This short, sweet detective game is exactly that—short and sweet. With the ability to allow hints or turn hints off, you can increase the difficulty if you're a super sleuth, or keep it easy if you're looking to veg out. The cast of characters is vibrant, and the jokes are plentiful. Follow Detective Eugene McQuackin and find some not-so-hidden clues to help quack the case.

Palia offers a pleasant world to explore and a bunch of fun activities to keep you busy. But the purposely languid pacing and the lack of group features have me wondering if this would be better as a more streamlined single-player game. I must give credit where it is due for producing something new and different in the MMO space, with decidedly non-gross monetization. Though it might not be directly for me, many players will fall in love with Palia's friction-free gameplay and friendly characters.

For less than the price of lunch, Nubs! Arena is worth a go if you’re into competitive arena battlers or battle royales. Its cute art style and twin stick-style hack-and-slash combat leave the door open for it to find a niche, but it needs serious performance and balancing improvements to have a chance at sticking around.

RoadCraft is a must-play for fans of construction simulators. There is a coziness in the laborious nature of its gameplay that is hard to resist, and with a huge amount of content, you’ll be busy cleaning up natural disasters for dozens of hours.

The Precinct effortlessly blends simulation, sandbox, and silliness. Imagine being a cop in one of the early top-down GTA games, but with modern game design and accoutrements. It's not perfect, but it nails the core gameplay loop that inspired it.

Doom: The Dark Ages is a fantastic addition to this rebooted Doom franchise. It borrows from and builds on most of the aspects that made Doom 2016 and Doom Eternal so great. It stays true to the roots and offers exciting and fluid combat mechanics, while diving into a backstory that stands alone as a narrative but can also let the sickos geek out on some of the details. What it does best is just capture the hyper cool feel of being the "only one they fear" and delivering soundly on sprinting from one story beat to the next at a breakneck, metal pace.

While pretty light on content, the price of this Early Access fighter is just right. With a surprising amount of depth for such a limited stable of characters, Final Fury will have you laughing and talking smack to your buddies with the best of them. The timing takes practice, and there is a learning curve to understand the characters' interactions, which makes the core gameplay of Final Fury quite solid. Additional content drops for the game will only make it better. [Early Access Provisional Score = 75]

I stand here with 2006’s Oblivion in one hand and 2025’s in the other. My unapologetic recommendation: take the remaster and knock yourself out. This is the definitive way to play Oblivion now — as clunky as it is classic.

Madragora: Whispers of the Witch Tree provides the perfect blend of Souls-like and Metroidvania. An engaging story and satisfying combat will keep you coming back even though there are going to be things that annoy you and force you to step away from time to time. In the end, there is an excellent adventure to be found here and I look forward to more like it from this development team.

Kaya's Prophecy is a simple and short deck builder game, with fun tribal village theming that moves the story along. This game isn't for the intensive gamer, but rather for a quick and frivolous break from life. Uncomplicated and silly, Kaya's Prophecy would make a great introductory game for anyone who wants to learn more about this particular style of gaming.

The second Tape of Lost Records is a big step up from the first tape with a great conclusion to this coming of age story of a group of friends. Some technical issues still linger here and there, while a very confusing sequel bait ending leaves us with more questions than answers.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a thunderous debut from Sandfall Interactive. Its palette is brimming with cleverly engaging turn-based combat, impeccable art direction, and voice performances that rival feature films. The result is an incredible work of video game art. This game is worth more than the asking price, and I highly recommend it.

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is a new entry into the tomb raiding genre that takes its cues not from the games themselves that have come before, but the films of its namesake that originally inspired it all. This is the authentic Indy experience, immersing you in a new narrative adventure worthy of the legacy of those classic movies. It is so faithful to the source material that there are times little annoyances creep in. While those annoyances betray the game achieving perfection, they don't spoil an otherwise excellent experience overall. Any fan of Indiana Jones will be well rewarded giving this game a try.

Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds is proving itself to be eternal. Here we are, more than a decade from the game's initial release and it is as addictive and enjoyable as ever. This has truly become a beat 'em up classic and has demonstrated that it can stand the test of time. The Ultimate version is just that—the ultimate version of the game. It looks, sounds, and plays better than ever. Fans of the genre must experience this one and they will find a game that they'll keep in rotation forever.

I think the group at Firaxis Games had their hearts in the right places when they tried to overhaul this series, but so much of this lands with a thud, I cannot tell people to buy this game. There's plenty of things I like, but the bad outweighs the good. The condensed age system coupled with a modern era that seems to be condensed for the sake of simplicity is a huge disappointment. There are some good ideas, but this game needed another six months to a year of cooking. I hope patches and DLC can help this game out, or else I worry about what Civilization VIII is going to look like.

Shadows may not reinvent Assassin's Creed, but it's still a fun game and another great entry in the series. Exploration in this beautiful locale is great. But for those who are tired of the Assassin's Creed formula, this one isn't going to change your mind.

Crystal Commanders is a very basic RTS game, played in the coolest way possible. While the gameplay sticks to the RTS playbook, the implementation in Mixed Reality elevates the experience immeasurably. While the brief campaign is serviceable, Crystal Commanders really comes to life with its varied and well-implemented multiplayer options. Controls are a bit fiddly, but sending a battalion across your living room floor to destroy a buddy is reward enough to be worth the occasional struggle to select a unit. Fun, simple gameplay combined with a great use of Meta Quest 3's technical abilities.

Star Overdrive is an enjoyable open world experience, but it can become a bit tedious, specifically when it comes to upgrading the hoverboard. While you're shown the recommended stats for each area, they do change depending on the area you're in and if you waste your materials, it can be time consuming to get more. That said though, I still enjoyed my time with Star Overdrive and if you enjoy open world games similar to the Legend of Zelda on the Switch, Star Overdrive might be right up your alley.

South of Midnight has a good story, and is a good action adventure game. It may get a little repetitive at times, but the story keeps you in enough to keep playing. I gave it all the time I could, and maybe it deserves another playthrough, since I walked away asking more questions then I started with. I only need to hear the music once though, I guarantee.

Promise Mascot Agency is a delightfully bonkers blend of Japanese crime drama, business management sim, card-battler, and open-world collect-a-thon. No aspect of the game goes very deep, but developer Kaizen Game Works has threaded the needle here, creating an engaging “lite” version of several video game subgenres.

The absence of multiplayer is a slight drawback, and the cosmetic ticket system could use some loosening, but all of that detracts very little from the sheer joy of this package. The new basement setting is fun, stylish, and packed with potential. This is the best these tables have ever looked (and played), and the feeling that you are really playing them is undeniable.

As the game has updated visuals, new additions to modes, and more microtransactions than a Prime advertisement, WWE2K25 has some bright spots. But it just feels like a superstar that dominated NXT and then was snuffed out when they joined the Main Roster. Better than last year's, but not by much. WWE has a credo: Then, Now, Forever, Together. I want now, now.

While the game does have some weird and interesting bugs, the PC port of Marvel's Spider-Man 2 does deliver some great experiences. It took Nixxes a few patches in the first few weeks to get there and they still have some more work to do, but the game looks gorgeous and plays well on top notch systems. Don't try it on the Steam Deck though.

A beautifully rendered but ultimately familiar adventure game, Karma: The Dark World is neither scary nor thrilling. Meticulously built and gorgeous to look at, the gameplay is nonetheless a slow roll through a pre-rendered Kafka-inspired story, with little in the way of interaction beyond some environmental puzzle solving. I can appreciate the artistry at work here, if not the final product.

Rendering Ranger_R2 Rewind isn't the prettiest package, but that's ok. It's mainly here to give you some of that old school retro pain. Two of my favorite genres wrapped into one game feels like a good move, so give it a shot.

Atomfall is a delightful surprise in a year packed with big game releases. I haven’t felt this amount of joy from discovery, or this level of player agency in a game in quite some time. Wherever it is on your list of games to play in 2025, move it up.

