God of War Ragnarök is to God of War (2018) as God of War II was to God of War. God of War II may not have changed much mechanically, but it made nuanced improvements to gameplay, story and level design, all while injecting much-needed variety into the enemies and environments. These improvements yielded a fantastic sequel that remains one of the best entries in the franchise.

While some elements such as the lack of a romantic goal may be a turn off for some players, Doraemon Story of Seasons: Friends of the Great Kingdom is an absolute charmer much like the first title. Those who enjoyed the first may find this to be more of the same, but at the end of the day, that’s what fans of farming sims often want. It’s the variety of characters and new crops and little gameplay tweaks that make it fun to come back time and time again to work up to the ultimate farming experience. It’s a must-have for Doraemon fans and those wanting a new light-hearted Story of Seasons experience will likely enjoy the change of pace that the crossover brings to the table. Hopefully fans of the genre check out Doraemon Story of Seasons: Friends of the Great Kingdom as it truly is an endearing delight and exciting to see this series get such a lovely sequel.

What feels like the foundation for something ideally more substantial lying in wait, Arkanoid – Eternal Battle can only muster up a competent, but unimaginative, spin on the Taito classic in Battle Royale form. That’s not to say that its core mode doesn’t at least find a way to tempt you back for another round umpteen times over, but eventually the more you repeat its disappointingly shallow progression — and worst of all, its egregiously-difficult and frustrating final face-off — the more you feel your time is spent not cunningly plotting a course to victory, but instead merely wasted on a concept that should be better fleshed out. Eternal Battle is not without good ideas in spots, and while the effort on bringing another retro classic into the BR fold is appreciated, it’s far from the most emergent or compelling of takes in the sub-genre.

The Yomawari series is one with its own tone and atmosphere, and the town of Lost in the Dark is a wonderfully spooky place to explore on an inevitable confrontation with a young girl’s trauma.

Ultra Kaiju Monster Rancher is a pleasant surprise that was extremely unexpected. From the recent revival of the Monster Rancher titles to Ultraman finally making an impact overseas, it’s a delight. It’s worth noting that this title is aiming to appeal to fans of the Ultraman franchise first and foremost, but there’s tons for those who have never experienced it before to love. Even the ugliest or creepiest kaiju can become endearing and lovable after spending time training them long and hard to be their absolute best. It’s a title that’s easy to get into and doesn’t require a ton of trial and error to figure everything out. Fans of giant monsters will want to consider picking up Ultra Kaiju Monster Rancher, especially if it’s always been their dream to raise them and fight against other massive and iconic kaiju.

I couldn’t be more disappointed in how Star Ocean: The Divine Force turned out, to the point I’d rather go back and replay tri-Ace’s Infinite Undiscovery. You can take solace that The Divine Force is at least better than Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness as there are moments of intrigue, but they’re overshadowed by how severely underwhelming the overall package ended up.

While Signalis won’t be leading to a full-on fifth-gen survival horror renaissance, if only because some of the genre’s past sins still linger, it still delivers an enjoyable adventure that perfectly captures the feel of the classic era while also doubling down on more detailed cosmic horrors and twisted visuals, capped off with some sturdy combat and impressive puzzle design. Those in the mood for a quick yet quality-filled horror game should check out Signalis, as it delivers welcome sci-fi scares.

Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope is an exciting step forward for the series that continues to surprise with its increasingly deep combat, gratifying exploration and joyful presentation. Ubisoft has embraced freedom in all senses of the word for this sequel, whether its additional real-time elements during combat, the ability to switch out and upgrade heroes and Sparks at will for endless combinations, or the oodles of optional content that’s crammed into every planet. The predictable and occasionally long-winded story along with late game encounters that severely punish players for mistakes or missed opportunities may keep some players from seeing this journey to its conclusion. Even so, the game’s continued willingness to evolve its approach to new battles and to encourage and reward curiosity in between encounters combine to create a well-paced and engaging tactics game that Switch owners and fans of the genre shouldn’t hesitate to check out.

Vampire Survivors is a long slow burn that never stops getting hotter, maybe not quite the first of the genre it ignited, but certainly the best. [Early Access Provisional Score = 90]

Refreshing if sadly not as fleshed out as one would wish, The Last Hero of Nostalgaia does still provide enough of a charm and a challenge alike for Souls veterans looking for a new take on the formula.

