If you're an absolute die-hard, I guess you’ve already picked up Madden NFL 19, but otherwise I'd warn you to hold off and continue playing last year's version. There's nothing special about this year's edition, and with all of the technical issues, it's a major bummer.

Stage Presence combines mic-improvisation with the immersive givens of the headset to deal a gut-punch of stage fright. Outside that momentary thrill, however, it's a noticeably mundane gig: if conquering one's fears means facing them head on, then Stage Presence unfortunately sets itself up to grate after its first few objectives.

The Inner Friend was in much need of adding risk to its puzzles and encounters, if it hoped to create the eerie, unsettling atmosphere of which its subject matter and visual design are more than capable.

Last Days of Lazarus sets itself apart with lasting religious themes and compelling interior spaces. Unfortunately some tedious item-hunting and unappealing walks outside prevent this first-person adventure from rising above.

Minecraft: Story Mode - The Complete Adventure offers a couple of thrills and some likable characters, lost in the midst of subpar gameplay and an uninvolving story. A missed opportunity to create a great new Minecraft spinoff experience.

Maquette toys with interesting ideas and its unique core gameplay mechanic is enough to make it stand out. However, the poorly developed plot and weak conclusion make the game feel like a rough draft of something much stronger.

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.

The simple synergy-focused combat can be fun with some friends, but Ultimate Alliance 3's padded plot proves pernicious for its diverse cast of wretchedly one-note characters. Add to that a campaign that's poorly paced and painfully inconsistent performance, and you're left with a repetitive and unexpectedly plain package that doesn't adequately justify the revival of a franchise.

Diluvion is a submarine adventure with lofty goals that largely falls short. Still quite a serviceable experience, but ultimately a rough and insubstantial one.

The story and puzzles are decent in Aporia: Beyond The Valley, so it's a shame that the world is roughly designed, there are consistency and technical issues, and the horror element is shallow.

Twelve Minutes starts off strong and pulls you in with an intriguing premise and interesting gameplay loop but is let down by a poorly executed shock twist, finicky controls, and occasionally obtuse puzzle design.

Even as a simple party game, it's difficult to recommend Frantics. There's just nothing that really stands out as a high point. It's flawed in almost every way that really matters and doesn't offer the levels of entertainment one would hope to get from a game like this.

Crackdown 3 offers occasional glimpses of fun, but it's far too bogged down by outdated mechanics, bugs, and disappointing multiplayer to be worth anywhere near the full asking price.

There is a moderately intriguing narrative in Thalassa: Edge of the Abyss as you solve mysteries within a well-preserved shipwreck, but flimsy clues, tedious wandering, and technical blemishes mean playing it can be like fighting to keep your head above water.

Skull and Bones may have survived the turbulent seas of its long voyage to release, but the end result is a game that's barely kept afloat by its solid sailing mechanics, while the uninspiring content, underwhelming presentation, and poor multiplayer design punch far too many holes in the hull.

While some walking sims have evolved, Open Roads is stuck in the past. Its two good characters cannot offset the bland interactivity and mystery that is as flat as the game's 2D conversations.

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.

The Dark Pictures: The Devil in Me has a promising start but ends up being a lackluster final game in the first season of this horror Anthology. Although the formula can still work, as demonstrated by The Quarry, with bland gameplay and uninteresting characters this sub-series clearly needs a facelift.

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.

Though ambitious and offering a powerful suite of creation tools for meticulous brick builders, LEGO Worlds is let down by its awkward controls, repetitive quests, an overlong trek to collect Gold Bricks, and a ton of technical issues.

The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance Tactics isn't a swing and miss, because there wasn't a swing. This is a quirky and strangely-charming world, but the game has dulled it to a bog-standard strategy game, leaving behind the technical prowess that made the show interesting, and playing it safe in a way The Dark Crystal creator, Jim Henson, never would.

Mothergunship has some interesting ideas and unique gameplay mechanics, but it doesn't deliver as enjoyable of an experience as it may seem on paper. The gunplay is lackluster, weapon crafting isn't as extensive as you might hope, and the roguelike design elements mostly work against the game.

