Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon is a powerful mech flying with faulty thrusters. A fast-paced action game loaded with thrilling dogfights and stimulating mech customization is dragged down by all too familiar FromSoftware quirks like illegible UI and a headache-inducing third-person camera. It’s not enough to fully spoil an exciting ride, but it does leave me wondering how far a good tune-up would have gone.

Immortals of Aveum is a colorful magic FPS that's sometimes too snarky for its own good.

While it commits its fair share of game design sins, Blasphemous 2 delivers a rewarding, unsettling Metroidvania that's worthy of some devotion.

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

Venba delivers an elegantly nuanced story about cultural identity through sharply written dialogue and meaningful cooking interludes.

Disney Illusion Island is a charming all-ages platformer that acts as a breezy introduction to the Metroidvania genre.

Exoprimal demands a lot of patience, but those who stick with it will uncover a shockingly innovative multiplayer shooter.

Though faithful fans might be put off by a more laid-back sequel that’s over-eager to hold players’ hands, Pikmin 4 is a purposeful reconstruction of Nintendo’s most niche series. A stressful comedy of errors becomes a digestible puzzle-strategy hybrid that gives players valuable organization strategies that are just as useful in real life as they are on their Nintendo Switch adventure.

Viewfinder is an ingenious puzzle game that wows at every turn, even if its sci-fi story stretches to find deeper meaning in its mind-bending photo hook.

Oxenfree II: Lost Signals is another narrative hit for Night School, delivering a slow-burn story that expertly weaves together supernatural horror with an introspective story of self-discovery. The sequel does find itself struggling with its own identity crisis though, as tedious interactivity leaves me wondering if the studio’s heart is more in movies or TV than video games.

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

Synapse is a flashy PlayStation VR2 exclusive roguelite that gets too repetitive for its own good.

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.

Final Fantasy XVI delivers on the “action” side of its action-RPG formula. A fierce and fast-paced combat system makes for the series’ most exciting stab at real-time swordplay yet, while its blockbuster Eikon fights rank among some of gaming’s most awe-inspiring battles. But there’s a general flatness surrounding those exhilarating highs, as shallow RPG hooks and dated design leave a promising evolution for the series stuck in the past.

Pixel Ripped 1978 brings Atari nostalgia to VR in a charming adventure that feels a little too removed from reality at times.

Diablo 4 strides out of the gate with an impressive blend of engrossing storytelling, engaging gameplay, and top-tier audio-visual design. As a result, it stands as a groundbreaking addition to the ARPG genre, despite my hovering concerns about its compulsory persistent multiplayer and potential future microtransactions.

Street Fighter 6 feels like the most significant revelation for the fighting game genre since Street Fighter 2. No matter the skill level, all types of players will find something to enjoy here -- and even feel represented in some way. And for the most part, it does all of those things well while looking incredibly stylish.

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.

Planet of Lana makes up for some repetitive 2D puzzling with a gorgeous art style and a good-natured tone.

If you steer clear of the shop and online modes, there’s so much to enjoy in Lego 2K Drive. The colorful story mode alone is worth the price of admission, creating a version of Forza Horizon that’s much more welcoming to younger audiences and casual racing fans. It makes me feel like a kid again, playing with Legos in my bedroom. But every time I exit back to the main menu and see the shop, I snap back to being a world-weary adult who can’t help but be critical of unsettling business practices.

So long as you’re willing to meticulously survey Hyrule like an archaeologist digging for fossils, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is an engrossing sequel full of mysteries to solve and experiments to conduct. It’s a digital laboratory that I imagine will still be producing unbelievable discoveries 10 years from now.

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

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor doesn’t reinvent the formula of Fallen Order and still suffers from some pacing and technical issues like that game did. Still, it’s one of the best single-player Star Wars experiences that I've ever played. The Empire may not be defeated by the end of Survivor, but I enjoyed exploring this beautiful galaxy and watching Cal open up along the way.

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

Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores is a light, but crowd-pleasing DLC chapter that sets the stage for Aloy's next adventure.

Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp doesn’t drastically change the core gameplay from the original, but it didn’t need to. Back in 2001, Advance Wars played beautifully. A simple concept paired with deep systems allowed the series to withstand the test of time -- something that’s even clearer with a modern Switch version. Playing Re-Boot Camp feels like revisiting an old friend and finding out their best qualities remained intact over the years. For those visiting for the first time on Switch, prepare for a new lifelong friendship.

I had as much fun here as I would have had watching a schlocky B-movie, but Dead Island 2 doesn’t do much to push the crowded (and dated) zombie genre forward. An underwhelming narrative and a general lack of creativity in mission design left me hungry for a more substantial meal. There’s a sharp-witted takedown of American privilege somewhere in Dead Island’s arsenal, an edge that was perhaps dulled down with age. For the series to survive another decade, it might need to hit the grindstone and craft a point that can actually pierce skin.

The Mageseeker: A League of Legends Story is an exhilarating action title that you don't need to be a League fan to enjoy.