If nostalgia drives you to visit this particular kingdom, you'll not likely regret the time spend there. If your good old days weren't brimming with games of this nature, it's more difficult to appreciate the take-no-prisoners challenge and overlook the limitations.

It's not terrible, but it's also a hard one to recommend, and I get the feeling it's one that we may revisit in the future and update the score for, when it's all patched and tightened up.

Despite the touted inclusion of full 3D environments and longer cases, 3 Dimensions of Murder mostly covers well-worn territory, and it's still a breeze to play through.

Don't go into Shadows of New York expecting a choose-your-own-adventure mystery, no matter how much it looks like one. This is a casual dip into another world, a game with big ideas that it doesn't quite follow through on pursuing, but which remains moderately compelling thanks to some strong writing, interesting characters, and gorgeous art. It's far from the definitive Vampire: The Masquerade experience, but it's worth spending at least one long, dark night with.

Despite its rewarding exploration and intriguing story, Death's Gambit is consistently held back by its combat, which lacks the responsiveness you need when fighting enemies that can kill you in seconds.

It feels timid. It feels safe. It feels like the last remaining breath before the possible sequel, as if Destiny is standing still and waiting for inspiration to arrive, rather than going out to find it.

Chameleon isn't going to replace any of your favorite DS puzzle games anytime soon, but it's not a bad puzzler in its own right.

Enjoyable highs interspersed with crushing lows make NeverDead as inventive as it is frustrating.

Chronicles rests on being pretty, adding new mechanics over time but flattening the pace and allowing exploits and glitches to suck out the rising tension.

Don't go into Shadows of New York expecting a choose-your-own-adventure mystery, no matter how much it looks like one. This is a casual dip into another world, a game with big ideas that it doesn't quite follow through on pursuing, but which remains moderately compelling thanks to some strong writing, interesting characters, and gorgeous art. It's far from the definitive Vampire: The Masquerade experience, but it's worth spending at least one long, dark night with.

Mario Party Superstars certainly provides the highs that the series is capable of, but unless you're restricted to playing on the Switch Lite or itching to play with a Pro Controller, there's a better version of this game available for you and your loved ones to play in Super Mario Party.

This simplistic, old-fashioned role-playing game sends you adventuring around the world but never manages to feel like an adventure.

It feels timid. It feels safe. It feels like the last remaining breath before the possible sequel, as if Destiny is standing still and waiting for inspiration to arrive, rather than going out to find it.

Chronicles' passive pacing is a shame, because the pieces, combat notwithstanding, are mostly strong. Furthermore, the exquisite environments craft a setting that makes me eager to see the two upcoming sequels--Chronicles: India, and Chronicles: Russia--in action.

Shadows of New York has dramatically increased the quality of its backgrounds from the first game, with more details and animated elements. They look excellent, and while there's a lot of repetition (and many returning locations from the previous game), the strong art and great, distinctive character designs help to keep the game engaging. The soundtrack, composed by Polish artist Resina, really stands out, too. It's equal parts gorgeous and menacing, and the brooding, moody tracks that play under all the game's beautiful images set the tone beautifully. The music is used to great effect, setting the tone and making it easier to picture actions that are being described in the script but not depicted. Every time I loaded the game up, I'd take a moment to enjoy the tremendous main title theme before starting.

The parts of Tomb Raider that make it really fantastic--uncovering the mystery of ancient ruins, solving impressive challenge tombs, and exploring exotic environments--are still here in Shadow, and they are just as outstanding as they have always been. But the core mechanics that have been with the series for half a decade are starting to show their limitations.

As a scavenger sim Spectrobes absolutely succeeds, but scouring every inch of planet after digital planet will quickly wear thin for most people.

Slingshot adds three good missions to XCOM: Enemy Unknown, but too easily blends into the dozens of hours that surround it.

