Double Dragon Gaiden is a great game, but it just needs some fine-tuning here and there and it really needs an online co-op option. Just watching the game through trailers, I didn’t think that much of it, but once I actually played it, the game blew me away with how good it is. Thanks to the rogue-lite elements, this game can last for quite a while. There is a lot of variety in its gameplay and just enough in its overall difficulty for each playthrough. Overall, Double Dragon Gaiden is a fantastic beat’em up and one that I highly recommend.

Despite its problems, AEW: Fight Forever is a good start for an AEW game. It’s really nice to see WWE finally have some more competition. Let’s hope that the developers can address some of the problems in a future update and add some more content to the game in the months ahead. As it stands, the game is mainly only good for online or couch co-op with a friend. The Road to Elite single player mode is way too short and repetitive to hold up for long. The game has a better feel to it online when compared to a WWE game, so it has it beat on that. If you want a good single player experience however, WWE games far outweigh Fight Forever with content and just overall things to do.

For what it is, Greyhill Incident has a unique concept and graphics to go along with it. The trailer makes the game out to be way better than what you actually get. It might be worth a playthrough for the curious mainly for its alien invasion theme, but I can’t see many people coming back to this game or even thinking of it as memorable. Some people might like the light-hearted story, but for me, it ruins the game.

This game perfectly captures the feel of the Aliens movie from the perspective of a marine squad dealing with xenomorphs. Fans of survival games that enjoy some super intense battles should give this game a try. If you’re an Alien fan, definitely give this game a shot. I’m not really too big of a fan of real-time strategy games, but this game pulled me in as I learned more and more about it. It’s very hard from the start but as you start to learn it, it gets a bit easier, but you’ll never have a truly comfortable time with all the different situations that keep popping up and that is what makes this game fantastic!

So, in the end, if you haven’t picked-up Sonic Origins, yet, you can now get a lot more for your money. If you’ve been playing Sonic Origins off and on over the past year, the real decision point for you is whether or not you want the additional Game Gear games. Adding Amy won’t mean much to you unless you want to play through the Sonic games again with a new character. And adding new music, backgrounds, and animations to a game that you stopped playing won’t really get you to start playing it again, will it? Personally, I think that there’s enough new here if you’re interested in Sonic Game Gear games to warrant a purchase, though. You probably went for the original game at least partially out of a sense of nostalgia anyway, right?

While Street Fighter VI has its shortcomings, the majority of the game is just so good that the little things don’t really even matter. This game is like Capcom’s way of saying “we hear you” after such a lackluster Street Fighter V launch back in the day. They have really put a lot into this game and it shows. I’m not even that hardcore of a fighting game fan anymore and when I play fighting games, I prefer to play Mortal Kombat games. Street Fighter is usually dead last when it comes to fighting games that I enjoy. Street Fighter VI is so good that it makes me want to sit down and actually learn a Street Fighter game after so many years of nudging them away in favor of other fighters. The game is not easy to master, but it’s definitely gotten easier to play and this installment is just plain fun. For a Street Fighter to be so very good from the start, I have GREAT interests in seeing how this game continues to develop during its lifespan.

There isn’t really much to say about this DLC other than you need to get it if you were seriously enjoying the main game. Just like the main game, I greatly enjoyed my time with Monster Hunter Rise Sunbreak. The new additions with the Sunbreak add-on give a lot more options to a game that already has a lot to do. Overall, if you like Monster Hunter Rise, you’ll enjoy Sunbreak just as much.

More characters and maps are planned for the future, but some players may not feel motivated to keep playing once they completed the season tiers until there’s something new in the game to work towards. Still, Toys for Bob should get a lot of credit for making a competitive multiplayer platformer that not only works, but is fun to play.

Fans of The Evil Within need to give this game a shot since it has ideas taken from that game at times. If you’ve ever played Breakdown for the original Xbox (it’s a classic on the Xbox store also), Ghostwire Tokyo has that level of immersion in it, but it focuses more on projectile combat rather than melee combat. If you haven’t tried out this game yet, you need to. Everyone should experience this game since it feels fresh and it’s got quite an addicting style of combat. Support unique games such as this, so we get more!

I found myself having fun with Super Mega Baseball 4. I liked how I could just jump in and play a short inning game when short on time, or set up a longer tournament when I wanted a little more baseball action than that. The online play works well, games are relatively quick so you can easily get a few games in without a major investment in time. And the adjustable challenge makes it fun for younger as well as older gamers, as well as those who only casually follow the sport and those who can reel off the stats for each of the legends in the game.

Redfall has the potential to be a good game, but it has a bunch of issues that need fixing first.

