I can’t in good faith recommend KINGDOM HEARTS -HD 1.5+2.5 ReMIX- for a full price purchase given how they perform, even if you’re a fan. I played the Kingdom Hearts franchise on PS4, so I was ecstatic to be able to play them on my preferred platform, but other than the third entry and Fragmentary Passage, it just doesn’t seem to be easily done. I’d highly recommend a sale and having some patience if you want to dive into them, because they’re not for the faint of heart. It’s a damn shame, but I guess not every port’s gonna be a good one.

All in all, Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance is a massive improvement over the original, boasting two full-length story modes with multiple endings for you to go through and explore. Combined with a new bunch of demons, new music, new mechanics, and much more, this is absolutely the definitive way to play this game. Other than some minor level scaling problems that still remain from the base game, it is a phenomenal RPG that encourages multiple playthroughs with plenty of unique build variety as vast as the player is willing to look. I genuinely cannot possibly recommend Vengeance enough to fans of turn-based RPGs, or even fans of Persona that may still not be versed in what SMT has to offer differently. Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance releases for all major platforms on June 13th, and is well worth your money. Give it a shot, and I promise you won’t be disappointed.

The more you play, the more it feels like Raccoo Venture misses the mark just enough to make it feel like a bit of a letdown. It’s a solid game, but with a few tweaks it could’ve been a lot more.

If you go into Heading Out expecting a driving game, you’re probably going to be sorely disappointed. It’s something entirely different from that – and, improbably (given the different genres being thrown together), it works incredibly well.

It’s got a great idea but it doesn’t come close to living up to its promise, and you’re better off playing any number of other superhero games or XCOM-alikes.

I have no doubt that if you loved Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door the first time around there’s nothing here that will detract from your memories – and if you’re looking to check the game out for the first time, it’s probably aged better than most of its contemporaries, the occasionally slow pacing aside. But throughout my time with Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, I found my attention wandering and my interest waning far too much to be able to say I have the same amount of love for it as others do.

Games like Braid are best experienced when playing with little knowledge of gameplay and/or story. While the levels are challenging, this was one of the first games I remember feeling a true sense of accomplishment once each level was completed. It’s an inexpensive title that is worth the price of admission, and if you have played it before and may not be interested in revisiting it, I would encourage you to recommend it to newcomers so it can grow a new fanbase.

Even as a single-player adventure, Song of Nunu delivers. It may or may not be a faithful representation of the League of Legends characters, but it says a lot about the quality of this game that none of that really matters.

Every run in Dicefolk brings new adventures, and it’s a sign of how well it’s put together that you’ll definitely want to go on run after run after run.

All in all, Ghost of Tsushima is an incredible package for $60 and well worth your time if you have even a moderate-strength PC. I have zero doubt about you finding some sort of combination of settings to make the game run as smoothly as you’d like. Incredible ups to Nixxes and Sony for this port.

Ninja Theory really knows how to end a game, and Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II is no different. If you’re looking for a God Of War clone, this is not that game. With its unique presentation, cinematic narrative with amazing storytelling, game-changing visuals, beautiful sound design, and digestible length, Xbox Games Studios and Ninja Theory have a successful franchise on their hands. I want to continue to come back to Senua and go on these adventures. If you have Xbox Game Pass, go download this and Senua’s Sacrifice.

Is Metro Simulator 2 the worst game on the Switch? It’s quite possible. There’s a lot of shovelware to be found in the eShop, and I’ve only played a fraction of it, but there’s a strong argument to be made that Metro Simulator 2 might be the worst of the bunch.

It’s a solid spy adventure that deserves to be rediscovered, and it’s a reminder that even the seventh generation’s second- or third-tier games were still pretty exceptional.

Taxi Life wouldn’t be a very good job simulator if it tried to add in a bunch of glitz and glamor. But it’s still possible for a game to be a solid job simulator while also having fun elements (or at least being so terrible at representing its job that it becomes laughably good). Taxi Life doesn’t come anywhere close to either extreme: it shows how boring it can be to be a taxi driver, and it makes it so that you don’t have any real reason to play this game.

There are an abundance of much worse games to play on the Switch, to be sure, but there are also plenty of games that are better, so unless you just want to kill time shooting things in an open world – which, to be fair, is sometimes a wholly understandable impulse – you’re better off avoiding this one entirely.

