail era” atmosphere, and soon you’re set loose on a gorgeous map to build your first centers of industry, and, from there, slowly conquer the New World by connecting it up with trains. However, somewhere around building your first train you find yourself somewhat in error, and this was the point that I began to have flashbacks to when I used to try programming in Python.

From the start, Thy Creature has a lot going for it. A gothic atmosphere, lovely music, a plot full of mysteries, and a rather unique art style and control scheme. It feels like a scaled-up RPG Maker game - one of those ones with a lot of places to explore, people to meet, and a story to gradually uncover as you do. It has all the makings of an interesting game with a lot of heart behind it, but frustratingly so.

I wish this game was better.

There’s a power fantasy everyone’s had at some point in their lives of just destroying things. Stomping over buildings, squishing people you don’t like, roaring at the top of your lungs, and just straight-up destroying whole cities. It’s an excellent fantasy, a perfect way to release tension and get your feelings out on some tiny pixelated villagers. That’s what this game promises— a large, cathartic brawl through a medieval fantasy world as a huge, lumbering giant. You stomping your way through a cast of horrid villains and destroying siege machinery. While the promise of such a game is in there, Giants Uprising fails to deliver on a meaningful level. Not just with its laundry list of bugs, but with some fundamental issues that might not be solved. And that is possibly the most disappointing part.

In short? This could be a really good game, a solid entry in the genre pioneered by Disco Elysium that’s just starting to take off (see also Murder Mystery Machine and to a more failed extent, The Sunken City) but dear god is Gamedec in a rough state.

Hell Architect is a standout among survival games. With its relaxed pace, wicked humor, and unusual setting, the game draws you in, and then its forgiving attitude towards death and relatively easy to understand supply chains and production lines make it one of the few welcoming entries to the genre.

By all accounts, I should like Cloudpunk. The vast neon-swathed cityscape evokes the best moments of Blade Runner, complete with the murmur of dystopian advertisements in the background. The flight controls are simple and smooth, allowing you to change height and swing through the city with ease, trailing twin neon contrails as you swerve around Asian-inspired buildings and avoid cars. It’s actually kind of relaxing, even at its most tense, sending you through gorgeous neighborhoods and actually letting you get out to explore them, having conversations that serve to deepen the world and helping various people with their problems. And lastly, it’s the kind of everyday-job noir-flavored experience that I’ve always loved, tasking you with doing a relatively low-level job as the plots around you darken further and further, as seen in such games as VA-11 hall-A and Night Call, among others.

World of Horror, recently released on Steam Early Access, is incredibly addictive.

You wouldn’t expect this at first glance. It’s a brutally difficult roguelike, rendered in one or two-bit graphics that make it look and play like someone emulated their favorite Japanese horror RPG from the ‘80s, with all the retro interface and design that entails. It looks, upon opening it up, like a game made for a very specific audience who will “get” it and fiercely defend it. But once you actually start to play the game and make it through the difficulty barrier of those early deaths (and there will be early deaths), it opens up immensely, turning it into a gruesome and tough but incredibly rewarding experience that only deepens the more you play.

Sometimes you just need something quick to play. Something addictive and engrossing enough that you can get deep into it, but just light enough that you can disengage if need be. Something that can be played a little casually, but has a lot of depth and action. And directly in that sweet spot is Dead End Job. It’s a roguelike shooter with a ton of style, a good sense of humor, and easy enough controls to learn. But between the variety of enemies, the arcade-style combat, and the large number of perks and items strewn across its levels, it’s far from a basic experience. It’s something fantastic for if you want to get lost for a little while busting ghosts, or if you just need something for a quick burst of gaming.

At first glance, Infliction looks like any other game in the stealth/horror-adventure genre. You wander around dark corridors, dodge attacks from a malicious ghost and other monsters, attempt to complete tasks and progress the story all while trying not to get killed, and occasionally solve environmental puzzles with the help of your in-game Polaroid camera. It has all the hallmarks of a good stealth/horror game: It’s tense, the plot is interesting, the story breadcrumbs are easy enough to find but not all laid out in front of the player. It even has an element of exploration, with setting elements changing between areas and levels of the plot and rewarding careful looking through things. It’s all incredibly impressive, especially having been created by a very small team funded through Kickstarter. But at the same time, it marks a possible new route for the spooky corridors genre, one that future game designers would be wise to explore, one where perhaps the main draw is the setting and not the monsters wandering its halls.

Disgaea is a series that’s been around for a while, an absolute tactical-strategy juggernaut that’s made its bones on unique gameplay, a vast array of characters, and an absolutely wicked sense of humor. The fifth numbered sequel (Sixth game if you count D2) in the series delivers on all of that, with two snarky morally ambiguous heroes taking on the threat of a massive army poised to take over the Netherworlds and rule the afterlife entire. But while you can certainly expect all the usual hallmarks of Disgaea— Fourth wall breaks, snarky heroes, wacky humor, talking penguins— the game introduces some interesting new systems and classes while still giving you all the power to take the fight to the Netherworlds and conquer the lands of the dead in the name of revenge.

When I first saw First Strike: Final Hour in the Steam store, I was intrigued. I've been a fan of the nearest relatives to it, Introversion's Defcon and Team Jolly Roger's Interplanetary, for a while now, and the idea of cleansing the Earth in pixelated fire has never not sounded like a fun time. It's the ultimate expression of kicking over a block castle when you're done with it, only the block castle is the entire planet. There's a cathartic thrill to just knocking something over, and especially when that thing is the entirety of the planet Earth. In theory, anyway. In reality, the game is a little more...complex. 