For a game that had such a long development cycle, this game feels like it made use of all that time. Dambuster really knocked it out of the park with this sequel. If you’re a fan of Dead Island, you’ll easily enjoy what this game has to offer. It may have not have the parkour that Dying Light has in it, but it definitely beats Dying Light in its zombie-slaying gameplay. I had a great time with this game and I’m still looking forward to playing through the game with other characters. Dead Island 2 truly delivers!

I had fun playing Minecraft Legends, but there are some aspects of the game that could be improved. The overworld is really large and really gorgeous in a Minecraft voxel kind of way, but it’s largely empty of anything more interesting than resources. I wish there was more to discover on long rides into the wilderness, but once I had reached all of the main locations I pretty much relied exclusively on fast travel. The assaults on the Piglin bases are fun, but as you make your way further into the campaign some of the sieges turn into grind fests. It would help if the siege weapons worked automatically, but you have to man them and manually aim their attacks – and then they have a cooldown period. Trying to monitor Piglins attacks while you’re aligning distant shots on structures, and then the need to check to see when the weapons are ready again is a constant distraction. Your enjoyment of Legends will depend a bit on how you enjoy playing Minecraft, as well as where on the RTS spectrum from noob to leet you fall. As for me, I’ve played a lot of Minecraft in many different ways and RTS games since the original StarCraft, and I found myself enjoying Legends.

Overall Monster Energy Supercross 6 is better than Supercross 5, but not by much. The game is worth a pickup for serious fans, but if you already own Supercross 5 and are happy with it, it might not be worth it for you. I do enjoy Supercross 6’s smoother controls and upgraded Supercross Park, but other than that, it’s nearly the same as the last game. How much you’re going to like this game really depends on how big of a fan you are.

Overall, I’d say that this is a good video game adaptation of a board game – the AI is competent enough to be challenging to average player, but not so strong as to be frustrating, and the graphics put the original cardboard and plastic game to shame visually. I wish there was more information on the rules and even gameplay tips, though, as well as more gameplay customization options. CATAN: Console Edition won’t replace sitting around a board with friends, but it’s a good enough option if you want to learn the game or just take a board game break when you can’t round-up your friends for a game night.

Overall, WWE 2K23 is better than 2K22 and it’s worth a pick up for hardcore fans and especially those that missed out on 2K22. The graphics engine really does help in making all wrestlers look better and it definitely makes created wrestlers look better. The loading is way, WAY shorter on 2K23 compared to 2K22. The additions are more like “touch-ups” when compared to the complete overhaul that we saw in 2K22, but it definitely tunes up modes in the right areas and makes them more interesting in the process. Just like 2K22 made me not want to return to 2k20, WWE 2K23 makes me not want to return to 2K22, so that in and of itself makes it worth the purchase.

Dark Revival creates an interesting world and it has a unique art style, but the gameplay itself comes up short. While there are some imaginative locations and enjoyable moments, overall it’s the kind of game that you’ll play through more because you’re interested in how it all turns out than you are in the journey to get there.

Texas’ stage is a desert area with a surrounding caravan. It has some great scenery of rock formations behind the caravan and is quite colorful and bright. Texas is one heck of a fighter. This bull combines heavy damage, good range, and fast movement into one huge bull that can definitely take a hit. His main flaws are his slow attacks and (of course) he is one big target. Texas is a fantastic first character for the season pass. Let’s hope the fighters that follow are just as good!

Them’s Fightin’ Herds is a great fighting game for players that favor a style of fighting similar to Street Fighter. It’s actually a great game for beginners with all the help you can get from the game’s tutorial mode. It will be interesting to see how this game stacks up with other fighters at major tournaments. I have already seen it showcased at a few tournaments and hope to see more of it. The only thing the game is really lacking is story mode completion and a bigger roster. Other than that, it’s a very solid fighter.

Overall, the pace of the game is good and the story is compelling. I really connected with Lucy and was determined to help her solve the mystery of the forest, although towards the end I had a pretty good idea of where it was going. The rotating tile puzzle was a bit frustrating – it felt like a master level puzzle that should have been a single encounter near the end of the game and not something that had to be returned to throughout it. Also, the last part of the game drags on a bit, featuring a large, multi-location puzzle with a simple mechanic that requires a lot of backtracking and a mid-puzzle requirement that’s not at all obvious and needs to be found through trial-and-error. Also, there are four possible endings to the game, but the ending that you’ll see will be based entirely on which song you choose to sing during the game’s final interaction. Each ending will give you enough to go on so that the story reaches a conclusion and leaves some questions open-ended for you to ponder later – enough is left answered to leave room for a sequel, though. Unfortunately, the only way to see the other endings is to play through the game again.

