Smelter is a game that's a mix of platforming and real-time strategy, though it's the platforming that shines more. The controls are tight and the challenge is pretty fair though it can ramp up quite a bit later on. Plus the Trials are a great way to test your skills and help unlock new abilities. The RTS segments aren't bad but they feel a little too simplified with no major consequences.

Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart is a true showpiece of new-gen technology. Whilst the internet argues over the matter of cross-generation games, Rift Apart avoids any such controversy since what it's doing simply isn't possible on the older hardware.

I really appreciate what Beautiful Desolation is trying to do with creative storytelling; well-developed characters; and a mind-bending and beautiful, albeit desolate, sci-fi world. I just ended up too frustrated by the limitations of the console medium and a lack of direction in many of the quests to ultimately recommend this game on this platform. It's a point-and-click adventure presented without a pointer or a clicker, better played on PC.

Legend of Keepers is a fun roguelike that relies a bit too much on the luck of the draw. Constructing custom teams is a non-starter, which leaves players doing their best with whatever the game doles out. The font size might be an issue for some, but overall, Legend of Keepers is a pleasant not-overly-difficult way to kill twelve hours.

Iron Harvest: Operation Eagle is a challenging DLC to a fun RTS game. Even though it can be played as a stand alone title Iron Harvest: Operation Eagle works best when accompanied by the main title Iron Harvest. The introduction of Ursonia and their campaign is a solid addition, even if adding aerial units to the game hurts its overall gameplay. The campaign story alone is worth the price of entry.

Dreamworks Spirit Lucky's Big Adventure might be a lot of fun, if it would function long enough for a kid to play it. This game is broken in nearly every way possible: the graphics stutter and shake, the save files won't load, and the quest lines lead players in circles. There is no way a responsible adult should hand a child a game in this condition—it is simply unplayable.

By making puzzle mechanics feel immediate and dangerous, Boxed In elevates the genre. While the edges feel a bit rough, the core gameplay mechanic is pure gold, giving Boxed In that much desired one-more-try factor. Highly recommended for immediate purchase.

Simply put, Aluna: Sentinel of the Shards is your typical action adventure RPG. Zones are fun and unique enough to satisfy. But the frame rate dips so low at times that it’s easy to become frustrated. There’s nothing eccentric here, and that’s ok. Not every game about saving the world has to be, I guess.

Minus ray-tracing support, Days Gone on PC brings a lot of goodies that PC gamers look for. There's 60 Hz refresh rates, unlimited frames per second, ultrawide resolutions, HDR, and even an increased field of view. The technical aspects of this port are solid, even if I have to do a framey 360 spin with the camera whenever I first load up.

While the cheerful island graphics and pirate themes are fun, King of Seas' over reliance on grinding quickly stifles the enjoyment. Exploration is highly enjoyable, but after you've seen everything, the story is the only thing left to pursue. Artificial barriers to extend the experience frustrate, as there is little satisfaction in grinding to victory.

Not a new game, but a good updating of an older classic. Gamers new to strategy, and those who missed the original, will find this well worth playing.

Knockout City is a rollicking good time, restructuring dodgeball into a competitive team sport that anyone can enjoy. Appropriate for all audiences, there is plenty of fun here for casuals and the hardcore crowd alike. Knockout City leaves plenty of room for the game to grow and expand, making it a solid platform for success as a living game. Bright, cheery, inclusive fun.

Biomutant attempts to channel many inspirations into a compelling package. It does much of that extremely well, excelling at world building and creating a fluid combat system to drive the experience. The one area it falls short is in tying it all together with an engrossing narrative. It not only fails at the narrative, but even worse, fails at the very mechanics of delivering the story. Wander the world on your own initiative and experience a great game; follow the path of the main quest and suffer the letdown of a mediocre tale, told poorly.

Hood: Outlaws and Legends brings players into an alternate universe where Robin Hood and his Merry Men are a gang of murderous thieves. While the core heist gameplay loop offers some fun for committed players, the structure around those heists doesn't give much reason (beyond getting better) to keep playing. The thematic darkness doesn't help; when the Sherriff of Nottingham drops f-bombs and smashes people's heads like pumpkins, I kinda tap out.