Viking lives in its atmosphere, so it's appreciated that most of the game is a spirited romp. For now, that experience is mangled by dozens of technical hiccups and anachronisms. At its heart lies an earnest drive to recreate a slice of Viking culture, and those looking for just that niche will find nothing better. But for everyone else, it's impossible to recommend until it's given some major help. There's a lot to be gained from stepping into the 8th century, but be prepared to have your journey hindered by bugs.

Shadows of New York has dramatically increased the quality of its backgrounds from the first game, with more details and animated elements. They look excellent, and while there's a lot of repetition (and many returning locations from the previous game), the strong art and great, distinctive character designs help to keep the game engaging. The soundtrack, composed by Polish artist Resina, really stands out, too. It's equal parts gorgeous and menacing, and the brooding, moody tracks that play under all the game's beautiful images set the tone beautifully. The music is used to great effect, setting the tone and making it easier to picture actions that are being described in the script but not depicted. Every time I loaded the game up, I'd take a moment to enjoy the tremendous main title theme before starting.

Ratatouille is a sufficient, if unfulfilling, platformer.

A strong protagonist and enticing visuals make Venetica worth playing, but problems with the questing and combat drag this role-playing game down.

Fun yet flawed, the postapocalyptic Ravaged is a ghost town.

While certainly an improvement over the previous game, FIFA Street 3 is too easy and too repetitive to have lasting appeal.

TMNT has some legitimately neat platforming sequences, but it's more frustrating than a kid-oriented game ought to be, and the combat is completely brain-dead.

Hardcore Godzilla fans will appreciate seeing the decent renderings of some of their favorite monsters here, but they're unlikely to be terribly impressed by the action itself.

Combat performance, visual grandeur, and longer load times aside, however, this is still the same game as it exists on other platforms. The memorable characters who inhabit the world and their interesting stories of living under a bizarre dystopia of corporate oppression are still here. The companions you pick up along the way are still as endearing and fleshed out as they are in other versions. The game's layered, branching, and interweaving questlines are still intact, and are a fascinating thing to slowly pull apart as you continue your journey. The beauty of The Outer Worlds is that you don't need to be the galaxy's most competent gunslinger in order to get the most out of it. If you have the means to play it on another platform, do so. But if you don't, there's still a great, modern RPG underneath the exterior.

The makings of a good Spider-Man game are here, but awkward controls prevent Web of Shadows from reaching full swing.

The huge assortment of characters, stories, costumes, and other aspects of Dragon Ball lore cannot hide how shallow and uninspired the fighting mechanics are.

Once you get past the novelty, there's nothing to keep you playing Real World Golf.

NBA 2K21 shows that the lone basketball sim we have now has largely stagnated. It's a full package, for sure, but one that demonstrates little-to-no motivation to meaningfully improve upon itself. That doesn't take away from the strong foundation that makes NBA 2K a fun and rewarding time. However, when you go through the same grind and the same process with only superficial changes, you just get burnt out faster than years prior. If ball is still life, NBA 2K21 is as good a version as any to pick, although even the greatest ballers need a rest.

If the basic premise of gathering folk stories across a version of 1930s America strongly appeals to you, then Where the Water Tastes Like Wine is worth a look, but it's probably not worth finishing.

Alpha Protocol's astounding intricacies are tarnished by bugs, clumsy gameplay mechanics, and rough production values.

This movie-inspired shooter is fun for a while, but the action becomes repetitive long before you reach the end of the six-hour story.

Making the journey to Shadow of the Tomb Raider's peaks is certainly an attractive goal, but like the challenging terrain Lara needs to traverse, the path there is getting rougher and more unpredictable.

Some problematic menus pale in comparison to Warframe's real problem: a pervasive tendency toward repetition.

Essentially a turn-based series of minigames. It's deeper and more enjoyable than you might expect from that description, but ultimately it gets somewhat repetitive and can be completed rather quickly and easily.

Underdome Riot is heavy on challenge and light on rewards. Only diehard teams of maxed-out mercs need apply.

This psychedelic puzzle-laden action adventure displays plenty of promise, but repetitive combat ensures that it falls well short of its potential.

