The story takes a step backward, and the new game modes aren't that impressive. Mostly, it's just the same ol' Jigglypuff song and dance from Pokemon Black/White 2.

Dead Space 3 would have been well served to include some of the thrilling gameplay featured here, but Awakened‘s convoluted narrative has far too many absurd plot holes—and is far too short—to be worth anything to anyone but the most die-hard Dead Space fans.

Sea of Thieves’ world isn’t completely lacking in achievement, thanks to its luscious visuals and excellent sailing mechanics, but it feels completely undercooked in terms of actual gameplay. Perhaps ironically, Sea of Thieves feels like the skeleton of a game rather than a fully realized experience. Rare promises that more content is coming, but judging on what the game offers now, it’s a journey not worth taking—at least not yet.

Paper Mario: The Origami King once again takes the series in a completely different direction. Mushroom Kingdom is bigger and more alive than it’s ever been, but it comes packaged with a combat system that quickly becomes stagnant.

Neverdead is a classic example of an interesting premise falling flat on execution. A brilliant exercise in game physics and boss battles, this game is weighed down mostly by the mundane combat across nearly a dozen dull and uninspired levels.

Battle of Z had a lot of potential, but like so many DBZ games before it, it fails to capture the opportunity. The unnecessary amount of grinding required to progress through a story we’ve seen a dozen times before overshadows the decent combat.

Pid feels like the indie game equivalent of paint-by-numbers. While it does an admirable job aping the style and atmosphere of titles like Braid, Limbo, and Machinarium, the entire experience winds up hollow, overlong, and ultimately forgettable thanks to awkward pacing and a gameplay gimmick that isn't quite as versatile as it needs to be.

Tri Force Heroes is a Zelda game in name only. When you dig just past the surface, poor gameplay mechanics and key missing elements for a Zelda title tarnish what is otherwise a serviceable adventure game.

Gran Turismo Sport purposely limits itself as it revolves solely around getting players racing online in various competitions. The VR gimmick and customization options are nice, but otherwise there simply is not enough here for anyone but the gamer that wants to turn video game racing into a potential career. GT Sport is a shell of what we expect from this series, and will disappoint anyone looking for any significant content in its offline modes.

Drox Operative has a solid base and an incredibly advanced AI at its heart. It basically ticks all the boxes for the genre, but the later level grinding will suck your soul dry, leaving all but the most hardcore of players wanting something more.

One of those games you'll either love or hate. Some folks will be able to look past the gameplay flaws and appreciate the Platinum-y goodness, but more serious fighting fans will probably wish for a more defined, discernible battlefield. I tend to side more with the latter, but I managed to have some occasional fun despite my frustrations.

The best and worst thing about Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands is that it feels like another Borderlands game. The shooter gameplay is as tight and responsive as ever, the weapons are fun to use, and the writing is a marked improvement over Borderlands 3. The characters are once again at the center of the game’s comedy, and the performances are great (when the actors are actually committing to their roles). But, because this is more Borderlands, a lot of the same annoyances with the series persist, especially when it comes to inventory management and the sheer amount of meaningless loot. Really, Wonderlands’ worst offense is that it can’t get over the series’ legacy of looting and shooting, and misses the opportunity to take real inspiration from the tabletop worlds that it parodies.

Too many random problems arise and detract from the main issues of the story, leaving Amid the Ruins feeling like a weird valley right before the hopeful peak of the season finale.

Double Dragon IV is a sequel that came about three decades too late. While it’s a great follow-up to the games from the 8-bit era, it also unintentionally shines a light on the shortcomings of the time—which only the most diehard of fans will be able to overlook.

Fire may have rained from the skies and wiped out entire nations, but the action in Far Cry New Dawn is pretty much the same as it ever was, only less so. A few interesting new tweaks to the series' formula are overshadowed by a cut-rate campaign, a story that gets colossally dumb in the third act, and a resource system that feels both unbalanced and pointless.