Space Commander: War and Trade makes the transition from mobile to console without considering what changes would make the game more palatable for console players. A very basic trading system, a fiddly map, and super simple space combat all add up to an experience that underwhelms. There is a lot going on in Space Commander, but not very much of it is fun.

Resident Evil Village earns a spot right up there as one of the very best Resident Evil games in the franchise’s 25 year run. Village is an amalgamation of what made Resident Evil 4 and Resident Evil 7 fan-favourite entries. Though it also delivers on it’s own ambition with new breeds of terrifying enemies never seen before in Resident Evil. The Village is a desolate, decrepit, dolorous setting but undeniably beautiful thanks to some of the best art direction ever seen in the series. In an age of day one patches and bugs, Resident Evil looks and runs flawlessly on the PlayStation 5 version used in this review. Resident Evil Village is a Game of the Year contender.

Subnautica: Below Zero further refines the survival sim, setting a new highpoint for the genre with sky-high production values and amazing world building. Every excursion is risky and rewarding, as the game continues to tease, push, and pull the player ever deeper into its labyrinth. An extraordinary visual delight, Below Zero has the chops to match its graphics with superb gameplay. Subnautica: Below Zero is a masterclass in game design.

Tasomachi: Behind the Twilight is nice and relaxing—and that's about it. While the game is nice to look at and listen to, there's very little challenge and, for a collect-a-thon, I can see where that can turn some people off. If you don't mind a simple game then the budget price tag might not seem too high. But if you're looking for a challenge, you definitely won't find it here.

Ashwalkers promises a dreary trek across low-poly wastelands—and it delivers. It also seems to promise a tale rife with moral dilemmas and unassailable camaraderie—which it doesn't hit hard enough. The biggest dilemmas are often too big to comprehend on a human scale. And the human interactions left me cold and calculating when they should’ve had me digging in my heart of hearts for the answers.

Skjoldur Story doesn't have a long tale to tell, but it is packed full of puzzles galore, and put into a colorful world that is fun to explore. It can be frustrating when you have to repeat yourself when you die. Skjoldur Story can feel like a nostalgic trip, so fill up the tank, grab some snacks, and buckle up for the journey.

Zen Studios takes eight of their beloved Star Wars pinball tables and blows each of them out into the VR space in delightful and unexpected ways. Each of the tables offers hours of fun, and Zen provides a ton of ways to interact with them. The “basement cave” framing device provides a great extra layer of reward for engaging with the game. Recommended without reservation.

Returnal is a shining technical achievement, possibly the best looking game on PlayStation 5. With addictive gunplay, a brutal learning curve, and a focus on exploration and temporary buffs, roguelike fans will be in heaven. Be warned though, the difficulty level is not for everyone. Though I learned to love Returnal with time, many players may walk away frustrated.

Deiland: Pocket Planet Edition has a lovely, relaxing vibe, and some pleasant, very recognizable farming mechanics. But some quest problems lead to frustration – and worse, hours of bewildered wandering. When progression grinds to a halt and there is nothing to do but grow endless crops, Deiland starts to feel less pleasant, and more like a purgatory.

Outriders is far from perfect. But a game doesn't have to be when it facilitates such a high degree of fun and interesting gameplay mechanics.

A touch of paint was added to Star Wars: Republic Commando, but the brush was small. Gameplay feels just like it did in 2005, which is great because of the solid foundation, but this enhanced port can feel like it runs slow at the worst times. By not changing much players might be better off remembering the past with rose colored glasses.

Trials of Fire is a fantastic deck-building game. It is enhanced by also acting like a rouguelike for endless replayability, and it crafts a rich world around its characters. Trials of Fire only disappoints on one front: that the story it actually tells seems more like a teaser than an epic. While I can't complain in that it is priced like a single episode in a longer saga, I am left wanting for the rest of the saga. Maybe that's altogether not the worst thing...

