Sand Land is a gorgeous game that is far larger than you might expect, and it's ultimately worthy of a journey, but there are several factors that are holding it back from being one of the biggest anime games of all time.

FAIRY TAIL is bombastic, breezy, and full of fun to watch characters, except, this time, it's us making it all happen.

NHL 22 didn't do a whole lot to improve on its predecessor, but it didn't have to. The important part is that the development team didn't do anything to change the game for the worse. The franchise was already a ship sailing smoothly, all anyone needed to do was keep it steady.

The Medium certainly has a story worth telling, but the stop-and-go nature of the vehicle for the narrative may prevent some from fully exploring it. The Xbox Game Pass release seems like a smart route for the game because of that, and while I’m normally hesitant to experience games in this way, I feel like I would have enjoyed The Medium much more if I’d watched someone else play it.

Blades of Fire is a promising game, especially for a new IP. MercurySteam has laid an excellent foundation, picking and choosing the best elements from other action RPGs and combining them with new ideas to create this engaging amalgamation. The world is fleshed out and a delight to discover, and the combat is the perfect balance of challenging and rewarding. The story of Blades of Fire needed more time and attention, but it served as a fine enough vessel to propel me through the delightfully dark world.

While the home base aspect of the game is underdeveloped, the combat at the core of The DioField Chronicle is a breath of fresh air. Paired with a story steeped in intrigue and drama, The DioField Chronicle will likely satisfy fans of the genre while possibly charting a new path for it in the future.

The reason RPGs first hooked me as a kid is because they always felt like they were my journey. There was something really charming about being able to name your character after yourself and feel like your decisions had an impact on the experience. Miitopia is a perfect evolution of that concept, giving players the freedom to make an experience that's truly unique to them. It can drag at times, and die-hard RPG fans will likely scoff at the difficulty level, but it perfectly distills that core appeal of the genre in a way that really works. Miitopia is whatever you want it to be, and if you're willing to lean into the absurdity, you'll love the ride.

Ultimately, Lords of the Fallen is a good enough "Soulsborne" entry, but a number of its technical issues and gameplay foibles stop it from being truly great.

While decisions may not have always been as weighty as I would’ve liked and the marionette movements were often distracting, Last Stop, for the most part, succeeded where it needed to. It provided three distinct stories that were surprisingly deep considering it only took about six hours to tell them all and allowed players to feel like they were in control even if that might not have always been the case. I never felt like my time was wasted in Last Stop, but if the game ever gets a follow-up, it’ll have to be more polished with some meaningful changes to warrant a return to its stories.

This title certainly marks the next phase of Just Dance, and it makes baby steps towards innovation. If you were hoping Just Dance 2021 would revolutionize the franchise as a whole, well, you will be disappointed there. The game feels and functions much like recent entries from 2019 and 2020. Still, its challenging choreography and updated features are sure to please newcomers and diehard dancers all the same.

EA Sports makes some fun changes on the surface, but the more you play, the more you see all the same problems bubbling to the surface. I think this year's version is marginally better than Madden NFL 24, but not in any way that's going to matter to most fans. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going back to College Football 25.

The Sims 4 Businesses & Hobbies is a solid Expansion when it comes to adding new mechanics for running small businesses. These features do as intended and add a level of depth to gameplay for Simmers who enjoy this style of play. For those looking for a massive new world full of new pre-built lots and items, it may not quite live up to its price tag, but for aspiring Sim Tycoons, this pack will feel like a dream come true.

At no point during my playthrough of Scorn did I ever consider it a "fun" game, and to its credit, developer Ebb Software has made no effort to disguise the game as such. Through all its grit and grime, Scorn's more of an experience than anything else. Completing only one playthrough may mean leaving some secrets and story threads likely left uncovered, but one playthrough is more than enough for the grotesqueness of Scorn to leave a lasting impression.

While combat is the driving reason for Code Vein 2, it isn’t the only aspect. The game aims to deliver scale, freedom, and flexibility, but these come with tradeoffs. While the world is visually striking and filled with potential, it does not always feel as lively or narratively driven as it could be. The result is an experience that excels mechanically but sometimes struggles to give those mechanics the emotional weight they deserve. Still, soulslike fans do not want to miss this difficult RPG.

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.

Atomic Heart can be a frustrating experience, but it also gives you as the player more than enough variety to warrant a look if you are searching for an interesting shooter that has lots of options when it comes to your play style. There are some compelling ideas here, but much like the entirety of the game, they're a mixed bag. It's a little rough around the edges but there definitely is a good time to be had if you're looking for a spiritual successor to the Bioshock franchise.

Not everything in High on Life 2 is as symbiotic, but it’s still a quality experience that’s a clear step up from its promising predecessor. Like that original, not every attempt at humor lands, however, enough of them do and make for a sequel that is both funnier and more consistent. Gunplay isn’t able to keep up with this consistency, as it requires more than a few upgrades and stronger firearms to more accurately fulfill its potential. Perhaps another follow-up could smooth out these rougher patches and be a more powerful dose of Squanch Games’ signature comedy shooter blend, but High on Life 2 is still a potent enough high.

