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.