Bounty Train is a curious game. It's a sandbox trading sim/adventure game/railway enthusiast entertainment piece that, while the positions are static and the routes are fixed, still manages to give the player a great deal of movement. It's a genre bending game with multiple story routes and an excellent way to generate micronarratives as you go. And it's also one of the few games where you can lose during the tutorial levels, thus causing the game to shrug and go "Well, the game's over, but here, keep playing after the game over screen." But unlike other genre-bending sandbox sims, Bounty Train keeps a focus on fixed points instead of free exploration of the map, allowing the player to focus on things like the complex economy, resource management, and the interplay between various factions and characters, opening up in a way few games of its type do, and creating an entirely unique experience.

With the resurgence of many of those franchises (as well as Tim Schaefer trying to relive the days when he did something other than design failed business plans and games that sound better on paper,) Ron Gilbert and Gary Winnick reunited again to bring us a perfectly encapsulated blast of old-school gaming, a pixelated wedge of surreality that brings back the days when puzzles were kind of obtuse and games were dialogue-heavy, and none of that was in any way a bad thing. 

Saviorless is a game from a Cuban development company seven years in the making, utilizing beautiful hand-drawn art to create a puzzling yet action-packed game that tells a beautiful story in a unique way. The grim tale unfolds as you take control of three uniquely different characters.

Super Crazy Rhythm Castle is a neat little game so long as you see it as a party game akin to Overcooked or Moving Out instead of a true rhythm game. Reviewed on what it is intended to be, it’s a quality, fun little title for plenty of laughs for up to four friends.

Disgaea 7 offers more of what fans of the series already love, and then some! The “Jumbofication” system turns an average peon character into a massive area-of-effect beast that can decimate an entire play field. If you love the huge numbers and leveling strategy inherent in Disgaea, this seventh entry won’t disappoint.

Rhapsody: The Marl Kingdom Chronicles brings two sequels to a musical RPG that graced the PlayStation 1 to the USA for the first time with an official translation. The series as a whole is a nice, easy going RPG for someone wanting an easy game or a beginner who is just starting in the RPG genre.

Super Dungeon Maker is exactly what it says on the box: a dungeon maker. Many have clamored for a “Zelda Maker” in the past. While this isn’t exactly it, this budget title does it’s section well: create amazing customized dungeons and have a lot of fun! But the limitations involved in it (even outside of the copyright avoidance) might help you see why Nintendo hasn’t done it just yet.

Ys IX: Monsltrum Nox gets a native PS5 release, with updated graphics and a full DLC baked in. It’s a great option for fans of the series, but if you’ve already played the PS4 version it may not be worth your time unless you really want to delve through the same story again.

R-Type Final 3 Evolved is an exciting sidescrolling SHMUP title, but it is quesitonable as to whether this PS5 exclusive is worthy of a full sequel name or should have stayed an expansion. Fans of the genre need look no further for quality gameplay, but just make sure you know what you are buying into.

Disgaea 6 was a bit controversial when it came out due to the leap to 3D graphics and the limitations that came with it. This complete edition offers all the downloadable content from the original release, and the improvements of putting it on a more powerful system.

GrimGrimoire OnceMore is an upgraded edition of a Vanillaware Real-Time Strategy game from 2006 where a school for witches is set for destruction, however a new recruit continually goes through a five day time loop in an attempt to undo the evil within the school. The beautiful art and updated control scheme make this game a gem to play.

Sonority is a unique music puzzle game where learning pitches will help you solve puzzles and unravel the mystery to find the music that can heal your friend.

Hello Neighbor 2 provides more for fans of the series, but can feel obtuse for gamers who are visiting this little neighborhood for the first time.

Dragon Prana is as 16-bit retro as you can get, and a wonderful trip back to Nostalgiaville for anyone pining for the 16-bit era. Sadly, it brought some Mobile Game Traditions along with it. If you can ignore these temptations, Dragon Prana gives you plenty of classic, retro-style gameplay.

Sometimes, someone brings up an old joke that you’ve heard a million times. It may be good, but it may no longer be relevant. Whilst Game Type DX is a fun little indie shooter, the meaning and history behind it makes me wonder why we are revisiting it without any major refreshes.

Sam and Max Save the World Remastered has been around for a while, but finally gets it’s release on PlayStation systems, where it has been the standard episodic version for a while. Boasting improved widescreen visuals and new music, this is the definitive way to play the game, although there’s not much in the way of replay value, as is normal for adventure-style games.

Sam and Max Beyond Time and Space Remastered has been around for a while, but finally gets it’s release on PlayStation systems, where it has been the standard episodic version for a while. Boasting improved widescreen visuals and new music, this is the definitive way to play the game, although there’s not much in the way of replay value, as is normal for adventure-style games.

Yar’s Recharged is another game in the “Recharged” line, bringing classic games to modern times with enhanced graphics and gameplay. Yars’ Revenge lends itself well to the arcadey, shoot-em-up feel.

Kofi Quest is a fun parody-style RPG that gets plenty of laughs, but some of the mechanics could use a little polish. The humor Kofi brings to the table is up there with the greats of parody and tribute comedy.

Freshly Frosted is what I think a utopian cell phone puzzle game would be. No freemium game will ever be able to respect your time, patience, and brain cells the same way.

Samurai Riot offers classic brawler gameplay with a unique choice mechanism. Major events happen, and you have the choice to branch the storyline in one of eight directions. It is a welcome return to classic “couch co-op” fun.

