Despite its wonderful atmosphere and interesting locations, Alan Wake 2 is a middling third-person survival-horror game with sluggish pacing, a lackluster Mind Place feature, and lazy jump-scares, too concerned about being obscure and filling itself with quirky meta-references.

Fire Emblem: Three Houses is a long and content-packed experience, which sometimes makes the grind become more pronounced. While I was able to ignore the dull elements for a long time, it eventually weighs the game down.

Dreams is a creator-focused set of tools more so than a video game. If you've always wanted to get into game making, collaborate with the like-minded community, and weren't sure where to start, this is a great option. But if you're primarily after some quality gameplay, and not just bite-sized imitations, it's best to look elsewhere.

It's easy to respect something like Return of the Obra Dinn. Puzzling together clues from each death scene is tricky and rewarding, but the motivation for doing so is lacking. There's no one to care about on the ship, no reason to uncover the mystery other than to prove you've done it, and it holds the game back from being exceptional.

Cocoon is a clever and original world-stacking puzzler with complex mechanics that are kept in check by limiting how players arrange and explore worlds. While it's possible to stumble upon solutions through a confusing haze, the game's few moments of brilliance make it worth checking out.

Super Mario Maker 2 is a perfectly fine way to pass the time, though you'll quickly begin to see the seams. As far as game-maker tools go, it's probably the easiest to use - but that doesn't mean it's the most entertaining or diverse.

Monster Hunter Rise aims at old-school fans, those who were here before Monster Hunter World, and will be sure to enjoy themselves with this more compact entry. But for those who just recently came aboard the franchise, it will feel like a step down.

Doom Eternal’s core shooting is strong thanks to grand weapons and enemy variety, but it buries the action under irksome resource management and stilted combat arenas. The bland multiplayer and silly platforming only hurt it more, driving this sequel below previous games in the series.

Final Fantasy XVI continues to push the series into a new direction. While it has a well-realized setting, good characters, satisfying combat, and excellent cinematic large scale battles, the slow pacing, lackluster RPG elements and barebones optional content grind the excitement to a halt too often.

For creator Sam Barlow and his studio Half Mermaid Productions, the push to eccentric cinematography continues with Immortality, as the video game elements fade further into the background. Some may find this odd collection of indie flicks enticing, but many will be disappointed by the lackluster interactivity.

OlliOlli World continues to kick flip its way across a variety of colorful and imaginative levels. Returning fans will be pleased with this familiar experience sporting a new art style, but newcomers may be put off by eventually increasing difficulty and repetitive trial-and-error nature of the levels.

Return to Monkey Island is a good modernization of a classic pirate tale, even if it overuses nostalgia. Its array of sensible puzzles and light humor outshine pacing issues and a discordant art style.

Halo Infinite offers a brief campaign with uneven writing, and a functional but safe implementation of the new open-world levels. It's still a great shooter with strong core mechanics that help carry the experience, but as multiplayer is now standalone and free, the value proposition of this full priced solo adventure is rather diluted.

F1 2020 continues to offer a great sim racing experience, and boosts its value by adding an engaging management mode. Elsewhere however, the presentation remains underwhelming, alongside a scattering of minor technical issues.

Bayonetta 3 vastly expands its scope and has the biggest enemies and set pieces in the franchise to date, but in the midst of the bombastic action - along with some dubious gameplay and narrative choices - it loses a bit of its soul.

Deep Rock Galactic offers some enticing exploration, as discovering randomly generated caves can be a thrill each time, and the unique abilities of each class are fun to combine. But things quickly begin to grow stale, like the air this far down into the earth, with repetitive missions and little reason to grind out your experience levels.

Wasteland 3 is a competent RPG that struggles to distinguish itself from the many other entries of the genre. With such games, the mechanics are all relatively the same, and the writing, choices, and world-building are so much more important. And in these areas, Wasteland 3 is proficient, but not overly impressive.

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.

The Forgotten City succeeds at drawing you into a mystery and using time travel mechanics very effectively. As a narrative adventure, its strong cast and engaging setting help bring the city to life. The game may not always look great and some of the endings are rather abrupt, but it's a trip back in time worth taking.

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.

Assassin's Creed Origins does enough things differently to warrant a look, but there is still something left to be desired. It's a lengthy game in a huge and varied open world that provides a foundation for what's to come, but it doesn't quite offer the breakthrough that the series was probably looking for.

Worldless is not going to be for everyone. The harsh difficulty of the combat, and the thin plot can make it tough to move forward. However, there's satisfaction to be found in clearing the title's challenges. Combined with the splashy visuals, the adventure is worth undertaking if you're up for the task.

Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle is very charming and the whole aesthetic is perfectly executed. However, pesky gameplay shortcomings and a nasty difficulty spike halfway through hamper this Nintendo love-letter.

For most of my time spent playing Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom, I loved the beautiful world and engaging combat - the core of the game. But every once in a while, everything would grind to a halt and I'd have to deal with the overworld strategy mechanics that feel poorly integrated. Luckily, this sequel has enough great moments to overcome those annoyances.

Filament is a fun puzzle game with wonderfully detailed environments to explore. Despite some storytelling issues, it should keep puzzle fans entertained for some time.

Gears 5 offers a familiar action experience that should satisfy fans who gravitate towards its expanded multiplayer options. And yet, the uneven campaign and lack of significant gameplay innovations mean this latest chapter does little to draw in the uninitiated.

Rather than continuing to build on its predecessors, Assassin's Creed Valhalla takes a more streamlined approach to the open world RPG design, for better or worse. It encourages exploration more than ever, and the new setting is initially exciting, but bland characters and underwhelming presentation don't exactly make it a must-have game for your new next-gen console.

Frostpunk is a solid entry into the city-builder genre with a unique survival twist, and one that's bound to appeal to those who have enjoyed similar games. Still, it lacks the personality and depth to win over anyone who doesn't already love micromanaging workforces and watching numbers go up.