WWE 2K Battlegrounds is a welcome spin-off for the franchise, giving it the extravagant, over-the-top, enjoyable gameplay that captures and magnifies the WWE’s best aspects.

Under the Waves is an impressive first game from Parallel Studio that tells an emotionally charged story of protagonist Stan overcoming his grief. The writing and performances are quality stuff, and while the gameplay doesn't feature any notable mechanics, it is a surprisingly solid experience that's worth playing through to the end.

Metal Eden's fast-paced gameplay loop and harrowing sci-fi setting serve as a solid backdrop for arena combat, but be prepared for a whole lot of talking.

Clock Tower Rewind brings the cult classic horror game to western shores for the first time with some added convenience features and bonuses to boot. However, the game's intrinsic point and click adventure game DNA feels outdated and flawed. If you don't mind using a guide to help in your pixel hunt and solve archaic solutions, this remaster of one of the most influential horror games of the 90s comes recommended.

The Ninja Gaiden Master Collection is a barebones port of two of the greatest action games ever made and Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge. The fact that these are the Sigma versions, and that Team Ninja has done nothing to iron out the weaker moments of these games, drags this collection down, but it's still a good way to play Ninja Gaiden on modern hardware.

If you’ve never played this game before, or if you want to dive back into it but don’t have access to an older copy, Re-Reckoning is easy to recommend- but only because the game itself is as good as it is. If you were hoping for an impressive visual upgrade, this isn’t it, and those who already have access to a copy of the original game should probably save their money.

Gods Will Fall also suffers from some bugs (including at least one I encountered as early as the tutorial, where I basically got stuck in a room with the way to move forward not opening, forcing me to restart), though I have hopes that these may be addressed in future updates. The controls can often be annoying, especially the parry, which relies on you rolling towards the enemy at just the right time, an exercise in frustration, especially when compared with the game’s lack of a lock on (which otherwise isn’t a problem at all, but does exacerbate the trouble with the parry system).

If you want a break from Valorant, Bad Guitar Studio's FragPunk is an entertaining distraction. Just don't count on the same level of tactical depth.

Silent Hill: The Short Message isn't going to set the horror genre ablaze, but it doesn't have to. As a free offering, it's a solid showcase with a heavy atmosphere and heavier subjects, even if its narrative could have been more subtle.

Dungeons 4 is pretty safe as sequels go, adding new features and bigger maps while upping the visual quality. The story is forgettable, the humor dreadful and the performance on Xbox Series X is questionable, but it still offers some addictive gameplay.

Playtonic's remaster of its 2017 platformer offers a litany of improvements, but its level design still barely passes muster.

As Dusk Falls is not without merits, but its price is maybe a little too steep for what it is.

Even if Tape 1 won't immediately grab you, Lost Records: Bloom and Rage is off to a decent start, thanks to its intriguing characters and plot.

NBA 2K22 makes some appreciated improvements to on-the-court gameplay and tries some refreshing, if not entirely successful innovations in MyCareer that make this year’s version feel like a bit more than just a roster update.

Monster Truck Championship makes a case for the most impressive monster truck simulator on the market, but its lack of content hinders its longevity.

Ugly visuals and an all around lack of polish detract from what is an incredibly strong, compelling, and well designed core adventure, one that represents the series' strongest outing in a very long time otherwise.

Rise of the Ronin’s PC release is marred by performance issues which should hopefully be fixed through some patches focused on optimization. Underneath, however, there’s still a game with excellent combat, albeit with a bland story and quest design.

Ugly visuals and an all around lack of polish detract from what is an incredibly strong, compelling, and well designed core adventure, one that represents the series' strongest outing in a very long time otherwise.

Front Mission 2: Remake holds up better than the original game, and while it still occasionally remains an exercise in frustration, it's a compelling and genuinely entertaining experience.

Skyward Sword's HD remaster helps sand out some of the game's rough edges, but this is still probably the most flawed mainline Zelda game to date.

