DeVuego

007 First Light is a top-tier game both Bond fans and stealth action gamers will love. It has all the hallmarks of a great Bond film with some of the best stealth action gameplay in the industry. I’m excited to see one of my favorite franchises in the hands of a studio that loves it as much as I do. 007 First Light is worthy of the Bond legacy and easily one of the best games of the year.

Neva: Prologue is an excellent scenario for a short story-focused DLC. It introduces some engaging new content and continues to build on the lore and characters we grew to love in the base game. It's short, but it tells the entire story, and at $3, it's more than reasonably priced. If you enjoyed Neva, you should absolutely play the prologue.

Crisol: Theater of Idols is a slower-paced shooter that is elevated by a stellar setting and unique sanguine gameplay. Siphoning your own blood to slay the enemies of the Sun God is a novel and engaging gameplay mechanic that fits right in to the macabre and creepy setting of Tormentosa, even if the action takes some time to really get going.

Ragebound shows a great deal of respect to Ninja Gaiden’s legacy while being unafraid to try out some new ideas. It looks great, sounds great, and plays great. I just wish it respected the player on the same level as its predecessors, as its low difficulty and high player dictation is somewhat offputting for a longtime fan like myself.

Luto is a bone-chilling and deeply layered game that, when playing to its strengths, provides an enthralling, emotional and creepy experience that goes above and beyond its initial exploration of death. Despite some stumbles in the form of some frustrating puzzles and a strangely dissonant meta nature, it is undeniable that Broken Bird Games have made a stunning debut here, and are absolutely a studio worth watching.

If you're looking for a stealth game to try out, then Ereban: Shadow Legacy is a strong option. While the story is far from a masterpiece, it does its part and serves as a solid catalyst for the player's shadow powers and allows the player's perspective to be challenged.

TMNT: Mutants Unleashed has the makings of a good game for those able to sift through the grime of the early hours, but ultimately attempts to do too much, while never mastering any of its ideas. It is not the beat 'em up we've come to expect from the turtles, but is a serviceable light RPG with an in-depth, though not complex, story, a robust ability tree to unlock, tons of collectibles, and a unique ally system which rewards players who are willing to invest in helping the Turtles' friends succeed. Despite my initial hesitation and the abysmal camera, I found myself giving in to the game's eternally optimistic story and characters, and that was enough to compel me to complete the nearly 15-hour adventure.

Nomada Studios has truly cemented their place in the indie landscape as a representative of how video games are a strong narrative medium. They do this through beautifully crafted animation, vibrant backgrounds, and a whimsical yet powerful soundtrack. Every element of Neva perfectly encapsulates the immersive experience of the player, from story to gameplay, resulting in Neva standing tall in the face of its predecessor, Gris, as its own masterpiece.

Creatures of Ava is what you get when you simply dump a bunch of ideas into a bucket. The mechanics feel disconnected, the story is rote and uninteresting, and the world, while very pretty, looks generic for sci-fi. It’s all been done before and better elsewhere, and sadly the game doesn’t take the chance to connect anything together or really explore anything in depth.

Grotto is certainly a unique narrative experience, but one that may not be appreciated by all audiences. Communicating through constellations creates a particularly refreshing experience of branching conversational paths, but one that is ultimately housed within a slow and repetitive gameplay loop.

Song of Nunu: A League of Legends Story is a magical adventure starring a sweet duo of characters. Nunu and Willump are a joy to get to know and love. With smooth platforming and great puzzles, this will be a game that any League of Legends fan will want to play. If you enjoyed old school platform/puzzle games, you’ll love this gem.

While not without its issues, Lords of the Fallen is an entertaining game with many great action RPG elements and challenging but satisfying gameplay.

Wild Card Football is not just a perfect break for the Madden player, but a fantastic throwback to playground football. With recognizable NFL athletes playing in wacky uniforms and stadiums, it’s hard not to have a blast. This is arcade football at its peak; Playground Sports has nailed the nostalgia for PS2 games past.

Blasphemous 2 continues the achievements set by its predecessor while adding three new ways to fight. Not straying outside the lines, Blasphemous 2 is simply more Blasphemous at the end of the day.

While Gylt has some tragic elements in its story, it’s even more tragic that it was tied to the sinking ship that was Google Staida. Luckily, with its re-release, adults and children alike will be able to get lost in the Lovecraftian lore, unnerving enemy design, and clean aesthetics. Overall, Gylt packs intrigue into every aspect of its gameplay and story without telling you the answers outright, leading to great moments of discovery.

After Us presents a strong message about planet conservation and wildlife preservation. However, weak gameplay and hollow-level design make the game a running simulator rather than an engaging platformer.