Lamplight City is a point and click style mystery where you play as a detective out to discover his partner’s killer. The big twist is that cases can be truly failed, with no “game over” instance, which can drastically change the outcome of the case.

Lumberhill is a fast, frantic party game reminiscent of titles like Overcooked. It brings it’s own flair with random outdoorsy tasks to complete, but feels a bit more independent. You may be working on the same tasks but it often feels like you are doing it solo.

Ragnarock has plans for an intense 2022 for fans, as free content will be released quarterly, as well as regular paid DLC “Raids” adding new levels and songs to the game. The first Raid is based on the British Power Metal band Gloryhammer.

Tempest 4000 comes to the Nintendo Switch after being out on other consoles for four years. The portability, reduced price, and shiny OLED graphics make for an excellent experience, and the best place to enjoy this retro title.

Rover Mechanic Simulator is one of the hardcore sim games, attempting to make it feel like you are truly in charge of repairing Mars rovers. It can get tedious at times, but that’s right up some gamer’s alleys.

Many retro game revivals have happened over the course of the last few years. The best ones are able to make you feel as if you are playing through those original rose-colored glasses. You didn’t go back to the beginning, you went back to how you REMEMBER the beginning to be. Companies like Dotemu have done a great job with recent releases like Streets of Rage 4, Windjammers, and the upcoming Ninja Turtles hack and slash, Shredder’s Revenge. By incorporating a slick polish and drawing style, the old pixel based games feel fresh and new. Ivanovich Games is doing the same with classic shooter games by injecting a heavy dose of VR and all it’s benefits through 1976: Back to Midway and now it’s sequel: 2076: Midway Multiverse.

While it is nice to see a roguelike expand the feel of progression a bit more, it’s frustrating to put time and effort into that character to see them die easily. Vagante tries to do it’s best to bridge the gap and make levelling and progression fun while also maintaining the heart of a roguelike.

Windjammers 2 is a sequel decades in the making, and Dotemu does an excellent job of creating a new entry and giving it a modern twist. Players will find a true-life arcade experience in this title, which unfortunately means that they’ll have to figure out some things on their own. Presentation is amazing and learning the title will make it worth your while. Fans of the original will only find more to love.

Unforeseen Incidents, a game from 2018, is being rereleased on the Nintendo Switch, and has many parallels to the conspiracy theories that have popped up in the interim. Whether the developer was prophetic or it’s an eerie coincidence, these “unforeseen incidents” provide a dark, humorous point and click adventure with some more natural logic than usual.

Timelie is a unique strategy/stealth game in which you control two characters across a myriad of potential futures. By using a unique mechanic similar to fast forwarding and rewinding a video, players alter the courses of two characters to find the best outcome and escape the mysterious marauding robot army.

Aluna: Sentinel of the Shards is an excellent Diabloesque game in a unique atmosphere that does most things well. The AI has it’s limitations that can be exploited, which leads to the temptation to cheese your way through, but if you persevere genuinely you can find a good challenge.

The experience of playing Stygian: Reign of the Old Ones is frustrating in the best way, just like any exploration of a Lovecraftian world should be. The turn-based RPG from Cultic Games is set the fallen city of Arkham and is heavily inspired by H.P. Lovecraft’s short stories about fish people and tentacled atrocities.

Wazen’s Assault Spy is a game where the player controls a man with a briefcase who is tormented by his junior co-worker, and spends his time being rated on a A to D system for his work. On paper it sounds like the monotonous every day of a office workers life, with a side helping of high school. In reality, it’s anything but.

Cultist Simulator has its main character creating a cult in the 1920s by placing cards in action spaces, often on some sort of timer. Players must negotiate the limited options given by these cards while deciding what to base their cult around, who to recruit and what rituals to perform. Not only that, the main character is constantly trying to fend off madness, starvation and the Ministry of Suppression. Running a cult definitely isn’t as easy as it seems.

Past Cure’s story revolves around Ian, a former secret agent who was kidnapped by an unknown organisation for three years. Not only does he have no memory of this time, but he now suffers from both PTSD and painful psychic abilities. His brother has helped him get back on his feet as much as possible, and now with his help, Ian is going after the only link to his missing time, a mysterious drug ring. On paper it sounds like the plot of one of the most interesting games this year, so where did Past Cure go so far wrong?

Created by Spanish indie developers, Digital Sun, Moonlighter is a roguelite with one very important twist: your character is a shopkeeper, not a hero. Will’s goal might be to adventure through the final, mysterious dungeon near the village, but in the meantime he has to keep his family’s shop open. Potions, swords and armour cost money after all! That’s about all the story Moonlighter has but that’s really all it needs. The game is part roguelite dungeon crawl and part shop management simulator, and strangely enough those the combination of the two genres creates a near-perfect balance.

Omensight is a game that has the player talking to animals, offering amber to the Tree of Life and meditating. It would be pretty chill, except for the giant serpent slithering forth from the Void trying to end the world. In reality, Omensight’s world is filled to the brim with betrayal and political intrigue where your character, the Harbinger, fights her way through active battlefields and prison riots alike. Basically, it’s a game that contains pretty much everything I love about the medium.

Light Fall certainly has a lot going for it. It features quite beautiful graphics as its fantastical setting of Numbra is realised in black and blue silhouettes. The orchestral score by French Canadian composer Jean-Philippe Tessier is absolutely exquisite, definitely one of the best game soundtracks I’ve heard this year. The gameplay is fun too. One of the best parts is mucking around with the main character’s ability to summon a cube of darkness which can be used in a variety of different helpful ways. All these things add up to a good game, but not the great platformer I’d been hoping for.

