As it stands, Shadow Warrior 3 is a fine game, and the Definitive Edition will be a welcome upgrade to owners of the original console versions, but it only manages to meet expectations while also running it under a track of abrasive banter. It’s like playing skeeball while the fire alarms keep going off. It’s not a bad way to spend your time, but you might be happier if you went and found out what’s burning.

While the community will ultimately decide whether or not Wild Hearts lives on as long as any given Monster Hunter iteration, I hope it does.

Metroid Prime Remastered is a fantastic renewal of the classic GameCube title.

Mahokenshi is a decent-looking game, but it’s not that amazing. Thankfully, it’s not the most action-packed title, so a choppy framerate isn’t going to torpedo things, but it’s not something you like to see.

A hangover of abandoned game design, dressed up in unruly aesthetics and powered by cyberpunk Pat Benatar. The unforgiving gameplay and changeless, repetitious action will leave some appalled, but the radiant cast of reprobates, silly mini-games, baffling dialogue, and shameless commitment to the bit results in one of the most bewildering, hypnotic releases in some time. Simply put: Wanted: Dead is a fucking train wreck, and you better get your ticket punched.

Theatrhythm Final Bar Line is a testament to the power of a soundtrack, and it’s well worth the attention of any fan of Final Fantasy, music, or Final Fantasy music.

I’m hoping that TMA Games continues with the concept, whether expanding Waves of Steel with additional content and quality-of-life additions or if it moves onto a sequel that further explores the concepts they have put together here. In the meantime, I think it’s time I gave a closer look at the naval warfare subgenre. It seems like something I could sink my fleet into.

Hogwarts Legacy is a sometimes unremarkable open world game that's severely uplifted by its dedication to the best parts of the source material.

It’s a complimentary piece to Backbone, which can stand before or beside it but shouldn’t be set apart from it. However, in context, it’s a terrific addition to the series. While it isn’t as compelling or fully featured as the first act of Backbone, it is a much more solid experience. The series, as it is currently, is a lot stronger with the inclusion of Tails: The Backbone Preludes. It’s a great collection of fiction. But without Backbone, it completely lacks the ability to stand on its own.

SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake is an astoundingly good game. There is so much creativity packed into its seven different worlds that I could not stop playing it over the past weekend because I was too excited to see what was next. This is, without a doubt, the best SpongeBob game I’ve ever played, and I hope Purple Lamp Studios keeps the keys to the license for years to come.

Competent is definitely not the worst descriptor a game can attain, but I’d be happier if Dread Templar had found a way to truly distinguish itself. When I find myself with that retro-shooter itch, I can’t see myself coming back to this one. It takes more than good gunplay to make an experience memorable, but there isn’t much more to Dread Templar than that.

Setting aside the fact I came down with a severe case of “stupid hands” while playing this, I did get a lot of enjoyment out of Onion Assault. It speaks to a very niche part of my nostalgic mind, and while I would have liked to have seen more creativity and new ideas, what’s here is good enough that I won’t be deleting it from my (rapidly filling) microSD card anytime soon.

It feels great to just dive back into the USG Ishimura, though. Dead Space as a concept still holds up, and the reworking EA Motive has provided highlights its best features while shoring up old pitfalls. Sci-fi survival horror fans should get what they want out of this: the return of a classic, with gorgeous graphics and some new twists, but the same old boot-stomping good time.

I cannot remember the last time I played a game I enjoyed this much that left me this unsatisfied when it was over. Because I did really love everything about SEASON: A letter to the future, from the incredible art direction to the wonderful sound mixing to Maureen Adelson’s restrained performance as the Protagonist. This is a game that has moved me in ways no other has, but no matter how much it gave me to think about, when it was over, the only thought in my head was, “Is that all there is?”

I Was a Teenage Exocolonist is a game to get lost in, from its heartbreaking, hopeful storytelling to its engaging gameplay. I think it’s a shame that this title probably didn’t get as much widespread recognition as it deserves, because it has to have one of the most touching stories about what it means to be human that I’ve seen in games. I’m so thrilled that this title is meant to be played on a loop, because it’s a game I’m looking forward to returning to, and learning from, again and again.

Given the opportunity to dare, Forspoken chooses to play it incredibly safe, with muddled pacing and strict adherence to both narrative and gameplay tropes holding it back from reaching its groundbreaking potential. Regardless, its dazzling visuals, charismatic leads, memorable boss battles, and energetic and varied combat will reward the more patient player with a solid, spellbinding adventure… And, for everybody else, there are magical cats.

