Packing Life offers a simple and satisfying premise: packing oddly shaped items into boxes. But its awkward story mode, clunky camera movement, and frustrating placement restrictions constantly get in the way of what could've otherwise been relaxing organization gameplay. It scratches the packing itch for a short time, but the jank makes it hard to recommend.

Aethermancer is a beautiful representation of the roguelite and monster-tamer genres combined into one, and it’s got a lot to offer for those who enjoy the nuance and difficulty that these games can be known for. It’s worth picking up for anyone looking for their next run, though it’s not without its flaws. [Early Access Provisional Score - 80]

Town to City is the latest city builder now in early access, and it’s a must-play for fans of the genre. This new beautifully blocky game lets your creativity run amok against an absolutely stunning landscape, and with a wide array of customization options, it sets itself apart from other entries in the genre. It's not without minor flaws, but aspirational players should by no means let that prevent them from giving Town to City a go. [Early Access Score = 80]

Whereas the Switch 1 had games like ARMS and 1-2 Switch to show off the new tech, NS2 Welcome Tour carries the burden of being somewhere in the middle-ground of those and a free tech demo. If it was a free pack-in, this would've felt like an entirely different experience. But alas, it is unfortunately its own thing, and it's a thing that I hope does not become commonplace.

Tedious dialouge, bland visuals and confusing combat make Xuan-Yuan Sword: The Gae of Firmament a joyless experience.

I get why Path of Exile 2 has the Early Access moniker since GGG plans to have double the classes and campaign acts, not to mention other types of content added before launch. But even in its current state, Path of Exile 2 has set a new bar for the ARPG genre. I'm ready to pour thousands of hours into it over the years to come, and I'm confident that GGG will only make it magnitudes better over the next year as they continue to grow the game towards its full release. [Early Access Review]

Into the Hive isn’t the bigger and better follow-up that Paint it Red deserved. It’s only half of one, and what happened to that other half is a mystery of its own. All that was found was an empty shell and some bloodied remains. Not the way it deserved to go out.

If you’re looking for a solid RPG in a beautifully built world, Dragon Age: The Veilguard is certainly that. The combat is fluid and satisfying, and the world of Thedas is well-designed and fun to explore. The story has its drawbacks, but overall it’s still better than most. Whether it will live up to the prestigious storytelling of the previous Dragon Age games will very much depend on the RPG’s curtain call. [Review in Progress]

A lot of the issues I outlined and other big stoppages I ran into could be ironed out with time focused to careful playtesting. I think that another couple of months, and Fruitbus would have been closer to where it needs to be. But barring a last-minute stomp on the brakes, this is how it’s launching. I really, really wanted to love Fruitbus, but I can only review how it was served to me.

Chilla’s Art has a long history of making games in this style and has built up a cult following. The developer’s games are bite-sized adventures into a digital world of pulp horror. While they fill that role of inexpensive uncut gems that delight a few, I would love to see a few more passes on a title and have it really shine. As it stands, even this “restored edition” feels like a first draft rather than a finished product.

If you enjoy the Ubisoft structure of games but have been overwhelmed by them lately, thankfully Outlaws avoids most of the pitfalls. I feel safe in recommending Star Wars Outlaws to anyone who is a Star Wars fan who is looking for a solid story in the beloved universe, with stealth-focused gameplay that allows you to truly live the life of a scoundrel on the Outer Rim. [Review in Progress]

The best thing I can say about PO’ed is that it can be completed in around three hours. Aside from that, I really didn’t enjoy it. It’s not the worst FPS I’ve played. For all its problems, it at least isn’t bland. It has its high points, demonstrates a capable development team with a willingness to experiment, it just didn’t result in a fun final product.