As a video game reviewer, it's very rare I've ever awarded a perfect score. The last two games I awarded with that score were The Witcher 3 and God of War. I say this just to emphasize how It Takes Two really is, in my view, the perfect co-op experience. At least, it's the closest to perfection that I've had the joy to experience to date.

While you were partying, Narita Boy studied the techno-blade. Impossibly good pixel art is locked behind bad-but-gets-better platforming and okay-but-gets-cool hack n' slashing.

Breathedge offers some decent exploration and survival gameplay, tucked among very slow trips to gather materials that sometimes feel like they are wasting the player's time. A hit-and-miss sense of humor can sometimes amuse, while other times causing something close to fury. A mid-game pivot seems to drive the game off track—changing the mechanics in a way that feels jarring. Enjoyable for stretches, Breathedge can't help but shoot itself in the foot occasionally, in ways that are more frustrating than fun.

They say to shoot for the moon and if you miss you’ll be among the stars. Gallic Wars: Battle Simulator shoots for the moon but you quickly realize you’re not in a rocket ship but a bicycle with training wheels. Trying to fly a bicycle to the moon has a lot of issues, in this case it's the gameplay elements, the obscure camera angles, and the repetitiveness that has Gallic Wars landing in the grass five feet from takeoff.

Cozy Grove is great to look at, and only having to spend 20 minutes a day doing so doesn’t make it feel like a chore. Gameplay can eventually feel repetitive, alas, such is the struggle with life sim games, and this one does it better than most.

Dragonborne brings a new entry to the Game Boy lineup, but unfortunately seems to have regressed on some major quality of life components rather than bringing them to today's standards.

Monster Hunter Rise pulls the best features from past games to create an experience that feels particularly tuned for a handheld system. With plenty of quality-of-life improvements and several fun new mechanics, Rise pushes the franchise forward while retaining all of the depth and fun that fans expect. Another stellar release from Capcom.

Like all Nintendo Switch ports, Crash 4: It's About Time makes concessions to run on the less-powerful hardware. Ultimately, though, the concessions are more than worth it to get a great game with a wealth of content running on the Nintendo Switch.

Sword of the Necromancer is by no means a perfect game, but it's still enjoyable with a few issues here and there. Tama never feels like she's getting stronger and the monsters you summon are hit and miss as to whether they'll actually be effective in a fight or just randomly run around the room going nowhere near where you want them to. The bosses are also hit and miss when it comes to those that require strategy and those that just have you run away for a bit before getting in one or two hits and repeating. However, the story is great and well voice-acted and the soundtrack has a lot of nice tracks to listen to.

Though technically something of a wreck, I still enjoyed I Saw Black Clouds’ narrative audacity. The choices the game makes aren’t necessarily good, but they are often bold. Even through the rough editing and sound issues, the game still delivers some surprises and suspense. Holler at the screen and throw popcorn with your buddies, and you just might enjoy this one.

Spacebase Startopia is a reasonably fun management/strategy game, slightly too complex to play with a controller. Though genre veterans will not find much challenge here, Spacebase Startopia is unique and cheerful enough to make it worth a look.

Curious Expedition 2's gorgeous backgrounds and good-looking characters improve on the first title, but don't do enough to make the management part of the game sparkle. Expeditions become a trudge, especially when your party robs you of all your alcohol; and combat can be fun, but not much fun to look at.

Curse of the Dead Gods is a finely polished roguelike that embodies the best elements of the genre. It has a battle scheme that is simple to grasp but requires skill to master. It balances the progression of each run with penalties to maintain a steady, yet shifting, challenge. It brings a few elements over that a roguelike purist might scoff at, but does so purely to the benefit of the game, and aids a progression system that feels meaningful while not demeaning the overall challenge. It nails that hallmark of the roguelike where you always feel like maybe dipping in for one more run.

I've tried roguelikes. Tried deck builders. Tried auto-battlers and tile-placers. But playing Loop Hero makes me wonder what all those others were missing.

