Mario Strikers: Battle League presents a shockingly deep take on Soccer held up by some incredibly charming and expressive character animations. Sadly there’s not much to see outside of the core loop, and can quickly wear out its welcome as things start to feel too repetitive.

Baba Yaga is a good excuse for another adventure with Lara, but it doesn’t hook quite as deep as its base game. Besides an excellent boss fight and a few major moments, nothing here stands out from the fold.

God of War Sons of Sparta shines a light on a young Kratos, and to devastating effect. An emotional story carries the game... when it gets there. While basic, the gameplay and varied locations make for a great starter Metroidvania, it just may not work as well for longstanding veterans of the genre. If you wanted more God of War, this is indubitably a good game and a smart spin-off by Sony Santa Monica and Mad Cat Studios.

Kingdom Rush 5: Alliance TD is a solid tower defense game that becomes muddy with few game systems that the game doesn’t flesh out.

Aether & Iron offers a story-driven noir adventure that can both satisfy and frustrate. The retro-futuristic depiction of 1930s New York with floating cars on flying islands is enticing, complete with factions and seedy characters. Turn-based combat on high-speed streets is engaging and satisfying, offering some new considerations to your typical turn-based experience. While the story and characters are worth experiencing, some of the storytelling mechanics can feel frustrating and unwieldy. That said, the patient, strategic gamer looking for a well-told story will find a good time with Aether & Iron.

UNO’s empty lobbies might be a disappointment, but local play, house rules, and the Ubisoft game themed cards breathe new life into the family game night staple.

Star Ocean: The Last Hope HD and 4K Remaster is a beautifully rebuilt hidden JRPG gem from prior era of gaming. The game plays slow, and that drags the action down during battles, but adds depth and purpose to the world exploration. The upscaling is thorough and very well accomplished, and with a high quality soundtrack to accompany you, Star Ocean: The Last Hope is bound to provide hours of quality fun.

Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition is a decent way to play an often overlooked PS1 RPG along with its accompanying SNES text adventure, but it doesn’t do a whole lot to justify a purchase if you already own the original. In fact, it actually performs worse in some cases. Still, the new options like fast forward and disabling encounters are convenient, and finally having a way to play Radical Dreamers is awesome.

Dark Devotion is a 2D action game that focuses on combat and exploration. With a variety of weapons and items, foes, and branching pathways, you'll have plenty to fight with and experience. Some enemies, especially certain bosses, are frustrating and may have you considering throwing your controller. Even so, succeeding feels rewarding.

Homebody is unnerving. The puzzles are difficult, and it’s extremely rewarding when you slowly chip away at them as you uncover the secrets of the house. Equally, it’s immersive — you’ll slowly morph into the player character’s shoes and feel her fear of isolation. The only trouble with Homebody is it eventually feels less and less like a horror game, as you’ll eventually realize that it’s not all that scary — and quite forgiving.

Clustertruck is an addictive, fast-paced parkour platformer with great controls and a ton of challenging levels to race through. While it lacks a polish in some crucial areas, it’s easy to recommend this game due to how simply fun it is.

Madden NFL 25 makes some great strides forward in Madden Franchise Mode including breakout scenarios, updated draft scouting and draft day experience, and the addition of new male and female coaching options. Franchise Mode feels the most “alive” it has in a number of years. You can also transfer your College Football 25 Road to Glory player into Madden Superstar Mode to continue their journey to the pro level. While the game suffers from some QOL issues, sound balance issues, and small gameplay glitches; Madden NFL 25 is the best we’ve gotten in specific avenues in a while.

Office Quest is a fun, light-hearted little romp rich in style. Great aesthetic, entertaining animations, and challenging puzzles make this title stand out, even if some puzzles are more vexing than others, and I didn't feel that the platforming mini-games fit into the overall game. It's a great little game, regardless of if you play it on PC or your mobile device of choice.

Minecraft: New 3DS Edition is a surprisingly competent version of the game despite its obvious limitations. However, the draw distances are terrible, multiplayer isn’t available at the beginning, and it won’t stack up to the console versions. If you truly want Minecraft on the go and own a Nintendo Switch, I suggest buying that version instead as it is the same price and, unlike the New Nintendo 3DS Edition, it will be receiving the Better Together Update this Winter.

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed still provides a highly entertaining experience despite its few issues, and the Switch port does a great job of bringing the stellar title to newer audiences.

Arcadian Atlas has some amazing character designs and character development. The gameplay can be a little unstable at times, but the story keeps you going with its creativity. With some great side characters like Eda and Poncho on your team and more down the road, nothing is impossible. It’s a love letter to older tactical games, and does the genre justice.

Defector represents some of the best interactive elements in VR, with combat, gunplay, spycraft, and a little bit of puzzle work. While the wheels occasionally fall off on that puzzle aspect, and the story does feel a bit truncated, the ride is a blast while it lasts.

Drug Dealer Simulator is an interesting look into the drug dealing business. You can order drugs and sell to clients in order to expand your reach. With an ironically addictive gameplay loop, you'll be sucked into the routine for hours. Unfortunately, there's plenty of screen tearing and an unimpressive world that you'll bear witness to.

Predator: Hunting Grounds is a 4v1 asymmetrical multiplayer game that pits a fireteam against the deadly Predator. Gameplay is tense and enjoyable on both ends, but if you want to play as the Predator, then queue times are currently much longer. It's best played in bursts of a few hours at most.

The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel is a nice example of how a turn-based, old school RPG should be done mechanically in these times. Sadly, like so many others, the game is lost in a rather bland smattering of characters and story. If those elements aren’t important to you, then you’re going to find a very deep, simple, fun, and innovative game here that will provide hours of entertainment.

The mini-games were fun for a while, but they're not deep or eternally engaging.

Poor UI and equally poor communication lead to a frustrating early game experience that diminishes the value of an RPG with otherwise truly interesting gameplay mechanics. While Caves of Lore is a diamond in the rough, it’s a diamond nonetheless.

Immortal Redneck is a fast paced FPS that has a lot of enjoyable aspects and replay value. With over 50 weapons to choose from, there is no lack of fun and exciting firepower at your disposal. The biggest problem I had with the game was the scroll system, repetitive temples, and what felt like an unrewarding grind. Overall, Immortal Redneck is well worth playing.

It’s solid execution, simple but highly diversified play design, and light and colorful environment is welcoming and fun. However sometimes the randomly generated aspects of the game can knock it out of balance, and quickly change a light-hearted strategy experience into a mouse-smashing rage furnace.

Switch ‘N’ Shoot is a fun little arcade shooter that speaks the language of “one more go!” While it’s limited in its content, this micro-sized game will appeal to the high score arcade junkies out there.

LOUD on Planet X truly is the indie kid’s rhythm game. While the way it decides the beat of each song can be frustrating at the start, the incredible music catalog aims to keep you coming back.

Super Mega Baseball 2 brings a great amount of arcade fun to this historical sport. With great mechanics and pick up and play gameplay, the game keeps you entertained and engaged. Since there it is not an MLB game you can’t use real players or teams, but that doesn't stop the game from holding up as a respectable title.

The presentation, along with its impressive soundtrack, is a wonderfully alluring incentive for persevering through the challenging gameplay.