The load time in the XSX version is lightning fast in single player. I don’t even get the chance to read but about three words of the loading screen descriptions before it switches to the next area. The graphics are equal to the PC version – I compared the two and didn’t see any noticeable differences. The only real flaw with this release is that it doesn’t include the Sunbreaker expansion. It does mention in-game that the Sunbreaker expansion will be coming soon however! If you have yet to experience Monster Hunter Rise, then be sure to try it out on Xbox or PlayStation now since it’s just as good as the PC version overall.

A lot of the balance in the game just feels off, too. Invaders come quickly and often, and there’s just no time to get your tower into a minimal defensible state. Even if you get lucky and have the cards to close off your tower, the game punishes you for this tactic by generating enemies from a moving warp portal within your tower. Your wizard is forced to collect items from the rooms that they are produced in, but you can’t give commands to your whole tower while you’re off the throne. It feels like these and other restrictions were added to compensate for issues with the gameplay, when what was needed instead was more time spent refining and balancing it. Perhaps one day a game can make these two genres work together, but Dwarven Skykeep isn’t that game.

Overall, Callisto is a really good survival horror experience. If you like Dead Space, you need to try this game. The main campaign has a lot of passion put into it and I had a bunch of fun with it. The game definitely has some problems here and there, but I think true horror fans will admire it for its fantastic campaign. I really feel that this series will have just as interesting of a world as Dead Space if the series continues beyond this first installment. The story is overall good and the ending begs for DLC or a sequel. Be sure to try this game if you’re in the mood for a cinematic horror experience with a lot of intensity.

I’ve played plenty of retro collections that either just give you a library of games alone, or accompany the games with a bunch of box shots and manuals that you often have to unlock through play, all thrown together under a menu almost as an afterthought. Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration is nothing like those game collections. I thoroughly enjoyed making my way through each chapter - the videos are fascinating and playing the games after learning about the story behind them made me see some old favorites in an entirely new light. Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration is a game-changer – it’s the way all future retro game collections should be made.

If you’ve played a Dark Picture Anthology game, you know what to expect with The Devil in Me. This one ups the ante when it comes to gameplay, but as I’ve pointed out, the new gameplay mechanics aren’t always welcoming, but for the most part, they are an improvement. Other than the change in gameplay, the game plays very similar to the other Dark Pictures games. Whether the story is good or not, or characters are interesting or boring is all left up to opinion for the most part. I’d say that The Devil in Me is about mid-range when compared to the rest of the series. Honestly, from the beginning it seems like the best one, but then the story starts to drag toward the end and it suddenly doesn’t seem as good anymore. I do feel it’s better than Man of Medan, but the other problems bring it down to Man of Medan’s level.

Overall, this game is my new favorite game by Supermassive Games. It’s just as long as Until Dawn and it has even more branching paths in its story. Definitely pick up this game if you’re fan of games like Until Dawn or Dark Pictures Anthology!

The core Call of Duty gameplay is there, but Modern Warfare II has some issues and fails to be anything more than an average game in the series.

Even with the minor arguments, Signalis is a fantastic survival horror game, especially for an indie title. It’s honestly one of the closest recent games that I have found to be compared to old-school survival horror. The limited inventory and the fact that you eventually have to run by rooms full of enemies eventually gives that old-school feeling all too much. Fans of old-school survivor horror should run out and buy this right now.

The game is overall a lot of fun to play. If you’re in the mood for an asymmetrical multiplayer game that you don’t have to take too seriously, then Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed is a great choice. The game is best played as a party game with online friends or randoms. I do feel that this game might have some complications with staying relevant in the future however since there just isn’t much outside of the one mode of play and there isn’t enough extra content to unlock once you reach a certain level. In the short run however, this game is quite good. Be sure to give the game a try if you’re a Ghostbusters fan. I’m sure fans of the series will feel right at home the most!

Scorn reminds me a lot of what Agony was trying to go for when it released – a fresh new experience through a nightmarish setting. With Scorn though, it arrived very playable with only a few issues, unlike the tragedy that we experienced with Agony. Horror fans should definitely give Scorn a try. Scorn is an experience like no other horror game and every horror fan needs to support this great effort.

Madden NFL 23 is another incremental update in a franchise known for putting out incremental updates. Updated rosters, a few minor additions to existing game modes, and a couple of gameplay tweaks – you know the drill. The presentation is still thoroughly dull and even the soundtrack feels tired. The gameplay engine is in need of more than an incremental update, though. The “if it’s in the game, it’s in the game” game still feels more like you’re playing a Madden game than a simulation of an NFL game. With the passing of its namesake, perhaps it’s finally time to build a new game, one that NFL fans can really get excited about.

Midnight Fight Express is an intense button masher brawler that gets repetitive too quickly, but it’s still fun and actually quite deep.

