I would recommend Siege Survival: Gloria Victis to players who like difficult management games and muddy depressing fantasy. I know you guys are out there. I’m one of those people. And despite my many criticisms of the game, I intend to keep playing it after this review has gone live. That’s not necessarily always the case! But there is a spark of something at the core of Siege Survival: Gloria Victis. It’s a puzzle, and if I can just line all the pieces up, I know I’ll feel the satisfaction of solving a difficult gaming challenge. But I will not be able to help imagining the game this could have been; brighter, sleeker, and more imaginative.

As I said before, Days Gone feels like bad TV. It has no substance, but goddamn is it nice just to relax and follow along with the story and its hypnotizing gameplay loops. There are definitely better games out there, but without a doubt, Days Gone is a perfectly entertaining title to waste a week in.

For anyone who missed Metro: Exodus in its original release and can scale the graphics card barrier to entry, the Enhanced Edition is definitely a must-buy. Thankfully players without the requisite gear can still enjoy the game’s other, less major, improvements and fixes too.

Wrath of the Druids is a substantial, mechanically strong and visually impressive expansion for Assassin’s Creed Valhalla and anyone who appreciated the main game will absolutely enjoy Eivor’s journey to the Emerald Isle. Wrath of the Druids does not make any fundamental changes to Valhalla’s game play but it’s easy to become invested in the new story, interesting characters and beautiful environments, and can be enjoyed by a player at any level.

Your enjoyment of this game depends on your expectations. While there is a cohesive story, it’s tucked away for the most part. You stumble across the plot every couple of hours, but much of your playtime is spent staying alive. The various gameplay loops have been tweaked, modified, and expanded from the original, but fans of the first game will find a lot of this very familiar. On the other hand, if you’ve been starving for more Subnautica, Below Zero is an absolute feast. You’re constantly scanning, salvaging, crafting, cooking, and expanding your little empire. Depending on your tolerance for stress, this can either be a serene little salt-crusted sandbox, or a nail-biting marathon. Either way, Subnautica: Below Zero is one ocean expedition you won’t want to miss.

All in all, Legend of Keepers is a fine game with some issues and lots of things to love. There are certainly better rogue-lite/management games out there, but this title provides a unique flavor that may be perfectly suited for the right player.

Lacking a story, bot matches, or any other form of single-player content, Hood: Outlaws and Legends is committed to a very specific multiplayer model that may or may not have legs. The game feels unbalanced, populated by a large number of surprisingly high-level players wreaking havoc on newbies, and squads interested in subverting the flow of gameplay. Some of these issues will get ironed out in time with tweaks to balance and matchmaking but what remains is still a fairly limited experience even under ideal circumstances. Additional modes, a wider variety of classes and especially, some sort of alternative to PvP combat would all potentially bring Hood: Outlaws and Legends’ fundamentally solid gameplay to a wider audience and give it a chance at longevity.

Celebrating its 25th anniversary, Resident Evil Village is a fitting tribute to the history of the franchise. Although some of the enigmatic characters are not given the screentime they deserve, they are incredibly realized through the environments that evoke the personality of its inhabitant. Perhaps the game could have taken more risks in this outing, however, this dastardly showcase of the macabre is intoxicating.

Flowing Lights is a unique title that takes the arcade shooter in a new direction. The mixture of puzzles and bullet-bending gravity helps to freshen an aging genre by adding a layer of strategy. Although the title is marred with unimaginative aesthetics, the ingenuity soaked within the gameplay will communicate with fans of retro titles. Releasing at a budget price, this is definitely worth a shot.

New Pokémon Snap takes everything the original game did right and only adds onto the original, successful formula. It is beautiful and relaxing while being frantic and fun. There is an almost overload of things to see and do on each stage with plenty of challenges to complete. Seeing your favorite Pokémon come to life is an absolute treat, but making the game bigger and better while adding certain limitations feels like a recipe for artificial longevity. With so much going on at any given time and imperfect means of interacting with the Pokémon – coupled with the ability to submit only one photo per outing per Pokémon at a time – New Pokémon Snap is asking you to complete dozens of perfect runs per stage to fill the Photodex. While the repetitive nature might be just fine for kids, this game may be better in short bursts for adults and perfectionists.

This is a great pinball collection but in its current state, it comes with a BIG caveat. The game crashes. A lot. It seems to be related to the online connectivity portions of the game. Before the game and servers went live, the online portions did not crash. Now it crashes every time you try to access the leaderboards. In its current state, I do not recommend picking this collection up. Keep a tab on the game and wait till you hear these issues have been addressed. Once they have, this is a for sure pickup.

It’s set-up is ludicrous, it’s biomes are beautiful but sparse, and it’s story is convoluted; but even still, I enjoyed Maskmaker and I recommend you take up the chisel and mallet and experience it for yourself. There’s a clever and unique use of VR in this game that make it worth trying on, despite everything.

All of this new immersion really gets you leaning into those deep slants around corners that motorcycle racing is all about. Very exciting stuff! No doubt, I wouldn’t be as enthusiastic about this game if it weren’t for the PS5 DualSense controller. Milestone has gone the extra mile with MotoGP 21, even having an enhancement roadmap you can view on their website. The roadmap clearly outlines improvements planned for May through June. Those updates include adding new bike categories, expanded player controls, and joining in-progress qualifying sessions instead of having to wait as a spectator. While MotoGP 21 is available on all gaming platforms, the PS5 with the DualSense controller is the premium way to play this game.

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.

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.

