High on Life has a particular vibe, one that rewards patient exploration and persistence. The dialogue is a lot to handle, yes. And not every weapon is a winner. The wrong Gatlian can leave you both overwhelmed and unimpressed. But the look, the sound of this game is truly remarkable. This is an alien world that’s crammed full of curious details. The visuals are delicious, the soundtrack is mostly bangers, and the boss fights are well-crafted. Whatever problems I had with the pacing were (mostly) wiped away by that final challenge. It turns out a little spectacle goes a long way. If you can handle Justin Roiland’s unique sense of humor, you’ll want to check out High on Life.

Lil Gator Game suffers from some minor frame rate drops and the music was a bit out of place. But, the overall package was pretty good. I’d recommend Lil Gator Game to young gamers – assuming they have willing parents who can help them read the objectives. I’d also recommend this to gamers looking for a chill, relaxing Legend of Zelda style game to tide them over until Tears of the Kingdom launches next year.

In a landscape littered with copycat games, Blacktail’s originality make it a winner. Set aside the game’s mechanically frustrating and probably unnecessary boss battles. Blacktail’s world, characters and narrative are easily worth the very reasonable price of admission.

Fans of old school 2D JRPGs, who would like something made today that resembles the great Super Nintendo and PS1 classics, need to play Chained Echoes. It’s a wonderful game. It’s more ambitious than the common indie throwback JRPG, but has many of their modernizations. Every single element of Chained Echoes is full of loving attention to detail. Hopefully Chained Echoes is a success and we can see future projects from its creator. I’ve already ordered a physical copy.

There is no question that the free update makes The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt a better game. It looks better, it controls better and the many, minor improvements add up to a significantly improved experience. The Netflix-based DLC is not a cheap tie-in but a well-made and completely integrated new chapter worth playing. Short of an actual remake, the update brings a seven-year-old game within spitting distance of the best current-gen title. The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt update breathes new, exciting life into a genuine classic.

Crossfire: Legion is an exercise in nostalgia, bringing to mind real time strategy games back when the genre was at its most popular. Its mechanics are comfortably familiar, but that might also be a disappointment to gamers looking for innovation or depth. Skirmishes limited to online-only play, some bugs left over from early access and a forgettable campaign weigh against Crossfire: Legion’s basically engaging RTS gameplay and graphics. Diehard fans of the genre will absolutely appreciate the game’s classic feel, but will be left wanting more.

Choo-Choo Charles is sure to be one of the shortest titles you play all year. Just as soon as Charles tears through the trees and into sight for the first time, he’s gone. As the credits rolled, I couldn’t help but feel like Choo-Choo Charles should be compared to a stocking stuffer. A fun, cheap little trinket that you enjoy for a minute and then never touch again. I promise I mean that in the nicest way possible.

The platforming and level design in Wavetale is fantastic. You can easily fly up buildings in style due to the responsive controls. Even though the objectives are similar throughout, the areas are well-designed to make each island refreshing. While you can overlook the lackluster and rigid combat, the performance issues are harder to ignore. Screen tearing and pop-ins are frequent and hinder the experience. However, fans of games like Solar Ash and The Pathless will still enjoy the game.

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 Forest Quartet is a wonderful title that is creative in its approach to telling a touching story. The aesthetics and score blend perfectly to take you on an ethereal journey. Even though it is very short and the puzzles are straightforward, it manages to deliver a memorable experience.

Treasures has a lot of good building blocks, but they don’t add up to much. The gameplay loop starts out compelling, but it quickly goes stale. The visual presentation is alright, but the music is terribly flat. And the act of traversal, of actually exploring, left me unsatisfied. Worse, I never felt like I was working towards anything particularly interesting. Money eventually ends up meaningless in most RPGs, and this game does not buck that trend. If you find yourself hopelessly compelled by the prospect of hunting for loot, this might be your game. Otherwise, I can’t really recommend Dragon Quest Treasures.

Devotees of yuri, musou, or anime visual novels might find something to enjoy in Samurai Maiden. Aside from its genre trappings, fans of action RPGs won’t be impressed. The game’s combat is simply too frustrating, repetitive, and janky. Samurai Maiden doesn’t take any chances. The result is an overpriced, low-budget game with tepid combat bound to a collection of familiar genre tropes.

The solarpunk genre is here and only is going to grow as our climate starts to transform. Plenty of people are going to find a way to express their existential dread at a problem that seems so big. There will be plenty of corny stories about rebuilding a world from the ashes of the people we were before. Where Floodland has a leg up is in its subtlety. You aren’t constantly talking about who you want to be and how you want to run your apocalypse town. You are showing who you are by how you build it.

I can live with many of Need For Speed Unbound’s faults. Admittedly, there were fleeting moments when I enjoyed the routine of earning cash, upgrading, outrunning police, and climbing Lakeshore’s underground racing ranks. But, when a Need For Speed game spits in the face of people that use wheel and pedal setups, it’s tough to feel a need for anything other than a need to play a better game. There’s a foundation here to build upon, but EA and Criterion have their work cut out for them if they ever hope to compete with the giants of the racing game scene.