Despite Bell and Bones and the occasional bug, Whateverland does have its charms - the game’s setting is certainly unique. There are some interesting characters inhabiting Whateverland and some of the puzzles are fun to work through, but that’s not consistent throughout the game. The burglary path puzzles can be rather frustrating at times. Point-and-clickers will probably be more forgiving of the game’s rough patches given the dearth of games in this genre these days, but others may not find the motivation to press on through to the end.

South of the Circle tells a compelling story, and the minimalistic animated art style and excellent voice-acting make it an absorbing experience. It’s easy to recommend to anyone interested in experiencing a story with themes not usually touched on in games, but if you want a lot of gaming in your games you’ll probably want to pass on this one.

Madison is one heck of a scary game that fans of Visage will really enjoy!

I greatly enjoyed my time with Monster Hunter Rise Sunbreak. It’s not really the type of game you can simply jump into. It does have a bit of a learning curve from the beginning, but once you get over that, it’s a lot of fun to go questing about. The new additions with the Sunbreak add-on give a lot more options to a game that already has a lot to do. Overall, if you like Monster Hunter Rise, you’ll enjoy Sunbreak just as much. Capcom seems to be adding more to the game with extra updates as time goes by as well!

Backroom Beyond is overall extremely repetitive. The worst part about playing it is that there is such little reward for completing each room. Your only reward is to simply start the next area. The game has an interesting subject matter, but the overall gameplay just isn’t fun for too long. Even though the game changes up each level, you’re still doing the same thing in the long run (pushing a block over a button) and it doesn’t hold up well for long. This game needs more variety in its puzzle solving.

The game honestly felt bad from the start, but all I had to tide me over was combat, but once I got further and started to open up more crafting options, it became very addicting. If you’re a fan of crafting or survival be sure to check this game out. As a horror game, the only true horror is pretty much in the game’s setting, but zombies are your main type of enemy and you actually get to play a zombie hybrid as well. Overall, Deadcraft is a very addicting survival and crafting action game.

There were times while playing that I felt the zen of cleaning, my mind cleared by the soothing sound of water as it steadily droned on or changed pitch while moving between different surfaces. There’s also a certain sense of satisfaction that comes with transforming some grossly dirty areas into the pristine places that they were meant to be. However, there were plenty of times when the simulated work felt like real work. Spending over ten minutes walking slowly back and forth across a driveway to finally get it clean and then looking up and seeing how far you have to go to get the rest of the home clean can be both frustrating and disheartening. The relaxing moments provided by the game were simply outnumbered by those that became more and more tedious by the sheer number of large surfaces that must be cleaned in the game. You can easily spend an evening cleaning somebody else’s home for them, and then look back and think that you could have spent the limited time you have for relaxation and entertainment more wisely.

Overall, I had a good time with Legends of Kingdom Rush. I loved the art style and music, and enjoyed the surprising amount of challenge provided by its battles. It may not be as complex a game as those who are into the tactical genre may be used to playing, but I think that makes the game more accessible, and it manages to do so without making the battles cakewalks for those who still want to put their tactical skills to the test. I also liked that the battles play out relatively quickly since I sometimes find that tactical games require so much time to complete battles that they can be a slog to get through. If you have a Steam Deck, the game is mouse-based and has no controller support so you’ll need to use the pad and triggers as a mouse. It’s not the most precise way to control a game, but you can get by if you’re on a couch. It may be a little frustrating if you’re in a vehicle, though.

If you’re a Sonic fan, you’ve probably owned at least one of these games in the past, but it’s nice to see the four games from the Genesis era finally bundled in a single collection.

If you’re a fan of the old TMNT arcade games, you’re a shoe-in for liking this game already – it was practically made for you! If you’re not a fan of the TMNT arcade games, well, you need to become one, because this co-op beat’em up is too good to pass up and everyone needs to give this game a try. It’s clear that the developers spent a lot of time with the old games to help them create this nearly perfect recreation of old TMNT beat’em ups. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge is the ultimate party game for when friends are over or just whenever you want to go online and kick some shell.

If the game’s story, characters, and research aspect sound really appealing to you, then go ahead and give the game a try – there is some intriguing gameplay under the incomplete covers. For anyone else, though, I’d recommend that you use your real-world Google skills to find another adventure game to play.

You might think that a puzzle game built around factories would have an industrial theme, but that’s not the approach Freshly Frosted took. Instead, the game’s levels take place in a serene, ethereal space as the factories appear to float atop pastel-colored clouds. A narrator introduces each puzzle with dreamy musings on the nature and deliciousness of donuts. It all helps to make what is essentially an industrial puzzle feel light, dreamy, and relaxing. Well, except for the puzzle-solving portion of your brain, that will still get a good workout.

