This isometric shooter aptly imitates of the top-down original, but doesn't convincingly improve upon it.

There is no unifying theory of Everything. If the point is to invoke a sense of existentialist zen, it accomplishes that, but it subsequently undercuts the accomplishment with a sense of lame, abstract humor. If the point is to invent a wild playground where everything that exists has a self-centered consciousness all its own, it’s that as well--in which case, it's almost taking Alan Watts' ideas to Looney Tunes levels of ridiculousness. When those two elements are at odds, the game seems to lose all meaning.

This strategic RPG is ugly and frustrating--but it can also be a lot of fun.

Trash TV's puzzles and platforming might bear the heavy stamp of other games that came before it, but its endearing use of the conventions of CRT television paired with weapon-toting boob tubes does much to make up for such misgivings.

Despite the removal of the microtransactions, player progression is still largely tied to the randomized loot boxes--mitigating player agency and choice in multiplayer.

There are some really cool ideas at the heart of Resolutiion. You can sense the thought and care put into transposing philosophical thought into something that’s both playable and insightful. Unfortunately, the portion of the game that engages with those ideas is far too obscured and distant from the core story most players will see. It is still an interesting visual and, to a point, intellectual piece--wrestling with those ideas and their meaning can be its own reward. It's clear there's more to the experience, but so much of it is so out of reach, which diminishes Resolutiion’s impact.

The soaring bird that has long served as the metaphor for the Ace Combat pilot becomes a vulture fighting over highway carrion, looping away incautiously when the odd car passes a little too close, before returning again for a final few scraps of flesh.

It's strange to think of a bungled story leaving me so lukewarm on a Zelda game, even if it is a spin-off. But paying off its premise is the burden a prequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is tasked with. The main reason I dove into Age of Calamity is because I love its world and the history it tries to remember. So for a game to retread them and proclaim to have something new to say when its inspiration's most striking moments come from what it leaves unsaid is a big ask. But my problem with Age of Calamity isn't that it fails to live up to that responsibility. It's that it doesn't even try. It doesn't have the courage to see things through.

The Bureau: XCOM Declassified mirrors but never masters. When it gets down to the shallow shooting, it fares well, equipping you with some fun futuristic weapons and letting you go to town on nasty intergalactic intruders. But the game gets in its own way, stumbling when it seeks to siphon strategy mechanics into a formula that doesn't support them.

Despite the removal of the microtransactions, player progression is still largely tied to the randomized loot boxes--mitigating player agency and choice in multiplayer.

Combining beat-'em-up action with randomized levels and loot, Legend of Dungeon offers just enough variety to stem the tide of repetitive gameplay.

Doom II provided a crucial step in the evolution of the first-person shooter, but its outdated level design and gameplay mechanics don't entirely hold up today.

GEON is a simple puzzle game that's more generic than its title would lead you to believe.

Charming art design, an infectious soundtrack, and compelling weapon crafting supplement the standard action, but too much recycled content, irritating technical issues, and occasionally confounding design prevent the project from ever surpassing its inspiration. The result appeals to an old-school sensibility, but you'll need to overcome some unfortunate obstacles to see the appeal.

Bland humor and breezy action make Rabbids Travel in Time 3D a lighthearted yet lackluster platformer.

Virtua Tennis is too easy and inconsistent to entertain you for long.

Heaven's Vault excels in creating a well-constructed, branching narrative, but expect long sections of it to feel like a slog.

Mount & Blade has some innovative ideas, but still needs a lot of work.

Dead by Daylight executes the concept of a competitive horror game well, but only to a point.

Code Vein adopts the Souls-like formula in its structure, presenting a familiar cycle of progression and basic combat similarities, and there are some interesting ideas here, too, built around the use of various Blood Codes and their distinct Gifts. You can see the fragments of a fantastic game hidden within these systems and its meaty combat feedback, but the mundanity of its enemies and the effect they have on nullifying the combat's enjoyment prevent Code Vein from ever realizing its potential.

Despite the removal of the microtransactions, player progression is still largely tied to the randomized loot boxes--mitigating player agency and choice in multiplayer.

Heaven's Vault excels in creating a well-constructed, branching narrative, but expect long sections of it to feel like a slog.

The game is friendlier for newer players than some of its in-genre siblings, however. While League of Legends keeps rune slots locked until certain account levels, Infinite Crisis gives characters completed Augment/Mod kits they can use even at level 1.

Go Go Break Steady 's mixture of two gameplay styles sounds interesting, but it doesn't work out as well as you'd hope.

Code Vein adopts the Souls-like formula in its structure, presenting a familiar cycle of progression and basic combat similarities, and there are some interesting ideas here, too, built around the use of various Blood Codes and their distinct Gifts. You can see the fragments of a fantastic game hidden within these systems and its meaty combat feedback, but the mundanity of its enemies and the effect they have on nullifying the combat's enjoyment prevent Code Vein from ever realizing its potential.

Alien: Isolation provides us a glimpse into a future that holds the Alien game you've always wanted. It is not, however, the vessel that carries you there.

Though Atelier Rorona: The Alchemist of Arland is a charming adventure, its stark simplicity and annoying deadlines narrow its appeal.

Pathway looks and sounds great, it nails the pulpy attitude it's aiming for, and, of course, it's always fun to shoot Nazis. But the more I played, the more the cracks started to show, the more samey it all became, and the more uncomfortable some aspects of its design made me feel.