Jedi Power Battles struggles to hit its mark but does enough to be a fun time to play once or twice either alone or with a friend. The addition of new characters is exciting and sometimes ridiculous, but if your goal is to beat the levels, most of the additional characters won’t get it done. If your goal is a trip down memory lane or the chance to show a friend a game that is nostalgic for you, this game is it.

No matter how you slice it, it's a sub-standard driving game in the vein of the "Twisted Metal" series without the sense of humor or fun that was found in it.

There’s not enough new material here to warrant an entirely new release and the minor additions would be better suited as DLC.

For better and worse, Pokémon Scarlet & Pokémon Violet: The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero Part 2: The Indego Disk is more Pokémon Scarlet & Pokémon Violet. Your enjoyment of it will largely depend on how much jank you can still tolerate, but this DLC does some interesting things to spice up the game. Trainers will actually put up a fight, there are cool optional areas to explore, and there’s of course a ton of returning Pokémon to catch. It’s a very small step back to where we fell in love with the series, but still far from its heights.

Deathtrap is a fun monster-killing, loot collecting, distraction. Unfortunately, it never goes beyond that.

This title is not a AAA space sim, but it is enough to occupy you in short sprints of intense Space dogfighting action. The maneuverability and ability to hop into the next big battle or next mission in bite size easy to pick up and put down ability make this a great addition for those who do like space shooters but don't want to commit a massive amount of focus or attention to play. Just pick it up and save the galaxy!

Falls into the usual pitfalls of not immersing the player in enough to make playing the game worthwhile. This is a rental at best.

Wolfenstein: Youngblood falls dramatically short of its predecessor in most ways and feels like a missed opportunity for a great focused, story-driven co-op game. That said, killing all of Hitler’s best friends with a co-op partner at your side isn’t without its enjoyable moments.

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.

It doesn't change much, but Mom Hid My Game! 2 is still a fun little game. If you liked the first one, the sequel is basically more of the same, but there's still some joy to be had finding your handheld in mysterious places.

Unruly Heroes features a mix of platforming and combat with four characters that you can switch between on the fly. With a handful of interesting bosses and plenty of mechanical variation between levels, the game never locks you into one style of play for too long. Ultimately, though, I didn’t find any part of it that much fun to play, which wasn’t helped by its leaden controls and uneven difficulty.

Though the graphics and soundtrack showcase the superb effort to update the original game for hardcore series fans, frustrating gameplay mechanics and archaic design keep Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap from rising above anything but average.

Ultracore is a blast from the past game that really nails what many side-scrolling shooters were like in the 90s; and coupled with modern controls, it’s a game worth playing. Though there are a few oversights like getting hit and not knowing it, unlabeled special items, and low difficulty, it’s worth a try.

Attack on Titan is an enjoyable experience that is worth a playthrough, but it could’ve been so much more. It surprises with solid combat mechanics and features some exciting and action-packed gameplay moments, but its presentation, story, characters and content outside of the campaign are severely lacking.

We Were Here Forever is a step back from the rest of the series. It’s hard to find the motivation to keep playing when you’re completing the same puzzle three, sometimes four times. Quantity doesn’t mean quality, and when you’re in control of a unique genre like coop puzzlers you don’t want to step on the quality of what made this series great. Plus, the lack of a compelling story is disappointing when it’s the only thing that’s meant to encourage you to keep playing.

Mario Party: Star Rush can be a charming title at times, and definitely shows some promise. However, the game tries too hard to separate itself from its predecessors which causes its mechanics to fall under the pressure of trying something drastically new.

This go around, Tropico 5 continues to have some annoying problems that need to be addressed. The controls are disappointing, the story mode is awful, and some other nagging issues persist.

While I applaud the attempt at breaking new ground and enjoyed the imaginative presentation, Doki-Doki Universe ultimately misses the mark when it comes to engaging gameplay.

There’s a good game in here somewhere and I really want it to break the surface, but performance issues and questionable difficulty are holding down a great game.

Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam excels at RPG combat, but is bogged down by tedious minigames and a disappointing story.

People who enjoy home life and raising babies in The Sims 4 will love the new changes with the baby update and the Growing Together Expansion. There are loads of cute clothes, hairstyles, and interactions that were added for babies, toddlers, and children. The social dynamics tend to get really deep and complicated, and weren’t my cup of tea. I’d like to not have to have constant conflicts and jealousy, especially when my Sims don’t have those traits (for a reason). An option to turn off cheating or jealousy would be great in future patches. The self-discovery traits have potential, but most times weren’t anything I’d have liked to add to my Sims. Overall, Growing Together hasn’t been my favorite, but that is because I tend to have a different playstyle in The Sims 4 than what this is geared towards.

While Fitness Boxing 2: Rhythm & Exercise hosts a number of improvements that will complement your workout, there are a host of technical issues that make this a worse performing experience. If you can get past the underwhelming music and slight slowdown, however, you’ll find a wonderful exercise program if you stick with it.

While Dragonball Xenoverse 2 has plenty of content based off of the franchise’s long history, the gameplay will most likely start to feel stale long before then.

Clapfoot has created a tower defense game unique to the Xbox One console. With a strong sense of style, AI companions and a moderate amount of shooter control, this might just scratch your strategy itch. It’s too bad then that it isn’t as accessible, and relies on repetitive gameplay with a steep difficulty to add gameplay hours to its otherwise short campaign and limited maps.

For better or worse, The Outer Worlds is a perfectly middle-of-the-road open-world RPG. It doesn’t take any big risks, but that also keeps it from falling on its face. Despite some great writing, the game doesn’t have much to say about the corporate dystopia it establishes, ultimately playing it too safe to justify the premise. Obsidian’s expertise with the genre makes The Outer Worlds a competent RPG, if not an especially interesting one.

While offering a set of promises that would make any trigger-happy PVP addict excited, Shattered Skies fails to deliver a reason to keep coming back. While the concept sounds fun, the execution thus far has yielded a relatively lifeless world with a by-now stagnating population. Time will tell if the developers can shape their game into something more engaging post-launch.

Eternal Crusade shows a whole lot of promise as an exciting team-based multiplayer shooter. But ‘promise’ is less than what’s demanded when we’re talking about a game which is released, rather buggy, and not always as intuitive as an action-heavy game should be. At $49.99, it’s hard to justify the investment until the price drops or the game is patched up respectably, but the potential and the fun it offers is real all the same.

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.

Kingdom Hearts III is a product of a development hell. It has too many ideas, too many characters, and too many mistakes holding it back. It is a fun experience that I recommend just for how addictive and smooth the combat is. Kingdom Hearts III is a fun game, it just easily could have been a great one.

Madden 22 is a step in the right direction for the franchise. It gives everyone something to get excited about. However, they are a tad far away from being considered back to the heights of Madden in the late 00’s early 10’s. With time, Madden 22 could be considered the best in the past six years, but in its current state it can’t be considered much better than 21. Promises only go so far, it’s time to get on the field and execute the playbook.

While the core Sleeping Dogs experience is still worth playing, the Definitive Edition is loaded with graphical issues and costs way too much for a game that plays worse than the PC version released two years ago.

Street Power Soccer focuses more on fancy footwork and style rather than traditional gameplay, but doesn't live up to what it alluded to. It offers multiple modes, although some of them are lackluster compared to others. Matches feel very short and some gimmicks don't feel as prominent, but at least the soundtrack is really good.

Bravely Default II is a very flawed but good RPG that deserved a better PC port. With a lack of options that still somehow result in smeared textures, the console version is still the way to go at this price.

Sonic Colors is still a great game, but Ultimate is lackluster at best. It’s glitchy, visually inconsistent, and has some abysmal mixing that makes it impossible to hear the excellent soundtrack, let alone the new remixes.

