The game is not that difficult, and the only thing you can really unlock is a few extra teams. The game is a little better if you can play it with someone else, but you will become quickly bored with it.

Bright, bold, and loud is the Metronomicon, and though it has a namesake broiled in evil, the game is pure, unfiltered goodness. A dance step game that is also a RPG battler, the game keeps you active, keeps you thinking, and loosens some of the stagnation for both genres by throwing them into a blender together. A grand concoction, The Metronomicon is a must have for any gamer.

Sega Ages: Puyo Puyo 2 is a blast from the past for anyone wanting to explore the series roots. Its display options toy with your nostalgia while the added perk of online play makes another reason to check out the classic block-dropping competitive puzzle series. If you already have several Puyo Puyo titles, however, you may not be missing much.

Spellbreak could be a huge hit if it was capable of filling out games with players, rather than bots. Even still, Proletariat’s fantastic sound design, music, gameplay mechanics, and art style creates a hugely immersive experience for the player; comfortably satisfying a player’s desire to experience games shaped around elemental magic. It’s a shame that such an incredibly rewarding experience is marred by bot-heavy games.

The Blizzard Arcade Collection is a great little compilation of some lesser known Blizzard games. The additional features such as rewind and save states, when available at least, are delightful improvements, and the definitive editions work amazingly well. I’m also impressed with such a great behind the scenes section with a lot of interesting content. But most of this smorgasbord is par for the course, and I expect a little more out of Blizzard. It falls under the competent category, rather than revolutionary.

Rainbow Six: Siege is one of the better tactical FPS experiences of the year, even with a smaller content offering than most. Microtransactions and limited custom options can muddy it up, but if you enjoy the core gameplay loop, there’s a lot to enjoy here for the multiplayer-minded player.

While not every gambit succeeds, Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes delivers us the spiritual successor we all dared to hope for, but never expected to get. While things like the War Mode and some balance issues and bugs will require additional attention, there’s a great JRPG here worth playing.

Overwatch 2 is so damn good. 5v5 has breathed life into the game, Junkerqueen, Sojourn, and Kiriko are a breath of fresh air, and the game’s new high pace suits its competitive nature perfectly. The new maps are insanely fun to play, albeit with some needing tweaking, and the new Push gamemode only enhances Overwatch 2’s core experience. The only downside comes from its cosmetic-locked, 9-week battle pass system, which will be costly to continually purchase.

Skies of Fury DX is a great addition to the aerial battle genre. Based on actual events, it allows players to play a part in a historical battle. There's enough challenges and excitement to make you want to gun down enemy pilots for hours, which I happily did.

Warlords of New York is easily the best expansion for the game to date. With fresh foes, a new portion of New York to explore, great gear, and some brand new reasons to care about loot, it delivers on its lofty promises. Now, we just need Massive to settle in and swat some of these bugs…

Like its younger brother, UFC 2 looks to simulate the most complex contact sport on the planet, and in some ways does so with perfect accuracy. The new animation and knockout system looks better than ever, and the career improvements are a welcome sight, but the barebones career mode, consistent bugs, and ever-present AI cheating are a pretty nasty cut that, if unchecked, may stop fans from wanting a round 3 with EA Sports UFC.

Believe it when Uchikoshi says No Sleep For Kaname Date is a game made by fans, for fans. Kazuya Yamada delivers a heartfelt epilogue to the first Somnium Files’s self contained story. While the pacing feels a bit listless thanks to the narrative structure, and the escape rooms are straight up miss, those ended up being small blemishes in the grand scheme. What I'll remember is seeing characters new and old grieve and heal together. I laughed, I cried, and most importantly I was moved seeing the chaotic duo of a cuckoldry obsessed detective and his AI eyeball partner get no sleep because of the friends they made along the way.

While World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth hasn't been my favorite expansion in the franchise, it brought with it some great new dungeons, fantastic new raid encounters, an excellent new story, and gorgeous scenery. I have hope that what is lacking, or not working as intended will be adjusted over time. My love for the game, and the thriving community I have built within it are what keep me logging in week after week.

