For a game I was so quickly sold on by its trailers, I came away disappointed by Schim. It very rarely showed glimpses of the great game it could’ve been, but never committed to that level of fun puzzling gameplay. Instead, I was left bored as I hopped around the shadows. While the story and overall aesthetic are fun at first, they can’t carry the entire experience when the gameplay has very little of substance to offer.

I’ve always loved Super Monkey Ball, and for a while I thought Banana Mania was the best we were ever going to get. Banana Rumble is everything a new Super Monkey Ball should be, and if you’re able to discern which game is which, then you should pick this up for one of the best puzzle platformers money can buy.

Dawntrail is a strong foundation for Square Enix to build on, one with more opportunities for different kinds of characters and narratives and a better balance between its two often-conflicting pillars of storytelling and action. Sure, a few rough edges could benefit from polish in the upcoming patches, and I hope more opportunities for interactive quests show up as well. If Dawntrail represents the future of FFXIV, then it’s a promising future.

Zenless Zone Zero is the best base game HoYoverse has released to date: It’s a step up from its predecessors in terms of presentation, tech, systems, and starting content – and since previous titles have all massively improved over the course of their strict and impressive update cycle, I feel confident that this is going to repeat for this one...Combining charm and spectacle, mechanical satisfaction and approachability, rapid intensity, and immaculate cool vibes, Zenless Zone Zero is HoYoverse’s hat-trick.

I enjoyed my time with Seeing Stars but found it was not as visually satisfying as the base game and first DLC. While I could understand certain solutions, I felt less smug when I looked at them afterwards. There is something beautiful about a perfectly organized shelf, and Seeing Stars isn’t filled with as much symmetry, things fitted neatly into spaces, and perfectly measured gaps. If you enjoyed the base game, you’ll still want to play the DLC as it gives you more of what you love, it just doesn’t offer the big changes and quality of life options we were hoping for.

Trails through Daybreak might not have the wow factor of modern, big-budget RPGs or the nostalgic pull of a retro Final Fantasy, but that works in its favor. Sure, there's room for more polish and meaningful evolution. But instead of chasing trends, Daybreak is just confidently itself, and it's much stronger for it.

Beyond Good & Evil holds up. It’s still an enjoyable adventure that will fill you with nostalgia for the 3D character platformers of the PlayStation 2 era. My only hesitation is that I wish Ubisoft had upgraded the more dated aspects rather than just including cosmetics – that I initially wasted money on believing them to be upgrades – only to create more hype for the sequel that is somehow still in development. It’s great that people will get to experience Beyond Good & Evil for the first time. They’ll just have to understand it in the context of the era it was created for.

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]

Shadow of the Erdtree doesn’t do anything particularly surprising for Elden Ring players, but it’s worth the price of admission just to see FromSoftware flex its world design expertise in a more compact playspace. It also fits perfectly into the middle of the main game, which means you can step into the Land of Shadow and return to the main world armed to the teeth with an arsenal of fun and unique new weapons, from hulking katanas to reverse grip swords, beast claws, and poison bottles. Whether you’re here for the lore, the swords, or the vibes, Shadow of the Erdtree bolsters what’s already one of the best games ever made.

Just as the first Alan Wake DLCs were imperative to understanding the nature of the Dark Place, Alan Wake 2’s expansions are a must-play for anyone interested in the RCU. Don't forget to play Alan Wake 2, the base game, before diving into it. Before that though, another Alan Wake expansion, The Lake House, releases later this year and if that’s remotely as entertaining as this one, then we’re all in for a good time.

It’s been a busy year for lengthy JRPGs, and Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance isn’t the best of the bunch. It’s a solid JRPG adventure with a lot to love, but you’ll be sent back to your last save file pretty regularly, and depending on how long it’s been since your last save, that can suck the energy out of the room instantly. As a result, SMTV feels like stalling a classic car. Someone will tell you you’re an idiot for not understanding the gearbox’s nuances, but a smooth ride will be preferable to juddering down the road.

V Rising has finally taken its final form on PS5, and it’s a fun survival crafting experience – if, for some reason, you’re looking for another one. And if you like the idea of V Rising, but you can’t quite get into it, there are literally dozens of other survival crafting games you can try instead.

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]

Wuthering Waves is ultimately a would-be usurper trying too hard to be like Genshin Impact to trust in its own strengths, making it feel like an outdated copy in many aspects. Sporting truly fun combat and fresh movement mechanics, an interesting world, and plenty of content to explore, it has the core necessities for a prospering future in place. Before it can realize this future, Kuro Games must address the game’s many flaws and then define a new identity for it – one that goes beyond its inspiration.

