On the whole, though, Windrose succeeds more than it falters, and it’s a surprisingly well-performing game despite being early access. I honestly can’t wait to see how this one progresses, especially as new regions and content are added in the coming months as the team works towards its full launch in the future. It’s definitely scratching that pirate fantasy itch I thought had definitively died when Atlas took a part of my soul to the briny depths with it seven years ago, and I don’t see myself stopping the sea shanties of my crew anytime soon. [Early Access Score = 80]

Don’t Lose Aggro is technically still in Early Access and does deliver a functional gamewith some entertainment value, especially at an incredibly low price point. It does, at least momentarily,scratch that tanking itch and provides a somewhat realistic scenario of what it’s like to tank in MMOraids; it even includes a healer who talks down to you. This is a good opportunity to support a solo devwith their vision and maybe get a few hours of tanking nostalgia, but if you’re looking for a full-fledgedgame it really does need more time in the oven. [Early Access Score = 60]

From what we've played so far, Marathon feels like a modern love letter to the classic games from Bungie’s past, while keeping their sights on the future. While the learning curve is steep, the community the game is building is already growing strong.

Endfield has done a great job of mixing so many complex systems and genres into a fun, narrative driven ARPG.

So far the opening hours feel like a world still trying to remember how its own systems are meant to harmonize. Let's hope midgame is able to pull it together. [Early Access Review]

At its core, Fellowship feels great with some rough edges to be smoothed out. The core gameplay loop is wonderful and feels great for long-time MMO dungeon fans. For new players, Fellowship does a pretty solid job at introducing you to the core systems without overwhelming you. Ultimately, though, as with MMOs, Fellowship's success will be determined by player retention. If they continue to listen to player feedback and continue to refine what is already a solid offering, Fellowship could be the Dungeon Crawler many of us have been waiting for. [Review-in-progress score = 75]

We’ll save our thoughts on the overall multiplayer experience and progression for our full review, but early thoughts right the same from our previews: Battlefield 6’s multiplayer really is a standout. Hopefully servers hold and that experience carries over to the real thing.

As someone hoping for so much from Titan Quest 2, I am disappointed in the limited content in the Early Access launch. A single act that could feasibly be finished in 5 or 6 hours just isn’t enough. And there currently isn’t any endgame content or real replayability to keep me playing in the short term. You can also tack on a long list of negatives, including but not limited to: a short list of recycled monsters, a lack of Masteries (even though what is there is good), and extremely unbalanced gameplay. As I already said, this is more of a demo than something I would be willing to pay $30 for. [Early Access Provisional Score = 70]

At its very core, Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen is very different from more modern games. If you prefer the combat of more modern MMORPGs and/or more complete gameplay experiences, I recommend a hard pass until development is further along. [Early Access Review]

ARPG sequels generally have a good track record. Diablo 2, Titan Quest 2, and many other sequels have gone on to be critically acclaimed. Path of Exile 2 is poised to do the same. As Path of Exile 2 enters Early Access, GGG is well on the way to taking ten years worth of development on Path of Exile and putting it through a strainer to filter out only the good bits. Now they are in the process of refining and polishing those bits further. [Early Access Provisional Score = 90]

Brighter Shores has the potential to be even more unique and enjoyable as an MMO, thanks to the development getting new and exciting features like combat abilities, trading systems, and episodes. It is likely that the success of it would depend on retaining the community’s unique identity while responding to feedback about divisive features. For the time being, it acts as an intriguing experiment in MMO design that breaks modern conventions in favor of a more classical and steady method of exploring virtual worlds and building up characters. [Early Access Provisional Score = 80]

If you’re a survival game fan who’s willing to look past some bumps, IfSunSets might be worth your time. It’s not quite there yet, but it could grow into something exceptional, especially with improvements to the multiplayer mode. There weren’t any elements that stood out as particularly unique, but I did have fun playing it and I’m looking forward to the full version. [Early Access Provisional Score = 65]

At the end of the day, I’m enjoying Star Wars: Outlaws much more than I think I expected I would given I can’t force push or deflect lasers bolts with an energy sword as I’m usually wont to do in these games. Kay is a compelling protagonist, and one I’m eager to see the rest of her story play out. We’ll have our full review in the coming days as we finish up the story and see how day one performance shakes out.

Right now, Pax Dei is selling a promise, and it's one you have to decide if it's worth trusting with your hard-earned money. Because I do think the bones are good enough to at least give it a look when you're ready to do so. [Early Access Provisional Score = 70]

Destiny 2: The Final Shape is a must-play for any Destiny fan and I highly recommend jumping back in even if you’ve lapsed in recent years. Depending on exactly how much you’ve missed though, I’d suggest at least looking up a Lore video first to get caught up.

