Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 is a massive improvement in almost every aspect - from better presentation to a deeper battle system. It will not be dethroning the Super Smash Bros franchise anytime soon, but it's a fun and whimsical platform fighter to play with friends.

Codemasters’ first shot at the WRC license is underwhelming. Despite a responsive driving model and decent rally stages, EA Sports WRC offers an awkward career mode with shallow team management. Even the presentation quality is inconsistent, with some bothersome stuttering.

SteamWorld Build is a sufficiently well-designed management game that is initially engaging with a good blend of underground exploration, but it eventually becomes a bit repetitive and is over rather quickly, without much motivation to start up another town.

With a strong atmosphere, interesting story, and engaging but fairly simple mix of puzzle and platforming gameplay, American Arcadia makes for a memorable place to visit - and escape from.

With weaponized nostalgia, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III delivers a satisfying experience in multiplayer and zombies. A diverse selection of returning battlegrounds augments the competitive action and the deep open-world undead mode is entertaining for hours, making it worth playing despite the disappointing campaign.

The Invincible offers up plenty of sci-fi intrigue, but even as a fan of walking simulators, the gameplay just falls too short of the mark. I still enjoyed my time on Regis III, but there were definitely ways to improve the experience.

Jusant is a distinct adventure with striking presentation, simple yet fun climbing mechanics, and an engaging atmosphere that's worth the hike.

Sonic Superstars draws upon its classic roots and wears that inspiration on a sleeve. The cooperative play is superb, but the unimaginative zones and underwhelming battle mode prove the stage a superstar performs on matters.

Cities: Skylines II is a modest improvement on its predecessor, integrating a good amount of features and content to feel like a worthwhile sequel. The underlying design remains great and should eventually reach its full potential, but a lack of structure and poor technical performance mean that it's not yet time to make the switch.

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.

Super Mario Bros. Wonder is exactly what fans hoped for from the return of a 2D Mario franchise. The tight, precise platforming has been mixed with the wild creativity seen in the 3D exploits of Nintendo's iconic plumber to create one of the best titles of the year.

Lords of the Fallen filled me with excitement and hope. However, the end product was frustrating and loaded with errors. As such, though it scratches that Souls-like itch, it doesn't quite live up to the hype. Yet, I liked the two realms and the customisation options. Sadly, though, this wasn't enough to paper over the cracks.

With thought-provoking philosophy and sharply varied puzzles, The Talos Principle 2 is a sublime sequel that seeks the knowledge of the gods but maintains its humanity.

RoboCop: Rogue City faithfully recreates the classic character, but gives him nothing to work with. The narrative is dull, presentation is poor, and too many lackluster mechanics are shoehorned in. With unsatisfying action, this title is an empty metal shell of a game.

Station to Station is a fairly novel puzzle game that has some charm to it, and will appeal most to players who enjoy freeform path optimization and experimentation through repeated attempts.

Detective Pikachu Returns had the potential to appeal to everyone as most Nintendo and Pokemon games do, but instead falls in the bracket of being a milquetoast experience that will only occupy younger players.

NHL 24 puts all of its pucks into the online play basket, so only players who fall into that category will find some excitement this year. The new controls and pressure mechanics leave something to be desired, and the complete lack of offline mode changes is baffling, as are the still incredibly slow menus.

Assassin’s Creed Mirage is a decent return to the series’ roots that puts stealth and free-running parkour back into focus. While it has several issues, and Basim’s story is uninspired, many will still appreciate silently exploring a smaller sand castle.

With familiar but still great gameplay that has a few new moves, strong presentation, and a mostly engaging story which gets better in the second half, Marvel's Spider-Man 2 is a crowd-pleasing blockbuster sequel that's worth playing for any superhero fan.

Fading Afternoon takes the concept of time and creates a melancholic experience which explores heavy themes surrounding self-reflection and existentialism. However, occasional bugs and repetitive combat hold it back from its true potential.

EA Sports FC 24 may be a new name, but it contains the very familiar game. With minor improvements across the board, and thanks to a still solid foundation, it’s the annual sports entry that you'd expect, no more and no less.

El Paso, Elsewhere doesn't boast the slickest gameplay out there, but its tale of love, death and the impending end of the world is one that consistently kept my attention. This is an entirely unique experience, and one I suggest checking out if you are a fan of supernatural neo-noir.

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.

Forza Motorsport returns to the track with some high quality sim racing, a healthy amount of content, impressive presentation, and enough tweaks to make its familiar formula feel fresh again.

Payday 3 introduces a few changes to its decade-old arcade heist formula, and yet still feels very much like a product of a bygone era. Returning fans will find many missing features and lack of content to grumble about, while newcomers were turned away with unplayable servers during launch week, and it's hard to tell if either group will be back.