It’s nice to see some bonus content and it’s great just to have more Back 4 Blood content overall, but this first DLC feels lackluster. The Ridden Hives literally feel like content that should have been in the game in the first place or been added with a free update. The new characters and new items are easily the best part of the DLC. Hopefully the upcoming DLC will be a better than this one. Tunnels of Terror is not totally bad, but it’s not exactly fantastic.

Card Shark isn’t a game for everyone. You’ve got to have some patience to both learn the controller combinations to successfully pull-off each step of the cheats and to repeat all of those steps several times during the course of a card game. You also need to enjoy games that are essentially a collection of mini games, and that don’t have much interaction between those games. If those caveats don’t bother you, then you’ll probably find the game’s unique look and setting charming and appealing, and enjoy your time swindling the French aristocracy out of their ill-gotten wealth.

If you’re a fan of Evil Dead, this game is meant for you. It’s easy to see that the developers are fans of the series as well. Even if you’re not a fan, this game is still a lot of fun. It is one the most balanced asymmetrical game that has released yet. There were a few problems with melee canceling when the game first released, but that exploit has already been addressed in one of the recent patches, so it goes to show that the developers care about balance. The game also has cross-play! If the game can maintain some good download content in the future, this game will be one to talk about and play for the months to come. Just from the start, this game already has “JOIN US” wrote all over it... and if you get that reference, you will enjoy this game the most!

Trek to Yomi’s opening chapter really builds expectation for what will follow, but what does follow doesn’t live up to that promise. It’s a gorgeous game to watch, but the gameplay simply falls short of matching the quality of the visuals.

Overall, the game does not have much to it. It tries its best to achieve the randomness of a David Lynch movie, but just like his movies, you either love it or hate it. With me, I do not like Paratopic very much, but I do see where a person might be interested in it and give it a few playthroughs. One playthrough was enough for me and I was done after that. There are a total of 20 achievements to gain and I only got 10 of them on my first playthrough. The game roughly last around 40 minutes to an hour. There is no way to save and the game warns you of this from the start. The game is an interesting try for the curious, but be forewarned that you’ll only play it a few times before shelving it most likely.

Big Bang Pro Wrestling is fun to look at and admire for its controls and many other factors, but it isn’t very fun to play.

The developers really did a great job in optimizing this game for the Switch. I do recommend the other versions of this game for the full experience, but the Switch version of Zombie Army 4: Dead War is a great choice if you want portability or just to have the game on your Switch console.

Martha is Dead has scenes that will stick with you long after you turn off the game making it a very memorable experience.

The game starts off as a novelty, but the pinball gameplay soon dissolves into a mass of explosions and zombies.

A compelling story steeped in Japanese folklore is enough to overcome the repetitive battles.

WWE 2K22 hits different and it might just bruise your face if you give it that same evil eye that you gave 2K20 since its far better.

The King of Fighters XV busts onto the scene with some great online play, improved visuals, and gameplay enhancements.

Given that Lost Ark is free-to-play, it’s certainly worth your time to have a look at it. Just don’t go into it expecting the second coming of Diablo or you’ll quickly find yourself disappointed by the underwhelming loot, milquetoast characters, and pedestrian story. If you can put that aside and have the patience to push your way through the game’s grindier stretches, you might find yourself enjoying the game’s combat animations, overall sense of style, and range of activities once you finally reach the end game.

Dying Light 2 will surpass the first game someday, but right now it’s brought down by bugs that keep it from being truly spectacular.

Overall Rainbow Six Extraction is a very welcome change for the Rainbow Six series. If you’re a fan of PvE games (such as World War Z and Aliens: Fireteam Elite, definitely give this game a try. I feel that many Rainbow Six regulars will not appreciate Extraction as much as I do, which is understandable. It’s a big change of direction for the series, but one that I definitely enjoy.

If you’re in the mood for a game that delivers the kind of action you see in the Aliens movie, I think you’ll enjoy this game. It’s not as good as Alien Isolation, but it’s definitely had a lot of love put into it. The game reminds me a lot of the World War Z game, which I was a big fan of, only it’s in the Alien universe. The game is not perfect, but I had a lot of fun with it and will continue to for quite a while.

Okinawa Rush is definitely worth a try for fans of 90’s and early 2000’s arcade games. It has a very arcadey setup and is quite satisfying to play through. Harder difficulty will give you a level timer that you’ll have to constantly add to by defeating enemies – sort of like a survival mode. With only having five levels, the game is very short (only takes around 2 hours to complete), but it has a lot of replay value in its difficulties. It also has its own in-game achievements on the Switch and many of the achievements are VERY challenging!

If you’re a fan of Dragonball Z, you owe it to yourself to try out Dragonball Z Kakarot in whatever form you can experience it in. There is truly no wrong way to go when it comes to this game. The Switch version is certainly a value with the extra DLC that it comes packed with. As usual, the Switch version also has the advantage of being portable. The game looks great whether in portable form or on an HDTV. Dragonball Z Kakarot is the ultimate companion piece to have while watching the DBZ anime series so don’t miss out on this game!

