What I played left a strong impression overall. First Light already has the foundation of something confident, stylish, and occasionally very clever, even when it is still adjusting its tie in the mirror. It’s Hitman roots are clear as day, but the strong narrative pivot First Light is really diving into really kept things feel fresh throughout my session. I think fans of both Hitman and James Bond are really going to like what First Light showcases, and it could become something genuinely memorable. [4-Hour Hands-On Impressions]

Despite my hesitation, Heroes of Might & Magic: Olden Era feels like a dream come true. It captures what made the series special while leaving space to grow into something even better. If the developers continue refining and expanding it, this could finally be the game that brings the franchise back to the top of the strategy genre. Combat, exploration, army management, and the story are exactly what I wanted from a new Heroes of Might & Magic game, and if the only issues are minor ones, I am beyond happy. Longtime fans will not want to pass on this one. It may never reach the same heights as Heroes of Might & Magic III, but it is well on its way to making that attempt. [Early Access Score = 90]

Valorborn feels like it was born into Early Access a little too early, like it got pushed out of the oven while the center was still deciding what temperature it believes in. The potential is not theoretical, it is visible in motion, and anyone who spends real time with this game can see the shape of something much stronger trying to push through the cracks. But right now, even as an Early Access purchase, it feels like a step taken before the ground finished forming beneath it. [Early Access Score = 50]

Dying Light: The Beast’s inability to focus on the right aspects is its ultimate downfall. The parkour should be the focal point the title revolves around since it is its most unique feature with the greatest potential, yet it’s hobbled by inaccurate controls and incessant losses in momentum. Most of the other mechanics — like its stealth, melee combat, and RPG systems — are shallow or superfluous; flavorless gruel meant to pad out the menu. It’s hard not to see the breadth having anything but a negative influence on its depth, showing how this beast isn’t nearly as formidable as it should be.

Cronos’ sweeping narrative issues speak to how thoroughly troubled the entire game is. Like the humanoid blobs that coat many of its buildings and streets, Cronos is an amalgamation of ideas that combine to form a messy whole. Its clumsily balanced combat is aggravating and regularly disempowers players, and its inane attempts at providing scares are woefully ineffective. And when underpinned by a badly paced narrative with questionable themes, Cronos: The New Dawn is anything but a new dawn for Bloober and is instead a remix of its same old deficiencies.

South Park: Snow Day's biggest sin is the complete lack of what made Fractured, But Whole and Stick of Truth work so well: their humor. Gone are many of the edgy jokes that made the previous two entries stick out, instead being replaced by characters that feel neutered and lacking the punch that helped make the animated series such a hit for oh so many years. Everything feels safe and stale, meaning that Snow Day is an easy pass for those looking to re-enter the world of South Park on their consoles or computers.

The story attempts to hit a lot of familiar beats, but instead ends up feeling like someone copied the homework of the original trilogy without showing their work. Modern Warfare 3 seems to think nostalgia will carry the load of this story and that players may project their love for the original onto this one without it doing anything to earn that. On one hand, I commend Call of Duty for taking 20 years to deliver a campaign this messy. On the other hand, I hate that it happened to a story that revolves around characters and storylines that fans like myself have so much affinity for. The Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 campaign is not a celebration of 20 years of Call of Duty – it's a cry for help. [Campaign Review Score = 40]

Madden NFL 24 is an improved on-field product, but everything else leaves a lot to be desired.

Ultimately, Greyhill Incident is a big disappointment. This had real potential to be a short, but cool horror game that leverages tension and aliens in a way we haven't really seen in gaming. What we got instead is a flavorless game that feels like a concept for something much better. The only real positive thing I can give it is that it ensures what you'll endure is short and swift.

Pardon the pun, but playing Redfall really sucked the life out of me. It's a game that so desperately feels like it wants to be more than what it is, which is understandable. It's dreadfully dull, buggy, frustrating, and feels shackled to a genre that it doesn't really want to be part of. Far Cry with vampires sounds like a great idea, but ultimately, what we got feels like a shell of a prototype for such a concept. The vibes the game radiates are great and there are glimmers of a better game when all of the game's elements are working together in harmony, but that so rarely happens.

While it doesn't do everything perfectly, Hogwarts Legacy stimulates the imagination with a rich world to explore and gameplay that empowers and thrills the player. The Harry Potter films had the tough task of taking words on a page and creating a visual language for them. Hogwarts Legacy had the even tougher task of taking that visual language and making it interactive, ultimately expanding it all into something that is fun to play and immerse yourself in. Although there's still a long year ahead of us and tons of great looking games on the horizon, Hogwarts Legacy is already one of the best games of 2023.

There's fun to be had in Evil West but there are far too many chinks in this armor to make it worthy of wearing into the field. 