Battle for Brooklyn isn't an earth-shattering new addition to The Division 2, but it doesn't feel tacked on either. Even if I expected something more, the content and story missions are solid, and there's plenty of cool new loot to earn.

Monster Hunter Stories can show its age in how simplistic it often feels, but it's still an enjoyable and charming RPG that genre fans will enjoy.

Age of Calamity isn’t the compelling addition to Zelda canon that may have been promised, but it does just enough right that it can muster a recommendation for fans of Breath of the Wild.

Translating an octopus’ natural brainpower into gameplay mechanics, Darwin’s Paradox! engages this plucky cephalopod in tentacle espionage action.

Princess Peach Showtime! is a fun, charming, and well made game. It has its issues, but very few that its intended audience will care about. Hopefully it gets a follow up that gets to iterate on the core ideas.

Motorslice is a classic example of a developer taking influences, wearing them on their sleeve, and building on that foundation with a unique and engaging experience.

Surviving the Aftermath doesn't utilize its dire post-apocalyptic setting as well as it could have, but those looking for an addictive, mechanically dense city builder/management sim will find a lot of enjoyment here.

The new battle royale isn't without its missteps or annoyances, but it's a solid start that feeds your appetite for destruction.

Ferocious feels like a callback to an era of shooters where all that really mattered was the action, throwing plenty of enemies your way to keep the chaos going.

Diablo 4 will provide dozens, if not hundreds, of hours of entertainment for those seeking a solid action RPG looter. However, some may be left wanting by the power fantasy and some of the endgame.

Even six years after the original, The Sinking City Remastered still feels like a rough gem. Its investigative mechanics shine, but their impact is dulled by weak stealth and a progression system that leans too heavily on uninspired combat.

Arkane Studios' shooter is finally available on Xbox Series consoles with a large new update, but it's still very much the same middling experience.

NHL 25 is a solid hockey game bolstered by improved AI and small incremental improvements, but its changes don't feel as substantial as other titles in EA's lineup.

The Medium is a decent horror game that has some really good ideas, but ultimately fails to live up to its potential.

Post Trauma is an interesting experiment in the horror genre that tries to bring back classic gameplay styles to a modern age.

Even with the missing multiplayer, Crysis' sci-fi single player campaigns provide a decent experience.

Lego Bricktales doesn’t break much new ground, but its satisfying and manageable build experience meshes well with its short-but-sweet world structures to provide an easily digestible and relaxing Lego experience.

Tormented Souls is a little rough around the edges and hits a few noticeable bumps, but by and large, this is a solid survival horror game that fans of the genre's classics are sure to enjoy.

Endless Dungeon is a fun roguelike experience.

Atelier Yumia is far from the best entry in the series for newcomers, but it's certainly the largest and most accessible.

The frenetic PvP arena shooter with portals returns but this time with a fancy new engine and battle royale mode.

The newest entry in The Dark Pictures Anthology takes a few risks but mostly sticks to the format to deliver another decent horror adventure.

Poor visual presentation and bugs hold back Kingdom of the Dead from truly shining.

If you like farming sims and have some free time on your hands, Harvestella is worth looking into- though it's far from flawless.

Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0’s battle royale is an iterative upgrade.

There's a lot to love in the level design and tactical toolkit afforded. I just wish some of the bugs and performance issues were ironed out so I could enjoy them more. Unless you're a patient gamer who enjoys real-time-tactics games, or a long-time Commandos aficionado, you might want to wait for one or two updates from now to try this out.

Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak extends the monster-hunting adventure while lacking any significant innovation of the base game’s foundation.

Avowed isn't trying to be the next big Obsidian title as much as an action RPG set in the Pillars universe - so it was a year ago, and it remains true today. You could do worse, especially on PS5 at this price, but think twice if story-telling and memorable characters are essential to the experience.

Split Fiction pretty much nails it on the gameplay front, but falters regarding its predictable and flawed story. The one-dimensional villain and cliche character dynamic between Mio and Zoe can't be ignored due to their presence through the adventure. Don't miss the Side Stories, as these supply some of the game's most memorable and charming moments.

