You’d think that a series wouldn’t have a ton of new tricks up its sleeves 15 years in, but Dynasty Warriors 8 Empires is a pleasant surprise. While the core gameplay might still be a deal breaker for some, the strategic offerings add a new layer of depth, and importance, to the battles. It’s still repetitive, but there is plenty to like here.

All in all, there’s enough happening in Taiko no Tatsujin: Drum Session! that can keep you entertained for a long time. If you’re looking for a challenge, you can try filling out all the Bingo cards, beating your own high scores, and playing with friends and strangers online. There are fun rewards and lots of familiar songs that make this game feel nostalgic yet new at the same time. While there was opportunity missed by not having the drum controller available here, Taiko no Tatsujin: Drum Session! is still enjoyable by itself.

From the moment I began my journey in New World I felt like, outside of the specific world and story, I had been here and done this many times before, in many other MMOs. That said, New World does those familiar things very competently. It looks great and controls well, either with mouse and keyboard, or the slightly less optimized controller. Survival mechanics and crafting are core elements and not side gigs, but luckily, they are engaging and layered with depth. New World rewards the player for just about everything, all the time, and there is always something to do, whether fighting, farming or exploring and questing. It’s accessible to solo players and embraces the PvP and coop communities with a great deal of content. All MMORPGs are major time commitments by definition, so whether New World can hold your attention long term is probably a function of your expectations, and whether you connect with what the game has to offer. New World probably won’t ever surprise you, but it won’t disappoint you either.

Graphically the fight scenes in Estival Versus are better; however, Shinovi Versus has a superior story line. The music just as always is extremely fun and upbeat and is certainly something I would just listen to on my own time.

Maybe there’s no healthy way to insulate yourself from heartbreak, but there’s still beauty in the retrospective. Maquette casts a rosy lens on a love story softened by time’s eventual passage. It’s an important lesson, that the sorrow of love lost can be soothed and sanded down by the steady movement of the clock. The story’s frequent puzzle breaks mean that you’re eased into the worst of it. You’re given a long runway before the inevitable climax, which might be a blessing in itself. Even if a reflective journey through a complex relationship doesn’t appeal to you, the intricate world and it’s fascinating puzzles will surely have you hooked.

Although Mosaic’s gameplay is simple and the play length short, it boasts a powerful story with many unique elements you won’t find anywhere else.

While Mother Russia Bleeds is a competent brawler with a nice variety of punishment to extoll, it clings a little too tightly to old school mechanics and ideas about gameplay and narrative. The slick presentation is nice to look at, though, so you could do much worse for an afternoon on the couch with your buddies.

UFC is not as refined as an experience it could be and compared to other sports franchises it lacks in the depth department; however, there is no question EA Sports UFC game is fun to play and overall is a satisfying fighter.

I didn’t really have any expectations on Beat Cop when I first played it on PC back in 2017. Even two years later now on the Nintendo Switch it manages a quite pleasant surprise playing it. The story is quite addicting and I’m always eager to see what is next or even replay to see what else could have happened. Beat Cop is a pretty decent length as well and should clock in for most somewhere between seven and ten hours. The non-linear story, along with the multiple endings, means there is a good amount of replayability as well. All in all, this is a great homage to 1980’s cop shows that shouldn’t be missed.

Card battle games offer endless replayability, with little chance of things getting stale because the combinations of cards in a particular situation are unpredictable. Knights in Tight Places has solid and very enjoyable core systems and mechanics. The combat is fun and the new art style helps sell the new setting. The story was perfunctory but it got the action where it needed to go. If card battle games are your go-to genre, you’ll enjoy Knights in Tight Spaces. If you’ve never played this kind of game, it’s an easy one to start with, welcoming to new players and very satisfying to veterans.

Although more traditional than previous games in the series, Anomaly Defenders provides a flexible and entertaining strategy-light experience. It looks great, provides multiple options for players and play styles, and is challenging enough to require forethought and adaptation.

Darkestville Castle is a nostalgic game for sure. But play at your own risk as rose-colored glasses are not included.

Remember Me offers nothing new as far as gameplay goes but it has an interesting concept that parallels many of the things happening now in our technologically obsessed social media culture.