Assault Suit Leynos 2: Saturn Tribute can be a bit rough at times, mainly due to its high difficulty, especially if you’re unfamiliar with this type of game. There’s plenty of customization you can do with your mech between missions and this version’s extra options help tone the difficulty down a bit, but this isn’t necessarily going to be a game you’ll master out of the gate. However, once you put some time into understanding everything you can do and how you should take each mission, Assault Suit Leynos 2: Saturn Tribute becomes a lot more enjoyable, but it's difficulty may take you a while to get to that point.

This sweet little comfort game is an adorably cozy little farming simulation. Difficult to learn at first, but easy to play as you continue on. Grow crops, sell them to the townspeople, make money, restore harmony to the island. And best of all, adopt cows and chickens! But unfortunate technical issues that cause the game to randomly lock, resulting in a repeated loss of progress, eventually took their toll. I'm hoping the game's issues are resolved so players can actually enjoy the charming experience at the core of Sugardew Island.

Split Fiction is one of the best genre crossing, action packed, adrenaline rushing, heart wrenching games both Jason and myself have ever played. A few hours in, we were dodging ogres and shooting down ships. By the end of the game, our friendship became stronger, our hearts grew three times larger, and we realized that Split Fiction is one of the best games of this era. Anyone saying otherwise, is spitting fiction.

The latest iteration of Under Defeat shows just how solid the original game was and remains to this day. It’s simple yet effective take on the shmmup genre still provides a great challenge with fun gameplay that drives you to keep coming back again and again to better your score. Unfortunately, if it hasn’t hooked you in the past, this version isn’t really going to do much else to suck you in. The new additions help sweeten the pot for long-time fans but just don’t do enough to pull in any new ones. All in all: fans of the game will enjoy coming back and appreciate having access to a shmup-great on modern consoles.

Monster Hunter Wilds delivers a ton of incredible new content, buried underneath the usual UI nightmare plus a long, interminable campaign. The new features of the game are fun and exciting once the game opens up, and there are a ton of awesome new monsters to battle. The graphics, as always, are stunning. But wading through the mud of this story for 15-20 hours is downright painful, and the franchise's tradition of not explaining itself is getting extremely old. There is a fabulous Monster Hunter game here, but sooner or later this franchise is going to have to wake up to the need to wipe the slate clean and open the doors for new players. Instead, Monster Hunter Wilds feels like it is going in the other direction.

PGA Tour 2K25 is a golf game for everyone, offering an enjoyable golf simulation for players of any skill level. There are incremental upgrades across the board from 2K23, though I do have concerns about the accessibility of some online modes, as well as the increased prevalence of premium currencies.

Tape 1 of Lost Records introduces us to a charming group of characters and presents an intriguing story that sets up a lot of questions and mystery for Tape 2, but a ton of technical issues and awkward dialogue really hamper the overall experience for the first episode of this two part adventure.

MACROSS-Shooting Insight may feel run of the mill with the way it covers four types of shooters, but is still enjoyable and a bit challenging. If you’re really good at shooters or bullet-hell games, you’ll find a decent challenge here while those not as experienced can tone down the difficulty a bit to their liking. While the game looks nice graphically and is fun to play, for genre veterans the gameplay is a bit average.

Eternal Strands has potential to be a great action adventure game, but it is weighed down by eternal fetch quests. It's beautiful to look at, but hard to withstand the hand holding hinderance. I know who this is for, but there are better entries to scratch your magic weaving itch.

While balanced in a way that forces the player to experience almost everything the game has to offer, Avowed is still a lot of fun. A great story, fun companions, and a richly designed world all contribute to an overall good time. Just remember to take your time early on, because this game wants you to see everything, and it will punish you for trying to skip ahead.

Ambulance Life: A Paramedic Simulator largely achieves what it sets out to do. I take issue with its means-and-methods, as it relies heavily on minigames for many of its paramedic tasks, but that doesn’t make it a bad game – just a far less immersive one.

