Living in the shadow of something greater is a recurring theme with Gotham Knights. Like its motley cast of heroes, the game sometimes struggles to live up to the expectations set upon it. None of Gotham’s heroes were ever going to be just like Batman, and Gotham Knights was never going to be just like Rocksteady’s Arkham games. Once I could accept that, I could see the game for what it is: a multiplayer superhero game with a creative narrative that plays it safe with gameplay, sometimes to its detriment.

I would recommend Forspoken to action and RPG fans, but I wish I could give them one of my save files with total open-world freedom and most of the traversal and combat spells unlocked from the jump. The adventure is at its weakest when it's forcing players to wade through lots of poor narrative content that takes too long to pay off. Its best beats aren’t paced or delivered well and serve as a weighty vambrace holding back this game’s true magic: a dazzling open-world game that truly does feel next-gen.

Darksiders III is a good action-adventure game that has the potential to become a great one if Gunfire Games can get it to run more smoothly. Fury is a delight to play and easily stands alongside War and Death. Some clever twists point to a very interesting fourth game, but that’s if Gunfire is given the chance. For fans of Zelda, Dark Souls, or Castlevania, there is plenty to enjoy here, and longtime Darksiders fans can be at ease knowing the series is in very capable hands.

With The Dark Below, Destiny is still a brilliantly fun but deeply flawed experience.

Yars Rising boldly takes an Atari 2600 classic into the future with ingenious results.

With Nifty Knitting, The Sims 4's expansion pack strategy hits a sweet spot.

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.

Empire of Sin delivers a clever, genre-melding experience that perfectly marries the world of 1920s organized crime with strategy gameplay. Bugs and a lack of combat speed or automation options can grind its pace to a halt, but it does a stellar job of putting the player in the mindset of a mob mastermind (or a gun-toting buffoon) with streamlined speakeasy management.

For Destiny 2 fans, Warmind is a good addition to an enjoyable game that doesn’t break the mold, but makes some incremental improvements that make it a worthwhile purchase. For everyone else, there’s little in the expansion that’s going to excite or hold attention if Destiny 2 wasn’t already doing that, making it an easy skip.

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.

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.

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.

Concord has the bones of a fun multiplayer game, but it's missing the meat.

Godfall offers a lot of promise with its impressive visuals and impactful combat, but those highlights are lost in a sparse dungeon crawler that sells its strengths short. It’s far different than the Destiny 2 clone fans were anticipating, but that live service style may have been a better fit for its commitment to loot grinding.

Payback is one of the better entries is the long and storied Need for Speed franchise. It hews to its Fast and Furious inspiration well, blending camp, action, tight racing, and an entertaining world to drive way too fast in. If you can get over the obnoxious introduction, you’ll have no trouble getting comfortable at the wheel.

Drag X Drive feels like an excellent prototype more than a full package. The control scheme proves to be more than just a gimmick and makes the act of moving engaging. Combined with the twist that playing basketball in wheelchairs has on a familiar sport, the result is a very solid and enjoyable time. But with only that one mode to hang its hat on, I don’t see Drag X Drive rising above a novelty.

As far as franchise revivals go, Endless Ocean: Luminous doesn't put its best fin forward.

We can imagine a Metal Gear game with zombies that would be a lot of fun, but Metal Gear Survive is not that game. Everything about it, from the thin and uninspiring story and characters to the survival systems and combat, feels tuned to keep you busy, but not entertained. It’s a game that crams in mechanics and ideas without finding a way to make them fun together, while always failing to respect players’ time.

Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League constantly finds ways to stop players from enjoying this bombastic cooperative shooter.

Unknown 9: Awakening is a promising start for a new series once you learn to love its combat.

The highest praise I can give to Reforged is that it’s still Warcraft III. The stellar single-player campaign and strategic multiplayer action are all well preserved here. The updated graphics are a welcome addition, which replaces the original game’s out-of-date visuals with an expressive new look and feel. Unfortunately, the launch version of the game feels far from finished, with bugs and key missing features preventing the current build from being the definitive edition of Warcraft III. It will likely get there eventually, but it’s odd for a remaster to feel like it’s starting from scratch, not presenting an endpoint.

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

There’s no doubt that Anthem is beautiful, and its core of flying, shooting, looting, and upgrading your mech is fun. The campaign’s pacing is off, however, speeding through pivotal moments in the story and doling out filler content to keep players busy. Despite its cast of charismatic characters, many relationships and interactions feel forced and lifeless. Anthem’s biggest setback is how it too frequently turns fun into work.