Although the narrative was lacking and required some knowledge of the French Revolution in order for players to be fully immersed in the game, Banner of the Maid presented such a thoughtful strategy RPG that I looked forward to every single battle. The characters and visuals were excellent, the girls were cute, the guys were handsome, and being able to play as a powerful female lead was a great experience. Despite the weak storytelling and lengthy drawn-out battles, Banner of the Maid proved to be an excellent challenge and remains a game I struggle to put down at night.

There’s always room for innovation, and I know in the future that games will continue to achieve things I didn’t think were possible, but Beyond didn’t hit the points I needed to really be impressed, especially when the bar has already been set high by other narrative-driven games.

Graphical caveats aside, Sniper Elite: Resistance is fun to play not only because of the various game modes but how you can approach missions. The developers also devoted significant effort to ballistics and weapons handling. Veteran players will feel right at home. New players will be delighted with the variety of missions. Both will be delighted with the options of how they can play them.

While it’s a bit intimidating to newcomers, and the single player campaign can seem tedious as it relies on a tried and true formula, Worms Battlegrounds does offer a very enjoyable multiplayer experience that fans have come to know and love.

This remaster has been the sort of letdown that’s made me reconsider if anything from my childhood was as good as I remember. Atrocious character models, excessively repetitive missions, framerate drops, pop-in issues, and an overbearing sense of monotony and boredom cursed my time with Destroy All Humans. You did it, Crypto. You destroyed this human.

Project CARS 3 suffers from a bit of an identity crisis in what it brings to the player, blending racing sim gameplay and arcade racer mechanics. Its message isn’t entirely clear without some trial and error, and while the narrator, drive-assist, and AI modifiers help ease into gameplay, there isn’t quite enough to know what everything means for the un-initiated. Driving feels wonderful and I expected nothing less given the history of Slightly Mad Studios and Codemasters, but this feels more like a racing sim for casual play over an engrossing and addictive time behind the wheel. It has a lot going for it, but its identity seems lost and with it, my drive to sink time into it.

Life is Strange Remastered Collection is only good because Life is Strange is so good. The upgrades are nice, but they aren’t evenly applied and sometimes make the game look worse. It also has an inexcusable number of bugs. Life is Strange and Before the Storm are great games, but this collection is lacking. I recommend just picking up the original versions. You can probably find them cheaper than this collection, and they offer just as good an experience. They offer a better experience in some ways.

It certainly isn’t the most original or innovative DLC drop from the team at Treyarch; however, the new Zombie level “Origins” is as good as it gets when it comes to the Zombie mode and the new (and redone) maps should inject enough life into the multiplayer arena until Ghosts comes out.

Nitroplus Blasterz: Heroines Infinite Duel is a solid effort, bringing together such a great cast of characters from a number of different visual novels and gaming franchises; pitting them up against each other in an enjoyable arcade fighting style game.

No Place For Brave is an incredible top-down adventure that tells a touching story about the lengths one will go for family. Its weighty combat is challenging but fair which makes each battle a thrill. Although I did encounter the occasional bug which stifled the pace, this didn’t hinder what was a wonderful and touching experience.

Highwater understands its limitations. It’s not a game that tries to do too much and fails. Some aspects work well, like the world-building, premise, and combat. But I wanted to be told less, and discover more. Given a bigger budget and less restrictive, more open-ended gameplay, Highwater could be a standout in a crowded field. Highwater has good intentions, but it needs a team of writers who understand character and dialogue a little better, and that showing is better than telling.

Setting aside the game’s pervasive Soviet imagery in these complicated times, Atomic Heart is an often impressive game with too many systems and not enough connective tissue between them. Combat and other mechanics veer between janky, confounding moments and an exhilarating flow as the complex narrative tone swerves between disparate lanes. Atomic Heart can wow you, confuse you, and frustrate you in the span of a few minutes. Atomic Heart has the feel of a classic obscured by too many ideas that never quite harmonize.