Dynasty Warriors: Origins is a fantastic revival of a classic franchise that seemed like it was once on death's door. Origins is a complete breathe of fresh air while feeling familiar but adding much needed gameplay changes and tactics to make everything feel fresh. This is the true next generation leap for the series. If you are a fan of this series you owe it to yourself to play Origins. I cannot wait to see how they build off of this for the future.

Moons of Darsalon is a lovely action puzzle platformer with a slight bug problem. With that said, it is so unique and so confidently designed that I don’t think you should skip it.

Warhorse Studios has delivered an excellent RPG and sequel. Kingdom Come: Deliverance II is a near total package, with great writing, acting, and a level of immersion that will have you running down every single quest in fear of missing out on a special moment. Frankly, I will be shocked if it’s not in the awards conversation at the end of the year.

Sniper Elite: Resistance isn't really doing anything new, and that's ok. It's sticking to a tried and true formula and delivering on promises for solid gameplay mechanics spread out over sprawling open levels. It does carry forward the best features ironed out in previous games like kill cams, a balance of stealth and action, freedom to meet objectives, and even Invasion mode to add some spice to the mix if you're so inclined. It's not groundbreaking but it doesn't have to be because it follows a well trodden path that is already established and frankly just a lot of fun to play.

Trombone Champ: Unflattened takes cues from it's predecessor, and is maybe too difficult at first. Once you get the hang of it, it picks up rather nicely. It's not the pick up and laugh uncontrollably game it used to be, but it's definitely one of those get friends in the room, and watch trombonic chaos ensue.

Incredible visuals and so many activities it's tough to keep up with them all, Flight Simulator 2024 delivers a heck of an experience for flight sim enthusiasts. Yes, you can question if it should have just been a patch to the 2020 series or not, but it's not enough to deter me from saying that this one is worth picking up for all the upgrades.

Take the magic of NBA Jam’s gameplay, trade NBA players for robots with abilities, toss in some roguelite systems, give it stop-motion-style animation, and BOOMSHAKALAKA – you’ve got yourself a slam dunk.

Arma Reforger offers some of best military roleplaying around, but the gameplay is complex to a fault at times on PS5. Hardcore might be an understatement, as it’s one of those games where your enjoyment is determined by how much effort you put into it. Despite the deep complexity, Arma Reforger can be deeply rewarding as well.

With an atypical amount of polish and a variety of satisfying road work to complete, Road Maintenance Simulator 2 is a surprisingly good simulator. It features an excellent blend of precision versus peacefulness that is sometimes difficult for games in the genre to nail down, which makes it an easy one to recommend.

The vibes are right, the story is good, the graphic are fun, the sound effects are amazing, and the Xenomorphs are legit frightening. But all of that is almost undone by an antiquated save system, which combines with bugs to strand the player in frustrating gameplay loops. As a franchise fan, I would still play this game. But Xenomorphs aren't the only bugs you're going to be fighting.

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Rita's Revenge leaves a lot to the future. If the DLC and future patches make the game faster, and more enjoyable, then you'll have a solid game on your hands. In it's current state, it's slow, it's repetitive, and some features are admittingly missing. A wise man once said "A delayed game is eventually good, a rushed game is bad forever." MMPR: RR is somewhere in the middle.

Highway Police Simulator is a broken and buggy mess at this moment in time. With that said, and as strange as it sounds, this simulator has potential. Whether it can right the ship will be determined in the weeks and months ahead.

MachineGames has fully captured the essence of what makes the original Indiana Jones trilogy great, delivering a fantastic experience full of stunning detail that feels like you are living through one of those 80s Indy adventures. With great characters, amazing graphics, and a stellar story, this game sets a new bar for how to adapt a franchise and give fans a new experience that would otherwise be impossible. A few minor bugs here and there, but otherwise a stellar achievement. Keep 'em coming.

Uncle Chop’s Rocket Shop blends simulator-esque puzzle solving with a roguelike framework. The result is an often tedious slog that requires the utmost patience, a laser-focused attention span, and a love for tinkering. Put simply, at the end of a long day at work, this is not the game you want to cozy up with.

