The vast majority of the game is an extremely engaging and rewarding survival game that is made only more fun when you have friends to jump into a server with. Advancing through the research trees and advancing from merely surviving in the wasteland to comfortably living in it is a great experience, and is one that CryoFall offers players in a unique way.

When the easy flow and music clicks just right, it hits well, but there is little else on offer here. Its lack of deeper mechanics or aspects for players to sink their teeth into is rather disappointing and leaves Skate City with nothing to hook players after experiencing the vibe it offers.

Despite a couple of light typos and some choppy wording that may be more the result of losses in translation than writer error, Dull Grey is a visual novel well worth your time. It successfully delivers what every visual novel strives for—transcending words to pull the reader into its world and rewarding players who are curious and patient enough to see beneath its surface.

Sherwood Extreme will satisfy a very particular type of player. It offers an experience all about skillful play executed as quickly as possible. There are a handful of aspects that are not fully fleshed out or developed, but fleshing out and improving those aspects are exactly what early access is for. Hopefully, Sherwood Extreme will use the program well and be able to build a community of players who love what the title has to offer. [Early Access Score = 70]

Backworlds is a short and sweet game that offers up ample amounts of wholesomeness and challenge in the best way. Painting your way through the world isn’t just a gimmick; it’s an integral part of the game, which is important for niche travel mechanics. Plus, there are a few surprises in-store, including teleportation. So if you’re looking for a game to play on the go and puzzles to keep you focused, then Backworlds is definitely for you. A port from the PC, this one takes full advantage of the way you play your Switch and just works.

My Hero Academia: The Strongest Hero provides a fun if sometimes confusing romp through the world of the popular series. I’m overall enjoying my time with the game as the short burst mission structure lets me get a fix of some of my favorite heroes in training.

The Wild at Heart is a lovely game altogether. Its story and characters are just as charming as the gameplay is fun. There are a few nitpicks I can make about sound design and the Spriteling well menu having more tabs than it should need to, but they’re just nitpicks. It’s a touching and sharp game absolutely worth the dive into.

When all is said and done, the developers at Ubisoft Mainz have once again proven that while DLC and expanding the game are important, so is making the base game feel playable this long after release. Now in its third season, the devs have proved time and time again that quality of life is at the forefront of the choices behind adding new mechanics. With “Tourist Season,” they’ve pushed players to see their islands differently, and also view their world as interconnected instead of sequestered. Now, your goal isn’t just to get an island fully optimized, it’s to get it optimized and make it aesthetically appealing – invest in attractveness, invest in culture, and make sure that your hotspots aren’t just on their own but woven into your residents. Which begs the question what will “High Life” bring? For us, well, we can’t wait.

I enjoyed this new adventure in the frozen land of Colorado. The challenging combat, choice-driven narrative, and fun humor are hitting on all cylinders in Wasteland 3: The Battle of Steeltown. If you enjoyed the gameplay of the original release, I can easily recommend checking this out.

If you are a player that enjoys building on the African continent (my main zoo is in Africa) and want to expand on your African zoo then this pack is well worth it. The Planet Zoo: Africa Pack was also released with a free content update (Update 1.6) that is available to all players. This update brings some new items such as webcams and vista points along with some quality-of-life features. There is also a new free-timed scenario for everyone to enjoy.

Overall, A Tale of Synapse is a mixed bag. While the art is pretty and the logic-based puzzles are generally fun, the experience is mottled by the bad English writing, the too-easy puzzles, and the occasional glitches that require a full shutdown of the game.

While Black Skylands delivers an appealing aesthetic and some solid core gameplay, it quickly mires itself down in long, repetitive trips to gather resources and largely unchanging gameplay. While its slow, unchanging gameplay didn’t hold my attention very well, I can see how someone could find a relaxing challenge that they can just take their time with here. [Early Access Score = 70]

Overall, The Ascent is a great addition to the cyberpunk genre. The graphics are stunning, the characters and story entertaining, and it’s available right now on Gamepass.

I enjoyed playing the Nintendo Switch port for DDA. Outside the issues with scaling while playing handheld, the experience was virtually identical to my experience with the PC version last year. Even though I only played offline, I can certainly see DDA being a great party game for Discord communities and game nights, given its easy learning curve and fast-paced playstyle. The variety of hero combinations and playstyles, several game modes, and different game difficulties allow endless hours of replayability, a great moniker for a Nintendo Switch game. If you can get past the minor accessibility issues, you may find yourself fighting wave after wave and hour and hour in Dungeon Defenders: Awakened.

