With better care given to the other modes and maybe some concrete rally tracks, this could have been the definitive rally racing game. As it stands, though, DiRT 4 is a hardcore simulation with limited appeal beyond a specific audience. Those fans will absolutely love this game, but any newcomers should try to cut their teeth somewhere else.

Hot Wheels Unleashed impressed me on basically every marker. It looks terrific, it feels great, and the track design is extremely well done. I kind of hate the blind box approach of unlocking cars, but that’s a small complaint when getting my wheels on the track is always a delight.

For as gorgeous as Eastward‘s graphics are, and as endearing as some of its characters become, and as much as I need its soundtrack on vinyl as soon as possible, it also falls short in some ways that leave its conclusion feeling a bit off. It’s one of the more promising debuts I’ve seen, and Pixpil has ensured I’ll be incredibly interested in whatever they do next. Eastward is something a fan of pixel art and good music, with a weakness for video game nostalgia, deserves to check out. It’s just also a journey that left me wanting a little more.

It’s very convenient and nice. It’s convenient and nice to not have to install a handful of mods on the original version in order to get it to look not terrible. It’s convenient and nice to have small quality-of-life things added that new players won’t even notice while Baldur's Gate veterans will likely welcome them with open arms.

State of Decay is ugly. It looks ugly, and in many ways it plays ugly. However, there's a simple beauty underneath the frightful veneer, one that surrounds a compelling, interesting, complex, and enslaving little game...Few zombie games, for all their marketing power and visual sheen, can come close to providing what State of Decay does.

Despite just offering a taste of what's to come with Vader Immortal, the first episode has me hooked and I want more.

It doesn't have the charm of PaRappa, the hummable tracklist of Gitaroo Man, or the addictive quality of Elite Beat Agents, but it's a nice shot in the arm for a genre that has grown stagnant.

Sonic Colors feels like a step right back into the same crap this series has drowned in for the past decade. If I had to pick a color for this game, it would be brown, for very obvious reasons.

There are far better shooters on iTunes than this, at the end of the day. They may be more expensive, and they may have dodgy business models, but they're simply better.

Inkulinati has its quirks, but it’s dripping with charm. For a small studio’s first game, it’s a solid experience that makes me look forward to what Yaza Games comes up with in the future. The game is on Xbox Game Pass, so it can’t hurt to try it out. Inkulinati’s deceptively robust combat and Monty Python-esque humor makes for a delightful experience that is well worth your time.

While I never really connected with the trap mechanic or the new Trap Master toys, Skylanders: Trap Team is still a well-oiled machine. On newer consoles it looks fantastic, the action gameplay is still exciting, and the charm is still there. I just hope that Activision and its ilk have more interesting concepts in mind for the next iteration.

The plot’s weak, the characters blab on too much, and the whole deal’s very last-gen, but for the truly dedicated, it’s playable, I guess. Rent it if you're a tactical geek -- everyone else should forget it.

I spent close to a dozen hours with the main progression path in PixelJunk Eden 2, and I've hardly dug into the unlimited-time "choose your garden and Grimp" free-play mode. Whenever I feel the gotta-catch-'em-all collectathon itch, I'll be sure to head there first since that mode has its own achievements. You can't tell me the total number of seeds in each level and not expect me to hunt them down. PixelJunk Eden 2 is one of 2020's few pleasant surprises, and I'm so thankful it exists.

If you're still rocking a DS Lite and own all four GBA games already, then you might not need this collection, but if you missed even one of the Zero games in the past, you're sure to get your $30 worth.

The Magic Obelisk has so many things going for it. It has really unique light-based puzzle game play, super cute graphics and characters, and a fantastic price tag. The clunky control does let the game down a bit, but I still think it's certainly worth your time and your $5.

It literally feels as if Techland studied the original Call of Juarez, identified all the things that made it feel fresh and interesting, and intentionally left them out of the sequel. What was once a franchise of weirdly intoxicating half-successes has been turned into a dull, unsatisfying, originality-devoid shell of its former self.

Although Amid the Ruins doesn't really go for many jump scares and is clearly a table-setting episode for the explosive finale, it's very much worth playing through multiple times over.

A game of this magnitude is bound to have its successes and failures, and Assassin's Creed Syndicate definitely has both. But, in most instances, gameplay and narrative are interwoven nicely enough to keep us vested in our pursuit of a better London.

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.

For those who enjoy beating down their friends in score-based challenges, the Score Wars feature alone will provide an endless amount of fun.

I'd love to see more add-ons like this in the future, and hope Blizzard supports Hearthstone for years to come. However you look at it, bare-bones or not, Naxx is a great start.

Despite the fact most of us will never have played the game it's a sequel to, the quality of Oreshika: Tainted Bloodlines shines through its gorgeous visuals and deep mechanics. Come to think of it, there's no more fitting way for a game that's about leaving a worthwhile legacy to conduct itself.

Despite the uneven feel, there's a solid foundation underneath Charlie Murder, and fans of beat 'em ups will find plenty to enjoy as they bash their way through hordes of the undead while listening to a pretty kickass soundtrack.

Rune Factory 4 isn't the deepest or most structured game out there, but it more than makes up for it with its charm and wide-open freedom. If you are willing to put in the time to learn its varied systems, I think you'll find that this game is an absolute delight.

Nearly 14 years after first bursting onto the scene, Melty Blood has aged to the point of near-perfection. While a few aspects of the package leave something to be desired, the fact remains that, at its core, this is a supreme fighter with a diverse roster and deep, compelling mechanics that merit your attention.

Trials is a hodgepodge of stuff that should have been patched in and stuff worthy of extra development time.

When the dust settles, Grid 2 serves as a solid enough racing game with generally strong opponent AI. What it does not serve as is a worthy successor to the first game -- instead offering a stripped-down version of itself that is filled with lazy design, unfair AI opponents, special ESPN 'live' broadcasts that no one really asked for, and to top it all off, its bizarrely irritating narrator and loudly drunk or completely apathetic fans.

Atelier Shallie Plus may close the curtains of the Dusk trilogy, but it is a good place to start for those new to the Atelier games and can even be a good way to ease into the series. The story doesn’t get overly serious while maintaining a lighter tone than your typical JRPG.