The Crew 2 offers a wealth of varied content to undertake in a huge open world, but the entire experience is shackled by too many gameplay and design annoyances, with hastily borrowed mechanics that never really come together.

For long-time fans of the franchise, Dynasty Warriors 9 feels like it has its heart in the right place, but the implementation of the open world and MMO mechanics feels dated, creating a bland experience that does not do the colorful series justice.

Sniper: Ghost Warrior 3 attempts to push the franchise forward by introducing new mechanics and an open world, but the delivery falls flat. With an underwhelming story and plenty of bugs, the result is a game stuck in mediocrity.

Until Then has an interesting art style and some decent writing, but mundane pacing, limited interactivity and contrived, poorly delivered drama make for a forgettable adventure.

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.

Pokémon Scarlet is a good game undone by extremely poor performance. The open-world set-up is fantastic, and the title does a good job of letting you wander into the deep end, but not forcing you to drown. Unfortunately, the copious amount of technical issues with it prevent it from reaching the heights it should have.

Pokémon Scarlet is a good game undone by extremely poor performance. The open-world set-up is fantastic, and the title does a good job of letting you wander into the deep end, but not forcing you to drown. Unfortunately, the copious amount of technical issues with it prevent it from reaching the heights it should have.

Repetition and a general lack of polish crushes Warhammer: Chaosbane before it has a chance to put up a fight. Although the game has decent visuals and competent action, it is just too stagnant, with the same basic enemies filling poorly-randomized levels.

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.

Memoranda has a nice art style with a story that features a few intriguing concepts, but the high level of difficulty and the nonsensical nature of the puzzles will frustrate all but the most dedicated adventure game fans.

With a rigorous control scheme and tweaked level design, Balthazar’s Dream could have offered a quite adorable puzzle-platformer to complete in a few hours. Yet its attempt to give each mechanic its own doggy bent results in a toilsome, repetitive experience that feels disappointing against its charming concept.

Jump Force is an exercise in wasted potential, which is a real shame considering the strong roster of characters and engaging worlds they all hail from. The combat is lackluster and repetitive, despite being punctuated by flashy iconic special moves. Heavy grind and boring mission structure turn saving the world into a chore.

Shenmue 3 feels instantly outdated, but at the same time is seemingly uncompromising in its vision. Despite some fun mechanics, lots of distractions, and a restrained take on combat, my nostalgia could only partially gloss over the weak characters, story and progress gating.

Degrees of Separation is definitely not great, but it's not exactly bad either. Instead, it's something potentially worse: forgettable. An intriguing premise is wasted on dull gameplay that never rises above simply being serviceable.

Need for Speed Payback squanders its open world on races against rubberbanding AI, linear escapes from a timer instead of the cops, and a broken economy that will leave you grinding for far too long. Throw in a bland story and unlikable characters, and you've got a franchise on a serious downward trend.

Ghost on the Shore is a bland walking simulator that has decent conversations with a ghostly companion. Its vague narrative, unexciting visuals, and typical formula make for a forgettable trip.

For all the promise that Loot River held with its amalgamation of gameplay features, they, unfortunately, don't gel together well. This is compounded by the technical issues making for an experience that is more frustrating than it is fun.

Though the idea of a Warhammer 40K themed ARPG certainly seems appealing, Martyr largely fails to capitalize on this potential due to unfocused design, clumsy gameplay and an abundance of technical and performance issues, despite boasting strong audio-visual presentation.

Exception is a bog-standard platformer that rarely rises above mediocrity. Its saving grace is an excellent presentation and a fire soundtrack that you should check out even if you have no interest in playing the actual game. Otherwise, look elsewhere for your platforming kicks.

Aliens: Fireteam Elite does no favors to the franchise's reputation in video games. It's a mostly functional, but very repetitive and bland shooter that may only grab the interest of the most hardcore Xeno enthusiasts.

While not terrible, Sky Force Reloaded asks too much of the player with too little to give back. With some reworking to the exorbitant grind, I would maybe recommend this, but there are far better shoot 'em ups on the Switch that deserve your time and attention.

Vampire: The Masquerade - Swansong has grand ambitious, but its dated presentation, shallow gameplay and uninteresting story make for another disappointing outing from this brooding universe.

Strikers Edge has some decent mechanics at its core, but a lack of gameplay modes, short campaign and deserted online scene make this essentially a barebones local multiplayer title with a high asking price.

Despite the prospect of fun multiplayer moments, there's just too little content in Nintendo Switch Sports, and the minigames that it does offer have been done better elsewhere in Nintendo's own library.