Despite releasing nearly a year after its Switch counterpart, the PC version of Monster Hunter Rise feels like a minimal improvement. Sure, you can get frame rates in the hundreds and high resolutions, but frequent crashes can reset your settings and cutscenes are still locked at 30. The keyboard and mouse control options are a big boon for accessibility, but the visual improvements here feel so minimal I’ll stick to the portable edition.

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet try to take the franchise in a new direction, but can feel empty and hollow as a result. The open world has bright spots, especially multiplayer, however a lack of care in its design leads to a game that’s haphazard and lifeless.

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet try to take the franchise in a new direction, but can feel empty and hollow as a result. The open world has bright spots, especially multiplayer, however a lack of care in its design leads to a game that’s haphazard and lifeless.

Terminator: Resistance shows a bunch of potential, even if it doesn't always meet it. I was happily surprised with deeper than expected progression, and great dialogue and relationship building. But playing the game I feel stuck in the past, with visuals from yesteryear meeting good but standard gunplay. The worst part is watching the newest piece, the Annihilation Line DLC, take a step back. The Wolfenstein series does better in this sub-genre, but Terminator: Resistance is still a lot of fun to play, which says something about where it could go if Teyon gets another shot.

Kudos to Epicenter Studios for trying something different and making good use of the Wii hardware. Unfortunately the throwaway story, the lackluster production values, and the over-reliance on scripting prevent the game from delivering a fully-immersive experience.

GARAGE: Bad Trip is a top-down twin-stick shooter that wants nothing more than to impress and excite. The sleek visuals and sublime sound design lure you in, then the fast-paced, challenging combat keeps you hooked on clearing level after level. However, missed opportunities and wasted potential take their toll on the game, limiting gameplay variety and giving rise to the game’s tamer moments.

Reynatis is close to a master at one trade, with its unique and refreshing combat system. But there’s too many other pieces that drag the overall presentation down, especially with its outdated graphics, poor Switch performance, awkward camera angles, and high price tag. However, even through all its minor to glaring flaws, and believe me there are many, it's an adventure I find myself looking fondly back on the things it does well.

Hunter’s Legacy: Purrfect Edition fixes several of the issues the original game had by adding a much-needed minimap and making enemies more reactive to your attacks. However, the sound design on Ikki herself is still irksome and the game is a far cry from what it could be. I’d love to see what Lienzo does with Ikki in the future, but for now, Hunter’s Legacy: Purrfect Edition is just OK.

This was a fun, inexpensive game that is easy to jump right into and play, yet very challenging on racing mode. If you’re buying this for a child, it’s probably better suited for bigger kids, as my five year old couldn’t keep up, and he’s very experienced gamer for his age. It would be a fun family co-op game, or to play at a party!

Mario Tennis Aces isn’t a terrible game, but is a forgettable one. Online doesn’t work consistently, Adventure mode is pretty boring and uninspired, and there is a smattering of content. The game just lacks the heart that Nintendo titles have, and this leaves us with a bland and forgettable game that doesn’t do anything interesting. It’s not bad if you are just looking to get some friends or family together to play a few matches, but don’t expect the appeal to last much further than that.

Zoids Wild: Blast Unleashed is great for younger kids and fervent fans of the anime series. While it won’t be endearing for anyone wanting a complex and competitive fighter, there’s enough here to please its intended audience.

Hunter’s Legacy is another platformer in a sea of platformers. Some of the puzzles are clever, going beyond jumping around to involve intriguing elements, but otherwise not much about it stands out from the crowd.

Even though there is fun to be had in this server-snatching raid, there’s more errors found here than just syntax. The heist itself may be short and fairly linear, but it’s still an enjoyable addition to the main game with the cosmetics and weapons being a bitter-sweet cherry on top. It’s always great to add to my crime-closet and upgrade my arsenal, but the extra cost does make it feel like maybe I’m the one getting robbed.

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.

Neverending Nightmares is a very personal look at what it’s like to feel trapped by mental illnesses, a look that is gruesome and scary. Though the game excels with great sound and art design, creating truly scary moments, its boring gameplay loop makes it a hard to sit through.

