Whether Elden Ring is perfect is beside the point. What matters is that it’s the ultimate expression of a blueprint first laid out in Dark Souls. It’s made my favorite game of all time feel like a practice run.

While I can’t excuse the frustration I felt playing through The Plane Effect, I genuinely sympathize with the developers, as I can sense what their vision was. I would argue it’s even possible to interpret their work as intentionally draining, as it metaphorically strengthens the theme. Unfortunately, it crosses a line and all I was left with was the urge to finishing the game as quickly as possible so that I could leave it behind.

Killsquad is an enjoyable run, specially when played with friends, but it’s facing stiff competition against big-budget triple-A multiplayer experiences like Warframe or Destiny 2. The in-depth ability loops and RPG elements in Killsquad are done well, but the greatest enemy this title faces is… a lack of players.

Not For Broadcast is a different sort of simulator experience, and it’s also an experience that has a point — not only is it meant to entertain, but also to enlighten. Working as a propagandist will definitely change how the player looks at modern media and social networks, and that’s a powerful gift indeed.

While Warhamer 40,000: Battlesector may not bring radical innovation to the turn-based tactics genre, it’s a treat to spend time with a game that has a mastery of the fundamentals and executes on them while also correctly applying an IP which has historically struggled to deliver positive experiences. Battlesector is definitely one of the good ones, and I absolutely enjoyed my time with it — considering that the 40K license has tons and tons and tons of content left to tap, if the developers add new campaigns as DLC, I’ll be more than happy to keep playing this all year long.

While the new formula of Shadow Warrior 3 offers a few minor positives, they’re far overshadowed by the numerous absences — fewer weapons, simplified combat, a more linear world, a too-brief campaign, and more. It’s a strange and unexpected step backwards for a series that I had previously enjoyed so much. The dialogue might still be filled with Lo Wang’s jokes, but compared to its predecessors, the joke is definitely on Shadow Warrior 3 this time.

Despite all the rough edges and problems, I am impressed with Edge of Eternity‘s ambition. The developers have some grand dreams on display here, but the fact is that a lack of polish and too many ideas stuffed into one package leave Edge of Eternity an overcomplicated, unfinished product.

ELEX 2 outdoes its predecessor in every way. The story is more interesting, the character writing is even deeper, and the threats are far more colorful and deadly. While the ending promises a third chapter to come, I only hope the devs fix the combat next time — perhaps they should just ditch melee entirely? Ranged weaponry is the only thing really working here, so perhaps double down on that and focus entirely on guns, arrows, and spells — it works well enough in games like Mass Effect, so why not try it in an open-world context? ELEX 2 is just one failed element away from being a truly great game — unfortunately, that element is ‘Action’ and it’s an Action-RPG.

Diablo II: Resurrected is far from perfect. The changes in character design are likely to rile up returning players, and the archaic gameplay probably won’t agree with younger generations weaned on more streamlined, sophisticated experiences. While I appreciate that this legendary title is now available in an improved format, it’s not a caveat-free recommend.

After The Town of Light, LKA’s team of male writers decided to try their hands at writing another woman with mental health problems, touching upon issues like pregnancy, menstrual cycles and abortion. The overall message seems to be about caring for one’s mental health — something I’m sure we can all get behind — but the mechanics are too peripheral and the script is too confusing, gory and horrific for a tale that is ostensibly about a woman’s interior journey. By the time credits rolled, I was not convinced that the version of Giulia’s story present here was one worth telling or experiencing.

In the end, recommending Beyond a Steel Sky is a a sticky thing — if one is content with a strongly-written sci-fi adventure and doesn’t mind repetitive puzzles, there is good content to be found here. On the other hand, I suspect the huge gap between installments runs a very real risk of leaving both new and returning fans unsatisfied.

It’s a shame that Aeterna Noctis stumbles in both difficulty and design because it feels like it comes so close to greatness. Unfortunately, the demanding challenge and an obnoxious amount of backtracking overshadow what it gets right.

While the repetition and lack of content cooled my enthusiasm a bit, I am excited to see where DICE can take Battlefield 2042 from here — if current industry trends hold, I’m confident this will be a strong addition to my already-full shooter rotation after a few months of additions and updates.

It’s not an absolute slam dunk for the return of the Tales series, but it’s a solidly-crafted JRPG with a great battle system and fabulous environments to adventure through. It’s a shame the dialogue and story don’t match the stellar work done elsewhere, but on the whole it’s still a trip well worth taking.

