Assassin's Creed Shadows carries the weight of both immense expectations and deep skepticism, yet it ultimately takes the safest route. It neither embraces true innovation nor fully sheds the shadow of its predecessors. Its flat open-world formula, recycled mission structure, and reluctance to break free of its established framework make it difficult to see this as a meaningful step forward for the franchise. Still, while Ubisoft's recent track record has been mixed, Assassin's Creed Shadows proves that they still have what it takes to deliver large-scale, high-quality titles. Evolution takes time, and perhaps laying a stable foundation before making bold leaps is the more pragmatic approach.

Two Point Museum proves that Two Point Studios has found a formula that is both replicable and refreshingly unique. By selecting a new theme for each installment while retaining the core gameplay, they manage to bring just enough new twists to keep things interesting, offering a steady but limited stream of delightful surprises.

Gears Tactics delivers a very deep dimension of strategy while maintaining the wild style of the Gears series. It keeps me engaged for multiple hours. But at the end of the day, repetitive missions make me feel bored.

The Xbox version of Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition retains all of the game's content while making huge changes to the operating system and user interface. These changes have greatly reduced the startup threshold and improved the game experience. It is not only a very successful version, but also an excellent answer to the "can console play RTS" question.

OPUS: Prism Peak is a work that offers strength to those at a low point. It shows a strong understanding of a Ghibli-like visual style, with a carefully polished structure, and its photography mechanics blend seamlessly with the narrative to create a smooth, film-like and comforting experience.

Despite the story of Darksider Genesis is pretty mediocre, the combat system and puzzle-solving design are impressive. With a beautiful Diablo-like aesthetic, it also presents us a fascinating world.

Whether you're chasing pure sensory gratification or curious about the cutting edge of Balatro-likes, RACCOIN: Coin Pusher Roguelike is a solid pick. Its core mechanics are finely tuned, making it an excellent choice for players seeking a relaxing, satisfying sense of numerical escalation. That said, once the initial novelty wears off, the repetition between runs becomes difficult to ignore.

As an innovative work, Sherlock Holmes Chapter One still has some problems, but it doesn't have much to criticize in terms of overall gameplay and storyline. In the category of "Detective and Mystery Solving", such a game is rare for the players today.

Stray is a short and sweet game, with a unique and immersive adventure from a cat's point of view under a beautiful cyberpunk vision. The story of this lonely city and stray cats will linger on.

If you've been too timid to play horror games but have been looking for a chance to experience it once, Fatal Frame:Maiden of BlackWater might be a good choice. Sexy characters, wonderful plots, unique combat system, and an excellent Japanese-style psychological horror atmosphere make this work unique in the field of horror games.

If you were once hooked on the SHINOBI series or enjoy challenging side-scrolling action games focused on combat and difficult platforming, SHINOBI: Art of Vengeance delivers a nostalgic thrill that's enough to overlook its rough design.

Questions like how to reconcile with oneself, how to pursue personal growth, and how to decide the fate of different versions of "you" lie at the heart of The Alters - and they are exactly the kind of existential territory 11 bit studios excels at exploring.

tERRORbane is a creative meta game where bugs are no longer annoying, they are cooked with care and served as a main course. Different from traditional games, the joy brought by tERRORbane comes from the absurd and humorous ideas of the producers.

Acting as a monster and hunting human beings are exciting. Carrion definitely worth trying if you are interested in the reverse-horror games.

Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth was expected to be a grand finale for Kazuma Kiryu, but it didn't deliver a satisfying ending. Even with improved combat, new minigames, and a Hawaiian setting, the story doesn't live up to expectations.

Stranger Of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin is a canon installment in the Final Fantasy franchise, but with the shell of Nioh. Its map, process and task modeling have clearly borrowed from Nioh, but it still seamlessly maintains the career and combat systems of the Final Fantasy tradition, which brings us a core gameplay style markedly distinguished from Nioh. The moderate death penalty and abundant skills make the exploring process less "painful". Similar to Nioh, however, the gaming experience after you have cleared the main story is a repetitious process of killing mob and collecting loots and does not feel like a hard-core action game. The game's graphics are unremarkable and its optimization has certain problems, but these do not significantly impact the gaming experience. The game is set in the world background of Final Fantasy 1 and integrates the elements of the previous installments of the Final Fantasy franchise, so its design will feel quite nostalgic to the die-hard fans of the franchise.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is an enjoyable adventure game, but it has some flaws in the combat system. The gameplay and system design are based on mature industry standards, with platforming, exploration, combat, and puzzle-solving all present and tightly interconnected. However, the game's performance issues result in a significant gap between what players expect and what they experience during the game.

After the predecessor set up a huge sale with the beauty of Rysa, this sequel did not intend to make quick money or be perfunctory. The more interesting gameplay design has brought me a lot of different experiences. The process of collecting clues in the maze and piecing together the grand story behind the ruins made me addicted to it.

South of the Circle uses a unique narrative style and a very artistic way to tell a story about the Cold War that is good for us to savor.

Two Point Campus keeps the playful style of Two Point Hospital while making enough new changes to the gameplay. It is not the best simulation game, but certainly the one with a unique vibe.

Final battle makes one small but solid step from AOT 2. The performance on PS4 is poor, nonetheless, it is still worth spending some time for AOT and anime game lovers.

From many perspectives, Ashen reminds me of Dark Souls series, such as the combat systems, game settings and the story design. It does have some unique thoughts, like the AI teammate, but overall it doesn't make its own characteristics.

After nearly two years of updates, V Rising has evolved into a content-rich survival builder. It not only faithfully recreates the various characteristics of vampires in its gameplay, but also creates a unique combat experience, making it a remarkably solid survival building game.

FATAL FURY: City of the Wolves almost perfectly distills the essence of classic SNK fighting philosophy into a modern framework. REV moves, SPG health bars, the Heat system, feints, cancels, multi-line combat - these hallmarks have been faithfully carried forward. However, its high skill ceiling and a streamlined design that paradoxically makes it harder to grasp the core mechanics mean this isn't a game that just anyone can pick up and enjoy effortlessly.

Whether you're a seasoned gamer who enjoys fast-paced shooting games like Doom, or a newcomer drawn to the Warhammer 40K IP, Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun is sure to deliver an exhilarating shoot 'em up experience.

As an open-world game, Starlink lacks of creation, which probably reminds you some former Ubisoft games. But still, it has great combat experience, and allows you to explore different planets with your starship. So if you are a fan of space theme, Starlink is obviously a good choice for you.

Senua's Saga: Hellblade II remains a maverick in the gaming world. While its gameplay has not evolved from the first game, it has expanded on the aspects that set it apart from mainstream games: more realistic graphics, more moving performances, and an even more immersive depiction of psychosis that resonates deeply with players. This interactive film style game is very niche and I don't think everyone will appreciate it. However, there must be creators who make such games, and these games must exist. They allow those who live in a different reality every day to be seen and understood by more people.

As a Warhammer 40K game featuring the Space Marines as protagonists, Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 excels in both detail and visual impact, catering perfectly to the tastes of 40K fans. Additionally, it inherits the refined gameplay mechanics from World War Z, making this game impressive not only in its quality but also in its faithful representation of the Warhammer 40K universe.