If you have a young child who really enjoyed the movie, they will probably enjoy the game. It's a neat way to try to introduce them to some stealth gameplay as well. Unfortunately, if you aren't young, you will easily find the game too boring and repetitive.

Banners of Ruin does a lot of things right, but its combat quickly grows stale as you progress further into the game. Enemies become tanks capable of dealing massive damage and the game’s difficulty becomes largely artificial, no longer rewarding strategic moves as you become overwhelmed by the enemies’ numbers, stats and passives. The game is really fun in the first few hours, but once you have learned the ins and outs, you realize it has already played its hand.

If you enjoy putting together model planes, then SimplePlanes is for you. The build mode presents you with seemingly endless possibilities, or you can sample from vehicles the community has created. When it comes to the simulation aspect of this aircraft simulator, it brings nothing new to the table.

Abyss Odyssey: Extended Dream Edition is fun at times, but ultimately an unsatisfying affair.

It’s so hard to score Palia when I look at my playtime of 75 hours and think of all the amazing things this game has to offer, from its in-depth characters, activities to indulge in, and endless possibilities in decoration. However, all of this is sprinkled with bugs, a ridiculously broken climbing mechanic and the fact that it seems far from being finished. It’s definitely come a long way since its launch in 2023, but we still seem to be so far away from its full potential.

Namco Museum Archives is a collection of the company’s NES classics, no more, no less. While the emulation is great and the original games are a good touch, the “Museum” part of the title rings hollow.

Unfortunately it feels like Silicon Knights wrote the story on the back of a cocktail napkin and employed absolutely zero imagination in building the enemies we'd be facing.

I did have fun with it, and I'd recommend it to those who can appreciate the presentation and aren't quickly frustrated by an AI that seems to have an unfair advantage.

Famicom Detective Club: The Girl Who Stands Behind has an excellent murder mystery plot that is sadly obscured by frustrating and arbitrary road blocks. The visuals, writing, and soundtrack are excellent, but actually getting to those will take a lot of patience.

Sally’s Law is held back by a lack of challenging puzzle gameplay and replay value. However, if you can get past its flaws, you’ll find an undeniably cute and positive story that will warm your heart.

Overall, my time with Spectre Divide was spent either almost having fun or having a lot of fun making 4D chess plays with the unique Duality system, mostly the former. The gunplay feels off, the cel-shaded art style and bombardment of visual effects lead to confusion, and the matches can run as slow as a frozen creek. Despite that, the love the devs put into this game shine through in pieces of the map design and sponsor abilities.

Beautiful graphics and scenery, but Ryse’s combat fails to reach the level expected of modern brawlers. Worth a playthrough for action fans, but little lasting appeal outside showing off your rig’s technical chops.

Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour has some good minigames and technical demonstrations, but it feels like Nintendo is patting themselves on the back far too much. The technology here is impressive and I loved learning about it, and it could serve to teach people not plugged into gaming or tech what all these things do, but the game runs out of steam too quickly and becomes a paid advertisement.

Thor God of Thunder isn't the worst comic book or movie based game. It's also not even close to being the best. Sega did their best to cut and paste the God of War formula and for the most part they succeeded. The action is non-stop and unleashing Thor's powers is fun. The game stays fairly true to what long time fans would expect from Thor and they even threw in the Jack Kirby costume for good measure. The biggest problem with the game is that it just never reaches its fullest potential and it certainly doesn't get close to being as good as the series it is imitating. Throw in a short four and a half hour play time and you have a game that is hard to recommend, unless you are a huge Thor fan. Of course it could be worse, the game could be based off of Syfy's Almighty Thor.

New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe is a game that would have benefited from being released in a vacuum. As it stands, this package is one that can neither live up to Nintendo’s own suite of contemporary 2D platformers or the Deluxe moniker it is tagged with. Even beyond this point, the game is little more than a window into a bygone era of Nintendo. Offering simple, polished platforming action, this title is suited only for those who have exhausted the genre’s other options on Nintendo’s hybrid system.