Void Crew is a game that thrives on chaos and camaraderie, delivering an intense co-op experience that rewards communication, quick thinking, and teamwork. When played with a full, committed crew, it’s one of the most thrilling multiplayer games I’ve played. But for those who lack a dedicated team—or the patience to wrangle strangers in online lobbies—the game’s steep difficulty may prove more frustrating than fun.

Wall Town Wonders is a visual delight, an charming burst of creativity that will awaken the inner child in any player. But the amazing experience of having a community of tiny humans taking up residence in the walls of your home is marred by the fact that interacting with the titular town can be a struggle. Technical issues mute the magic somewhat, but cannot stifle the fact that this game is indeed a wonder.

Tetris Forever is a pretty slick package. You learn a lot that you didn't know, and it's cool to know that Tetris will definitely be around if all other games were to go by the wayside. With so many ways to play it, and so many systems, I would've loved to see more of a variation, or versions of Tetris. "Play Tetris, My Friends" is the quote in the opening by Mr. Pajitnov himself. I would, but there's so much Bombtriss blocking the way.

Camouflaj has put an extraordinary amount of work into the Quest 2 port of Marvel's Iron Man VR, solving many of the issues that held back this extraordinary game upon its initial PSVR release. What is left is the best superhero sim on the market, with amazing flight and combat and a pretty great Marvel story. VR fans should not hesitate to grab this game; it’s quite simply one of the best VR titles ever released.

Somehow, the developers of Lego Horizon Adventures found the perfect recipe to simplify everything about Horizon while keeping the charm and the nuances that make the franchise so endearing to its fans. The development team knocked it out of the park in translating such a robust experience to a family friendly version that can be enjoyed by gamers of all ages. This is an enjoyable ride for everyone but especially for fans of the franchise.

Overall, the evolution is positive, but the single year development cycle is really hard to ignore with all the little issues and frustrations that the game shipped with. The menus are bad and there are far too many bugs in this year's iteration of EA Sports FC 25. The slower gameplay and move to deeper tactics are features I actually really enjoy, but I can totally understand how many fans might be disappointed at this move away arcade style play to a more methodical approach. There's no reason not to pick it up, but wait on the frequent sales and discounts the game will see.

Making my VR wishes come true, Square Enix has delivered a stellar port of Triangle Strategy to Meta Quest. With the interface fully reimagined to take advantage of VR's 3D capabilities, the battle sequences play out like a gorgeous living board game. Yes, there is a lot of story here, but it is rich and engaging, and the 3D mixed reality implementation soars. I would encourage every VR fan to support this game, as I will not be satisfied until we have many more like it.

Far more than just an Unreal Engine 5 tech demo, Empire of the Ants is a brilliant RTS game. Smart, confident gameplay design keeps things simple while challenging your tactical abilities at a near-perfect pace. It’s one of the best surprises of 2024.

I had high hopes for Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and it did not disappoint. The multiplayer suite is the best part of the package by a decent margin, and one of the best in the franchise thanks to the new Omnimovement feature and finely tuned gameplay. Zombies is a fun distraction when you’re needing a break from PvP, but it’s outshined by multiplayer and the campaign. Thankfully, Treyarch and Raven were able to get Call of Duty back on track in terms of campaigns with Black Ops 6, and even took a couple of big swings that paid off. Black Ops 6 feels like one of those evergreen releases in the franchise that people will be playing for years to come – some might even call it a classic Call of Duty.

A worthy upgrade that brings it closer to the fidelity of its sequel, Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered is the best version of a great sci-fi RPG. Guerrilla Games and Nixxes Software have turned this remaster skeptic into a true believer.

As warm, deep, and emotionally engaging as it ever was, Life is Strange: Double Exposure delivers another great adventure for beloved hero Max Caulfield. With a great new cast of interesting characters, a banger of a mystery, and enough ethical dilemmas to fry your brain, Double Exposure continues putting players through the wringer in the best possible way. A few minor technical issues cannot distract from the great story and beautiful visuals.