Mario Golf: Super Rush is just about everything a player could want out of a Mario sports title. Nintendo and Camelot really threw the kitchen sink at the game, giving players a plethora of options to make the experience whatever they want it to be. The three modes available in Play Golf are a blast solo or with other players, and Golf Adventure is a meaty single-player experience for those that want one. Re-doing the same challenges in Golf Adventure can be a bit of a pain, but it can also be pretty satisfying completing some of the tougher tasks. Mario Golf: Super Rush continues the proud legacy of the series, offering just about everything a fan could ask for.

The Callisto Protocol isn't necessarily bad, but it doesn't do much to verify why survival-horror fans wanted these types of games back in the first place. With a bit more depth to its various systems and mechanics, The Callisto Protocol could have been far more enjoyable from start to finish. Instead, my main takeaway from Callisto has simply been that I'm now that much more excited to play a number of other survival-horror games that are set to release in 2023.

Digimon Survive really just gets in its own way. Fans of the anime will find it familiar, but will be able to appreciate what the extra layer of violence adds to it. Getting through it is the tougher ask. Dialogue options leading you away from where you want to go (and potentially disconnecting you to the characters), key battles being few and far in between, and asking you to jump back in multiple times despite all of that seems like rubbing salt in the wound for those who already had notable issues. It's a story fans will want to check out, but maybe not as many times as Digimon Survive wants.

Trek to Yomi starts to come into its own only as it heads towards its finish. It's easy to admire what Flying Wild Hog set you to do with Trek to Yomi. It's an attempt to blend the appeal of the classic samurai film genre with the interactive moodiness of fellow indie games like Playdead's Limbo or Inside. It's partially successful in that regard, but while the ideas underpinning the game are solid, their execution leaves something to be desired. Ultimately, Trek to Yomi could have benefitted from more time studying the blade.

If Kabam can figure out how to tone down their constant asks for money and also provide players with more variation in actual gameplay, they may have a hit on their hands with Disney Mirrorverse. The characters are certainly cool and I'd love to see the world expand to include more stories over time. However, because of the constant barrage of in-game ads, I certainly wouldn't recommend this game to kids, despite its use of beloved characters.

The game does offer fans plenty of quotes, profile pictures, and other knick-knacks to collect throughout its playtime, along with a number of play modes such as Versus and Training Modes to help sharpen your skills, but it feels as if something is missing from the experience that could elevate the first video game outing for Demon Slayer from good to great. If you're a fan of the series, or just want to see some eye-popping visuals with some fast and frantic gameplay, definitely check this one out, especially if you can overlook some of the game's faults along the way.

The Devil in Me served as a pretty poor ending for the first "season" of The Dark Pictures Anthology. Mobility mechanics and inventory management were fine additions, but they did little to elevate the game and mostly made it apparent that somewhat basic things like that were absent from previous installments. The next Dark Pictures game awaits regardless of the pitfalls of this one, however, so hopefully, Season 2 will be off to a better start than the end of Season 1.

Star Ocean: The Divine Force isn't a bad game. However, it is a game that feels stuck in the past, out of step with the current JRPG renaissance. It fails to adopt the quality of life improvements pioneered in the past generation games, relying too heavily on past precedents, whether or not those precedents ever worked well. Those looking for classic JRPG comfort food will appreciate what The Divine Force has to offer: fast combat, a familiar story, and characters they'll want to get to know. That'll go doubly for those who cut their teeth on PlayStation 2-era JRPG titles, for whom the tedium baked into the game might seem less glaring. Star Ocean: The Divine Force isn't the fully-realized rebirth of the series that it perhaps could have been, but it is at least proof that there is something here worth saving and that tri-Ace deserves to be around long enough for another shot at it.

It’s a decent slice of a game with potential glimmering just beneath its surface that deserves to be fleshed out into something more ambitious. Thief was built on innovation, as the original was one of the games that helped popularize the stealth genre. And this VR entry, with its primitive mechanics and level design, doesn’t live up to that storied legacy.

Sonic Frontiers has a lot of little flaws, but its strengths are great enough that it's hard to harp on them too much. The game's Open Zones are fun to explore, the Cyber Space levels are well-crafted, and the audio is excellent. Sonic Team has clearly put a lot of thought and care into crafting this new direction for the series, and the results are impressive. I truly hope Sega takes the elements that work in Sonic Frontiers and fine-tunes them for the next entry in the series. The somewhat repetitive gameplay loop is Frontiers' biggest issue, but most Sonic fans will probably be able to overlook it thanks to everything the game does right. Sonic the Hedgehog was in desperate need of a game like this, and it feels great to say that Sonic Team (mostly) pulled it off. The franchise's future is looking brighter than it has in a long time.

Regardless of whether or not you're familiar with Captain Tsubasa: Rise of New Champions, if you're looking for a breezy arcade-style soccer game that relies heavily on its anime influence and has some strong mechanics, this game is worth a look.