Shuffle Tactics fails its art style and interesting game mechanics with an unpolished UI and a multitude of bugs. There is an interesting game to be found here, but asking players to trudge through the horrible camera, visual and mechanical bugs, and poor UI decisions to get to it is inexcusable. Hopefully, after a few patches and a camera overhaul, Shuffle Tactics will be worth the time and effort, but as it stands now, there are too many other strong roguelike/deckbuilders on the market that your time would be better spent playing.

Overall, I left my time with the Fighting Force Collection wondering why this series, out of all the other games still trapped on older consoles, was brought back. I’m not upset that it was. Game preservation is one of the most important movements in our industry currently. I just think there are other, much better games worthy of being ported onto modern consoles than Fighting Force. Regardless, there is a very niche subset of the gaming community that will be thrilled to hear that these games now exist on whatever platform they prefer to play on, and they have been preserved, warts and all, just as they were when they first came out. I’m just not one of them.

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.

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.

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.

Super Mario Party Jamboree: Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Jamboree TV combines one of the best Mario Party games ever with a mediocre collection of updates that feel like gimmicks for the most part. The puzzling decision to split updates across the Switch and Switch 2 content only adds to the overall feeling that this is a channel I can't recommend tuning into unless you're the biggest of Mario Party fans.

Natsume is trying to position Harvest Moon: Home Sweet Home Special Edition as a beginner-friendly farming simulator, which isn’t a bad idea on paper. However, Harvest Moon: Home Sweet Home Special Edition should have been bigger, bolder, and braver when trying to establish a presence in the genre. Instead, it ends up as an unpasteurized version of itself, which is hard to recommend when other juggernauts occupy the space.

All in Abyss: Judge the Fake delivers on one aspect but sadly falters on the other. While I enjoyed the poker aspect, the other half of the game holds it back. A shallow narrative and the roster of forgettable characters leave something to be desired. I have trouble recommending All in Abyss for this reason, which is a shame because there is a good poker game here. I just wish I could play it on its own.

NeverAwake FLASHBACK expands on the original game with an arcade-style roguelike structure and route-based difficulty system, but struggles to build on its foundation in a meaningful way. Heavy repetition, reused encounters, and unclear progression undermine its attempt to stand as a full sequel rather than a DLC expansion. While it introduces interesting ideas, the lack of substantial innovation and payoff makes FLASHBACK a confusing and ultimately underwhelming experience.

Overall, Everhood 2 is just okay. If more visual options are added in an update, alongside fixes for the input delay, then this will absolutely be a worthwhile game if you’re a fan of rhythm games, the original Everhood, or you’re feeling like broadening your indie RPG horizons. At the end of the day though, going back to the question posed at the beginning of this review, Everhood 2 doesn’t do enough with either its style or its substance to truly distinguish itself from similar titles.

If you’re a fan of the Warriors series and rougelite genre, and you want to try out Omega Force’s own rendition of both, you’ll definitely get your money’s worth here. After all, Warriors: Abyss only costs $24.99, which isn’t as expensive as many would expect. Personally, though, I feel your time could be better spent playing other, much more fleshed-out rougelites that exist in this day and age.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tactical Takedown pays homage to the early cartoon origins of the four brothers and crafts a mediocre game around them. The fast pace of the story and lack of thematic depth are disappointing, and a few long levels can make gameplay feel tedious at times. Fans of the series will find some enjoyment inside this world, but I recommend new fans steer away from this one.

Maybe if you’re extremely desperate to play more Donkey Kong Bananza and really enjoy the roguelite genre, you may have some fun with DK Island & Emerald Rush. Otherwise, you’d probably be better off just replaying Donkey Kong Bananza or buying a true roguelite game, which costs $20 and features twice the content.

Turbo Overkill, despite its great visuals and gameplay loop, is constantly stuck in the shadow of the media that inspired it. The story is unremarkable, the references to other entries in the genre become distracting after a bit, and there are several issues with the sound, pacing, and visuals, alongside frequent crashes. As a result, you may find yourself asking why you aren't playing another boomer shooter instead, despite the game's few exciting moments.