The games found in Gex Trilogy are better than I thought they would be. I was especially surprised by how much I enjoyed the original Gex. These are dated, but solid mascot platformers. As a package, Gex Trilogy has a lot of the modern quality of life features players would expect, as well as a slew of extras. But there could have been more. The Game Boy Color, N64, and international versions of the games are absent. I would recommend Gex Trilogy to fans of retro platformers, who’ve played all the classics. These games aren’t must-play, but are a great option for someone wanting more platforming titles in their library.

Gorn 2 offers substantially more gameplay than the original Gorn. The arenas, enemies, and environments offer enhanced opportunities for creative mayhem. The first game’s way-over-the-top stylized violence and gore transfer intact, along with its goofy sense of satire. If Gorn 2 was a non-VR first-person action game, it would work pretty well. As a VR title, the consistently inconsistent hitboxes and bugs undermine the potentially cathartic combat. Six years out from the first game, players should probably expect a more refined and polished experience.

Warriors All-Stars won’t bring the Musou games to a new stage of prominence, but carving up swarms of enemies with a catalog of famous Koei Tecmo fighters has its fun moments. Controlling multiple fighters at once is particularly neat, as I can really cause some havoc when it’s not just one character on-screen. Unfortunately the story to earn this all-star cast isn’t enthralling enough, so any interest in plowing through it will have to come from the combat experiences alone.

Mario Golf: Super Rush’s plethora of options and solid mechanics make this one of the greatest arcade golf video games to date. The inclusion of the exciting, speed-based Rush and Battle modes helps take the genre in a new direction that will appeal to gamers old and new. With an incredible story mode that will keep you hooked throughout and the returning cast of characters in fresh golfing garb, it's clear Nintendo has hit a glorious stripe down the fairway.

If you’re wondering whether you should only get one version or if you should get the adventure pack, then I’d probably recommend the pack if budget isn’t a major concern. It’s a better bang for your buck, as it offers a bit of a discount from getting the two games separate, and each game offers a unique incentive for you to play with two different storylines and song lists. If you are only interested in getting one over the other, I suggest you pick whichever storyline sounds more interesting to you or which game has the better sound list, though if I had to choose, I would say Rhythmic Adventure 2 gives you the more complete experience. Regardless of what you decide to buy, the Taiko No Tatsujin: Rhythmic Adventure games are a lot of fun and are great titles for both new and returning Taiko fans alike.

While the game does a good job of establishing the agents of Aion as emerging AI, Soul Hackers 2 tells a deeply human story. This isn’t a shock to me, as Shin Megami Tensei spin-offs have always been more character-focused than the mainline games. I like Soul Hackers 2’s anime noir approach to character building. I recommend it to anyone who likes RPGs or cyberpunk.

Godseekers is an enjoyable break from the classic Dynasty Warriors series, evolving into a well managed tactics games with familiar faces and continues to instill that sense of power as your hero mows down hordes of enemies with a few strikes. While the gameplay is a fresh departure, it does little to add anything to the series as a whole.

The Gunk is a competent product, but it feels very risk-adverse and derivative. You’ve seen and played elements of this game before. It can be fun for a while, but you soon realize that The Gunk has a limited vocabulary and spends too much of its time amicably repeating itself. Instead of being the foundation for something grander, The Gunk is satisfied to make its exploration and simple mechanics the entire game. As a Game Pass product, however, it’s not hard to cautiously recommend The Gunk as a pleasant enough diversion.

It might take a bit of time and effort, but once you’re past the initial start up process you’ll soon be in for a treat.

Witnessing a studio succeed beyond what their audience expects of them is always a pleasure, and DONTNOD Entertainment has done just that with Vampyr. Whether you're intrigued by the idea of stalking London as a bloodthirsty vampire or expressly fancy a rock-solid ARPG, consider sinking your teeth into this gem.

Spellforce 3: Reforced is a rare example of a genre mashup that makes sense. The two genres actually complement each other and come together to create a unique and enjoyable hybrid. Its story and setting are pretty over-reliant on well-worn high fantasy elements, but there’s more to the game than the main campaign. Controls on console work about as well as possible, given all the moving pieces inherited from the PC version. Fans of strategy and roleplaying games should find common ground in Spellforce 3: Reforced.

