Marathon is a wildy inconsistent game that reaches blood-pumping highs, in between rounds of pure frustration. There's a great shooter hiding in there, but players will jump off before they find it.

Black Ops 7 has the worst Call of Duty campaign of all time, but another solid multiplayer with great maps and an addictive Zombies mode means there's still plenty of fun to be had.

Football Manager 26 marks the iconic management sim’s return after two years off, but longtime FM players are going to struggle as it is a bit of a confusing mess.

After waiting six years for another crack at The Outer Worlds, it feels disappointing to be met with a sequel that is so promising but marred by a poor first half and frustrating Flaws. But the game isn’t a total flop, saved by its whimsical charm, vivid dystopian subject matter, and the classic, slower, and more explorative design that Obsidian games have perfected.

Bloodlines 2 isn’t your typical RPG. It tells a great and complex story while taking you on an adventure where every choice you make affects the narrative, inside a city that feels alive with lovable and hateable characters. However, it could have done so much more to live up to it's predecessor and TTRPG inspiration.

Pokemon Legends Z-A delivers fast, polished battles in Lumiose City, but limited exploration and shallow side content hold it back from being truly great.

Digimon Story Time Stranger should be the strongest RPG the series has produced. The evolution system is endlessly replayable, the story delivers big twists, and the presentation shows real care. Unfortunately, it narrowly misses the top spot thanks to its small maps, tedious training, and mechanics that never live up to their promise...It’s a fantastic monster-catching game at its core, but the world around it feels too restricted and the side content too shallow to match that depth.

Borderlands 4 could have been great. Its storyline and gameplay are the strongest they’ve ever been, but it's plagued by performance issues, missing features, and outdated UI's that almost drag it down to the murky depths of its predecessor.

Dying Light: The Beast has great parkour and melee combat, but a bland story and an uninteresting Beast Mode mechanic leave it fun, but ultimately forgettable.

Mafia: The Old Country drastically improves on its predecessor, delivering a gripping mob tale that hits harder than a punch from Tony Montana. It’s just a shame that it’s a much better movie than it is a game.

Tales of the Shire offers a cute cozy adventure that perfects its fishing and cooking, but fails to succeed in any other area synonymous with the genre.

Enchanted by Nature kicks The Sims 4’s wackiness up a notch in all aspects while not feeling too overbearing, and even though Fairies and the new world are perfectly fine additions to the game, they might not blow Simmers away. Where the pack really shines is in its new Natural Living skill, enchanted Gnomes, and new items like the Living Houseplants. They’re all standouts of the pack, and while it’s not going to be worth getting this DLC for one of those alone, there’s a big chunk of content on offer here that has something for every Simmer.

Above all else, Doom: The Dark Ages has utterly fantastic combat. Moment-to-moment action is among the best in series history. But ultimately, in a desire to expand on a winning formula, id Software has fallen short of the high bar it set with Doom 2016 and Doom Eternal.

While the adventure borrows heavily from Bloodborne, Dark Souls, and Stellar Blade, it never quite manages to match them. This is because it feels like more of a tribute act rather than a game that drives the genre forward. As fun as AI Limit is, we’ve seen it all before. However, if you’re craving more of that classic Soulslike gameplay in a slick anime art style that’s always rewarding to play, then there’s still lots of fun to be had in AI Limit.

Businesses & Hobbies is a conundrum of an Expansion Pack. While it offers some fantastic cross-pack functionality with other DLC, it’s let down in other areas by only featuring two new skills, an underbaked candy creation system, and a small world with interactable set dressing I’ve been speaking about since My Wedding Stories. If you’re someone who loves Rags to Riches playthroughs, familial play, and legacies, this is the pack for you, but the sour aftertaste of something that feels all too familiar to Get To Work in some ways keeps it from being something truly great.

Sniper Elite: Resistance doesn’t rip up the rule book, it sticks to what it does best and delivers another set of stunning sandboxes to poke around in. The sniping and hilariously detailed X-ray kills are just as satisfying as ever, and the new Propaganda missions are perfect for those looking to test their mettle away from the campaign.