Pine has a lot of interesting systems and mechanics, but those individual pieces do not add up to a completely satisfying whole. While there is fun to be had with Pine's interesting exploration, many of the mechanics feel disjointed, with too much reliance on the game's collection-based economy. While Pine was clearly made with a lot of love, every good feature in is balanced by a mechanic that doesn't feel so great.

An excellent puzzler that is let down only by a mediocre port onto a screen that it is doing no favors for. The game plays fine when docked onto a bigger screen, but then the controls let you down that much more when you lose the touchscreen to doodle on. There is a rhythmic, difficult challenge unlocked behind the awkward interface played across a level design that beautifully weaves the very canvas of each problem into the story. I thoroughly enjoyed Solas 128, if only I could shake the feeling I would have loved it more were I playing it on a PC.

Bravely Default II is a throwback to the Final Fantasy games of the '80s, in all the best ways. Some modern quality-of-life enhancements smooth the road a bit, but all the good stuff you remember is here for the taking. If grinding monsters for levels, unlocking new skills, and hunting for missing crystals is your idea of a good time, then Bravely Default is your video game nirvana.

Cathedral is a pretty good Metroidvania-style game that can be difficult at times, though that tends to come with the genre. That said though, the game looks great and for fifteen dollars, I’d say its definitely worth picking up. As for me, I’ll definitely be taking another trip through the game down the road.

Maquette has a great puzzle mechanic as its central hook, though it sometimes struggles with obtuse implementation and fussy controls. Nonetheless, the narrative arc of the young relationship at the center of the game is well worth a bit of frustration to experience. Some lovely visuals and music make playing Maquette that much more rewarding.

PixelJunk Raiders is one of the most beautiful, moody, and tough games I've ever played. But it is the potential of the Stadia community crowdsourcing the game that makes it such a fascinating and unique experience. A unique experience on its own, PixelJunk Raiders has capacity to become a gamechanger if the gaming public choses to adopt it. Either way, this is a fascinating piece of video game history in the making. Attention should be paid.

Little Nightmares II is a must-play for any fans of indie sensations Limbo and Inside. If you've yet to play the first game, it's not necessary, per se, but is wholly recommended. Having played the first game, one can appreciate how much Little Nightmares II builds upon its predecessor. It's gloomy, gruesome, ghastly, but downright intoxicating.

First time you're hearing about The Nioh Collection? It's a great pick up for your PS5 and one of the best franchises of the last generation! But if you've been grinding away on the PS4 version? Maybe wait for a sale.

Voyage is a very good 2D cinematic puzzler that is a must have for anyone in love with the genre. It's even good enough to pull in some new fans as well.

ALTDEUS: Beyond Chronos places players smack dab in the middle of a living anime story, with all of the cool world-building and unique characters implied by that statement. Players used to a lot of action in their games will have to adjust to the slower pace of this plot-driven experience, but will quickly discover that it yields its own unique rewards.

Overall it's not a bad game, but the difficulty seems a bit high. And with the game as short as it is, you're either going to have issues with its difficulty, or complete the game rather quickly.

Werewolf is firing on all cylinders when it lets you take on a wave of enemies, turning them all into puddles of jam. You don't have to think too much about the gameplay, and that gradually becomes a good thing. If this came out 10 years ago, I'd be thinking about it more during end-of-the-year talks.

The Falconeer sets players in a gorgeous setting with a storyline that keeps you entertained and intrigued, but falls short on both the amount to do and in keeping the gameplay as interesting as the story.

Yupitergrad is a well-made game that I simply didn’t enjoy very much. The suction-cup based line swinging works great and is a lot of fun on its own. But trying to get through difficult sections with any sort of precision can be very challenging. For the strong-willed and strong-stomached only.

Disjunction is a stealth-action RPG that seems to focus more on the "stealth" and less on action or even RPG. The framework is there for a better game, but it sadly fell short of what it could have been.

Hitman 3 is a stunningly intricate work of video game art. As a franchise neophyte, I was delighted by the amazing world building and level design. While I expected a gangbusters action game, Hitman 3's more deliberate pacing has converted me into a series fan. Beautiful, sophisticated, and a mountain of fun, Hitman 3 is a revelation.

