The return to Teer Fradee largely disappoints in the De Vespe Conspiracy, although the PlayStation 5 upgrade works well. I wanted so much more in something called an expansion, even if the cost said I should temper my expectations. The De Vespe Conspiracy still tells an enjoyable tale, but the surrounding new enemies, empty location, and anticlimactic ending make for something akin to getting a dinner mint as a dessert rather than the chocolate melting cake.

Fantasy Life lets you partake in every step of the adventuring process, from item creation to monster slaying. Unfortunately, the copious backtracking and bland narrative make this adventure rather boring.

My suggestion is that this game should definitely be purchased, but if you're playing "Dragon Quest VIII," wait a couple of months after finishing it to play Wild Arms Alter Code: F, otherwise you're simply not being fair to yourself or to this great game.

HarmoKnight has the Nintendo polish, but you’re spending $14.99 for what is essentially a glorified mobile game.

Freedom Wars delivers an action RPG in an accessible, pickup-and-play, portable package.

Grid offers an enjoyable racing experience that tests your driving skills. With the nemesis feature, a ton of racing personalities, and the flashback feature, there's a good amount to make it unique. There are some annoying track designs that drag you down, but most of them are winners.

A really great chess game. The presentation values are excellent, and it has a wonderful training mode which includes fully-voiced tutorials from Josh Waitzkin.

The game isn’t perfect but if you want to buy your son or daughter a game based on one of their favorite movies you can’t go wrong with Kung Fu Panda Legendary Warriors.

With anime inspired tones and the quick play, this game is just plain fun.

THOTH is a blissfully difficult twin-stick shooter that challenges your reflexes and puzzle-solving skills on the fly. Never have 2D shapes been creepier.

With unrelenting charm, excellent writing and voice work, and an art style that is sure to put a smile on your face, Disney Illusion Island is the magical Mickey Metroidvania you didn’t know you needed.

Its main goal from the outset seems to focus on raising the player’s blood pressure and enthralling them with the action. While it achieves that feeling for a majority of the game, the console version suffers from some serious frame rate and loading issues that bog down their experiences.

Kirby Star Allies is a fun entry in the traditional Kirby series. The co-op is fun, the CPU controlled helpers are competent, and the new abilities are a blast to use. Sadly, the length of the game and the lack of difficulty-scaling for bosses in multiplayer make it just shy of living up to its fullest potential.

A movie-based game that is well done and relatively problem free? X-Men Origins: Wolverine is definitely one of the more pleasant surprises of the year.

One could sum up my issues with Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 by the liberties that were taken with both the story and the characters. It's the only thing in my mind that keeps the game from being truly great, because the gameplay mechanics and leveling system are really top-notch.

A rock solid RTS.

Despite being held back by neglected gameplay elements and an overeager narrative, Oxenfree II: Lost Signals still offers an enjoyable experience.

Project X-Zone 2 is a dream crossover on paper that falters in execution, failing to excel in any area beyond unabashed novelty. The quality of the cast and engaging juggling mechanic are the most you’ll likely get out of this crossover RPG.

The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes can occasionally get tedious when playing alone, but the multiplayer is one of the greatest handheld co-op experiences around.

A mashup of many genres, Tribes of Midgard manages to do many things well. It does ask a great deal from you, and it offers little in the way of instruction, but if cooperation and discovery under pressure is your jam, this is the game for you.

Stories: The Path of Destinies mixes looping narratives, engaging brawler combat, and beautiful scenery to create a compelling indie adventure that should not be overlooked. Not wholly without fault, but even in the imperfections it’s easy to find a lot to love in Stories.

If you are willing to stick with it, and accept that they may use terms that won't even get completely explained in this chapter, it is a decent science fiction story. It's just not simple to follow, and translation from Japanese to English probably did not help make things any easier to understand.

Pokemon Shining Pearl and Brilliant Diamond, despite ignoring some of the original's issues, is a great remake that runs remarkably well and sports excellent visuals.

The loading times, framerate drops and lack of a "draw-in" factor with the story really hurts this game from being all it could have been.

Just what Telltale hopes to accomplish Minecraft: Story Mode remains in question as “The Last Place You Look” breaks story and characters for the sake of seeing every corner of the Minecraft universe.

A Criminal Past puts Adam in jail for a great self-contained storyline pushing a solid narrative and a far greater emphasis on stealth in the final DLC for Deus Ex: Mankind Divided. While the voice acting can be a bit of a mixed bag, there’s no doubt that Eidos Montreal is ending this one on a high note.

There hasn’t been a shoot-em-up game in recent memory that’s made me smile quite as much as Neko Navy: Daydream Edition. Its adorable artstyle mixed with innovative gameplay mechanics and a ton of replay value will reward anyone who’s feline up to the challenge, meow!

Outriders Worldslayer is more Outriders, and that’s not a bad thing. While the story doesn’t do much, the game as a whole is still one of the most fun third person shooters out there right now, with a feel to the gameplay that is a blast to play. The addition of the Trials of Tarya Gratar end game content is worth every penny, and the new gear, skills, and Apocalypse tiers ensure you’ll want to stick around and grind for a good while.