The Path of Motus is ambitious in what it seeks to communicate about the relationship we often share with games, and includes several notable spins on traditional gaming components of the puzzle platforming genre. But its arguments need to be embedded within a more rigorous gameplay structure if they're to truly land.

AER: Memories of Old teases its potential with some amusing bits - namely the rich atmosphere and the bliss that comes with soaring through the skies as a bird. Still, it feels a bit like Zelda-meets-Myst - with much less detail or interaction. Tough to recommend, unless you find great value in a characteristically passive, serene adventure game.

Severe performance problems and a misguided implementation of Souls mechanics in Darksiders 3 tarnish an otherwise perfunctory, but at least occasionally enjoyable return to one of last generation's better action series.

Shining Resonance Refrain is a decidedly adequate game. It has dozens of hours of content, but those hours include passable battles, an average story, tired MMO elements, and a mediocre dating sim to boot. It's not going to twist the arm of someone who’s sworn off JRPGs like Persona 5 would, but it could do just enough to satisfy die-hard fans of the genre.

Age of Empires: Definitive Edition is a very faithful remake that captures every single quality of the original title. That means you're getting a wonderful new presentation alongside all of the blemishes of the past.

Shadow Bug is a unique platformer with some interesting ideas, but one that doesn’t always stick the landing.

Airborne Kingdom has a couple of interesting ideas and occasionally draws you in with engaging resource and city building mechanics, but it lacks depth and replay value. With dull quests and a lack of challenge, it might just drift by most players unnoticed, like a balloon in the sky.

Session: Skate Sim is undoubtedly a love letter to skateboarding enthusiasts that embraces the realistic aspects of the sport, but it might not appeal to everyone with its convoluted control scheme, and it still needs more polishing.

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.

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.

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.

Iron Harvest has a unique setting with some original ideas, and borrows heavily from another RTS series. But rather than improve on those elements, it oversimplifies them, and lacks the content to justify its full asking price.

Destruction AllStars has the foundations of a decently entertaining demolition derby, but that's about it. The game is short on content, doesn't feature much depth or serves as a showcase for the PS5, and its only saving grace is that it's free for PS Plus at launch. When, or perhaps if, the game returns to its regular pricing, it will be much tougher to recommend.

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.

ELEX 2 has a distinctive approach to RPG game design and an engaging story, but while it finally bucks the trend of having technical issues at launch, there's still much work to be done on the quality of combat and presentation.

The twist at the core of Minit, that you play it sixty seconds at a time, is initially intriguing and engaging, but ends up clashing with the puzzle and exploration-heavy gameplay in a way that left me feeling agitated rather than charmed by this nostalgia-driven indie title.

Empire of Sin gets lost in a maze of design decisions that lead to an unfocused and sprawling game. The management and RPG mechanics cannibalize each other, meaning that neither works on its own and they definitely don’t work well together.

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.

As is sometimes the case with comedy films, the premise and promotional material for Turnip Boy ends up being funnier than the end product. This brief and mostly shallow adventure is rarely amusing, but it at least looks charming in the process.

Marvel's Avengers has some good ideas, a satisfying campaign and enjoyable combat across a variety of heroes. But it suffers from repetitive and shallow missions, borrowed mechanics that aren't executed particularly well, and not least of all, pronounced technical issues.

Despite a few improvements, Dead Rising 4 falls short in too many areas to earn a recommendation. A passable entry in the zombie slaying franchise that wastes the return of its original hero.

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.

Pikuniku offers a few amusing moments, but its underwhelming presentation and simplistic gameplay make for an easily forgettable experience.

White Shadows is a middling puzzle-platformer with interesting Orwellian themes. Although its black and white world design is commendable, it is limited by bland gameplay and an ungainly eleventh-hour exposition dump.

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.

Gear.Club Unlimited may be the only racing car game on the Nintendo Switch for the moment, but it squanders this early lead on a repetitive career, underwhelming presentation and functional, but uninspired gameplay with a price that feels too high.

Anthem manages to offer up moments of fun, with occasionally chaotic action, Javelin gameplay variety and freeform traversal. But an overly convoluted and forgettable story, underwhelming RPG elements and outdated design choices make for a rough introduction to this brave new world.

