Unless you're a Poke-Fanatic or a young child, Detective Pikachu Returns probably won't hold very much for you. Detective Pikachu is still a joy to watch, but his shenanigans are hardly worth the $50 price tag. However, I think that this game would be a great fit for younger Pokemon fans who aren't looking for deep multi-layered mysteries. As much as I wished that Detective Pikachu Returns had a stronger storyline, Detective Pikachu still has plenty of charm and the kids seem to enjoy his shenanigans as much as they did during his movie.

Perhaps it comes from being tainted by the RPG-style Assassin's Creed games, but even when tallying Mirage's successes, the thought creeps in that the game doesn't always have quite enough to keep players engaged in a fulfilling way. Because of that, Mirage may not be the course correction that many were hoping for – it certainly doesn't feel like the solution to Assassin's Creed's identity crisis, but it could be a start or at least an indication that both styles of the series can coexist with one another instead of only getting one or the other.

EA FC 24 is great in spurts, but everything feels so by the numbers that it's impossible to recommend if you've been sticking with the series through the FIFA years. Like most sports games these days, I'd recommend buying every three or four entries and maybe putting on some parental locks in Ultimate Team so you don't waste your money. Trust me, you can compete with the rest of us weekend warriors without dropping hundreds of dollars. And who knows, maybe next year EAFC will finally go from okay to great again.

While some of Cyberpunk 2077's issues still linger, and the new content isn't without its own flaws, CD Projekt Red has done a commendable job at making me like a game I previously had disdain for. Phantom Liberty continues to prove CD Projekt Red has a deft hand for high-quality storytelling and has now shown it can provide strong RPG gameplay to match.

Though unambitious, Fae Farm is still a very enjoyable farming sim. It does miss the mark with its fantasy elements, but the game nails its core mission. Players are invited to revive a downtrodden world just like we've seen in previous sim legends. With a distinct art style in town, Fae Farm has a robust system in place for farming, gathering, and decorating. What its NPCs lack in variety is made up for in crop types. It is a solid investment for cozy sim fiends in need of a new time sink. But if you're looking for novel farming sim for your collection, Fae Farm is not the title you're looking for.

I really like the on-court action and think most of the modes have cool ideas, but everything is being brought down by an abundance of microtransactions. Sure, they've been there for years, but this year something feels different. I'm not saying you should skip NBA 2K24, just go in with your eyes fully open. If you're someone who can't control their purchasing decisions, 2K will use every trick in the book to tempt you. For me, that's not really an issue, and I'm a fan of 2K24 because of it, but it's absolutely something everyone needs to ask themselves before diving in.

Mortal Kombat 1 is still very much a bloody and brutal good time with tons of rewards for digging deep into it.

This feels like the spiritual successor to Bloodborne, and if you had sold this as a sequel to the FromSoftware story, you could get away with it. If you're a fan of Soulsborne and want to add a spice of rewarding difficulty to your gaming career, you must check out Lies of P.

As someone who had no prior exposure to Armored Core ahead of Fires of Rubicon, I am both surprised and delighted by how much I have enjoyed this game. Even when shifting to a slightly different genre, FromSoftware has once again asserted that it has a firm grasp on what it takes to make a thrilling and mechanically engaging action experience through and through. This might not be my own favorite FromSoftware game to date, but it's without a doubt worth checking out, regardless of how familiar you might be with Armored Core.

My opinion of Starfield is overall high despite what my many criticisms might suggest. It's a Bethesda RPG, and even Bethesda's middling options blow competitors out of the water when it comes to choice and freedom, so Starfield was always going to be a success. Whether it's enough of a success to uplift Xbox and make someone buy a new console is another discussion, but Starfield itself is perfectly competent and – dare I say it – fun, and even the most frustrating moments were unable to deter me from wanting more.

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

As it stands now, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is a good game with the potential to be great. The multiplayer is fun and exciting, but the game sometimes feels as bare as the bone chimes hanging in the Sawyer family house. Sumo Nottingham and Gun Media clearly have a lot of reverence for the source material, and the two companies have given fans a game that feels true to the license. Hopefully The Texas Chain Saw Massacre will continue to grow and expand in a way that keeps players coming back.

Baldur's Gate 3 is a beacon of all the untapped potential in the CRPG genre. While it may be a bit much for newcomers, it's a gripping experience that no one with even an inkling of interest in the genre should miss.