Cyberdimension Neptunia: Four Goddesses Online is a spin-off of the Cyberdimension Neptunia series which focuses on the four main goddesses (or CPUs) of the world of Gaminindustri playing the beta of a new MMO. If you haven’t met these characters before, never fear, throughout the game main character Neptune will fourth wall break to introduce you to each character.  In addition to Neptune, there’s Vert, the competitive MMO player, Blanc, the caring-but-occasionally-angry healer and Noire, the slightly insecure cosplayer. Neptune also introduces the players to the supporting cast, but unfortunately, a large portion of what she tells you is often about the character's looks, not particularly helpful, given the player can already see them.

There’s something a little bit magical about Where The Water Tastes Like Wine, and I’m not entirely sure what it is. The game focuses on developing stories based on the main character’s experiences as they drift across a fantastical version of America. Throughout the game your character encounters a range of different people from different places. This gives the game an almost unmatched depth. There are very few times I’ve fallen in love with the world of a game quite so much, it felt almost painful to leave behind such a fascinating place when the game ended.

A Case of  Distrust is an atmospheric game set in the world of 1920’s San Francisco where you play as a disillusioned private investigator. So far, so much like every film noir movie or game you’ve ever heard of, but there’s one exception. Your character is female. A former policewoman turned PI after the apparent suicide of her uncle, Phyllis Cadence Mallone is one of the more interesting detectives of her genre. The game follows her as she attempts to solve a case brought to her by a former informant of her uncle while navigating the shady world of gangsters and prohibition.

Is Gotham Knights finally worth your time? Find out in our new review segment, Smash or Trash, where we look at games that launched to critical disregard and see if they’ve been able to fix the issues they had at launch. To celebrate this new segment, read on for how to participate in our FREE GAME giveaway!

If you’re looking for a way to escape reality find some serenity this journey through the Icelandic mountainside might just be what you need. Unlock the secrets of the Spirit of the North while solving various puzzles and speculating the meaning of the carvings left by an ancient civilization.

Return to Mars and join the resistance! Using GeoMod technology you choose how to tackle each obstacle in front of you whether it is driving through the front door or bringing the whole building down. Is the game as good as it was 10 years ago?

In this 2D puzzle platformer Ember and Rime can make water freeze and melt, cause snowballs to grow and shrink, force vents to expel air, and more. The two will learn to lean on each other, their unique talents carrying them through the many different stages of their adventure and relationship.

Explore the beautiful and rugged world of Rime while solving puzzles at home or on the go. After awakening on a mysterious island after a torrential storm you will explore long forgotten ruins, massive towers, and expansive vistas. Armed only with your wits you must explore the enigmatic island and discover its guarded secrets.

After crash landing on a desolate planet it is up to you to explore alien tombs, caves, and ruins to uncover the mystery surrounding the planets origins and to help save the human race. Set on a mysterious and seemingly uninhabited alien planet, The Solus Project challenges the
players to survive the harsh, volatile environments of space. With natural and unnatural dangers
lurking around every corner, players must explore the depths of Gliese-6143- C in order to find a
way to send a signal back home.

The Arcade sequel to Hatsune Miku: Project Diva finally hits PlayStation 4 with over 200 songs! Thats a lot of Miku, but is that really a bad thing? Find out what we think of her latest offering. 

Kings Quest finally returns with Chapter 3. How does it hold up against Chapters 1 and 2? Find out in our review! 

Score Rush Extended comes to us in the vein of classic top down "bullet hell" type games, such as Jamestown, Geometry Wars, and Space Invaders. Does this game hold up to those classic shooters? Read our review to find out!

Shadow Complex originally released on the Xbox 360 on August 19th, 2009 to much critical and consumer acclaim. The game was praised for its "metroid-vania" gameplay, clean graphics, and fast pace that keeps you wanting to play for just another 5 minutes. So how does it hold up nearly 7 years later?

Guitar Hero is back after a much needed hiatus. This time experience what it's like to rock out in front of huge crowds and get put down by your fellow band members when you mess up. This is not your fathers Guitar Hero kids.

Apple's new flagship phone is here, but this marks the first time they have entered the "Phablet" market. Everyone is wondering just how well Apple will fare against the tough competition of Samsung, Motorola, LG, and the like. Can Tim Cook's new iPhone live up to it's pedigree?

PixelJunk Shooter Ultimate is an arcade style, twin stick shooter, puzzle game where you control a mining ship that heads deep into the planet to rescue survivors and collect gems whilst killing various enemies and avoiding deadly traps. Check out The Digital Gamer's review on PC

Bounty Train is a unique game from Daedalic Entertainment. With its own unique take of the train simulation genre, you must strategically plan and maneuver between trade routes in order to complete missions and build a new rail route. Check out The Digital Gamer's PC review here.

Hyperdimension Neptunia Rebirth 3 V Generation (HNR3) is a Japanese style turn based Role Playing Game in which you take control of Neptune, a CPU that is one of the main superpowers in the world. From her home base of Planeptune you must take on quests and missions as you level yourself up and become once again the guardian that you were destined to be.

It’s not often that I get to sit down and write a review of a game that truly impresses me from the get go, however, with Assault Android Cactus I get to do just that. Assault Android Cactus is an arcade-style twin stick shooter, due to be released on PC September 23, 2015 with a console release expected early 2016. Created by Witch Beam, an Australian based Indie Development team, they set out to create something memorable and boy did they deliver.