As a Suikoden successor, Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes is perhaps faithful to a fault. Its war story is better than those found in most Fire Emblem games, and its vibrant cast of characters are a highlight. The turn-based battle system is one of the best I’ve experienced of its kind in recent years, too. It’s just a shame that frustratingly retro RPG design and lacking quality-of-life features put a damper on the whole journey. With a few adjustments, Nowa’s story could’ve been a better tale to bring back home from the frontlines.

Skull and Bones turns the Golden Age of Piracy, one of the most exciting periods in history, into a mundane and plodding experience.

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.

Foamstars' core gameplay offers plenty of strategic fun, but you'll have to grit your teeth through some of its worst instincts to enjoy them.

The world of Destiny 2 suffers every time its great ideas fail to deliver on their promise. We’ll see if things are improved in days and weeks to come by new additions like the new “Raid Lair” mode, which launches Friday. For now, Curse of Osiris feels shallow, an add-on comprising reused content and busywork. Curse of Osiris takes Destiny 2 back in time to the early days of Destiny, when players were stuck with a much weaker game.

While Gear Club Unlimited 2’s offerings are considerably thin in comparison to its competitors, it’s approachable gameplay, customizable controls, and emphasis on group play make it a considerable choice for the Nintendo Switch.

Gungrave G.O.R.E delivers on the run-and-gun, stylish action with a modern PS2-like coat of paint that you'll either love or hate.

Skydance's Behemoth is an adequate VR game that peaks during some stunning boss battles.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 might just be the series' worst installment yet.

Ghost Recon Breakpoint is an enormously ambitious game that is more varied and engaging than its predecessor, with a story that had us invested and a despicable villain to hate. Unfortunately, the excellent third-person shooting is often overshadowed by finicky cover mechanics and bugs. It’s still worth playing, but it will probably be a more enjoyable experience after Ubisoft has time to smooth out some of the more broken parts.

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

Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour should have been a charming pack-in game.

Skatebird's rough skating mechanics are offset by its charming internet-age humor.

Everybody 1-2-Switch! is a perfectly enjoyable minigame collection dragged down by what feel like obvious oversights.

Fallout 76 is basically Fallout 4. That’s the reality. It shares many of the same strengths and many of the same flaws, but the addition of online play and a new map offers a fresh spin on the franchise. Players who regularly roll with a group of friends, or adore the Fallout franchise, are likely to find a place in this wasteland. We’re not sure everyone else will see the appeal, however — or if Fallout 76 will keep players coming back once the launch luster fades.

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

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.

The stripped-down sandbox may be a disappoint longtime fans, but it’s an extra feature that adds to a game that would still feel complete without it.

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.

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

There’s palpable ambition fueling MindsEye, but I can feel where it likely clashed with business decisions that forced the project out of the oven prematurely. It’s the kind of game that you can only pity, holding some empathy for the artists watching an unrealized dream tumble away like a self-driving truck down a crater. No chef wants to serve you uncooked beef.

Chex Quest HD is a breezy blast for anyone who’s looking to spend an afternoon in the ’90s. Smoother shooting and tweaked animations make for a more legible experience that’s still true to the 1996 game, but the minimal package isn’t likely to win over players who aren’t as easily wowed by a “free” label in 2020. Missing UI and shallow extras turn this goofball oddity into the embodiment of the “only ’90s kids will understand” meme.

MultiVersus isn’t the next Super Smash Bros. Ultimate; it’s a beast of its own. If Player First Games and WB Games can maintain this game’s community with frequent, compelling updates and make the user experience a little more engaging, MultiVersus should have a bright future ahead of it.

Despite innovating in small ways, Saints Row is a safe open-world game. While that's perfectly fine for those looking for another sandbox adventure to sink time into, its quaintness feels antithetical to the series' wacky reputation. Saints Row is known for being loud, bombastic, and unconventional. So why am I mostly stuck doing tedious action and open-world checklist objectives? Volition wanted to get in touch with the series' roots, but after you've jumped the shark so many times and the industry has moved on, this reserved approach makes Saints Row feel like an antiquity.

Rumbleverse's unique fusion of battle royale structure and fighting game depth is a great, though sometimes imperfect, match.

The DioField Chronicle includes a lot of setup for potential sequels, but it does a solid job of laying down the proper foundation to make that work long-term.

Teslagrad 2's momentum-based platforming makes for speedy fun, even if it doesn't quite have the same spark as its predecessor.

Sea of Stars goes beyond retro homage to deliver a moving indie RPG with a strong combat system at its heart.

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]