Destiny 2: Curse of Osiris has an excellent new raid and an interesting campaign, but is severely lacking in meaningful content and plagued by a host of larger issues that have yet to be addressed.

Overall, Eco Lifestyle has been an average experience, though to be fair I am not overly interested in the concepts presented in the expansion. In general I have a lot more fun in packs with nightlife, celebrity, magic, and supernatural concepts, and it has been that way for me throughout all of The Sims games. It is pretty neat that your actions have an impact on the map and you see changes, be it negative or positive, but I personally didn’t feel the need to do anything else once I had my neighborhood cleaned up. Evergreen Harbor itself isn’t a very interesting map to live on, and I don’t see myself continuing on with the Sim or game I started on it.

Overall, the puzzles in this game are great, but the loose, floating controls really hamper what would have been a great puzzle-plaformer. I'd only recommend this game for people who really-and I mean really-enjoy challenges.

Butcher is a grotesque love-letter to older shooters with addictive gameplay, plenty of different difficulty settings and disturbing imagery. However, it doesn’t have enough to offer as the content falls short leading to an incredibly unsatisfying conclusion.

Fitness Boxing 3’s weak voice work and shoddy motion detection somehow do little to keep you coming back for more. By gamifying the exercise, it keeps you engaged and motivated, and you’ll quickly find yourself surprised at how tired you become from these exercises.

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.

Grotto is certainly a unique narrative experience, but one that may not be appreciated by all audiences. Communicating through constellations creates a particularly refreshing experience of branching conversational paths, but one that is ultimately housed within a slow and repetitive gameplay loop.

Square took their time and delivered a solid port, giving the PC game several graphical and control options. It’s just too bad that the game they ported is such a mess in every other way.

Mario Vs. Donkey Kong: Tipping Stars is not a bad puzzle platformer, it just doesn’t bring anything new to the table.

Anuchard presents some interesting concepts, but is executed sloppily. While combat is extremely simple, level design is lackluster, and most puzzles are too easy, the final hour or so holds a lot of promise.

It’s casual in that it’s a fighting game that doesn’t require the memorization of combos.

New studio flukyMachine’s 2D runner-style platformer is every bored student’s notebook come to life, proudly embracing its own eccentricities in the visuals department. But turn the page and one will find that the gameplay lacks the same luster, living in the shadows of its influences. While it does sport more-than-serviceable gameplay, Escape Doodland is a game worth playing for its charm and simplicity, not for its depth of mechanics or level design prowess.

Being a big DBZ fan, I really wanted to enjoy Dragon Ball Z: Tenchaichi Tag Team, and at first I did. But the game wore thin real quick once I figured out that all of the fighters control exactly the same way and you can win every single fight in the game using the exact same strategy.

While Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light is a fantastic game that somehow holds up after 30 years, it’s presented in a barebones package that feels too little too late as an anniversary release. If Nintendo is hell-bent on destroying their own history, they’ll have to do a lot more than adding savestates and speed modifiers.

If you can play the PC version, it is a much smarter investment to purchase The Sims 2: Pets as an expansion pack rather than this stand alone PS2 version.

Visions of Mana is a rollercoaster of emotions. The team under Square Enix has made a beautiful game with a solid mechanical foundation. But the balance of the game has been somewhat out of whack. What’s here is not bad, just unpolished and a bit lacking. Visions of Mana is worth your time if the issues mentioned with combat and story won’t be an issue for you. Maybe try it on a harder setting. At the very least, I recommend trying the free demo on every platform as that will give you a feel for how the game controls and feels. Visions of Mana is solid but doesn’t quite reach the heights it aimed for.

Dark Rose Valkyrie doesn’t blow the doors off the hinges, but it does serve as a much improved JRPG over what has been a largely tepid series of releases from Compile Heart and others. The story is fine, the battle system is fun and unique, and exploration is a large part of the adventure. While there are some cliches and rehashed elements throughout, Dark Rose Valkyrie represents what a top end-formulaic JRPG can be.