The Gardens Between is a masterpiece of minimalist storytelling, weaving a wordless tale of friendship and time. By drawing upon a few, nearly-universal childhood events, it allows the player to fill in the story with their own emotions and memories, creating a shockingly moving, personal experience. Featuring a gorgeous, surrealist style and challenging but fair puzzles, this is a must-have title for anyone who enjoys puzzle games.

Mechstermination Force is a wonderful follow-up to Bertil Hörberg’s Gunman Clive series. While it can get a bit frustrating at times, the silly atmosphere and tough but entertaining gameplay make for a great time for those who want some simple, unadulterated fun.

Chances are if you're a long-standing player of Rift, a lot of what I've said in this review is (while probably encouraging) not a surprise to you. Judging by the sheer amount of improvements I've seen since the last time I played, not to mention the content added over the course of the core game's many updates, I'm guessing Rift players know their MMO of choice is clearly handled with care and attention. But if for some reason you're a Rift player who has hesitated over whether to pick up this expansion, I'll sum up my take simply: it's fantastic. Go get it.

Longtime Monster Hunter fans may have radically different opinions from mine, but for what it’s worth, I’ve found this game to be full of wholesome fun. It’s hardly unique in gameplay and story, but what it lacks in uniqueness it makes up for in execution and presentation.

With a campaign that brings some of the most historical battles of the European Theater to life like never before, multiplayer that combines the best of the old and the new, and one of the most visceral Zombies games the series has had, Call of Duty WWII is a triumphant return to its roots, reminding us why those early games were so good in the first place.

Blacktail’s art and captivating storytelling take the narrative genre in a new direction. Backed by a combination of solid gameplay and in-depth moral system, the game excels in almost every aspect.

From a gameplay perspective, Amnesia Memories and Amnesia Later x Crowd have translated well to the new platform, with this being the first time Later x Crowd is available to fans outside Japan. Unfortunately, as a newcomer to the series, an incredible story about a girl’s journey to recovering her memories and discovering the truth is grossly overshadowed by the love interest side of the story where she is often subjected to very poor and sometimes disturbing treatment.

Luto is a bone-chilling and deeply layered game that, when playing to its strengths, provides an enthralling, emotional and creepy experience that goes above and beyond its initial exploration of death. Despite some stumbles in the form of some frustrating puzzles and a strangely dissonant meta nature, it is undeniable that Broken Bird Games have made a stunning debut here, and are absolutely a studio worth watching.

Hangar 13 has retouched every single aspect of the original Mafia, expanding the story, refining the gameplay, and wrapping it with an absolutely phenomenal new look and sound, elevating it to an entirely new and modern level. It’s good to be part of the family once more.

Shadow Warrior 2 is a fast, gorgeous shooter with smart loot components, trapped inside a world and age that lost its luster ages ago. Where the core gameplay still feels fantastic, the story, world and mission structure gradually drag it down short of being a successor to the grandeur of its predecessor. An excellent shooter that could have used 99 percent less Wang.

While there’s certainly several coats of polish still to add, the core of MechWarrior 5: Clans gives us an excellent storyline culled straight from the novels, combined with cutting edge graphics and gameplay only Piranha Games could deliver. THIS is the MechWarrior game we’ve all been waiting for, and damn, is it fun. Reactor online, sensors online, weapons online. All systems nominal.

Avicii Invector: Encore Edition adds a few more songs into last year’s rhythm game tribute, and it’s a solid addition. The Switch version is up to par with the other consoles, and you can now listen to much of the late EDM artist’s work in one awesomely entertaining package.

Golf Story is held back by a number of mechanics, some of which are not very fleshed out or enjoyable, the occasional glitch, and lots of quests which require skill and control of the game's often shaky mechanics. The story is entertaining enough, but the real charm of this game is the hilarity of its characters characters and dialogue. This really is a must have for any fan of golf games, but as an RPG fan, I thought this indie title only came in at par.

