Koira is another minimalist 2D adventure that has a few charming moments and a warm friendship at its core, but doesn't really offer enough to stand out in the crowded genre.

Another solid entry for the series, Assassin's Creed Shadows offers a wonderfully rendered natural world, though it's not as unique as it once could have been. The typical mix of stealth and action gameplay is still enjoyable and is now split between two protagonists, though switching between them can be cumbersome. Fans of the franchise should be satisfied, if not exactly impressed.

A tycoon game about building a bar for vampires is a great idea - but sadly the execution here leaves a lot to be desired. The management gameplay is a bit too simple for my liking, but it's the constant game-breaking bugs that really suck the fun out of the experience.

Civilization VII brings a lot of changes to the formula, but they don't feel entirely innovative or fully realized. The core of the experience retains its addictive qualities, and yet lacks refinement at launch.

Engaging combat, a beautiful world, and intriguing story moments ensure Avowed is an action-RPG worth exploring, but tiresome encounters, progression quirks, and dull companions keep it from achieving divinity.

While the returning sniping and stealth mechanics keep Sniper Elite: Resistance on target across some good open levels, the lack of innovation means it is not a surefire hit for everyone.

As a precision platformer with a focus on speedrunning, Unless works well. Mastering its tiny levels is satisfying, but the very short runtime means that its good ideas never really have time to fully develop.

Tribe Nation has some decent design foundations, and its low asking price should appeal to fans of the roguelike genre looking for a specific type of challenging experience.

Although the abstract portions of Discolored 2 might be too elusive for some, the more direct puzzles fare better across the 4-5 hour journey, along with some active threats that create pressure.

Despite the tremendous atmosphere, big open world, and familiar mechanics, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl is an uneven experience due to AI flaws, combat annoyances, laborious exploration, and technical issues.

Although still impressive and unmatched in its scale, the 2024 sequel to Microsoft Flight Simulator can't be carried by its novelty alone. The added career mode seems competent on paper, and being able to step outside your aircraft adds immersion. But the entire experience is hamstrung by very disappointing visuals and data streaming issues, as well as plentiful bugs and design shortcomings.

Forgive Me Father 2 is a throwback FPS with a stylish Lovecraftian presentation. If you're craving a slick arena shooter to play for a few hours then this is a good option, although the pedestrian level design and short campaign holds it back from competing with the best in the genre.

Mario & Luigi: Brothership is far from the duo's best RPG outing, but that's not to say it is a bad one. The combat is engaging enough to remain entertaining throughout the 40+ hour adventure, even as it crawls along against the tide.

LEGO Horizon Adventures faithfully recreates the world of machines from the PlayStation game series, and has some fun combat. However, it is aimed squarely at younger players, and is rather brief. A fun and accessible introduction for newcomers, but returning fans will find this diversion not as worthwhile.

Stealth fans might find enough entertainment in A Quiet Place: The Road Ahead, thanks to moments of decent immersion and sound manipulation, but inconsistent and shallow mechanics hold it back.

Sonic X Shadow Generations is a mishmash of enjoyable 2D platforming and frustrating 3D sequences. Shadow at least manages to somewhat mitigate the clumsy controls thanks to some interesting gameplay wrinkles. The title also looks good, but probably won't bring the pair of hedgehogs back to the forefront of the genre.

The Casting of Frank Stone may not be weighed down by its ties to the Dead by Daylight universe, but it's nonetheless unable to reach the surface from under the waves of a slow story, dull gameplay and a lack of thrills.

Despite excellent facial animations and wonderful music, Double Exposure has pacing issues, unlikable characters, dire gameplay, tonal problems, and is an incomplete imitation of the perfect storm.

NHL 25 makes some minor strides to improve on last year's game, but will mostly appeal to those interested in team management and being a superstar forward. As a franchise, it continues to wait for a top draft pick that can turn things around in a meaningful way.

Frostpunk 2 isn't afraid to shake things up and bring a different kind of experience to the franchise, although that new design philosophy leaves a bit more to be desired in mechanics, UI and narrative elements.

Athena Crisis is squarely aimed at long-time Advance Wars fans, who will likely find much to enjoy in both the official missions and the potentially endless content created by the community. It falls short of the best in the genre, like Wargroove or Into the Breach, but is still worth a look for those who get a kick out of sending pixelated soldiers to their deaths.

Ara: History Untold is a decent foray into the historical 4X, with enough borrowed and slightly tweaked elements to make it worth a look for fans of the genre. Its original ideas become too much of a slog however, along with a scattering of UI issues and performance hiccups that need addressing.

Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown is unable to recapture the magic or originality of its predecessors, nor keep up with the current leaders of the genre. It's an open world racing game that lacks content and has too many frustrations to qualify for the starting grid.

The Plucky Squire has a nice art style and some clever tricks with shifting between two different perspectives on the world, though ultimately this storybook will appeal to younger players the most.

Despite great visuals and hectic combat, Space Marine 2 stumbles on its repetition and generic missions. While co-op has limited appeal, the single player is boring and the competitive action is mostly an afterthought. And even devout followers may lose faith due to the technical issues.

Solid deck building fundamentals are let down by a lack of progression and weak not-quite-RPG questing. If you like the idea of a deck builder with a relatively open overworld and a cheery fantasy vibe, you might still enjoy this one, but it's hard to recommend above its more sophisticated indie peers.

The Crush House has its share of solid moments, but it ends up oscillating between creativity and boredom. The day to day filming schedule needed to be spruced up to avoid repetitive dialogue and bland footage.

Dustborn grabs the generic modern day adventure game formula and adds a bunch of cliché and often annoying characters, a subpar story, some low-grade music, along with a heavy-handed dose of politics front and center, resulting in a middling and overlong road trip that's more concerned about its poorly delivered message than anything else.