Although Alien: Rogue Incursion does little to push the Virtual Reality space beyond what we’ve already grown familiar with, it’s another well-rounded experience that all owners should strongly consider, especially if you’re a lifelong fan of the IP.

Stalker 2 is brutal, unforgiving, and not for the faint-hearted. While its storyline is poised for new players, its gameplay feels the opposite, providing a hardcore experience for anyone looking to dive into the Zone. Nevertheless, Stalker 2 is the kind of game that ages like a fine wine, getting better, richer, and slightly bolder as you push through its 35-hour campaign. That being said, the performance issues and missing features do leave a somewhat bitter taste.

If you’re looking for a cool and fairly unique experience and you’ve got Game Pass, then Hellblade 2 could be worth your time. Its visual splendor and highlight moments are worth experiencing. But, if you haven’t played the original Hellblade yet? Do yourself a favor and go play that instead. In all ways except visual, it’s a better game.

Open Roads’ gameplay may not stun and its visuals are not exactly the most groundbreaking. However, it at least dares to bring something new to the canon of video games by telling a humanistic story in the gaming medium, a brief tale historically conveyed through literature. Perhaps Open Roads would’ve worked better if it was part of an anthology of short games with the same theme, but somehow despite its flaws, it still remains a valiant attempt at telling a short story through a game.

I’m rooting for Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League though. There is enough here to suggest that Rocksteady has a grasp of what could make this game great. It will take effort and some big releases, but despite having an uneven experience overall, I’ve left relatively favorable. It has a rebellious spirit that makes it endearing...For all the noise around the game, from those fighting loudly in its corner and those trying to tear it apart, I’ve left with an unceremonious “Yeah, it’s pretty good” with a tinge of hope to boot. There is a world where the game has a future, and it’s a multiverse I’d like to live in.

Cities VR might not offer what Skylines veterans are looking for, but it’s an excellent jumping-on point for newcomers to the franchise that takes a genre full of inherent complexities and makes it work in VR.

We loved the soundtrack and the ability to play as Tails, Knuckles, Amy, and Trip. It’s also worth pointing out that 2D Sonic has never looked so good. The level design is also superb, and we look forward to exploring new routes in our next playthrough, but we feel like a lot of what makes Sonic so amazing has been sacrificed on the altar of flawed multiplayer...This makes us worry about the future direction of the Sonic games, and if the questionable gimmicks from the 3D entries will slowly start to pollute the usually stellar 2D games. While Sonic Superstars isn’t on Sonic Mania or Generation’s level, it’s still a fun and enjoyable Sonic outing where some ideas work and others don’t.

Payday 3’s high-octane action and extravagant heists make it another iconic entry into the heist shooter franchise, but it is ultimately held back by a lackluster user interface, matchmaking issues, and online DRM. While these problems can be addressed in later patches — as Starbreeze proved with its post-launch support for Payday 2, the game ends up feeling a little half-baked in its current state.

If you want to have a great time with a friend while playing an action RPG, Atlas Fallen’s co-op mode is an ideal choice. However, if you intend to embark on a solitary adventure out in the dunes, you may find it becoming too monotonous at times when you’re just sliding across the desert in circles.

Only Up! is an experience for gamers that tests their patience and keyboard and mouse skills to the absolute limit. In the genre of 3D platformers, this game is a decent entry and will likely inspire future imitations. Considerable progress still needs to be made in order for the genre to provide a near-flawless gameplay experience. In order to achieve the status of a perfect platformer, the game must address a number of bugs and significantly improve its movement mechanics. These necessary changes are crucial, considering the immense dedication players will invest as they embark on this demanding and arduous adventure.

Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life is a classic cozy farming game with few repercussions and plenty to experience. It introduces brand-new elements to the genre in the form of longer-running storylines and tons of events to enjoy. However, for me, it just fails to add anything particularly exciting to the already successful genre and left me wanting much more.

Amnesia: The Bunker has all these little pieces that work well, but doesn’t fully deliver on its main hook. Fans of the series may be set up for a No Man’s Land of disappointment, where just a few tweaks here and there might make it a much more enjoyable experience. With it also launching on Xbox Game Pass, that might be the best place for it to gain an audience.