Final Fantasy 16 is very much a game where the negatives don't come close to outweighing the positives. Even though I have some legitimate gripes with the quest design and world layout of FF 16 , these aspects paled in comparison to the highs found with the gargantuan boss battles and gripping gameplay. While the Final Fantasy series has seen its fair share of ups and downs over the past decade, Final Fantasy 16 is a real return to form in so many ways and proves why this franchise is held in such high regard to begin with.

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.

Pikmin 4 is largely a strong step forward for Nintendo and is a game that both longtime fans of the series and newcomers should find a lot of enjoyment with. Even though some new aspects that Nintendo opted to include in Pikmin 4 got stale quickly, the basic gameplay loop remains quite satisfying and features far more than ever before for you to sink your teeth into.

AEW: Fight Forever has the core of a genuinely great wrestling game, as the gameplay is pure, unabashedly fun. And while going the route of No Man's Sky has been teased in interviews — in which waves of post-launch updates and DLC help improve the experience — it's also possible this goes the route of Street Fighter where a sequel could build off the original idea and strike gold. This game won't change the pro wrestling video game landscape, but fans of AEW and players looking for a different experience from WWE's annual offering will enjoy it.

Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective might not be a true Ace Attorney game, but the franchise's DNA is prevalent throughout, and the game is an easy recommendation for those that love the series, while also being something that stands well enough on its own.

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.

Convergence likely isn't an experience that will stick out in my mind for the long haul, but I have very little to say about it that would be considered negative. From start to finish, Convergence makes for an enjoyable action-platformer that doesn't look to overstay its welcome. Perhaps more than anything, the game once again proves that Riot has been wise to continue expanding League of Legends as titles like this help add more character and depth to the franchise's world. If you're looking for something new to play that deviates from the endless grind of solo queue, Convergence is very much worth checking out.

Diablo 4 is perfect for both franchise mainstays and newcomers alike. The lore of Sanctuary expands drastically while the game, story and all, is large enough to keep new players busy. The game is built to allow the developers to scale it with ease with battle passes and seasons for a new generation, but it's nowhere close to being empty.

Everything feels carefully considered for those jumping into Street Fighter 6 as their first game in the series. But at the same time, there's clearly a ton to dig into for those who want to keep playing on deeper and more dedicated levels. Street Fighter 6 is just pure fun, and every punch hits hard, every kick feels great, and it's just so cool to look at. It's the most fun I've had with Street Fighter in years, and the great, hard hitting start to a powerful new era for the franchise.

LEGO is all about taking pieces and connecting them together to build something new, so it's only fitting that LEGO 2K Drive combines parts from so many other great games; combining pieces of Mario Kart 8, Forza Horizon 5, Sonic and All-Stars Racing Transformed and the LEGO games of Traveler's Tales has resulted in a surprisingly high-quality racer. Sometimes last millisecond losses can feel a little bit cheap, and the building mechanics can feel a little bit daunting. Despite these minor issues, LEGO 2K Drive proves that there's still a lot of gas left in the tank for the LEGO brand, and brick fans of all-ages should drive away satisfied.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is a worthy successor to Breath of the Wild and is easily a Game of the Year contender. Not only will you fall in love with the world of Hyrule all over again, this game feels much more like a traditional Zelda game while retaining all of the charm and beauty of Breath of the Wild.

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.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is a strong sequel that improves on nearly every core element seen in Fallen Order. Even in spite of some pacing troubles with its story, Cal Kestis is an even more compelling protagonist this time around and continues to be one of the best new Star Wars characters that has come about in the Disney era.

The point here is that while The Mageseeker is a supremely entertaining and deceptively challenging venture on its own, it's a mark of success for what I'd assume the point of Riot Forge is: to expose players to League's many stories that they wouldn't have experienced otherwise and to continually invest players through the gameplay experiences Riot's third-party partners specialize in.

For those interested in easing into the turn-based strategy genre, or those with a lot of experience, Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp is a strong option on Nintendo Switch. With two complete games in one, there's a lot of meat in the package, and that's not even factoring in the multiplayer options. WayForward has done a very nice job adhering closely to the Game Boy Advance originals, while offering enough tweaks to make it feel like this package was a better decision compared to putting the originals on Nintendo Switch Online. It's been a while since fans of the series have had a wholly-new game to enjoy, so hopefully this package will lead to more from Nintendo.