Warner Bros. Montreal took a giant risk with Gotham Knights. Not only did the studio choose to forgo using one of the world’s most famous heroes, but also the top-rated Arkham series. What we have with Gotham Knights is an original setup filled with a great central cast and an intriguing tale of young sidekicks uncovering Gotham’s dark secrets and becoming knights themselves.

New Tales from the Borderlands doesn’t top the amazement of the original game. That still doesn’t stop it from delivering an impressive adventure game in its own right, however, filled with an enjoyable story about family, a lot of great bits of comedy, a deeper look into different parts of the Borderlands universe, and of course, the sheer joy that is L0U13.

To be entirely honest, Batora: Lost Haven needed time to grow on me. The opening hours seemed too simplistic; the story too silly. As things moved along and the options opened up, the appeal begins to shine through. It’s not a tough game, nor is it the deepest. Stormind Games instead created a fun little lark with a couple of fun main characters and a story that pulls the player through to the end. There’s nothing entirely new to be found across the different planets, but it executes well and does have some impactful moments. As such, Batora: Lost Haven is worth a shot for fans of top down action games and those that enjoy more focused experiences from smaller developers.

EA’s NHL series feels like it’s slowly distancing itself more and more from the NHL and going more of the FIFA route for a wide variety of hockey around the world. Unlike soccer, though, the best hockey players in the world play in North America for an organized league. The focus on Chel and HUT continue to pull away from a true NHL experience as it feels less and less is incorporated on the NHL side to replicate the sport that people watch. While there are touch-ups to NHL 23, it doesn’t do enough this year to make it feel like an upgrade. Some of the gameplay changes are nice, but on the entire scale with the presentation and feel of the game, it’s mostly the same. The Franchise Mode offering the customization option with the ability to bring in Legacy Teams is a positive, but then modes like Be A Pro are left on the bench once again.

Terror of Hemasaurus is pure giant monster carnage and immensely entertaining from start to finish.

The Uncharted franchise has been the spectacle of video games for fifteen years, meshing strong writing and characters with exhilarating scenarios. Granted, most of these scenarios aren’t particularly realistic, but that’s the whole point: you’re in it for the absolute absurdity of the events. Whether it’s escaping a crumbling structure while dodging fists and a hail of gunfire, or falling from a clock tower only with a couple of scuffs, it’s an overly-entertaining experience. The best part is now you’re able to experience all of this on PC where you’re able to control the level of detail, resolution and framerate. Iron Galaxy has done a magnificent job porting over two of Naughty Dog’s fantastic pieces of work, creating an even greater spectacle that fans can enjoy. Whether you’re new to the franchise or a long-time fan, the PC version of Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection only helps excel the franchise in a greater direction.

Overall, Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed is a well-crafted game that has a lot of polish and a ton of quality content to enjoy. Each stage is large and full of different things to do no matter what kind of playstyle you prefer. There are many different roles to play whether you’re a ghostbuster or a ghost and the core framework of both roles offers a variety of mayhem to either solve or create. Changing up how you play each role is easy with upgrade chains and skill trees and it’s got a generous leveling up system as well to minimize grinding. It’s a good-looking game with room for improvement when it comes to reflections, but nails the sound design perfectly for a team-based Ghostbusters adventure.

Persona 5 Royal was already a remarkable victory lap for Atlus, but the remaster helps the RPG shine brighter. It’s well worth revisiting the 100-150-hour adventure, and being this is now made accessible to a lot more players, this is a fantastic jumping in point for those new to the game or the franchise.

Terrific story and performances from its cast, smart progression, a compelling stealth-focused gameplay loop, an expanded palette in its visuals and a soundtrack that underscores the roller-coaster of emotion underpinning all of this. A Plague Tale: Requiem seldom loses its footing — a sequel and indeed a tale that’s both ambitious and compelling to the very end.