And after hours upon hours of playing Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door for the first time since the original GameCube release, that’s really the only flaw I could find. It’s brilliant, but a little slow-paced at times. The characters and areas are memorable, the combat is simple but satisfying, and this Nintendo Switch remake looks like a true papercraft world. This is the best Paper Mario game, and the best Mario RPG ever made.

Imagine Earth’s console bugs are an annoying hurdle to get over, but they’re likely something Serious Bros. will patch out in the coming months. Underneath the little issues is a smart and thoughtful strategy game that makes good use of the medium as a teaching tool without making it feel like a gimmick.

There is so much to praise Another Crab’s Treasure for. The story and characters are genuinely delightful, and I love the fact that a studio dared to innovate on a formula as strong and established as soulslike. These innovations are even successful in places, though others need closer examination and refinement. I could see what the team was trying to accomplish in so many places, which made it even worse when the game didn’t live up to the vision. But my primary takeaway from this experience is that the state in which Another Crab’s Treasure has launched on Switch is unacceptable. It simply doesn’t work, and you definitely shouldn’t buy it.

As with all yearly titles, you always have the feeling the dev team is keeping something in its pocket for the future, but it’s a big improvement over last year’s game. That said, if the wide range of experiences available here weren’t enough, the level of refinement achieved on the track proves the EA Sports F1 series is a staple for motorsport fans.

Ultimately, XDefiant is free-to-play, so there’s not going to be any buyer's remorse if it’s not for you, but I found it to be a surprisingly competent and enjoyable shooter. It straddles the line between COD’s bold, nonsense plays, and Counter-Strike’s methodical strategy, with a few typical Hero Shooter staples thrown in for good measure. When you’re playing with randoms online it’s almost always going to devolve into that nonsense gameplay, but when I’m playing a multiplayer shooter without a group, that’s exactly what I’m looking for. I’m not sure it’ll change the shooter landscape, but XDefiant is doing more things right than Hyper Scape ever did.

Feeling more approachable than its byzantine predecessors, Men of War 2 is a solid entry into the iconic franchise, keeping its core tenets intact: It’s challenging, highly moddable, and offers tons of ways to experience the game – unfortunately, it comes with the same baggage of jank, preventing it from reaching higher spheres.

Cupid Parasite: Sweet and Spicy Darling is all over the place, mixing some touching slice-of-life storytelling and interesting character arcs with endings that explicitly juxtapose this for some exciting set piece. Playing this game without the original was a fun experience as parts of the other stories were slowly revealed to me, and I never felt as if I needed to play the first game. The choice to include only good endings, sweet, spicy, or balanced flavors, is a great addition and something I’ve noticed otome games trending towards. However, whether it is mixing up the genres, or using Greek and Roman god names interchangeably, something feels confused and lost. The truth is I don’t like chocolate, and while there are definitely parts I enjoyed about Sweet and Spicy Darling, there was a lot left to be desired. However, if you like to feel surprised rather than comforted, this is the selection box for you.

I enjoyed my time with Ghost of Tsushima on PC and I’m excited to see where Sucker Punch takes the series next. If it goes to mainland Japan, increases the political intrigue (shows us that hidden heart), works on creating unique side activities, and improves on quest design, it could be one of the best games ever made. For now, though, Ghost of Tsushima is a beautiful but flawed distraction, sharper than it’s ever been.

Senua’s Saga could stand to learn more from the giants it is inspired by.

Lorelei moves into your brain and gets comfortable. I found myself mentally rifling through my collection of documents with as-yet unsolved riddles in the middle of the day or thinking about a puzzle that stumped me while working on another project. I also expected a letdown in the end. With that level of absorption and hours of narrative setup, it’d be easy to fumble the finale and disappoint expectation, leaving you with little more than the sad feeling you get from seeing unfulfilled potential.

Fabledom doesn’t have the depth to keep you playing forever, nor has it committed to its theme and unique twist hard enough to keep you perpetually enchanted, but it’s a very solid and above all charming city-builder that’s worth checking out before pigs learn to fly.

Animal Well brings unique ideas to a genre that doesn’t often get them, with a firm grasp on how to design a world that constantly pushes you to explore deeper. All of its tools are things the genre hasn’t seen before, and that novelty makes you feel incredibly smart solving puzzles the likes of which you’ve never seen in any other game before.