If you were overwhelmed by Three Houses, this is a great follow-up that doesn't just follow that same formula: and in many ways, gets back to Fire Emblem basics.

After playing Gotham Knights, I couldn’t shake the feeling that a lot of it had the air of an Arkham-verse fan game. While there is something there, you can almost reach out and touch the design-by-committee elements and witness the souls of some of the developers leaving their bodies. If you’re looking for another “Open World: The Game,” this one has you covered.

That’s going to be subjective, though. Even if it’s not going to be renting space in my mind, Vengeful Guardian: Moonrider is a tight retro-inspired action game that I have very few gripes about. JoyMasher has already proven themselves with some solid titles, and Moonrider continues that trend. It doesn’t re-write the script for the games that inspired it, but it does a great job getting the mood across. If you enjoyed their previous titles, you can expect the same talent on display here. JoyMasher has stayed away from sequels so far, but if Moonrider got back on its bike, I’d happily scooch up behind it.

Breakers Collection offers 2D fight fans the opportunity to relive one of the finest examples of myriad Street Fighter II clones, refreshed with polished gameplay and modern online technology. While first-timers may be warned off by its perceived simplicity, Breakers remains a fun, satisfying, and compelling scrapper, deserving of its resurgence in the competitive scene. Breakers may have dated somewhat over the ensuing decades, but this solid scrapper, much like Tia’s legwarmers, never goes out of style.

There isn’t all that much to say about Lil Gator Game because there really isn’t much to it. It’s simply a wonderful game that I think will resonate with those who have cherished memories of the simpler days of youth and long afternoons spent exploring the world around us. We all have to grow up sometime, but Lil Gator Game is a great reminder of why you should never completely stop being a kid.

Need for Speed Unbound is a highly enjoyable and splendidly polished arcade racer. Criterion has picked meticulously through almost 30 years of NFS legacy, stitching together its finest elements to create a brilliant, feature-packed amalgamation that offers compelling gameplay, deep design, and dazzling aesthetics. Simply put, Need for Speed Unbound is one of the best entries in the history of the franchise.

Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion is a beautiful remake of a good-but-not-great game. Its structure is more well-suited for the platform it originated on, and several of the one-shot gameplay concepts it introduces don’t really land as well as they probably did in 2007. Still, it’s got charm, and I love the unpredictable nature of the DMW and how it impacts the solid combat mechanics. I don’t think Zack’s adventure will resonate with me for as long as Cloud’s did, but I am happy to have been given a chance to get to know him better before he pops up in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth.

If Callisto Protocol was able to get out of its own way (and was less glitchy at launch), it probably would have been an even bigger hit.

Almost 20 years on from its initial arrival, The Rumble Fish 2 still packs a punch as a spunky fighter that dared to hold its own in a crowded market, powered by a fun cast, a unique look, and solid gameplay. Unfortunately, this expensive release fails to capitalize on its grand comeback, offering barebones features, lacking rudimentary options, and greedily locking characters behind paywalls. That this long-lost fighter would receive such a half-hearted presentation is hugely disappointing.

As was the case with Legion taking us out of the dour mood of Warlords of Draenor, WoW has risen from the ashes once again.

I appreciate what Squanch Games is doing in the industry as a whole, but Trover Saves the Universe was a much better distillation of Roiland and company's humor in a sounder package.

Boo Lake might be something of a controversial choice for the #1 spot on this list, but I think this is a phenomenal track.

Choo-Choo Charles could have been drawn out, fluffed up, or watered down in so many ways. Any additional brush strokes could have detracted from the bigger picture, but Two Star Games didn’t do that. Instead, they focused on delivering, and deliver they did. It’s small, tight, and its ambition doesn’t go beyond its central concept. Thankfully, that central concept is a pretty juicy morsel.

I can only recommend Samurai Maiden if you look at it and come to the conclusion that this is your jam. It targets a specific niche, and it’s competent enough that I think that it would satisfy that. However, if you’re hoping for anything deeper than that – anything that might create a memorable experience – you’re not going to find it. Samurai Maiden is about as generic as it gets.