After waiting for Below for over five years, I’m left conflicted. On one hand, it’s a beautiful and deeply engrossing roguelike with fantastic art direction and stunning music from Jim Guthrie. But it also doesn’t quite jive with some of its gameplay systems and, at times, feels like a confusing mixture of ideas. Despite this, however, I still don’t regret my time with Below. Even though it doesn’t always feel cohesive, it’s certainly worth playing, especially if you’re a fan of roguelikes —just know that your mileage may vary in the enjoyment department.

It’s a generally appealing game with decent graphics. Gloomhaven appears to be a fun turn-based adventure but requires a significantly higher amount of strategy than expected. Assigning unique quests to heroes, and having an ever-changing party when they finish their tasks, those are the ideas that make Gloomhaven stand out in a fun and engaging way. The actual mechanical experience feels like being asked to solve a Rubik’s cube every five minutes rather than immerse yourself in a fantasy world. For some, this might be exactly the tactical experience you want. For most, it’s more of an exercise in exasperation than imagination.

Tinkering around in Free Mode is much the same chill and fun way to spend some time as in other building sims. The game allows for the player to design some fairly complex and impressive structures, even if the tools aren’t always entirely cooperative. Anyone designing a dream home or business could certainly use Architect Life to make a first pass at realizing their vision.

While it’s fun and only a little bit overpriced, it’s just so damn unoriginal. From the story to the combat to the platforming itself, there’s not much new going on.

AIPD is a very well done game from its awesome blue and red ‘Tron-like’ graphics to its fast paced, fly around shooting style. It takes concentration and skill to make it to the top and the extra difficulty each level brings out makes it a must have for those times when you just want to kill some alien spaceships. It is a great play and definitely fun once you unlock some of the later content.

Apart from a camera that despises the view from a corner, some buggy and inconsistent team matchmaking mechanics, and the curious decision to add punishing roguelike elements, Aliens: Fireteam Elite is a polished and potentially fun and action-filled romp through a corner of the Alien universe and lore. Played without human squadmates and reliant on AI stand-ins at anything but the easiest difficulty, the game’s more repetitious aspects begin to grate, as failure will be inevitable. Played with a trio of living beings possessing some situational awareness, reflexes and the ability to communicate, using an arsenal of cool guns and toys against swarms of iconic Xenomorphs is a mindless, if not mind-blowing, good time.

The remake of Until Dawn stays true to the essence of the original while delivering a much-needed modernization for today’s gaming standards. The stunning graphical overhaul significantly heightens the realism, making the story more immersive and the horror more palpable. Enhanced camera angles refine the gameplay, adding a smoother experience during key moments. While returning players might find the updates limited in terms of new content, those who are discovering this horror classic for the first time are in for an unforgettable experience.

If you have been searching for a retro-inspired tactical RPG that actually delivers the goods, then look no further. Rainbow Moon will push all of the right nostalgic game-play buttons. Just be prepared for a pretty thin story, and a lot of old-school grinding as your time investment – and the game’s difficulty level – increases.

With appropriate updates and feelings of nostalgia, Romancing SaGa 2 feels like a game from the 1990s, but looks a lot more polished.

Undisputed is a faithful and immersive interpretation of boxing. In the ring, you have the freedom to choose your punches and move with poise and precision, creating a realistic and engaging experience. Landing a fierce combination feels exhilarating, capturing the technical intensity that defines the sport. While not every punch connects perfectly, and knockouts may lack some of the desired ferocity, the game’s attention to the nuances of boxing makes it the most impressive iteration since EA’s landmark series.

Shining Resonance Refrain plays like a pretty standard yet extremely solid JRPG. Despite the slow beginning, the story is interesting and extremely well thought out. The characters are likable and the graphics are beautiful.

Playing The Angry Birds Movie 2 VR: Under Pressure feels a bit like treading water, and while it has some amusing moments there isn’t enough to keep this one afloat for every long.

It is fine as a simple game and the characters are lovely, but I know it has the potential to become even bigger. So much imagination was used to create such an epic story and to have named all the different characters, monsters, places, and remnants, and I believe a lot of these aspects could become sentimental pieces and not just names in a game. Overall, if you are looking for a fun, straightforward, and interesting JRPG with fun twists, The Last Remnant fits this description and is worth the play.

