The additional content is more than worth it to those who loved it, but for those lukewarm to the game, I’d wait a bit and see whether the next episode is compelling and then consider looking at getting this episode in the $30 four-episode season pass instead.

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.

The PC port stands as the definitive way to experience Beyond: Two Souls, boasting a higher frame cap, solid keyboard & mouse controls, and a remix mode. These additions, however, do nothing to remedy the poorly-aged, cliché-ridden script and inconsistent chapters you may remember, but do highlight the game’s strong visuals and emphasis on variety.

FATAL FRAME: Mask Of The Lunar Eclipse sports a new paint job that could still use a few more coats in some areas, but nevertheless offers an interesting horror mystery. However, even with the upgrades, the pain points of past entries are still present, and is not aided by a non-linear narrative that may not be enough to entice everyone to smile for the camera.

DNF Duel had the potential to be a great fighting game for beginners, but is far too shallow and unbalanced to be competitive in. Even so, it’s good for a more casual and laid back experience with some great visuals.

Tales of Xillia 2 ‘s greatest strengths are also its greatest weaknesses. Continuing the saga where it left off will be a joy for fans of the original who couldn’t get enough of its intricate world and colorful characters, but Bandai Namco’s choice to revisit a previous game may not satisfy those who are in search of new experiences in the Tales of series.

Fitness Boxing doesn’t have a lot of features to speak of, but it does provide a solid workout. Its exercise routines are challenging and enjoyable enough, despite their atrocious background music. Fitness Boxing isn’t going to be the most fun game on your Switch, but it’s worth checking out if you need a little extra motivation to get your heart rate up.

Creepy as hell but the jump scares too often failed to frighten and some performance issues dampened and otherwise well put together game.

Every time Saints Row does something that reminds me how much I love the series, it follows it up with an issue that makes me frustrated with it. As much as I enjoy the gameplay and getting lost in Santo Ileso, the structural problems, both in open world game design and under the hood, make this a tough one to stick with. There are highlights, like losing track of time in how much fun a Saints Row game can be, but it’s lost under a pile of bugs and glitches.

Automatron’s campaign isn’t very long or particularly interesting, but the longterm effects to the Fallout 4 sandbox are sure to be very interesting, especially as players get to carry their Frankenstein creations to upcoming DLC campaigns.

The game doesn’t ultimately suffer from its technical issues. Instead I felt more like it was muddled by lack of creative cohesion or foresight. The game’s story was intriguing, but doesn’t really resolve in a manner which is coherent. The level of visual fidelity works, but doesn’t entirely seem premeditated. Yet it’s over very quickly, and in its broad strokes paints a captivating picture. Had it required me to spend more time to reach its pay off, I might have been bothered by this. To compare it to music, this works well as a free mix-tape, but I wouldn’t tolerate it as a full album. That said, I’m interested in what the artist’s point of view is. If they were to be signed, I’d likely want to check out what they could put out with the support of a record label.

Romancing SaGa 3 is a strange game. I like some of its oddities, but others not so much. The game is a bit of a mess. It is, however, a really pretty mess with a great soundtrack. There is a lot of good here, but I just wish it wasn’t so bogged down with nonsense.

The Franz Kafka Videogame is a unique adventure game experience, filled with unique art style and accessible puzzles. However, a baffling story that goes nowhere and a dreadfully short length make the game simply adequate rather than surreal.

Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy feels like a mixed bag. While there’s the promise of a fun adventure in the Marvel universe with a likable group of characters, it’s hampered by the same problems of nearly every Telltale game in the last few years, plus a few new ones. It’s not terrible, but I’d wait to see what the other episodes look like before picking it up.

SpongeBob Squarepants: The Cosmic Shake doesn’t live up to its predecessor, but is still an enjoyable enough romp through the sea. There are a ton of delightful callbacks that can spice up the safe level design and it’s fun to see alternate versions of beloved characters. If you’re a fan it’s worth playing through, but if not you may want to skip this one.

The story is well written and the game flows between different action sequences and cinematic breaks that keep both gameplay and the story fresh. There are some issues with hit detection and death animations that will frustrate you at times, but the game rewards you for getting through each sequence and makes it worth the effort.

Dragon Quest VIII is a massive world with well over 50 hours of gameplay. It stands out thanks to stellar voice acting and a huge, quirky set of monsters to battle. While there’s plenty to do, both the plot and the majority of the characters are flat and uninteresting. The quicksave feature and the ability to increase battle speed are significant quality of life improvements over the original, making this a solid title sure to entertain JRPG fans, but the dated and grind-heavy mechanics can make it a bit of a slog.

Into the Stars is a creative and unique game which nevertheless manages to disappoint. The combination of complicated gameplay with a distinct lack of direction means that only the truly determined will likely get far with the title – but it just isn’t interesting enough to warrant the investment from most.

After seeing so much change in Franchise Mode from Madden NFL 22 to 23, expectations were high for Madden NFL 24. While some things are what fans wanted from the Madden franchise in 24, it seems like time was truly against the game as glitches are more rampant than last year and things simply seem half finished. While we assume that things will get fixed as the year goes by, it might be time for Madden to look at trying to complete a game before putting out another one.

Those expecting the quality and polish of its predecessor will be disappointed with Exit the Gungeon. It’s too visually clustered and the new mechanics can be more frustrating than fun. Still, for a short burst of rogue-like goodness, you could do worse.

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.

Delivers exactly what it says: a prettier version of the same game you played five years ago. Those looking for the same experience will find it, and those looking for something new or a fresh take on the series won’t get much out of this remaster.

It’s always somewhat tacky to compare products, but it’s warranted when so very much is borrowed. This game is a bit of a knockoff of the superior Mark of the Ninja.

ChromaGun answers a question nobody wanted answered: What if Portal made a few really terrible game design decisions that soured the whole experience? Don’t get me wrong, ChromaGun is not without enjoyment. It certainly has its moments. At $19.99, it may be worth buying. But it could have been so much better.

Stranger of Paradise is a good game, but it had the potential to be a great game. Its self seriousness backfires to a genuinely endearing degree, but also leaves the story poorly fleshed out and possibly hard to follow. The combat may be fun, fluid, and visceral, but issues with the PC version should make players look to other platforms.

Super Mario Party is some of the most fun to be had with a local multiplayer game on the Switch. Unfortunately that is compromised by a deluge of limited modes and design decisions that pull the whole package down. Based the fun factor alone, Super Mario Party justifies its price tag for anyone looking for a new game to play with friends. However, Super Mario Party's fun factor well exceeds the title's fundamental design principles--so tempering one's expectations is a must.

Games are for relaxation and fun – copy protection that impedes that and causes the user to spend time repairing their OS instead of enjoying their purchased product run counter to that.

Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid has some near-perfect online play and tag-team mechanics, but is held back by some disappointing story modes and an egregious lack of content. Dedicated Power Rangers fans and fighting game enthusiasts will find a lot to love, but for everyone else, wait until the free update for more characters and content in the future.