A fun, yet difficult survival game that fans of Don’t Starve, and the like, will most certainly enjoy. It takes a chance in telling the story of war from a rarely seen civilian angle, but ultimately doesn’t deliver an engaging narrative. The addition of children doesn’t add much to the original 2014 release besides a few new items to craft. And the potential for a great and addictive survival experience is hindered by a wonky combat system.

Pinball FX 3 is a decent step forward for Zen Studios’ long appreciated pinball series. There are some fun new single player modes that provide multiple challenges, some competitive modes, and plenty of practice options. The game also provides some direct competition and tournament style online options, though they aren’t much different in practice that the single player games. Overall, this is a nice update for the game and makes it much more diverse and interesting to explore, and the backwards compatibility means you have no real reason not to update and enjoy.

Harebrained Schemes has transformed the complexity of the pen and paper BattleTech universe into an incredible game that welcomes veteran and rookie pilots alike. BattleTech represents the perfect culmination of all of their previous works, and the team should be proud of how well it all came together.

Pinball is pinball, but Zen Pinball 2 always tries their best to make an interesting product and has succeeded again with the Balls of Glory pack.

Othercide is an engaging tactical rpg and I’m going to hop right back in. There are so many different strategies to employ that it never gets boring. The timeline is a fantastic idea that adds a lot of strategic options. It can be almost too hard at times, but I know I’ll get through anything given enough time.

Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands presents a fresh take on Borderlands, retaining the core of the series while adding some fun new twists both in its setting and gameplay. Character creation and multi-classing ensure each Fatemaker is unique when shooting, looting, and questing. While it certainly has issues like less weapon variety and a lack of challenging content, this is the best in the series so far.

Curse of the Dead Gods is fantastic. The gameplay, while incredibly challenging, is still fun and immensely rewarding. It's so satisfying to finally complete a dungeon after spending hours grinding there. It's a roguelite in nearly the best sense of the word, with the only downside being that there's no established story; no tangible endgame.

Detroit: Become Human is a cinematic masterpiece, and easily the best work to date from developer Quantic Dream. It’s gorgeous, sounds beautiful, and the choices made here are impactful and introspective. Better still, the exposed underpinnings encourage repeat playthroughs just to see where all of the rabbit holes go. Come for the storyline, stay for the thought provoking look at a potential near future for mankind, and where AI might fit within it.

While the new epilogue is certainly better balanced than the original, it still has a lot of the same pitfalls. The cutbacks break through just enough to bring the DLC experience down. Persona 3 Reload’s Episode Aigis DLC is good but not great. They say “it’s about the journey” and that certainly rings true whether you’re in 2008 or 2024.

All in all, you'll have to make that decision for yourself. If you want to play the game as it originally looked, or if you want to pay the barrel bottom price, pick the GoG version, but if you think the game is worth a bit of money, want to play the game with a bit of tweaks to make it more usable, or want access to the excellent new content, be sure to at least give the Enhanced Edition a look.

If you enjoy the Disgaea games and the sense of humor behind it, then you'll definitely get a kick out of the story that is crazy even by Disgaea standards.

The story is a bit of a rehash but thankfully some of the ‘monster-in-the-closet’ stuff is fixed.

The Rising Tide may not offer anything new or novel to Final Fantasy XVI, but it does continue its streak of incredibly polished and fun gameplay. The story is a nice cherry on top of the main adventure, and the Karios Gate mode will keep you coming back for more.

Ultimately Yakuza 4 is a good game but it isn't quite as good as Yakuza 3.

This game is excellent, although very frustrating. I only made it past the Easy difficulty, I am not even going to try the Normal difficulty even if the real ending is behind it.

Replay doesn’t get any better than this… 5 Pro bikers and Create-a-character with this type of game make replay value as high as can be.

Everspace struts capably into a crowded field and proves itself as a vital experience worth revisiting again and again. This is the first game from the team at Rockfish, and they’ve certainly set the bar high for themselves.

