Away: The Survival Series sounds great on paper, as its nature documentary format gives it a charming quality you wouldn’t expect to work. And yet it does, to some extent. At the same time, its execution could still use a lot of work, leading to an adventure that tries to impress, but misses the mark due to some technical shortcomings that mar the experience. Its soundtrack, narration, and surprisingly detailed world make it worth checking out, but you probably won’t stick around for the next episode if things stay the way they are.

Hot Wheels Unleashed is a pure arcade racer. Drift on corners, push boost on straights, be first on the finish line – these are the principles. It is as simple as it is fun. With great sense of speed, fierce competitors, and twisted track designs, races are dynamic, vigorous, and exciting… At least during the first three hours.

Astria Ascending holds modern JRPGs to a new standard. The sprites and environments are beautifully hand-drawn and the characters are rich with nuance and passion. But where the game really shines is its incredibly deep combat and progression system that will have you excitedly strategizing between dungeons. Some small technical issues do hold it back from being perfect, however, the issues pale in comparison to the majority of the game.

Kena is an enjoyable adventure that mixes familiar elements with the occasional difficulty spike to shake things up. It plays it safe with simplistic combat and an old-school format, but its impressive presentation ultimately lulls you into its world nicely. Its cutscenes tell a story that leaves you curious for more, so here’s hoping that this is just the beginning of great things to come.

Medieval Dynasty won’t reinvent the wheel of the survival or resource management genres, but it will give you a relaxing and low-key experience you can customize to your liking. Its story and UI set it back from truly shining, but its focus on building a village and surviving through the seasons will keep you coming back for hours of simple entertainment.

Gamedec’s worlds are fascinating, albeit silent at times, and are made even more absorbing knowing there is a lingering feeling of dread in the air. It touches on some dark subject matter that makes for an interesting read and its branching narrative gives you multiple ways of enjoying the overarching story. Like a sci-fi novel, Gamedec requires your full attention otherwise you may get overwhelmed or bored of it before you turn the final page.

There is a lot to love about NBA 2K22 which makes it one of the best basketball games out there. Besides just looking and feeling amazing, a lot of time and effort was put into ensuring this game wasn’t just a rehashing of last year’s version. From its smart tweaks on the court to its heightened level of realism in nearly every aspect of its gameplay, NBA 2K22 is the ultimate fan experience and delivers a season worth of thrills where it matters most.

It feels sometimes like Deathloop couldn’t decide what it really wanted to be. Stealth game? Bullet opera? Retro-cool ‘60s spy romp? Mind-melting time travel story? When it tries to be all of these things at once, it ends up not being very much of anything. I liked the core concept but after twenty hours I didn’t feel like I knew more about how an island could get stuck living the same day over and over than I did at the outset.

What’s so good about this installment of Ratchet and Clank is that it is a true labor of love. There is no other way a game can feel so good, play so well, and take you on an impressive adventure all without that special ingredient to keep it going. The definition of a next-gen title, Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart is a must-play that will leave you super satisfied and hungry for another big game like this one.

As is, Chivalry 2 features an immersive Team Objective mode that highlights all the best parts of this online multiplayer. The other two modes are okay in moderation and require you to do more button mashing than the precise motions you thought the game wanted you to perform all along. If you can get past some of its blander parts and focus on the joys of mastering swordplay, Chivalry 2 can be a lot of fun despite its weak spots.

Quality-of-life improvements here and there, preserving its online modes, and additional content would have made this the “ultimate” trilogy fans may have been hoping for. Instead, newcomers will enjoy playing one of the best, if not most challenging, action games ever made and older fans will remember why they fell in love with the series in the first place, all of its flaws included.

Guilty Gear has always been a stylized series, but it’s a fighting game with a lot of depth that rewards those who practice and learn all of its unique quirks and techniques. Strive makes some smart changes that simplify some past techniques without sacrificing the soul of what makes it so much fun to play. Serious fighting game fans will appreciate its complexity and promising netcode, and everyone else will enjoy its vivid cast and rewarding, flashy combo system.

Mario Golf: Super Rush brings some genuinely fun and unique ideas to the franchise. Unfortunately they just don’t seem to have lived up to their potential just yet. The upcoming DLC could make this game a lot better, but it shouldn’t need to. It’s a shame because there is a really great game hidden somewhere in here, and there is no doubt it can make for a really fun game night. But, as is, Mario Golf: Super Rush doesn’t seem to have the longevity and replayability that you might come to expect from a Nintendo title, especially a game with Mario at the helm.

It teaches us that just because we aren’t saving the world from invasion or conquering some magical kingdom, our choices, no matter how trivial or mundane we think they may be in the moment, are actually quite powerful as they can truly shape the life we are given.