Neoverse dispenses with story (and a perhaps more-important tutorial) to get players straight into the action, trusting them to figure out the game's intricacies on their own. Those with the patience to learn Neoverse will be rewarded by its amazingly deep, fun, and varied gameplay. With three very different characters to choose from, and a mountain of systems and modes, Neoverse is one of the most addictive deck builders I've played.

Despite a convoluted story filled with silly retcons and nonsense, it's still fun to play through to see the (for now) official ending to the original Mortal Kombat story. With 12 additional characters and tons of skins, Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate is absolutely worth a buy for those who have yet to check out MK11. The new characters are still great additions to the roster for those who have experienced all the content since the beginning.

Little Hope is a return to form for Supermassive Games. After the somewhat slow and dry Man of Medan, Little Hope arrives with a narrative audacity and assured performances that place The Dark Pictures Anthology squarely on the top of the interactive filmic adventure game heap. With a rich, complex, and wickedly surprising narrative, Little Hope is well worth playing, despite some awkward moments and transitions.

While I'm not 100% in love with the game due to bugs and difficulty swings, Cyberpunk 2077 is still a solid pickup simply for its story and incredible world. Make sure your system is prepared for it and you'll get a good experience.

Override 2: Super Mech League is a great local and online multiplayer 3D brawler. With a ton of moves, a huge roster of cool and unique characters, and flashy special effects, Override 2 offers hours of fun. Go into the game with the knowledge that the online implementation is somewhat limited, with no cross-platform or cross-generation play. But when battling friends at home or online, Override 2 can’t be beat.

Amazing Cultivation Simulator brings a massive learning curve, but that curve creates an amazing amount of opportunity and re-playability that will have you discovering new strategies and methods for elevating your cult for a long time over.

Destiny 2: Beyond Light is worth the investment for existing fans of the genre and franchise. Otherwise, the best way to experience this expansion is through Game Pass on Xbox or PC.

Looks good, plays good, a nice use of souls-like mechanics to penalize players for dying but still lets you run freely and enjoy the game at your own pace; there is a lot to like about Foregone. It lands itself squarely near the top of the 2D action platformer pyramid. A little more depth in the skill tree and a little more oomph in the special abilities could take it to that next level, but it stands on solid footing and offers a class leading experience.

Temtem is as good as it gets when it comes to competition versus Pokémon. Even in Early Access, it surpasses the most recent Pokémon games and it’s exciting to think about how the best is yet to come with Temtem. [Early Access Provisional Score = 80]

Dispensing with frivolous window dressing like story and dialogue, Heroes of Hammerwatch give players direct access to its addictive dungeon crawling. Fun played solo – but riotous played with a group – Heroes of Hammerwatch does old-school gaming right, even though a bit more explanation of its systems might be welcomed by some players. With a ton of content to explore, Heroes of Hammerwatch is well worth the asking price. Highly recommended.

There are two competing experiences here: that as as Assassin, and that as a Viking, that either on its own feels like it might have been a triumph and better than this good but not great Assass-king hybrid we have.

A visually stunning game, Godfall suffers from repetitive combat and a lackluster story that is forgettable after the first hour. In an industry with so many Dark Souls-style games, this is not one to spend time on.

Immortals Fenyx Rising is cheerful fun, offering a fresh take on Greek mythology that is cartoonish but with just enough humanity to keep it grounded. While the game plays like a open world epic, every mechanic in Immortals is tied to well-designed puzzles. Though the actions you take become repetitive, the story and writing keep things lively enough to see Immortals Fenyx Rising through to the end.

I've always enjoyed games that enable you to build things from the ground up, and Planet Coaster is no exception. Frontier's commitment to detail is not lost. You could spend days designing, constructing, and expanding the theme park of your dreams. At a time when visiting actual theme parks isn't the most appealing, this simulation scratches the itch.