This episode has a good flow and tempo, with lots of visually appealing cutscenes and action to break up the story, and while it reaches the end without feeling rushed, the cliffhanger feels a bit out of place.

Sure the $15.00 dollar price tag is a tad hefty but when you consider you get four incredibly detailed maps, a new weapon that kicks ass, a new Extinction level and let’s not forget the Predator, Devastation is solid. Period.

Gorgon itself is beautiful in its desolation and it really is an absolute joy to come back to the Halcyon system. I love that its designed almost as a satire of serials – the most prevalent entertainment in the game – and you really do feel immersed in the moment to moment content, however, the narrative flopped for me. It was easy to see the major plot and themes early on in this “mystery” because we have seen it before in other media. It’s a shame because it does weigh down what is already an absolutely exemplary experience. Having jumped back into The Outer Worlds once again I’m excited to keep playing with my rag-tag crew and I look forward to the next adventure of the Unreliable.

I’m torn. I really like the core gameplay of Ghost Recon: Phantoms and see it being even more fun with friends. But, there’s just not enough here and the frustrating micro-transactions only make it all the more disappointing.

Witcheye is fun, and it’s cute, and it’s got some great visuals and a cool control system. I think it’s the perfect game to vibe to something else with, which is a type of experience that everyone with a short attention span like me needs. Everything it fails in is simply due to being a game designed for another platform, and so I heartily recommend buying Witcheye…preferably on mobile.

C-Smash VRS is an incredible multiplayer with the potential to become a staple of any PSVR 2 owner’s collection. The simple premise and excellent execution leads to intense matches that will keep you hooked. Whether you’re up against a friend or a complete stranger, the thrill never subsides. With a focus on multiplayer, the game needs to add more incentives and regular updates to build a community. However. the addictive online loop and replayable single-player options help to make C-Smash VRS an absolute hit!

Would I recommend Little Dragons Café for a child? Absolutely. Would I recommend you buy Little Dragons Café for a child at its current price point? Absolutely not. There is plenty of content and it’s a decent game, but there are a lot of other games that are on-par with this one that are selling for less than half the price. Until the price comes down, I can’t in good conscience recommend that you buy it, and that’s a shame.

Overall, Dead Star is a game that starts out a bit slow, but gets better the more you play it.

Between the soft focus visuals and the heavy-lidded soundtrack, this doesn’t feel like a typical skateboarding game. Instead, you’re encouraged to meditate through boards and wheels, a few minutes at a time, for a little while. The game feels entirely too short, but only in the sense that you’re left wanting more once you’re done. If you’re so inclined, you can pick away at the many challenges for hours on end. Even then, the nature of these tests feels geared to a string of shorter play sessions. Like an idle game or a farming sim, something you come back to continuously until the task is done. Beyond the actual gameplay, Skate City has some serious merit as an introduction to the world of lo-fi hip hop. These tracks will haunt you in the kindest fashion possible, quiet and blissful beats that bounce around your subconsciousness for weeks afterwards. If you’re looking for a more soft-focus, laid-back skateboarding game, Skate City is not to be missed.

Deception IV is a game that will give you back exactly what you put into it. If you show it some love, it will most likely show you some love back.

Surgeon Simulator 2: All Access absolutely does what it sets out to do, which is turn “surgical precision” upside down and allow the player to make an absolute mess of what should be the most delicate of procedures, adding physics-based puzzles and escalating objectives that will either frustrate or challenge. In this case, the awkward controls are a feature, not a bug. For anyone who has already played the game, this new version doesn’t add much, but for console owners or anyone new to the title it’s definitely the version to pick up.

Although it’s pretty bare bones, Shadows of the Damned: Hella Remastered definitely does gamers a service by bringing a cult classic to current consoles. Some of the 2011 original’s action and humor doesn’t quite live up to our fond memories of it. On the whole, Grasshopper Manufacture’s surreal action game remains weird and entertaining.

