Trine 5: A Clockwork Conspiracy is a welcome addition to the series. While it doesn’t add or change much when it comes to gameplay mechanics, it’s still enjoyable and challenging enough to be worth a look from anyone who likes an old-fashioned fairytale adventure with a twist.

Laika is not an easy game to enjoy. It’s a story, at its core, about how dehumanization of an enemy is a necessary step preceding genocide — about how people will become monsters if left with no other options. Most importantly, though, it’s about how cycles of violence can only end if people make the decision to not pull a trigger, no matter how difficult that might be. It’s a brutal, uncompromising journey, and it should have been one of the best titles of 2023, even if reality hadn’t decided to make it painfully relevant.

There’s definitely something to be said for performing fitness routines to visuals of rambunctious post-apocalyptic punks being smacked in their stupid faces to keep players engaged. And hell, if Kenshiro himself can’t get players to burn off some excess calories, who can?

Thankfully, Forgive Me Father shines mechanically, and that counts for a lot — the quick movement, automatically reloading guns, hectic shooting and pulsing soundtrack had me hooked from level one. It can be a bit punishing and the save points are a bit too far apart, but I think fans of ’90s-style shooters will find a lot to like here — just don’t expect anything more than solid shooting and bloody bits.

Overall, Frontiers of Pandora might be the greatest virtual tour I’ve ever been on. A large-scale, densely populated world offered wonder with every step and I loved being immersed in a fictional I’ve been in love with for almost 15 years. While the gameplay is only fair and the story leaves much be desired, I can’t deny that this cured the “Pandora withdrawals” I’ve had since seeing The Way of Water in theaters.

The Last Faith is an experience big enough to keep fans of the material occupied for 15 hours or so — the story is straightforward and the combat is… fine? Unfortunately for it, 2023 has been one of the busiest, richest years for quality game releases, and in light of such competition, The Last Faith doesn’t have much to offer.

Very rarely have I done as complete a turnaround with something the way that I did with Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown. I went in concerned about playing another metroidvania and the bumpy start had me questioning the wisdom of requesting this assignment. However, I am happy to report that those feelings dissipated quickly — The Lost Crown is a fantastic project that both honors the lineage of the franchise while also taking it in a bold new direction. One could easily make the argument that this is the best game Ubisoft has produced in around a decade, and it’s an easy call to say that this is 2024’s first must-play title. Don’t miss it.

I was excited to dive back into Remnant II and wanted to see what new wonders Gunfire Games could cook up. There might be something juicier in the next expansion, but this one more feels like a few odds and ends than anything substantial. The One True King may be awakened, but players should feel free to sleep on this DLC.

Ultimately, UFC 5 is in an interesting space – it’s a sports sim that also holds appeal for casual fighting fans. While not perfect, this is the best rendition of the sport to date, and a great launching point to take the series in exciting, new, more narrative-driven directions.

And so, the Switch adds yet another solid rhythm game title to its growing library and reinforces the idea that the console is becoming the go-to destination for both handheld and couch-centric rhythm gaming shenanigans. It certainly helps that Spin Rhythm is so welcoming to players of all skill levels – seasoned rhythm gods, beginners, and even perpetual mediocrities like myself. Spin Rhythm does its best to keep the groove going for everyone.

Excessive Trim has great concepts, but falls short in execution. Solid graphics and a buzzsaw spacecraft can’t save it from feeling more like an extended tech demo than a fully-realized experience.

With this return to the world of rally racing, Codemasters has delivered something special with EA Sports WRC. It’s rock-solid and jam-packed, and I’d expect any gearhead to get lost in it for hours. Rally fans rejoice!

All in all, Borderlands 3 still delivers a looter-shooter from the studio that invented looting-shooting in the first place, and anyone hungry for frenetic combat and tons of guns will find plenty to love here. It may not have the same pull as Borderlands 2, but coming in second to one of the best that’s ever been is still a great place to be.

Hellboy: Web of Wyrd feels very safe as roguelikes go — The controls are uncomplicated, the equipment is serviceable equipment, the enemies are straightforward, and it doesn’t go out of it’s way to do anything too strange or off the beaten path other than showcasing Mike Mignola’s iconic art style. Since that art was enough to get me in the door, it did what it needed to do, I suppose. Hellboy comic fans may enjoy this experience more than others as it was created with help from the writer of the comics, but I’m hoping that there are some updates down the road that will give the game a little more bite.

