There's nothing wrong with Routine from a technical standpoint, and its story, visuals, and audio are all top-tier. The problem is that the gameplay is such a slog that it makes it hard to appreciate what it does so well. It can be flat-out boring a lot of the time, and the scares simply aren't there to make up for its lack of engaging gameplay.

It still suffers from the same problems that have plagued the series for years, and the online mode is disappointing, to put it mildly.

While Lost Words portrays the experience of loss from a younger perspective with a stunningly talented voice actress, but in the end, what's left is the story of a girl traveling through the five stages of grief. Though Lost Words: Beyond the Page attempts to reach beyond that is still a touching story, most of the depth in this gorgeous indie game is blocked by rudimentary symbols and adolescent cliches.

Creature Keeper is in desperate need of an X-factor: something especially unique and hard-hitting that makes it intriguing and memorable. The game's story isn't offensive, it's just bland and unoriginal; its art style isn't terrible, but it's indistinguishable from so many other retro-influenced indies; its music is good, but nothing special; and its action-RPG combat works just fine, but doesn't leave you itching for more. If something about Creature Keeper's premise strongly appeals to you, then perhaps it's worth a few hours of your time—but don't expect any surprises.

Out of the gate, Destruction AllStars is shallow and struggles to give players a compelling reason to stick with it for the long-term. But like other live service games, it's possible that Destruction AllStars will improve as the developers address fan feedback and add more meaningful content to the game. The foundation is there for Destruction AllStars to eventually be great, with reliable performance, beautiful graphics, and fun core gameplay, but there's a long way to go if it ever wants to reach that point.

Rehydrated is anything but "Rehydrated." Nostalgic fans may want to check it out and may have a moment or two, but otherwise, most will find that it falls short compared to the giant that is the 2003 version. Fans who want to re-experience the game and can deal with the lackluster graphics may instead want to play the 2003 version. As wild as it sounds, 2003's SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom may just be the superior version.

It functions on a basic level as a competent dungeon crawler, but its repetitive gameplay combined with its cheap deaths will make most gamers look for other options.

Overall, the idea behind Cloudpunk has the potential to be a great cyberpunk game. Although the game's world is visually appealing and offers a limited opportunities for exploration, minor technical issues disrupt immersion, making it difficult to appreciate the few good elements that the game offers. Cloudpunk is a good game to pick up every once in a while for short sessions, but its lackluster story and monotonous dialogue may put off players from investing long hours into the game. In the end, Cloudpunk is able to capture the essence of a cyberpunk game despite its issues, but gameplay that mostly comprises of fetch quests may not be everyone's cup of tea.

Elderand is not a bad game. In fact, it's a competent Metroidvania and fans of the genre might enjoy it. It just doesn't go far enough in any one direction, either thematically or mechanically, to leave a strong impression, and it's hampered by lackluster combat.

Expeditions: Rome feels more like a mod with Roman themes than a fully fleshed-out game. From the customization to the design, there are many details that feel unfinished or lack the depth expected of games in the strategy genre. Still, there is fun to be had if players are willing to focus exclusively on the tactics and strategy. Those looking for more of the same coming off Expeditions: Viking will be satisfied enough, even if this new title doesn't feature any major innovations.

Morkredd looks great and runs well when it isn't being held back by its technical issues, which are simply too severe to ignore. Those looking for a local co-op game to play on Xbox Game Pass may still want to give it a shot, but otherwise, it may be better to wait for some of the problems to be ironed out first.

LEGO Horizon Adventures does some things better than the other LEGO games, and it does some things worse. It has better graphics, polish, and combat than any other LEGO game I've played, but it suffers a lot from uninspired level design and general dullness. It's so mind-numbingly easy in what I assume is an attempt to appeal to children, but I imagine most kids will be bored by the game long before the credits roll. LEGO Horizon Adventures is technically a well-made game, but it is not a fun one to play.

RetroMania Wrestling is a game designed with a very specific type of professional wrestling fan in mind, and those individuals may be able to enjoy it for what it is. It has a nice selection of arenas and a small but decent roster. The biggest problems with RetroMania Wrestling are its lack of content and high price point, but maybe future updates will make it a more fully-featured game that matches its asking price.

Veteran puzzle platformers with games like Antichamber and Portal under their belt will likely find themselves feeling that Parallax offers adequately challenging puzzles, but is missing that something special that would make it as memorable as the other contemporary classics in the genre.

Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun is polished and runs perfect, with fast-paced and exciting combat. Gamers that grew up playing 90s FPS games will get a kick out of how much it borrows from Doom, Quake, and the like, but many will tire of the archaic design choices that have been abandoned by modern games. Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun represents the best and worst of 90s-era FPS games, so while it has a solid foundation, it fails to deliver truly compelling content to go with it, making the game difficult to recommend to anyone that's not a hardcore Warhammer fan or who isn't desperately nostalgic for the 90s.

Perception‘s mediocre narrative, annoying art style, and frustrating gameplay mechanics add up to a horror game that most fans should skip.

The complete lack of charm and content in Drag x Drive makes the game difficult to recommend, even at its budget price of $20. It's the best showcase yet of what can be accomplished with Switch 2 mouse controls, but offers little else. There is some fun to be had with Drag x Drive and perhaps future updates will make it a better game, but there isn't enough at launch to keep Switch 2 owners busy for any serious amount of time.

RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 Complete Edition is in no way a bad experience, but it isn't a particularly great one either. Though veteran players may find great joy in returning to this classic, new players will probably have a completely different experience. The game's expansive Career Mode and in-depth mechanics are undermined by its failure to teach players and the overly complicated control scheme.

Crysis Remastered is not a full-price retail release, instead opting for $29.99 on the Microsoft Store and other retailers. As such, it's best to see this game for what it is: a budget game that won't particularly wow but contains some levels of nostalgia. Even if it's far below what was expected of the original, there is still fun to be had with this remaster.

Gorn 2's story only takes a few hours to get through. After that, players are free to check out the Custom and Endless game modes, but that's more of the same shallow violence that the base game offers. VR enthusiasts are likely looking for something with more substance, but that's not to say there is no value to Gorn 2. The game can be fun in short bursts, and it works great as an easy way to show off virtual reality to someone who has never played a VR game before. Ultimately, those wanting more Gorn will get their money's worth with Gorn 2, while those who are looking for a deeper virtual reality experience will have to look elsewhere.

VED is far from a perfect game, but it does have a few redeeming qualities. The hand-drawn art style is wonderful to look at, showcasing how strong this game could be. Additionally, the combat is often thrilling, because if players are not careful, then things can quickly fall apart. However, the story and the dialogue hold the experience back considerably. And ultimately, it leads to a pretty lackluster experience overall.

Mighty No. 9 attempts to breath fresh life into the 2D platforming genre but it lacks the polish and magic that made Inafune’s iconic series such a staple of 90s gaming.

While Zorya: The Celestial Sister's puzzles might be interesting when starting off or learning new mechanics, the experience becomes monotonous as its puzzles take a longer time to complete during later constellations, made worse by fussy controls. Zorya isn't a weak game by any means, but while it may appeal to hardcore puzzle enthusiasts, its gameplay loop feels unsustainable for the total number of hours it should take to complete.

The body-swapping mechanic of Slitterhead and being able to control these wildly different characters in an Asian city full of creepy monsters sounds appealing, but unfortunately, this horror/action does not bring the spooks at all and, frankly, isn't enjoyable to play. If you're someone who likes a somewhat janky brawler that feels like it came out of the PS2/360 era, there might be something of value here, but otherwise, it's hard to recommend this one.

When playing through The Last Case of Benedict Fox, it's clear that the developer had high ambitions for the project, but none of it really comes together in the end. Combat feels unresponsive, puzzles quickly become tedious, sound design is lacking, the story is hard to follow and delivered with sub-par voice acting, and that's simply too much for some nice lighting and visual effects to paper over, especially when games like Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown and Ultros exist.

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed’s biggest draw is nostalgia with this Switch port. Many have good memories of the game from its original release in 2008, but unfortunately, this port fails to respect this beloved IP. Perhaps the worst thing is that there are plenty of beautiful games on the Switch, and there’s little reason this couldn’t have been one. It could have redeemed the ill-fated Wii version, but instead, it might have worsened its shortcomings.

Observation has the visuals, atmosphere, and story that would put it in the conversation of the best horror games of 2019, but the nausea-inducing camera, uninspired puzzles, and frequent lack of clear direction ruin it.

Golf With Your Friends has been playable on Steam for a few years, so it is a bit disappointing that the game has been ported over to consoles with some of its flaws. The Steam version also has a course creator that the console version doesn't have, although Team 17 says it may arrive at some point. Still, playing with friends online and seeing all the golf balls fly down the course can certainly be fun. The game lacks the depth of many other golf games, so for enthusiasts of the genre, the title may not be up to par. But for someone looking for a laugh with friends, as a party game Golf With Your Friends is less of a whiff and can assuredly be enjoyed.