World of Final Fantasy has some great gameplay design that honors the traditional turn-based role-playing game structure. The additional Pokemon elements of capturing and cultivating the mirages creates motivation to keep the ball rolling, even if you’re grinding out the gameplay a bit. The gameplay certainly isn’t perfect, as the younger audience that Tose and Square Enix are trying to reach rears its head in the gameplay structure once in awhile through the game's flow and simplicity, but World of Final Fantasy is diverse and deep enough to keep the excitement going from beginning to end. Just come prepared with a good GPU to push it on the PC.

Other than the roguelite gameplay levers that are more punishing and artificially slow in gating variance for the player, ROBOBEAT is a fun rhythm mashup. I highly recommend it for those wanting to show off their FPS and parkour skills while shooting along to the beat of an incredible soundtrack.

You will definitely get your money’s worth if you're a fan of stealth strategy games and want a game that you can replay over and over. If your not into this type of genre Hitman doesn’t do anything that will make you a fan. It’s a very rewarding game and one of the best from the series.

A delightful little dungeon crawler, Riverbond, is fun for everyone. The voxel styling paired with the abundance of skin choices makes for a wonderful visual experience. The drop-in/out multiplayer means the whole family can hop on the couch and play as much, or as little, as they want to help clear a board. In a medium full of ever-increasingly realistic graphics, Riverbond is a breath of fresh air with its colorful world and characters.

Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O. World Stage is the same, already great 3D fighting experience that PC players got last year and fans of Virtua Fighter 5 Ultimate Showdown have been familiar with since 2021. It brings Nintendo Switch 2 owners to parity with crossplay and rollback netcode, meaning that it should be easier than ever to find an online opponent.

DK Island and Emerald Rush is a dichotomous, albeit controversial, DLC addition to the already fantastic Donkey Kong Bananza. The former is a love letter to DK’s past; it’s a letter that is best appreciated by those who want that trip down memory lane. The latter, though, is a highly replayable and ever-so-engaging roguelite mode that takes things up several notches to truly test your mastery of Bananza’s mechanics. You shouldn’t consider this DLC unless you’ve completed Bananza or intend to do so.

The Director’s Cut of Wasteland 2 is no doubt an excellent game at the top of its genre, but the Switch version has some technical issues that keep it from being a clear cut recommendation. Still, priced at $30, and given the quality of the game outside of some technical gripes, it’s well worth your consideration.

Indeed, Strangeland is on the smaller side in terms of length, but also in scale as far as the number of areas, puzzles, and NPCs. Furthermore, it’s just a little bit on the easy side (even without using the payphone), too. I also found some of the ideas in the game just a little underdeveloped, which actually manifested as my own curiosity to know more about Strangeland — certain NPCs, or rooms, for example — but the content just wasn’t there. All that said, though — keep in mind — this is only a $15 game, and at that price, it’s an excellent value.

The Double Dragon & Kunio-kun Retro Brawler Bundle is a quirky, cool, unique release that gives players a big dose of retro gaming including several titles that have never been published stateside. I appreciate the history here, and the preservation, as well as the modernization efforts by Arc System Works. Even though several of the games didn’t hold my interest at all, and four of them are almost identical clones of other games in the same set, there’s still enough here to make this a release that retro gamers should take note of.

As a third person monster hunter with JRPG elements, Toukiden 2 gets a lot right. It has some important limitations that you should consider before diving in, but if you enjoy the franchise or the monster-hunter genre, keeps this one in mind.

Overall, Transpose is a pleasant, complicated surprise puzzle VR game that will put your patience to the test, as well as your cognitive skills. If you enjoy puzzle games, such as The Witness, then this one will probably be up your alley.

Depending on what you’re looking for in your next third person stealth game, Styx may fit the bill. It gets a lot right and is a noticeable improvement from the first game, which itself was pretty good to begin with. It may not carry the history or prestige of some of stealth’s bigger franchises, but if you like the genre at all, Cyanide Studios’ latest effort deserves your attention.

Bottomline, Sniper Elite 4 on Switch is nearly four years late to the party, but better late than never. It’s regrettable that all of the DLC wasn’t included and that this release was not given the Ultimate version treatment, but, for snipe-hungry Switch players, this is still an excellent game that’s well worth your consideration.

Ultros is a psychedelic cosmic loop of a metroidvania. Its combat is approachable and simple, while its gardening encourages creativity and problem-solving that is rarely seen in the metroidvania genre. I had a good time playing Ultros; it mystified me while giving me room to stress-test its cosmic universe and fully explore its boundaries. While I wanted more complex combat and intentional varieties of color, I was quite satisfied with my journey to warrant a play in the future. Ultros is a trip worth taking at least once.

The base Xillia content is notable for its incredible combat and emotional story, and the additional quality of life content makes the game more palatable than ever before. If you’re wanting to relive Tales of Xillia or are down to experience it for the first time, Tales of Xillia Remastered will give you the nostalgia and emotional depth you need.

While ESO is certainly growing and filling out the map of Tamriel, it feels like it is stagnating some. New additions like the Antiquities system and Tales of Tribute give players some variety in the gameplay. However, the core of the stories feels the same. While it can feel stale, I do still enjoy playing each new chapter. The new locales and characters usually make up for it. As do the new systems. I am interested to see what the devs bring us next as well as where the Legacy of the Bretons will go.

Severed is a short adventure that has a lot of major gameplay elements packed into it. Its unique art style will keep your eyes engaged, while your brain will be firmly occupied with the puzzles and sword play. There’s not a lot more you could ask for from a $14.99 game.

While Call of Duty: Black Ops isn't without flaws it does still maintain that core Call of Duty goodness that we've all come to love from the game.

Given the content and the price, I feel comfortable recommending this to previous players and newcomers alike.

he tale Ethan Carter ultimately aches to tell isn't as complex or natural as its influences, but it finds ample success in directing a curious story through an interactive ensemble.

An indie gem that shouldn't be missed regardless of your platform of choice. It would have been ideal to see this re-release separate itself more from previous versions, but it's still a very good and memorable experience.

Elite Dangerous is a very compelling and adventurous game. It's a story you get to tell based on your decisions. This is more than just a game. It's an ever-changing experience you get to participate in. Elite Dangerous is not for the Casual Gamer, and it's certainly not for everyone.

If a colorful, morbid, corporeal, dungeon-crawling Punch-Out!! isn't sweet enough to sell Severed, consider it a vision of a world where the PlayStation Vita remained a stronghold of original and endearing creation.

It's not always up for the traditional definition of fun, but it perfectly captures the disorientation and despondency of balancing dire problems between the dearest of friends.

If you love turntables, you love scratching and you love hearing music from different generations cleverly mixed together to create a unique beat then you'll just fall in love with DJ Hero.

Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate makes for a very solid gaming experience. The game offers up so much to do and see through a massive amount of quests, crafting elements, customizations and a compelling online mode. Prepare your day-to-day schedules accordingly for this one, but please be mindful of the control issues the game tends to have.

Bottomline, Thymesia does not stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the giants of the genre, but it’s a great game in its own right. Though it falters some in areas like presentation, story, and level design, the combat and upgrade systems are a lot of fun, even if the enemy variety gets to feeling a little thin by the end. Personally, I hope we see a lot more from Overboard Studios and Corvus in the future as there is a lot of potential to be realized yet.

Despite some parts of the game being more simplistic overall, the exploration of the catacombs is far more enthralling than the over world from Challenge of the Warlords.