Not unlike the gray pebble on the bed of gaming’s great river, Toukiden 2 does nothing to harm or hinder the flow, but does nothing special to draw anyone in either. Action RPG first and prototype ice skating hack and slash second, Toukiden 2 is as worthy of a look as it is a pass.

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.

Indiecalypse is a look into the struggles of developing indie games, but in gaming form. The gameplay is simple for the most part, but the lack of clear instructions for minigames gets frustrating. The homage to various other games is neat, but that's about it gameplaywise. The art style is great and I'd love to see more games with characters and worlds like this.

Anglerfish feels like it caters to a very specific patron and ends up poisoning the rest. The strange environments and peculiar denizens within the Anglerfish bar are a high note, but one that becomes drowned out by the frustrating design of its gameplay elements. After each death the game beckoned for another round, but I ultimately left feeling hungover.

Bulletstorm VR unfortunately fumbles where it matters most – the gameplay. For a game originally based around fast-paced and easy to execute stylish kills, Bulletstorm’s jump to VR does the title no favors, making it much harder to pull off anything aside from straightforward shooting. There’s still a fun game hidden within Bulletstorm VR, but there’s little reason to pick up the VR version instead of the much better Full Clip console release.

In short, Heroes Over Europe is a mediocre title which adds little to the arcade flight-sim genre.

Dragon Ball Xenoverse is excellent fan-service and has a ton of potential, which makes it frustrating as hell to see it held back by technical issues and repetitious combat.

Nom Nom Galaxy is a game with some fun gameplay and a unique setting, but its technical problems really hold it back. A few cups of Nom Nom soup is all it takes before it feels stale.

At its best, Desert Child captures the feeling of working toward a big dream while struggling to even buy your next meal. Unfortunately, those moments come sandwiched between a lot of repetition as the initially fun races become a chore that you have to do over and over again. Desert Child's unique setting, filled out with great art and a killer soundtrack, is fun to explore for a while, but the game runs out of gas a little too quickly.

Event [0] is a fun and interesting exploration game. Its use of conversation to progress the story is one of the more unique things that I have seen in recent memory. It is a little short, but the ability to get a different ending lengthens the game. While the game does feel like it is missing something in its story, the overall experience is memorable and enjoyable.

The Walking Dead: Michonne feels like twice the amount of well-worn territory than Telltale series typically deal with, and much of that comes from its existing within a property that is reaching the ceiling of its dramatic potential.

Tour De France 2020 is a functional game and did manage to engage me on some occasions but I was left wanting for a more fleshed out experience of actually riding in a TDF event and could have really done without so much faffing with multiple team members. If you like the management side, this might be for you, but if you want a more in depth cycling experience… No yellow jersey for this one.

Summary: Regicide is chess. You are buying a computer chess game. Yes the graphics are tasty and the fight scenes are well done and the atmospherics are exemplary. But it’s Combat Chess with a twist, and not even a big twist.

Nine years later, Heavy Rain’s flaws have only become more pronounced. Even so, strong narrative design can’t be denied, and it’s just enough to ease the pain caused by the game’s more outrageous blunders.

While frustrating to control and a little rough around the edges in terms of presentation, a neat progression system and great replay value make Pulstario is a nifty little Switch title that is worth your dollar.

Kirby Battle Royale has a great premise, but squanders almost all of its potential. There is simply too little content to justify its price point and everything can be completed in just a few hours. Online is lacking, as players are limited to only playing with strangers in ranked and can only play with friends if they do so locally. Despite being one of the only Kirby games without his famous inhale ability, Kirby Battle Royale kind of sucks.

NBA 2K19 is a fun basketball game held back by unnecessary bells and whistles alongside intrusive microtransactions. The basketball is second-to-none and the players feel and look incredible. It is a true shame the game is shackled by microtransactions which make progression a grind both for MyTeam and your player.