The Knight Witch is an endearing tale that perfectly blends fast paced shooting and satisfying spell casting. From the sensational artwork and score to clever game design, the entire experience was remarkable.

Charon’s Staircase is more a thriller than a horror with a very intriguing story that has some pretty cool twists. Some of the puzzles are a bit ambiguous and will leave you scratching your head, but in the end you’ll have experienced another treasure of storytelling from the minds of a talented and dedicated smaller studio.

The events in Endling create sad emotions but they do not connect with how mankind is destroying the Earth. Events happen and we’re supposed to feel something because they happened, but the emotions are diminished because there is no connection to the message or the characters. It held up in the short five hours of play thanks to intriguing survival mechanics, but even those were messed up by an unfortunate, frustrating tug of war between survival and story progression.

Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines - Heartless Lullaby feels less like a full game and more like a short proof of concept. It’ll be interesting to see what this free game evolves into, if anything, but if you’re into the World of Darkness it’s worth taking a look.

Ikai is a wonderful entry into the psychological horror genre. The story is intriguing and beautiful in its own way. The spooky music kept me feeling on edge, giving away no hint of any looming dangers, adding that much more to my sense of unease. I just wish there had been more of it.

Whether you’re playing solo or co-op, Killsquad’s skill-based, challenging, and fast paced combat is a triumph. While the lacklustre mission design and unexciting loot end up letting it down a little, this one can still be a blast to jump into if you and your friends are up for a grind.

While the new graphics are gorgeous and being able to switch between old and modern visuals is great, Alex Kidd in Miracle World DX feels like three different games haphazardly slapped together. The level design and controls are fundamentally at odds with one another, and with how frequently you’ll die combined with how long it takes to respawn makes this simply a frustrating experience.

Sword of the Necromancer manages to bring something new to the flooded rogue-like genre while providing a heartwarming story. It has a multitude of options to allow players to tailor the game to their liking. It’s breadth of mechanics allow for tons of experimentation that will keep you coming back until you finally get the true ending.

Mutropolis is a fun game held back by unforgiving speed bumps. I am enthralled by the beautiful art style, and the tone the game sets in the narrative leaves you having a good time. But it’s hard to enjoy what you’re doing if you can’t move forward, and I too often found myself at a stop sign.

Call of the Sea might be short, but it’s a highly rewarding puzzle game with a fascinating narrative that keeps getting better and better as the game slowly reveals the truth to you. It’s a fully engrossing experience that showcases the best parts of the Lovecraftian genre, but makes it fully accessible to players who want to experience the mystery but none of the horror.

With its wealth of content and comedy, Monster Camp establishes itself as the year’s premier dating sim. Fans of the original will feel right at home; the gameplay remains relatively untouched, save for a number of adjustments.

Summer in Mara is a relaxing adventure sim which focuses on quests and characters over farming or true exploration; if you’re looking for a challenging farming or adventure game, you may want to avoid these waters. At its worst, Mara’s quests can be poorly communicated, bottleneck and cause frustration, but at its best, it’s easy to get lost in this bright, breezy world filled with aliens, pirates, and wholesome adventures.

Indiecalypse is a look into the struggles of developing indie games, but in gaming form. The gameplay is simple for the most part, but the lack of clear instructions for minigames gets frustrating. The homage to various other games is neat, but that's about it gameplaywise. The art style is great and I'd love to see more games with characters and worlds like this.

Gigantosaurus The Game, while above average for a licensed game, is a thoroughly average platformer. While it is glitchy in some places, it will probably keep kids young enough to enjoy the show entertained for a good while and could serve as a gateway into the genre.

Likening this game to the movie Up, Arise: A Simple Story is much more than what its title lets on. It forces us to take a step back and analyze life. With its time control mechanics that manipulate the world in so many ways, platforming style of play, and its ability to tell a narrative story without dialogue, Arise is one of those games that makes you question whether small titles like this are becoming the status quo.

Etherborn is a gravity-defying puzzle platformer with breath-taking visuals and MC Escher-like levels. The difficulty is enough to test your observation and critical thinking, but nothing gets stressful. You'll be done with a playthrough in around five hours, but it's time well spent.

Zeroptian Invasion wants to ape the style of Space Invaders and the vertical shoot-em-ups of the 80s but fails miserably. While it does have a nice presentation style, the fact that its main gameplay loop struggles with you at every possible moment means that this game unfortunately can’t hold a candle to the genre greats.