Maybe it’s the Dragon Quest charm, or maybe it’s because I’m happy to be playing a game way less buggy than the last one I reviewed, but I got a kick out of Dragon Quest Treasures. This is the type of game I will happily sink hours into without caring about whether or not I’m actually progressing beyond just building up my cache. A perfect game for those long winter nights, Dragon Quest Treasures will more than tide me over until Square Enix finally gets around to releasing Infinity Strash.

As much as there might not be anything revolutionary here, it feels up to snuff next to the game as a whole – a game I already love.

While Front Mission 1st didn’t set my world on fire, and I found it lacking in a lot of areas, I did enjoy it. It’s not the best tactical strategy game to come out this year, but it’s welcome nonetheless. It’s also a great and loving remaster of the Super Famicom title, and while there are places I wish it was tightened up, I’m overall happy about it. It leaves me excited to play the next two remasters as they work their way to release.

Midnight Suns isn't what I expected, in a good way.

I do honestly think that most people can find an entertaining Pokemon experience in this generation. I have, too. But it’s come with enough baggage to unsettle me for what future generations will look like. I’m going to keep playing Pokemon Scarlet, and I’m going to keep hoping that the next Pokemon game doesn’t come with so many asterisks.

It’s hard to make a bad Pokémon game because the series’ standard gameplay is still so satisfying. But you can make a disappointing one, and that’s exactly what Game Freak did here. Whether it can be blamed on a lack of time, a lack of resources, or a lack of talent within the developer itself, Pokémon Violet is not up to the level where a game of this caliber should be. And while I will gladly continue to fill out my Pokédex until I’ve captured every critter hiding in this world, I’m always going to be left mourning what this game should have been rather than what it ended up being.

Go into Gungrave Gore with an open mind, the mindset that you're going to kick some ass in an old school action game, and maybe, after a sale.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II is certainly not a perfect game, but for all its flaws, it’s my favorite CoD game that I’ve played so far. The story mode was a blast, and the multiplayer is just as addicting as ever. It’s one of the best looking games we may have so far, and I recommend playing it on a next gen console or souped-up PC if you can to see it at its full potential. Infinity Ward has proven yet again that Call of Duty is at the forefront of the FPS genre, and I’m really impressed with how they continue to drive the series forward.

If Harvestella is to be the first of a new franchise for Square Enix, I think this game gets it off on the right foot. Outside of combat and the disappointment of the much-hullabalooed Quietus season, this is a pretty good take on the farm sim/RPG genre with some excellently designed dungeons and characters worth caring about. It may be a bit too simple for some, but I will gladly accept simplicity if it’s wrapped around something as delightful as Harvestella.

Pentiment is a compelling narrative adventure that pushes you to make decisions, and then see how those consequences play out. But it also has a dedication to showing how the people, as much as the town and ongoing intrigue, have to live with everything that goes down. It’s a murder mystery, but it’s also a decades-spanning story about people trying to make a life in a little town called Tassing. It’s gorgeous, crafted, and will certainly fit the bill for anyone seeking some historical intrigue with a complex but earnest heart inside.

I’m merely lukewarm on Cultic’s first episode, which is to say that I liked it, but it didn’t get my thighs grinding. It’s a solid experience that helps prove the point that a solo-developer experience doesn’t have to mean that concessions have been made. It didn’t make me feel like I had to cut it any slack when comparing it to titles from larger developers, which is good because I wouldn’t anyway. Even if it’s not a massive win, I still think it belongs in the heavyweight category. And for its launch price, it’s a steal.

There’s a lot I’d like to see improved upon in a Sonic Frontiers sequel (which they should absolutely do), but I had fun playing around with the open world format, and just skipping some of the more boring stuff that I didn’t want to do. If you haven’t given up on Sonic yet, you’ll find a lot to love as you wade through some of the muck.

But even without a fun and innovative way to summon new kaiju, I think Ultra Kaiju Monster Rancher is an excellent revival of a cult classic series. You don’t even have to be a fan of Ultraman to appreciate this crossover. As long as you don’t mind the slow and occasionally repetitious gameplay that’s at the core of the Monster Rancher franchise, there are plenty of good times to be had here.

God of War Ragnarok is a fantastic showcase of what this series has to offer, and a sterling example of how it still has life left in it.

I love the weird experiments, but it’s also nice to see the results applied to a cohesive and polished design. More marketable? Maybe, but it’s hard to look at this wonderfully nuanced game and not have a deep appreciation for the craftsmanship. That’s what Stay Out of the House is: a solid end result that doesn’t stray too far from the jank and seediness of the Puppet Combo brand. It’s a well-carved victim. An expertly stabbed Grandma.