Taur has a few exciting moments and addictive progression elements to get you far into the campaign, but repetitive design, uneven difficulty, and unsatisfying combat eventually wear out its welcome.

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.

112 Operator is more of a spinoff than a sequel. It adds a few things, but also carries over all the problems of its predecessor. While there's still potential here for an enjoyable micromanagement game, it gets lots in the shuffle of bad design choices and repetition.

With amazing art and music, Backbone has a killer introduction and a great vibe. Unfortunately, due to a dreadful turn in the narrative and underdeveloped gameplay, this is a classic case of style over substance.

Koral's ambition to bring awareness to the problems faced by marine life largely falls flat. While it looks nice, the formulaic and repetitive gameplay means this title fails to stand out in a sea of similar indie releases.

Inked tries in earnest to make a small folk tale into a wider allegory about creative expression, and though admirable in theory, the self-reflexive bent ultimately hinders the sense of unease it creates through its pleasantly hand-drawn realm.

New World has the mechanical foundations of a decent MMO, with passable combat and good visuals, but its hopes are extinguished at the hands of dreadful PvE design. The few distinctive experiences that it does have, locked away behind high levels as if the game knows it has precious little to offer, are not worth the hours of mind numbing grind to get there.

South Park: Snow Day is an authentic adaptation that has a couple of decent ideas, but the drab combat and a short runtime leave it stuck in a snowbank, to be rescued only by the faithful fans of the show.

Quench is an okay puzzle game that has a few solid mechanics with a noteworthy art style, but its linearity and awkward controls don't help offset the somewhat steep asking price.

Gear.Club Unlimited 2 is a quick sequel that only marginally improves on its underwhelming predecessor. Any forward strides are largely undone by unresolved issues from last year and some new performance problems.

Little Nightmares is like the long, intense screech of a violin before the jump scare - except that the scare never comes and the sound eventually fades to the background. Yes, it’s dark and moody, but after establishing the atmosphere it never evolves into something that’s really worth playing.

One-Punch Man: A Hero Nobody Knows may please some fans of the overpowered warrior, but the repetitive campaign missions, formulaic fighting mechanics, and underwhelming presentation will limit the appeal of this fighting game.

For $5, you could do worse than YANKAI’S PEAK. While not bad, it just lacks anything distinctive to call its own.

Warriors Orochi 4 Ultimate chooses quantity over quality. While it includes tons of characters, the bland level and mission design lose their allure far too quickly, which is a shame. With a little more care and tweaks to mechanics, it could have been a strong entry in the series.

Team Sonic Racing offers a hopeful glimpse at how compelling a team-based kart racer can be. However, inadequate AI, limited loot box progression, and a poorly-polished multiplayer suite make this seem more like a stepping stone that'll hopefully lead to something more well-realized.

Guiding a clan of primates through generations as they evolve certainly makes for a unique experience, and there are times when Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey comes together. But a lack of guidance on basic gameplay mechanics, as well as some clumsy controls and unsuccessfully executed ideas, make for a highly uneven game.

The Almost Gone is an occasionally enjoyable puzzle game, with a unique way of presenting levels. However, its high price and inability to adequately tackle heavy narrative themes leave it lost in the sea of mobile game ports.

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.

CastleStorm 2 tries to keep many of the same elements that made the original game fun, but it just doesn’t come together this time around. The new mechanics and expanded campaign design feel shallow and almost unnecessary.

Moonglow Bay starts strong with its emotional story and initially solid gameplay loop of fishing and cooking. Unfortunately, bugs and the lack of variety quickly become its downfall, resulting in an experience that grows more bland and frustrating to play the further you progress.

Windbound offers a simply adequate sailing adventure. The crafting system is predictable, the story simplistic, and the world is beautiful but quite empty. You might find some enjoyment from the bigger islands toward the end of the game, but not everyone will have the patience to make it that far.

Sonic Forces is a mixed bag, but the bad outweighs the good. Its few bright spots - mostly in the form of classic Sonic - get dimmed by the muddled mess of the weaker elements, and the lack of content doesn't help. The game's biggest achievement is the reminder of old school Sonic's superior gameplay.

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.

