Minecraft Legends isn't going to rewrite the book on action strategy games. However, it offers compelling gameplay backed by mechanics from the main game that rewards exploration and ingenuity, on top of having an easy control set-up.

Daymare 1994: Sandcastle is far from the perfect game. Plagued with technical problems as well as issues with fundamental design, it manages to be an average game thanks to its somewhat competent combat system.

This entry to the Valkyrie series makes a graceful shift into the action RPG genre while only stumbling in a few small ways.

A bigger and bolder sequel that ups the spectacle and ambition, though a few lingering flaws keep it from achieving true mechanical perfection.

After Us doesn’t reinvent the wheel in platforming and exploration, but it offers very compelling gameplay in both areas.

Martha is Dead is best appreciated from a distance, because while its narrative premise and setting are certainly impressive, the game itself is slow as molasses and frustratingly clunky.

With improved traversal, map design, and an option for multiplayer, Aragami 2 stands tall as a stealth title that brings the genre’s strengths to the forefront.

Industria is far, far from perfect- but it's not without its merits.

Dragonkin: The Banished offers a unique take on the loot-based action RPG genre, placing a strong emphasis on story and customization. [Early Access Review]

Cloudpunk reaches higher and achieves more than I thought it would, barely missing a spot among the giants of its genre.

While Midnight Murder Club has some clever ideas and decent core gameplay, the lack of a player base makes it more likely that the game will be killed off before it can recover.

Atlas Fallen has legitimate strengths in its quick, snappy sand surfing, but with clunky movement, inconsistent combat, and just an all-around lack of polish, it ends up being weighed down by far too many issues to be able to live up to its proper potential.

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.

Sons of Sparta delivers tight platforming and genuinely satisfying combat.

AEW: Fight Forever feels like a return to form for pro-wrestling games.

Windbound can be made to sound excellent in an elevator pitch, but the actual game is plagued by conflicting ideas, inconsistent design, and unrealized potential.

The part of me that was looking for an engaging turn based tactics experience is disappointed in what Transformers: Battlegrounds has on offer though. It’s too bad the game doesn’t deliver a moderately higher level of challenge or complexity, because it does have the basic elements in place that it needed to do just that. In its current state, it’s a moderately enjoyable but largely forgettable game.

Based on its premise, Foreclosed should be a lot more interesting, but it doesn’t have the balanced gameplay or nuanced story to even crack that conversation.

Scars Above mixes gameplay mechanics from vastly different genres to create something refreshingly unique and fun to play.

Wicked Isle is a fairly meaty story DLC for the recently released Atomfall, but it does come with a few rough edges.

As Remedy's first co-op shooter, FBC: Firebreak is a successful experiment, and while it doesn't quite match up to the best in the genre, the Oldest House is still a good stage for some creepy, frenetic action.

Rather than letting its awful story simply be a good excuse for its excellent gameplay, Forspoken insists on constantly interrupting your fun to throw some truly bad exposition your way. Forspoken's character building and lore are a disaster but it manages to make it up with its incredible combat and traversal mechanics.

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

While there are several better titles in the Fatal Frame series, Maiden of Black Water has aged surprisingly well and can still deliver great fun.

It's worth playing for fans of the genre, and it hints at the developers having a lot more talent than this game ultimately lets on. However, Bleak Faith: Forsaken does have a lot of caveats for it to be universally recommended to everyone.

But if you love Spy x Family, there’s still plenty to enjoy here. Exploring the Forger household, small as it may be, is unquestionably fun – and Anya is as expressive and amusing as ever, resulting in regular laugh-out-loud moments. It’s not a bad game, then – in fact, it’s something a little different in the licensed anime category. But it could have benefitted from a bit more variety.

There are bright spots here that genre veterans can and likely will latch on to, but Alone in the Dark feels a bit too rough and unpolished in areas that are too critical to the experience to ever be able to truly meet its full potential.

Squirrel With a Gun is a quirky, hilarious and a memorable title that provides fun platforming and surprisingly innovative combat.