If you’ve played the original, you know exactly what you’re getting here. If you haven’t—why haven’t you?! [Review in Progress]

I really do believe there’s a great horror game here. I’ve enjoyed everything I’ve played up until this point and love the breadth of content on offer, as well as the intriguing puzzles and an environment that slowly evolves over time. Still, for now, I don’t recommend you buy this game until a patch has been released and I’m able to get through the entire thing for our final review. [Review in Progress]

It’s great for some rather mindless fun, but don’t expect anything too intricate. I have some genuine fears about this being live service, as I’m not sure there’s enough to really justify that sort of design. But I’m also currently Infamy Rank 6 out of 10, and maybe as I reach the maximum rank and experience some of the new content I will see more that gives me hope Skull and Bones could find its sea legs. [Review in Progress]

We’ll continue to follow Palworld as it develops throughout Early Access. But right now, Pocketpair has managed to both deliver on its surreal vision.

Devil May Cry: Peak of Combat is one of the most joyless games I’ve ever played. Its combat system doesn’t even come close to living up to the Devil May Cry legacy, and any entertainment that could have come from it is buried under its overwhelmingly aggressive monetization. It is, at best, functional and, at worst, utterly devoid of any value. If this is the peak of combat, I’ll just hang out at base camp.

It took me 10 hours to get to the end of Flashback 2, but I suspect I could have cut that down to 5-6 hours if it wasn’t for bugs frequently forcing me to lose progress. I didn’t enjoy much of it, and I barely paid attention to the plot because it didn’t matter. You can’t focus on the plot when the game is so broken. I cannot in good conscience recommend this. Your time and money is better spent elsewhere.

I think the developer, Cheesemaster Games, had the passion and the vision to make Spirittea something special. And, to be fair, one person’s boredom is another’s relaxation. However, all the parts should have been better planned out before they were assembled. Instead of a bunch of complementary systems that build into a satisfying, captivating, and relaxing game, it’s just an inescapable tub of annoyances. After that experience, I really need to take it easy for a bit.

Final Fantasy 7: Ever Crisis is just a gacha game. Nothing more, nothing less. It’s not the worst thing I’ve ever seen, and it does offer adequate fanservice for those who love Cloud and friends. But otherwise, Ever Crisis doesn’t do anything that other free mobile games already do better. Maybe it’s worth a download for bored Final Fantasy fans, but otherwise, you can spend both your time and money better elsewhere.

Overall, Exoprimal is a bit more interesting than I’d thought it be. It’s not anything to shout from the rooftops about, but it’s got a little more charm and more enjoyable combat than I was expecting. But that’s just day one. [Day One Impressions]

Minabo boils life down a bit too far. Life is so unbearably exhausting and complicated, and Minabo is boring and simple. It’s not that I think that it needs to be crushingly depressing or maddeningly frustrating, but there needs to be some sort of conflict or tension. Don’t ask me to walk through life 25 times with only minor differences each time. Once is more than enough.

I can't recommend anyone play NightCry unless you have a steel resolve, unlimited time on your hands, and a penchant for terrible physics and animations straight out of the PS2 era.

There’s still some work to do, and I have a laundry list of things I want to see, but I have zero regrets about binging the whole thing over a single weekend. [Early Access Review]

I hope every Resident Evil game from here on out has VR support, because it’s a great long term value add. At this point you kind of know that if you’re buying into an RE project, there’s something cool coming down the line. I can get behind that!

I wish I could say I nailed New Tales of from the Borderlands with a bad score because I was holding it to a higher standard because it was developed by Gearbox, and that it had a lot to live up to by following the original Tales. Those things may be true, but this game is a soulless slog regardless of who made it or what series it’s a part of.

Despite the cliche of the angry video game reviewer who “doesn’t even like video games,” it’s not that fun tearing down the work of people who haven’t done anything catastrophically wrong. Because there is nothing about Valkyrie Elysium that is outright bad or broken. It’s just the experience as a whole is so dreadfully dull.

The most heartbreaking part of Food Truck Simulator is that the core gameplay is solid-ish, but the foundation they put it on is built out of Saltines. I feel like I could stick my finger into every orifice of the game and come up with a different disease each time. It’s rotten.