For survival horror fans, and lovers of cosmic sci-fi terror, this is a no-brainer. Signalis is a fresh, reinvigorating take on the games that inspired it. Thinking back on each hour, through each locale and their mysteries, I’m repeatedly won over by its impressive style-swapping, carefully balanced tension, brilliant art and sound design, and engaging puzzles. This is a promise worth keeping.

When playing Bayonetta 3, much to my delight, I had no clue what was going to happen next at all times.

Everything that made the first two Yomawari games special are here. The only problem is that nothing was added on top. This isn’t Yomawari: Plus One; it’s Yomawari: Another One. I wouldn’t even say it’s Yomawari: The Best One.

What is here though is a deep simulation where every aspect of your nation interweaves with itself telling a story that you built. I’ve never been this in love with a strategy game before. I finally found the one for me, and I won’t need another one for quite a long while.

Shadows of Rose was surprisingly tense, and lifts up the Winters' Expansion DLC as a whole.

Kingdom Battle may have proven that a Mario and Rabbids crossover can work, and work well. But Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope has cemented this as a franchise in my eyes, one that is worth playing if you’ve got any interest in lighthearted tactics with a Mario and Rabbid twist.

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.

And, as I sit here writing this, I can’t wait to zip up my flight suit and step back into my combat boots to bust some more. A lot of love was poured into Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed, and it speaks to me. I can only hope that Illfonic is able to support it for months or even years to come because I can definitely see myself returning to it again and again. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got an unlicensed nuclear accelerator to strap to my back.

As it went with Powerslave: Exhumed, while the game is maybe not the apogee of its time, its modernization of it is still extremely appreciated. Maybe it won’t blow your mind, but the care put into its rejuvenation is infectious. You can see the love that went into the final product, and that just makes you love it all the more. Maybe it’s not quite love that I feel when playing Chasm: The Rift, but after playing it, all I want to say is, “more of this, please.”

Choosing not to reinvent the wheel in regards to its by-the-numbers stealth gameplay, A Plague Tale: Requiem instead goes above and beyond to present greatness in its overall package, delivering an enthralling story, magnetic characters, tense action setpieces, and stunning visuals that rank among the generations’ finest. It won’t bewitch everyone, but for devoted fans of rats and resilience, A Plague Tale: Requiem absolutely delivers.

It brought a unique spin to the community sim genre while still giving me what I love most in these kinds of games, and I’d definitely recommend it to anyone interested in playing. I’d just wait until some more bug fixes come through, first.

Overwatch as a franchise has always felt like a child taking toys out of a box to hurriedly show you what’s next, breathless through excitement before switching to another. In that sense, Overwatch 2 is a bigger toy box, with a few more action figures and incredible new dioramas to pose them in. It’s definitely a variation on a theme rather than something wholly new, at least until the PvE component arrives in 2023, but what’s here has reignited my love for a world, its characters, and their stories in a way I didn’t know I’d missed. Whether it’ll be enough for the competitive crowd, though, remains to be seen.

It hasn’t hit the heights of other strategy RPG contenders, but The DioField Chronicle shows a lot of promise. It’s different, it’s engaging, and it’s got a fast pace that moves from battle to battle. I felt like I got a good, interesting strategy RPG experience out of this first game, and I really do hope there’s more in store. DioField certainly has the space for it.

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.

You can see greatness from the heights that The Fridge is Red reaches, but most of the time, you’re mired in its lows. At times, it feels like the central obstacle in the game is just trying to figure out what it wants from you. What order, what direction, and what interpretation you need to arrive at. There’s definitely vision here that wants to be delivered, but it needs to be paired with consideration for the experience.

Trails from Zero is an exciting and welcoming RPG with a cast of characters I fell head over heels for.

While Obsidian isn’t known for survival games, it ended up making a great one.

I played it on PC for this review, and I’m looking forward to trying out some mods that the community will cook up, but I have to say that this is a perfect Switch game. In fact, after I go back and drive this save file into the ground, I plan on buying the Switch version to replay all over again, much like I did with Stardew. Gotta support the indie games you love, right?