Amnesia Memories is a Visual Novel that has just launched on Steam & PlayStation Vita.  Available as a digital download only, Amnesia Memories takes you on a variety of journeys where you must formulate relationships, assess friendships and avoid suspicion as you look to piece together your fragmented memory.

Turn based Role Playing Games (RPGs) are potentially one of the toughest nuts to crack within the world of gaming. Aterdux Entertainment have decided to take up the mantle and boy have they done an outstanding job!

The Digital Gamer stepped on-board of the Xanadu, discover what horrors awaited him inside!

Its been nearly a month since Dynasty Warriors 8 Empires launched and only now does The Digital Gamer feel that he has given the game enough time to consider writing a review of it on the Playstation 4 and that is sheer testament to the quality and scope of this game.

Read our independent review of the highly anticipated Destiny here. Will it live up to the hype? Read on to find out!

Titan Quest is a loot-gathering dungeon crawler that was first released on PC in 2006 and was one of the main contenders up against Diablo 2. Titan Quest, and it’s expansion ‘Immortal Throne’, were both critically amazing games and ranked up there with the best of the games within the genre.  Fast forward to today, Titan Quest has been released on current gen consoles, but can it hold up to its success from 2006?

Disc Jam by High Horse Entertainment is best described as a pong/tennis game using a frisbee.  Just like in tennis, there are 1v1 Singles and 2v2 Doubles matches. Instead of using a ball and racket, players launch a giant frisbee at each other until one player misses and concedes the goal.

Strikers Edge, developed by Fun Punch Games, is basically a game of Dodgeball with weapons combined with classic arcade visuals and sound. Two or four players are put in an arena that is divided down the middle and contains barricades, which can be broken. Depending on the characters chosen, players throw swords, axes, arrows and more at their opponents to try to eliminate them. 

Light Tracer combines platform-style movement and unique puzzles with exceptional controls and graphic style.  Using two Move controllers, players lead a princess to the top of a tower to help her save her people. One controller is used to wield a Light Staff to guide the princess and the other interacts with objects and moves the camera around the world. Players will use a combination of jumping skills, precise timing and strategic attacks to complete eight chapters with five levels each.  

In A Hat In Time players play as Hat Girl, a top hat wearing child captaining her own ship from world to world on her own. As the game starts, you encounter a bald mafia man knocking on the outside of your windshield and demanding you pay a toll for occupying his planet’s airspace. When you refuse, he smashes the window, sending you, along with 40 hourglasses that power your ship, falling towards the planet.  To make it back home, she must venture down to the surface and collect all the time she lost.

Rive: Ultimate Edition is a 2D twin-stick shooter in which you play as Roughshot, a scavenger trapped in a vast, dilapidated ship from which you must escape. You’ll embark on your adventure in a Spidertank, a walking/flying hybrid ship that fittingly looks like a spider.

In This is the Police, you play as long-time Police Chief Jack Boyd.  At the beginning of the game, Jack is given the news that the Mayor is forcing him into an early retirement. He is given 180 days until his job is finished, and he will be forced to hand it down to his successor. You begin playing at the beginning of those 180 days as you attempt to and keep your police force together for those 180 days.  
 

Slime-san is a simple, yet very difficult platformer where each single-screen level consists of four very unique stages, which constantly change in mechanics and available tools to use.  Players control a green glob of slime and have less than a handful of moves to help guide him/her/it through the levels, a standard jump, a dash move and a phase move.

Death Squared has a pretty straight-forward concept. You control between two and four colored cubes and have to guide each of them to their goal marker without letting any of them die. Cubes can trigger buttons that match their color, which can open paths and make changes to the level layout, and/or trigger additional hazards that may affect the path of to the other cube’s goals.

Ancient Amuletor combines a first-person shooter with tower defense to bring a very under-explored genre to PlayStation VR. However, in most tower defense games, players build and upgrade their towers and defenses to protect their towers from waves of intruding enemies.  In Ancient Amuletor, the only goal for the player is to protect their tower, which in this game are big blue crystals spread out through the map.

Aliens: Dark Descent is without a doubt the best Aliens experience since Alien Isolation. However, just because it's the best experience *since* then, doesn't make it on par with what is undoubtedly one of the greatest horror experiences in all of gaming regardless of your attachment to the Alien IP. Its flaws unfortunately tend to bring the overall quality of the game down, though it’s arguably got some of the best cinematics gaming has seen to date.

For avid fans of the fighting genre - especially those that grew up with the arcades - there's a lot about The Rumble Fish 2 that will more or less leave that crowd content with it, especially when being looked at as a piece of history. However, when compared to Switch's other offerings - and the industry as a whole - fighting games are at an all-time high with new, remastered, remade, and enhanced ports of intellectual properties currently, so there's a bit of an oversaturation that has vastly better offerings than what The Rumble Fish 2 can offer for its price of entry.

There are a lot of Indie games that do their best to make a grand event out of a small budget. In some cases, it can be an impressive feat, but in other cases, it can be a massive letdown when a bigger budget could have helped the game reach its full potential. EDENGATE: The Edge of Life sits somewhere in the middle, but it has its heart in the right place and makes use of its resources the best it can to present a game that's entertaining and interesting enough to be worth completing all the way through, even if its story lacks a clear-cut vision.

Though we've seen games in all sorts of genres in puzzles, adventures, platformers, etc. utilize time reversal, forwarding, slowing, bending, and more as a gameplay loop, The Entropy Centre stands out as one that is not only consistent with the mechanic but witty and humorous throughout, making for an entertaining trek through puzzles in a Portal-like manner that wears its inspirations proudly on its sleeve.

