Despite the love and humor that went into it, the annoying dialogue mechanics make the repetition inherent to the genre stand out. Still, I want to see more of Clawville: there’s still time for this dirty city to turn over a new leaf.

Observer is a decent game. The highly detailed environments and disturbing dream sections are hobbled only by the gameplay’s limited, repetitive nature during the real world sections. It features a solid voice work performance from Rutger Hauer too. As an early title for the PS5, there is much to be impressed with. Observer runs smooth and loads quickly, and it looks great even though the artistic direction subdues the impact. However, the old dictum remains – good graphics alone do not make for a great game.

At first glance, it may seem like Immortals is a mish-mash of several games that came before but it’s from the ashes of these that Fenyx Rises. Oozing with charm, you’ll fall in love with the characterization and delivery of the narrative and want to explore every nook and cranny of the rich and diverse Grecian world.

The Sims 4: Snowy Escape gives us a ton of fun new content and a beautiful new location. The new activities, the CAS and Buy/Build modes, festivals and clothing we get to play with is certainly worth the price. And with the new added features of having the lifestyles system in place, it really brings the game together and EA needed that, especially since the debacle with the last expansion pack. So, what are you waiting for? Grab those skis and snowboards and get ready to hit those slopes!

This game is kind of a rare beast. The gameplay is more accessible than ever, while the story has reached a new plateau on Mount Convoluted. Players who missed it the first time will be thrilled, but even experienced fans will have good reasons to double dip. The features included make this an excellent Special Edition while being a decent PS5 release. I’m not so invested I want to go back and play the games I missed, though I am glad I came back to the series. If smooth gameplay is your yardstick, then this is the definitive version for you. On the other hand, there are better graphical show pieces for the PS5 out there. Even so, I can easily recommend Devil May Cry 5: Special Edition for new and old fans alike.

While Godfall’s technical components of gameplay and graphics were solid, the game overall is just fine. As mentioned, the narrative as told throughout is relatively shallow, and despite a fun combat system, it does get repetitive. Finally, the recurrence of a number of bugs hampered my personal experience, and these do not appear to be an isolated case. While I quite enjoyed Godfall at the outset, it began to wane on me over time, and what might have been a decent launch title may not seem like it years from now.

New graphics and sound design aside, it’s still Demon’s Souls. And even after a decade and many Souls games now on the shelf, Demon’s Souls core is absolutely rock solid. With all the layers subsequent games added stripped away… wow. It speaks volumes about how well-designed From Software’s first take was. Swings are strategic. Dodge rolling is a survivor’s essence. Knowing when and how to engage each enemy is just as important as your stats. New motion-captured animations only add to the beautiful dance of death on display. You’ll sweat as hard here as you did the first time and you’ll be pissed when you die but ecstatic about your triumphs.

If you’re a fan of the Sniper Elite franchise, Sniper Elite 4 on Nintendo Switch is definitely worth checking out. It’s a new campaign in the series with necessary improvements from the last installment, while fans from other platforms can enjoy their favorite Sniper Elite Italian campaign from the comfort of their bed or on their commute to work. Sniper Elite 4 brings snipers into new locations featuring ruined castles, bayside watchtowers, vast orchards, underground tunnels, occupied cities, and far more.

If you’re an FPS fan itching for something to play on your Xbox Series X/S, then this could satisfy you for an afternoon. Otherwise, I would just wait until Bright Memory: Infinite releases.

I really wanted to like this game, and it really has its charms, but as I got deeper into the story and as the cases get more and more complex, all these UI issues just ground my enjoyment down to nothing. If the game can fix these issues, and let me just organize my papers the way I please and let me skip animations, I would wholeheartedly recommend this game. As it stands right now, I think it’s great for the espionage lovers out there are able to overlook the gameplay flaws for the simulation elements of the design.

For me, Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity succeeds on two separate fronts. This is a prequel with the narrative heft required for a game in the Zelda franchise. But, this is also a Musou/Warriors game that twists that formula into something unique and engaging. What emerges from this strange union is an experience unlike either set of source material. This is a final product content to carve a small slice out of a massive pie. Even if your interest is strictly in Zelda games or Warriors titles, you owe it to yourself to give this game a shot. You're certain to be quite pleasantly surprised by what Age of Calamity has to offer.

This is a great multigenerational game. It’s also the kind of party game that could be fun to play remotely with a group of friends. It’s the same appeal of playing Mario Kart on the couch. In other words, in a world where it’s tough to meet up in person and where a lot of socializing has to happen online, Witch It is the kind of simple game you could play with your non-gamer friends. The kind of person unlikely to drop money on in-game currency in your favorite shooter might feel compelled to join you for a few rounds of Witch It over the weekend. And hey, take them up on it! Enjoy being a floppy pizza for a few weeks of gameplay as you reconnect with your friends. That sounds like it’s worth 20 American dollars of laughs.

The abundance of dinosaurs and the city-building aspect of Jurassic World Evolution is excellent. It’s like creating a lawless piece of land where your guests can wander aimlessly while you continue to neglect their needs for a restroom and instead build gift shops that make 500% profit. A fun and challenging enough simulator where your creations can eat people, both new and old fans of the Jurassic Park franchise will find this game very enjoyable.

