If you never played the Ezio Assassin's Creed games, this remaster is a superior way of experiencing it. If, however, you played them before, I'm not convinced that this remaster offers enough to make replaying them worthwhile unless you are truly that desperate for an Assassin's Creed game this year.

Rain tries to emulate the form of others, while totally failing to capture the same substance. The result? A forgettable also-ran that feels more like the product of a committee than someone trying to bring their vision to life.

In what has become a regular mantra for my closing sections, NHL 24 is a tale of highs and lows. On one hand, the title features the most engaging, authentic hockey sim gameplay yet, and those who choose to stick with the basic modes will likely be enthralled by the slick graphics, realistic player fatigue, and top-tier presentation. On the flipside, the in-game advertising and omnipresent cash grabs — in a title that seems a little too familiar to prior editions — may leave longtime fans wondering if they should ever expect more, no matter how much they’ve already invested in the series.

As a visually-renovated trip down memory lane, NiGHTS into Dreams largely succeeds. Unfortunately, the game design has two competing forms: one is breathless, invigorating, and fluid, while the other is lumpy, broken, and boring. However, in the moments when the game's flight, flow, and nostalgia combine, it's difficult to think of a more satisfying experience.

With its charming art style, accessible gameplay, and just-on-the-right-side-of-frustrating puzzles, Max: The Curse of Brotherhood is the perfect game for younger players hoping to try out the Xbox One.

Even with the issue of repetition hanging over its head, Late Shift remains a remarkable accomplishment and I recomend it without reservation. It’s a solidly entertaining FMV game that surpasses many modern adventure titles, and it kept me hanging on to the plot through every scene, constantly wanting to know if Matt was going to make it out of London alive.

As an action-role-playing game, The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing does not disappoint, especially for anyone starved for more of this particular sub-genre.

The team at Thunder Lotus is on the right track, but I hope their next effort focuses on adding more depth and intricacy to their work.

With four classes with distinct powers to upgrade and over a dozen weapons, each with a bevy of unlockable attachments, players will have no trouble finding a build that appeals to them, so long as they’re passionately invested in mass-murdering zombies and the various mutant gunk creatures that come along for the ride. With a fast pace, extreme replayability and irreverent tone, Toxic Commando is a blast from beginning to end — I just don’t understand why it’s not called Toxic Commandos — because, again, there are four of them.

While Gato Roboto’s frustrations aren’t indicative of its overall quality, they stick with me because the rest of the experience is so by-the-numbers. It’s cute and generally fine, but in a genre this packed, it takes more to stand out than being functional and offering a few solid chuckles.

I can't work up the energy to actively dislike the LEGO games so long as they're this innocuous and harmless, and spanning just over a dozen levels, LEGO The Hobbit doesn't waste too much of the player's time. But, with all of the most fitting licenses having been used up already, the LEGO spoof series is losing its relevance, and it's not a particularly good time anymore, either.

Every weakness is compensated by a strength, and while I would prefer to have the latter without the former, I can't complain too much about the overall effect. I found Primordia charming and intriguing, and its mysteries well worth solving.

Although enhanced graphics and special effects would have improved the game cosmetically, there's no denying that the mechanics are dialed-in and the developers have some damned good heads on their shoulders. Add in the fact that it retails for a rock-bottom $20 brand-new, and The Red Star and becomes the next surprise hit that's on every B-list hound's radar.

While Suda-51’s trademark style and weirdness is still present, this is perhaps his worst-playing game to date, and this leaves me a bit worried about Grasshopper Manufacture being in NetEase’s hands. Those who enjoy Suda’s work will still manage to find bits of his output that they like here, but it’s a real slog to get to the good stuff, and I suspect that anyone who’s not already a fan of his catalog will find this experience to be genuinely awful.

Don't get me wrong, I do like the game. It's just that perhaps I'll wait until a version with playable God Cards is released before I buy another Yu-Gi-Oh! game.

I'd much rather play as a horny male chauvinist in an engrossing game than as a strong woman in a bad one. Playing the part of a warrior queen should be fun, but my enthusiasm was gone by the time I beat the game's final boss. "I never have to play this again," I thought. "Thank God(dess)."