Firegirl is a title that offers a good premise and some appealing design ideas, but it simply fails to deliver a satisfying experience. With the right updates this game could improve drastically, but as it stands, it’s impossible to recommend.

Industria‘s best aspects are its solid combat and beautiful architecture. While this might not be enough for other titles, these things do carry its 4-5 hour runtime, and by not overstaying its welcome it remains engaging enough until the end.

There is no question that Apsulov is a flawed work that can sometimes be incredibly frustrating to play, but by fully committing to marrying science fiction and Norse mythology, it ends up in a good place. I can be forgiving of gameplay faults if the overall experience is as enjoyable as it is in Apsulov and it is safe to say that I thoroughly enjoyed the ride.

Apart from being repeatedly blasted to atoms by the pros, I enjoyed my time with Quake. It doesn’t have the same nostalgic pull for me that Doom does, which may contribute to a sense that it’s Doom’s less charismatic relative. That said, it’s a remaster done correctly, feeling like the original with technical improvements that help to showcase its timeless, quick and smooth gameplay.

Unfortunately, in addition to this new control scheme, the console version also comes with a slew of technical issues like random loading times (sometimes up to 30 seconds just to switch screens!) subtitles disappearing, and stuttering after loading has been completed. For these reasons, Encodya might be best recommended to hardcore adventure players who are on the hunt for something to quench their thirst on consoles. And even in this case, maybe wait for a few patches…

This is all fine, really. I’m not against the kind of simple gameplay Clunky Hero offers, but I definitely feel like there’s room for improvement as it’s still in Early Access. That said, I doubt that it will evolve into something much different than its current form — it’s just an overall solid platformer that checks off the required boxes, and nothing more. [Early Access Provisional Score = 70]

It’s clear that Berzerk Studios put a ton of effort into Infernax, with even the most obscure moments and references often being fleshed out in unexpectedly engaging ways. Aside from a few platforming quibbles and one ‘puzzle’ that felt like a complete waste of my time, Infernax offers up a solid and engaging experience from start to finish. It has a great sense of humor, strong gameplay and it honors the humble ’80s sidescroller adventure genre far more enthusiastically than I ever expected.

In a world where competitors like Mortal Kombat 11 and Guilty Gear Strive are making great strides in presentation and content, it’s hard to feel like KoF XV is keeping pace. It’s still an excellent fighter and KoF is one of the most reliable franchises out there. However, for an installment that promised to ‘shatter all expectations’ in the publicity leading up to launch, the final product seems content to barely meet them — a real shame since the fighting is still some of the best out there.

There is certainly an audience for Sifu — it’s stylish as hell, and the kind of people who are happy to spend the dozens of hours it takes to master a fighting game character might find the same sort of precision-based pleasures here that the developers’ previous game, Absolver, offered. However, Sifu’s developers set out to make the player feel like they were actually doing the fighting, but instead gave them tools suitable for a one-on-one fighting game and expected them to work against six enemies at once. They don’t.

Loading with surmountable challenges, cute characters, and fantastic level design, Grapple Dog is the rare all-ages platformer that really could appeal to anyone interested in the genre. It’s simple enough for a child to use it as an entry point for platformers, yet offers challenges daunting enough to frustrate the most jaded Super Meat Boy player. Grapple Dog is a absolute treasure.

At times, Forgive Me Father feels like a great idea that lost its way during development. There’s no denying that it offers a robust package of first-person shooting gameplay, but I can’t shake the feeling that there’s so much more it could offer. With more emphasis on the narrative and the addition of more interesting mechanics beside shooting and strafing, this could be a much more robust experience. For now, it’s recommended only to hardcore FPS throwback fanatics. [Early Access Provisional Score = 65]

While the gameplay is simple and the core loop of identifying plants and making customers happy might be too repetitive overall, Bad Viking’s slow-burn title might end up feeding a green thumb that some players didn’t even know they had.

After initially turning me away with an unhelpful tutorial and a stiff learning curve, Battle Brothers morphed into a worthwhile and gripping tactical experience, and conquering its barren, bloody landscapes stands firmly among my proudest gaming accomplishments so far.

Despite the issues I’ve highlighted, Dying Light 2: Stay Human is an improvement over the original in nearly every way. While there’s plenty to complain about, the world is more interesting, the parkour is fantastic, and the story has more weight — of the two, it’s absolutely the superior game, and the thrill of rocketing through a crumbling city with monsters in hot pursuit is unparalleled in the genre. It’s not perfect, but it’s as good as parkour action gets.