If you are looking for just a fun time with some friends and don't care about franchises or online play, you might be better off with a previous version of Madden. If you want to control your own franchise or build your own team, then there have been enough enhancements to justify the purchase. Just realize that some on-field issues still exist.

Lost Ember ties a fun, original gameplay concept to an enjoyable, if a bit unremarkable, story. It will feel too thin for anyone approaching it looking for any amount of challenge, but if you’re willing to just enjoy the journey and let the story wash over you, Lost Ember is a singularly enchanting experience.

The Sims 4 City Living creates new and meaningful gameplay on the Sims formula, and is the best expansion The Sims 4 has seen to date. It has smart gameplay, new ways to interact with the world, and an amazing new setting. If living the city life sounds fun, you cannot go wrong with City Living, however if that doesn’t intrigue you, there is not much here for you.

I've discovered it’s pretty much impossible to sit still and play this game at the same time.

SNK Vs. Capcom: Match of the Millennium is a decent, casual style fighting game from the previous century. It has tons of characters and modes to keep you interested for a short time, but don’t expect any depth whatsoever here.

The Oath in Felghana stands strong as one the best Ys entries to date. Its sharp and compact game design makes just as strong of an impression with this Memoire release as it did when I first played it over a decade ago. Unfortunately, this rerelease does not bring much more to the table than a great game to new consoles. Its priorities when it comes to updating the game’s visuals are questionable at best, but thankfully far from fatal.

While unsurprisingly riddled with bugs at launch, and with other aspects just missing (DLC and scopes, as an example), the community steps in to make this incredible game one of the best titles on the VR platform. Delivering nearly 80 hours of gameplay, even without addons, it’s easily the largest and most compelling reason to own a VR HMD.

Indivisible takes the best of RPGs and fighting games and mixes them with a world full of secrets to find and a healthy dose of platforming goodness. While it doesn’t reach its full potential in some areas, it’s still a great time throughout.

Vanquish gets another shot at the limelight fixing its presentation flaws from the first time it was released. With possible 4K resolution and an unlocked, constant frame rate during its high paced action sequences, the PC version of Vanquish is the definitive version.

Yoshi’s Woolly World is a charming, yet unchallenging platformer that succeeds at being an amusing way to pass the time.

Stellaris captures the wonder of exploring space and colonizing the stars, but gets bogged down when the borders freeze and negotiations start. A solid foundation of things to come and an excellent entry-level grand strategy game, this will hopefully be a good start for a greater experience to come.

Jackbox Party Pack 5 delivers on another great set of party games. You Don’t Know Jack returns better than ever, Mad Verse City has the potential to create plenty of laughs, Zeeple Dome is a successful experiment, and Patently Stupid mixes drawings and prompts in the most clever way yet. Even though Split the Room may be the least exciting of the bunch, it has its own charms and feels more like a worst of the best rather than anything less than good.

If you're a fan of beat em up games and the first River City game you'll most likely enjoy River City Girls 2 and all if not, you will still enjoy the game if you can ignore its few annoyances.

The great graphics and sound will grab your attention, and the diversity of the worlds and the ability to pick up and play will keep it.

At $39.99 any fan of Silent Hill should enjoy Siren: Blood Curse.

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity is a ton of fun, but handicaps itself with the occasionally abysmal frame pacing, wonky camera, and design of later missions. Still, it’s the perfect accompaniment to Breath of the Wild and well worth your time.

Despite its cryptic storytelling and repetitive gameplay, Shady Part of Me is a game that deserves to be played and experienced especially by puzzler fans.

Adios is a narrative achievement. It uses the medium of video games to tell a deeply human story that will stick with you long after you put the game down. With some of the best voice acting in the business Adios is a must play and one of my favorite games this year.

Unbound: Worlds Apart is a pretty standard puzzle platformer with its difficulty firmly planted in repeated trial and error. Despite gorgeous visuals, there’s not much interesting to see here.

Antstream Arcade is a must-have subscription for the retro enthusiast. It has a great selection of games, and even if every big name isn’t there and they aren’t natively downloadable, the cloud-based service works incredibly well. Add in a fantastic challenge system and local multiplayer, and this is an easy recommendation.

