I couldn’t root for any of the characters, and I was bored for most of my time with it. This game is twice as long as its predecessor but has half the narrative depth. It may look and sound great, but that can only take you so far when the story does nothing for you. Still, I can’t say the experience was bad, just a letdown. I can only recommend The Weeping Swan to those who want an epilogue to The Hungry Lamb. Just know you’ll have to finish this disappointing story to get it.

Shinonome Abyss: The Maiden Exorcist is a diamond in the rough. It's full of clever ideas and dripping with plenty of spooky atmosphere, but it's hard to say that it ever truly achieves excellence. Despite that, players who like mystery dungeon RPGs will likely have fun here.

While Tides of Tomorrow hits a few rough patches with its stiff controls and some questionable music selection and voice work, the weight of its decisions left a lasting impact on me long after the credits rolled. Its Story-Link system turns the narrative into a fascinating social experiment, forcing you to confront the legacy you leave for other players.

While I initially found the story rich and compelling, I felt like it ended right as things were starting to get interesting. Further, the choice to emphasize an amorphous “dark presence” rather than two equally compelling villains was deeply disappointing. Overall, Regions of Ruin: Runegate is a lackluster experience to such an extent that, when the credits rolled, I felt more confused than anything else.

At the end of the day, despite my issues with REPLACED, I can confidently say that the five-year wait was worth it. If you’re a fan of cyberpunk games or 2.5D action platformers, then you absolutely need to play REPLACED. Even though I’m in no rush to replay the game, I can’t wait to give it another shot after a few post-launch adjustments. While this may not be a masterpiece, Sad Cat Studios has managed to make a seminal title in the genre that is hopefully remembered for a long, long time.

The SEGA Villains Stage DLC is a fun time, but it’s hard to recommend unless you’re already a big fan of the game and the IPs that are represented here. I loved all the boss fights, but the overall level design and length do hinder it. It also doesn’t help that the rewards for each level aren’t worth it, making the levels feel like a step down from the base game. While I still enjoyed it overall, I can’t blame anyone for waiting for a sale. The SEGA Villains Stage DLC has some great boss fights, and that’s the key takeaway from this experience. Now, if you excuse me, I want to go fight Majima again.

Tales of Berseria Remastered is a really solid action RPG at the end of the day. The core game is still there to enjoy, even if I still question what qualifies it as a remaster. While it took me a while to get into the story, once it got me, it wouldn’t let go. I genuinely loved all the characters and was satisfied with how their personal arcs played out. The combat was daunting at first, but it’s pretty fun, even if later boss fights are a chore. While the release confuses me, Tales of Berseria Remastered is still a solid way to play this game, especially on Xbox and Switch. Just know you can stick with the original if you have access to it.

The game delivers what dedicated otome fans want: beautiful character art, a quality voice cast, a moody historical setting, and branching routes steeped in Japanese legend. It doesn’t reinvent the genre or push any boundaries, nor does it try to captivate non-otome fans. The Switch port is functional but unambitious, and on Switch 2, the Vita DNA is plainly visible in the UI.

Last Man Sitting has the bones of a fantastic action roguelike, which cannot be understated. I lost track of time during my playthrough plenty of times, but unfortunately, boss encounters, weapon design, and certain mechanics fall short. I had a great time with many parts of Last Man Sitting, but when the clock struck zero and the final stage ended, I was left wanting much more.

Regardless, Rushing Beat X makes up for some of its issues with old-school charm and technical gameplay. Those who are willing to look past the jank may find something to enjoy here. It’s just too bad it couldn’t have been better.

Whether or not you will enjoy this game depends on how familiar you are with the games featured in the collection. If you’re like me and you grew up hearing about X-Men: The Arcade Game or Maximum Carnage, then this is the experience for you. However, if your response to the game’s announcement was sheer bafflement at the identity of the 6 games within, then you likely aren’t the intended audience for this experience. In the end, despite my frustrations with the experience, I can’t wait to go back and watch Magneto welcome me to die once again.

Rayman is an important game. It helped build the house that would bring us Assassin’s Creed; he joined the likes of Mario and Sonic in becoming an iconic face of gaming, and it puts into perspective how much Ubisoft has changed. With his 30th anniversary done and dusted, I hope that new eyes and appreciation will bring the limelight back to our limbless boy. Who knows, maybe the next time we’ll see him will be in Rayman 4?

Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties isn’t a bad game, and at it’s core, it’s Yakuza 3, but it could be so much better. I certainly recommend newcomers play through the first Kiwami titles and the rest of the series before coming to Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties on a sale, especially after experiencing Yakuza 3 to understand what the purest essence of that game is. Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties does a lot of good to improve on what Yakuza 3 couldn’t, but it’s not at the high standard I expect from one of Japan’s most beloved developers. For better or worse, Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties is the beginning of a new chapter for RGG Studio, and it’s up to them to recoup some of the good will that fans lost.

It’s a pretty short game that shows its age even in the remastered version. I also have trouble calling this City Hunter as it feels like it could be any series. It’s still a fun novelty to have, and it’s nice to see this get released. While I have issues with the game itself, I still have nothing but praise for the remaster. It has all the modern additions you want, multiple ways to play, and a great collection of bonuses to look through. While the core game has issues, I still played through it more than once and didn’t dislike my time with it. City Hunter is a fine but forgettable product of its time, but one with a strong modern release. Just one I would wait for a sale to try.