It has been some time since I’ve come into contact with a game that seems loved by the masses that I don’t understand, but that’s Phasmophobia. I don’t understand why it’s ok that you have to have a team of four people in order to find mild success. I don’t understand why I need to spend time looking up a cheat sheet to help understand why a haunt is fun. I hate that I need to do so much outside the game, or to play round after round, just to have a better understanding of what is going on. I’m not opposed to playing Phasmophobia again, but it would take some convincing from at least three friends who are in need of a fourth played to have a full party. I also think each session is very dependent on having a good group of people around you in order to enjoy Phasmophobia, or at least a funny group of people to laugh at the misery of playing.

Wildermyth is one of the best turn-based RPGs I’ve ever played. Immersive storytelling, brilliant pacing, and simple yet complex gameplay makes this one addictive game. It’s so good that not even a save file bug could turn me away from it. Don’t miss this one.

It has been some time since I’ve come into contact with a game that seems loved by the masses that I don’t understand, but that’s Phasmophobia. I don’t understand why it’s ok that you have to have a team of four people in order to find mild success. I don’t understand why I need to spend time looking up a cheat sheet to help understand why a haunt is fun. I hate that I need to do so much outside the game, or to play round after round, just to have a better understanding of what is going on. I’m not opposed to playing Phasmophobia again, but it would take some convincing from at least three friends who are in need of a fourth played to have a full party. I also think each session is very dependent on having a good group of people around you in order to enjoy Phasmophobia, or at least a funny group of people to laugh at the misery of playing.

As warm, deep, and emotionally engaging as it ever was, Life is Strange: Double Exposure delivers another great adventure for beloved hero Max Caulfield. With a great new cast of interesting characters, a banger of a mystery, and enough ethical dilemmas to fry your brain, Double Exposure continues putting players through the wringer in the best possible way. A few minor technical issues cannot distract from the great story and beautiful visuals.

Fear the Spotlight is a short but fantastic classic Survival Horror experience. Filled with an intriguing story, great characters, fun puzzles, this game delivers lots of tension and a lot of love, care, and passion for the games that we grew up with as kids. I cannot recommend this enough if you are a fan of the genre.

At times, Arkham Shadow is the coolest VR game ever made. But a bevy of game-stopping bugs and some of the sharpest difficulty spikes I've ever encountered keep this bat from immediately soaring. An incredible - and incredibly gorgeous - VR translation of core Arkham mechanics, but still too rough around the edges for such a prestige franchise. Give it a couple of weeks and it will be a nigh-perfect experience, but it's a shame it's releasing in this condition.

Zero the Kamikaze Squirrel is a bit of a rough outing for those who didn’t play it back on the Super NES and Genesis, but the port makes it a lot more accessible. The extra features menu looks a bit plain and could have been done better (especially the instruction manual), and if you plan to play without utilizing save states or the rewind feature you’ll be in for a rough time. If you’re looking for a good challenge and don’t want to shell out a bunch of money for a physical copy of the originals, six dollars makes it more than worth it to pick this one up.

Starship Troopers: Extermination on console puts the rough in Roughnecks. Technical issues, poor crossplay implementation, and frustratingly chaotic gameplay design leave much to be desired.

Not a remake, not an action RPG, but definitely a very refined MMO experienced tailored to be inclusive to solo and console players, New World has received a major shot of accessibility with the release of Aeternum. With a welcoming community, a refined story, and some very fun crafting mechanics, there is a lot of material here to dig into and enjoy. If you are looking for a new title to sink 1000 hours into, you could do far worse than this one.

Maestro puts the hand tracking of the Meta Quest 3 to the test, and nails it. With song familiarity, unlocks galore, and a simple, yet fun and challenging interface, this is a game you don't want to pass up. Even if you're not a musician, you'll be pleased with the hand tracking by itself, and that's going to get Maestro a lot of roses. Bravo.

If you haven't played Until Dawn before, then sure, go ahead and pick this up. But for those who have played this before I see no reason to pay full price when it's pretty much the same game. While some of the updates to graphics are nice, there really isn't any thing new here that is worth the price of this remake.

