Monster Train 2 is the latter, a slightly more polished version of the original with more content for fans to plow through. It trades memorability for momentary captivation, and it’s an understandable tradeoff. Just like with the first game, though, the memories of my hours mowing down Titans are already melting away. [Impressions]

My first impressions of Inzoi are mainly positive, though, as this life simulation game shows a ton of potential with the ideas it’s playing around with. There are still many quality-of-life issues that leave me wondering how long Inzoi could keep the attention and goodwill of players like me who love the genre. It also begs the question of how worthwhile it is to play in early access and if it’s easier to wait until the full game is out. [Early Access Impressions]

Thunder Lotus has a great foundation here and I’m excited to see what else it has on its roadmap for early access. I know that an 11-player run is already in the works, but I’m eager to see some more creative weapons, new perks, and varied maps that’ll make each run feel a little different. I’m happy to enlist in any war against God, but I’ll need a little more if this is going to be the kind of roguelike I return to regularly. I have no reason to think that Thunder Lotus won’t get there, as 33 Immortals is already in great shape in early access. If you’re looking for an inventive new co-op game, join the holy war today. [Early Access Impressions]

Is it fair to review a game when I’m still downloading massive patches for it? Whether you believe that answer to be yes or no, the headache-inducing roadblocks that I encountered while playing the highly unstable Stalker 2 have made for a disappointing playthrough. After nearly 15 years of waiting for the next mainline series entry, the game feels less like a groundbreaking continuation and more like a world full of missed opportunities.

Anger Foot's one-note action gimmick can't find a second leg to stand on.

South Park: Snow Day! flushes a nostalgic multiplayer premise down the toilet.

As a double-dip built for superfans, The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered is a fine (though inaccurately titled) collector’s edition with some valuable archival material. But as an extension of Naughty Dog’s creative vision, it’s borderline mockery that turns a thoughtful story into a cruel punch line.

Atlas Fallen has some ambitious ideas for a game of its scale, but its poor presentation holds back a promising combat system.

AEW: Fight Forever will win over N64 nostalgists, but anyone looking for a modern wrestling experience may be let down by an unpolished, bare-bones package.

The Lord of the Rings: Gollum is a disaster in a way that I sincerely thought wasn’t possible anymore. With so much money on the line, I thought we’d long passed the days where a game as transparently bad as Superman 64 could exist. Popular IPs are like gold in 2023, and companies carefully guard them like protective dragons. And yet, Gollum seems to have slipped by the watchful eye of so many stakeholders undetected. It’s a rare sight in the modern gaming landscape, and one that almost makes me nostalgic for the bad games of my childhood.

Redfall makes concessions to work as a middling multiplayer game at the expense of a promising single-player experience.

While not outright broken like Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) or Sonic Boom, Sonic Frontiers is a heavily misguided game that muffles good ideas with questionable narrative, technical, and gameplay design decisions. Sonic Team continues to demonstrate that it's not quite sure what to do with the blue blur, taking a wild swing with a game that tries to rival open-world games rather than double down on the strengths of newer titles like Sonic Generations and Sonic Mania, or older successes like the Sonic Adventure series.

Valkyrie Elysium delivers an average action experience that fails to revive a classic RPG series.

If you've played a game bySpiders, Steelrising is the same story. It's a game with lofty ambitions, aiming to compete with the best in the genre, but ultimately lacking the resources and polish to pull it off. I admire a studio stretching to push beyond its perceived ability, but working within limitations is crucial. If this is a path Spiders is truly committed to taking, I hope it can find its footing in its next project. The studio has loads of promise with its RPG experience and its ability to lay solid groundwork for action combat. But Steelrising feels more like a prototype than what the studio is truly capable of.

Madden NFL 23 is an improved game when compared to Madden NFL 22, but that isn't enough to make it good.

Tunic desperately tries to recreate the magic of classic Legend of Zelda games, all too often doing so to a fault. It tries to be hands-off and instead leaves the player with no idea of where to go. It wants to have simple combat, akin to something like the Zelda Oracle games, but that approach gets stale incredibly fast here. More than anything though, Tunic left me feeling lost in its mysteries, which I didn’t want to solve out of need or drive, but because I couldn’t bear them anymore.

Monark tries a lot of new ideas, but only finds success with an intriguing battle system ... and even that has a mileage that may vary.

While Rainbow Six Extraction stands out within its genre and the Tom Clancy lineup of games as a whole, it rarely does so to its advantage. This extremely tough experience becomes more frustrating if you play it alone or with random players. If someone is looking for a very involved cooperative game to play with their best friends, Rainbow Six Extraction may grab their attention, but its repetitiveness and terrible grind may get to players after a while.

Chorus' stellar space combat is brought down by a myriad of design choices that range from frustrating to outright annoying.

I’ve played a decent number of RPG expansions in my time, and a majority of them have built on what makes the base game good. Whether it was The Witcher 3‘s Blood and Wine or New Vegas‘ Old World Blues, a good DLC takes the best aspects of the base game and raises them up while including a unique, new spin. Assassin’s Creed Valhalla‘s Siege of Paris is antithetical to that. The game’s best parts — its world and characters — are left in the muck, while a boring gameplay loop and heavy-handed story take center stage. Of course, some players will enjoy having more of the same to explore, but considering how long it takes to even finish Valhalla, I couldn’t imagine coming back for seconds. When I first arrived in the game’s version of Paris, I saw an exhausted, burnt-out land. When I left it, I could certainly sympathize.

Balan Wonderworld is a hodge-podge of half-formed platforming ideas that squander a whole lot of charm.

Destruction AllStars has a sturdy engine, but it’s overworked in almost every respect. The needless on-foot component and character abilities clutter an otherwise light but fun pick-up-and-play game with satisfying wrecks. Toss in some overeager DualSense support, and the result is a multiplayer game that’s chaotic for all the wrong reasons.

Fallout games have long struggle with interface issues, but with the many other open-world games that offer a more streamlined experience, it’s hard to keep picking the one that bumbles something so essential...The problem is at its worst on PC. While aiming is easier due to the precision of a mouse, everything else feels designed with a controller in mind. The Pip-Boy is a real nuisance. You’ll find yourself constantly activating the wrong menu even after hours of play.

Whether a fan of Spider-Man himself, the open-world genre, or action games in general, Marvel’s Spider-Man is an excellent example of each.

Agents of Mayhem is a generic take on the city open world shooter. A diverse cast of heroes and a few funny one liners save it from being downright bad, but its repetitive missions and bland world firmly solidify its mediocrity.

The Order: 1886 is a terrible game. Not because it’s broken or made without skill. Certainly not because it’s an average-length, story-driven shooter with minimal replay value. It’s just a bad game, forgettable in every conceivable way and safely ignored by all but the most ardent Trophy hunters.

The Saints go straight to hell, both literally and metaphorically, in Saints Row IV standalone expansion, Gat Out of Hell.

The best way to escape Dead Island is to never land there in the first place.