Project: Snowblind starts off with huge potential. The graphics, sounds, and controls are well done, even with the minor complaints.

The game is certainly executed extremely well, and is a fun and faithful translation. However, with only one map so far I can't personally justify the premium price point.

As the west’s first peek into the Granblue universe’s gaming side, Granblue Fantasy Versus is a fighter that can stand alongside its peers in terms of depth, but in addition offers a simplistic control scheme that even those less familiar to the genre can get to grips with quickly and easily. RPG mode is a unique way to to learn the basics of fighting, even if this and other modes could have been a bit more fleshed out.

Under the Island does a great job of scratching that 2D Zelda itch while still feeling original and unique. The story and writing are nothing to write home about, but the world is intricate and filled with secrets, and the dungeons offer more than a few creative surprises. Simply put, it's a good time.

I honestly think Shin chan: Shiro and the Coal Town greatly benefits from its new location, adding a unique charm that sets it apart from its predecessors with a charming story that’s personal and melancholic. It still has its issues with overly simplistic gameplay, which could use an extra bit of spice to keep it from dragging, but this game is a definitive and polished way of experiencing Shin chan’s adventures in video game format.

Grand Kingdom is a grand triumph of innovation and amalgamation, standing alone as a semi-new type of JRPG altogether. Mixing elements from other JPRGs, classic fighting games, and board game elements into an all new experience, Grand Kingdom will have some dedicated players still moving troops through enemies lands for years to come.

Scarlet Nexus is an absolute blast from the start and only gets better as you progress. The characters are charming, the story has nice twists and turns, and the combat is simple to understand but hard to master. While it certainly has flaws, this is a must play for action game fans.

Windjammers 2 is a great-looking, highly challenging, and mostly functional game. While its difficulty curve can be intimidating to new players, it still provides an all-round enjoyable experience.

Spacejacked is a wonderful combination of tower defense and fast paced action. The game's hectic nature along with the necessity to plan out your defenses makes for a fun and engaging challenge. It may take some trial and error to find what works best for each player, but that's part of the fun.

Draw Chilly is a 2D hack n'slash game that focuses on one man's mission to redirect wayward souls. With the help of an undead squad, a deadly weapon, and crazy abilities, Vladimir will earn his place in Purgatory. Some enemies and bosses are tough, but if you act carefully, you'll make it through.

This standalone expansion to SUPERHOT is a welcome addition to the formula. What it lacks in bespoke puzzle elements, it makes up for in a completely fresh and vastly expanded approach to the central concept.

As it stands, most of the potential it has feels ultimately wasted, and the price tag seems way too high for what it is at the end of the day – particularly for a game available on the normally somewhat selective Steam service.

But, If you have ever wondered what it would be like to play multiplayer Warcraft III without the base building and minion control then I think you should definitely give League of Legends a shot. The fact that there are only three maps to play sucks, but the developer is committed to constantly updating and adding to the game.

You’d be hard-pressed not to enjoy this game for at least a few hours, but go beyond that and it might get tedious.

It adds an incredible amount to the original product, and improves every aspect of your movies.

Dune:Awakening does a phenomenal job of making Arrakis come to life, from the oppressing heat and sand as far as the eye can see, to the terrifying encounters with Shai Halud. Once you get your feet under you, the game has dozens of hours of exploration and content to work through, making it a very enjoyable experience. The combat leaves a lot to be desired, but classes, weapons, and gadgets feel fun. Took some points off for lack of housing decoration options and mods, and for the lack of real end game content. Would love to see raids, or overworld bosses, and better boss encounters in Testing Stations. Over all Dune:Awakening is a unique and fun experience that will suck you in right away.

>observer_ takes the beats from Bloober Team’s own Layers of Fear, adds a layer of cyberpunk, and somehow comes out the other end both unnerving, and more than the sum of its parts. There are a few small technical hiccups present, and some infrequent uneven voice work, but beyond that there’s an amazing story about the human toll of investigation and observation.