I had a blast with Narita Boy. It’s not perfect, but what is? Indeed, it started slowly, though, it doesn’t take long before you’re capable of exhilarating feats. And the ending is brilliant, paving the way for a sequel that will seemingly be an entirely different genre. Whatever that may be, I’ll be there, at the front of the line. It’s up to you to save the world. So get to it.

Wraith: The Oblivion – Afterlife creates an incredibly compelling narrative with a world that compliments it fully. I’m a bit sensitive when it comes to VR games, but luckily this title has both a standing and sitting mode, so I could play a little bit longer without feeling nauseous. There are some quirks here and there, but none of the things I mentioned above ever really took me out of the immersion of the experience itself. Some horror fans may not like the consistently slow pace you have to keep up with for the entirety of the game, but for those who don’t mind taking things nice and slow while being scared out of your wits, Wraith: The Oblivion – Afterlife is certainly for you.

With its close-cousin-to-Legos look, smallish levels, and fast load times on current consoles, Dungeon and Gravestone has some addictive curb appeal but ultimately fails to deliver anything really new to a very crowded genre. There is depth to be sure, both in the options for character progression, stuff to find and fight, and the dozens of levels of the dungeons and hidden areas. The buzzkill for me was not the expected and familiar roguelike loop, but the frustrating movement mechanics, the necessity of replaying the uninspired, bare-bones early levels over and over, and the slow progress towards building a reasonably powerful character. Dungeon and Gravestone will scratch an itch for the devotees of the genre but I suspect those without a lot of patience will bounce off pretty quickly.

Judgment has its flaws, but it does give you a fresh take on the established Yakuza formula, and the story and characters bring some much-needed realism that sets the game apart. The gameplay additions, while they don’t always hit the mark, at least represent an attempt to keep things interesting. If you haven’t yet played Judgment, this new Remastered version is absolutely the way to play it. Disappointingly, it doesn’t offer any new content, but it does improve on the graphics, frame rate and load times to a degree that vastly improves the experience.

As it stands I finished the game without a lot of desire to repeat the journey to flesh out the many endings (34 in total). Because while there are enjoyable moments, it’s spread across a sparse and long hallway to move through. Ashwalkers has the bones of some good ideas. I’m hoping to see more from this studio as there are unique things to be found here, Nameless XIII just never really hits their mark. There are plenty of walking simulators out there that make you forget what they are. Ashwalkers, unfortunately, is not one of them.

In the end, although The Signifier Director’s Cut has a solid intellectual conceit and an interesting story to tell, I’m just not convinced that a point-and-click puzzle game is the ideal medium for telling it. Despite its improvements, it’s still rough around the edges in lots of little ways. Still, the new release of the game manages to drop more than a few thought bombs for later contemplation, so while The Signifier Director’s Cut lacks in polish and execution, it is worth checking out for fans of the point-and-click genre and brainy games in general.

Returnal is so much more than a rogue-like bullet-hell game. It tells a captivating, mysterious, and oftentimes haunting narrative with gorgeous, unsettling visuals and compelling voice acting. It offers a wide variety of collectibles, health upgrades, and unique features to give you a fresh and varied experience with each cycle, and gives players shortcuts so they can continue to press on with the story rather than have to complete every single biome time and time again.

If you can call being a menace to society a harmless and casual endeavor, Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion will easily bring many smiles to your face. Truly a masterpiece that doesn’t require much thinking to enjoy, all you have to do is pick up your controller and avoid all adult responsibilities by playing as a turnip who is avoiding all adult responsibilities. With the game being released so close to the end of tax season, I would like to think Turnip Boy was intentionally released in April as a joke or perhaps a form of escapism. At the same time, it’s probably also a great reminder to all of us to file our taxes by the end of this month.

Overall, Tasomachi: Behind the Twilight is a bit of a letdown. I suppose some of that conclusion can be traced back to my own anticipation and misunderstanding of what the game was, but the fact is that objectively, Tasomachi is a simplistic collect-a-thon without a clear motivator to drive the player forward. While the game has a strong base, more could have been done to make it feel more like a game and less of a demo. While the sum of its parts leaves some to be desired, various aspects of Tasomachi: Behind the Twilight show what the developers at Orbital Express are capable of, and that is something I’ll be looking forward to.

Take me out to the ball game and leave me in the nosebleeds. I’m never coming back. MLB The Show 21 is a tremendous homage to a sport so many love. I know the Road to the Show regression will drive people crazy, and the bugs do continue to somewhat hinder my enjoyment. But this is all fixable stuff. What lies underneath is a beautiful simulation of baseball. Isn’t that what we came for?

Battle Axe might be an excellent arcade game, but that’s a flaw as well as a feature. Extended play sessions, like those you find in Infinite Mode, can quickly wear out their welcome. You can only blow apart so many orcs before you start yearning for more. Maybe the gameplay loop doesn’t escape that cabinets and coins territory, but it doesn’t need to. The action that’s available is nothing short of exemplary. Fluid pixel art animation, tight controls, retro music and audio, and an intense challenge all elevate this game beyond ordinary nostalgia. If you’re looking for your next arcade game, you absolutely can’t miss Battle Axe.

Overall, World Splitter is a really great and challenging puzzler that may look easy but will leave you scratching your head more often than not. The unique double map and physics mechanics are some of those things that really make World Splitter stand out. The cute and simplistic style is very aesthetically pleasing and helps keep you from screaming at the top of your lungs when you take one step too many at the very end of a map. Challenge your brain and spatial awareness if you dare.

NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139… is the perfect way for fans of Automata to experience the original and for newcomers to engage with the franchise. With updated combat and visuals, Replicant can proudly sit amongst greats in the genre; however, the hypersexualized representation of Kainé remains and deters from an incredible experience.