Sea of Thieves has made enough improvements that I will likely rally the sea dogs I used to sail with back together to complete both adventures and have some fun. With the PS5 release, I can also make some new friends in the game. The biggest hurdle overall to the PS5 release is that this isn’t anything special for anyone who has played this on either a PC or Xbox.

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]

AFK Journey is a great idle-strategy game with a lot of game modes, a beautiful canvas art style, and an engaging way to interact with the community through cooperative battles. Despite allowing you to select from a small pool of characters you want for when you roll for new characters, the monetization is still incredibly predatory, and nearly every game mode is completely pay to win. Knowing this, there’s still a lot here to love whether you’re playing on PC or Mobile, as this is one of, if not the best idle strategy RPG to hit the scene in a long time.

If you’re a roguelike fan, Inkbound will surely scratch your itch for dozens of hours, and I expected nothing less from the creators of Monster Train. I am disappointed that we didn’t see new Aspects release in 1.0, especially with two very obvious slots open and waiting. Releasing a polished game built on the back of the previous release was the smart move, but the team teased new Aspects way back in 2023, so that still leaves a lot to look forward to. Despite the genre expanding exponentially over the past several years, roguelike fans can’t sleep on this one, so if you're itching for a new roguelike to steal your time, grab your Kwill and dive into your next story with Inkbound.

After spending over 90 hours in the world of Dragon’s Dogma 2 I find it be a masterful example of how exploration and adventure should feel, offering a vast and immersive world to explore and conquer. With its rich lore, engaging gameplay, and expansive world, this sequel has captivated and immersed me in a world of fantasy and intrigue that only a few cult fans experienced in its predecessor. Whether battling fearsome monsters or unraveling the mysteries of Gransys, I found myself drawn into a journey of epic proportions — one that I expect will leave a lasting impression long after the final credits roll. So gather your party, sharpen your blades, and prepare to embark on the adventure of a lifetime in the world of Dragon’s Dogma 2.

Despite its issues, Alone in the Dark is interesting enough to be worth completing. While much of the story overlaps between Emily and Edward, there are a couple of unique sections for each, and apparently if you uncover all of the hidden items there’s a secret ending available. With that in mind, Alone in the Dark can be completed in around 5 hours the first time and about half that for subsequent playthroughs because the puzzles don’t change depending on which main character you select.

All things considered, Last Epoch is in a good place a couple of weeks after its launch. With the launch issues mostly in the rearview, EHG can now focus on fixing bugs, sifting through player feedback, and putting together a plan for the future. I’m not a Traveler in real life, so I can’t tell you exactly what the future holds for EHG and Last Epoch, but I suspect that Last Epoch will be the go-to ARPG for many gamers. Will it become the best ARPG of all time? Maybe, maybe not, but I doubt that Last Epoch is just the next Steam flash-in-the-pan success that will be forgotten in a few weeks. No, I believe Last Epoch has what it takes to withstand the tests of time.

Zoria: Age of Shattering has the makings of a good CRPG. The game has hooked me, and I want to see where the story goes next, even if it is so far standard fare for a fantasy game. I like making the tactical decision of what Character to bring while exploring and how best each class can help me during combat and while encamped. But I still need to find that feeling of being fully engaged in the world, and that is because Zoria: Age of Shattering is missing some quality-of-life additions and polish. But even without that, it snagged me into exploring one more area and upgrading my keep one more time before I quit for the night. For $24.99, it's a decent pickup if you are looking to try a new CRPG.

Although both are turn-based strategy games, Chaos Gate is also quite a bit different from Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader. Unlike Rogue Trader, you aren’t walking around your ship or the planets in Chaos Gate. So if you want lets exploration or RPG aspects and more action then Chaos Gate is likely the better fit.

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]

Despite its shortcomings, Skull and Bones does boast stunning visuals and a few moments of thrilling naval warfare—the first time you encounter them. However, its lack of depth in gameplay mechanics and story left much to be desired. Even though it continues to evolve with a trove of promised content updates, I’m not entirely sure if I want to return to its turbulent waters. Personally, not being able to roam about my own ship or disembark on islands felt incredibly frustrating and limiting. Skull and Bones isn’t necessarily a bad game; it’s just not great. It feels like lots of pieces of rope strung together with loose knots, hastily fashioned and thrown together to show that they had a working net. Unfortunately, I don’t think that net is strong enough to be worth the $70 fish they’re trying to catch.

Final Fantasy VII REBIRTH is a modern RPG masterpiece and solidly sets up its third installment in the Final Fantasy VII REMAKE Project. It's ambitious and massive in scope - and that's before we even get to the daunting task of recreating one of the most iconic stories of all time. At its core, Final Fantasy VII REBIRTH retains the essence of what the original story contained, expanding on it meaningfully in a way that feels wholly new. And I can’t wait to see how it all concludes.

