I'm excited to see Respawn's plans for the future. Although Apex Legends is fairly light on content at the moment, after having played it for over a week now, it's become my new favorite battle royale game. Matches are quick enough that I never feel burned by a sudden loss and jumping back in with different legend makes it more addictive than any battle royale I've played so far.

Fate of Atlantis by comparison actually feels like a premium creation while forging its own identity.

If you've always been curious about this franchise, now is the time to take the plunge -- if you're a fan of old-school 2D fighters, you won't be disappointed.

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.

Despite some of these hiccups, it’s difficult not to enjoy being part of this strange world and participating blindly in its customs. Although I wasn’t quite as attached to the characters as I had hoped, I did appreciate the medley of personalities and felt the world and its customs were admirably orchestrated within everyone’s backstory. It might not be for everyone, but Pyre delivers on its fun gameplay in a way that beautifully illustrates the struggles of redemption and what it means to gain true freedom.

The $2.99 pricepoint is the cherry on top of this delicious platforming dessert.

All things considered, Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2 remains a rock-solid, highly accessible game that's as much fun to watch as to play. Though held back by some ill-conceived design gaffes, it's still chock-full of meaningful content sure to delight any fan of Naruto or anime games in general.

It may not be the re-boot that non-fans (and ex-fans) of Animal Crossing were looking for, but City Folk is the ultimate entry in the ultimate series about goofing off. For that alone, it deserves an...

It's a Team Ninja action game first, and an oddball isekai story second. It's also one of the weirdest games I've reviewed in a while because it speaks to me in a lot of ways, but it wears its flaws on its sleeve.

As always long term support remains to be seen, but for now, WoW is still one of the best MMOs out there.

Full stop, inFamous: First Light is more Second Son, which is a good thing. Although I wasn't nearly as invested in Fetch as I was with Delsin's story, this is a great way for fans to return to the super-powered world of Seattle, and an even better way for newcomers to get a taste of the series.

I'm definitely happy with how the big picture is coming along this far into release.

I've been playing No More Heroes and No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle for more than a decade now as they never cease to amaze me with their untethered style, violent action, and satisfying combat.

There are some cobwebs to shake out of Oddworld: Soulstorm, and some that will remain even after a hot shower, but you'd be hard pressed to name very many games that are doing what this series is doing in 2021.

Just like that, Criterion has really changed the way you’ll look at the structure of racing games. While other racers have tried open worlds (Test Drive Unlimited, for instance), there have been none that have offered the same sense of freedom, ease of use, and level of polish. Criterion has finally taken off your training wheels, and after playing Burnout Paradise, there's little doubt that you'll never want them back on.

Technically, it should get a higher score than its Wii counterpart since its graphics are better, it has more content, and its online is more robust. However, I can't say that any of this actually makes the game any better, it just makes for more of it. More of an 8.5 is still an 8.5.

Robo Recall's few flaws just feed into the notion that I want more of it. I'm sure it cost a pretty penny for Epic to develop, and with the install base right now of VR, it may not even fully pay off. But if more deep-pocket developers are able to take risks like this and make more of these pushes, we might see VR hitting the mainstream yet.

Not everyone is going to think that way, clearly. Each individual has their own expectations for a remake, and Actraiser Renaissance may have put hands on facets that were once sacred. Some will find the changes intrusive. It would have been nice if there was a classic mode included that strips out the tower defense to make everyone happy, but that’s not in the cards. In my eyes, however, Acraiser Renaissance was one of the biggest surprises and the most enjoyable gaming experiences I’ve had this year.

I finished AWE with a yearning for more Alan Wake and a yearning for more Control. Remedy has more or less confirmed we'll get more of both at some point in the future, although they might be presented through the lens of yet another series. That's the reality of the Remedy Connected Universe. As a trial run, AWE manages to be a great double-dip on some beloved narratives, even though it's not necessarily a great representation of either Control or Alan Wake individually. Sometimes the sum is greater than the parts, sometimes the lake is really an ocean.

From the grimly nostalgic art design to the thrumming soundtrack and exceptional voice acting, it's a slickly presented package from start to finish. It manages to pack just enough complexity into its strategy to offer a challenge without sacrificing action-oriented gameplay that gives a direct sense of agency and control.

A truly great game, let down only by the fact that the PSP version existed for long enough to steal some of its thunder.

As a game, Slayers X isn’t that great. It’s not bad enough to be repulsive, but you constantly bump up against problems that, while probably being deliberate, are still problems. Its flow isn’t great, it’s incredibly short, and there aren’t a lot of enemies or weapons. But it still manages to be innocuously enjoyable. However, as a piece of fiction, Slayers X is something both indispensable and unique. It gives me goosebumps that someone could convey such a detailed narrative by indirectly telling it through a character’s unrelated creation. It’s an elaborate lie that feels completely honest. But with lots of poop jokes.

It's relatively short, but it oozes charm and personality.

It's an amazing game, one that I see myself playing for years to come.

The Saboteur is not just one of 2009's biggest surprises -- it's THE big surprise of 2009. Despite its humble promotion, the lament that it was sent out to die, and the death of developer Pandemic, The Saboteur is a terrific experience deserving of more accolades and attention that it will ever receive. It looks terrific, it has a fun story with a wonderful main character, and addictive gameplay that allows you to explode Nazis again and again and again.

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.

There's a lot to like here if you give it a chance, and even if strategy isn't your preferred genre, you might find that it's worth your time to give ES2 a shot.

River City Ransom: Underground was worth the wait, and hopefully we don't have to wait nearly three decades for the next one. The look, feel, and humor of the original is here with a new in-depth fighting system that feels fresh yet familiar while being deeper than basically every other game in the genre. I can't say for sure that Underground is the best beat 'em up of all time, but it deserves its place at the table with RCR, Golden Axe, Final Fight, and Scott Pilgrim vs. The World.