Harmonix shows once again why they are very good at what they do - making fun rhythm games. Fuser is a fantastic music creation tool that is a ton of fun to play. Online battle modes are fun, when you can find people to play with. Fuser is something I will be playing for quite some time, if only to try and get five stars for all the campaign missions.

Outcasters is fun, fast, and easy to pick up. A shot-curving mechanic pushes the gameplay in interesting directions, allowing for unexpected levels of strategy. Though the number of modes is currently limited, the modes that are included are quite fun - and there is always room for expansion. The character collection aspect of the game is surprisingly deep and addictive.

Submerged: Hidden Depths exists on its own chill plane – an exploration game that is truly about exploration and little else. Though some may feel that Submerged is lacking in mechanics, those that get onboard with its subdued vibe will find a lot of beauty in the experience. This is a gorgeous game, and exploring its mysteries is a reward in itself.

PHOGS! is a great two-player co-op puzzle game with just enough floppiness to make executing the solutions challenging. Never frustrating but always satisfying, PHOGS! is a solid choice for kids or adults. Gorgeous storybook art and fantastic music keep PHOGS! warm and fun, and a simple control design makes the game accessible to a wide range of audiences. Clever, charming, and fun.

Make no doubt about it, this is the definitive way to play Borderlands 3. Whether you’re venturing into the Borderlands for the first time, or revisiting now that the technical issues are fixed, you’re in for a hell of a time.

The few positives do not outweigh the negatives. EA Sports continues to phone it in with the FIFA series while single-player gamers cry out for better options.

Just Dance 2021 continues the franchise in precisely the way fans expect; beyond the 40 new tracks, this is virtually the exact same game as last year, and that is totally fine. Happy songs, bright colors, and fun animation make for a welcome good time, and the exercise certainly doesn’t hurt. If you have never tried Just Dance, take the leap. It’s much more fun than you think it is.

The single-player and campaign modes are actually really great stuff. But like nearly all Call of Duty games, that is the content you'll breeze through within your first week playing if even for just a few hours a day. The bulk of the ride ends up being multiplayer and zombies and that is where the problems really lie. This is a game that I'm sure will eventually get the extra content, balancing, and bugs worked out along a series of patches and end up being much better than it is today. But unfortunately the buggy, laggy, unbalanced, and content-sparse game we get at launch is the only one I was given to review. And the balance of the excellent single-player with below average multiplayer ends up for an average overall experience.

Without a doubt, Spider-Man Miles Morales Ultimate Edition is one of the best packages offered in video game history. Here you have two stellar games for the price of one, guaranteed to lift your spirits and thoroughly entertain you. Take a break from the world and spend some time with Spidey — and never forget to stand back up when you get knocked down.

Demon's Souls is the must-have PlayStation 5 exclusive as the showstopper of the launch lineup. It's so close to being a perfect 10. But some archaic mechanics left untouched, as well as questionable deluxe edition items giving an unfair head start, just prevent it from reaching that pinnacle. Nevertheless, if you want justification of why the PlayStation 5 is worth upgrading to at launch, look no further than Demon's Souls.

Oceanhorn 2: Knights of the Lost Realm looks and feels like a Legend of Zelda game, which is good. But comparing it to the Zelda series might lead to disappointment whereas, on its own, it's mostly enjoyable. If you're looking for a Zelda-like experience, Oceanhorn 2 should help fulfill that void for a while, as long as you give it some time to do so.

Sackboy: A Big Adventure is an audio-visual feast, a living work of art that continuously delights and amazes players with its bottomless well of creativity. Some pacing issues can't do much to detract from the amazing level design, tight platforming, and astounding soundtrack. Sackboy is a pure delight.

Five Dates is a solid entry in the FMV game genre, offering an interesting take on dating during the pandemic. While there is nothing revolutionary here, the way the game plays with expectations and subverts players impressions is interesting enough to give it a shot. Fans of the genre will likely enjoy this one.

PAC-MAN Mega Tunnel Battle is a remarkably entertaining modern twist on what is perhaps the most beloved game of all time. This game manages to retain the fun of old school PAC-MAN, while adding in an extra layer of tension and strategy to the mix by letting players invade each other's games. Brilliant idea, and fun game.