I've put more than 100 hours into the game so far, and haven't unlocked everything.

Golf Peaks is an interesting mix of puzzle-solving and golfing. The card playing mechanic is entertaining and adds a good challenge. It doesn't take very long to complete every level, but it's a nice journey.

A showcase of what’s possible in VR, Assassin’s Creed Nexus VR delivers a completely unique foray into the world of Templars and Assassins, but in a first person perspective, and frankly, there’s nothing quite like it. While the Quest 3 isn’t up to the task, making for some wobbly frame rates, the game is thankfully a nausea-free experience you’ll want to experience.

The Surge 2 is a must-play for fans of the soulslike genre. With incredibly well-designed areas, excellent combat featuring a wider variety of enemies, and a story that proves itself worth being invested in by the end, it improves upon its predecessor in almost every area and is absolutely worth your time.

The good news is Rune Factory is long on farming, exploration, and relationships and short on the sillier aspects of the franchise. It may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but the game is long, varied, and a great deal of addictive fun to play. Pick this one up especially if you have a long trip coming up.

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.

The ability to create your own Skylanders adds a great new twist to the series. The new sensei figures are nice additions, and using them in the gong battles pose a refreshing challenge. Aspects of the story can be a little underwhelming but the target age group probably won’t have any problem with it. While the Boss battles were repetitive and easy, the overall level design and experience is very enjoyable.

Overall, Sairento VR is an absolute hit. Any shortcomings I pointed out are the result of my desire for it to reach its potential, not for any level of defect. The team has been tightly engaged with the Steam and Reddit community, and they’ve taken that feedback seriously. The result is a game that feels more complete, and in a more finished and polished state, than nearly any game in the current VR space. Put simply, Sairento VR is a must-have.

Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name is a great interlude before Infinite Wealth comes out next year, with its throwback to the franchise’s classic real time beat ’em up combat in the shoes of Kiryu. The narrative does take a step back, and the new characters aren’t as memorable, but there’s plenty of bizarre and addicting side activities to partake in on the streets of Sotonbori or at the Castle.

The minigames in this feel somewhat wasted and limited, but the party modes themselves can be a lot of fun, adding some definite multiplayer mayhem to the title.

In Other Waters’ best quality is just that: it makes you feel like you’re in other waters. It’s a well written exploration game that, while short, provides an interesting story. If this is the form the classic text adventure returns in, In Other Waters leads the charge with its immersive soundscape and imagination sparking descriptions.

The Room VR: A Dark Matter is great. It’s got plenty of unique puzzles, which never felt overused once, and has some very creative environments. It also has a deeply mysterious story, which was designed in the same vein as the original mobile games in the series. Consequently, in the same vein as those, it didn’t feel like it was a completely new and authentic VR experience. The developers didn’t utilise all that VR is capable of, which is a real bummer for what this title could have ultimately been.

The tried-and-true formula still works, but it’s time to shake things up.

Musynx is a solid addition to music games on the Switch, with some infectious songs and slick presentation. While limited in other aspects and not too beginner-friendly, this is a game that veterans and those wishing to improve their music game library should try.

Yarny heads a fantastic 2D platformer that suffers from one or two issues, but ultimately becomes one of the more enjoyable experiences in recent memory.

A re-imagining of the 1988 NES title, Blaster Master Zero is a great game for anyone looking for classic 8-bit action. Its accessible difficulty and superb retro graphics make for a wonderful addition to the Switch’s library.

Burnout Paradise Remastered for the Nintendo Switch comes with its fair share of issues. You’ll experience a lot of blurriness playing it handheld, and might struggle making out what's what at high speeds even when playing it docked. Plus, there’s that big $50 price tag for a 2008 game. Yet, included in the remaster is eight of the nine premium DLC, which comes with nearly all the vehicles unlocked, as well as one of the best racing soundtracks to ever exist.

Not only does it have some amazing graphics with hundreds of enemies onscreen. Crimson Sea is fast, smooth and really easy to get into.