All of the positives are groundwork for what could be a really exciting game. Its core gameplay has proven to be more than satisfactory and deliciously engaging — even if using slower builds feels like throwing yourself against a brick wall. But there’s still enjoyment in that. Overall, it’s a fantastic package comprised of gorgeous environments, room for experimentation in terms of character build and an interesting narrative. It will be interesting to see where No Rest for the Wicked ends up, even a week, month, or years from now. [Early Access Score = 70]

In its current state, Manor Lords just doesn’t have the staying power needed to put it into the same category as a Palworld or Valheim - at least not yet. There are just too many unfinished components to keep people playing for weeks. The development, policy, and production trees are full of skills that are still a work in progress. Combat is entertaining at best, full of small skirmishes and little control over your units (and that may never change), and although the economy model shows potential, there just aren’t enough production lines or tiers to keep you occupied beyond a few in-game years. [Early Access Review Score = 75]

Overall, Nightingale is an engaging survival game and one that feels like you can have low commitment to in order to have fun. It’s easy to pick up and put down, and has some solid foundations. Even in its early stages, Nightingale has a lot to offer players, even if it is very clearly in Early Access. I’m eager to see what the game will be further down the line when some of these issues are ironed out, and what the core narrative of the game will eventually turn out to be. For now, I’m content logging into Nightingale for a few hours every few days just to hang out with friends and explore the vast wealth of Realms the game has to offer. [Early Access Provisional Score = 70]

Honestly, it feels like Enshrouded took the best aspects of multiple games in the genre and packaged them all in one place. The survival-lite aspects of Valheim are here - and even more streamlined thanks to how easy it is to repair your items (you just interact with a workbench and voila - you’re repaired), while it also has the incredible traversal and world that just begs to be explored. [Early Access Review]

At $29.99, Palworld is one of the best gaming investments you can make right now, especially with the current state of AAA. It’s far from a perfect experience, but Pocketpair has already hit the ball out of the park with much of what the game has. [Early Access Score = 80]

The early access version of The Wagadu Chronicles has a unique setting, great accessibility, and a fantastic soundtrack. Unfortunately, these features does not make an exceptional game. There’s a basic framework here that needs a lot of refinement, and some direction on a core game loop. I feel like a vast majority of Wagadu is built with the premise of societal interactions, and I fear that will be a tremendous gamble from an untested niche. [Early Access Provisional Score = 30]

At its core as well, Gollum as a protagonist was never going to be all that enticing, despite his intriguing personality in the books. The surrounding game and narrative had to be absolutely stellar to sell Gollum as a compelling protagonist, and Daedalic fails full stop here. And it's a shame because the team are very obviously Tolkien fans aiming to tell a good story set in Middle-earth. However, at the end of the day, the game on release would have been better off never leaving its cave.

All of this is to say simply: Redfall is a bad video game. It's one that feels both underbaked and unfinished, releasing in a visually poor state loaded with bugs, lackluster gameplay and just a boring, empty world... I cannot recommend anyone spend time with Redfall, especially with Microsoft charging $70 for the title on Xbox or PC, and even on Game Pass I'd recommend simply playing Arkane's other titles like Dishonored or Prey.

Overall, Warlander just doesn’t do enough to make it feel special or justify its predatory monetization scheme. The first few matches are fun, but once you run into enemies who are objectively more powerful again and again, the fun begins to fade and there isn’t enough variety to keep things fresh.

Embers Adrift has a lot of fantastic ideas, but I just don’t feel that it is quite there yet. I do genuinely hope that the Embers Adrift team continues to make improvements and listen to their passionate community, because they will be critical in those days ahead as they start to iron out improvements and optimization issues. Maybe one day in the future I will return to Embers Adrift, but for now, I would just honestly rather play anything else.

So, is Noah’s Heart fun? Well, it can be. Is it good? If you like Genshin Impact, don’t mind monetization, don’t listen to the voice acting, and don’t care about not being able to read the story text…it might be. In general though? If you don’t mind mobile ports I’d give it another few months for fixes before I’d make another attempt at it. The current state is only half-baked at best when it comes to PC play, and if you are a primary PC player, I wouldn’t recommend it at all. Noah’s Heart may be available on PC, but it’s really just another mobile game made to fit a bigger screen while it blindly gropes for your wallet.

Mortal Online 2 is not a complete game. This feels like an early access title in disguise, just waiting to start charging its players a $15 monthly subscription fee in order to keep development on track. The fact that its first two and a half weeks after launch was unplayable by the majority of the playerbase is the most telling of all, but in tandem with too many missing systems and features it’s not hard to think of it as an unfinished product. Thankfully, at least for now, the subscription charges are postponed until the server issue is completely resolved. But even for $39.99, I would not recommend Mortal Online 2 to anyone unless you are absolutely dying for a full loot open PvP MMORPG to play. And dying you will get – a lot.

I wanted to love Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance so badly. I grew up reading R.A. Salvatore’s novels about Drizzt and his companions. Baldur’s Gate was my first CRPG that I ever played. The original Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance and Dark Alliance II are probably my favorite games from the PS2 era. But sadly, Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance just misses the mark in so many categories. It was a slog to get through, and there is almost no reason for me to ever pick it up again.