This port of the PSP game fares poorly on the PS2 and claims the title of worst Ratchet & Clank game available for the aging console.

Short games aren't inherently flawed, but Somerville needed a bit more time to convey its major themes. The scope of the alien invasion story looks at both macro and micro relationships among people in ways that only end up scratching the surface of saying something interesting, and though it builds up an interesting universe that leaves me with questions regarding its alien overlords, I was surprised to find in myself an indifference toward finding the truth that's out there.

Dying Light 2 is a perplexing game. Its story and characters are headache-inducing, and it appears to lack polish in many areas. But even a dozen hours after I rolled credits, I've found myself going back to the game to do another parkour challenge, rummage through another abandoned science lab, or just see if I can get from Point A to Point B without ever hitting the ground. It's rough around the edges and it asks players to invest a lot in its weakest element, but once you realize the story, like gravity, is only going to pull you down, you can begin to defy it and enjoy the things Dying Light 2 actually does well.

Wall-E is overflowing with charm, but the simple gameplay makes the experience fall flat.

Ultimately it gets somewhat repetitive and can be completed rather quickly and easily.

The monsters may look interesting, but slaying beasts is way too easy in this forgettable role-playing game.

The game's midi-chlorian counts may not be through the roof, but not every bird needs to be a Jedi Master to have value in this galaxy.

Inazuma Eleven is a charming RPG with a lot going on, but it doesn't offer a great game of football.

Spider-Man: Edge of Time tells an enjoyably absurd time-hopping tale, but stepping into the tights of its two heroes doesn't feel as empowering as it should.

Utterly run of the mill, completely middle of the road. Its flaws may not be glaring, but there isn't a single aspect of the game that truly shines through.

Spider-Man: Edge of Time tells an enjoyably absurd time-hopping tale, but stepping into the tights of its two heroes doesn't feel as empowering as it should.

Easy controls and various activities don't mask the waiting needed to get that big catch.

There's a lot of potential in the ideas seeded in New Dawn, but there isn't enough room for many of them to breathe and feel fully realized.

The absolutely awful camera control that all but ruins the game. But despite these very apparent flaws in the action portion of the game, the turn-based strategy portion is somewhat enjoyable while it lasts.

Stardrone's vibrant, physics-driven arcade action suffers from difficulty spikes and frustrating design elements.

The visual improvements and additional characters layered atop the Devil May Cry 4 Special Edition can't conceal its bloated structure. This is, without a doubt, the best this stylish action romp has looked and felt, but just because you can gussy up an old game, doesn't always mean that you should.

When Satellite Reign is on and all the parts decide they want to work together, it is a blast. Infiltrating a base without setting off any alarms and stealing new guns and money from under the enemy's nose is tense and satisfying, and you have to be willing to take risks to succeed. I just wish you didn't have to slog through the uninviting early hours and the game's regularly busted AI to find those thrills.

NASCAR 08 isn't a bad game; in fact, it's fun once you get the hang of it. Its biggest problem is that it's not noticeably better than last year's game and there aren't any compelling new features. If you own any NASCAR game from the past few years, you might as well stick with that one.

There's a lot of potential in the ideas seeded in New Dawn, but there isn't enough room for many of them to breathe and feel fully realized.

The limitation on cooperative play is the game's biggest disappointment, so here's hoping that Microsoft Studios has more multiplayer levels in mind for possible downloadable content.

If you're dying to see how Vergil fares against the Order of the Sword or feel the need to test the extreme difficulty, take the leap. Just be warned that some aspects of the game would have been better left in the past.

The game's poor graphical performance really gets in the way of the game's cool trick system, and the end result is undeniably tarnished.

A big, loud, shallow action game that severely lacks in content.

Detective Pikachu Returns is charming and well-made enough for what it is, but that is a mystery game made for younger readers. Its setting, story, and mechanics are all geared toward gently introducing the uninitiated to mystery tropes with a soft-touch approach, and that makes it hard to recommend for any age group above tweens. There's some satisfaction to be had in seeing the story unfold, but mostly this is a game made to be played by or with kids, not to make you feel like a kid again.