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle: Order of Giants is another Indiana Jones adventure, at a cost. While the new exploration and puzzles are fun to go through, plus the narrative and central mystery of the titular order of giants is deeply compelling, the overall package lacks any meaningful substance. The DLC lasts only four hours, there are no new shake-ups to combat, and once you complete the quest, you get nothing for your efforts. Considering the $20 price point, it's hard to justify purchasing the DLC unless you're truly desperate for more Indiana Jones action.

I’m not ready to write off SYNDUALITY Echo of Ada yet. The developers want to continue working on this game, and there’s already been emergency maintenance with updates from the producers in response to the players. Post-raid payouts have already been adjusted at the time of writing this, and I expect many more updates to come. I will continue to check in on the game during its first season to see what other changes are made. Although it is repetitive, the untapped potential of SYNDUALITY Echo of Ada makes me come back for more.

FBC: Firebreak is a game that lacks a proper identity. It’s really hard to recommend this title if you’re a fan of Remedy’s previous games or the multiplayer co-op genre, let alone if you happen to like both. This is, unfortunately, one of the rare instances where Remedy’s desire to experiment with new genres has not paid off. Maybe the game’s quality will improve as more updates are released, but as it is now, I can confidently say that this is probably my least favorite game from Remedy Entertainment.

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.

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.

I feel very similar about this release as I did with Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour—and that is not in a good way. With so many incredible games releasing on Switch 2 over the next few months, I think almost all players are better off saving the $20 to put toward another release. Maybe there is something to be said for those planning to squad up with three friends, but solo players can find better experiences out there. Not every game needs to have dozens of modes and content offerings, but Nintendo—of all developers—can do better than this.

Assassin's Creed Shadows is a small, yet flawed, step in the right direction for the series. While the story, characters, visuals, music, and main gameplay mechanics shine, the lack of development for the protagonists, the boring side quests, the continued emphasis on combat instead of stealth, and the frustrating action RPG mechanics severely hinder the experience. Unfortunately, it's not the evolution of the series that many fans were hoping for, and it pales in comparison to other games that have handled its formula far better.

While Wild Hearts has a compelling visual style, aesthetic, and gameplay concepts, the actual execution of those concepts can be frustrating and make for a mediocre title. Further, the Wild Hearts S port for Nintendo Switch 2, despite its impressive visual quality, features numerous glitches and performance/quality problems that make it a hard game to justify, regardless of if you're a fan or newcomer.

Hunter x Hunter: Nen x Impact is the series' first globally released game and brings fun 3v3 gameplay with strong presentation and solid training tools. However, it's held back by questionable design choices like awkward offline modes, a lack of motion inputs, an 8-button control scheme not friendly to arcade stick/hitbox users, and no cross-play. It's completely out of step with modern fighting game standards, and while the game does have potential, it needs major updates to fully satisfy both casual fans and competitive players.

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.

If Activision and the numerous studios working on Call of Duty wish to make a game worth buying each year, the answer is innovation. It’s time to be bold and try something new. You have a problem as an annual franchise when players are constantly asking what’s new in this year’s entry. The market is not going anywhere—that much is clear with EA propelling its Battlefield franchise to bigger heights than ever. However, if Call of Duty cannot find a pathway to be creative, I fear the franchise will only continue to stagnate, becoming only a memory of what once was.

Madoka Magica Magia Exedra is a gacha game that retells the story from the two anime series based in the world of Madoka. However, a disappointing story presentation, fully automated gameplay, and lack of reasons to gain new characters make this title just another anime-to-game adaptation among a sea of them.

Troleu will make you reconsider any life ambition of becoming a trolleybus conductor, as you deal with passengers in unconventional and comedic ways. But there's not enough replayability to keep your attention long-term.

Persona 3 Reload finally hits the Nintendo Switch 2, but what should've been a celebration quickly turns into a major letdown. The frame pacing and constant stutters make every step through Tatsumi Port Island a chore, no matter how enjoyable the game itself can be. Maybe ATLUS will patch the frame rate issues in the future, but even then, the lack of support for 60 FPS might be enough to detract some players regardless.