I can still recommend Maid Cafe of Electric Street. I enjoyed the slice-of-life nature of its story, even with the pacing issues. My disappointment with the actual cafe management gameplay was offset by the characters’ charm. While the game still feels too slow, the beautiful art keeps me playing. Outside of the one bug I encountered, I enjoyed my playthrough and can see myself doing another. Maid Cafe on Electric Street is still an easy recommendation, just know you’ll have to take this one slow.

I enjoyed my time with Homura Hime, but there were too many stumbles along the way for me to fully recommend it to everyone. The story is not very good, and no characters stand out as particularly interesting or memorable, but the combat saves it by offering a large array of fun combos and skills to slice through demons with. It also overstays its welcome by having you play through old levels without making it worthwhile at all. I really wanted to like this game more than I did, because you can tell there was a lot of heart and thought put into Homura Hime. Sadly, the fantastic combat and great art are let down by some questionable design choices and a lackluster story. I can only recommend Homura Hime to the diehard character action game fans out there who are looking for a decent game to blast through on a weekend.

If you are a fan of the series, even if you’ve only played the Soul Reaver remasters and haven’t yet played Defiance, then this is an essential purchase, regardless of the shortcomings. As for what this means for the future of the franchise, considering that we’re getting a new Legacy of Kain spin-off game very soon, I can only hope that we will get the long-awaited continuation of Raziel and Kain’s story sooner rather than later.

Unfortunately, I have a very hard time recommending All’s Justice to anyone who is not a huge fan of My Hero Academia. The way this Story Mode is structured, you’re essentially throwing yourself into Season 7 and 8 of the anime with no context as to what came before it. It makes no sense for a newcomer to start here. For existing fans of the series, All’s Justice may be worth a pickup. There is fun to be had here, but it’s not without frustration. Many aspects of this game fall short, despite its ambitious nature. Every mode has a major drawback in one area or another, even if the experience ends up somewhat positive.

Horripilant is a solid, competent entry in the idle dungeon crawler space, but it doesn’t really bring a fresh twist that elevates it beyond the pack. If you love optimization-heavy idlers and you’re comfortable settling into a long grind, there’s a lot here to enjoy. If you’re looking for something that pushes the genre forward or stays consistently surprising, this one is more “good enough” than “must-play.” This is an okay game with a strong core loop, but not much that feels truly unique.

I enjoyed my time with The Disney Afternoon Collection. It’s a solid collection of games with modern quality-of-life additions, and it’s a look back to simpler times in the gaming industry. The time attack and boss rush modes are great, as are the art and music galleries—seriously, listen to the DuckTales soundtrack. Even if I spent most of my time with DuckTales, I can still recommend most of the games. The lag and slowdown are still annoying issues, but ones that never made me stop playing, and post-launch updates can fix such issues. I can recommend The Disney Afternoon Collection to anyone, even a little nostalgic for these games. If you come away with a favorite from this collection, it will likely be DuckTales.

At the end of the day, I’d say that Crisol: Theater of Idols is definitely a game worth playing if you’re a fan of titles like Bioshock and interested in the prospect of a great narrative inspired by Spanish mythology. However, I don’t think it’s worth replaying the game due to how prevalent those issues were. While this is an overall good showing from both Blumhouse Games and Vermila Studios, it’s definitely not without problems that prevent it from being truly great.

The most damning thing I can say about Sons of Sparta is that one day after rolling credits on it, I don’t feel anything. The game had made no lasting impressions on me, negative or positive. It is a complete nothingburger of a game and will sadly probably be remembered as nothing more than a small footnote in the history of the series.

WiZmans World Re;Try is a really good remaster of the 2010 Jaleco-developed RPG with quality of life changes and features for modern consoles and PC. The game's turn-based combat system and intriguing story are clear highlights, but the lack of voice acting and auto saves make the remaster feel just a cut below being great. Despite that, RPG fans will have a really fun time, thanks to the balance between fun turn-based gameplay and tough challenges with its daunting boss fights.

Dear me, I was… is a short experience that heavily relies on your ability to connect emotionally with the protagonist. The game does a great job with its storytelling, and while I wasn't able to connect with it as much as I would've liked, I do acknowledge how impactful this story could be for those who are able to connect with the protagonist.

Groove Coaster Future Performers is a very interesting entry in the Groove Coaster franchise, but while I had a great time learning each of the songs, the lack of online features was really disappointing. Further, what really bothers me is the fact the Story Mode is incomplete and left on a cliffhanger, making this game unfortunately difficult to recommend.

Code Vein II is a fantastic soulslike on paper, with the strong story and gameplay being where the game shines the most. Unfortunately, the game suffers from a terrible frame rate, very little to do outside of combat, and needless padding. When it was all over I was glad to put the game away, and left to wonder what could've been.

Menherarium is a deck-building roguelite based around the dice game Chinchiro, or Cee-lo. It has different systems at play that work together, but the dice game becomes forgettable and repetitive after a few runs. The unique setup feels underutilized, and while the game offers some personality with the leading girl, that too goes away after some time. However, it's can still be fun for players who like an anime aesthetic and dice games.

High On Life 2 sharpens numerous aspects of the series to much success, with great moment-to-moment gameplay and plenty of content to discover. Squanch Games nailed the balancing act between a serious plot and humorous adventures, finding a renewed purpose. However, the experience is undercut by inexcusable performance issues on PC that make it hard to fully recommend at this time.