It’s buggy and it’s a far cry from what Blizzard teased us with back in 2018.

After playing through Shenmue III proper, my expectations for what the game’s DLC would entail were admittedly not very high. Still, it’s disheartening to see that, whether because of limited resources or a limited inclination, the best Ys Net could produce for the very first Shenmue DLC ever was a cobbled-together and underbaked side distraction which relies almost entirely on recycled game assets. [Impressions]

When it comes down to it, I didn’t dislike Re;Mind. I think it was actually a well put together DLC that fixes some glaring problems with KHIII. I just sort of wish that those problems weren’t there to fix in the first place.

Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot has its faults, and it certainly won’t appeal to anyone who isn’t already a DBZ fan, but if you fall into the niche that this title is aiming for, you will be very pleased. This is one of the most fun interpretations of the DBZ plotline that I have played in a very long time, and in my opinion it well outshines its brothers in the same franchise.

Weakless is not exactly a masterpiece, but it is a beautiful little game with an undeniable amount of charm and a heartfelt message. The game tells a story of the beauty of nature and perseverance through friendship. The narrative is kept to a minimum to ensure you experience its themes and concepts through the gameplay, which is a lot of fun despite some glaring rough edges.

I’m hoping that Coteries is the first modern step forward for an IP long overdue for mass recognition. Vampire: The Masquerade fans will enjoy this, and fans of vampire fiction in general might want to give it a whirl, as this is an easy introduction to an awesome universe.

Wattam is the Katamari successor you may not have known you needed. Keita Takahashi and the folks at Funomena have created a new kind of alternative game experience. If you long for the days when you used to collect toy figures and play sets, Wattam is a wonder to behold. It's joy, colorful and fun, in your hands and right in front of your face.

Mercenaries 5 needed six more months of testing and refinement before seeing the light of day. The game’s mech combat is great for enthusiasts of the genre, but the lack of polish may leave newcomers cold. I recommend it for hardcore fans, but casual players may want to wait for the bugs to be ironed out.

There aren't a lot of games out there like Heroland. The writing takes center stage, but the battles are also a lot of fun to witness unfold. You'll get a lot of laughs out of this game, and though it may seem long-winded at first, the writing is so good that you'll soon understand exactly why there's so much of it. This is just a really fun story to watch unfold and be a part of.

Arise: A Simple Story is well worth the $20 and six hours you'll spend playing it. Even though it can't seem to avoid problems that plague your typical indie game, the artwork and level design are beyond worth the small investment.

To put it politely, Shenmue III has the potential to charm existing fans of the Shenmue saga, if only in how much it painstakingly recreates the stilted beauty of its two predecessors. However, if judged on its merits alone and/or by a non-Shenmue fan, this game just feels like a whole bunch of wasted Kickstarter money. If there’s one thing that Shenmue III proves, it’s that bringing new fans into the fold was never Ys Net’s goal.

Pokémon Sword and Shield is a decent Pokémon game that will keep you playing until the end. It doesn’t deserve all the controversy it’s been getting, but it’s not a particularly stand out entry in the franchise either.

Pokémon Sword and Shield is a decent Pokémon game that will keep you playing until the end. It doesn’t deserve all the controversy it’s been getting, but it’s not a particularly stand out entry in the franchise either.

Pokémon Sword and Shield is a decent Pokémon game that will keep you playing until the end. It doesn’t deserve all the controversy it’s been getting, but it’s not a particularly stand out entry in the franchise either.

I don't think I'd be out of line by saying Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is the best Star Wars game since 2003's Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and stands as one of the best Star Wars games ever made.

Death Stranding isn’t for everyone, but if you are looking for a neat experimental exploration of the fetch quest, you’ll enjoy it. If you are looking for something more traditional, though, you should probably look elsewhere.

It wouldn’t be totally fair to call Need for Speed Heat a bad game, but given the exciting high-speed material it’s defined by, it is a disappointingly boring one. Small blessings like the lack of over-aggressive microtransactions and an incredibly in-depth car customization suite can’t make up for gameplay and progression loops which, at best, feel routine and archaic, and at worst frustrating and obtuse. It’s understandable that publisher Electronic Arts would want to recapture the glory of Need for Speed’s heyday, but all Need for Speed Heat proves is that maybe the series just needs to rest for a while.

Afterparty is a fantastic story about booze, buds, and the nature of good and evil. It’s just not much else.

Luigi’s Mansion 3 is a nice spooky treat for your Switch. Anyone who loved the original will love this one too, and the game is easily welcoming enough to rope some newcomers into the franchise as well. How could anyone find issue with a game whose menu screen is a Virtual Boy? Ah, Nintendo. You know how to laugh at yourself.

The Call of Duty: Modern Warfare reboot is certainly not the first game that has disappointed me at launch, and hopefully it will join the list of games I was initially disappointed with but grew to love thanks to their respective developers’ continued devotion and care. I know it’s not the safest of bets given the Call of Duty franchise’s annualized rollout, but I honestly want to see Modern Warfare continue to flourish as much as I’m sure the folks at Infinity Ward do.

The new MediEvil remaster stays faithful to the original, for both good and bad. Fans will enjoy seeing Sir Daniel’s adventures come to life in full HD, but anyone looking for a brand new action/adventure/platformer might find the old-school PS1 controls and mechanics more than a little jarring.

If you've spent years craving the old Fallout formula, The Outer Worlds will hit the spot.

Overall, the game's solid. It's pretty, it's fun, but it's not without issues. In other words, it's worth the $20 you'll pay for it, but not much more.

I’ve never laughed this much while playing a game. Well-read, nihilistic, dark, and intellectual, Disco Elysium is like your favorite poli-sci professor huffed paint and ran naked through the quad.

If you are going to buy Concrete Genie buy it for the novelty. You’ll probably enjoy painting the town with glorious neon landscapes, but there’s just not much more to it than that.

This is one of the best indie games to come out this year. Lab Zero has already shown that they know how to make an amazing fighting game and now they have shown they know how to make an amazing platformer and RPG as well.

Unlike its predecessor, Ghost Recon: Breakpoint risks alienating the very community it was built for due to its over-reliance on RPG-esque looting and leveling mechanics. However, shooter fans who can make peace with the game’s loot-driven economy and pervasive microtransactions will find a lot to enjoy in the moment-to-moment gameplay. Breakpoint isn’t quite the tactical shooter sequel fans asked for, but there’s no denying the amount of long-term value it offers to shooter fans of all stripes.

Wild Hearts is a game with a ton of charm, but it left me wanting more. It feels like it could have made the leap from good to great with some relatively minor additions and tweaks.