Cassidee Moser
Exploring and watching the story pull itself together merely from interacting with objects is a difficult task that Ether One successfully pulls off with bravado.
It doesn't feel new or unique, instead combining key mechanics from more successful games together in an experience that never forms into anything particularly significant.
It's a bold experience; one that takes itself seriously enough to present the player with often-mature subject matter, but subverts its heavy themes with well-timed dark comedy.
A Story About My Uncle is a wonderful and whimsical experience not unlike the movies of Pixar.
Quest for Infamy is, for better or for worse, a love letter and modern re-imagining of the classic Quest for Glory and even King's Quest games from the golden age of PC adventure gaming.
It definitely has a bold sense of tension and impressive style, but there's a lack of consistency to it that makes things more frustrating than difficult.
It's a poorly-written experience who places too much of a priority on delivering the absurdity as often as possible…
Velocity's emphasis on speed and item collection gives it an incredibly exhilarating feel.
It takes many cues from the classic shooters of old, cutting out the more superfluous mechanics and flourishes of today's shooters and instead focusing on brutal combat.
When stripped down to its core, there's really nothing special about it.
A Bird Story uses nuanced visual language to tell a wonderful, heartfelt story about friendship and loneliness.
Using the interactive nature of a video game to great effect, This War of Mine brilliantly conveys this message by forcing the player to not only witness it, but to live it, experience it, and suffer through it firsthand.
Super Galaxy Squadron feels comfortingly like an arcade cabinet I might have once slipped a quarter into at the Pizza Hut down the road.
It's as much a living homage as it is a natural successor to Nintendo's 2D Metroid games.
There's enough tongue-in-cheek dialogue to remind you of how campy and fun the Power Rangers are, but it's often undercut by the game's insistence on being silly.
Whispering Willows wants you to learn its story, connect with its characters, and become engrossed in its world.
It's a surprisingly faithful and endearing approximation of playing a pen-and-paper RPG like Dungeons and Dragons, taking core pieces of the culture and structure of a D&D game and stripping it down to basic, easy-to-understand mechanics.
Fast Racing Neo is a grueling, rewarding racer. The temptation to chuck a controller across the room after instantly jumping from first to last will likely strike a handful of times, and it's a bit thin on customization options, but when all of its high notes line up, Fast Racing Neo is an exhilarating, devilishly grueling game that absolutely pulses with energy.
By remaining focused and paring down the extra content, Assassin's Creed Chronicles: India is a stealth game through and through.
Ratchet & Clank is a veritable power fantasy fueled by rockets and carried by specialty gadgets.