Edgeflow Studio has managed to create an immersive deckbuilder that really knows how to make use of its setting and connect it to the gameplay. This quality greatly enhances the heart of the game, which is the thrilling and intricate turn-based space combat that’s already fantastic in Early Access. The same can’t be said for its roguelike layer, which requires more variety and incentives to become similarly engaging. Breachway is not quite Faster Than Light, yet.

A year on, and Mortal Kombat 1 is still plodding along. If you’ve felt a bit gore deprived recently, Khaos Reigns is a great way to refresh your sicko meter and have some fun with friends, but even with infinite combos and a variety of new characters, MK1 still feels stuck in the mud. Hopefully, the next MK game will take place in a timeline where the gameplay doesn’t feel stiff, though I’m not sure even the Kamidogu can help with that.

For me, Roads to Power is an incredibly flavorful Crusader Kings 3 DLC – it’s a game changer in the literal meaning, because it introduces a way to truly play this title as a RPG as opposed to a strategy game, though I would recommend a healthy mix to get the best out of the experience, and it really spices up empire-level gameplay. Even if you’ve conquered the world, keeping your dynasty on the throne is now much more intense thanks to Administrative Realm politics. Now even more roads lead to Rome, and what could be better? [Recommended]

Cataclismo is built on a fantastic foundation thanks to solid fortress construction mechanics that capture your imagination. Build your Helm’s Deep, build your Minas Tirith, and hold it against the tireless forces of evil – that’s the simple and yet so very seductive promise of Cataclismo, and its Early Access launch already executes the idea brilliantly. Once the developers have gotten around to adding more spice, this meal will delight any strategy fan. [Early Access Review - "Recommended"]

Age of Wonders 4: Eldritch Realms superbly serves the power fantasies of wielding evil, ancient knowledge and becoming something otherworldly as well as fighting against such abyssal horrors, finding a nice balance between fresh content and mechanical additions. [Recommended]

I might rag on Destiny 2’s level design (I’d probably do the same with Halo, honestly), but I can’t fault Bungie on its pedigree when it comes to making a shooter that feels great. It’s far easier said than done, and many shooters manage to be merely functional and serviceable rather than fun – looking at you, Starfield, Borderlands, Outer Worlds – but Destiny 2’s guns are genuinely great to shoot. It helps that smaller, weaker foes will usually get wiped out in a fraction of an Auto Rifle’s clip, instead of acting like perpetual bullet sponges. Having dozens of weaker foes to fight against is far more satisfying than one big bullet sponge, and Destiny 2 understands this, all the way up until you find a dungeon or raid boss. [Review in Progress]

This doesn’t feel like a game you can reasonably “get good” at anymore, it just feels like a mess. Win, lose, it doesn’t matter. Perhaps younger gamers can forgive the gameplay quirks in exchange for seeing characters they love duke it out, but that alone is not what made Super Smash Bros. a sensation. MultiVersus’ online net code is great, which should be a massive selling point, but why would you want to play this game? [Review in Progress]

If Songs of Silence wasn’t an auto-battler, but featured either turn-based combat in the style of Age of Wonders or real-time battles a la Total War, and just a little more empire management, this would probably land on my game of the year shortlist (heck, it may very well still do so) – as things are, its genre, its resulting drawbacks, and a few technical issues ever so slightly lessen my enthusiasm, so it has to settle for being the best auto-battler and most gorgeous strategy game I’ve ever played. [Early Access Review]

Though not content-complete, Manor Lords feels like an incredibly fresh take on city-building, borrowing mechanics from other genres and fusing them authentically with history to create something unique and special. Its mechanical foundations could not be more solid, so all this game needs to fully unlock its immense potential is more time and meat on its bones...We aren’t scoring Early Access reviews, so all I’ll say is that I highly recommend this game even ahead of its full launch, if the developer’s vision speaks as much to you as it does to me. [Early Access Review - "Recommended"]

If Telmari had any level of polish, then it’d be a fun, if simplistic, platformer, but that level of care hasn’t been put in. The result is a game that fails at its core purpose and is a mere echo of far better games.

I don’t see much of a future for Skull and Bones. Ubisoft has announced its Year 1 roadmap, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the studio jettisoned the cargo and let it sink to the bottom of the ocean way before that, it certainly feels like they only finished it out of obligation anyway.

By focusing on survival crafting rather than traditional Pokémon-style gameplay, Palworld has made something unique out of two genres that have been stale for a long time. It’s still missing some big features like PvP, but given that it’s only at the beginning of its time in early access, it will only get bigger and better. [Early Access Score = 80]

Modern Warfare III feels like a content expansion for Call of Duty: Warzone, and if it were sold as that, at a lower price, it could’ve been justified. But by selling this as a premium experience, and crunching developers to create the game in just 16 months, Activision has shown its hand. This game shows that the publisher doesn’t care about its staff, and evidently, doesn’t respect its consumers.

A man might enjoy the story, but I am not a man, and I did not.

What’s left is a game with a weird amount of dodgy fan service, an almost nonexistent story, a SRPG battle system that feels largely hollow, and a dicey frame rate on Switch. I’m sure, somewhere, there’s somebody for whom this is the perfect game, but that somebody is certainly not me.

Diablo 4 treads familiar ground in its story and characters, but its combat and gameplay systems shine where prior games fell short. I wish its single-player experience was a little less hostile, and I worry for its longevity in its current state, but even at its lowest lows, it manages to match or outpace its predecessors in almost every conceivable way. [Review in Progress]

Peridot may find its fan base of Tamagotchi nostalgists, but as it stands the technical issues are too much for me to recommend it to anyone. Until Niantic changes these fundamental issues, there is no way for people to play Peridot in the way the company envisions. And it could be good. The general gameplay of raising and playing with your virtual pet is one that has been successful in the past. I’m just not sure how the breeding aspect will sit with fans.

Peppa also likes to constantly call out what you should be doing, and this will play over anything anyone else is saying, giving you double audio. I would say that this double audio error happens more often than not. The only time it isn’t present is in cutscenes. It has subtitles so I tried to play with the volume off, but as this is aimed at non-readers they will really struggle with it.

That’s Forspoken’s biggest problem – everything I like about it gets dragged down by the unrelenting dullness of everything else. The story is boring, the characters are boring, the enemies are boring, and the world is boring.