With clocking in 40 hours as of this review, I had a phenomenal time with Resident Evil Requiem and only had a couple minor issues with a possible challenge that may not be working and a puzzle that stumped me for way too long. As a complete package, this is a remarkable new installment in a franchise that delivers on so much but still has me itching for more. My biggest drawback was having no one to discuss lore with during the review process and cannot wait to have a show about it soon. Capcom has done it again.

Nioh 3 is an excellent game with very few rough edges in the moment to moment gameplay. It’s a ton of fun, well made, beautiful looking, and full of content. Another excellent addition to the series, there’s little to desire short of hoping they put some more effort into the storyline. But… that’s not what anyone is here for anyway, so you can essentially just write it off as a con. Boss fights are unique, stylish, and flow well. Chaff enemies even require you to get used to their patterns and offer a bit of challenge on their own. Everything is here to make for a stellar experience for any Nioh fan or Soulslike enjoyer looking for something new to explore. Obviously considering my notes on the lacking storyline, you needn’t worry about having played the previous games. Just hop in and give Nioh 3 a shot.

As a single-player game, it’s solid enough, but add in some friends and multiplayer, and you’ve got the makings of a party classic.

A studio like Piranha Bytes lasted decades despite churning out awful games, simply because there was something endearing about a bad game making an effort to be good. Anyone who misses that studio can take solace in the fact that Of Ash and Steel is continuing its legacy. But if you do, just be mindful that it is, at heart, a bad game.

Ultimately, though, Rainbow Gate succeeds or fails on its moment to moment play, and that’s where it lands as a unique entry in the genre. If you’re looking for a stable, smooth running PC mascot horror game with a strong opening and a handful of enjoyable puzzles and chases, Rainbow Gate is worth a look at the right price. Just know it doesn’t evolve much past its first impression. This is a good placeholder until Poppy Playtime: Chapter 5.

Overall the title is a pretty solid entry, it’s a shame that the studio’s actions and in some cases inaction will probably leave a black mark on this title. I’m not going to pad out this review by rehashing it, so rather I’m going to leave a link to this Kotaku article which summarizes why this title will probably be polarizing to come. For those who haven’t been with the franchise for long, this will likely be a streamlined retelling of the 3rd entry, for long time fans this game will likely mark a horrible divergence from the sacred timeline (You didn’t think I’d forget about that MCU reference I made in the first paragraph, did ya?). As for me, I’m somewhere in the middle, I’m curious as to what the team will be doing moving forward, but a tad weary at the approach. Like a Dragon as a franchise will likely continue indefinitely, but Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties will probably be remembered as an inflection point amongst the fanbase.

All in all, I think Dragon Quest VII: Reimagined is a great representation of the game, but I still think the 3DS version feels like the more complete package. The cut content is disappointing, even though some of the early streamlining and quality of life changes are nice to see. It’s still a really fun adventure with a charming story and beautiful visuals, but maybe not the version of Dragon Quest VII that hardcore fans were hoping for. Everyone else new to the game will likely not notice the changes though, and considering the secondary market price point on the prior releases of Dragon Quest VII, this Reimagined version is the way to go if you’re wanting to jump in for the first time.

The love of Rick and Morty, Gundam, and old school cartoons/comics is evident, and Romeo is a Dead Man is proof that you can be inspired by a variety of mediums and your creativity can still show it in an all-new way. From DeadMan’s design to the wild supporting cast, there is so much to love about the game and all I want next is for DeadMan to meet up with Travis to save the world and time together. I’m all in.

All-in-all, I don’t think Code Vein II is bad. It’s mostly an improvement over some of the stiffness and art direction of the first game, bringing new features, weapons, and jails for players to build their characters around. The music is still great, albeit more orchestral than the grunge of the first game’s collaboration with VAMPS. The biggest problem that this franchise (is it a franchise yet?) struggles with seems to be chasing the Souls-Ring feel but not nailing it as much as I’d have hoped for the second entry. If you liked the first game, you’ll absolutely enjoy Code Vein II, but costing $70 in a market with other similar titles is a tough ask for people looking to get into Code Vein. Code Vein II isn’t a bad game, it’s rather far from it, but it falls short where it needs to really hit hard.

I guess the question is, does Painkiller have any merits? It kind of does: again, if you don’t mind repetition and just want to shoot demons, it gives you every opportunity to do that, and you’ll get some big honking guns in the process. But if you want anything deeper or more substantial, you’re not going to find it here.

EvoCreo doesn’t stray too far from the Pokémon formula, all things considered. But it also doesn’t really need to do more, either. It may be a clone, but it’s a well-made one that does everything you’d hope for from the game it’s copying. That’s not enough to break EvoCreo out of Pokémon’s shadow, but it’s enough that if you’re a PC gamer and you want to play Pokémon without owning a Nintendo system, it’ll certainly be a tolerable substitute.

If you have the Atari 50 Base Game, then you MUST grab this add on! It is extremely fantastic to have these games in the already great collection and make the base game feel more complete. Despite any insignificant gripes I may have, this is a must own add on to an already fantastic collection! Download now and dive back into the world of Atari!

I know it’s a survival horror game, but it doesn’t take long for it to start feeling incredibly unfair. Not only is your ammunition limited, the enemies are also bullet sponges. It’s a weird combination, and it means that, far from the fast-paced shooter promised in the trailers, you’ll spend a lot of time running away – or, I guess, trying to run away, since we’ve already established that movement in Beneath is pretty terrible.

