While fans of the series will enjoy seeing the final No More Heroes story that ends SUDA51’s incredible run with Travis Touchdown, it’s impossible to ignore the game’s faults. It’s fun, but suffers from many issues that make this game seem like a work in progress. Poor movement and driving controls, a clunky camera, and dated graphics plague what could have been a much better game if SUDA51 was more willing to adapt to the capabilities of modern systems.

No attempt at a series “refresh” is without its hurdles, and Layton’s Mystery Journey is no exception. The iffy puzzling doesn’t always hit the mark, though there’s some mind-stretching fun to be had among the hundreds of challenges. Though a disconnect in the writing between the excellent animated cutscenes and clunky written dialogue results in a strange story pacing, Katrielle’s adventure nonetheless has a satisfying payoff and a strong cast of characters that has me hopeful for future installments.

Caves of Lore can be addicting for any adventurer looking for variety and diversity in RPG exploring. I would caution anyone looking for a straightforward saga with easily accessible quests, Caves of Lore is for stat managers and detail oriented gamers. It would seem that Caves of Lore is already picking up praise as the game has won the Gold Award from Games Without Borders and has a 96% positive rating on Steam. Mike Robins spent a lot of time and details on making sure this gem scratches that old-school itch and he nailed it.

Great ideas, good connections, some decent customization, and large battles only get you so far. Every place Chivalry 2 seems to succeed, you quickly find a shortcoming. While not terrible, it’s a tough game to recommend to just any player.

Though it introduces new ideas and perspectives to players, the final episode of The Walking Dead drags on a bit too long in order to bring Clementine’s seven-year journey to a close.

Owlboy has a lot of charm but suffers from a convoluted control scheme and some serious game-crashing bugs. The best way to play it is still on the PC, even though the Nintendo Switch seemed like it would be the most ideal place to play it.

It may be a few years too late, but WWE 2K22 improves on the series in almost every way. The combat system being changed and made more reminiscent of a fighting game makes the matches faster and more exciting.

Madden 24 features some excellent on-field improvements and the gameplay is fun but the rest of the game is the same tired experience we’ve been playing for years.

I did not enjoy Graceful Explosion Machine. But you might. It hearkens back to arcade shooters in its repetitive presentation and simplicity, but if you aren’t bothered by that loop, the gameplay itself may be enough to hook you. The controls feel smooth as silk, HD Rumble makes each explosion tangibly satisfying, and the music is chill, if samey. If racking up high scores creating massive alien explosions again and again is your cup of space tea, Graceful Explosion Machine may be the Switch exclusive you need for the time being.

What worked in this finale did not make up for the flimsy story, lack of character development and general lack of focus throughout The Walking Dead: A New Frontier. Instead of going forward and telling a gripping story that focused on a brand new bunch of characters, I couldn’t help but care about just three. “From The Gallows” does as best a job as it can wrapping things up in a neat little bow, but the overall quality makes me fearful for the future of the Telltale narrative adventure.

You can almost hear BioWare repeatedly mashing the “Series Reset” button during a play-through of Mass Effect: Andromeda, but the game’s deviation from what we’ve come to expect from the franchise is largely characterized by a downgrade in quality almost across the entire board. Mass Effect: Andromeda attempts to redefine the potential for the franchise as it moves forward into the current generation, but the establishment of this new fiction makes for a disappointingly inconsistent experience.

Despite its dated graphics, stand control choices and ugly character models, there's still plenty to love about the Hotel Renovator. Whether you're trying to make your lobby more presentable, finding accommodations for a survivalist that wants a sleeping bag and tent in their room or just helping your run-of-the-mill vampire find a place for the night, it's a nice surprise. So before the game's graphics have you running for the door, take a stab at this with your steely knives.

Technical hurdles can be frustrating to overcome, and there’s very little replay value with the same group of people, but if you regularly host friends and family, even those who don’t play games much, Hidden Agenda makes for a surprising and enjoyable evening.

