Intentional or not, I can't help but read Life is Strange: Reunion as a metaphor for Deck Nine’s tenure with Max’s story. A reactionary and nostalgic finale that delights just as often as it frustrates. When viewing Reunion purely as a side adventure to see cute scenes of a duo we have grown to love, I can’t say this entry didn’t do its job. After all, I was smiling alongside them. But as a finale to a trilogy, it is a smile built upon tearing down any emotional weight that made these characters stick with us in the first place. Max’s quest to stop an arsonist isn't really a story with consistent escalation or character growth. Instead, it is a stream of moving, emotionally cathartic events that burns down the foundations propping up its bittersweet smile.

Every time I make an impactful choice or uncover a new part of the story or tidbit of lore, I'm reminded why I adore GreedFall. That feeling fades, however, whenever The Dying World pushes me into combat or the tedious build menus. GreedFall: The Dying World is an up and down experience; one that you want to love, but one that doesn't love you back.

Toxic Commando is a fun game that offers some meaningful shifts on the four-player zombie-killing genre. While the story is goofy and fun, true to John Carpenter's legacy, the characters can be grating and the missions feel somewhat narratively disconnected. Gunplay and progression are well-honed, though, offering an engaging zombie-killing time any group will have a good time with.

Aces of Thunder won't hold your hand, but will reward your hard work with skill and capable combat prowess. While Gaijiin works to grow the audience and slay the last remaining bugs, what's on offer is already a great deal of semi-simulation fun.

All's Justice delivers on the fundamentals for a great fanservice game. However, in some places it asks a bit too much from fans while failing to deliver what we'd expect by this point in the series.

A fun but flawed sequel that doubles down on the first game's quirky humor and inventive gunplay while adding new movement mechanics and environmental puzzles. However, technical issues and a core conflict between comedy and momentum hold it back from greatness. Best experienced on sale after patches.

Like a recently resurrected corpse, parts to ROMEO IS A DEAD MAN’s gameplay and story are cold to the touch, as it occasionally stumbles trying to grasp all of its ambitions. Yet there are just as many moments of genuine warmth, exuding confidence when expressing its boundless imagination. For my first foray into the unhinged mind of Suda51, the consistently bonkers creativity is the beating heart that gives this title strength. Creativity doesn’t automatically make for the smoothest experience. Nonetheless, this is a DeadMan I’ll look back on with both affectionate fondness, and conflicted frustration.

Relooted makes you feel like you're a mastermind, and escaping is thrilling, but there are just enough problems that drag the experience down to the point you can't ignore them.

Snoopy & The Great Mystery Club may not be as hot a title for adults as it is for kids, but it's a fun nod to the most popular beagle in the world. Snoopy's adventure is tedious, but his learned abilities, a few great mini-games, and a stellar open-world take it from alright to good.

Dragon Quest VII Reimagined wants to have its cake and eat it too, but ends up feeling incredibly bland in most aspects. It's still a Dragon Quest game and is fun to a point, but in sanding off the edges of the original game it loses the charm of a time traveling adventure and becomes a rote, forgettable RPG checklist of a game.

For fans of the original, Code Vein II delivers more of what you enjoyed with meaningful expansions to the formula. For newcomers, the partner system creates a low barrier to entry. For those hoping Bandai Namco would finally create their own Elden Ring, temper your expectations.

Destiny 2: Renegades is the definitive Star Wars homage within Destiny. Whether or not you think Destiny needed an homage to Star Wars in the form of an expansion is up to you.

The core exploration and combat mechanics of the Metroid Prime franchise are fun and engaging. Unfortunately, the rest of the experience is marred with bizarre story beats, awkward character moments, and forced interaction with an empty, boring open world. Metroid Prime 4 had all the elements to be a slick, cohesive experience, but the game feels like the dev team maliciously complied with a mandate to make the game open-world. It’s still a Metroid Prime game, and there’s fun to be had, but go into this knowing it won't likely live up to what you were hoping for.

Winter Burrow is a pleasant experience with a sprinkling of challenge to manage, with good elements of survival, resource management, and cozy. The sum of its parts is adequate but I wish there was more for me to chew on with its mechanics, like more decoration options and varied quests.

