While the overall game loop of Two Point Museum is a thrilling experience and will keep you hooked for many hours, the execution falls flat throughout the campaign. The tasks asked of you can be frustrating as they sometimes rely upon luck, and while most of the tutorials are great towards the beginning, the lack of explanation about the financial side of Two Point Museum is disappointing.

Monster Hunter Wilds is a fun experience and has all the staples that make the series so enjoyable. Unfortunately, some choices make it hard to enjoy yourself for a significant amount of time while making your way to the portion of the game that you’re trying to experience.

PGA TOUR 2K25 takes everything that made the previous game in the series stand out and heavily improves on it. The EvoSwing presents the golf simulation aspect the hardcore players are looking for while the introduction of Perfect Swing makes the game fun for everyone while still introducing a challenge. The additions to MyCAREER and MyPLAYER are a much-needed vault in progressing the series, but holding those same progressions behind a paywall or grind inevitably hurts it. There's a lot of ways to play golf in PGA TOUR 2K25 and while the presence of the PGA has improved, it still aims more towards a personalized golf experience where customization shines above. The game is a lot of fun and provides more challenging elements if desired, but the microtransaction aspect and the lack of matchmaking on some modes puts PGA TOUR 2K25 just off the green.

Without spoiling any of the story elements, Lost Records: Bloom & Rage is captivating so far with the first act. The characters are well-written, the narrative, albeit slow, is gripping, and the game is gorgeous to look at as you take videos of the wildlife and characters around you. It'll be exciting to see where the narrative goes when the second part releases this April. Let's just hope those frame rate hiccups and performance issues get fixed by then.

Keep Driving is a charming, captivating and moving roguelike unlike any we've ever seen before, weaving an introspective and meaningful slice-of-life narrative while without sacrificing gameplay and interactivity. There's room to improve, sure, but that doesn't mean that the final product falls short by any means (and we all know by now that roguelike titles like this are ripe for updates and content expansions). At the risk of being overly sappy, it's a game that really does keep us wanting to keep driving.

Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii succeeds in making the return trip to Hawaii worthwhile. While smaller than the mainline games, Pirate Yakuza is still loaded with content to provide hours of entertainment beyond the main story campaign. The premise of Goro Majima becoming a swashbuckling captain of a pirate ship after suffering amnesia is a bit contrived, but it does create the environment for a highly-entertaining side story. The story doesn't reach the highs of the best Yakuza/Like a Dragon games, but provides the opportunity for a popular supporting character to take on a starring role. It may not have everything one would get from one of the mainline Like a Dragon entries, but one would be hard-pressed to get more enjoyable content from a spin-off. Pirate Yakuza is a welcome addition to the series. While it may be a shorter story than one would hope for, it isn't lacking in quality.

Avowed took us by surprise. While Obsidian Entertainment has an exceptional track record, they were somehow able to exceed expectations. This is a traditional RPG through and through, with highly-consequential decision-making that can literally level cities and a massively-diverse combat system that encourages experimentation. With that said, it’s not perfect, as while the story does have compelling components, the pacing is a bit off, with a stronger focus on essentially forcing the player to do side quests and explore the world before continuing. The combat also suffers from issues when it comes to dodging and enemy gap closing, causing frustration in heated battles. Regardless, Avowed ends up on top, being a highly engaging 50+ hour RPG that's well worth your time.

The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak II continues the Calvard story arc set by its predecessor and also reaches the standard of excellence set by it. Whether tackling 4SPG jobs from the bulletin board, grinding for gear or playing minigames in the Märchen Garten or trying to advance through the main story, things never get boring in Trails Through Daybreak II. The roster of characters is varied and interesting, and watching their own history and motivations play out in the context the main story helps make them feel alive. Progressing through the main story campaign is kept interesting through the combined force of a strong narrative and great battle system, but the player can always take a break and use the Märchen Garten as a playground. These factors make The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak II not only a great addition to the franchise, but an incredible JRPG in general.

The lack of single-player options is going to be missed by many while they look to dive back in and feel the nostalgia of the series. The soundtrack, visuals, sound design and actual gameplay are still solid but can seem dated. These aspects are still special in their own way and almost seem to add more charm to this classic fighting game. While the foundation of what makes Virtua Fighter special is still here in Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O., it's still lacking in a lot of aspects. With that said, it's still a cheaper fighting game that's reliably fun and a good game to play while you wait for the newest entry in the series to make its debut. What we have here is a solid PC port of the PS4 remaster and its still a welcome addition to the PC fighting game community. This isn’t an overwhelmingly huge update and new release of the game, but rather a way to give new and old players alike a taste of the classic fighting game.