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2's multiplayer is filled with mindless fun and lots of ways to grind, and it serves as a solid evolution and refinement of its predecessor. Although it's fun, the tried and true PvP is bogged down by some confounding design choices, lackluster maps with zero staying power, and missing features. It's a fine game. I've enjoyed my time with it, and it's a game I will continue to play which is something that couldn't be said about last year's game. However, just fine probably isn't what you want when invoking the name of one of the most iconic and defining modern military shooters of all time. [Multiplayer Review score = 70; Campaign score = 60]

Dynasty Warriors 9: Empires is a niche version of an already divisive game and provides very little innovation to the musou formula. It honestly feels like a half-baked game, as if developer Koei Temco felt the need to keep the Empires spinoff line of games going simply because it has done it in the past. There are better musou games out there and better strategy games out there, and I honestly can't recommend this game to fans of either type of game. Ultimately, Dynasty Warriors 9 Empires won't hold your interest for any extended period of time unless you're already a fan of the franchise.

Battlefield 2042 absolutely should have been pushed back by EA and DICE to some point in 2022. Instead, the version of this game that is currently available has been virtually unplayable for me at times since first releasing. Even beyond this, though, some of the key design changes that DICE has made in Battlefield 2042 don't feel for the better. Rather than improving on the core Battlefield experience that fans loved with Battlefield 3, 4, or Bad Company 2, 2042 is a bloated husk of its former self that is trying to recapture some semblance of its previous glory. As a fan that has been playing this series for well over a decade, Battlefield 2042 is a massive disappointment that I struggle to think is even worth saving.

In simplest terms, Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition is a mess of a release and isn't anything close to the level of quality that we have come to expect from the Rockstar Games name in the past.

The Good Life, for better or intentionally worse, is full of hardships. It might be the kind of experience you're looking for if you wanted a reflection of just how laborious life can be sometimes. That might not make for a very good life, though.

I've enjoyed my experience in Pokemon Unite, and I feel that the core 5v5 matches are definitely something that players can sink a lot of hours into. The gameplay is a bit more forgiving than League of Legends to newcomers, but you'll still have to work to figure out how to master a particular Pokemon's skills and fit them into a wider team strategy. The pay-to-win criticisms lobbied by the fans are valid and are concerning given the Pokemon franchise's younger demographic. If Tencent can tweak their revenue strategy to make it so that players don't need to pay money in a free-to-play game in order to compete, than Pokemon Unite should have a long shelflife and could be Nintendo's first successful foray into the MOBA competitive scene.

Balan Wonderworld is a lesson in how a video game can go completely wrong, missing every target it attempts to hit.

Monster Energy Supercross 4 is a game seemingly made for die-hard fans of the sport and the simulation series. The sheer depth of customization options, a massive roster, the new skill-point system, and a robust track editor provide several reasons for them to keep coming back for more sessions. Newcomers, however, will first have to spend several hours learning the systems and grinding to earn enough money and points to improve their rider and bike before finding much enjoyment.

Twin Mirror has some elements of it that can't help but be admirable; its concept is intriguing, its voice cast is compelling, and it could have easily been the next buzzworthy photorealistic video game. But, in execution, it comes across as a dated, surface-level experience, one that isn't sure whether to be a complex character study or an open-world mystery, and is nowhere near as rewarding as the time and effort it asks you to put into it. Twin Mirror will undoubtedly find an audience of some who want to dive into its ambiguous mystery, but it's far from the most engrossing or well-executed title that video game fans could pick up right now.

There are also numerous graphical issues, flare-ups, and technical difficulties that show that Remothered: Broken Porcelain could have definitely benefited from more time in the oven. If you're looking for some survival horror for this Halloween season, look elsewhere.

In a way, Torchlight III is a victim of its predecessors' success in breathing such vibrant life into the genre. Torchlight III's simplicity might position it as a decent introduction to the ARPG genre. For most players, it's hard not to suggest they direct their attention elsewhere.

Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning’s story is fascinating and still holds up eight years later. The combat is basic yet enjoyable, providing several opportunities to be a deadly assassin, unstoppable warrior, or powerful mage. However, the near-constant technical issues derail this game almost entirely. Kaiko has since provided a significant quality-of-life patch after the game’s release, so fans may not run into the same issues. The early impressions show improved performance and fewer framerate issues.

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Remastered Edition feels like a squandered opportunity. The game has seen a number of delays over the last year, but it doesn't feel like Square Enix utilized that time to improve the game over its predecessor. The voice work is rough, the controls are frustrating, load times are laughable, and the lack of couch co-op is glaring. The game's music and overall presentation are great and multiplayer is still fun after all these years, but it's hard to recommend the game when it feels like such a step back.

While the gameplay in Disintegration is really interesting, the game's plot never felt like it lived up to its promise.

Don't get us wrong, watching your shark grow from a "toddler" to a "megalodon with bone fins and electric teeth" is a sight to behold, but it ultimately doesn't feel worth the repetitive hours that one has to put in, to say nothing of the game-crashing glitches you may encounter along the way as we did. The idea of playing as a giant shark is a good one, but Maneater just isn't able to capitalize on it.