Unfortunately, I have to consider the entire game while I review Suicide Squad. Its incredible storytelling should cause you to give it a chance, but don’t be ignorant of its matchmaking issues, the highly repetitive nature of the campaign missions, or the fact that the end of the game comes off as super confusing. It may be worth waiting for a sale for anyone other than the most dedicated DC fans out there. Suicide Squad had great potential, but for me, it ultimately fell short.

In general, what’s available just doesn’t feel good enough to keep players engaged. The PvE missions are basically tutorials and don’t have much replay value. There are 3 Versus modes, but only two are active at any given time, and the arenas are pretty small without offering much variety. Some of the characters are definitely fun to play, but overall the skill ceiling seems pretty low due to the wide area of most of the abilities and weapons. Despite generally enjoying online PvP games, I can’t see myself returning to Foamstars too often with its current content selection.

Overall, I’ve enjoyed my play through of Lysfanga: The Time Shift Warrior. The replayability is there with the time objective to try for a better time, with different modifiers and different spells. Lysfanga has challenging arenas, but it feels so rewarding when earning that victory. The story doesn’t stick out particularly strongly with the plot, but the gameplay along the way was pretty fun.

Persona 3 Reload is, as I said, the absolute textbook idea of what a remake should be. I'm super happy that this generation gets to experience this game and look forward to eventually seeing the same approach to Persona 4 and the Persona 1 and 2 duology. Now I must dive into Persona 4 Arena Ultimax after finishing Reload to take in the whole story!

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]

Prince Of Persia: The Lost Crown marks a strong start for 2024 game releases, as it offers plenty of entertaining action throughout its 20ish-hour runtime. The story offers some neat twists to discover, while the world of Mount Qaf is wonderfully designed and fun to explore. Combat, while not the game's strongest suit, is still cool, even if the common enemies wear out over time. I really dug what Prince Of Persia: The Lost Crown accomplished here, and if this is the future of the franchise, maybe I can eventually forgive them for not following up on that 2008 entry.

In general, Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader should be a great experience for any Warhammer fan or someone who likes turn-based RPGs. It’s strong enough to stand on its own feet in either genre but comes together for an overall good experience, even if it might not be the best RPG to come out recently.

Achilles: Legends Untold feels like an unfinished product still working through Early Access. Combat balance and the limited amount of loot would be at the top of my list that needs improvement. You could follow that up with a wider variety of boss fights, a deeper crafting experience, and the writing and voice acting are marginal at best; maybe double down on the writing staff and cut out the voiceover altogether if there isn’t enough budget to do both well.

Back in June, after the initial excitement of this announcement had faded, I worried that the game wouldn't translate well to the current era of gaming. Thanks to beautifully updated visuals, a few choice additions, and a wonderful soundtrack, I was proven wrong. Super Mario RPG absolutely still has a place among Nintendo's elite, and this remake removes any doubt.

Despite the mentioned issues, Vampire: The Masquerade – Justice is a good VR game on the Quest 3. Fast Travel Games tells a good story and nails the atmosphere of the Vampire: The Masquerade setting. Playing as Justice has some fun gameplay and many moments that make you feel like a vampire hunting down their enemies. But to make Vampire: The Masquerade - Justice shine, I would have liked to see more polish and depth to the vampiric power/discipline system.

Spider-Man 2 made me feel like the web-slinger himself – two versions of him, in fact – as I played through the game. I loved the feeling of getting around the city, fighting crime and saving the day. I didn't like how weak Spider-Man sometimes felt against bigger groups, nor did I like when the story slowed things down and took me away from the high-flying action sections. However, the overall experience was able to surpass both of these issues, and Spider-Man 2 is worthy of every accolade it receives.

In many ways, this feels like the version of New World that Amazon really wanted to launch. It’s not perfect, and many times bugs and issues can leave it feeling a bit messy. But it’s a great MMORPG, and now is the perfect time to hop in if you’ve been on the fence.

For the King II is a fantastic addition to your Steam library if you’re a fan of strategy and tabletop games. There is a little bit of a learning curve if you’re new to the franchise, but once you find that groove it is an absolute blast. With new adventures to be found in every hex, you’ll easily lose hours diving into the world of Fahrul with friends as you leave chaos in your wake.

Fear is what Alan Wake 2 is all about. When it's working, it's a spooky and thrilling adventure with two separate-but-equal methods of scaring the heck out of me. When it's not working, I'm afraid I may run into another weird glitch that makes me lose some progress. Thankfully, the former is far more common than the latter, and the times I did have to restart, they were small hiccups rather than major time losses. 13 years passed between Alan Wake's initiation and his return, and I am happy to say Alan Wake 2 was worth the wait.