Max: The Curse of Brotherhood benefits immensely from attractive art design, and that is supplemented by a variety of puzzles that are initially quite satisfying before finally wearing out their welcome near the end. Consider taking the plunge if you're itching to dive into another pretty platformer, but otherwise you're probably better off waiting for a different curse to come along.

Ghost in the Sheet may be more traditional than it first appears, but this spooky adventure still offers challenging puzzles amid a creepy atmosphere.

Like visiting your hometown after years of absence. Everything's the same, yet off somehow. As you visit all the same places and exchange words with old friends, you're faced with an uncomfortable duality. On one hand, you get the closure of knowing how it all turned out, but on the other, you wonder what could have been, making you simultaneously satisfied and unsettled by the reality that this is the end.

While this Special Edition provides slight combat tweaks and additional characters to toy with, there's just not enough mechanical or architectural variation to justify the fluff. As a result, the endless combat rooms and recycled scenarios can be exhausting.

There's compelling dungeon-crawling action to be found here, hiding amid tedious puzzles and an awkward transfer from the DS.

It's not that your time with Kraven Manor won't be well spent. There's fun to be had and there are scary things to jump at, but this short adventure comes up shy of other great first-person horror games from recent years.

And it's a testament to the quality of Halo games throughout the years that Halo: The Master Chief Collection is an attractive package, despite the massive problems with online multiplayer.

River City Saga: Three Kingdoms isn't as revolutionary as River City Ransom or as subversive and modernized as River City Girls. It exists in a middle ground, with loads of combat options and modern quality-of-life conveniences presented in a gameplay style reminiscent of the original NES game. The Three Kingdoms setting is a cute and clever way to contextualize the concept, making for a breezy little homage adventure.

With the generous post-launch support that Payday 2 received over years, only time will tell if the same treatment can address the glaring issues with Payday 3's current progression system and evident lack of content when compared to its previous iteration. But it has established a strong foundation for the new, elaborate heists that it has drastically improved upon, inciting you to play Payday in ways you couldn't in the past. If you're more concerned with just having a good time pulling off the perfect robbery with some friends, Payday 3 features rich new challenges and satisfying stealth objectives to keep you entertained for some time. But if you need tangible rewards to keep you around after you've experienced Payday 3's limited number of heists, then its unrewarding grind might keep its limited loot behind a vault door you aren't willing to wait around to crack open.

The ability to alter terrain isn't enough to save Fracture from becoming the latest run-of-the-mill shooter.

The concept of The Longest Five Minutes is undeniably intriguing, and its retro-styled visuals, quirky personalities and dialogue, and moments of inspired, emotional storytelling give it a lot of inherent charm. But charm can only go so far to make up for a game’s flaws, and far too often, The Longest Five Minutes falls victim to stereotypical old-school JRPG drudgery like endless random encounters and annoying dungeons--the exact sort of thing it wants to deconstruct. Though its ambition is admirable, it ultimately doesn’t live up to the promise of its clever premise.

The role-playing elements are lightweight, and while the combat can be flashy, it's also pretty uncomplicated. It can be fun for a while, but monotony eventually sets in, and you find yourself wondering why this technically modest game is on the PlayStation 3 in the first place.

Necropolis feels like a missed opportunity. Even though the game offers intense combat and an appealingly bizarre setting, there are just too many problems and limitations for it to hold your interest for very long.

It's important to remember that The Long Dark is just waking up from early access. It's cold, hungry, and huddled somewhere under a rock face, but it's just gotten the fire started. Another three story episodes are still due, so there is time to turn things around for Will and Astrid. However, because the best parts of The Long Dark are already alive and well in survival mode, perhaps Wintermute's weak beginning is reason enough to stick to what's worked for the game all along, blemishes and all.