Harold Halibut overstays its welcome like a free diver that descends too far. Its painfully boring gameplay consists of walking back and forth as the story unhurriedly transpires. Still, the oddball characters and sublime stop-motion aesthetics may hook a few gamers who are happy to wade in the shallows.

Although Life is Strange 2 offers varied themes and visually exquisite moments, it falters by featuring an unappealing road trip adventure with disconnected episodes that lack character growth. Lethargic pacing and shallow interaction make for a boring sequel about two brothers that should have stayed home.

We Happy Few contains moments of enjoyment and artistic brilliance, but they are short lived, and - like a Joy withdrawal - the eventual comedown of the clunky, burdensome reality of the gameplay seeps in. A classic case of style over substance.

No Straight Roads has an interesting premise and a fun story to tell, but unremarkable combat and open world exploration result in an overall mediocre experience.

Simple puzzles and bland chases prevent Close to the Sun from living up to its numerous inspirations. While the game has a decent retro style and an intriguing horror narrative, it never makes the player a true participant.

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

Compared to its predecessor, Ghost Recon Breakpoint takes one step forward then tumbles down a hill. A completely out of place loot grind, pointless survival elements, dim-witted AI and repetitive missions are the main reasons you should avoid this sequel, even though the story is improved and co-op stealth gameplay remains at times enjoyable.

Stories Untold is clever when it comes to delivering the narrative, and its brief text-adventure is interesting. Unfortunately, most of it is pushing buttons and turning dials on command, and this leaves much to be desired.

Vostok Inc. is something of an oddity. It offers some competent shooter mechanics dressed up with some playful satire, unique concepts, and plenty of gameplay for those who seek it. But the overall experience feels lacking, uneventful, and repetitive, especially when it comes to the click-fest sim components.

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.

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.

There is an interesting story in Someday You’ll Return and a potion-crafting system that works suitably well, but players must endure an overlong adventure through a confusing forest with questionable puzzles, bad stealth, and too many clunky mechanics.

Mario vs. Donkey Kong brings the classic GBA title back with new crisp graphics, but there has not been enough changes to the mechanics or controls to make this feel contemporary on the Switch.

The Chant had the pieces to be a unique piece of survival horror entertainment, but the assorted aspects of the title fail to congeal into a satisfying adventure. The combat is clunky and bland, and the story has its moments, but doesn't deliver in the end.

Wolfenstein: Youngblood is an adequate shooter, buried under a glut of unnecessary RPG elements and an obnoxious focus on cooperative play. Fans should look to the other games in the series to quench their thirst for straightforward Nazi killing.

Like squeezing blood from a stone, The Outlast Trials is a repetitive chore that features monotonous searches and running laps through mazes until there is nothing left but pain and the option to share the misery with others.

It's apparent that Forever Forest is a port of a mobile game. With randomly generated biomes, there's plenty of gameplay for those who seek it, but much of it proves too mundane, shallow, and repetitive.

Endling may look nice, but it is a monotonous animal adventure with simple fox-feeding gameplay, bland skills, and restrictive exploration.

1-2-Switch contains minigames that are both fun diversions and promising examples of the technology at work within the system’s Joy-Cons, but several duds, a lack of substance or progression, and an expensive asking price make it feel like something that would have been better suited as a pack-in title.

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.

As buggy as the bayou, Alone in the Dark is a disappointing return for the classic horror franchise. Derceto Manor has corners worth exploring, and the puzzles are smartly designed. However, the clunky combat, lack of scares, unengaging story and drab voice acting sully the overall package.

LEGO Marvel Super Heroes 2 will entertain the younger players, but its messy combat and dull open world make it one of the weaker entries in the LEGO pantheon.

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.

Lost Words: Beyond the Page ends up being as forgettable as its name. Outside of just a few brief highlights, the rest of the story is filled with inconsistencies and dull gameplay. The accessible price point is one of its few redeeming qualities.

There's nothing that helps redeem Black Mirror for all of the issues that plague it. There are bits and pieces of a good game but they're buried under bad design and awful tech that keep Black Mirror from ever becoming an engaging experience.

Song of Iron starts off as a promising minimalistic Viking adventure, before running out of steam and dipping in quality the longer you play - which isn't long, thus also putting its asking price into question.