The Expanse: A Telltale Series is a short, unexciting, and slow narrative adventure, full of unlikable characters and repetitive gameplay. Despite a great performance from Cara Gee as Drummer and a few engaging player choices, it is a waste of space.

Despite some issues and a weaker entry than last year, there's still plenty to enjoy in NBA 2K24. The gameplay continues to be refined with smart tweaks, and the visuals are among the best in the genre. However, the continued push of microtransactions continues to leave a sour taste, and MyCareer is a disappointment this time out.

After a couple of unsuccessful outings, The Crew franchise finally finds itself on solid ground with Motorfest. It has to borrow a lot ideas to get there, and still has plenty of oil leaks to deal with, but at least there's finally some enjoyable arcade racing to be had.

Sea of Stars may pinch its influences from numerous 16-bit titles like Chrono Trigger, but the gameplay feels neither stale or old. The gorgeous 2D environments and bizarre cosmic-esque plot will hold players' attention for the whole 35-40-hour runtime.

Starfield is a grand interstellar adventure with exciting pockets of exploration, detailed cities, interesting side quests, memorable characters, competent action, and fun ship building. Despite minor issues, it gracefully blends Bethesda’s trademark gameplay with the wonders of space.

Goodbye Volcano High hits a few promising notes, put intended, with its good musical numbers, decent dialogue and nice art. However, notable issues and inconsistencies with the main story plus a few minor technical quirks keep this fantasy tale from reaching its full potential.

Immortals of Aveum may have an interesting premise, but with a dull story, repetitive gameplay, and poor technical performance, this full priced first person shooter lacks magic.

Trine 5: A Clockwork Conspiracy continues to push the series back to its former glory. While the combat engine still needs some work, the platforming and puzzles will challenge both your mind and reflexes in satisfying ways. For a fifth entry, it’s nice to see the series still trying to produce compelling magical adventures.

WrestleQuest has just enough charm and personality to make up for its more distracting problems. The constant references to the world of wrestling and fun appearances by legends make the stories of Muchacho Man and Brink worth following, but the gameplay could have used some additional refinement.

Baldur's Gate 3 is a great cRPG that manages to meet the lofty expectations of the franchise name. With excellent writing, engaging story, flexible player choice and compelling mechanics, even its minor second-half stumbles can't prevent the game from getting some of the highest rolls in the genre.

While the atmosphere in Fort Solis is excellent, backed by great visuals and understated horror, the ambiguous story, poor ending, and cumbersome interaction means that this walking adventure does not always put its best foot forward.

With a great supernatural pirate theme and excellent character synergy, Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew is another outstanding stealth strategy game from Mimimi, though revisiting the mostly unchanged islands throws a small cloud over the otherwise vibrant treasure hunt.

Disney Illusion Island is an excellent choice for anyone who classes themselves as a gigantic Disney aficionado or anyone looking for a family-friendly game. However, the enchantment of the experience may start to dwindle like a fading dream due to the over-simplistic gameplay.

Panic Porcupine is a parody game that will test your patience and ability to adapt to side-scrolling platforming action. But its heavy reliance on repetitive deathtraps, accompanied by devious camera movements, overall holds back the experience.

Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical is a novel attempt at offering something new to the video game space. But while it has a strong cast and a well-realized setting, the uneven songs, lack of meaningful player choice and a dull narrative bring down the curtain too soon.

Star Trek: Resurgence has an interesting story with thought-provoking scenarios and two good protagonists. While it makes adequate use of the interactive-story genre, there was room to improve the choices and gameplay.

Although the core mechanic is not unique anymore, Pikmin 4 proves that it can still be fun and engaging to control your little army through a variety of nicely designed levels thanks to a few tweaks to the series formula.

Viewfinder is a delightfully fresh and enjoyable puzzler. The unique photo dropping gimmick is implemented perfectly, and repeatedly built upon over the course of the campaign. Some elements outside of the gameplay could have used work, but this is still a solid debut effort.

With a great underwater setting and an interesting story featuring lots to uncover, Stasis: Bone Totem’s mix of horror and puzzles mean it is a veritable sunken treasure.

Exoprimal offers some initially fun and chaotic multiplayer action, but it delays new enemies and objectives for far too long, and without a good reason. The dino enemies and the PVPVE systems don't end up being particularly interesting either, and given the high asking price, it's probably better to get your action fix elsewhere, at least for now.

Invector: Rhythm Galaxy squanders the rare advantage of an officially licensed soundtrack with some strange design choices and unbalanced difficulty that may repel newcomers, while being far too similar to its predecessor to attract returning fans.

AEW: Fight Forever nails the gameplay mechanics, but struggles in several other areas, with a lackluster presentation and gaps in the roster. It doesn't hit the lows some of the recent WWE 2K games, but it also can't match that series' current high.