Ninja Gaiden 2 Black was intended to be the definitive version of the 2008 classic. With content missing from earlier versions, it's unlikely that many will consider it such, but that doesn't mean this still isn't a great iteration of Ninja Gaiden II. Even with the criticisms about removed content, platforming and the camera, the twelve hours spent playing through the story were extremely fun. Ninja Gaiden games have been successful because of their tough-but-fair difficulty and their intense frenetic battles, and these are the areas where Ninja Gaiden 2 Black excels. It may not be the definitive version, but this is still a great version of a great game and is highly recommended to any fan of ninjas or action games in general.

Adorned on top by an excellent unison of technical, artistic and even musical qualities -- not to mention terrific performances from its main cast -- Kingdom Come: Deliverance II is an astonishing achievement in open-world design. The new high watermark not just for RPGs this year, but perhaps any game of 2025.

Third time is the charm with Donkey Kong Country Returns HD as this is the best version of the fifteen-year-old game. It offers a challenging but fair level of difficulty, with the optional Modern Mode knocking down the challenge enough to make it more accessible without sacrificing the original challenge found in Original Mode. Donkey Kong Country Returns HD is a reminder of why this series was so popular in the mid ‘90s, as it brings back all the classic gameplay elements. It may be a remaster of a fifteen-year-old game which was a throwback to a series that was of comparable age, but it shows that great game design is timeless and there's a place for Donkey Kong Country in the modern gaming world.

Ender Magnolia: Bloom in the Mist is a metroidvania masterpiece. It captures the same melancholy feel of its predecessor, yet brings that feeling to a brand-new adventure that improves many of the gameplay elements. Ender Magnolia doesn't reinvent the genre, but it does a phemenonal job of executing the metroidvania formula in such a way that it's one of the best games in the genre. On top of stellar game mechanics, it has an incredible soundtrack and art direction that help create a beautiful and bleak world. Challenging but rarely frustrating, Ender Magnolia: Bloom in the Mist is a must-play experience.

Packed with that familiar caliber of intriguing level design and emergent gameplay, Sniper Elite: Resistance may not be the most radical of changes, but it undoubtedly makes up for it in its retaining the series’ joyous curating of tactile shots and careful planning alike.

Phantom Brave is sure to be a fun, but possibly underwhelming, return to the franchise for fans of the original title, as well as of other NIS titles like the Disgaea series. For newcomers, however, the game has failed most of its attempts to make gameplay accessible to even well-versed veterans of the turn-based strategy genre. The end result is a niche-interest title that will likely be hit-or-miss with hardcore fans, due to the rough and messy assembly of its multitude of interesting parts.

Star Wars Episode I: Jedi Power Battles was a staple for many gamers’ childhood. Despite the rough nature of the original PlayStation release, the game’s fast-paced, co-op action managed to find a place in many hearts. While it would have been great to see a proper remaster that smoothed out all the game’s rough edges, Aspyr Media has done an admirable job with this port. The studio has managed to preserve the fun, couch co-op beat ‘em up adventure all while modernizing the controls, smoothing out platforming, and unlocking all content from the start. While it would have been nice to get some other modern quality-of-life features (i.e. online co-op, better vehicle controls) and a massive enhancement to the game’s presentation, what we do get is the most accessible, fair, and fun version of Jedi Power Battles ever released.

Marvel Rivals is a stellar multiplayer game that has plenty of potential in the years ahead. It sounds like it has a great content plan, as the game just added the Invisible Woman and Mr. Fantastic into the game a month into the game's launch. When you keep that in mind alongside the stellar gameplay and team-based mechanics, Marvel Rivals is likely to stay for many years ahead.

There remains a strong lack of visual parity between the character models and the environment, and some of the voice acting remains stiff as a board. Regardless, Tales of Graces f Remastered brings one of the best Tales games to the modern day in the best way possible, sacrificing none of its core values and only adding to the charm.

Dynasty Warriors: Origins offers the familiar gameplay the series is known for, while also making drastic changes in other areas. Longtime fans of the series will feel at home slaughtering countless enemies by themselves, but the approach to storytelling with the Wanderer character helps make things feel new again. It's interesting to watch the Wanderer's story unfold over the familiar events during the beginning of the Three Kingdoms area. The time period of which the game covers is shorter than previous games, but this allows for greater depth for both the Wanderer's story and the Three Kingdoms. This makes Dynasty Warriors: Origins a good starting point for those who are unfamiliar with the series, as many of the historically-based events will be explained throughout the game, and also a good title for longtime fans who thought Dynasty Warriors was running out of steam. Dynasty Warriors: Origins hits the right balance of familiar gameplay with new ideas, making it a great attempt at revitalizing the franchise.