Everybody has their Assassin's Creed. Mine might still be the pirate's life in Black Flag. But Valhalla is basically Vikings vs. knights, filling out the other two sides of my personal trifecta. The assassinations might've gone soft, but the northern European world building hits hard.

The Pathless is a remarkably well-designed game, guiding the player forward with intuitive design while providing plenty of opportunity to experiment and play. With a great locomotion system and an amazing soundtrack, The Pathless will easily see players losing hours while under its hypnotic spell. Fun and rewarding puzzles, a nice story line, and plenty to see and do make The Pathless a great game, regardless of which system you play it on.

No Straight Roads has fantastic visuals, a phenomenal soundtrack, and lovable characters. It's a shame that the rest of the game doesn't hold up as well but I didn't regret my time with the game and will be replaying the boss fights many more times thanks to the fantastic music.

Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales shines on the PlayStation 5 with great graphics, solid gameplay, and excellent use of the new DualSense controller for a seriously fun game to play on the brand new console.

Much of Watch Dogs: Legion feels revolutionary, from its "play as anyone" hook to its Black Mirror-esque science fiction setting. While the gameplay only iterates slightly on previous games, new wrinkles provided by character traits keep things fresh. Watch Dogs: Legion delivers a stark warning about what our future may hold, but maintains its entertainment level throughout. Legion is a witty, bracing wake-up call.

Torchlight III is an enjoyable game but is also a bit more simplified than the previous entry in the series. While the Relic system brings some new ways to customize your character, the lack of a regular flowing of skill trees and spending stat points makes it seem like you can't quite customize your character as much as you'd like with stats being tied into your gear. The new fort system is nice but I really only found myself using it to stash gear I wanted to keep and to swap out pets. Overall while I did enjoy my time with Torchlight III, it felt like a downgrade from Torchlight II and fans of the series might want to wait a bit before picking this one up.

Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time goes far beyond expectations with the number of characters, modes, and levels that it includes. Series newcomers are likely to be rudely smacked upside the head by the blistering difficulty, but longtime fans will delight in the incredible ways this title iterates upon its storied past. Highly recommended.

Ys Origin is a fantastic game and definitely a good way to get into the series itself. The controls feel pretty fluid for the most part. You have several different difficulty options to choose from, so anyone from newcomers to experts can enjoy the game. The visuals still look pretty good today, and the soundtrack is nice to just sit back and listen to. If you're looking for a way to get into the series, Ys Origin is a great place to start.

CastleStorm II's brand of real-time strategy tower defense is just challenging enough to keep you engaged, but not so much that you're throwing your controller.

Cake Bash is an extremely polished four-player collection of minigames and competitions that is perfect for families as well as more experience players. This is the sort of game that is meticulously designed so that anyone can pick up a controller and enjoy it. Though the amount of content in the game feels light, the amount of entertainment to be gained from this package far outweighs the asking price.

Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning is the story of marketable talent crafting a competent—if flawed—RPG in 2012; Re-Reckoning is that same story hastily repackaged in 2020 and resold at an overinflated price point.

There is a very good game in the center of an overall experience that ends up less than the sum of its parts at first glance, but one that if you are willing to put in the struggle and slog through to the other side can reward you with one of the better survival simulations there is.

Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time is a competent, if linear and somewhat unbalanced, action adventure. You can tell that the game studio was made up of true fans who poured their love for the show into this game. But the scope and grandeur of the Samurai Jack IP are sadly limited by this game's low-budget restrictions. It's fun for what it is, but it left me hungry for more.

With some unexpectedly complex and challenging controls, Star Wars: Squadrons is not the sort of game that you jump into and play casually. Squadrons is a surprisingly deep flight sim-style space battler that benefits from all of the sights and sounds of the Star Wars universe. While fun played on TVs, Squadrons really comes to life in VR, despite some resolution issues. This is simply the best Star Wars space battle game ever produced, and is a dream come true for fans.