The multiplayer and replay ideas that Ubisoft implemented in Steep were great, and the game looks terrific. It’s held back as a whole, though, by listless controls, a directionless world, and an always-online requirement that brings everything crashing down like an avalanche when the servers decide to act up.

High on Life continues Squanch Games’ propensity for skewering video game tropes, this time in the form of a first-person shooter. Unfortunately, a lot of the game plays like a first draft, and armor of detached irony doesn’t do enough to protect it from its many, many kinks. Roiland’s personal brand of gross-out parody and “oh, geez” improvisational humor is already starting to feel routine in video game form, but there are a few standout bits. Thankfully, there’s a pretty fun shooter underneath all the alien semen, though stiff animations and some buggy moments can make it look slightly underbaked. If you’re a fan of Rick and Morty (or, more appropriately, “Doc and Mharti”), then High on Life might just be the pickup you need—but it never fully develops any of its really good ideas into a satisfying final draft.

Many of the issues Fallout 76 currently faces could eventually be fixed, which is why this mess is such a pity. The potential is clear, but a reluctance to commit to one direction or another leaves the game in an awkward and broken void.

Soul Calibur V still brings an unmatched clash of swords with its weapons-based brawls, but its paltry single-player content is an absolute insult to the series' substantial legacy.

Extinction shows a lot of promise, and it sometimes delivers, like when it comes to the engaging, acrobatic combat or the sheer scale of the Ravenii. Unfortunately, the repetitive mission types and gameplay and a clichéd fantasy tale make it feel like a shell of a game. Far from feeling like a full retail release, Extinction feels like one good idea run into the ground until you’re checking your watch, waiting for it to end.

It's great to finally have a portable Katamari as playable as the console versions, but we already saw this game seven years ago…and six years ago…and five years ago…and...

Though there are many parts of Mirror’s Edge Catalyst that fail, when it manages to fire on all cylinders, the game works quite well. However, those moments are separated by dull stretches, frustrating bits that detract from the game’s greatest assets in order to focus on fighting and story conflicts, neither of which I cared about. I’ve dreamed about the many possibilities a next-gen, open-world Mirror’s Edge title could bring since Catalyst was announced back in 2015, but I never thought the end result would be so limiting.

A House Divided is the weakest episode, by far, in Telltale’s Walking Dead series. Much of the action and plot “twists” are predictable and don’t hold nearly as much weight as in previous episodes.

Call of Duty: Vanguard sometimes strains under the pressure of fulfilling its obligations to the all-consuming Warzone platform that the series has become. Vanguard’s Gunsmith and Operators might dictate the game’s World War II fiction in weird and hilarious ways, but it can still offer the same thrills you’d expect. Still, there’s no denying that Vanguard feels like a watered down entry for the franchise, which is now more motivated by microtransactions than by telling a compelling World War II narrative.

The decent core combat can’t hide the fact that this is Suda51’s most ridiculous, nonsensical plot yet, and an offensive “courtship” minigame is a further black mark on the proceedings. This one may even turn off Suda’s most hardcore fans.

Chivalry II is great fun when it works. Its combat is simple to learn and less simple to master, but incredibly rewarding no matter your skill level. The new 64-player matches and objective-based modes ensure intense, prolonged battles, and the variety in the classes will keep you motivated to grind for that next weapon. But the lack of variety in the maps and subclass abilities, and the overwhelming connection issues, make the game more frustrating than it should be.

The result is a mixed bag that suffers from pacing issues as well as a difficulty jump halfway through that many will find infuriating. Disney fans will find the story fun, even when the action becomes a slog, but others will likely lose interest midway through.

Desta: The Memories Between can’t quite figure out how to make the most of its odd genre mashup. Though the individual elements are solid, a lack of commitment to roguelike randomization in the single mode available at launch means the systems don’t really mesh together how you’d expect, and the replay value suffers as a result.