As a spiritual successor, the game adopts many traits that are similar to Dead Space. The HUD is implemented within the design, the limbs of your opponent can be blown away and the tight camera obscures your view. While comparisons are expected, The Callisto Protocol does differ. The melee-focused combat cranks up the intensity of encounters but ultimately stumbles when facing numerous enemies. Some may not like the linearity but I felt that this helped with the pacing of the game and the effectiveness of scares. Although it never reaches the heights of its predecessor’s first two outings, it still offers a trembling trek through a terrifying detention center.

Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII- Reunion is equal parts cheesy, satirical, thought-provoking, and nostalgic. The pacing is often questionable, but the atmosphere can be incredible. The writing can be awkward, but the characters are dear to my heart. And although I already knew how Zack’s story ended going in, I still wanted to watch the journey. I’d heartily recommend this remaster to any fan of Final Fantasy. And if you really want to jump in here, go for it. It sure is a great time.

Romancing SaGa -Minstrel Song- Remastered is awesome in so many ways, but it’s annoying in a lot of ways too. With the steep learning curve at the beginning, I can’t imagine anyone enjoying it who’s not a JRPG veteran. But for those of us that love the genre, there are some cool experiments to shake things up, and a massive world to explore with multiple protagonists. It’s a ton of content; easily over 100 hours’ worth. Anyone curious about the roots of modern JRPGs like Octopath Traveler and Bravely Default should really give it a try.

Fans of Vermintide will definitely enjoy Darktide’s slightly more creative approach to character building, and anyone into fast-paced cooperative shooters — lovers of Warhammer 40,000 or not — will have a great time. Best of all, Warhammer 40,000 Darktide has all the elements for an extended life, provided Fatshark keeps fixing bugs, adding content and rewarding its fans. Darktide is off to a great start.

If you are a big fan of webseries, you might be able to get by on the fact that you can play as Team RWBY. Unfortunately, RWBY: Arrowfell does not do justice to the anime. It’s a shame because the show is really cool. The world is really well-crafted and the action visually very interesting. The format of the game just does not lend itself to the series.

The ability to partner familiar Marvel superstars with a hero of your own creation is just part of Midnight Sun’s appeal. The card battle system perfectly balances easy-to-learn with tough-to-master. With a heavy emphasis on narrative and character, Marvel’s Midnight Suns is much more than an X-COM clone. The Marvel gang feels right at home in the tactical RPG genre thanks to the game’s smart mechanics. Fighting alongside iconic Marvel heroes never gets old.

Sports Story is a great idea that struggles to reach its full potential. While the soccer-focused tasks use the theme in fun and innovative ways, too many missions include menial tasks. On the pitch, the gameplay is basic and due to this, it doesn’t manage to string enough elements together to deliver a clinical finish.

The Knight Witch is an intriguing amalgamation of genres. Flying through stages and battling foes feels great. The unique approach to special attacks and the Metroidvania style progression work extremely well. While the narrative intrigues and includes some innovation, its presentation is simple. Regardless of this, the game is a blast and freshens up the shmup genre.

The Oregon Trail was, and is, a landmark product in gaming history. Gameloft’s remake updates a classic and makes it relevant and fun for gamers in 2022, without sacrificing the original’s personality. Setting off for the West has never been more inviting.

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet is a step in the right direction. Game Freak successfully reimagines the formula in an open-world format and improves on its previous experiments with this design. The ability to tackle any gym is refreshing and the three distinct story paths give more reason to explore. Unfortunately, the number of performance issues cannot be overlooked and these hinder what could have been a highlight of the series.

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet is a step in the right direction. Game Freak successfully reimagines the formula in an open-world format and improves on its previous experiments with this design. The ability to tackle any gym is refreshing and the three distinct story paths give more reason to explore. Unfortunately, the number of performance issues cannot be overlooked and these hinder what could have been a highlight of the series.

Almost nothing about Gungrave G.O.R.E. feels like it was released in 2022. By sticking so closely to the original, it inherits all the faults of the PlayStation 2 game. It’s short, repetitive and while the combat system remains a highlight, it’s surrounded by story, mechanics, sound and art that somehow still feel dated and aren’t much fun compared to so many other, better action games. There are many devotees of the original, but I think they might be disappointed. However, if you’re a fan of chaotic third person shooters you might find Gungrave G.O.R.E. entertaining for a few minutes. Just don’t expect the fun to last.

Evil West is the third in an unrelated trilogy of games that weave together the old West with supernatural elements. The West has recently been Hard, Weird and now, Evil. To me, this is the best of the bunch. It’s definitely the most fun. It combines an old-school shooter’s lack of fussy complexity with plenty of depth and engaging, fluid, frenetic combat. Add in a well-acted narrative and some iconic environments, and you’re in for a great time slaying vampires and taking names.

I’m utterly torn with Bloody Ties (no pun intended). On the one hand, I genuinely found myself enjoying my departure from Villedor in favor of a brutal, balls-to-the-walls tournament. On the other hand, no game I’ve played in the last decade has been as unstable as Dying Light 2. I’ve been forced to curse the sky and proclaim Techland’s latest DLC nigh-unplayable. When it works, it’s great. But these developers have some serious fixin’ to do.