Terminator 2D: No Fate is a faithful reimagining of a classic, recast as a 90s-style 2D action game. While it captures iconic moments and adapts them naturally to the genre, Bitmap Bureau also introduces original segments that add to the narrative. The team adjusts the gameplay to suit each scenario, creating an experience that effectively mirrors its cinematic counterpart. Although the runtime is short and the movement feels a little too close to games of that era, the range of options available provides plenty of incentive to revisit the game. The result is a strong package and a heartfelt ode to a bygone era.

Mr. Shifty was a lot of fun to play for the first few hours. The combat was slick and the levels were innovative, but towards the end of the game it stopped introducing new challenges and started to stagnate, repeating some rehashed areas I had already gone through. I have no doubt that I’ll play it some more if they introduce some new content, but until then it’ll be joining the hundreds of other forgotten games in my Steam library.

Most strategy players know the opening dozen or so turns are crucial to developing your tactics and what you do will make or break your experience. Dawn of Andromeda, however, makes you play the long game: enemies are virtually unable to rush you in combat as they are hindered by the same tech tree you are and this means the biggest rewards come later in the game. While this is a moderate introduction into the 4X genre, there simply isn’t enough of the necessary substance here to carry itself. Should construction times be cut or simplified at least players would have more to do, but as it stands it’s a lot more waiting than anyone will want to put in.

Being my favourite entry in the STORY OF SEASONS series, A Wonderful Life is a wonderful game. If you are new to the STORY OF SEASONS series, A Wonderful Life is an excellent place to start. Having previous knowledge of how the game works can be an advantage but there isn’t anything you can’t learn. All you need to do is work hard and make the most out of every day – but most importantly, have fun while doing so. And if you’re like me, you’ll fall in love with everything the game has to offer and find the Forgotten Valley is truly an unforgettable place.

Great artwork, enjoyable music, and compelling gameplay, what more could a game really need?

I had a ton of fun with Immortals. The combat is snappy, explosive, and smooth. Everything looks amazing, just a colossal colorful assault on the senses at every turn. The puzzles are a pleasant distraction. The writing has its ups and downs, to be sure, but the story itself is a proper ride. I truly can’t get enough of the word Everwar. I could have used a bit less quipping in the dialogue, however. While the combat occasionally got frustrating, it’s nothing a little practice (and difficulty adjustment) can’t fix. Traversal is a good time, even if the dodge cooldown feels excessive. If your first-person shooters have felt too serious lately, take heart! Immortals of Aveum is a magic-soaked, colorful romp that grips hard and doesn’t let go.

Enotria: The Last Song’s delightful setting, theatre-infused narrative, and mechanical depth help it stand out from the very crowded Soulslike landscape. On the flip side, that depth translates to sometimes poorly explained, unnecessary-feeling complications. Strip all that away, and Enotria: The Last Song is still an enjoyable action RPG that should appeal to almost every fan of the genre.

The Blair Witch Project fans and horror game fans alike will find lots to enjoy here. The roughly five-hour campaign can be completed in a few sittings, and with four different endings, there’s lots to come back for. It isn’t always great, but when it hits the mark its a ton of fun. A weak second act keeps it from being a home run, but it’s worth battling through just to play that final sequence. At times, Blair Witch genuinely had me feeling like I was playing through the movie, and as a fan, isn’t that all I can ask for?

Fortified is compelling enough to get through, in its simple but gratifying gameplay, but it doesn’t offer enough to pull me in.

Tron: Catalyst successfully captures the spirit of the franchise. Its striking aesthetics and pulsing electronic score immerse you in the iconic digital world. The game’s strength lies in its commitment to storytelling, with clever narrative techniques driving the plot. While the combat is serviceable, it lacks the depth found in many of its genre peers. Still, these elements come together to deliver a narrative-driven experience that remains true to Tron’s identity, even if the gameplay doesn’t always live up to the ambition of its story.

Over and over, I risked certain death to snatch one more scrap of story.