Dispatch is a very uneven experience. It has polish in some places but severely lacks it in others. It has great characters but you don’t get to spend much time with the good ones. The dispatching segments can be fun but feel somewhat shallow. The game has sparks of absolute brilliance, though can use those sparks to start a dumpster fire. It’s worth playing and enjoyable for any fans of narrative focused games or superheroes, but might be memorable for the wrong reasons.

Forestrike is an action rogue-like where players can practice every battle before it occurs by using the Foresight. This system in and of itself is fun, but the game can’t get out of its own way with unfair balancing that punishes the player regardless of performance. Even so, when the gameplay works, it works wonderfully, with an excellent sense of aesthetics and a strong story and characters to back it up.

Where Winds Meet is a massive, gorgeous wuxia adventure that’s fun whether you want to play solo or engage with the community. Combat is fun, the world is beautifully realized, and the storytelling is engaging. Some of the systems can feel a little clunky, but not in a way that would turn players away. Where Winds Meet tells a huge, sweeping story that’ll keep you busy for 150+ hours or more, and with weapons ranging from swords and rope darts to umbrellas and fans, this has all the trappings to let you live out your fantasy as the hero in your own martial arts epic.

Bounty Star is a title of interesting ideas that never fully realizes any of them. The narrative foundation is strong, the setting is unique, and the ambition to blend mech warfare with homestead management deserves praise. But the execution fumbles with its overly repetitive design and shallow systems.

Easy Delivery Co. doesn’t need to say or do a lot to show you what the game is all about. It’s vibes with sprinklings of mystery, horror, and cozy that you can infer into as much as you want. It’s simplistic in gameplay and pretty much everything else, so manage your expectations. Once I did this, I wholeheartedly enjoyed Easy Delivery Co. in my evenings, where I just wanted to empty my mind and coast through low-poly snowy mountains. I just wish it had a bit more substance to keep me coming back, like optional challenges and maybe some mini questlines for NPCs.

If you and a couple of friends are into a quick hack-and-slash adventure, Godbreakers has a quick fix for you. What it lacks, however, is robust combat systems and replayability. While there is fun to be had as you steal abilities from your foes, the highs wear off fast.

One Military Camp is filled with good ideas that have subpar execution.

Little Nightmares III is a solid yet unspectacular entry that translates the series' core appeal into a cooperative format but fails to fully justify the developer change or the price tag. It’s good, but not great, making it more of a recommendation for spooky season rather than a must-play horror title.

Yooka-Replaylee oozes with charm and color, yet much as its visuals endear, its lack of cohesion still can’t match the heights of its 64-bit ancestors. While filled to the gills with collectibles, those nostalgic for Rare’s golden age may well be better off revisiting their classics via Nintendo Switch Online or digging out their old Banjo cartridges.

No, I’m Not a Human is the kind of game that makes for an excellent demo, but fails to capitalize on what’s established in its opening hour. The crushingly grim mood and uncanny visuals are worth experiencing, but its opaque mechanics are better at creating confusion than intrigue. With a narrower scope and a more specific narrative, No I’m Not a Human could have been a prime candidate for a cult classic.

King of Meat’s intro is a reflection of how the game feels — disjointed, confusing, and self-indulgent — yet it exhibits undeniable fun and high-quality production value. But for every awesome feature King of Meat has, there are just as many design decisions that undermine those features, making it difficult for King of Meat's strengths to shine.

Everybody's Golf: Hot Shots is ultimately worthy of your investment, but this Switch version has to settle for a Double Bogey. While it is competent and enjoyable, it’s also grind-heavy, the Switch’s performance is jittery, and the series could do with a big and exciting evolution because this isn’t it.

Out of Time’s unique take on the rogue-like genre is fun and engaging, but the game suffers from a lack of polish in a few areas. Still, if you love grinding for game-changing gear with friends, then check this game out.

While Titanic Scion’s narrative trods familiar sci-fi anime territory, it’s delivered well enough. Characters are bombastic and overacted, but it creates a fun narrative environment. Outfitting your Arsenal gives you a ton of customization options, and the open world creates plenty of opportunities to explore and spread your wings. Unfortunately, technical issues are problematic across the platforms we played on. That said, anyone jonesin’ for a mech game fix will still find a good time here.