V Rising is quite a fun package with great progression, but is held back by how extremely grindy it can be. The combat feels good (albeit can be stale with limited movesets) with the selection of skills and spells you unlock with each boss defeat, the world feels great to explore even while keeping to the shade during the day, and the building feels right at home with some modern city-builders. I think it’s definitely worth giving it a shot, especially with friends, because the solo experience can be quite boring after a while unless you’re really into a solo survival experience. Definitely keep your eyes on this title, and maybe wait for a sale to really sink your teeth into if you’re hesitant.

Little Kitty, Big City is an adorable, delightful gem of a game, in other words. And in that respect, the comparison to Untitled Goose Game is especially apt – both are an absolute blast, and just like UGG became a much-loved game, it’s easy to imagine Little Kitty, Big City following the same path.

Rainbow Cotton is a very good HD re-release of a classic game that not many people got a chance to play. Not only was it on a system that wasn’t known for its shooters, it was also never given a world wide release, making this one a true hidden gem. If you’re a fan of other Cotton games, you will love what is presented here. If you are new to the Cotton series, I can easily recommend this as a good starting game to get into the world of Cotton. Overall, this is a bare bones remaster with not many extras included, outside of a couch co-op mode that wasn’t in the original. It’s a short, wacky shooter that can be enjoyed by almost anyone. I highly recommend picking this one up if you can. It’s fun, and It does not disappoint.

While I did not run into any bugs amidst my time playing Endless Ocean: Luminous, and it did run at a very comfortable 30fps, it just adds up to an incredible disappointment and doesn’t really have much going for it. It’s a downgrade from the Wii titles in basically every conceivable manner, and I sincerely cannot recommend it, especially for a $50 price tag. If you have the option, please just go find a copy of the second game at a secondhand shop for $15. I promise you it’ll be a better experience.

There’s no reason why it has to be this dull. It’s a step up from The Political Machine 2020, but The Political Machine 2024 is still far from being the in-depth election sim it promises itself to be.

Beautiful visuals and an inventive story can only take you so far; at some point the gameplay needs to be there too, and as you’ll see time and again, that’s not the case here.

Like Hotline Miami a decade ago it stretches the limits of what a puzzler can be into some bloody places, and it pulls it off so well that you can’t help but enjoy every minute of it.

It’s hard to recommend Hot Wheels Unleashed 2 without acknowledging that big DLC-shaped elephant in the corner. It’s not as bad as, say, the NBA 2K series or any others like it that are effectively pay-to-win, but it’s enough that it could put a damper on your enjoyment of an otherwise fun game. That said, if you can ignore the DLC push and just want a flashy racer, this will deliver on that.

The game is about 40 hours long if you want to fully complete the side quests. If you’re looking for a charming new action RPG to explore, I would recommend Sand Land — even with some of the game’s hollow aspects, there is much fun here. The Akira Toriyama story is worth the price of admission alone, and you won’t want to miss an opportunity to play in his sandbox.

Not many games in recent years have come up with something as thrilling as taking on massive robot monsters like you find here, and it’s a mark of how well it’s done in Forbidden West that every time you see one of those familiar flashes, you’ll feel your adrenaline start pumping as you draw your bow and arrow and take aim. Obviously, it’ll be even more fun if you have a PC that runs the game without any compromises. But even if you just want something for your Steam Deck, Horizon Forbidden West Complete Edition delivers.

For a first console development effort, Shift Up knocked it out of the park with Stellar Blade. They crafted a fascinating world, combat system that felt so good to the point where I would seek it out encounters less I was running low on health items. As stated in the previous statement, players will be surprised by Eve’s characterization and she will probably find her footing amongst other female protagonists such Samus Aran, 2B and Bayonetta. Much like Round8’s Lies of P helped put a spotlight on the South Korean Games Development scene, Shift Up’s effort will just make that light brighter. Shift Up certainly stepped up!

Lunar Lander Beyond is definitely beyond what it’s predecessor brought. Everything has been turned up and upside down with this reimagining. The insanity aspect and the ability to get new ships and upgrades is really cool, while the overall story is fun and lighthearted at times while being scary and intriguing at others. Its one of those games where you want to constantly do better and want to beat that tough mission you failed at 30 times. You just want to hop back in and keep trying, and it really makes for a good time. I can recommend this one for anyone looking for a unique challenge that will keep you busy for a long while, and for those that like reimagining of classic games. Another solid release for Atari!

For now, though, Nightingale isn’t quite there. I’m still interested in seeing where the game gets to by the time it leaves Early Access, because I’m still intrigued by its promise, but for now, it needs some work. [Early Access Provisional Score = 65]