Despite some witty dialogue and a few poignant moments, OXENFREE II: Lost Signals is an unexciting talkie-walkie with conversation interruptions and dull gameplay.

The concept of a Crash Bandicoot MOBA game sounds appealing, but this fight for the precious Wumpa fruit has missed the mark. Crash Team Rumble lacks content at launch, and despite some decent gameplay mechanics, just isn't worthy of the franchise name.

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.

Aliens: Dark Descent brilliantly translates the 1986 movie into a fun strategy game with good combat, an interesting story, and rewarding squad management, marred by some minor stealth and tech issues.

Harmony: The Fall of Reverie may have an original setting and good art style, but its uneven pacing and arbitrary gamification of player choice removes much engagement from the narrative.

Thanks to an enjoyable combat loop and wonderfully dark environments, Diablo IV is a great blend of the previous two games in the series that brings a slew of basic MMO features while preserving the core tenets of the franchise.

Street Fighter 6 is a big improvement for the franchise, and a reminder that Capcom is the best in the genre. The gameplay is as crisp and engaging as it has ever been, and the amount of modes included in the game will keep players busy for quite some time.

The Lord of the Rings: Gollum offers a bleak and lackluster adaptation of Middle-earth, with one of its more divisive characters in the spotlight. Whatever potential the game had is buried under dull, generic gameplay, a variety of technical issues, and low quality visuals.

Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun is a decent entry into the retro-shooter genre that will appeal most to fans of the WH40k universe, while everyone else should probably choose a different, better game to fulfill their classic action itch.

LEGO 2K Drive feels like a modern spiritual successor to the 1999's Lego Racers that borrows several beats from powerhouse racing franchises like Forza Horizon and The Crew 2. However, unoriginal quests and shallow microtransactions prevent the experience from being special.

Amnesia: The Bunker has a fantastic dynamic involving light and power management, as you explore an atmospheric WW1 bunker and avoid a monster with a keen sense of hearing. Despite a lack of puzzles, a bland story, and a few monster quirks, it packs enough good horror to keep players on edge.

Firmament’s deficient storytelling, bland and sparse worlds, clumsy primary tool, and occasionally broken puzzles mean it is not worth playing, even if you are a fan of Cyan’s previous adventures.

Planet of Lana has a great visual style that should help it stand out in a universe full of 2D puzzle platformers, even as its gameplay and story are easily forgotten.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom improves and expands upon its fantastic predecessor in several ways. Link's new abilities provide significant, and excellent, changes to the core gameplay. Even the narrative offers an interesting backstory the land of Hyrule, while also giving Zelda time to shine. It's one of the best titles that the Nintendo Switch has to offer.

Afterimage looks fantastic, plays well, and is a ton of fun in its best moments. However, the lack of direction in its large world leads to constant pathfinding annoyances. In a genre filled with great titles, it's a solid option but one that doesn't truly stand out.

Deep and tantalizing combat, enticing exploration, smooth platforming, and strong narrative moments lead the way in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. This sequel improves nearly everything and only the suboptimal framerate leaves a sour taste.

We. The Refugees: Ticket to Europe is a game with a message that never finds its footing. The inconsistent writing quality is too much of a hurdle for this text-based adventure to overcome.

Age of Wonders 4 is a deep and addictive turn-based strategy game that offers excellent player choice with custom worlds and varied rulers, alongside tweaks to the proven formula. Only its technical blemishes cast a dark shadow over the glorious realms found within.

Minecraft Legends may look and feel like an authentic spinoff, but with fiddly controls, contrived and repetitive gameplay design, in addition lackluster AI, it's only worth delving into for younger audiences and staunch Minecraft fans.

The uncompromising investigation process, misdirected horror, tedious clue-searching, and unsatisfying story make Sherlock Holmes The Awakened a bit of a sad case.

MLB The Show 23 doesn't reinvent the genre, but the franchise continues to stand as one of the best on the market. The gameplay is fantastic across all phases of the sport, and the line-up of modes has been improved thanks to the addition of Storylines. There is still room for improvement, but The Show remains a contender for best sports title of the year.

DREDGE offers an addictive fishing loop that pairs well with its surface-level Lovecraftian horror, undone only by a missed opportunity to dive deeper.

Road 96: Mile 0 certainly takes risks - both in narrative and gameplay - but unfortunately it does not pay off. The trippy skating segments are amusing, but are probably not what traditional adventure fans wanted from this prequel.

Despite its generic name, Storyteller should hopefully grab the attention of puzzle fans with its charming presentation and engaging design.

Resident Evil 4’s excellent variety, involving combat, and rollercoaster pacing makes it one of the best in the series and a faithful recreation, mired by a parasitic companion and a few weird franchise tropes.