Even though it's wearing its inspirations on its sleeve, there's still enough about Asterigos: Curse of the Stars that makes it a great game in its own right and provides its own identity, and a big part of that has to do with its flexibility, accessibility, and simple intuitiveness of its gameplay that makes it a comfortable and enjoyable experience compared to most within the genre.

Voyage right away leads players into a vibrant adventure with an emotional story driving the immersion and pacing, and does so in a mostly efficient way depending on how the player can reasonably handle two characters at once.

Dead by Daylight: Resident Evil - PROJECT W is a solid chapter that brings in some more fan favorites of one of horror's most prestigious and celebrated titles, and all the content in PROJECT W feels genuine and respectful of the source material while adapting them into the Dead by Daylight universe. Albert Wesker, Ada Wong, and Rebecca Chambers all wonderfully work themselves into the formula while retaining the fun of its core gameplay.

Disney Dreamlight Valley is fantastic in every sense of the word when it works—but only when it works. While we can't speak for other platforms at the moment, the Nintendo Switch version is an unfortunate mess riddled with bugs and technical issues that brings with it some of the most frequent and egregious crashes seen since the launch of Nintendo Switch. The lingering feeling of progress being lost once again and a crash being triggered by basically *existing* throws any sense of comfort out of the window while playing Disney Dreamlight Valley, and what should have been the most magical farming experience ended up diminishing in quality with each passing hour.

There has never been a shortage of Zelda-like titles, and for good reason - they're usually fun, charming, and riveting. However, some almost become too reliant on the nostalgia and aesthetic, providing a false promise and a disappointing venture into what otherwise could have been a promising experience in the right hands. Unfortunately, XEL finds itself in that camp, providing a game that more often than not loses its soul, feeling careless in the process.

There's a lot to like about Infinite Links that will please more casual players than hardcore, but even the hardcore crowd like myself should have something to appreciate here as the simplicity of it all makes the experience oddly relaxing as you're essentially on auto-pilot while playing. From a compelling enough group of characters, diverse kingdoms, and biomes, as well as a battle system that's palatable and intuitive, Infinite Links is a great pick-me-up for those wanting a budget-friendly JRPG that won't ask too much of you while still providing an epic that's engaging enough to sink your teeth into no differently than the juggernauts of the genre.

V Rising adds itself to the list of ever-expanding lore and content within the vampire genre, and does so with an influenced yet identifiable panache that helps it give it a life of its own, all while remaining incredibly engaging, visually appealing, and most importantly fun to play, and even in its Early Access state V Rising has already begun to feel like the true definitive vampire experience.

Wonder Boy Collection houses four classics of the localized Monster World series that bring us through a nostalgic trip through some of the most seminal platformers of their time. For some, it may feel empty on the surface, but ultimately when you jump back into these games you'll find yourself having a ton of fun with every entry even if the frustrations tend to build due to the era they come from, but it’s a solid collection for both fans of the series and those wanting to educate themselves with a piece of history.

Time Loader won't blow puzzle fans away by any means, but it's a nice and relaxing enough trek through a time period that's so vastly overlooked in favor of the decades between the 40s and 80s we see so much of, though its caveats and slow-paced nature will likely bore more than entertain, and it's a shame when a lot of detail has clearly been put into its level design despite the lack of graphical fidelity on Nintendo Switch.

Ocean's Heart from top to bottom is a beautiful game that no doubt wears its inspirations on its sleeve and showcases them in a way that feels both nostalgic and modern, with a familiar UI reminiscent of the greats, and takes you on a genuine journey throughout a multitude of towns, dungeons, and areas across the seas that feel fleshed out and polished, all while remaining immersive and fun.

Welcome to Elk hits all the right notes when it comes to an adventure that builds upon its mysteries and weirdness, and does so in an odd slice-of-life approach that works extremely well to the structure of how the game paces itself and plays. Welcome to Elk is excellent in this regard if you can get over the art direction that typically comes tacked onto more raunchy adult cartoons, and it's also one worth checking out whether on the Switch or elsewhere to experience and share these stories that feel like they only come once in a lifetime.

With such a creative and visually appealing direction, there's no denying that White Shadows could be up there with the greats of the genre such as Little Nightmares and Inside, however a sloppy checkpoint system that feels simultaneously fair and unfair can lead to frequent frustrations. In the end, however, White Shadows is yet another wonderful addition to the narrative genre of dark, side-scrolling puzzle games that tell a story through its environment, and wonderfully weaves in a unique creative direction to tackle sensitive subjects.

Arcadia Fallen's blend of alchemic and magical fantasy weaved in with the politics of war make it a thrilling adventure and remains captivating throughout thanks to the strength of its dialogue and characters, and it further goes to show that a good story or game can be presented in any fashion so long as one enjoying the art has a bit of imagination.

Beyond Blue is an exceptional game that really highlights the beauty of the deep blue sea and its marine life without forcing the player into random acts of survival, and instead opting to have them experience the tranquility and freedom of the vast world underwater that houses all sorts of fascinating sea life, and even with its technical shortcomings it's still worth a dive whether Switch is your main platform or not.

With a solid, premium feel and build to it, the Dia+ Auto Catcher is a device that's suitable to just about any lifestyle and tasks with no risk of visible wear and tear that can ruin or alter the experience. Regardless of the model being chosen, Brook has built a multi-use, multi-purpose peripheral that, to me, exceeds even first-party devices and helps streamline the quality of life and comfort of Pokémon GO as a whole, becoming a device that I now can't see myself without.