That said, in an age of brainless blockbusters and iterative sequels born from a fear of financial failure, playing something as different and brave as Minority's work felt like coming up for a breath of air after spending far too long under water.

Because of my love for otome, I wish I could wholeheartedly recommend Amnesia: Memories to fellow romance fans, but I can't do so without mentioning the many issues it has. Players who dig the brand of "I'm going to be a jerk to you even though I like you" boy that Amnesia: Memories prominently features, get ready to swoon. Those looking for a little kindness and a more compelling overall package, however, will likely come away disappointed.

Frankly speaking, I find Just Cause 3 to be a bloated, boring game full of wrong decisions and wasted potential, but there's no denying that strapping a rocket to Rico and owning the skies is pretty fabulous. It's not good enough to recommend buying the game, but for people who already own it, Sky Fortress is an absolute must-have.

Despite the second half not equaling the taut opening, Narcosis is still a great horror title. Now that first-person horror is a dime a dozen, it’s easy to be skeptical about these games, but Honor Code left a solid impression by mixing effective jump scares with abstract horror. They also know when to let off the throttle to build suspense instead of ramming enemies down players’ throats every ten seconds — and hey, if players (like me!) are incredibly creeped out by spider crabs and other gross ocean wildlife, they should get ready for a stressful ride in almost all the right ways.

The issues I had controlling it weren’t nearly enough to dampen the incredible experience I had playing STAY, though. In fact, because it features multiple endings, it made me do something I’ve done (maybe) twice in my life — I immediately started playing it again after the credits rolled. I didn’t necessarily want another ending, but I desperately wanted to know more about Quinn, more context to his life, and to learn more about how he got to this point. For a videogame, the ability to engender such curiosity is pretty damned rare, and a true achievement worth celebrating.

While mastering the intricacies of its 3D rotation might take a little practice and its refusal to explain systems was thoroughly wrongheaded, Hyperforma still managed to keep me playing with its high-tech zero-g pinball action and electric artwork. With just a little tweaking, this one would be a must-play for Switch owners – it doesn’t feel quite like anything else, and that alone is worth something.

Retro Machina is a game that diligently stays true to its title, putting on the table nothing more or less then what is implied with the opening menu. Unfortunately, the developers have kept too sharp a focus on the ‘retro’ aspect, and in failing to leverage the design improvements and innovations from recent years, the end result is an experience that feels far smaller and more limited than it should.

While there are some small issues like a slightly clunky and complicated interface, Before We Leave ended up being a great little sim that was pleasantly peaceful and delivered a kind of gameplay that I think will be perfect for sim fans looking for something on the lighter side. We may not get as may of these as we used to, but I’m happy we got this one.

As readers have probably guessed by now, NHL 25 isn’t a “must-purchase” title, except for users that have taken several years away. That doesn’t make it less enjoyable — just less necessary. Updates to game modes could have been more notable and microtransactions continue to be a drawback, but there’s still plenty here to make this a worthwhile return to the rink. Ultimately, we may never experience another “NHL Faceoff moment,” but EA’s focus on more adaptive AI and improved player control raises the bar (slightly) in the right direction.

While Blippo+ isn’t a traditional video game, it’s still a great fit for gaming platforms. The programs are funny, and they expertly riff on the shows they parody. With the era of TV it evokes moving further and further into the past, it’s a nice reminder of what TV, video games, and all manner of entertainment can and should be — weird, and not afraid of trying something different.

Encrufted as it is with uninteresting puzzles, murky visuals, and self-defeating enemy encounters, A Machine for Pigs's better ideas end up just as thoroughly buried as Mandus's diabolical factory.

APEX Construct manages what few others have – it creates a fully-fledged action adventure experience in VR. The levels are expansive and detailed, the story is intriguing enough to keep people trailblazing through each new area, and the combat – while occasionally frustrating – is just the kind of thing players looking to test their virtual bow skills will gobble up. It’s as good an adventure as I’ve seen in the made-for-VR world.