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War doesn’t innovate in any big way. It merely gives Call of Duty fans more of what they have been accustomed to playing year after year. At the same time, Cold War is truly an enjoyable experience delivering over 100gigs of content that’ll get ongoing support and free content long after this review is posted. In short, better days ahead. Cold War will once again be considered the must-have shooter this holiday season. Deservedly so. Just don’t expect anything incredibly groundbreaking.

The Pathless is a great game. It’s beyond stunning, with a remarkable soundtrack and phenomenal sense of place. Refined traversal mechanics do a lot of the heavy lifting, while puzzles and boss battles could use an extra dose of variety. Though the formula gets tired by the end of the tale, The Pathless proudly stands among giants of the genre like Journey.

Overall, Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory is a phenomenal experience. It has truly unique gameplay wrapped in a Triple A Kingdom Hearts presentation. The music featured is among the most memorable scores in video game history, and the amount of content will keep players getting much more than their money’s worth. If you’re at all curious about Melody of Memories, rest assured that it’s a must buy.

The art style is vivid and manages to not look realistic but still be immersive, and the simple act of being Sakuna and exploring the visuals around me is enough to want to keep playing. In some ways, the game reminds me of Animal Crossing games, where the loop slows me down and keeps me engaged in the little wonders of life around me.

Monster Camp in a nutshell is about enjoying the story, admiring the whacky, graphic-novel style artwork, and building up your stats over the course of the summer to make sure you have enough points to win over your monster and secure a date to the meteor shower. The dialogue features a great deal of vulgarity, and it’s certainly not meant for the eyes of children. It’s outrageous and hilarious, and the scenarios are just as over-the-top as you would expect. It’s all about savoring the journey, and for most fans of this genre, there is a lot to appreciate.

I really wish Nintendo took the extra step to include both Pikmin 1 and 2 in this package. The entire series should be available for everyone to enjoy. With that said, don’t sleep on Pikmin 3 Deluxe, it’s a plucking good time and just enough to tide us over as we continue the long wait for Pikmin 4.

Georifters has good things going for it but it definitely needs some tweaking, especially for veteran fans of the genre. That said, I would certainly recommend this game for families, especially those with young kids as the art style does feel like it caters to children more. Adventure mode can be a fun couch co-op experience but I wouldn’t be surprised if Battle Ground mode would be the one played more often.

The single greatest oversight in this game, aside from the controls, is the inability to interact with your bird. You can inject it with mutagens to power it up but you can’t pet it? If I had been given the opportunity to interact with my warbird, customize its gear and coloration, and build a real bond with it, I would have enjoyed this game much more than I did. As is, I found The Falconeer to be a compelling but frustrating experience.

The intriguing mysteries, colorful characters to befriend, and overall charm in everything from the voice acting to the design of the different Bugsnax makes this game a true winner. It vaguely feels like Pokémon for the new generation, and both children and adults will find a lot to love here. The controls are easy to master, the gameplay is superb, and there’s a lot to do on the reasonably-sized map. If you are what you eat, then I'm the happiest Cinnasnail this side of Snaktooth Island has ever seen.

This same freedom of choice and flexibility is what ultimately pins Assassin’s Creed Valhalla to the wall. This is an experience composed of morsels, dozens of fun things pressed into one. The core gameplay loop is just a series of smaller loops, none of which really come out on top. Every element is pretty good, but not quite great, on its own. But those bits still add up to a lot of fun had over a lot of hours.

Though it’s not as polished as the 2018 original, Spider-Man Miles Morales is a smashing success. It looks sensational and is an absolute riot to play. Miles’ story brings all the drama and feels it needs to and highlights a community outside what’d normally be on the drawing board for a game like this. Despite some bugginess, this is the game you want to show off your impressive new hardware. I can guarantee I’ll be slinging from Harlem to Hell’s Kitchen daily for the foreseeable future.

Alas, Astro’s Playroom is only a few astonishing, magical hours long. There are lots of collectibles to go after and a leaderboard driven speedrun mode, but when I finished, I was still hungry for more. And that’s kind of the only criticism I can levy against it. The way it leverages PlayStation’s history, I can’t wait to see what irresistible creation Team ASOBI comes up with next. In the here and now, Astro Bot has earned a place in my heart among the very best of PlayStation’s franchises. ‎

Despite the aged feel, Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit Remastered offers cross-platform asynchronous multiplayer powered by Autolog. While this may be hit or miss for new fans, it’s admirable that Criterion Games and EA wanted to maintain the original gameplay experience that created the cult following within the Need for Speed community. This is now the best way to play Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit as it’s updated for the PS4 and Xbox One without losing anything that made the original game great.

It all ends up coming across as an ‘almost’ experience. Pacer is almost a successor to Wipeout, but poor track design, a lack of strong audio design, and lackluster weapons all add up to a ho-hum experience that leaves you wanting for the early Wipeout days. If you really need something to scratch that old itch, then give Pacer a whirl. If you’re looking for the next S-Class zero-g racer, you’ll likely want to dust off an older PlayStation.

Yakuza: Like a Dragon is the perfect update for a flagging series. Its clever storytelling, bizarre substories, and engrossing gameplay makes this one of the strongest entries in the franchise. Mixing deep societal messages with references to popular culture, the game is both hilarious and thought-provoking. It is very clear to see that with Ichiban Kasuga, the series is in safe hands.