The Big Con provides some much-needed 90s nostalgia while also providing an outrageous tale smothered in wit, sarcasm, and Horm. It’s a short, casual game, with a whole lot of spunk and a whole lot of crime, and I really recommend it to anyone looking for a laugh.

Hindsight 20/20: Wrath of the Rakshasa sets out to deliver an engaging action story that forces the player to make important moral choices that will determine the shape of their world. And despite some moments where the combat struggles and some less than clear decisions the game presents players with, it largely succeeds. Given its short playtime and unique approach to both combat and choice-driven storytelling, I would say the game is certainly worth a look if what I have said about it intrigues you.

While an older entry in the genre, Nuclear Throne is still creative and fun and feels totally fresh in the sea of bullet hells. It has just enough to it to keep you going, though, by comparison to more robust roguelikes, it has the potential to dry up after a while if you’re not mastering it fast enough. Nonetheless, it’s well worth a dive into, especially with its appearance on Xbox Game Pass.

All the DLC packs add quite a bit to the game and help it feel more fleshed out and realized, but the sheer number of options one has can be overwhelming for new players who aren’t sure what is worth focusing on and what isn’t. Regardless, the DLCs help make Phoenix Point: Behemoth Edition feel like a sprawling experience on an epic scale. Even if some of the content feels a bit middling, there is more than enough of a higher quality to justify the price.

Far Cry 6 has done a great job tweaking the mechanics typical of the series and creating some extremely fun and chaotic gameplay. While the main antagonist doesn't shine like some of the past baddies in the Far Cry series, you'll fall in love with the diverse cast of characters and the island of Yara.

Book of Travels is in a very solid place as a newly launched Early Access title. It offers a unique experience that should satisfy players looking for a more meditative or unique online experience. However, the game still has quite a ways to go in the form of content, especially if it wants to keep players around for a more extended period. Thankfully, there are many avenues the developers can explore to this end, especially once they start receiving feedback from players throughout the Early Access process. [Early Access Review]

Not perfect by any means, but PandaBall is a pretty solid arcade-style soccer game. It’s missing a few things I wish it had, and some things like the text size are less than ideal, but overall, it’s an enjoyable take on quick and simple soccer matches.

Pro Basketball Manager 2022 is a promising management game that still has room to improve. However, it will absolutely scratch the basketball management itch, and options are plentiful.

The Assassin’s Creed crossover DLC for Assassin’s Creed Valhalla and Assassin’s Creed Odyssey are decent on their own, but make for a strong reminder together of how great Assassin’s Creed’s storytelling has been for more than a decade.

There is still a lot that Blacksmith Legends is hoping to add in the future, and there is no way to tell how that content will shape up. However, what is being included in its early access launch is impressive, and gives a lot of confidence to those behind it. Even in early access, the game is worth checking out for fans of management sims, and it seems as though it will only get better going forward.

Playing tends to mostly involve just going around the same loop repeatedly while crossing one’s fingers hoping to land on the few spots needed to progress while combat is usually just an excuse to put the phone down and pay attention to a show on the TV.

What surprised me more than anything was how polished Deflector feels. Even though it’s clear there is a lot more coming down the pike, what launches in Early Access doesn’t feel disjointed or unplayable at all. I have plenty of questions about what is going to come next, including the hope for some clarity on what the overall objective is. Still, even without that, I have thoroughly enjoyed my time with Deflector so far. While there is plenty of room to grow, Arrowfirst has a potential superstar hit on their hands. The only question now is how far they are able to go with the potential that has been laid out. [Early Access Review]

Castle Morihisa delivers a solid entry in the card-based roguelike genre. The numerous styles of deck you can construct provide a robust variety of play, and the challenges the player is faced with are just as creative and varied. While some losses felt a bit cheap, the triumph of victory always feels sweet.

Battle Bands is a truly interesting deckbuilder that accomplishes everything it sets out to do. There is an excellent variety, and the gameplay is both challenging and rewarding. For an Early Access game, Battle Bands already feels completely playable and enjoyable right from the start. I’m extremely excited to see what gets added in the future and can’t wait to gather some friends to put a truly legendary band together. [Early Access Review]