MMOs are difficult to grade on their own, but Throne and Liberty is a pretty great entry into the genre. NC Soft makes getting to max level easy enough, but the endgame grind for gear may turn some players off. Overall, there's a lot to enjoy here with a beautiful world to explore, plenty of PvE and PvP events to partake, and so many players to interact with. For a free to play MMO, it clears the bar quite easily for games worth giving a shot.

While a ton of infrastructure, a cool social hub, and a fun leveling system really help sell this package, Just Dance VR phones it in on the dances themselves, culling material from much older games and rendering it in 3D. A neat experience, but it could have been earth-moving.

Now that I'm accustomed to Just Dance being a platform instead of a net-new game, I can refocus on both the stellar new dances and the improvements to the UI and technical functionality. All of the content here is stellar (as usual), and the ability to download tracks to play locally is literally a game-saver. As fun as it ever was, this year's swath of new material impresses in scope and creativity. Just give into the fun.

Neva is another feather in the cap for Nomada Studio, who once again have proven themselves to be artists in the truest sense of the word. Beautiful, haunting, and emotionally moving, Neva is a wonderful experience.

Gimmick 2 is a sequel players have been waiting thirty-two years for and it was worth the wait. While the original game was one of the more difficult games on the Famicom, Gimmick 2 is a lot more accessible with checkpoints, fast travel around levels, and no lives to worry about losing. While you do have to master using the Star to finish the game, the learning curve is fair and you have plenty of time in the first couple of levels to learn and understand the mechanics. Whether you’re a Gimmick veteran or a newcomer, Gimmick 2 is as enjoyable as it is deceptively adorable.

Wrath of Cobra is a game that shows the love the developers have for the source content through and through. Unfortunately, that love doesn’t equal a polished and fine-tuned gaming experience. It is can enjoyable romp for fans to see and experience, but its shortcomings and technical issues keep it from being something they will truly enjoy.

Khaos Reigns is a mess of multiverse nonsense featuring mostly a cast of characters we know and care nothing about because they aren't from the main timeline. The whopping $50 price tag for this is insane. I would say that if you care about the characters, then just wait and buy them separately because the story expansion isn't worth that price at all.

With a stack of new mechanics, a tight new campaign story, and some great seasonal content, Vessel of Hatred piles more awesome Diablo IV goodness onto the already incredible base game - itself further refined by a year's worth of seasonal updates. If you enjoyed Diablo IV even slightly, consider this expansion a must-play.

Starship Home is perhaps the most impressive use of mixed reality I've seen, using cutting edge tech to deliver a charming and delightful space adventure. While there is some comfortable repetition in the gameplay, the game remains entertaining thoughout, and delivers great value for the low price.

The team behind Exploding Kittens VR has certainly built a fun and unique way to experience the popular card game. It is an absolute blast in multiplayer with friends. But in the end, your enjoyment of this application will entirely depend on your enjoyment of the game it is based on. There are a few bells and whistles - and the bot-based practice mode is a nice way to learn the game - but unless you are actively playing with humans, you are going to run out of steam pretty quickly.

A fabulous port of a fabulous game, God of War Ragnarok combines great story telling, great action, and great graphics to deliver a top notch experience.

Epic Mickey: Rebrushed is a sandbox collect-a-thon that pays homage to the earliest eras of Disney creations. This no risk/no reward game looks good from the opening, but just seems like an animated feature that went on for 12 hours too long. With too much chatter, not enough fun, and literal pocket thinner, Epic is not the word I would paint here.

Rugrats: Adventures in Gameland is a fun little game based on the classic Nicktoon, but unfortunately it’s a little too short and too easy for the price. The ability to swap between the four main babies and each having their own strengths and weaknesses is nice, plus the graphics and audio are pretty spot on from what Klasky Csupó gave us over three decades ago. However, the high price point for a rather easy game that can be completed in under ninety minutes will likely be a bit of a turnoff for a lot of people. If you’re able to wait for it to go on sale, it’s definitely worth checking out.

