If you're a big fan of Harry Potter and Quidditch, you'll definitely have some fun with Quidditch Champions. The game has huge potential, but I fear that it may be a multiplayer that doesn't last long. All in all, it's worth trying while it's free for PlayStation Plus members, but maybe not if you need to pay full price.

NBA 2K25 delivers an exceptional experience for seasoned players and franchise newcomers. With its updated engines, animations, graphics, sounds, and presentation, the game offers an incredibly realistic experience. However, I recommend that PC players hold onto their consoles for now due to prevalent cheating and poor optimization, which can lead to frustration. Moreover, the absence of crossplay with other platforms significantly limits the player base. Unfortunately, the microtransactions are more aggressive than last year, potentially providing an unfair advantage to those who spend money on online game modes. Despite these challenges, the game's visuals, gameplay realism, and overall enjoyment are truly impressive if you can overlook the downsides.

A unique and well-crafted blend of genres with entertaining characters that barely misses the landing for its endgame.

Whether you love Italian folklore, architecture, music, or just want to explore a new souls-like, Enotria: The Last Song, is a title you’ll want to pick up. It features easy to pick up combat mechanics, a spin on parrying, and a fully detailed world filled with foes to defeat.

Madden NFL 25 truly brings the sports experience to life due to its impressive visuals, enhanced presentation, new commentary teams, and improved physics from the BOOM Tech system. However, this is about all the new standout features Madden 25 offers, as all game modes' core mechanics remain the same, leading to a disappointing experience that makes it hard to justify the hefty price tag.

Black Myth: Wukong is not the safe, samey, hyper-polished souls-like I expected it to be. This is great news for those who will jell with its style, but it will stop it from reaching mass appeal. The surface-level exploration and awkward invisible walls are frustrating, as is the lacklustre story. Hopefully, Wukong’s originality will shine brighter than its pitfalls.

Dustborn is an interesting game for people with an acquired taste. It succeeds as an art project but fails in many regards as a video game.

Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn is a fun little title for fans of Action-RPGs with not much roleplaying to speak of. It’s far from perfect, but with a runtime of 15 to 20 hours, being a pleasant diversion is enough to earn its keep.

#Blud is a hard game to like. Mechanically, it’s plagued with issues that I hadn’t seen in an indie game since 2013’s Ittle Dew. The story is hard to love, too. It’s easy to blame all its faults on the inadequate game that surrounds it, but #Blud’s story is fully capable of undermining itself. That said, if you take the game as it is and ignore those problems, you’ll find that #Blud has plenty to give back. Whether you’ll find this exchange worthy, it’s up to you.

Kamaeru: A Frog Refuge is a uniquely fun farming sim fueled by heart, a message of conservation, and a whole lot of frogs.

Astor: Blade of the Monolith is an evocative and charming hack-and-slash adventure with plenty of bright ideas but sub-par mechanical execution.

Killer Klowns is a faithful adaptation, but nostalgia cannot compensate for lacking features that other asymmetrical horrors do better.

Charming presentation and interesting investigation mechanics can't make up for the underwhelming story of Duck Detective: The Secret Salami.

Indika is a creative, thoughtful narrative game with puzzle and platforming elements. However, it's not a title for the average gamer.

Alone in the Dark (2024) revisits the original 3D Survival Horror with respect for the 1992 game and the games inspired by it.

For me, Outcast: A New Beginning was really a tug-of-war between “it’s fun,” and “it’s driving me crazy.” While some features stood out to me, like the jetpack and weapon modules, they really couldn’t make up for the lackluster characters, a map that was just too big, and bugs that ruin the experience. Fans of the franchise may want to give it a try to compare to the classic experience as it’s undoubtedly a step up in terms of mechanics. However, it’s not necessarily something I would want to play again myself, which lowers my rating for the game overall, and honestly, restricts me from recommending it to others.

Ultimately, Banishers Ghosts of New Eden satisfied my Vampyr expectations, which is a compliment in and of itself.

Naruto x Boruto Ultimate Ninja Storm Connections is built on the solid foundation of Storm games that came before it. But it fails to truly set itself apart. Between the lack of innovation, numerous issues at launch, and average story modes, Naruto x Boruto ends up feeling unfinished. While the fighting is fun in its own right, this game still needs a fair amount of polish.

Lords of the Fallen is a satisfying action RPG and a remarkable soft reboot of a franchise that nobody thought had a future. There’s so much more soul here than the 2014 original, along with plenty of depth for those who want to engage deeply with its systems. This includes the fully malleable customization, in which classes can equip any gear once the stat requirements are met, essentially morphing mid-playthrough. It’s unfortunate that a genuinely great game is sullied by a severe lack of polish.

My overall impressions of Cities Skylines 2 at launch are that it’s a fun game that makes some head-scratching decisions at times. It doesn’t feel like a whole step forward, leaving a lot by the roadside on its journey to 2.0. Invariably, there will be loads of DLC, and modding is coming sometime after launch. This city will grow, just as our old hometown did over time. Though I’m having a lot of fun with Cities Skylines 2 and learning these new city streets, I can’t help but long for my old stomping grounds while playing it. At least right now.

All things considered, developer Creatures has done a bang-up job at solidifying Detective Pikachu‘s niche in just two entries. What’s more, the new installment optimizes the signature real-world atmosphere with a clean image on Switch systems. Those looking to explore the world of Pokemon through a new set of eyes will surely appreciate the clever twists and turns of Detective Pikachu Returns, now available to play.

Could it be improved over time with updates? Absolutely. The previous game has a long history of improving implementations and walking back on changes. As a fan of the series, this regrettably feels par for the course. However, a new entry should have a strong start and not be equal parts fun and frustrating. It could be fantastic in a year if not less, but right now it’s just squandered potential.

Overall, I can’t fault EA Sports for its efforts with EA FC 24. The developer has taken the bull by the horns and given longtime players of the franchise hope for the first time in a very long time. However, it’s only a slight improvement.

What makes NBA 2K24 all the more frustrating is that at its core, it’s a perfectly competent, if not exceptional, sports game. That’s especially true when compared to contemporaries such as FIFA (soon to be EA Sports FC) and Madden. Not only is the open-world adjacent MyCareer mode fun, but new modes such as Mamba Moments and the time-warping myNBA Eras also give you tons of mileage. But to get the absolute most out of it, you’re forced to pay extra. And that’s a hard pill to swallow.

Under the Waves is one of those games that you have to complain about, but overall you still like it. First of all, the game takes not so much the plot or gameplay as the atmosphere. Lamp retro futurism, stunningly beautiful water depths, excellent simulation of marine life, Stan's beautiful nightmares (no matter how strange it may sound) - and all this is accompanied by well-chosen music. The audio-visual series is on top, and thanks to him you forgive the game a lot. If you like nautical themes or just meditative projects where you don't have to rush and kill someone, take note of Under the Waves.

Blasphemous 2 is a challenging Souls-like Metroidvania, with a top-notch atmosphere. Unfortunately, it will also challenge your patience, given its confusing plot, intentional vagueness, and repetitive use of the same puzzle platforming mechanics.

Gord shows a lot of promise and is certainly enticing for those who like the genre. Unfortunately, it also needs a few improvements and tweaks, namely with unit behavior and pathing, to lessen any frustrations that you might experience.

While the game had its high points, there’s a lot of unexplored potential on the table. I found it hard to care about the people of the world, frequently becoming bored. I couldn’t buy into the story and immerse myself into the game as I’ve done with other games. Atlas Fallen isn’t a bad game — it’s just not an excellent one, either.