The compelling horror mystery at the center of Project Nightmares is occasionally fraught with a frustrating lack of polish.

Despite some flaws, AWE is a very good expansion that brings Alan Wake into Remedy's shared universe and teases exciting things for the future.

The glory days of Super Monkey Ball may be far behind, but Banana Rumble is a new beginning. Tight stage design, responsive controls and an appealing aesthetic make it one of the series' best in years.

No Straight Roads looks great, sounds great, and has great characters- but it has major gameplay issues that bring down the whole experience.

For longevity, Rumble could use a smattering of other modes or potential options to alter the current game mode to stave off rapid burnout.

Captain Tsubasa: Rise of New Champions is not a perfect game, and it's not the most mechanically dense game, but thankfully, it doesn't have to be. Its strengths lie in its unhinged, over-the-top on-pitch action and its delightfully silly presentation. If you're looking for a football game that lets you focus on all the fun aspects of the sport while ignoring almost everything to do with tactics and strategy, this is the game for you.

Madden NFL 21 is as fun and realistic as every Madden game, especially in its new “The Yard” mode and its increased focus on superstars, but its stagnation in gameplay innovation and established modes makes it sometimes difficult to distinguish its improvements over previous games.

A solid Metroidvania in its own right with a uniquely gorgeous aesthetic, MIO: Memories in Orbit is marked by bizarre design choices and a lack of variety to combat.

Supernatural offers a unique horror experience with an interesting story, multiple endings, and a short runtime that encourages replayability. Just be warned that there’s plenty of gore to deal with.

Forever Skies offers a fun narrative survival adventure with a unique spin on how your home base operates. Sadly, its survival mechanics feel unnecessary and its combat is quite boring.

Infinity Nikki is a cozy exploration game with solid dress-up mechanics and appealing visuals, despite its iffy console performance and annoying gacha system.

New animations help NHL 23 make steps toward greater authenticity but the series still needs a major overhaul.

Deliver Us the Moon is a solid game, but this sloppy current-gen upgrade is probably not the best way to experience it.

While GigaBash's core gameplay systems of brawling are solid, everything surrounding that experience - the online component, content offerings, roster - are underwhelming when compared to contemporaries.

Tales of Berseria Remastered makes this harrowing adventure much easier to experience, but it still doesn’t do enough to fix the issues that plagued the original release.

Outriders: Worldslayer continues the base game’s trends in every single way possible. Its story is bad, the antagonist is boring, and the zones feel wasted, but none of that matters because Outriders: Worldslayer still has some of the most interesting gameplay systems of any loot game. And most importantly, it’s still a lot of fun.

Ys 10: Nordics isn't a bad game and offers plenty of action RPG fun for newcomers and veterans. However, some design elements feel off, leveling off what should be the series' next ascent to greatness.

Freedom Wars Remastered is the 2014 classic through and through, with some bells and whistles. Just don't expect any massive overhauls or new content.

NASCAR 25 is a solid racing game but doesn't do enough as a racing simulator to make it stand out. If you like an authentic, challenging on-track experience, this one is easy to recommend. However, anybody other than a NASCAR enthusiast isn't likely to derive enough value from the game to justify picking it up at launch.

Call of Duty Black Ops 6 doesn't reinvent the wheel nor does it rise to the genre's greatest heights.

Scarlet Nexus lives and dies by its combat, which is a good thing, because the combat is great. It's fast, frantic, consistently enjoyable, grows progressively more complex, and feels surprisingly strategic on a very fundamental level. But in most other ways, the game fails to live up to its potential, most notably in how it fails to do justice to a good setting and solid world-building with uninteresting characters, a mindless narrative, and deeply flawed storytelling.

While it can feel more like a proof of concept for some new mechanics than a vital piece of the experience, Lightfall is another reason to come back to Destiny 2, which proves it’s still a top-tier shooter more than half a decade into its life.

Escape From Tarkov might have been one of the first major extraction shooters, but the genre as a whole still has a lot to learn from its core gameplay and how it builds up tension.

