Dorfromantik is all about keeping things calm and challenging you just enough to keep you coming back for more, and it’s guaranteed to get you hooked.

I’ll take a “glass half full” approach to Smurfs Kart, though: if you had told me going into the game that I’d be left wanting more, I wouldn’t have believed you. As I wrote up top, it’s not about to challenge Mario Kart for the genre’s throne, but if you’re just after a kart racer that does a lot of things right, you’d be well-advised to look here.

As I noted above, my only real complaint about Jackbox Party Pack 9 is that there aren’t any drawing games – and that’s more a minor quibble than anything else, since I enjoyed all five games here so much. As the series nears its tenth entry, you’d think that the creative minds at Jackbox might be running out of ideas, but Jackbox Party Pack 9 suggests that they’re only just starting to hit their collective stride.

To say that the Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration is jam packed with content is an understatement. Atari and Digital Eclipse really did a great job with this release and you can tell a lot of work went into making it. Despite some of the odd game choices and the inclusion of terrible Atari XE games this is a fantastic collection overall and should not be missed by anyone. Even if you find Atari rather primitive, you owe it to yourself to take this collection for a spin. The tons of informative interviews, promotion material and superior game list makes this release worth every penny. Highly Recommended!

Sonic Frontiers is certainly different from what we’ve come to expect from Sonic and company – both for better and for worse. I don’t think anyone is going to compare it to Mario’s forays into open (or open-ish) worlds, but if nothing else, it definitely provides an interesting way forward for a series that has often seemed like it’s wandering aimlessly in search of a purpose. Sonic Frontiers doesn’t give it that purpose, but it does suggest it’s not far off from finding it, either.

Gearbox Studios took a chance by giving us a sequel to such a critically acclaimed and highly regarded title. They delivered in giving us that same feeling we got playing Tales, a game with humor and heart. I enjoyed being able to play in this sandbox with these new characters and giving us one of the funniest games of 2022. Don’t let the lack of gameplay and stretched out story deter you away from the title. If you have never played the first Tales you’re in for a treat. I would recommend also circling back and playing the first if you have not gotten to experience it.

To do all that Farm Manager 2022 has to offer, you need to be willing to put up with some atrocious controls, and you need to be interested in putting in a lot of very detailed work. It’s certainly not to my tastes – give me the zen pleasures of the Farming Simulator series any day – but if it’s a management sim you’re after, you’ll find plenty to sink your teeth into here.

You’ll need to be in the mood for something very short, and very weird, but in the end, you’ll be left with a game that leaves you thinking about it for a while afterwards.

Overall, Resident Evil Village: Winters’ Expansion is an enjoyable excuse revisit to one of my Games of the Year entries from 2021 and I recommend checking it out. It’s not perfect but it does have me begging for more of this. I’m going to pitch it now in case Capcom sees this review: Resident Evil Revelations 3: RE Gaiden Remake – we need more Barry and Leon, introduce some of the elements from Shadows of Rose, and we are in business!

I came away from God of War: Ragnarök very impressed with what the team at Santa Monica Studio were able to put together, and I think you will be too. It’s a fantastic sequel to one of the better game releases on Sony hardware in the past decade, and delivers fully in every meaningful way, making this a true showcase game for current-gen hardware. It also doesn’t skimp out in the gameplay department, offering up lots of hours of enjoyment, while pacing itself out in a way that puts a lot of other open-world style games to shame, keeping you hooked throughout. I’d highly recommend checking out God of War: Ragnarök when it drops on November 9th, you will not be disappointed.

It’s far from the best, to be sure, but it’s competent and content-filled enough that you’ll at least feel like you’re getting your money’s worth.

It’s not going to make anyone forget about the existence of Pokémon Snap, but it certainly does enough to justify picking it up.

Overall I found Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed to be a lot of fun, and certainly one of the better asymmetrical multiplayer games out there. It’s clear that Illfonic has started to eke out a nice niche for themselves with this type of game, and if you’ve enjoyed their previous efforts, you’ll likely have a lot of fun with this too. My only real complaint comes from the cosmetics, in that I’d like to see an even greater variety of clothing unlocks, and more outlandish options to boot considering the Ghostbusters comedic roots. Maybe we’ll get there through DLC, but the variations on the Ghostbuster jumpsuits and accessories feel a little plain out of the gate. Still, it’s a fun take on what a Ghostbuster video game can be, and the little nods to prior films, including the most recent one, will certainly appeal to franchise fans.

