Tower of Fantasy is, at this point, an anomaly among its peers. Beyond its perfectly average music, Hotta Studio keeps steering the game in such bizarre directions that it’s hard to tell whether it’s intentional design or the result of consulting a Magic 8 Ball. And even with the Warp Server, it’s still unmistakably Tower of Fantasy: a janky, charming, and fighting an uphill battle to reinvent itself after years of decline.

It’s easy to enjoy Ys Memoire: Revelations in Celceta for what it is: a fast and straightforward JRPG that still feels good to play even years later. However, its age shows in ways that are almost impossible to ignore. It’s a decent entry for newcomers curious about Ys, but returning players may find there’s just not enough to justify another trip through Celceta.

Hell is Us is a unique take on bringing back classic RPG mechanics in a modern fashion. While it has clear flaws in its narrative and gameplay aspects, it’s a new experience with an inspired setting and a heavy atmosphere to boot.

Post Trauma offers a nostalgic journey through classic survival horror, but doesn’t quite manage to recapture the magic of its inspirations. The atmosphere and sound design provide an immersive experience, but the gameplay often feels cumbersome, and the story leaves much to be desired. While it hits the right notes for horror enthusiasts, it occasionally stumbles in execution. It’s an enjoyable ride for those seeking a taste of PS2-era horror, but it’s far from perfect.

Choosing to venture into new territory and try their hand at a new genre, Rebellion has succeeded in delivering an engaging-yet-flawed experience in their most ambitious project yet.

JDM: Japanese Drift Master delivers a stylish and atmospheric drifting experience, wrapped in a crafted open world with solid customization options. But uneven mission design and slippery mechanics keep it from crossing the finish line at full speed. Drift enthusiasts will find fun in its corners, but those craving a deeper, more polished racer may be left wanting more.

Trails Through Daybreak 2 had all the right ingredients—engaging combat, deep customization, and a gorgeous presentation—but somewhere along the way, it forgot to justify its own existence. What should have been a meaningful continuation of the story instead felt like a low-stakes detour, lacking the weight and player agency needed to make its twists truly land. I wanted to believe in it, to see past the early criticisms, but in the end, it only proved them right.

SYNDUALITY Echo of Ada is an extraction shooter where players mine AO Crystals, engage in battles, and try to survive in a hostile environment. The core gameplay loop is engaging, offering strong customization options for both mechs and Magus companions, as well as a world full of environmental hazards that add tactical depth. The game’s replayability is bolstered by the progression system, encouraging players to return for more sorties. However, the narrative is lackluster, with no compelling plot to drive the player forward, and the PvP aspect suffers from unbalanced gameplay where new players are often thrown into the same map as fully equipped veterans, leading to frustration.

Super Mario Bros. Wonder is already a great game, and its Switch 2 upgrade only makes it better with cleaner visuals. Meetup in Bellabel Park, though, feels a lot less essential. Some content, like the challenge stages in Toad Brigade Training Camp, has fun ideas, but the bulk of the expansion is short-lived minigames and remixes of previous levels. It’s still a nice excuse to replay the game, but most of what’s new doesn’t stick for long or feels like it truly adds much

Beneath the outdated visuals, busted audio, and mechanics that seem hellbent on ruining your day, there’s still a goofy, lovable game that shines when shared with friends. It’s messy, it’s flawed, but it’s also oddly charming, as long as you snag it on sale.

Creature Keeper is a charming yet flawed adventure that struggles to fully deliver on its potential. While it offers a heartfelt story, colorful creature designs, and a robust creature management system, its enjoyment is frequently hampered by technical issues, clunky combat, and overall incomplete feel. There’s a genuinely fun experience here, but it’s one that’s constantly interrupted by bugs and unfinished features.

With its final balance patch and the addition of rollback netcode, SEGA is making a clear statement—Virtua Fighter is back, and it’s here to stay.

Tails of Iron 2: Whiskers of Winter offers a solid action RPG experience with its focus on combat and world-building. The game excels in making you feel connected to the world and its inhabitants, particularly with its challenging combat and the promise of growth and rebuilding. However, the repetitiveness of the gameplay loop and the lack of a truly compelling story keep it from reaching its full potential. While it delivers on many fronts, it doesn’t fully break new ground, which may leave some players feeling like they’ve seen it before. It’s a great value for its price but may not be groundbreaking some might have hoped for.

The Liar Princess and the Blind Prince succeeds as a visually appealing and emotionally resonant fable, but it often struggles to function as an engaging video game. The storybook presentation is memorable, but the shallow puzzles and clunky platforming make the actual journey underwhelming. It is a beautiful piece of storytelling that unfortunately lacks the polish to match its artistic ambition.