Initially full of potential, Heart Machine's latest eventually runs out of gas when it's not stumbling off some awkward combat issues.

Haphazard at times and calmly cacophonic at others - Dustborn has much going on, and it's far from harmonious. Nevertheless, the characters and intriguing setting help sustain interest.

Shadow Warrior 3 strips away much of the extra fluff from its predecessor for a short, straightforward thrill ride packed with violence. Its humor doesn't always land and the narrative can be slipshod but the gameplay is very fun and backed by solid level design. Just don't be too surprised at the overall campaign length.

Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising fulfills its purpose, providing a solid if very straightforward experience that may or not make you averse to stamps when it’s all over.

Colorful and boisterous, Butterscotch Shenanigans' sequel doesn't stray too far from the original, even if it could have offered more.

If you’re looking for an engaging multiplayer spy game, Deceive Inc. is hiding in plain sight. It has some issues that mar an otherwise solid experience, but it’s difficult to fault it for those since it will only run you $20.

Twin Mirror’s inconsistent presentation and short length contaminate its otherwise excellent story-telling and solid detective gameplay to a degree, but thankfully, it still manages to land on its feet as a respectable narrative-focused adventure.

Hypergryph's action RPG foray falls short in several places, but the unorthodox systems, exploration and visuals make it worth a try.

Monster Jam: Steel Titans 2 is at its best when it embraces the arcadeyness, depth, and lightheartedness that define its most exciting moments, though it sometimes punishes the very ambition behind those aspects.

Deathverse: Let It Die has some interesting things going for it, but it ends up sorely lacking in other elements.

Star Wars Hunters is a surprisingly fun hero shooter wrapped around a somewhat aggressive live-service model.

Little Hope makes the direction of The Dark Pictures anthology clear, but it makes up for its evident formula with an interestingly convoluted story and increasingly nuanced branching paths.

NTE: Neverness to Everness won't set the free-to-play world on fire, but it's still a surprisingly strong debut effort with a solid foundation.

Dakar Desert Rally combines a lot of modern features that great racing games need, but occasionally gets in its own way with technical issues.

Wuthering Waves won't unseat Genshin Impact in the open-world action RPG department, but it's still very solid out of the gate and worth keeping an eye on in the coming years.

Still Wakes the Deep doesn't fully realize the horrific potential of its intriguing setting, and some might find it to be a bit too light on gameplay, but thanks to an engaging story and gorgeous visuals, it's still a game worth playing.

Scorn is an interesting game to play. Lacking any real story to follow, it instead relies on your own curiosity to see it through. You’ll be interacting with all sorts of disgusting things, and fighting off horrifying creatures, and if you’re the kind of person who can not only stomach the aesthetic, but actually enjoy it, Scorn will undoubtedly be a wonderful experience. For just about everyone else, though, maybe look at a couple of screenshots and trailers and see if you can stomach the aesthetic first.

Ghostwire: Tokyo is an intriguing gameplay experience, one that is marred by simplistic combat and repetitive mechanics.

There's a lot to love about Wreckreation but its issues, both major and minor, hold it back from being a brilliant sandbox that has you spending hours of unadulterated fun on its streets.

Despite some strong new content, Falcom's enhanced version of the 2024 action RPG still falls short of the series' best.

An incredible aesthetic and solid combat make for a surprisingly solid Souls-like, with room for improvement.

Rennsport is a pro-focused racer that shows promise but falls short of Gran Turismo’s heights, remaining enjoyable yet held back by notable caveats.

Madden NFL 24 is yet another instalment of what has already existed in previous years with a few notable improvements.

Lost Soul Aside has the foundations of a great action game with strong combat, but those strengths are buried beneath an inconsequential story and noticeable polish issues.

Trek to Yomi's outstanding visuals and presentation are quite enough to make up for its fairly straightforward and simplistic gameplay.

If you were hoping for a more robust re-release, sadly, this isn’t that. It’s hard to tell if Rockstar will ever put in the time and money needed to do justice to a Red Dead re-release. But even if they don’t, at least we now have the original classic playable on all modern consoles.