I do recommend other more powerful versions over the Switch version, but the Switch version is not bad at all if that if your only option or you just enjoy having your games on Switch. If you like Left 4 Dead or Back 4 Blood, this game is worth a try. I honestly like this game quite a bit and plan to return to it from time to time.

Battlefield has had some shaky launches in the past, and there’s no reason not to think that things will eventually be smoothed over in Battlefield 2042 over time. However, Battlefield 2042 is also weighed down by design issues and missing features. You’re going to want to wait on this one, and even then give some thought to skipping this iteration in the series.

The game has tons of items to unlock and an overall good amount of stuff to do, but all of this really falls flat when the gameplay gets so repetitive. No matter what mode you play, there isn’t much gameplay variety outside of the standard gameplay mechanics. You don’t have the options that you get in the usual WWE 2K yearly release and it all wears thin fast and becomes a chore to play. The game is honestly fun at first, but it just doesn’t hold up well in the long run. I honestly prefer WWE 2K20 over Battlegrounds and that’s saying a lot with all the problems that game had.

Back 4 Blood is loads of fun no matter which mode you play. The game supports cross platform (and cross gen) play for both multiplayer and co-op modes. The campaign is easily the best part of the game, but the multiplayer mode is a good companion mode. So long as you don’t mind that the game is always online and that there isn’t much of a single player mode at the moment, the game is quite good. I’m not much of a fan of online multiplayer shooters, but this type of game with loads of replay value is what I look for whenever I do play one. Like I said at the start, I don’t know how the game compares to Left 4 Dead, but that really shouldn’t matter much since Back 4 Blood is its own game, and it’s a lot of fun.

Overall if you’ve played a Dark Picture Anthology game, you know what to expect with House of Ashes. They seem to all play around the same but have different stories and gameplay circumstances. Whether the story is good or not, or characters are interesting or boring is all left up to opinion for the most part. One thing is for sure though – if you’re a horror fan, you really need to get into this series, because it has some great stories to tell and some nice moments of horror to share. House of Ashes is my personal favorite of the Dark Pictures games so far and it definitely rivals Until Dawn. It’s hard to say it’s better than Until Dawn, because they both have their ups and downs, but it’s definitely a contender.

Vanguard is an incremental iteration for the Call of Duty franchise. It’s a solid entry in the series that does well what Call of Duty does well, but it doesn’t stand-out as a landmark release. If you enjoy Call of Duty, haven’t played for a few years, or are new to franchise, then by all means jump in. The water’s fine.

The game is more like an arcade title than a full-featured racer. The game is clearly focused on collecting cars and expanding your collection rather than providing an extensive and full-featured racing game experience. The arcade racing is fun in short bursts, but the blind box system can make it feel like a grind while trying to obtain the cars that you want. If you pick this game up, do it for the car collecting. Otherwise, there are more enjoyable arcade racers with more variety out there for you to play.

Guardians of the Galaxy is fun to play because it has fun with itself. It’s clever, fast-paced, and never takes itself seriously. In other words, it’s the kind of game the Guardians of the Galaxy deserve.

In Sound Mind is a solid psychological horror with a lot of surprises and it’s an overall great experience.

Overall, Dice Legacy is enjoyable as long as you enjoy a challenge. It has an unusual mix of gameplay that sets it apart from other games of this type. While the dice and some of your decisions add a random element to the game, it feels like Dice Legacy does have an idea of how it wants you to play the game. You don’t necessarily have the freedom to try a variety of strategies, if you want to succeed, that is. Perhaps that’s what makes it more of a survival game and less of a strategy game.

Even though the game is inspired by old-school horror titles, it is still very much its own thing. The game has a lot of its own ideas and feels unique even with its similarities. If you’re an old-school survival horror fan, you need to buy Tormented Souls. This game was created exclusively with you in mind. With the game’s value price, it’s quite amazing the amount of content in the game. If only this game had more replay value to it, it would be a super solid experience. Even without that, it’s a very fun tread through the type of survival horrors that we used to enjoy back when the genre was still young.

Even with the flaws that I mention, I feel the addictive combat and overall Suda51 wackiness far outweighs the negatives. I had a GREAT time with this game and look forward to more games by this developer in the future. This developer is such a great breath of fresh air with each one of their action titles. This title makes me want to go through and play the rest of the No More Heroes games.

Overall, Cris Tales is a great turn-based RPG for fans of turn-based style gameplay. It’s an impressive piece of work from an indie company and one that I think many will enjoy. The load screens in the game are annoying, but it’s just about the only flaw that I can find since the rest of the game is so good. Old school RPGs fans will find much to enjoy here with the hard difficulty and classic turn-based style gameplay.