It’s the third time this joke has been told, and time hasn’t made it any fresher. So much of Return to Monkey Island is callbacks that it doesn’t feel like it stands on its own. It’s an excellent companion piece for the other games, and a love letter to the fans of the series, but I also feel like it takes a few jabs at them. I can only ever see myself playing it again in sequence with the rest of the series.

Shovel Knight Dig manages to marry a lot of the best parts of the roguelite genre with the quirks of the Shovel Knight series.

BROK the InvestiGator is very much an experiment, but it’s an experiment that works. As the second title out of COWCAT Games, it shows real growth and actually has me looking forward to what comes next from this one-man studio.

Night at the Gates of Hell is not the deepest or most creative horror game in the pack, but it is undeniably entertaining. It gives a strong impression that the developer had as much fun creating it as you will have playing it. Its campy and unsettling tone belies a game that just aims to please, and it is rather accurate when it comes to hitting that target.

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.

In a way, Disney Dreamlight Valley is a wish come true for me. [Review in Progress]

It feels like an experiment, but beyond merely proving that its innovations work, Betrayal at Club Low also manages to be an entertaining experience. This, along with games like Citizen Sleeper, is raising my expectations for RPG dialogue. That it manages to present itself as a complete narrative and aesthetic package is mind-blowing. This is a game I won’t soon forget and one you shouldn’t pass up.

Given that Splatoon 3 shores up nearly everything already present in the series and adds a few extras like Tableturf Battle, it's safe to say that the magic of the series is still alive.

Though slightly wanting when compared with its Souls contemporaries, Steelrising still offers up challenging combat, inventive enemies, and an attractive and atmospheric take.

There’s plenty of potential fun to be had in Destroy All Humans 2, it’s just a bit of a mess. And being a fun mess in 2022 isn’t as forgivable as it was in 2006. Personally, I kept playing just to hear more of Cryptosporidium’s razor-sharp attacks on counter-culture, but I definitely would have preferred it if there was a better game supporting it. Meanwhile, I am fully behind giving early-3D games a fresh coat of paint while retaining what made that era special, even if the package is a bit covered in warts.

Even though it’s not a painful experience, it comes up short on almost every facet by which I would rate a game’s success. Its gameplay is shallow, the narrative is simple to a fault, and the aesthetics don’t nearly impress. I’d suggest maybe giving the afterlife a pass, because Restless Soul is a mere ghost of a game.

Deadly Night is not the best example of what the genre is capable of while at the same time being a demonstration of what it is: short experiences that take you to a simpler time in horror. It’s a worn rental store VHS encapsulated in an interactive experience. It’s lo-fi brain candy for the horror enthusiast. It knows exactly what it is, which allows it to get away with murder.

I kind of feel like, with the popularity of the skater genre and the endless appeal of competitive shooters, a game like this was an inevitability. It’s too perfect a combination to not work, and I’m just glad Roll7 got to it first with Rollerdrome. This is an exceptional and welcoming game, one that takes the best elements from both genres and combines them into a sophisticated and unabashedly cool experience.

While Last of Us still has some of the same issues the original debuted with in 2013, the PS5 version (and likely the upcoming PC port, based on Sony's past efforts) is the best way to play it to date. [Review in Progress]

Immortality is another great entry to the collection of FMV puzzle-boxes that Barlow and co. have been producing for years now. I don’t quite know that I’ve played anything like it. From big revelations to little moments that just build on the life and times of Marissa Marcel, these scenes are going to stick with me for a while, living on. Immortalized.

With the amount of care put in by Digital Eclipse, this is one of the best ways these games have been presented since they were released.

The next time you’re in the mood for a no-nonsense 3D platformer, give Tinykin a look.

I came into The Endless Seven-Day Journey expected to revel in its recreation of the leisurely days of summer. I didn’t expect I’d leave it with a whole town full of characters I’m genuinely delighted by. And that’s why I enjoyed being in this world as much as I did. It’s an altruistic bit of nicecore gaming that plays like a warm memory of youth. Even if I don’t care for Crayon Shin-chan, this is a game I’m going to return to when I need a break from adulting all day.

I'm not sure Pac-Man World Re-Pac is going to lure in many more fans, but the ones it already had should be happy with this new packaging.

If you’re looking for something new to scratch the anime RPG-brawler itch, Dusk Diver 2 most certainly is not something new. If you give me a year, I’ll probably have even forgotten the name. It’s a reasonably polished experience, but it takes no risks. It set its goals low and met all of them. That’s maybe the best-case scenario for this sort of game. Personally, I’d prefer an ambitious game with lots of jank than a solid game with little imagination, and Dusk Diver 2 sits firmly in the latter category.

