Tennis World Tour 2 on the PlayStation 5 is the definitive way to experience this realistic simulation title. While it does have quite a few flaws considering the package, there’s still a lot to love for those looking for a tennis game with a learning curve.

Despite all of the ways that Outriders is stuck in the past, the moment to moment gameplay is so compelling that it’s impossible to say it’s not a blast -- especially with friends. It’s also remarkably expansive in its crafting and skill trees, with plenty of ways to customize your playstyle. I may not be that invested in the story, and this certainly isn’t that different from most first person shooters, but Outriders is well worth the time and effort. Even if there may be extra effort put in because of crappy server connections.

Tasomachi: Behind the Twilight is a fairly rote 3D platformer with some great music and a nice aesthetic. While the controls feel floaty and there are numerous other annoyances, there’s still fun to be had exploring the intricate towns.

SaGa Frontier Remastered is a game for die hard fans of the original only. Veterans will appreciate the quality of life features along with the addition of Fuse, but everyone else will be put off by the sheer amount of grinding, barebones plot and characters, and tedious leveling system.

Signs of the Sojourner is an intriguing deckbuilder with a great cast of characters and integrated story and gameplay. While there are some glaring flaws with its mechanics, this is a nice relaxing game that teaches the beauty of communication.

In the end, What The Dub?! has only one trick. While that trick can be and is a lot of fun to mess around with, it wears out its welcome a bit too quickly. Although text-to-speech is a great idea and sound effects are a worthy addition, the b-movie clips feel like they’re on repeat after a while, and the pacing can leave you in the lurch. I hope that the game can get some additional support, and with some additional footage maybe over time it can improve, but as of now it feels a bit hollow.

Disco Elysium - The Final Cut is an incredible narrative experience with deep and intricate systems. While the port has a few bugs that need working out it is still objectively the best way to play the game.

Mechanically, it falls short of its true potential, but you can’t help but get swept up in the journeys of these characters. The game’s got heart, and none of its flaws can really take that away.

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.

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2 for the PS5 is a great PlayStation game, but not necessarily a great PS5 game. It’s still a ton of fun to play, with no noticeable bugs or glitches. However, the only utilized PS5 feature is improved loading times. Adaptic triggers and haptic feedback felt largely unused, so much so it felt more like I was playing with a PS4 controller. Nonetheless, that doesn’t stop this remake from being amazing --- it’s still a ton of fun to play, and for new players there’s plenty of content to chew through that you won’t necessarily be missing those missed DualSense features.

While it’s still too difficult to get into, Monster Hunter Rise is the best entry to date. Hunts feel faster and more dynamic than ever and additions like Weapon Swap Skills, Wyvern Riding, Palamutes, the Rampage, and especially Wirebugs keep the gameplay fresh and exciting.

It Takes Two is one of the most unique games I’ve played in a long time. The heartfelt story can be really dark at times, but does it’s job to reinforce the narrative. There aren’t many co-op games on the market, and none of them do what It Takes Two does, with each bit of the platforming gameplay being tons of fun and adding enjoyable new techniques as you make your way through each level. It may be tough to lock someone down for fifteen hours to play it, and even then I feel like I’m reaching for this as a con, but if you find someone that wants to play It Takes Two with, you probably won’t want to put down the controller.

The Kingdom Hearts PC ports are surprisingly excellent. With a substantial amount of options in 3 especially, this will no doubt please players who want to experience some of the saga at upwards of 900 frames per second. While there are a few blemishes, like blurry movies and no mouse support, each of these games is well worth owning for fans of the series. Just wait for a big sale.

The Fabled Woods collects all the necessary ingredients for a solid, meditative casual adventure, but its awkward execution leaves its narrative beats without any real weight.

Tales from the Borderlands is just as good as you remember it. The characters feel real and human, while the plot is compelling and worth seeing through to the end. This port could have used a few upgrades or even just kept the choice summaries, but at the end of the day it’s a game I’ll replay for years to come.

Everhood is a fantastic freshman effort that brings unexpected and refreshing spins to both the RPG and rhythm genre. The creative combat system and repeat-friendly soundtrack are definitely strong points but the thought-provoking story elevates the unusual adventure to excellent heights.

Lost Words: Beyond the Page is a heartfelt and human exploration of grief. While it will certainly make you feel things, it stumbles a bit in the execution with ham fisted moments, glitches, and overall simplicity of puzzles.

While the content shortage and cross-play challenges still exist, performance problems are eliminated, and bugs almost entirely eradicated by the next-gen console launch of The Avengers. Stability issues remain, but with the promise of a more consistent launch of content, the future is a little bit brighter for The Avengers.

In some ways falling short, but in many ways vastly exceeding the original, Evil Genius 2: World Domination is everything we wanted in a sequel to one of the best evildoer simulators ever made. It recaptures the spirit of the original, brings it up to modern standards, and lets us play in an evil sandbox of our own making.

Kaze and the Wild Masks is a near-perfect platformer with a lot of charm and entertaining gameplay. It’s just a rush of amazing platforming action chock-full of collectibles and challenge that will have you grinning ear-to-ear like you did in the 90s.

While Murder on Eridanos has fun moments focusing on investigating and dialogue choices, it is actively undermined by shoving combat in your face and a twist that makes events leading up to that point feel pointless.

Adios is a narrative achievement. It uses the medium of video games to tell a deeply human story that will stick with you long after you put the game down. With some of the best voice acting in the business Adios is a must play and one of my favorite games this year.

Immortals Fenyx Rising: Myths of the Eastern Realm gives us a fresh protagonist, a completely new setting, familiar mechanics and a few new tricks. With fantastic logic puzzles and the same tight combat as the base game, Myths of the Eastern Realm represents a great new way to experience everything we loved from the original. Let’s hope Ubisoft continues to take risks like this as they seem to pay off in a big way.

Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town is an enjoyable little farming romp; it’s charming and calming, but doesn’t quite capture the magic of some earlier installments. While slow load times, customization restrictions, and a few quality of life issues can make parts of your play a bit of a slog, the mines have returned, you can romance any eligible bachelor or bachelorette.

While the games themselves haven’t aged terribly well and there are too many fighting games here, NeoGeo Pocket Color Selections Vol. 1 demonstrates the best way to preserve old games. On top of simply playing the games themselves, you can take a look at everything that came with the cartridges way back when on top of taking advantage of convenience features like rewind. Unfortunately, this is undermined by the incredibly small screen size which you cannot change. [*See March 31 score update]

Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville is a fairly generic team shooter that doesn’t take advantage of its strengths. While there’s a lot to do in single player it’s fairly shallow and the multiplayer modes don’t bring anything new to the table.

If you haven’t played Crash 4 yet, this is a competent version of the game if you don’t mind the drastically reduced visuals. However, it is slightly more glitchy and more difficult due to reduced visual clarity and the halved frame rate.

Viola: The Heroine’s Melody might need a bit more time in the cooker, but it’s still an entertaining RPG with fun characters and a great core battle system. If you can overlook its weaker platforming elements and sometimes buggy glitches, you’ll have a good time with the game.