You can certainly have fun with Madden NFL 2022, but overall the changes over 2021 feel incremental at best and show more potential than they actually deliver. My wish list for 2023 would be an NFL game that gets me as pumped-up to play it as I feel on game day, one that has an AI that actually reacts and adapts to my play-calling, and one that has animations as fluid as the real thing.

Mayhem Brawler is a decent beat’em up, but everything it does, Streets or Rage 4 does better. It’s a decent alternative to SoR4, if you’re bored with that game, but it just doesn’t have the replay value or the fluid controls that you’ll find in SoR4. It could be an interesting try for beat’em up fans, but I highly suggest that you try it before you buy it. From the trailers, the game looks fantastic, but once I started to play it, the control flaw was obvious as I continued to play. Even though bosses, can be frustrating, they can be overcome with patience, but some of them can surely get very cheap no matter what exploits you find.

The soundtrack is easily one of the best I have heard for a fighter. All Guilty Gear games have a beautiful rock soundtrack and Strive certainly does too. The game has many lyrical rock tracks. If you’re the slightest bit curious about this game be sure to give it a try. I’m not even really a fan of Guilty Gear, but I instantly loved Guilty Gear Strive when I first started to play it. It’s easy to tell a good fighter when the game feels so fluid and easy to pick up and play from the beginning. In this day and age, fluid online play means a lot for a fighter and Strive definitely has you covered there as well.

Don’t let the game’s pastel colors and cute bunnies fool you – inbento is not a children’s game and those who only occasional delve into the world of puzzle games may find the challenge to be too frustrating. If you enjoy logic puzzles and putting your spatial thinking skills to the test, though, you should definitely give inbento a try.

Mr. X Nightmare makes Streets of Rage 4 a near perfect beat’em up. At this point, Streets of Rage 4 is the game to judge all other beat’em ups by from now on. Mr X Nightmare is not even a cherry on top, it’s like getting an extra cake to go along with the first cake (the main game). The DLC is also available at a bargain price – only 1/3 the cost the of the main game itself, so it’s a steal. If you have Streets of Rage 4 and want to breath some new life into it, buy the Mr X Nightmare DLC and you’ll be playing it for quite a while. The survival mode alone will keep you busy for quite a while so just that mode alone is worth the purchase.

Mundaun has got an interesting story to tell and it also has multiple endings. There are quite a few secrets to be found for the curious that want to go about exploring its open world. The game clocks in at around 8 hours long for me – probably around 6 hours for most people that don’t get sidetracked too easily. Mundaun is a creative masterpiece of a horror game. If you enjoy horror games make sure you give this game a try.

While I did have some fun with Scarlet Nexus, I am left with the feeling that it could have been more. If there was more life to the city, and any life at all to the frequently drab mission locations, all of the traversal in the game would have felt a lot less like traversal and the world would have felt more immersive and fleshed-out. The combat has its unique aspects, but there is a repetition to it that is exposed by the volume of battles that you will fight against the same enemy types. While it is a plus that the game essentially gives you two campaigns, you may find yourself having had enough after making it through one.

The game looks good whether on the big screen or handheld. With most games, I feel they look better one way or the other but with this game, it looks just as good either way. Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin is definitely a game that every Switch owner should check out if you like JRPGs. Besides some slight performance issues, the game fits the Nintendo Switch in almost every way.

Even with all the heavy hits to the graphics, the Switch version is still strong mainly thanks to its gameplay and overall content. Honestly, the Neversoft gameplay can carry just about version of Tony Hawk so long as it is left largely intact. Oh, and for you streamers out there, it’s worth noting that the game has a “Streamer mode” that can be turned on to mute all the music if you’re scared of DMCA strikes. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2 is a fun celebration of new and old altogether and it’s a game that I recommend to all Tony Hawk Pro Skater fans no matter which version you get!

While the Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse has its fault, it’s still rather enjoyable. Any game that keeps me involved until the end deserves its credit nowadays since games don’t often hold me over that long anymore. The game gets frustrating and sometimes the autosaves can screw you, but it’s worth a try for those that are curious. If you love horror comedies, definitely give this game a try since it will be right up your alley. Zombie fans should give this a shot as well since its easily one of the most creative zombie games that I have played.

Besides the disappointing lack of online, the game is a pretty big compilation of classic games with a lot of variety for its price. The point and leveling system helps to give you something to play for other than simply beating each game, which I found to be a nice touch overall.