It may sound like I’m focusing on the negatives too much here, but much of what I enjoyed about Trepang2‘s premise was ultimately undercut by its various weaknesses. What initially seems like a promising concoction of bloody firefights, psychic superpowers and absolute bedlam suffers from poor pacing, muddled direction, odd enemy AI and controls that are more suited to a mouse and keyboard than a controller. When it works as intended brief flashes of brilliance are tucked away in the combat, when taken as a whole it winds up being a fairly middling experience.

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.

An undercooked ending doesn’t capsize the rest of the experience, though, which is ultimately a perfectly calibrated sci-fi adventure with an inimitable aesthetic sense. As a game, The Invincible may not be entirely unassailable, but its credentials are as solid as one could ask for.

Robocop: Rogue City exceeded my wildest expectations when it comes to what a Robocop game could be, and the team at Teyon should be immensely proud of delivering a true love letter to one of the defining films of the 1980s. Anyone who’s even a casual fan of Robocop should buy this game without hesitation as soon as feasibly possible — no Robocop fan will walk away disappointed, and this experience is worth way more than a dollar.

Despite those rough edges, My Time At Sandrock is ultimately a wonderful and heartfelt game. There is an incredible story here about human nature, the environment, and the desire to right the wrongs of the past. Sandrock’s residents were charming, and I cared deeply about their lives, joys, and struggles. In that sense, I think my time in the desert was time well spent. With just a little polish, I think this one could become a masterpiece.

The London Case occupies a strange sort of middle ground — it wants to facilitate player freedom, while at the same time telling a focused point-and-click story with little room for deviation. Perhaps it would have functioned better as a more pure narrative experience – a visual novel, for instance. It certainly would have been easier to avoid the technical hiccups in that case!

Space Wreck feels like a good first step into the bigger world of PC RPGs for a newcomer like me. It certainly has the same level of brutality that I’ve often heard of, but it remains manageable and easy to come to grips with. Even better, a run can be completed in under 10 hours, so it’s not a huge commitment and can be readily replayed. I wasn’t sure if Space Wreck would be one I would enjoy, but I’m already starting a second playthrough to see what other secrets it has to offer.

If there was an option to limit or remove the adaptive difficulty, I could live with the other minor issues and call Axis Football 2024 a triumph and a must-play sports title. As it stands, however, I can’t rate this year’s effort as high as I’d like to thanks to the incredible frustration of being impossibly steamrolled by a computer-controlled opponent who’s gaming the system in its favor. Where’s the ref?

Luckily, Mail Time’s ambiance and memorable characters outweigh the backtracking issues. I loved getting to know the residents of Grumblewood Grove and helping resolve their conflicts — it really felt like I was making the forest a better place. Mail Time is a lovely cottagecore adventure best enjoyed with a younger gamer, or those looking for a relaxing escapade to be enjoyed on a rainy afternoon.

Alan Wake 2 is a unique experience thanks to the innovative blending of photorealism and traditional visual design, as well as a narrative deeply entwined to gameplay mechanics to an extent rarely seen before. It is not a perfect experience, but it is innovative enough to inspire gamers and devs alike for years to come.

While it may not offer the gameplay depth or compelling characters of a modern Atelier game, Marie is certainly charming. There’s a simple pleasure to looking back at where the series started, and seeing its faltering first steps towards the mechanics that would later come to define it. One thing is certain, though – this is a series that has always had its heart squarely in the right place. Every Atelier is, at its core, about a young woman desperate to make people’s lives better, and then allowing the player to guide her as she develops her skills to start making a real difference. Even in this most basic version, that’s always a journey worth taking.

If you’re a die-hard city fan of city builders, and the idea of a new Cities: Skylines that’s 10 percent prettier and 5 percent more interesting has you salivating, you might wanna hop on this one right away. But for the rest of us, we can probably just keep chipping away at some other 2000-hour video gaming time sink. It’s not like this franchise is going away any time soon, after all.

Forza Motorspot may not blow most players away with this latest, and indeed greatest installment, but at the same time it’s also hard not to be impressed by what’s on show here. It’s a little risk-averse, but also polished to a high sheen and laser focused on providing a realistic and detailed racing simulation to its core audience, and I think most players will be more than happy with what’s included in this package.

In the end, NBA 2K24 might be the finest sports videogame I’ve ever resented. The butter-smooth gameplay, extensive core modes, and pristine visuals will deliver months upon months of top-tier digital hoops, which is reflected in the final score. However, those interested in character and team advancement will likely find the reliance on microtransactions to be too demanding and expensive to realistically pursue.