Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade offers a fantastic journey on the Switch 2 which is a must-play for anyone who still hasn’t been able to dive into this modern take on an all-time classic. It comfortably sits among the most impressive experiences I’ve had on Nintendo’s latest system thus far.

I have my issues with some of the pacing choices in MIO: Memories in Orbit, particularly in the game’s early hours, and I think some of its systems don’t add much to the overall experience, but that doesn’t change the fact that this is a beautifully made Metroidvania which always feels excellent in your hands and which makes a lot of smart design choices. Fans who have finished Silksong and are craving their next fix should absolutely give it a look.

Though I didn’t hate the game, and enjoyed much of my time with EvoCreo, it also suffered from a lot of self inflicted wounds. If you’re going to port a mobile game to PC, it needs to optimize things for that platform. And that’s just not the case here...While I doubt I’d ever see this game on a Nintendo platform, I do feel it would be perfect as a portable adventure. Which is why it’s so frustrating that it’s not optimized for anything other than keyboard and mouse, and hasn’t been confirmed for Steam Deck. But if you can put up with various failings and want a fun, PC take on monster catching, then you might still want to check out EvoCreo.

While I’m a bit surprised by the fact Cross Blitz still has more story to tell, I’d also be lying if I said I wasn’t a fan of the game. I had no real familiarity with the developer, Tako Boy Studios, before playing this game, but now I’m definitely a fan. This is a robust, complex and challenging digital card game, and one I’d be happy to play on consoles. Here’s hoping it finds a satisfying way to end this journey sometime very soon.

As a fan of the indie and rogue-like scene, I really wanted to enjoy Morsels more. But I also can’t bring myself to say a game is better than it is. My hope is that Furcula finds a way to tweak and dramatically improve the game experience in future content updates. But until then, this is one rogue-like that won’t be making a lot of fans.

A lot of players will find Romancing SaGa -Minstrel Song- Remastered International to be overwhelming, myself included. Even for those who don’t, if they played the previous version and don’t need one of the new language options, there’s little need to double dip. Still, if the idea of an open world that lets you create your own adventure is appealing, then this is a fascinating game that is worth a look.

Despite its share of rough edges, Skate Story still won me over. It leans more on style than substance, but that style is some of the most striking I’ve seen in years, and it carries the experience far. The problem is that the game rarely finds inventive ways to use its own brilliance, leaving it feeling like a journey that peaks too early.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 represents Treyarch doing what Treyarch does best: crafting rock-solid multiplayer and inventive zombies experiences. Coming just one year after Black Ops 6, there were legitimate concerns about franchise fatigue, but the game manages to be both familiar and fresh enough to justify its existence.

Not only was MARVEL Cosmic Invasion more than worth the wait, it’s easily the best beat ’em up I’ve played all year. It’s clear Tribute Games is amazing at this genre, and they seem to be improving with age. This is a colorful, creative and varied experience with lasting replay value. While it wasn’t quite perfect, assuming that glitch I encountered gets fixed, you can add another .5 to the overall rating. This is a wonderful adventure, and one every Marvel true believer has to play.

R-Type Delta is an incredible SHMUP that sits among the very best of its era, or any era for that matter. Its high level of difficulty and low level of adaptability may turn some players off, but genre fans who haven’t gotten a chance to play it absolutely need to check it out.

Despite my issues with the adventure, GIGASWORD is still a tremendous Metroidvania experience. It’s frankly hard to believe this was made by a solo developer, it’s that good. Not only is it one of the best examples of the genre I’ve played in recent memory, it’s also a game that’s a glowing love letter to the NES era of gaming. Here’s hoping the issues I mentioned above get fixed so that everyone can fully enjoy this puzzle platformer.

My complaints with Forestrike are ultimately quite minor, though. It’s an incredibly unique action game that requires a great deal of planning and foresight to see your way to the end. If you aren’t able to slow down and approach a game with patience than it won’t be for you but if you’re willing to meet it where it is you’ll find a compelling game which feels entirely singular.

Still, despite some minor complaints about the ending, I had an absolute blast with each episode of Dispatch. For the last few weeks, checking out the new episodes has become a part of my Wednesday schedule that I couldn’t wait for and now that the game is over I’m going to miss it next Wednesday. With excellent characters, an interesting world, and a mostly satisfying conclusion, my only real complaints are that I wanted more of it. More room to develop the plot and more of the interesting gameplay. Hopefully it won’t be too terribly long before we get more of Dispatch.

Lumines Arise is an absolute showstopper of a title for the PlayStation VR 2 and I suspect will play much the same in VR on PC as well. In any other context it’s still an excellent puzzle game albeit one that you’ll likely finish with rather quickly. Still, if you remotely enjoyed Tetris Effect then Lumines Arise is just as well made and is well worth your time.

