Yakuza Kiwami 3 isn’t a perfect remake by any means and comes with some more notable drawbacks than the Kiwami games before it. Still, I can’t deny that I thoroughly loved my time with Kiwami 3 and Dark Ties, even in spite of some hiccups along the way. If you’re like me and still haven’t gotten around to playing Yakuza 3, I think this is a fantastic way to experience the game.

Melody of Memory is indeed a Kingdom Hearts title. It's kind of like Kingdom Hearts Re:Coded in that dedicated fans might not want to overlook this one too much. Really, this is a game made for those fans anyway as it offers a fun way to re-experience the music of the series with some fun Disney extras. With bite-size stages that are easy to take in, it might help alleviate the pains of waiting for the next title just a little.

A hard game to review. Bithell Games has done an excellent job capturing the look and feel of the brand, and there's a lot to enjoy while it lasts. That said, each play through offers a fairly short experience, and it's hard to say whether longtime fans of the franchise will embrace the visual novel genre; it doesn't help that the game ends on a pretty big cliffhanger! It's an intriguing setup for future entries, and I find myself excited to see what happens next, and where Query's new quest will take him. It won't be for everyone, but Tron: Identity is a bold new take on a Disney favorite, and I applaud the company for being willing to try something different.

Just as ridiculous and fun as you remember, and the new coat of paint and modern upgrades make it an adventure that you'll want to take on even if you've already experienced it before. Fans who missed out on the original also owe it to themselves to see what all the fuss was about, because if they do they will find quite a lot to love. It's not perfect mind you, but honestly, you'll be having too much fun to really care about its flaws.

Rugrats: Adventures in Gameland serves as both a love letter to the original animated series, as well as the NES era. It's shocking that the combination took this long to happen, and it all fits together more often than it doesn't. It never really pushes the envelope in terms of innovation, preferring instead to borrow liberally from games like Chip n' Dale: Rescue Rangers and Super Mario Bros. 2. However, as someone that loved the Nicktoon as it aired, and spent my early childhood playing both those NES games, I enjoyed my time with this Rugrats romp. This isn't exactly Shovel Knight, but Rugrats: Adventures in Gameland is an enjoyable throwback for the short while that it lasts.

Back 4 Blood isn't perfect by any means, but it's absolutely the closest we've gotten to a new Left 4 Dead game in the years since Left 4 Dead 2. Because of this, it's hard not to have fun with B4B, even if it doesn't always feel inventive and has some notable drawbacks. Despite some qualms, if you're hungry for a new co-op shooter to jump into with some friends, Back 4 Blood has more than enough meat on the bone to keep you entertained for quite some time.

Scott Pilgrim EX is everything fans of the cult classic game could have hoped for, taking the concept and expanding it into something extraordinary.

After 19 years, Shantae remains an enjoyable adventure, and it's fun to see how the series has progressed. For current fans of the series that never played the original, I absolutely recommend buying it on Switch. However, those that have never played an entry in the series have four other games that will do a much better job showcasing Shantae's strengths. Check those out first and come back to this one.

Anyone who enjoys soulslikes should not skip Wuchang: Fallen Feathers, and it's also perfect for those looking to get into the genre.

It's too soon to tell if Princess Peach: Showtime! will do for the character what Luigi's Mansion did for Mario's brother, but I find myself hoping we'll see Nintendo revisit this concept in the future. Hopefully by then they'll have ditched some of the weaker transformations, and give the graphics an overhaul worthy of royalty.

Call of the Elder Gods is predominantly a puzzle game, so it’s a huge relief they are the best part of the experience. Almost every contraption in the game gives players a decently sized environment to explore in order to gather context clues and notes, many of which also neatly double as bits of lore. Players are forced to explore around and gather evidence in order to piece it all together.

Enchanted by Nature feels like a robust pack that truly delivers a lot of new stuff for Simmers to explore. I didn’t run into any new bugs that seemed pack-specific, so the added content appears to be working mostly as intended. There are some great little details, like how Fairy Sims “go for a fly” instead of a run, and how they can shrink down to play in various household items. The world really sticks to its theme, offering a magical place for Fairy Sims to hang out. This is probably one of the bigger, more involved new The Sims 4 expansion packs we’ve seen lately. If you enjoy the magical, natural living side of things, Enchanted by Nature is probably going to deliver.

Dashing from cover to cover while peppering enemies with bullets and lasers as you wait on cooldowns to reset is a truly exhilarating and tense moment The Ascent offers time and time again. Those moments are memorable and are unfortunately far less common than The Ascent’s pitfalls. I’m right near the end of the game’s main story after crossing off plenty of side missions, but with the charm of The Ascent’s firefights and scenery long since expired, there’s nothing much left to inspire confidence in what remains.