Detective Pikachu 2 makes a lot of fun choices to make sure gamers know the story will differ from the movie. But different doesn’t equal interesting. While there are many interesting plot points, they are separated by miles of incredibly simple and boring game play that challenges players at the same level most children’s programming does, by waving the answer directly in your face. Younger gamers will get a kick out of this low stakes detective story but older gamers are in for an absolute slog.

State of Decay 2‘s survival mechanics and combat are enjoyable at first, but quickly grow stale after repeating the same actions over and over. It has a few shining moments, but its execution is ultimately rather lackluster and shallow. The only true horror in this zombie survival game is its numerous technical issues.

Behind a terrific and exciting wrestling system in AEW Fight Forever is some odd choices, unfortunate hiccups, annoying quirks, and dumb limitations. Yukes fulfilled their promise to make an arcade game that felt like No Mercy. The problem is that we should have been more careful about what we wished for because a game made in the 90s is lacking a lot of important stuff. A wrestling fan who is looking for a good AEW time is going to be serviced by this offering. Anyone who is looking for proper competition to WWE should hold out (or wait for much-needed updates). If you absolutely need to have this game be portable than you can rest knowing the Switch has your back. Everyone else should just get it on Steam.

If 3D platforming, action-adventure, and puzzle games are your thing, XEL is going to fulfill your needs and then some. It comes with a compelling story, solid gameplay mechanics, and a beautiful world that is yours to explore freely. But until the bugs are solved, this incredible title is going to continue to be held back not by its design flaws, but by its mechanical ones.

Hood: Outlaws & Legends has a great premise, both in terms of thematic setting and core gameplay mechanics, but underdelivers on both fronts.

Guacamelee 2 takes but never quite gives; it amps up the difficulty without making the necessary changes to keep the game interesting. The result is a test of patience rather than a test of skill.

What you get with Team Sonic Racing is what you honestly better than you might expect from any modern game bearing the Sonic moniker. It’s a flawed but mostly competent kart racer that is budget priced and might be fine for kids who like the blue hedgehog and his furry friends.

The World Ends With You: Final Remix brings a cult Nintendo DS classic to a modern platform that should be a good fit, but some poor choices in how the combat is handled bring down the experience and actually makes it the inferior version.

If you had high expectations for GTA: The Trilogy Definitive Edition, that’s going to be your downfall with these games. The Trilogy is just alright and the upgraded graphics don’t cancel out the missing content and the infuriating bugs. Either play the originals or wait until the remastered games are on sale.

While it’s an interesting piece of history for die-hard Nintendo fans, going back before the hundreds of quality of life features Nintendo gradually added to the series feels punishing to anyone but the purest of purists.

Evil Genius 2 is a beautiful game that is created by a team that had an obvious love for spy comics/cartoons. However, after the first few hours, the game lacks a diversity of content for players to explore.

Neon White introduces many interesting ideas but arranges them in front of you like items at a garage sale. The stage design is simplistic, the gameplay gets old quickly, and the characters and dialogue feel like they’re about a decade or more misplaced with references to pop culture icons that are no longer en vogue. Neon White is an interesting play but, ultimately, it feels like you’re playing a tech demo for something that is supposed to be much bigger.

While a really fun experience, its lacking environments and incredibly short playtime make this a hard game to recommend at full price. But it most definitely is a game worth playing on sale or if you have it already and want to check out the PS5 or Xbox Series X upgrades. The frustrating combat scenes, simple environments and plain environments make it hard for even Lo Wang to quip into greatness.

The attention paid to solo players in MUT and some Franchise improvements are certainly noticeable and deserve credit. However, when the game is littered with a multitude of glitches, a weak story mode and no other big notable changes, it makes Madden’s price tag more difficult to justify.

While Pac-Man 99 brings that fun, fast-paced nature of Tetris 99 to yet another beloved franchise, it doesn’t translate as well here. Many of the rules never get explained and poor visual choices make for an occasionally scream-summoning experience, even for a veteran Pac-Man player like myself.