While it seems like the Madden franchise is trending in the wrong direction, the future remains bright for EA Sports virtual gridiron game. A new generation of consoles is right around the corner and the timing couldn’t be better. I have to give EA some credit here as folks who purchase Madden NFL 21 for PlayStation 4 or Xbox One, are able to upgrade their copy to PlayStation 5, or Xbox Series X at no extra cost. That said, it feels as though EA Sports has done everything they can with this generation of consoles and is merely on cruise control until they have the technical capacity to do so much more. Madden NFL 21 isn’t necessarily a bad game; it will improve over time with updates. Yet the product at launch is riddled with deficiencies and the incremental additions aren’t significant enough to warrant a purchase recommendation from me.

Pure Farming 2018 is a good simulator, just not a fun game. I was hoping for something that either gamified farming or simplified some of the tedious tasks. Instead, I was given a second job that included all of the life-like tasks, including every tedious one.

The final battle in Archangel is one of the coolest, most epic experiences I’ve had yet in VR. The sense of scale and power you feel makes this a new high watermark for the PlayStation VR platform and for VR in general. If you can overlook the iffy graphics, you’re in for an immersive and moving experience.

Wolfenstein Youngblood looks great and has solid shooting mechanics, but misses the mark when it comes to the things that have become Wolfenstein’s greatest strengths. Without the wacky hijinx and startlingly engaging story of The New Colossus, Youngblood is a good co-op shooter that will struggle to stand out from the crowd. Strange design choices and repetitive quests try to bring it down further, but delicious good looks and flexible progression systems could make it attractive to the right suitor. And hey, killing Nazis never goes out of style.

Light Fall is a clever and artistically crafted puzzle platformer with a curiously compelling narrative and well balanced, steady rate of increasing difficulty that encourages you to try a little harder with each subsequent stage.

If you are a competitive RTS player, I recommend you play Ashes of the Singularity and decide for yourself if it’s the game for you. There is certainly a lot to dig into for a hardcore player. However, if you are a more casual player, Ashes of the Singularity probably won’t engage you for long enough to learn the ins-and-outs of all the systems at play.

The simplicity that Camelot instills to make the game that much more accessible seems to take away from the what has made Mario Sports games so good in the past.

Eternal Strands draws inspiration from various titles, blending their elements to forge a new adventure. While Yellow Brick Games succeeds in crafting a strong physics system that complements the protagonist’s powers, the experience is hindered by weak combat and early mission design. Though the characterization shines, enhanced by solid voice acting, the story struggles to immerse, likely due to its disjointed delivery. Ultimately, the game is brimming with strong ideas, but none are executed well enough to leave a lasting impression.

It may flounder a bit, but give it a chance and it can swim just fine.

The graphical and audio enhancements are phenomenal and huge selling points, but having a pretty game without responsive AI quickly makes those enhancements meaningless. The heart and soul of the game is there, even in the tutorial, but it’s simply too old.

I mentioned previously that there is something small missing from Battleborn and to be honest I’m still unsure of what it is. It might be the lack of a training room where you can test out different heroes, or the fact you can’t choose from all of the story missions in a public campaign group, or that you can’t stay with your group at the end of a successful campaign. In other words, there are many small details that add up to take away the sense of polish for the game.

Fast paced, competitive, and strangely addictive, Dodgeball is a simple idea that turned into a pretty fun game to tackle. While most of the appeal is online, there’s still plenty for you to do on your own to hone your skills for the big matches.

Hollow Realization does a splendid job in providing solid gameplay and producing an original story. As a player who does not like replaying the same story told in other mediums, Hollow Realization was a breath of fresh air in an otherwise repetitive series. The amount of character customization, party options, and side quests will be sure to keep players satisfied.

Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Extraction is a thoroughly competent shooter. It's a good companion piece to, but not replacement for, Siege. Though it's best when played with a three Operator squad, it's still functional as a single player game, though pretty challenging and not super rewarding as a solo experience. I enjoyed the mechanics of the Incursion missions, and learning the maps. Though the alien designs lacked originality, fighting them was still engaging. It was a nice break from combat with humans. I wish there was more to the package at launch, like a real campaign and characters to care about, not just avatar Operators to level up. Still, alone or with a couple of friends, Rainbow Six Extraction meets or exceeds the expected amount of fun. I wish it tried to do more.