Yuppie Psycho turns a workplace satire into a survival horror adventure, and does right by both parts of that strange formula. Despite some frustration from its punishing difficulty, Yuppie Psycho is a surreal but cogent parody that’s well worth clocking in for.

Gris is an incredible achievement, using its art, music, and gameplay to tell a thematically consistent story about a woman overcoming her grief. Despite the weighty subject matter, the way its protagonist’s triumph over sorrow is reflected in increasingly fluid and diverse platforming makes it a joy to play. While Gris is low on challenge and impossible to fail, it still feels exciting. Even if it doesn’t sound like your kind of game, Gris absolutely deserves a try.

As stated earlier, the difficulty feels similar to the Super Meat Boy kind of challenge. For those familiar with the game, you know this means that you’re in for a good challenge that requires strategy, precise timing, quick reflexes, and plenty of patience. Unless you nail every move on the first try, you will die a lot. In a game like this, it’s part of the experience, although it can be frustrating. Some sections can be irritatingly difficult and make you want to take a short break; I can vouch for that first-hand. Once you get past a part that you’re having trouble with, that sense of accomplishment rushes over you and pushes you forward. Having checkpoints scattered throughout the levels helps an incredible amount as well. In the end, Super Hyperactive Ninja is a fun, challenging, and patience testing game that I recommend for anyone looking for a tough platforming experience.

Crossing Souls is a delightfully nostalgic romp, balancing original content and nods to the past. Featuring diverse gameplay levels which touch on most every aspect of 80's retro gaming, enough challenge to be rewarding, and a surprisingly touching story, this is a must have for anyone who grew up shouting "Goonies never say die!"

If this sounds like a bit of a love letter, it is still underselling just how fantastic Samus Returns has turned out. Stunning animations, a fantastic soundtrack, and awesome cinematic moments come together to remind us of the amazing roots of this series, while updating it for a fresh audience. Metroid: Samus Returns is one of the best Nintendo 3DS games of all time, and I cannot recommend it highly enough. 

The Great Escape is proof that the AR-K series has the potential to get better as it progresses. The graphics and voice acting are a step up, but it’s the story that has improved by leaps and bounds. Not only does it make more sense now, but it is the most persuasive argument for getting you to try the game in the first place.

The first episode of Blues and Bullets has built up enough interest to keep players curious in a second installment. The game’s story, confident art style, and engaging crime scene investigation puzzles give the game enough intrigue to stay around. Unfortunately, in its current state, hiccups such as long load times, empty environments, and weak shooting sections hold it back from being something great.

The game is a ten dollar indie title, and it certainly isn’t at the level of awful seen during the flood of Xbox Arcade indies. The charm and aesthetic is enough to draw you in for at least a sitting or two, and the game is easy to beat in a single afternoon. It feels more like a proof of concept, and hopefully in the future, the studio might be willing to invest in a full-fledged platformer with another unique theme and style. It’s just difficult to make the recommendation with so many glaring flaws in the game’s design.

Fans of old adventure titles, crude humor and excessive pop culture references might find some value here, but most would be better served with better adventure games.

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 takes the familiar plot and characters that players first met nearly four years ago and rewards them by tying it all together into a respectful and conclusive payoff. While not a flawless game, with needlessly tedious segments and the occasional glitch, it remains an overall engaging and fun experience that will satisfy any fan of the original.

I personally enjoy the 2D Castlevania titles, so I was skeptical to play Mirror of Fate.  Of course, I was also skeptical of another developer taking over one of the most beloved franchises in gaming history, and that turned out pretty great.  Now we see MercurySteam taking the same approach to the franchise in the handheld space, and again with decent results.  Combat remains fast and furious, bosses are still super-huge, and the canon-bending 9-hour storyline gives us a new take on a game we’ve been essentially repeating since its debut in 1986.  While there are some rough edges, there is enough here to recommend.  Mirror of Fate also represents the best use of 3D that I’ve seen in a handheld game thus far.  You’ve missed a few great RPGs if your Nintendo 3DS has been gathering dust, but adding this title to your library will solve that problem for you rather quickly.

The game certainly does have hiccups here and there and once you get inside the buildings it is obvious the developers went a little too far in making them too big.

And yet, I still say it’s worth playing. For all of its shortcomings, its flaws, and its failures, I still enjoyed my time with Deadlight. I wanted to find out what happened to Randall and his family. I was driven, compelled to finish, and I would still recommend that it be played. Fans of side-scrolling platformers, and zombie games in general, will find an original, if imperfect, experience here.  And while the price is a bit steep for the content, I think there’s a great game to be found in here. I hope Tequila Works gets a chance to make a sequel, because I think this is a zombie story worth telling.