I enjoyed Letterbox by POWGI in my brief time with it, and I imagine that any word nerd who can hold out until the game is on sale will have a fun hour or so with it, but unless that describes you perfectly, you can safely skip this game.

Even if it’s not very original, Trifox captures its influences so well that it carries with it a lot of residual charm. It’s not going to make you forget the games it’s borrowing from, but it’s a solid enough entry in the genre that if you miss those games, you could do a lot worse than trying it out.

Persona 5 Royal is definitely an amazing role-playing game experience. The story is engaging and most of the characters are fun with colorful personalities to match. The battle system can be deeply engaging and almost a puzzle to figure out how to navigate. Collecting the Personas can be quite addictive as is playing with merging the Personas. This game is a must buy for any JRPG fan.

There’s an argument to be made, I guess, that if you stop thinking about it as a Batman game and just judge it on its own merits, it’s not half-bad – but even if you do that, you’re still left with the reality that the game that doesn’t come anywhere near matching up to what the genre is capable of. This is a mediocre game through and through, and Batman branding or no, it’s not really worth your time.

Mages and Treasures may come from a developer with a decent track record, but this is proof that even developers who know what they’re doing have a misfire once in awhile.

As long as you don’t expect too much – or, I guess, as long as you just want more of what was in Nickelodeon Kart Racers 2 – then Nickelodeon Kart Racers 3 does just enough to be worth playing.

As solid as NHL 23 is, it’s hardly a must-play game if you have any previous entries in the series. Given that year(s)-old sports games tend to be pretty inexpensive, that makes it hard to justify buying this one new when you’ll get basically the same experience buying a game from last year or the year before. Don’t get me wrong, you’ll get a very well-made game if you do decide you need all the latest rosters and draft classes, but it’s up to you to decide how badly you need those things.

The DioField Chronicle is a game that I had little trouble sticking with throughout the review process, and could easily see myself going back to in order to finish up the few remaining trophies I have left. The fun gleaned from this strategy title is almost entirely due to the engaging battle system, which while a bit basic compared to other titles, is still a lot of fun to play. It’s not a game that I’d wholeheartedly suggest picking up at full price, but I’d certainly suggest giving it a go after a sale or two.

I mean, I’ve clearly fallen in love with it. How could I not, when it’s as fun as this? Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope doesn’t just prove that the first game was no fluke, it shows that it’s possible to take a crazy idea and turn it into one of the best games of the year.

Atari Mania is a fun and challenging microgame experience for just about anyone who likes games. The concept, games and the overall presentation is both equal parts classic and innovative. Even after a long play session, I was drawn back to it to get further into the vault and challenge more mini games! I do wish you could unlock the actual Atari games you collect the artwork for, but not having those isn’t a deal breaker by any means. This is a great game to represent Atari’s 50 years of innovation and rich history that is the foundation of what we have today. Check this one out if you want a great challenge while reliving gaming’s incredible past.

It’s not quite there yet thanks to the challenging controls, but if you can overlook that, there’s fun to be had here.

Rather than playing this game, you’d be much better off watching Vertigo, and Notorious, and Psycho, and Rear Window, and whatever other movies you could squeeze into the 10 or so hours it would take you to play Alfred Hitchcock – Vertigo, and I guarantee you that it would be time better spent.

No More Heroes 3 is a welcomed good time for fans of the series and may be a little hard to get into for new fans. Its crude humor remains the same (taking a dump activates your save files), but there is something very punk rock about this game that Suda51 has given us here. If you can look past its clunky visuals and repetitive gameplay, you’re in for a treat. This an excellent send-off for Travis Touchdown and his friends.

I wouldn’t call Moonscars a must play game, but I can appreciate that it tries to do a couple of new things with a sub-genre of Souls-like games that has become increasingly popular over the past few years. I think there are better examples of 2D Souls games out there, but Moonscars doesn’t overstay its welcome and the combat/exploration is fun enough that I found myself willing to overlook most of the other issues. I wish the magic/special abilities were more useful, as it would be nice to switch up combat encounters a bit more, but it’s perfectly serviceable as is. So if you’re in the mood for another attempt at a 2D Souls-like, Moonscars might just be the game for you.

It’s an absurd tale featuring dinosaurs, monsters, and lost civilizations, and the voiceovers of the two characters are enough to make it enjoyable. In other words, Little Orpheus’ two strong points are the same as the strong points from The Chinese Room’s other two games. The thing is, here they’ve added a third element – platforming – that’s not nearly as compelling, and it’s enough to make the game a far cry from their previous standard.