The answer is, sadly, too much. Sniper Elite delivers up some satisfying VR x-ray sniper kills, but once the novelty of that wears off, grinding through the rest of the campaign ends up being a bit of a chore. With no villains, real story, or any actual history to absorb, the game drifts through a seven-and-a-half-hour campaign of fight enemies, complete objective x, rinse, and repeat. This is such a shame when there was so much potential to really innovate in VR – but that seems to be the last thing Rebellion set their sights on.

Death’s Door may be a game about death but it very much thrives thanks to its smart level design and rewarding combat system. You definitely feel accomplished after completing a dungeon or beating a boss – and that feeling follows you until the end. Sure to become one of your favorite games this year, Death’s Door is a spectacle to behold and a joy to play.

Wings of Ruin’s strengths are easily noticeable and will keep you playing it for weeks. Its story may not be groundbreaking, but what it offers is crafted with love and is geared to both fans and newcomers to the series. It’s definitely not your average Monster Hunter game, but its mix of RPG and Pokemon-like elements make it its own kind of wonderful.

At times Monster Slayer becomes a super immersive experience, and it’s always a joy to discover a new monster during a different time of day or when the weather changes. When that sense of wonder wears off after lots of grinding and walking around to find more monsters, you may begin to question whether you want to keep going. If you do, things get better as you stronger, but the path of a witcher is an arduous one and requires lots and lots of battles.

Skyward Sword HD certainly has its quirks, and it’s not perfect, but for fans of the series it is a faithful and well-improved remaster that will remind you how much you enjoy the older Legend of Zelda games. If all you’re looking forward to is the next Breath of the Wild, it could be worth taking a look, because there are a lot of great experiences and potential additions that might find their way into the next game. Not to mention that a more story-focused game might give you more of an appreciation for the hidden corners in Breath of the Wild.

Bizarre but beautiful indeed, Chernobylite is an amalgamation of various genres in one captivating game that you wouldn’t think could pull it off as well as it does. Its missions offer much of the same over the time and its combat could use some work, but its world gives you enough diverse events, objectives, and live challenges that keep you thinking ahead. Plus, add to that its 3D scanned world of the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone and you get an ambitious game that blends fiction with reality and offers you an experience unlike any other.

As Blightbound emerges from its year in Steam Early Access one can’t help but think that it might be doing so a bit too early. Lingering issues with the pretty visual elements overlapping each other, uneven party balance, repetitive loot with lackluster stats, AI/single player issues, and a bare-bones leveling design suggest that this game could do with more fundamental development work before taking the main stage. With its creative art and engaging voice talent, there is definite potential here for a terrific dungeon crawler, but the overall elements just have not entirely come together as of yet.

If you don’t feel a desperate need of sinking teeth into a new game, it could be wise to wait some more time before starting The Ascent. I’m certain the devs will support this title for many months to come, addressing it’s most urgent issues, i.e. stiff difficulty level, poorly implemented fast travel or lack of endgame (including insufficient depth of itemization). Before the end of the quarter, the game could be upgraded enough to deserve a score like 8.5, and in the long term, I can imagine it ascending even higher. But can you resist these graphics?

You want an experience that is so difficult, but rewarding, that it keeps you coming back for more. Eldest Souls fits the bill, but because it focuses on just boss-rushing, it feels more like a lite version that is still just as fun to play. It’s great for those who know what they’re signing up for and are okay with a more minimalistic, if not frustrating approach to a brutal genre.

Overall, The Falconeer: Warrior Edition is a great experience. Hopefully future titles can take a lesson from this game in terms of how players can explore their open world, and what they can find. But all of that is the cherry on top of an engaging story, breathtaking visuals, and the pure joy that comes from riding on the back of a giant warbird.

Unbound is a middle of the road platforming experience with some nice art but some rough edges when it comes to difficulty scaling and design. Unforgiving sections also hold the game back and without a great story to push you through the hard parts it winds up being a tough sell. If you’re into the Dark Souls level of challenge then go forth and platform. More casual players will want to seek out something more palatable.

Developers from the Polish studio Red Dot Games have chosen the path of slow evolution of their brand – I'm still waiting for a revolution. I wanted a shiny new car straight from the factory – instead I got a decent used car, which, albeit pretty and working, isn't that spectacular.

Road 96’s procedurally generated scenarios make each playthrough unique and yet manage to string together and become a rich, interwoven story that has heart. Because no two trips are the same, your experience will be uniquely yours and dependent on the choices you make. Regardless of what happens, each journey down its winding roads is an enjoyable ride of emotions, laughs, and surprises that is sure to please.

With daily challenges and quests that reward you the more you play, Naraka: Bladepoint is shaping up to be game that plans for set up shop and last for a while. No two rounds feel the same, and yet the familiarity of each one makes it easy to keep coming back for more. It’s not perfect, by any means, with its combat system offering a breath of fresh air but also leading to moments of frustration. Still, its emphasis on customization, melee combat, and some robust features turn it into one battle royale experience worth checking out.