Sonic Colors: Ultimate is exactly what I like to see in a Sonic game: it's fun, it's fast, and the level design is exceptional. Developer Blind Squirrel Games has also added some quality-of-life features that make it welcoming for younger fans as well. It would have been nice to see the game's cutscenes receive the same visual upgrade that the rest of the game got, but that's a minor gripe. For fans that missed out on Sonic Colors when it first released, or those looking to revisit the game, Sonic Colors: Ultimate offers one of the best experiences to ever feature the blue blur.

Hot Wheels Unleashed -- in all caps and bolded letters -- is a passable arcade racer that sticks out from other middle-of-the-road racing games thanks to its devotion to nostalgia and some great ideas that are unfortunately not completely realized due to obvious budgetary restrictions. If you're desperate to get behind the wheel of your favorite Hot Wheel, it will scratch that itch, but not much else.

The unlikely direction for the Minecraft formula works well in the first major departure for the franchise, and with how vast the source material is in terms of biomes and content to explore, there’s a lot of room for this sort of thing to grow. It’s a success from the start, and it feels like it’ll only get better with age.

At its core, Harvestella is an exciting promise of things to come for RPG lovers as Square Enix is ready to bring its own farming sim to life. From its gorgeous visuals to its side quests, there is plenty to do and look at while playing. However, players should temper their expectations should they believe Harvestella to be a straightforward sim. This ambitious project is more JRPG than a simulator, and its pacing proves as much. If you are only looking to farm and woo locals, Harvestella will prove more than you can handle. But if a JRPG with simulation traits sounds appealing to you, Harvestella is just what you've been waiting for.

If you’re absolutely craving a new game that has tight gunplay and a loot loop that you can get into for a long period of time, Outriders definitely isn’t your worst option. But if you have played a litany of games like this over the past few years, I’m hard-pressed to think that there is anything about this one that will resonate with you on a greater level.

One Piece Odyssey does have its flaws in how its role-playing experience eventually works out over the course of its many hours, but when stacked against everything that's come before, it really is the best One Piece game yet. It's got a lot of fun things for fans of the series to dig into, and there is a lot of care and attention to detail paid in bringing the Straw Hat crew's various personalities and attacks to life. It might not be the best experience for the more dedicated, but it's definitely a perfect fit for current fans.

I had a lot of fun with Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition. This is a great Switch 2 port, and it may well be one of the best action games the console has to offer so far. The graphics are sharp for a 10-year-old game, the frame rate is solid, and the gameplay is classic Lara Croft goodness with some extra motion control bells and whistles if you want them. And for just $20, it’s hard not to say that everyone who enjoys a good action-adventure game with a side of puzzles should play this on Switch or Switch 2 ASAP.

Once reinforcements do come for Zombies, it will be hard to argue against Vanguard as one of the best and most complete Call of Duty titles in the last decade, potentially of the franchise's entire history. This is one of the rare times Call of Duty has seriously dug into its past, learned from it, and delivered a new and improved experience. Vanguard sets a high bar for Call of Duty as the franchise moves into the next generation.

It’s adept enough to transcend a modernized version of the “DOOM clone” label and rip and tear its own spot in the genre’s hierarchy.

Disney Illusion Island is a love letter to Mickey Mouse, offering a beautifully animated experience with great humor and a challenge level that's welcoming to experienced players and newcomers alike.

Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are good remakes of an inherently flawed Pokemon game. The games lean a little hard into recapturing the experience of the originals, which is a detriment and somewhat negates the fantastic visual and quality-of-life improvements. Honestly, it feels that Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are a preemptive olive branch to Pokemon fans ahead of Pokemon Legends: Arceus, in that it provides a decidedly retro experience as an alternative option to what is sure to be the most envelope-pushing Pokemon game made since the franchise launched 25 years ago. Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are made for those looking to celebrate the past of the Pokemon experience. For the rest of us, it's a nice distraction to hold us over until the launch of the next Pokemon game in a couple of months.

These insufficiencies get even more frustrating since they’d likely address the staleness that creeps into Forgive Me Father 2’s latter stages, as well as its difficulty that occasionally borders on being unfair. Boomer shooters don’t always have to be power fantasies, but Forgive Me Father 2 illustrates how one suffers when it submits too much of its power over to the Elder Gods.

Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition has a lot to love, and it would be great to see a similar treatment for SNES and N64 in the future.

It’s a surprising disconnect, one that evokes the game’s very title. Darwin’s Paradox’s name is derived from biologist Charles Darwin’s observation that coral reefs thrive in water without many nutrients. How can something so lively sustain itself in a barren environment? While unintended, Darwin’s Paradox offers up a similar conundrum: How can something so lively and pretty be so boring and bland on the inside?

My only real gripes with the game come from the occasionally too long dialogue sequences (it seems that every character has to quip or comment about Katrielle's current course of action) and the frustrating lack of resolution at the end of the game. Although the game obviously sets up a sequel, neither of the two core mysteries introduced at the outset of the game are solved at all. If you're looking for some charming brain teasers and puzzles to distract you from the current goings-on, give Layton's Mystery Journey: Katrielle and the Millionaires’ Conspiracy a try.