I don't want to seem entirely negative on Puzzle Quest 3, as what is included in the game is enjoyable. I did have fun matching wits with the game's match-3 system, and there were moments where I snatched a victory from the jaws of defeat that thrilled me. However, when you hold it up to its predecessors, this game doesn't bring anything new to the table. It's the same Puzzle Quest we've seen before, only now there are limits to certain modes, microtransactions, and a story that's barely there.. The stripping away of things like explorable towns and non-linear world maps skew the puzzle/RPG balance hard toward the "puzzle" part, making it feel less like a RPG that uses puzzles as its battle system and more like a typical match-3 game with RPG elements added on as an afterthought. I had hoped for a grand quest, but what I got only left me puzzled.

Hot Wheels Unleashed 2: Turbocharged does make improvements over the original, but it is still largely the same game. The added depth to the racing itself is where it shines the most and the new vehicle classes provide a nice complexity and incentive to use a wider variety of Hot Wheels. The challenges and rewards are disappointing and the story doesn't add much to the campaign, but most of your time will be spent burning plastic on orange tracks, which is still fun.

Yooka-Laylee’s best and worst aspects come directly from its predecessor. Despite attempts at modernizing the formula, its style of gameplay is still outdated, and it doesn’t stay challenging or interesting for long as a result. But if you’re looking for a faithful return to the Banjo-Kazooie formula, Yooka-Laylee certainly delivers--from the font to the music to the wealth of collectibles, it’s worthy of the title of spiritual successor.

Babel Rising doesn't rise to the level that you might hope for from a game with such a cool concept.

Like a donut, it's sweet and satisfying, but you're acutely aware that there's a hole in the middle of it.

This expansive arcade racer may be ambitious, but it doesn't nail all of the basics.

This online RPG offers some witty humor and short-lived fun, but you'll be ready to move on after a scant few hours.

Disneyland Adventures does a remarkable job of replicating the park and all its charms, but flawed controls put a damper on this excursion.

Blades of Time overcomes hurdles obstacles of its own creation with the strength of its novel time-twisting abilities.

Eat Lead's humor carries its lackluster gameplay for only so long.

All of which is such a shame, because there is a fun team-based sport tucked away in Roller Champions. For the first few hours, I had a great time with it--it's just that the uniformity in regards to its maps and mechanics eventually makes each match start to feel a bit samey. I can see myself picking it up every once in a while for an enjoyable bout around the rink, but there's just not enough meat to the bones of this live-service game to make it a part of my daily rotation.

Rambo: The Video Game does a solid job of breaking potential monotony with various alternate battle methods.

Blades of Time overcomes hurdles obstacles of its own creation with the strength of its novel time-twisting abilities.

It's a decent freshman effort, but a lack of gameplay details and multiplayer features and substandard visuals limit the game's appeal to die-hard MLB fans only.

The PC version's straightforward nature and bungled multiplayer options make the game a passable experience at best when compared with other first-person shooters for the PC.

Storm of Zehir tries to be the square peg in Neverwinter Nights 2's round hole, with predictably lackluster results.

Magic Ball's short-lived thrills are anything but magical, but they make for a decent distraction.

Tales fans will enjoy the familiar faces, but for everyone else, Radiant Mythology is just another formulaic RPG.

BloodRayne 2 was perfectly fine on consoles, despite the game's problems, but a significant amount of time has passed, and the notion of the exact same game from last year coming out--now on the PC, with serious control issues and graphical hangups--is kind of an offensive one.

As Mario & Luigi: Dream Team and Paper Mario: Sticker Star proved, Nintendo has a knack for showcasing new and inventive ideas in both series. Paper Jam effectively relies (and often coasts) on its novel crossover appeal.

Rime's artistry is unquestionable. Each world is enchanting in its own way, from the naturalistic peace of the first to the abstract doom of the last. Its soundtrack is similarly beautiful, capable of evoking wonder, tension, and fear in equal measure. But when compared to its influences like Ico, Shadow of the Colossus, and Journey, it doesn't hold up too well. Consistent navigation problems, some frustrating puzzles, fiddly platforming, and severe frame rate dips make Rime feel like a well-dressed tribute act.