2K and HB Studios have made the necessary additions and changes to make PGA TOUR 2K23 the best in the series. The three-click swing option opens play up for everyone while also eliminating the frustration of having to be overly precise with the Swing Stick. Topgolf is that couch co-op golf that everyone has been waiting for while MyPLAYER finally sees a progression arc added to the series. The game does get held back by a lack of meaningful changes to the Online Mode and that includes no cross play, which frankly makes no sense. Connectivity was fine during the pre-launch period for the three-hole rounds, Divot Derby and Topgolf. The option to select a PGA Pro for Topgolf is needed, however, as it currently isn’t available. Along with those things and the microtransaction aspect, the positives outweigh the negatives and PGA TOUR 2K23 simply brings back the fun in golf.

Much like the protagonists, Grounded sees Obsidian heading into new brand new territory that’s still familiar in some ways, and their expedition ends up paying off big-time. Excelling as a survival game with a nice and meaty challenge, an adventure game with a lot of secrets and goods to hunt for and a highly-enjoyable story, and a visual spectacle as you wander around and take in the eye-popping sights of now-majestic backyard clutter (and the more frightening sights of the impressive and imposing insects), this is one trip that’s tiny yet epic at the same time and is not to be missed out on.

Asterigos: Curse of the Stars combines the style of traditional RPGs with a soulslike template, resulting in a challenging but more accessible game that’s able to forge its own identity without hiding its influences. The final result isn’t perfect as there’s plenty of room for more polish. Despite these shortcomings, the gameplay is still enjoyable and the emphasis on storytelling and world building helps make up for it. The biggest divisive factor with Asterigos is that it tries to appeal to both fans of more traditional RPGs and Souls games by combining elements of both, and as a result doesn’t excel at either. But if Asterigos is approached without a purist mentality it can still be a good time.

At the end of the day, it’s tough to recommend Life is Strange: The Arcadia Bay Collection as it is near launch. It’s easily the worst-possible way to experience two classic games and not in small ways. The dramatic drop-off in texture quality and abundance of texture pop-in hurts the experience, as do long loading times. The foundation of what made the games so great is still present, but hampered. In hindsight, having it titled as the Arcadia Bay Collection was a tip-off that this wouldn’t be the exact same as the Remastered Collection that hit other consoles. This is a downgraded version of the experience in every way except voice acting and should only be played by those who must have it available on the go.

Shovel Knight Dig finds our spade-wielding hero heading in another new direction, and while this trip goes downward, they manage to strike gold here as well. Addictive gameplay, gorgeous graphics and impressive levels that play host to a lot of unique challenges all get mixed together in order to create another winning action game worth checking out for fans and newcomers alike. It truly is another gem that’s been dug up here.

No More Heroes III caters to a niche segment of gamers. Because of how well it embraces its absurdity, it’s a title not easily digested by everyone, but this is a must play for fans of Grasshopper Manufacture’s unusual approach to world building. Conventional battles are interspersed with unusual side job minigames to bring variety to the gameplay, even if mowing lawns to raise money for ranked assassin fights feels shoehorned into the plot. No More Heroes III’s quicker loading times and sharper graphics on PS5 are a welcome upgrade of the Switch version, but there are no other improvements or additional content to make a strong case to get this version if the original release is in one’s game library.

Return to Monkey Island is pretty much as perfect a sequel to such a series of classic games as one can get. The puzzles are just as clever as they were decades ago, the visuals are the stunning, characters both new and old are a joy to interact with and provide great humor, and the story is not only well-crafted, but also has surprisingly profound moments. It’s easily a classic that can proudly stand alongside the other Monkey Island games, and one of the year’s best games in general. Take it from a now-behind-bars Stan: it’s one worth picking up.

Unfortunately as enjoyable as the combat is everything else about this title comes up short. It’s not that the ideas presented in the story are bad, it’s that they are so minimal they make the game almost feel incomplete. The potential was there to make Valkyrie Elysium one of the greats, but instead there’s an uneven experience of great combat with uninspired storytelling and level design.

Titles like The DioField Chronicle usually falter based on whether or not they have good stories, but it’s quite the opposite in this case. The boring story is disappointing, but the combat is so enjoyable it’s easy to forget about. Each map feels creative and diverse so there’s not too much repeat. It’s truly a shame the story couldn’t power through to ultimately make an impact, but there’s hope here for some other title to use a similar combat style with a better focus on understanding a more engaging story. The DioField Chronicle will not be for everyone, but those who see the combat and think it looks engaging may want to give it a try.