The game is simply designed and has a few annoying quirks, but it's got a genuine charm that helps to balance it out.

The first Death Stranding was eerily prescient. Releasing in 2019, it was impossible to divorce it from the COVID-19 pandemic that followed a year later, the parallels between preppers living in bunkers and people struggling to find ways to connect with others reflecting a period of quarantine and uncertainty about the future. By contrast, Death Stranding 2 is less precise and clear about what it wants to say; it seems committed to making you ponder many things at once, inviting different takeaways. Its story touches on topics like the increasing harms of climate change, how our everyday actions are being automated with each passing day, the damaging presence of guns, the clash between governments and privately owned entities, and the importance of helping others in any way we can. If the sequel is prescient of anything, it is that fixation on the past binds us to repeat history, no matter how much we try to pretend otherwise.

Injustice provides a complex fighter with some unique twists, but is found wanting in features that have become commonplace in its contemporaries.

Despite some unremarkable additions to the standard Ryu ga Gotoku template, by the end of Judgment it's hard not to feel like you want to spend dozens upon dozens more hours with Yagami and friends.

De Blob 2 has an infectious feel-good vibe, but some frustrations cramp this platformer's funky style.

The on-field action is as exciting as ever, but off-the-field problems drag NCAA Football 12 down to the turf.

With a few more weapon types and vehicles that actually worked, Section 8 could have been a lot more exciting. As it is, this is a satisfying take on the genre that makes up in fun what it lacks in innovation.

Appropriately dreamlike with its narrative that shifts from one strange moment to the next, Silence bounds from powerful emotion to powerful emotion in its last couple of hours, and there's a sense here that these are the feelings that developer Daedalic wanted to stir the first time around.

Older audiences probably won't be engaged by it, but Ty 2 should be easily appreciated by juvenile platformer fans.

Smoke and Mirrors feels like a necessary bridge spanning the impactful first episode and the events portrayed in the episode three preview that concludes this episode. It smolders more than it burns, though in some sense, that's an appropriate trajectory for Bigby's ongoing investigation.

Like some of the ghosts in The Sixth Sense, Elena's spectral aides are in desperate need of closure.

If you can stand to look at a lesser version of Doom's once captivating world, you'll find that the game plays well enough on Switch so long as you've got a TV in front of you and a Pro Controller in hand. There's nothing else like it on a portable system, but be prepared to face a handful of compromises, especially if you're used to playing on other platforms. It's an impressive port that begs you to consider gameplay over graphics, and it succeeds more often than not.

Fear The Spotlight is far from the scariest game you could play this Halloween season, but what may be read as a detriment for some is instead its best quality for others. With classically designed but more contained puzzles and combat-free monster encounters, it's a game that utilizes genre touchstones in manners meant to onboard new and/or younger players. Mechanically, it's simple, and the story doesn't come together until you've unlocked and finished the second campaign, but its combination of old and new horror-game design elements makes it a creepy and clever introduction to what is my favorite genre, and what may prove to be yours, too.

An unapologetic homage to beloved Japanese RPGs that plays well but takes few risks.

An action adventure game that absolutely permeates with potential, but Galleon just didn't come together as a fully cohesive or entertaining experience.

An adorable city-building simulation with very light combat and alchemy elements, Atelier Annie isn't very difficult, but its' more engaging than the sum of its parts.

This somewhat scary sequel is a solid shooter, but it can't keep pace with its lauded predecessor.

Trials Rising maintains the engrossing, challenging, and occasionally slapstick gameplay from past entries in the series, building upon it in small ways with a smartly implemented school to teach fundamental skills and modifiers to make events worth revisiting. But it also doesn't fix issues from the past, either. Its track editor remains uninviting to learn, and the more outrageous stunt events and course obstacles frustratingly lean more into random luck than calculated skill. Trials Rising isn't a reinvention of the franchise--it's an invitation to lose more hours to new exhilarating, technical, and ridiculous Trials courses.

Master of Illusion is a neat way for kids to learn how to perform simple magic tricks.

These faults are frustrating, mainly because they waste time, but they don't completely deter from Steelrising's unexpected charm. You can be cynical about Spiders' brazen inspiration of other Souls-like games--yes, it's derivative, and it's all too easy to get hung up on the similarities--but once you look past resemblances and notice the differences, you'll see all of the ways in which Steelrising stands out. From the disparate parts that make up its satisfying combat, to the wonderful setting and worldbuilding that meshes dark fantasy with alternative French history, there's much to enjoy in what sets Steelrising apart from its peers. It's one of the better Souls-likes in a now-crowded genre.

The enjoyable and derivative The Splatters proves that slime can get just as physical as any angry avians you might know.

There's a lot of fun to be had here, and with classic Nintendo characters backing up the action, World Tour is a thoroughly charming game too. What a shame, then, that it lacks the cohesion and refinement to make those sometimes-brilliant moments easier to digest and access.

The First Templar draws you in with delightful visuals and rhythmic combat, but technical foibles can lessen your fun.

Like the terrain if depicts, Far Cry 4 travels both high and low, representing the good, the bad, and ugly of video games all at once. It's awesome and messy and dumb and fun and annoying and gross and beautiful. Take any given adjective in your vocabulary, and chances are, it will in some way describe Far Cry 4.

With these changes, Massive Assault Network isn't so much a step forward as it is a step sideways--or even backward.

Though it features a few more annoying control restrictions than its console counterparts, it's still a solid platformer.

The PSP version of flOw doesn't add any new features, but it's well worth a look if you've never played any other version of the game.

Yet DC Universe Online tips its hand early on; in all too short a time, it stops offering any real surprises, remaining approachable but never wading too far from the shallow end of the pool.