Although the game can be found on home consoles, it’s really a better fit for the phone and Switch platforms that it also appears on. It was fun at first to treat the game as a sort of gaming digestif, enjoyed after an evening of shooting things in other games to wind down peacefully before bed. However, the inventory bloat and crafting complexity quickly began eating into the relaxation time as more and more time was spent sorting through quests, recipes, and inventory to figure out which items you needed to collect that night. Soon, relaxing with Cozy Grove simply becomes too much work.

It’s really too bad that Capcom didn’t take this chance to add online co-op to the game since it would have worked well for a console known for its online play. The pros and cons to the game are all still the same on Xbox One as they were in the Switch version. The difficulty can get annoying but still feels overall satisfying for the most part. If you still haven’t checked out this game yet and are a GnG fan then be sure to pick this game up.

Jay and Silent Bob: Mall Brawl is a decent beat’em but it takes a lot of patience to truly enjoy.

Overall, RE Village is a fantastic RE game with some minor flaws here and there. It takes just about everything from RE7 and makes it better. RE Village loses much of the horror in RE7, but it makes up for it with everything else. I really feel it’s impossible to not like this game more than RE7 and this is coming from a person that greatly enjoyed the horror aspect of RE7. I was a complete naysayer once I saw that RE Village had more of an action approach and was proven wrong by the end of the game. Resident Evil Village is really good and is a definite pickup if you’re an RE fan.

The ease of play combined with a relatively small map and short story means that you’ll get through the game in a few short hours. You’ll be acutely aware of the map’s relatively small size since it will have you doing a fair amount of backtracking during your quests. It seems like the game’s length is more likely the result of some sort of constraint felt by the developers, budgetary or otherwise, because there is enough to the game’s world, story, and potential side narratives to provide for a longer experience. Your time with the game will be mostly enjoyable, but you will feel that your experience was cut artificially short when you reach the end.

After so many mediocre sequels to the original Crash trilogy, it’s great to see Crash Bandicoot have a worthwhile game again. The difficulty may be hard, but it’s the type of difficulty that kept me trying. I never got truly frustrated at the game since the game gives you the option to play it like the original trilogy (with limited lives and restart level once all are gone) or with a new style (unlimited lives and continue from checkpoints). It’s only super hard if you try to 100% all stages, which is a good challenge for diehard players. Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time is every bit what a Crash sequel should be and is very comparable to the Naughty Dog installments.

The game has a few jump scares here and there, but you hear the loud noise before you even see the actual scare. There were times where I didn’t know what the game was trying to show me – all I knew was that I got the jump scare noise and that I just “witnessed” a jump scare. The game does seem to have some secrets which could encourage a replay. For a budget title, the game is actually decent. Overall, it’s a 50/50 chance whether you’ll like this game or not. If the game was more expensive, it would be easier to lay down a lower score, but with its current price point and the fact that I stuck with it all the way through, it’s actually a decent title for the price.

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 pulls off one of the hardest tricks of all – providing a game that will appeal both to those who have fond memories of the original and those who are playing a skateboarding game for the first time. The controls are tight and responsive, the animations smooth and realistic, the levels are a joy to skate, and on Xbox Series X|S, the game is on a whole new level graphically. The game is a true and fitting tribute to its legacy, as well as a skating game for the new generation.

If you own a Nintendo Switch and enjoy platformers, you need this game. It will chew you up and spit you back out with its difficulty, but it’s such a joy to play that it will keep you coming back. Honestly, dying in a GnG should be expected – it’s part of the enjoyment since you learn with each death and eventually overcome the obstacle. For true fans of the GnG series, this game should be like fine wine. To newcomers, I think there is enough option select here to get you used to what the rest of us have been enjoying for years.

In spite of the game’s assists, I wouldn’t recommend it for someone new to the genre. It will simply be too difficult and frustrating for anyone who doesn’t come into the game with some shmup skills on their resume. Shmup veterans will have a better go of things, but will find themselves challenged for the reasons that I’ve outlined. I wouldn’t call Natsuki Chronicles a “must play” for fans of the genre, but some will find the visuals and ship customization an interesting change of pace and will enjoy checking the game out.

Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time is a great platform game in its own right, but what’s even more impressive is that it’s managed to capture the feel and spirit of its predecessors while adding new gameplay features that fit perfectly alongside the old. It’s both a great tribute to a storied franchise and a game that feels completely modern. Crash Bandicoot 4 will appeal to those with a sense of nostalgia for the bandicoot’s adventures past, as well as those new to the franchise who are looking for a challenging, enjoyable, and gameplay-packed platforming adventure.

The game is a total mixed bag, but most of the bad parts are brought on by the performance issues from being on Nintendo Switch. It just seems like the game wasn’t fully optimized well for the system. If you plan on playing the game portable, you may not notice the problems as much, but the framerate still got to me at times, even in portable mode. Overall, Silver Chains is a decent survival horror game, but I’d recommend another version unless you plan on playing in portable mode all the time.