Cupid Parasite is a unique take on the Otome genre that, while not exactly aimed towards men, is entertaining and flexible enough that even those outside of the target demographic can enjoy with its touch on mythologies and how we handle and interpret love in modern day society.

Shadow Corridor has elements in it that can easily make it a great game if it left its brutal design to higher difficulty levels rather than making it the default design of the game, and while the game does have an easy mode that allows for a mini-map to be displayed, it doesn't change the fact that checkpoints are few and far between with all progress essentially being lost with a few exceptions like collectibles that all leave your inventory upon death. The designs of the locations with Shadow Corridor are fine, but its massive maps feel almost endless when realistically an estate would have at least some sort of limited floorplan put into place. Instead, every map in Shadow Corridor feels like an amusement park, but one where the amusement is the last thing on anyone's mind.

Darksiders III on Nintendo Switch is a mostly well-done port that is likely to take a lot of people by surprise given its huge graphical upgrade over its previous generation predecessors. While the game itself is far from perfect, it should be commended that even with a few downgrades here and there, the overall integrity of the game remains intact and officially completes the entire Darksiders series being available on Nintendo Switch, which lends itself nicely to handheld play despite a AAA production that's as epic and grandiose as the series has ever been.

YouTubers Life 2 is a rather enjoyable management sim that takes the formula of what would normally be in a cheap mobile game and gives it a nice big-budget polish that makes it a formidable game amongst others in the genre. While most will judge from the title of the game alone and assume it's a nonsensical grab at popularizing YouTubers and getting fans close with some of the site's biggest names and influencers, it's actually more so about building your own empire in a fictional world and city while you run around in various locations in a simple yet well-built town and get yourself accustomed as you follow your dreams towards a successful channel and career.

Even with its combat not being up to par because of a few things, Kena: Bridge of Spirits is without a doubt one of the most beautiful, polished, and engaging adventure games in years that in ways feels like a love letter to the platformers and adventures of yesteryear that helped define the genre to this day. The 10 to 15 hours you'll spend in Kena's shoes will shower you with one of the most captivating experiences that's difficult to put down, and for Ember Labs' debut title, this has easily and quickly put them on the map for one of the most talented studios currently in the business.

Mary Skelter Finale may feel unnecessary to some, but I think what remains as the biggest disappointment is unfortunately the lack of anything really exciting or different to give off that feeling of a proper finale. However, Mary Skelter Finale is a competent send off for the series and one that I'm sure fans that have invested time into its Blood Maidens and world since its debut on Vita in 2017 will miss deeply.

Even for its lack of polish in a lot of areas, Seed of Life does feel like a decent enough effort that it's worth sinking some time into if you're looking for a unique platformer to play regardless of the size and scale. Unfortunately, Seed of Life also feels too much like a proof of concept for a bigger AAA game and a little disjointed and misguided because of the ambitions that were set in place from the studio that simply couldn’t hit the mark quite right.

As a whole, The Forgotten City blends together the multiple facets of an RPG in a great way but doesn't rely on levels, resource management, or the usual tropes that come with the more grind-heavy experiences, and all The Forgotten City asks of you at the end of the day is to have that wit and will of exploration to truly squeeze out everything it has to offer, which is undoubtedly one of the most well put-together adventure games in years, and the first mod of its kind to win awards in writing - and rightfully so.

Chernobylite is without a doubt a strong and solid package, and despite its pacing issues it's a great look into Chernobyl with a sci-fi narrative that's interesting and engaging, even if it does make you think quite a bit. However there’s a big lack of that big survival horror experience, and instead feels like yet another military-focused game, and though the horror portions that are within the game are incredibly well done, they’re just so few and far between.

Button City is not only an immensely relaxing experience but one of the most wholesome and memorable games in a long time, leaving a stamp on its mark in Indie games thanks to its unique gameplay and feeling of nostalgia for a time and place you were never originally a part of.

A Way to be Dead consists of a design that we’ve seen grow in popularity over the years with a group of players going against one other that typically sees the group at a disadvantage to make up for the difference in numbers, and A Way to be Dead rests more in line with the likes of Dead by Daylight and Friday the 13th in this regard, but its Early Access state and multiplayer-only gameplay leave it dead on arrival with a virtually non-existent ecosystem of players that serves to make the game literally unplayable and dead weight.

Suda 51's very first game is back with HD graphics! Find out if The Silver Case remastered is worth your time in this review!

A Rose in the Twilight follows a young girl and her monster friend through a mysterious castle. Find out if this game should be on your radar or if it's a thorn in your side in this review of A Rose in the Twilight!

FATED: The Silent Oath takes a cinematic approach to virtual reality. Find out if you want to embark on this journey in this review of FATED: The Silent Oath!

Arcade style hockey is back! Find out if Old Time Hockey delivers a massive hip check or if it should be put in the penalty box in this review!

Everything promises that players can anything in the world, but does it deliver? Find out in this review!

Loot Rascals features an amazing classic cartoon art style, but is that all it features? Find out if Loot Rascals is worth your time in this review!

Unearthing Mars sends you on journey of discovery to the red planet. Find out if this is a trip you want to take or if you better off staying back at home in this review!

DYING: Reborn's abridged version comes to the PSVR. Find out if this "escape the room" style game is worth your time in this review!