I won’t go so far as to call The Namco Legendary Pack a must-purchase. The history captured here isn’t unique enough for that, especially when you consider only a handful of playable games have been added to the overall package. Still, what’s here is interesting, well presented, and offered at a reasonable price for the couple of hours of education and entertainment it can provide. If you’re a fan of Namco’s earliest works, it’s worth the price of admission.

This package of the Atelier Ryza Secret Trilogy is undoubtedly the best way to experience each of these brilliant JRPGS, with the additional content proving welcome if not quite essential. If you’ve never played through Ryza’s adventures prior to this repackaging, then this is undoubtedly the definitive way to do so.

Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O. World Stage is the most complete version of a fantastic game that you’ll find on modern platforms and a must-purchase if you love the series and haven’t played it anywhere else recently. PS4 owners can even upgrade for a reduced price, which is probably worthwhile. It ultimately offers a pretty minor upgrade to the game’s recent packages, though.

Despite its issues, Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake is a beautiful collection that modernizes these games in many compelling ways. In doing so, however, it loses the identity of the first game and only offers band-aids for the issues of the second title. These are still incredibly basic RPGs which will mostly appeal to long time fans of the series, but they’re likely the best versions of these classic titles.

Overall, I enjoyed my time with Majogami, I just feel it could have been better. Though I love the artwork and amazing style Inti Creates always brings to the table, I feel the gameplay was more than a bit jumbled. The simplest way to put it is that sometimes less is more, and I hope that next time, Inti gives us a pure, easy to parse concept with all their usual amenities. Still, those looking for witchy fanservice, gorgeous artwork, surprisingly deep replay value and epic boss battles have a great new adventure in Majogami.

Mortal Kombat Legacy Kollection features an absolutely absurd amount of content, both when it comes to the games you can play and the documentary included as well. I’d have loved to see a bit more about what the Mortal Kombat team was going through during the tail end of the 90s, and there are certainly a few gaps when it comes to the games included that would be great to see filled in. Still, fans of the series will find that Digital Eclipse has made yet another great collection that entertains and educates in equal measure.

Even though it was slightly held back by some issues on Nintendo’s handheld, I’m still beyond happy I finally got to dive into Deathless. The Hero Quest on Switch. This is an incredibly well-made rogue-like deckbuilder that I would recommend even to those hesitant to jump into the genre. Whether you play it for the stunning artwork, unique Slavic story or just because you love the genre, this is one game every fantasy fan should check out.

Once Upon a KATAMARI is still really fun, but it doesn’t quite live up to the dream of what I wanted a new Katamari game to be. The developers clearly put a lot of thought into how they could mix up the series’ formula, and they did a great job of putting players in new situations, but too often, I just found myself wishing for more of the old style of stages. Still, if you’ve already played the earlier games in the series and want more, you’ll have a good time with Once Upon a KATAMARI.

BALL X PIT takes a classic genre and perfectly updates it for modern audiences. Runs are relatively short, but they’re addicting in the sort of way where you’ll constantly find yourself wanting just one more. There’s an absolute ton of variety, and I expect players to have a fantastic time figuring out which of the game’s many heroes are their favorites. Even after playing dozens of hours, it kept finding new ways to amaze me. Don’t be surprised when you can’t stop playing BALL X PIT.

I liked ILA’s story a great deal as well, and think it explores emotionally challenging situations in a mature way, which will work for all ages. I also believe, though, that the overall experience doesn’t fully come together in a satisfying way. With some more interesting puzzles, a bit of work on the skating sequences, and slightly better pathfinding, this could be a real winner. For now, it’s a nice enough game that doesn’t reach its full potential.

Little Nightmares III is a solid sequel that honors the franchise’s horror foundations but stumbles with excessive caution. It’s a nightmare worth having, but one that feels hauntingly familiar. In a series built on unsettling expectations, familiarity is its scariest weakness. For series fans seeking more puzzle platforming in The Nowhere, Little Nightmares III delivers exactly that—no more, no less.

On the whole, I do think Varlet is worthy of a playthrough for genre die-hards, but it would be best experienced having been snapped up at a heavy discount, which I have very little doubt won’t be far away.

Battlefield 6 has an enjoyable, but brief single-player campaign that ends just as it is getting really good. The campaign feels like an extended tutorial for the diverse systems in multiplayer, which provides a potpourri of vehicles and tactical options to do battle with, but doesn't exactly break the mould. Battlefield 6 just can't quite reach the heights of Battlefield 1 or add much spice to the decades-old, oversaturated contemporary military FPS genre. Battlefield 6 is a return to form, but not an elevation of that form.

Absolum does a fantastic job of expanding what we would usually expect of a beat ‘em up, keeping it fresh and interesting to play over dozens of runs. It looks, sounds, and runs great, and it plays phenomenally. It may not quite have the kinetic impact of my very favorite brawlers, but this is a game that dares to push beyond what fans expect from its genre and succeeds on all counts.