Toy Tactics is a great example of "less is more", brilliantly opening-up the RTS genre to newcomers, while still managing to challenge longtime fans with confident, intuitive gameplay design. An excellent singleplayer suite overshadows a seemingly DOA multiplayer mode, but that shouldn’t stop you from playing one of the finest strategy titles in recent memory.

The real question I set out to answer for myself was a simple one. Is Athena Crisis a true successor to the Advance Wars and Wargroove formula? Or does it feel more like a cheap knockoff, trying to get a quick buck from an unsuspecting gamer? I think seeing all the units that are available to play with speaks enough for itself to show that this isn’t the Advance Wars you grew up with. While the dialogue does feel a bit Saturday morning cartoon, the amount of choices you have when crafting an army are massive. Add a campaign editor, and a few other customization options and you have a title that is worthy of the games it wants to emulate. Not only that, but sets the bar for the next title in this genre to rise up to.

While there may have the smallest step taken toward improving the gameplay, Madden 25 falls completely flat because the proper simulation modes still feel the same and haven't changed much. The UI may look different, but the same options for relocation/renovation, the same team management options, and soulless superstar options drag this game down back to where the franchise has been for the past several years. It's disappointing in every sense of the word.

The Hunt: Showdown 1896 might be the best extraction shooter out there right now. It marries weapons and traits into a meaningful character loadouts with solid gameplay mechanics set against a gritty, horrific world. But this won't be news to Hunt veterans, to whom this latest update and upgrade will ultimately be best enjoyed. The onboarding experience seems a bit of a bridge too far to really welcome in new blood to mire of the bayou or chill of the mountains. However, if you have some friends to jump in together, and if you're willing to stick it out to really level up in this game, you will surely be rewarded for your sweat and tears.

While it is almost miraculous that many of the properties in this game are represented in video game form, Funko Fusion is missing a sense of fun or satisfaction. With very little explanation of the game's mechanics, the player is left to wander from world to world, shooting endless waves of enemies, fiddling around with obtuse puzzles, pondering the universe and the point of it all.

Caravan SandWitch is a gorgeous, cozy exploration game with a story that falls flat. It won’t hold a spell over you for long, but a weekend is all it needs.

While the on-court gameplay improvements from last year are incremental and subtle, NBA 2K25 is still the high-water mark for sports games. A more newcomer-friendly MyCAREER, and the addition of worthwhile game modes to MyTEAM make this one of the best entries in the series, even despite it constantly trying to reach deeper into your pocket.

Yars: Rising is an ambitious spiritual sequel to Yars' Revenge, and will give you a challenge; Wayforward and Atari worked their magic all through this one. Not so much in enemy variation, but Emi keeps the combat exciting and fun, and the hacks are that old Atari 2600 difficulty. Samus and Megaman would be proud. You will be too.

A full and comprehensive release of all of Capcom's Marvel games in arcade-perfect condition, with a bunch of options, extras, and bonuses. This package includes everything the fighting game community has been asking for. Spend some time, attempt to get good, then hop online to get beat up. The advanced players been waiting for this for a long time.

While excellent, Vampire Survivors it is still an overly simple game. This is also pretty much a straightforward port across to a new system. There is nothing unique about this version vs any previous medium the game has landed on. But it remains unpretentious and excellent fun, is dirt cheap to jump into, and lays out the roadmap to play through it while drip feeding progress adeptly. It deserves to land as close to perfect as our scoring system permits.

Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions feels a bit light on content, but the translation of a nonsense literary sport into a playable game has been handled nicely. There are a lot of nice unlockables included in the base game with no microtransactions, and those that feel confident enough will enjoy the online play. For those looking for a deep single player experience, though, there is not a ton here. Still, Quidditch Champions is fun in short bursts, and it will be interesting to see how it develops over time.

A total package and a feast for the senses, Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 should not be missed. It feels like a game brought forward from the Xbox 360 era in the best possible way. Put simply, Space Marine 2 is on the short list for 2024’s best shooter.