Despite the confusion, the conflicting design choices, and the bugs, the gameplay keeps us coming back to Trailblazers. The process of forging a line around the track, coordinating with other drivers, and trying to maintain the fastest speed shines through the flaws. There’s a worthwhile racer here, but be prepared to hit some speed bumps to get to it.

Agents of Mayhem has some positives to work with. The animated cut scenes and original songs definitely show off some flair, and the characters present a strong range of fun play styles with room to experiment. However, the enemies and environments aren’t nearly strong enough to match, and the game is further weakened by progression issues. It maintains interest well enough as it introduces each new agent, but the repetition smothers it in the end.

Disintegration is solid and does a good job with its mix of FPS and RTS elements. The strategy aspects feel a little shallow, and neither the campaign nor multiplayer modes really go above and beyond in any way, but there’s still an enjoyable and interesting premise here. Disintegration’s mashup of genres isn’t revolutionary, but its different approach is worth a look.

Despite a notable amount of bugs and exploitable mechanics, We Happy Few presents an entrancing world to explore. Exceptional voice acting and interesting characters help alleviate the lesser qualities of combat and repetitive mission objectives, but it’s overstuffed length and half-realized ideas hold it back considerably.

While it may not do anything groundbreaking, there’s a decent game buried somewhere in Need for Speed Payback. It’s hard to deny the fun that still comes from sliding through mountain switchbacks or launching through the air like a rocket. However, the promise of pulling off epic heists falls flat, and Payback is crippled by its progression system. A car’s performance shouldn’t be determined by a slot machine, and a racing game shouldn’t force you to wait out in the parking lot.

Crackdown 3 is partying like it's 2010, ignoring almost every advancement the open-world genre has made in the past decade. The attempts at humor and provocation are forgettable, and if it wasn't for Echo and Goodwin in your ear, there would be almost no real meaning to any of it. Crackdown 3 excels at almost nothing, especially in comparison to several of its recent groundbreaking competitors. No matter how strong your agent can get or how much demolition you can cause, there are simply better cities to save.

The Inpatient feels half-baked. The story and mechanics never come together in a satisfying way. Despite moments of terrifying audio-visual design, the cumbersome controls and a lack of interesting characters make The Inpatient a chore to play through.

Despite having nearly seven years to figure out a way to improve upon The Last Hope, Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness is lacking in just about every department. Not even a solid soundtrack is enough to salvage this wreck. There’s nothing special about this below average RPG, and it completely misses the mark.

For all of its missteps, it's hard to get too angry at ReCore. The platforming and combat are so good that it's hard not wishing a better game surrounded them. For those with a fair amount of patience, it's worth playing just to see the strongest aspects. For everyone else, it's best to just shake your head, move on, and wonder what could have been.

Sonic Forces doesn't ever reach the lowest lows the series has gone through in the past. Yet it also has almost nothing in it that leaves a lasting impression. It's the kind of game you can breeze through in an afternoon and then forget about immediately after. The customization in Forces is appreciated, but it’s nowhere near enough in a game that lacks great ideas.

Despite the piles of issues and annoyances, Little Dragons Café isn’t an unpleasant game. The overall art direction, character design, and music all present a storybook charm that pulls you in early and keeps it enjoyable in the midst of the grind. More than anything, the simple gameplay just gets stretched thin over the 40 hour story. While we don’t often focus on cost, the full $60 price tag also seems particularly difficult to justify. With a stronger investment and more developed gameplay, a sequel may still have potential, but as it is, Little Dragons Café could have used a bit more time in the oven.

It's possible, and even likely, to walk away from Deadly Premonition 2 absolutely loving it. Few directors can construct a world or a cast as curiously compelling as Swery does. Yet it's hard not to desperately wish that these charms were presented with more capable craftsmanship. There is a special flavor that Swery games have, and that sometimes comes across in spite of the jank, but there has to be a better way of preserving that flavor while also making a stronger game overall.

Ary and the Secret of Seasons feel like it's not ready for release yet. It's frustrating because there are occasional moments of promise in areas like its temples and puzzles, but the overall experience is brought down by sloppy combat, a stale world, and numerous technical issues. If the developers take some more time to polish things up Ary could be a decent adventure, but in its current state, you're better off waiting.

Redfall is an epic miss from Arkane. The combat is mind-numbing, the quests are uninspired, co-op is a bummer, and the story doesn’t reach its potential. The only saving grace is its setting, but it’s pulled down by everything else. While co-op is the focus of the marketing, it doesn’t feel like a priority in Redfall’s design. There is some basic enjoyment in the solo campaign if you just want to turn your brain off, explore the town, and blast some goons, but there are easily better alternatives out there.

With all its design hiccups and elaborate but exhausting missions, Anthem is tiring to play, and that’s too bad. You can tell the game is capable of incredible things when you first try on a javelin and see the massive, beautiful world waiting to be explored. But it’s safe to say Anthem’s launch has not been very inspiring, despite the freedom of its excellent combat and a surprisingly broad story told by a devoted and expressive cast. We could see ourselves one day returning to this fascinating place, but we have no problem leaving our javelins in the forge for now.

It's so pervasively dull. Where other prominent throwbacks have recaptured the beating heart of the games that inspired them, Mighty No. 9’s familiar pieces are thrown together without a driving vision. Hopefully the super fighting robot’s next successor is more worthy.

Fallout 76 is a game where you keep hoping that things will get better if you stay patient and play just a bit further. Such a moment never arrives, and with more time, it only becomes more obvious just how broken it is. When something goes wrong, you're not quite clear if it's your fault or the game's because of how many issues you run into. Any game releasing in this state is unacceptable, but the problems go well beyond the technical ones. When this hollow game is not actively breaking, it feels as though it's barely hanging onto a concept that doesn't seem in any way remarkable even in the best circumstances.

Balan Wonderworld is a disappointing platformer that feels like a wasted opportunity. There are some bright spots in its visuals, music, and boss fights, but the bulk of the game is characterized by stale level design, overly simplistic gameplay, useless power-ups, and annoying mini-games. It throws a lot of ideas at the wall, but lacks the polish to do any of it well. And with a price tag of $60, it's a hard sell.

While Vane may not reach the heights of its contemporaries, the bleak world it paints presents some interesting concepts. However, these ideas fails to coalesce into truly memorable moments, and it continually gets tripped up by technical issues.

Umbrella Corps is another failed attempt from Capcom to capitalize on the current trend of team-based shooters. Aside from the locations and Umbrella logo, this game couldn't be further from the ideals established by Resident Evil in the last two decades. Maybe someday Capcom can find a formula that works, but Umbrella Corps is a cheap, uninspired, and unbalanced take on the genre that’s far too simple and messy to be worth the time. This game is a virus that should be avoided at all costs.