I’m still skeptical of the remake and I am a purist when it comes to the original Final Fantasy games, and my favorites of the series are turn based. Would I have liked to see Final Fantasy VII Remake be a full turn-based game? Yes. I’m not going to allow that to Cloud my opinion on if this is a good game by itself. The answer to that question is a solid yes. This is a great game. The next chapter in the Final Fantasy VII remake saga, Rebirth is coming to Switch 2 and Xbox, hopefully later this year. Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade has convinced me to give them all a shot, and I highly recommend that you do too.

Overall, I think there’s a lot of good here. While the gacha system itself could use some work, the bones of the game are excellent. Strong combat, an open world, and complex factory systems offer a lot to spend your time on, and very little of it felt like filler. I hope to see Arknights: Endfield take off and expand in the future, and hopefully they take some community feedback on the few systems that need work. I’ve already seen a lot of commentary on this and the game isn’t even out yet. Otherwise, if you are interested in a high-quality gacha game with space-age anime girls with a pinch of Factorio, this might be the only game in that niche you’ll find. Give it a shot, it’s a lot of fun.

Unfollow has a clearly good core with interesting writing, but doesn’t have the spine needed to hold it together in a way that feels great. I struggle to recommend it, as the $20 price tag is a bit much for 3 hours of okay gameplay, but if it looks interesting to you, I think you should give it a shot.

Again, it’s hard to say that The Outer Worlds 2 is a bad game, or one that doesn’t offer players plenty to do. It’s undeniably a well-made game. But that doesn’t make it particularly compelling. It offers players plenty to do, and I fully understand how anyone could sink a couple of dozen hours into it – but the whole time you’re playing it, don’t be surprised if you feel like you’re going through the motions rather than feeling super inspired by any of it.

Even if Saborus had the purest of intentions and I loved everything about its message, that wouldn’t change the fact that it’s still a terrible game. It’s a frustrating mess that doesn’t do much of anything right, so you’re better off just avoiding it.

The competition today is a lot more fierce than it was a decade ago – and yet, even with that tougher playing field, Yooka-Replaylee still manages to stand out as being one of the better 3D platformers you’re likely to come across.

Sometimes, all you want is a game that provides a quick blast of action, and Clawpunk delivers that in spades. If you just want to cause mayhem and blast away enemies for a few hours, there are worse ways to pass the time than with this game.

There’s still decent content within Mega Dimension, despite the continuing to lock Mega Stones behind an online battle system requiring the online subscription being absurdly stupid. The combat’s still solid when you’re in most of the zones, the new Mega Evolutions are fun, and being able to hunt previous mythical Pokémon and some Legendaries is always nice to have back. It’s not fully irredeemable, but for $30 for an expansion for the game in the most profitable franchise on the planet, I don’t think it’s wrong to say it’s severely lacking. If you enjoyed Legends: Z-A and just want more of the same fun you already had, go for it. If you’re on the fence because of the base game, I wouldn’t even glance at it. Pokémon Legends: Z-A Mega Dimension is a hard sell, and it’s a bummer because this is very much something I love and have since I was a kid.

Overall, I think there is fun to be had with Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, but the lack of meaningful exploration and the meandering desert stretches from one zone to the next really drag down what should have been an amazing return to form for the series. How much of this came from the prior development issues the game faced I’m not sure, but something about Prime 4 feels really disjointed and not nearly as polished as the original trilogy. I hope Nintendo does give the Prime series another chance, maybe this time without all the starts and stops that Prime 4’s development had, which will ideally give us the next-gen Metroid Prime game I was hoping this one would be.

House That Love Built also features some voice acting and attempts at animation. Both are about as good as you’d expect…which is to say, they’re not great. But that’s kind of the point of these games. They’re comfort food for a specific type of gamer, and they’re basically the same thing over and over again. Mystery Case Files: House That Love Built won’t appeal to anyone outside that niche, but for what it is, it’ll do just fine.

In a year like this, where we can compare and contrast CrossWorlds with Mario Kart World so easily, its faults seem a lot more glaring. As it stands, it’s a very solid kart racer that has the misfortune of being compared to one that’s just more enjoyable.

It’s absurdly easy to pick up, and it only sucks you in more and more as you see your accumulated wealth get bigger and bigger and bigger. It’s not likely to replace Balatro (or whatever your deckbuilder of choice may be), but if you want something that gives you a quick hit of adrenaline without being too demanding, you should probably check it out.

Personally, I can only recommend Montezuma’s Revenge – The 40th Anniversary Edition if you are familiar with the original game and already know what you are getting into or are looking for a challenge that, many people have tried and failed to beat. It’s definitely not for everyone, so if there is interest, proceed with caution.

If you’re a fan of charming RPGs with unique systems, great music, and a fantastic use of pixel art, you really owe it to yourself to pick up Demonschool.

It’s a very good port, is what I’m trying to say – and not only that, it’s a very good port of a very good game. Whatever issues Star Wars Outlaws may have had last year, they’re all fixed now, which means that you get all the positives from the first version (a good protagonist, a fun story, some big open worlds), with all of the negatives pushed off to the side. If you didn’t get a chance to play the game the first time around, now is definitely the time to do so.