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.

South of the Circle is a minimalistic game that tells an initially engaging, but ultimately underwhelming story. And beyond the narrative, there's not much here to recommend.

Rocket Arena is a dull misfire that fails to compare even to EA's own Garden Warfare franchise. A few original ideas are lost behind a forgettable art style, small maps and questionable gameplay mechanics.

Arise: A Simple Story is pretty to look at, but the moment you have to start playing, it falls apart. A mish-mash of imagery, tone, gameplay, and narrative that seem okay on their own, but fail to come together.

With dull gameplay, conflicting art styles, stiff dialogue and a weak ending, Indika is a philosophy-infused discussion of religion that's unable to carry its burdens.

The Last Kids On Earth and The Staff Of Doom may keep the young fans of the series entertained for a good amount of time. However, the lack of overall depth and no serious tie-ins to the plot of the show makes this an effort that more discerning gamers can safely ignore.

While the idea of a throwback to classic 16-bit era platformers has merit, Orange Adventure mostly squanders it with clunky controls and frustrating, archaic game and level design.

Daemon X Machina is an underwhelming mech game that offers too few enjoyable qualities to recommend, even for the fans of the genre. Fleeting fun from the action is buried beneath a poorly told story, lackluster presentation, and barebones mechanics.

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.

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 concept behind Absolver is intriguing, but its execution and lack of staying power make it a very tough recommendation. If you're willing to put up with tedium, maybe joining a guild and learning new moves will be for you. For others, I'd say give this a pass.

Biomutant bites off more radioactive waste than it can chew. It's an action game with a multitude of ambitions, but none of them are fully realized. The very dated presentation and poor performance only further hamper its already weakened potential.

With movement and combat upgrades, Outcast – A New Beginning eventually comes close to being a decent open-world shooter, but terrible fetch quests, bland activities, tech issues, and narrative gaffes mean that the colorful world of Adelpha does not bear enough fruit.

The Complex is a run-of-the-mill live action adventure game, in a genre that can't really afford to phone it in. The decent price tag makes it at least a bit endearing for the curious, but fans will find The Complex to be an underwhelming movie and a forgettable game.

Last Stop is an engaging piece of entertainment, but not really an entertaining game to play. The fun of the narrative can't overcome the lackluster gameplay and nonexistent player choice.

On the surface, Lake Ridden does not appear much different from other adventure games. But it doesn’t take long to see the flaws: a confusing narrative, busywork tasks, fetch quests, and a depressing and dreary world. The handful of good puzzles are simply not enough.

Strange Telephone is an entirely unique adventure that ultimately squanders it’s off-putting mood and setting. The gameplay and narrative lack depth, and the puzzle design is inconsistent at best.

Although the Australian setting is good, and it occasionally shows potential, Broken Roads is a clumsy party-based RPG with mediocre combat, pacing issues, and bland fetch quests.

A mildly fun multiplayer experience at best, and a flawed, derivative dungeon crawler at worst. Good for some fun with friends in short bursts, but has a knack for growing old rather quickly, especially when venturing out solo.

Vane is the kind of game where you can see what the developers were going for. It has moments where the vision comes together and perhaps you've turned a corner, but all too quickly it goes back to its old, disappointing ways.

Despite some brisk and occasionally satisfying combat, Necromunda: Hired Gun is a boring and clunky foray into a deep dark hole within the WH40K universe.

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.

While this is a semi-competent port for Switch, ultimately Star Horizon's core gameplay is uninteresting and tired, while its mechanics lack polish.

While the colorful underground worlds in Little Orpheus look fantastic, the terribly bland platforming and irritating story drag the whole experience down into the depths.

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.

Wells is a rather bland, forgettable experience with mediocre gameplay and visuals. At least the price tag is agreeable.

Predator: Hunting Grounds occasionally offers a satisfying and violent asymmetrical multiplayer showdown, but doesn't look or play well while doing so. Hardcore fans of the series might get some value out of this title, if they're patient enough to wait in the long matchmaking queues.

Skater XL feels incomplete. There's not a lot of content, and the game is lacking a personality, a vibe to engage the player. In a year that has Skate coming to mobile, the Pro Skater games being re-released (again), and Session also working its way through Early Access, you should hold off on Skater XL.

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.

This revival of the miniature racer has a promising core, but poorly-handled multiplayer and a lack of replayability leave it sputtering on the starting grid. Micro Machines World Series might fulfill a night of local matches, but that’s about the extent of its strengths.

