Deathloop is a great game, if kind of a mixed bag in ways. On one hand, the gameplay is some of the most refined Arkane has done, and they give you almost an “easy mode roguelite” to play, along with a little opposition via co-op for spice. On the other however, the story can stumble, and the grind can be a bit too monotonous. Deathloop walks a bit of a fine line, but overall has enough fun ideas to keep things mostly fresh and fun for Colt and Julianna players alike.

The Artful Escape perfectly encapsulates the feeling of being transported away by a David Bowie track to a far-out world filled with colorful characters and wildlife and great music, but its gameplay falls flat, offering little depth past its first tutorial. While the game is short enough for its systems to never feel too egregious, it never reaches its full potential through its story or its mechanics. Fans of zen games, nice visuals, and quippy dialogue may want to pick this up, but do not expect a deep experience in playing The Artful Escape.

Life is Strange: True Colors is very much a Life is Strange game in all the right and wrong ways. The new characters and plot provide a refreshing new take in the series and an enjoyable experience overall.

Tales of Arise is a huge leap forward for the series. Combat is incredibly fun and fluid, the story is fantastic despite a lackluster finale, and the characters are as charming as ever. It’s not only one of the best Tales games, but one of the best the PS5 has to offer.

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.

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.

A beautiful blend of whimsical golfing and sardonic commentary wrapped in a blanket of nostalgia and straight-up vibes. Golf Club: Wasteland is a brilliant narrative experience that can’t resist imbuing anything and everything with stories.

Quake is a seminal shooter that helped define the genre, but it’s definitely starting to show its age. It’s well worth experiencing the campaign, but its design and enemy placement can occasionally feel unfair. Just as well, the multiplayer is difficult to get into if you’re not already familiar with it.

Recompile brings a lot of great ideas to the table, but none of them work well together in their implementation. While it presents an interesting story, you’d have to wade through the immensely frustrating gameplay to get there.

The Big Con is a blast from the past in its setting and story. While the tools to get you where you need to go need a bit of work, Ali is an exceptional main character, and playing through her story is a lot of fun. It’s short, yes, but it’s definitely worth the price of admission for an entertaining jaunt through the ‘90s.

Dodgeball Academia hits you with vibrant, fun characters, quirky one liners, and gameplay that is almost perfectly crafted around this favorite childhood pastime. It’s wild no one has thought to make this earlier, but it’s great Pocket Trap did with the artistic direction of Ivan Freire.

I Expect You To Die 2’s half dozen hours is easily one of the best ways to introduce somebody to VR. It’s funny, well written, nausea free, and incredibly engaging at every turn. Regardless of which VR headset you have, this one needs to be in your library -- it’s a must have.

While it doesn’t feel like a No More Heroes game entirely, No More Heroes III is still a fantastic action game with great combat, fun minigames, and hilarious dialogue. I’ll certainly miss the more introspective and dark story, but I look forward to more wacky adventures with the crownless king.

Stride on Quest has three fun game modes and it's exciting to experience parkour action in virtual reality. Movement mechanics don't come naturally and require more time to master than some people might be willing to invest. Overall, Stride still needs some work, but it's a fun immersive parkour game that will hopefully see continued development.

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.

Behind The Frame: The Perfect Scenery offers a beautiful blend of Ghibli-inspired visuals and light puzzling that uses a unique storytelling technique to deliver a touching tale of love. While the gameplay is a bit basic, this one is perfect for a rainy afternoon inside or a way to wind down after a long day at work.

Dungeon of Naheulbeuk: The Amulet of Chaos has a lot of obstacles in its way from becoming a solid gem worth your time. The first few hours are a bit of a drag to get through since the majority of this time you’ll spend either hating the dialogue or hating the difficulty from the (more predetermined than random) RNG that this game employs. Trudge through this and you’ll find that the learning curve gets easier, the writing simmers down a bit, but the difficulty still remains the same.

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.

We’ve waited far too long for an Aliens game this good, but it’s finally here. With an exciting campaign, five exciting classes, a dazzling array of weapons, and a staggering array of monsters to use them on, Aliens: Fireteam Elite is a perfect organism.

Psychonauts 2 is the perfect sequel. It builds on everything the original game was while adding its own unique spin on gameplay and story. The overworld is a joy to explore and the levels are more stylish and dazzling than ever before with fantastic controls. It’s a fantastic experience that will stick with you, and has a ton to see and do.

Tormented Souls feels like a labor of love, paying homage to its predecessors and delivering a survival horror experience akin to the games of the genre’s glory days in the PlayStation 2 era of gaming. This game will not pull in newcomers to the genre, but lovers of survival horror will enjoy this game for its puzzles, tension, and environmental design, even if the game is lacking in some major areas.

Necrobarista is still a great story, but has a lot of issues a rerelease should have fixed by now. Everything from typos to not paying workers, this isn’t the ideal version of the game by any means when you add the terrible performance on top. It’s nice to cozy up with this game in bed with headphones, but it may still be better to wait for the PC update if you have a beefy desktop.

Hades is a fantastic game and is really worth all the acclaim and praise its received thus far. The game's amazing ability to both engage and challenge you is worthy of applaud and the now that the game is available on all platforms many more players will be able to enjoy this spectacular title.

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.

Ghost of Tsushima Tales of Iki delivers an absolute masterpiece to Sony’s PlayStation 5, alongside a remarkable expansion to an already phenomenal game. Some new mechanics keep things fresh, as does another excellent story from Sucker Punch. While there are a few hiccups to contend with, this is easily a must-have title for the year.

Mr. X Nightmare is a quality addition to an already quality game. You can feel the care taken to bring in the new characters without wrecking the balance of the game, the fantastic soundtrack, and a great new mode that’s positively addicting and well-made.

Twelve Minutes is an immaculate construction of narrative that manages to take an extremely compact apartment space and spin an incredibly substantial story in it. Every thread seems to lead to two more, and each one feels satisfying to complete as you head towards the final loop. The voice talents are on point, the gameplay fits remarkably well, and every loop is a new adventure. I implore you to take the time to check this one out, as Twelve Minutes is worth every minute you’ll spend with it.

A deeply personal two-hour meditation on saying goodbye that invites you to channel your lived experiences and walk alongside its characters. It’s a little sparse on the details, but No Longer Home still gives players plenty to chew on.