Overall, Scars Above just can’t rise above its AA roots. This translates to some cut-rate animations, character models, and environments. The game’s primary weapon is good enough, as is the story and combat. But just being adequate is a tough sell. It’s hard to imagine Scars Above moving to the front of the Soulslike line.

Ride 2 is definitely a game for racing fans, designed from the ground up with customization and realism as the foundational pillars. It’s hard to recommend if you aren’t a fan of the genre, but I would consider it a must have enthusiasts.

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine was more than just a game that spawned a remarkable sequel. It was a thoroughly entertaining third-person shooter that perfectly translated Games Workshop’s brutal IP into digital form. Dusting off 14 years of cobwebs and creakiness, the Master Crafted Edition makes the 2011 original look, sound, and play as close as possible to brand new. I don’t think those with the original or Anniversary Edition will regret picking it up, and it’s an absolute no-brainer for anyone who doesn’t already own the game.

The exploration sections are somewhat dull, the fighters are interchangeable, and the story is told in a separate menu, but the parts that need to work, do. Combat is crazy, fast, and deeply satisfying. Whether this is your first 3D arena fighter or your fifteenth, The Hinokami Chronicles are a lot of fun.

Kukoos Lost Pets is a short platforming adventure that harkens back to the old days. There isn’t a whole lot of content. In fact, you can easily finish the game in an afternoon. Maybe two afternoons if you’re intent on collecting every coin, flower, and rescuing a pet. A few extra features would have gone a long way to build on the game’s foundation. Using coins to unlock cosmetic options for your character and pets would have been nice. But then again, there’s no real value in sticking around after the story is over unless you’re looking for that Platinum trophy.

The idea of Sherlock Holmes essentially investigating his own origins is an intriguing conceit, though that's really only a small element of Sherlock Holmes Chapter One. The invented island of Cordona is a great backdrop for commentary on the late Victorian British Empire in all its excessive and tone-deaf glory, though again, those considerations are secondary. Sherlock Holmes Chapter One is, at heart, a collection of large and small mysteries to be solved, the chance to inhabit the mind of a legendary polymath and play detective with a wide and deep arsenal of tools and toys. Although the series is still bogged down by its fiddly mechanics and the pace can move too slowly for us fidgety gamers, Sherlock Holmes Chapter One is far more ambitious in scope than its series predecessors and may represent a new, high bar for the franchise.

It isn’t as serviceable to the Lego formula as the games before it, nor is it perfect, but The Hobbit is still worth a play through both for fans of the films or simply the Lego games in general.

The space-shooter genre has had an Arrowhead-shaped hole for the past 18 years and finally, that void has been filled. R-Type Final 2 is not here to revolutionize the genre, it’s merely here to remind us how great the series is and celebrate its long history. Although its old-school mentality may deter some, fans of the franchise will love this iteration.

The Dark Pictures Anthology: The Devil in Me is a fitting end to the season. Each game celebrates the many facets of horror but this title resonates in a way that surpasses previous entries in the franchise. The voice acting is brilliant and this helps to make the characters feel authentic. As well as this, the improvements in traversal and inventory give it more gameplay options. While the movement is a little stiff and the concept is still cliché, the execution of its storytelling and characterization is to die for.

As much as I love the aesthetics of Cris Tales, there are issues with the gameplay that affect the experience. Although fans of retro JRPGs will be able to overlook the constant random battles, lack of auto-save, and the monotonous grind, these aspects will deter gamers who are used to contemporary design elements. The clever use of the time mechanic allows you to be more tactical in your approach to fights; however, this is overshadowed by the sheer volume of encounters and repetitive enemy types. At its core, Cris Tales is a solid JRPG with an interesting twist; however, it sticks to the well-trodden paths of those that came before, creating a disparity between the gameplay and visuals.

Whatever your reason for buying MDR, be it the wackiness, gameplay, or art, you certainly won’t be disappointed.

There are lots of ways in which Outcast: A New Beginning punches way, way up. The world is elaborate and thoroughly imagined. Characters are interesting. Some of the game’s mechanics and elements will seem familiar, but in this case Outcast: A New Beginning can claim it was there first. Unrewarding combat and some bland mission design aside, Outcast: A New Beginning reminds me of many AA games that I loved despite their flaws.