The once moribund franchise continues to get better and better with WWE 2K23. The gameplay is as enjoyable as it has ever been, and the different modes featured in the title continue to be augmented with new features. There are still improvements to be had, but I remain excited to see where the franchise goes from here.

Hotel Renovator tries to convey the highs and lows of upscaling a hotel. However, anyone expecting it to be a luxury experience with chocolates left on their pillowcases will be sorely disappointed, as many minor issues lead to a subpar stay.

Terra Nil is a strategy game that's devoid of land colonisation, the exploitation of natural resources, or anything else you'd usually associate with a game of this ilk. But it's all the better for it. If you want a tranquil terraforming game, this is a good fit.

Have a Nice Death may not quite reach the upper levels of the genre, but it's still a fun, well-designed game that will appeal to fans of challenging roguelites.

Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon is a well-made metroidvania spinoff, with solid - if not particularly imaginative or complex - gameplay. Targeting a younger audience through easy gameplay and a fairy tale aesthetic places it in an awkward spot within the rest of the franchise.

Terraformers may not be greater than the sum of its parts, but its unique mix of mechanics and low asking price should help spark curiosity in fans of strategy games and card based roguelikes.

The appealing post-apocalyptic presentation found in Life of Delta might draw players into its world, but the simple puzzles and barren story will keep them from building a lasting connection.

Clash: Artifacts of Chaos offers a beautiful new rendition of Zenozoik with suitable fisticuffs against whacky creatures, offset by awfully circuitous traversal and repetitive gameplay.

Despite a tedious beginning and many generic traits, Scars Above comes alive near the end with decent third-person shooting set in an intriguing alien world that is oddly familiar in more ways than one.

Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe turns a solid Wii platformer into a slightly better Nintendo Switch title. The extra copy abilities are fun to use, and Magolor's Epilogue is a good way to wrap up the story. However, the lack of challenge in the campaign is difficult to look past.

The Pale Beyond has a nice art style and tries to balance an intriguing story and survival gameplay, but the two elements never find common ground, and the technical issues eventually drag the whole experience into the icy waters.

Atomic Heart’s captivating Soviet robo-topia crumbles under the weight of a poorly delivered story, clunky action, unnecessary open-world traversal, and a glut of technical issues.

Company of Heroes 3 proves that its unique and addicting RTS formula remains intact, and while it has plenty of solo and multiplayer content to keep you engaged for hours, a few design issues and presentation weaknesses prevent it from being declared an outright triumph.

Blanc is a game with heart, and it'll definitely bring you and a player two together. I can't recommend it over some other recent co-op outings, but it's still an experience worth having if you can ignore a couple of issues.

Hogwarts Legacy may not have enough magic to ensnare all gamers, but fans of the series will find more than enough enjoyment in Avalanche Software's open-world adventure.

Wanted: Dead is a bloodthirsty romp with challenging gameplay, but it feels unduly harsh, and more frustrating than fun. Accompanied by an inconsistent narrative, poor presentation, and repetitive boss battles, it results in a mediocre experience overall.

Ten Dates features a solid cast with occasionally great chemistry and believable dialogue, but it misses the opportunity to improve on its predecessor, with a rigid structure and unsatisfyingly short runtime split between two standalone character paths.

Deliver Us Mars comes crashing back down to Earth because of presentation failings, story missteps, and technical issues, despite a somewhat compelling personal tale involving the majesty of space travel and exploration of the red planet.

Fire Emblem Engage features familiar excellent gameplay with copious ways to customize your team. However, the story is rather dull, and the large roster is hurt by the limited character depth. There's plenty of tactical RPG gameplay to enjoy here, but it feels like a light step back for the series.

Dead Space (2023) takes the original’s stellar experience into the modern age with excellent atmosphere, additional narrative content, level-design tweaks, and a few surprises to keep the flayed flesh fresh.

Hi-Fi Rush is a charming action game with a great art style, fun characters, and solid mechanics. Sometimes, that's all you need.

Season: A Letter to the Future is an experience committed to the art of environmental storytelling. Although how much you connect with the world will be determined by your enjoyment of slow-paced adventures with minimal gameplay and the way you interpret the narrative.

A Space for the Unbound is an ode to teenage nonchalance, and an emotional lesson in learning to let go, all wrapped up in a story about a superpowered calamity. Its disparate parts thoughtfully work together to create a heartfelt story, full of characters you won't want to say goodbye to.

Children of Silentown is a nice-looking but bland adventure game due to basic puzzles and mundane objectives, although its second half shows more potential.

Aka is an easy game to be charmed by, with an endearing world and uplifting messages. However, the routine crafting systems and frequent minor bugs lead to an experience that feels more like work than play.

High On Life unapologetically caters to advent fans of absurdist comedy, which overflows with expletive language and wacky scenarios. Lack of enemy variety and performance issues may be a deterrent for some, however.