Ys Memoire: The Oath in Felghana may show its age with its mechanics, but still holds up surprisingly well. It lacks many of the standard features of modern Ys games, such as multiple playable characters, minigame battles and homebase building, but still provides the same story-driven adventure with fast-paced action combat. It's a relatively short adventure that can be completed in around ten or twelve hours, but none of that time is wasted with unnecessary filler. Between the charming visuals, enjoyable gameplay and amazingly-reworked soundtrack, Ys Memoire: The Oath in Felghana is a great action RPG that should be experienced by all fans of the genre and a must-play for fans of Ys.

Games from the Alien movie series tend to be hit and miss, but when they hit, they really hit. Alien: Rogue Incursion improves on the experience from the legendary Alien: Isolation. Rogue Incursion offers more of a traditional survival horror design thanks to its pacing, ammo conservation, puzzle solving and atmosphere. The pacing is what dictates this game, and while there may not be a ton of enemies on screen at once, it's about being enthralled in the position of a facility overtaken by Xenomorphs. Rogue Incursion isn't about mowing down enemies, it's about the unknown and the fact that the controls work flawlessly and minimal damage can be taken on Zula, Alien: Rogue Incursion is the first true survival horror game designed specifically for virtual reality. More importantly, for those Alien fans that have access to VR, this is the game to experience.

On Your Tail can be a bit rocky at times, with the game sometimes struggling to balance both its life sim and detective elements, not helped by some awkward gameplay segments surrounding the core mystery. Still, thanks to a strong and lovable cast of characters and a gorgeous little town filled with a lot of fun stuff to do, there's a ton here to enjoy, especially for those looking for something more cozy to chill out with. Indeed, it's a nice little vacation worth taking.

Fitness Boxing 3: Your Personal Trainer may not actually train the player to be an effective boxer, but it is a fun way to burn some calories and get the heart rate elevated. The targets seem to accurately track the punching movement when it comes to scoring, and the routines presented in the daily challenges are varied enough that getting in some cardio doesn't feel like a chore. Due to the nature of it being a game, the calorie counter is only an approximation and there's no real feedback on whether the player is using good form in their punches. It isn't going to be as effective as a real trainer, but it's an enjoyable and effective cardio workout that would be a great supplement to an existing exercise program or a good starting point for a gamer that wants to be more active.

Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 1 & 2 Remastered resurrects two of the most-celebrated games from the long-dormant vampire franchise. For immortals and the undead, a quarter-century isn't really that long, so it shouldn't be too surprising both games hold up well and are still enjoyable today, even if they do show their true age even with the upgrades. The improved visuals maintain the signature appearance of the original, but look much better on HD displays. In general, this collection found the correct balance between keeping the classics intact while adding just the right amount of new blood to help these games appeal to a modern audience. Hopefully this can lead to a greater resurrection of the Legacy of Kain franchise.

Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers: Rita's Rewind has a great old-school beat-'em-up at its core, but it unfortunately finds itself buried under questionable gameplay additions at times. Still, for those who just want to experience the original Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers game in a well-done beat-'em-up, this is still easily recommended, as it easily nails down the spirit and fun of both the show and video games from the era. Let's just hope any sequels go all-out with the franchise's history, though...

Closing out a season of fantastic launches, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle finally delivers on the promise of Xbox Games Pass, delivering a high-quality and entertaining single-player adventure that fans of the series will absolutely adore.

Fantasian: Neo Dimension is a modern take on the RPG formula. In many ways, it's similar to classic Final Fantasy games, but elements such as the trajectory aspect of battles and the Dimengeon help distinguish it from other titles the developers have previously worked on. The Dimengeon is an especially welcome addition to slow down the interruption that random encounters provide. The battles are enjoyable as they do require strategic planning, though playing on Hard difficulty can result in especially rough difficulty spikes later on. The rewarding battle system is complemented by the fantastic soundtrack and engaging story, reminiscent of some of the best classic RPGs. A couple characters can be grating and sometimes the controls feel like they could use some refinement, but Fantasian: Neo Dimension is a welcome challenge for anyone who is a fan of classic JRPGs.

3D Don't Die, Mr Robot! is a ridiculously-playable arcade game that feels great whether just making things explode or chasing after a new score for the leaderboard, perfect for a moment's break or digging in to a proper high-score run.