It’s hard not to feel conflicted about Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties, because while it plays smoother and looks cleaner, many of its story changes and cut content weaken what originally worked. The remake still has solid moments, especially with Dad Kiryu, but combat, pacing, and Dark Ties often feel shallow or stretched out. It’s not a bad time, just a messy step forward that doesn’t fully honor what makes the Yakuza series work.

Bendy: Lone Wolf successfully upgrades its predecessor in visuals, atmosphere, and small quality-of-life tweaks, but it doesn’t reinvent itself. Short bursts of play keep its stealth and exploration sharp, while its modest runtime and price make it an easy pickup for returning fans. It won’t shake the formula enough to win over skeptics, but for those already drawn to Joey Drew’s world, it’s another satisfying trip into the dark.

Outbound is a cozy exploration game that does well on its basics—exploration, crafting, building—but fails to really keep the magic and entertainment after a few hours due to its taxing gameplay loop that feels like it rewards so little for so much effort. Nevertheless, the game is fun in its own right, although more improvements and changes would make it even more enjoyable for a wider audience.

UNFOLLOW is a competent entry in the BrokenLore franchise, delivering solid storytelling and atmosphere while struggling with gameplay and cohesion. It offers moments of genuine psychological complexity, but predictable mechanics, overused jump scares, and underdeveloped plot threads prevent it from being truly memorable. Fans of the series will find enough to engage with, but those looking for groundbreaking horror may find it uninspired.

Kaiju No. 8 THE GAME is just another anime IP turned turn-based RPG that joins the genre full of decent but just average titles. It's interesting enough to keep you hooked for a time with okay gameplay and an alright story but as you progress, it gets grindy and stale. Fans of the series may find a bit more merit into staying with the game, but the general public may not be as willing, especially as it starts off deep into the main story.

Space may be the final frontier, but this game clearly needed one more trip through QA. The combat rarely clicks, and the voice acting and animation struggle to keep pace, yet the resource management is sublime and the UI design genuinely excellent. Focus on its strategic and narrative strengths, and this Trekkie adventure might still live long and prosper in memory.

Heretic + Hexen is aimed squarely at those nostalgic for the originals. Without that, most won’t stay hooked, though these classics still stand as genre-defining works now showing their age.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 is a refinement of what's already to be expected, crisp gunplay and fun multiplayer content. Outside of that, it loses its luster. The campaign alone singlehandedly sours the experience, with the narrative going so far off the rails that it unintentionally becomes a parody of a different game.

Blue Protocol: Star Resonance is a decent mobile-PC MMORPG with pretty anime-style visuals and a standard plot that satisfies the MMORPG itch—for some time. Aside from being eye-candy and having an okay plot, it’s marred by other technical issues such as awkward animations, strange cutscene lapses, localization issues, and more. It’s just alright, meh—nothing amazing, but nothing terribly bad either.

Terminator 2D: NO FATE has stunning 16-bit visuals, a banger soundtrack, and simple yet fun gameplay that makes it one of the better games in the franchise in showcasing how good the franchise is. However, the extremely short runtime and conditional replayability make it an experience that doesn’t match the price it’s asking for.

All in Abyss: Judge the Fake deals with a wild hand that’s hard not to admire—even if it’s a little flawed. The boss battles and Danganronpa-style executions steal the show with thematic gimmicks that keep each match feeling unique, even when the game’s balance falters. Its visual novel elements are surface-level and the post-game content is thin, but the journey up the gambling ladder is just absurd enough to be worth the ride. It’s not the most honest game at the table, but it sure knows how to put on a show.

Aspyr did great in enhancing Lara Croft’s second trilogy, but there’s only so many things you can fix until the past comes back to haunt you.

Blades of Fire is a fun action-adventure game that boasts its unique features well but unintentionally shows off its many flaws.

Super Puzzled Cat is a challenging puzzle-platformer behind its bright, pastel-colored aesthetic, and provides hours upon hours of platforming fun coupled with smooth gameplay mechanics and a unique infinite save state feature that elevates the experience into more than just your run-of-the-mill indie platformer. The lack of a solid narrative doesn’t detract from the overall experience as well, but in order to delve deeper into the game, it may require an above average platforming skillset to grab the bits of lore hidden away in secret areas. Puzzle-platforming veterans will feel right at home with Super Puzzled Cat, but the high difficulty ceiling may prove a bit much for more casual gamers.