Hot Pursuit Remastered misses a few chances to really bring itself into the current era of racers, but it still has no trouble reminding you why it is one of the best racers of its time.

Pikmin 3 Deluxe improves what was already a great game in small but smart ways.

Yakuza is reborn in this brilliant and compelling new addition to series canon that recontextualizes series tropes and mechanics for an entirely new genre, delivering one of the best outings the series has ever seen.

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.

Despite DiRT 5's boilerplate customization and being a tad too eager to punish its players at times, it exceeds as a true step forward for its genre in the ways that matter most.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

Project CARS 3 is a serious departure from the franchise's roots. It takes a lot of risks, but those willing to make the jump will find a fun and rewarding racing experience.

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.

Despite some technical issues, WRC 9 delivers on its core mechanics, offering a deep and rewarding off-road racing game.

Surgeon Simulator 2 leverages its predecessor's unique gameplay into a full-fledged experience with a story and co-op. Despite some positives here and there, annoying controls, boring puzzles and tedious gameplay make for an overall trying time.

There have been plenty of moments during my time with Marvel's Avengers where I’ve genuinely had a great time. But this game keeps finding ways to drag itself down- at times it almost feels like it goes out of its way to do so. There’s just so much here that I can’t overlook, no matter how hard I may try. An unnecessary and broken loot system, a litany of horrible technical issues, uninspired and one-note mission design, and a story that fails just as much as it succeeds- it doesn’t matter how mindlessly fun the combat is, it isn't enough to overcome such a heavy list of problems.

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.

NBA 2K21 makes welcome improvements to its MyCareer and MyTeam modes, but the frustratingly inconsistent new shooting system and lack of changes elsewhere make it feel like it’s lost its step over other sports games.

When all is said and done, though Tell Me Why doesn’t necessarily disturb the established Dontnod template too much, it executes it well enough that that doesn't ever seem like an issue. Excellent characters, strong writing, and a deeply personal plot help the player connect with the story. In the end, that most criticisms of the game can be boiled down to “I wish I had had more time to spend in its world and with its characters” should, ultimately, be all that really needs to be said about Tell Me Why.

If you loved the original, you’re going to love Spelunky 2, and find it equal to its predecessor in all ways except one- where the original was a trail blazer, the new game seems content to, much like it asks of its players, simply plumb into familiar depths.

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.

Tennis World Tour 2 has some good ideas on paper, but never gels into a cohesive whole.

Serious Sam 4 won't rewrite the book for narrative FPS campaigns and that's perfectly fine. It sticks close to the series' roots while offering some contemporary improvements and improved presentation. If you're hankering for some straightforward shooting action that doesn't take itself too seriously, Sam "Serious" Stone's got your back.

Mafia: Definitive Edition's narrative and visual strengths help it overcome issues in other areas to deliver a worthy remake of the best game in the series.

This will probably be the standard that roguelite games will be following for years to come- or it should be, at any rate. If nothing else, Hades is easily the best game Supergiant have made to date.

The complex systems at Port Royale 4’s core never flourish under the weight of its uninspired moment-to-moment gameplay and lack of structural balance.

The three games it encompasses are fantastic, so Mario 3D All Stars is still worth buying. However, Nintendo is, ultimately, coasting off of the back of some amazing work it did more than a decade ago to sell what is ultimately a disappointingly barebones, facile celebration of gaming’s most important icon who truly deserves better.

Like all releases in the Master Chief Collection, Halo 3: ODST isn’t a perfect port. It has flaws, particularly in Firefight and with regard to the game’s audio logs. That said, the fact that 343 continues to make these games run as well as they do on a platform they were never designed for so long after their original releases is nothing short of a minor miracle. The MCC continues to improve with each patch and I have no doubt that the problems here will eventually be fixed. In the meantime, we can enjoy ODST in all of its glory. It’s still the most stylish and unique Halo game and being able to play it, and its incredible version of Firefight again, is wonderful. I’m happy to return to New Mombasa, to wander its ruined streets and let the sounds of rain and smooth jazz wash over me. More than a decade later, there’s still nothing quite like it. You know the music. Time to dance.

Bold, ambitious, and stirringly unique, 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim is shockingly excellent, and a game that demands that you immerse yourself fully in it, in return for a rich experience quite unlike anything else on the market.