Have you been itching to play a new VR game? Find out if Mervils: A VR Adventure is the game you've been looking for in this review! 

Double Fine latest game brings psychic abilities to the PlayStation VR. Find out if Psychonauts in the Rhombus of Ruin is worth your time in this review!

Are you ready to hit the seas with a daemon seeking revenge? Find out if you should set sail with Velvet and her companions or if this game should stay docked in this review of Tales of Berseria! 

QubicGames' brings their gnome runner to the PlayStation Vita. Find out Geki Yaba Runner is worth your time or will have you running for the hills in this review! 

Ninja Theory's latest release Dexed puts the power of fire and ice in the palm of your hands! Find out if this PSVR game is hot or cold in this review. 

Love horror games? The award winning Sylvio makes its console debut. Find out if the scares are worth it in this review! 

The extremely popular VOCALOID, Hatsune Miku has made her virtual reality debut on PSVR. Find out if this is an experience is for you in this review of Hatsune Miku: VR Future Live!

Crytek has created a gorgeous world that is unlike anything you've seen in virtual reality. Find out if this is a place you want to explore or ignore in this review of Robinson: The Journey.

Sports Bar VR is one of the few virtual reality games that allows you to relax in a social environment. Find out if this a bar that you want to frequent in this review!

The Brookhaven Experiment provides a heart-pounding VR experience, but do you want to put your heart through that? Find out in this review!

Weeping Doll is a creepy game about family secrets. Find out if this family has a history you want to explore in this review!

Duty calls as you must climb a monstrous flying fortress to rescue your father, but is this a mission you even want to bother with? Find out in this review Wayward Sky!

Can a VR experience of a scientist who has gone rogue and a woman accused of killing her own mother keep you engaged enough to find out what's going to happen next? Find out in this review of The Assembly! 

Maximum Games' is placing a big bet on their brand new multi-part series Loading Human: Chapter 1. Find out if it's worth your time in this review!

The successfully Kickstarted game Slain makes its console debut on the PlayStation 4. Find out if this 80s / 90s inspired gothic hack and slash is worth your time in this review. 

Is Double Fine's first Metroidvania style game worth your time? Find out in this review of Headlander! 

What's it like to go to Hell with 7 beautiful women who are trying to get a second chance at life? Find out in this review of Criminal Girls 2: Party Favors! 

The planet’s rotation has stopped and it’s your job to get the world spinning again! Find out if you’ll want to take the time to save humanity in this review of MeiQ: Labyrinth of Death!

The underrated PlayStation Vita game, Kick and Fennick, makes it console debut! Find out if a game about a boy, a friendly robot, and a psychotic mech is worth your time in this review!

Trillion: God of Destruction is a strategy / tactical JRPG that introduces a whole new style of gameplay. Find out if it’s worth your time in this review!

Have you been looking for a great RPG to play on your PlayStation Vita? Strange of Sword City may be the game you've been looking for! Check out what I think in this review!

Any other fans of Mavis Beacon out there? It’s probably pretty hard to make any type of typing game without being compared to the program most of us probably used in middle school, but as I made my way through Epistory – The Typing Chronicles I realized that I was embarking on something much greater. Find out more about this adventure here in this review of Epistory – The Typing Chronicles!

Imagine you wake up in a room littered with artifacts that are meant to reveal an intricate story with the option to flesh out the details. Then imagine that room is covered from top to bottom with pamphlets, newspapers, advertisements, consumer electronics, and other items for you to scour in search of answers. The answers can be hard to find, but the beauty of this journey is the reward you feel as you uncover answers. 

A fast pace bloody 6-player co-op Zed-slaughtering survival game. Wanna kill fast and often, wanna die faster and oftener... then get your grimey gamer hands  on this game. 

Sometimes you come across a game, and the title alone piques your curiosity. Typically, these games were founded on a great idea that never fully materialized, so you can understand my reservation when I get handed a game called “I am Bread.” Apparently the developer, Bossa, put together an epic story of bread’s journey to become toast.

Etherium is the new, futuristic real-time strategy game developed by Tindalos Interactive. They took some risk to bring  you some significant innovations, but are the growing pains worth it? Click to see my review on Etherium. 

Growing up, if I was called a nerd, it was an insult that had to be refuted.  I always needed a quick retort to save face, which still helped me to appear cool with the ladies. The truth was different. I spent my evenings at a friend’s house drawing maps of Zelda dungeons, searching the couch for quarters that I could spend at the arcade, and trying to beat Mike Tyson into submission. I never knew at the time that as a nerd I would get the last laugh, and that I would get revenge in a way I could never imagine.

You remember that one time when you asked the video game gods to put all of your favorite anime and video game characters into one awesome fighting game? You didn’t? Oh well, Fighting Climax is here and it is everything you didn’t even know you asked for.

In today's world of fast paced action adventure and FPS games strategy RPGs are often overlooked, or sometimes completely disregarded as a whole. While most games offer a feeling of instant gratification there are those that make you work for it. Enter Disgaea 5: Alliance of Vengeance.

In the universe of Daganronpa a few things are expected, homicidal teddie bear robots, you can’t trust anyone, and don’t expect anything; NIS America’s latest installment Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls is a shining example of all those points. 

Abyss Odyssey: Extended Dream Edition is the latest HD remaster developed by ACE team and published by ATLUS. The game was originally available via respective online marketplaces for the Xbox 360, Playstation 3, and PC in 2014 and this re-release is every bit as enthralling as the original. From a simply stunning art style, unique and challenging battle mechanics, and an original story this game has a lot to bring to the table.