I didn't really know how I felt about Saints Row until I hit the open world segment, and this current team showed me what it is capable of.

I have mixed feelings about Midnight Fight Express. There are times when it clicked with me, and I tore through the levels, and others when I found myself sighing and hitting the retry button. There was no real middle ground. I was either entertained or completely annoyed.

Kirby's Dream Buffet isn't quite what I expected, mostly for the better.

I wandered into Soul Hackers 2 expecting a general sense of quality from Atlus, and ended up getting sucked into its world. While dungeon design can feel samey at times, it’s not enough to distract from the flashiness of the game as a whole. As usual, Atlus really nails the details; it was fun to hang out with this crew and see where things went.

It’s not a great representation of in-depth gameplay, but it’s just a well-told story, plain and simple. I’ve heard some people say that the series looks like nothing more than an ad for OFK’s EP, and if that’s the case, it’s the best ad I’ve ever seen in my life. Even if it feels out of your comfort zone, it can say with absolute certainty that We Are OFK is a fun time… if you lean into everything that it is.

Despite the restrained application of its central narrative concept, Blossom Tales II: The Minotaur Prince is one of the better indie Zelda clones I’ve played. Even if it hews a bit too close to its predecessor and lacks an identity to call its own, this is a solid action-adventure game, one that makes great use of those Legend of Zelda building blocks in crafting a satisfying journey.

Thymesia isn't shy about its influences, an admittance that helps and harms the title when inevitably compared to its legendary brethren.

If you want to find true enjoyment in Super Bullet Break, don’t go into it thinking it’s going to be anything substantial. Like the free-to-play gacha games that inspired it, it’s a very casual experience with a win-some/lose-some philosophy that I found to be refreshing. This won’t be a game I have deep memories of in a year’s time, but for now, it’s a pleasant palate cleanser to the heftier games that demand a lot more of my time, energy, and concentration.

I feel like the managerial side of Arcade Paradise needs to better inform the part where you just play games endlessly and vice versa. In the beginning, having to pull yourself away from your high score to move someone’s laundry into the dryer is a fun twist, but there’s nothing similar to that in the end game. You’re just playing games, waiting for the quarters to pile up so you can buy the next upgrade. Even if Arcade Paradise instead tried to present an authentic representation of the arcade experience, I feel that would have added more value. Instead, it sits in an uncomfortable middle ground like a directionless teenager.

I'm a big fan of roguelite action games and city builders, but even if you're on the mild side, Cult of the Lamb is a winning combo.

A lot of us have been recommending this game for almost four years now, and with the slick visual upgrade, it's even easier to vouch for.

All-in-all, I think this is a stronger selection of tracks for the Booster Course Pass than we saw in Wave 1. There isn’t a single dud here and no track has seen changes that take alter how they play in a negative way. As good as these courses are, it’s not an exciting grouping as the Turnip Cup or Propeller Cup lack that one knockout course that is the clear standout of the bunch. But considering some of the best Mario Kart tracks are already in MK8 Deluxe, I think I’ll be satisfied if all future waves of the Booster Course Pass are able to meet the standard set here.

It’s a stunning lack of imagination that hobbles Recipe for Disaster. It offers absolutely nothing that I haven’t seen before in a management game. It doesn’t really succeed at reaching its own vision, and doesn’t offer anything unique in exchange for that. It’s a functional restaurant management game, and that’s it. Did it give me a reason why I shouldn’t just reinstall Pizza Connection 2? No. So I guess I’m doing that now.

There is a lot about GigaBash that speaks to me as a lifelong kaiju fan. The visuals, the Titan designs, the pick-up-and-play ease of the controls, the level variety, the lore, it’s all top-notch and easy to gush about. If you can consistently get three other people to join you locally in the action, you’re going to get a lot out of this game. If that’s not realistic for you, know that it can still be a pretty fun time even if you’re not getting the optimal experience.

For me, I couldn’t be happier. Well, I could. A university may be a different ballgame than a hospital, but it’s not a very shocking twist. I’d love to see Two Point County zoomed into something small like a restaurant or sports team, or zoomed out to a city or, well, county. But Two Point Campus is a wonderful return to the universe, and I’ll happily — perhaps impatiently — be waiting for the next chance to visit.