With underwhelming presentation, disappointing gameplay and lots of technical issues, Space Hulk: Deathwing fails to live up to its potential. The game attempts to stay true to the source material, but even so requires players to be familiar with the Warhammer universe.

Read Only Memories: Neurodiver feels like a step back from its predecessor on just about every level. The plot is lacking in intrigue and severely underbaked, while the simplistic gameplay offers little challenge. While it's nice to get further detail on the universe of the series, this sequel severely disappoints.

Phoning Home is a mediocre survival adventure through excessively large game spaces with a slow robot and his inept companion.

Planet of the Eyes is a thoroughly average platformer that needed more in order to stand out. The mood of the game crafted by Cococucumber is solid, but the gameplay just doesn’t measure up to even the most basic platformers out there. There’s just not enough here to make the game worth recommending.

For a few moments, New Tales from the Borderlands captures the feeling of the series, but for the most part it's a rather generic and overlong trek that fails to excite, entertain, or amuse.

Disintegration is a dull experiment. Taking shallow replicas of two genres and squeezing them together results in a largely forgettable game that can hardly even be considered a curiosity. The technical issues and average presentation don't help matters.

Don't Forget Me offers a shallow story in a generic Sci-Fi setting. The word guessing mechanic is the only thing the game has to offer, and it isn't very good. The music and visuals are decent enough, but they don't fit together.

Ego Protocol: Remastered is competent, only in the sense that it works. Outside of that, the game is an uninteresting test of your ability to endure apathy.

Metal Wolf Chaos XD has moments of entertaining mayhem, but they are hidden beneath layers of dated gameplay, nonsensical story, and gated behind a high asking price. Instead of being able to potentially discover a lost classic, mech fans get a rusted out blast from the past.

Blacksad: Under the Skin holds promise, and it makes good on a few ideas. The noir storytelling is appropriately entertaining, and the gameplay manages to hold up, even if it doesn’t strive for much. However, the inconsistent graphics and terrible performance mar what would otherwise be a solid little adventure.

As a visual novel, Coffee Talk relies heavily on its writing, but the characters and the plot are so dull, they offer you no reason to care. Instead of visiting this fictitious coffee shop, find a local one in the real world - you'll have more fun.

Down in Bermuda is an entirely forgettable puzzle game that blends into the background of an oversaturated genre. What makes it stand out is the steep $20 price tag, made even more outlandish by the lack of content.

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 does little to make you excited for the real event next year. Its collection of sports minigames varies in quality, the story is dull, and with a surprising lack of structured party play, there's not a lot of value here for the full asking price.

Although WWE 2K Battlegrounds is a way more pleasant experience then last year's wrestling debacle, the franchise still has a ways to go. The title sets out what it wanted to do, which was a provide a light, arcade-like take on the WWE. However, between the lack of depth and intrusive microtransactions, I'm not sure how much staying power it has.

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.

Jurassic World Evolution is a very pretty looking game, but one that doesn't have a lot going on under the hood. It can be infuriating, engaging and baffling in equal measure, but is only really made for the most diehard of Jurassic Park fans.

The 2022 reboot of Saints Row manages to put together a decently engaging crew, but just about everything else is a litany of issues - from shallow and repetitive missions to unsatisfying action mechanics, poor presentation, and plenty of bugs.

The Falconeer has grand world building ambitions that never come to pass. Its narrative lacks a proper set-up, or a satisfying payoff, as the gameplay seems entirely disconnected. The poor control scheme, occasionally frustrating difficulty, and repetitive missions make for a forgettable launch game on Xbox Series X.

Battletoads is a strange collection of levels with different gameplay mechanics, and almost none of them are worth playing. Like an episode of a kids TV show, it looks nice and you might get something out of it - but it's quickly forgotten.

MediEvil is a remake that should have taken more chances. Specifically, the gameplay needed to be reimagined for a 2019 audience. Instead, it just feels dated and obnoxious in a way that spoils its redeeming qualities.

Ashwalkers is a low priced, brief survival adventure that offers neither satisfying decision making nor engaging gameplay mechanics.

Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 - The Official Video Game is comprised of a very watered down collection of minigames that offer just a few fleeting moments of fun. Fans looking for something casual might as well pick up the Mario & Sonic spinoff instead - and even so, temper your expectations.

Gibbon: Beyond the Trees has a noble cause, to bring attention to the issue of animal conservation and human impact on the planet. And while it looks fairly good in doing so, the repetitive gameplay and sluggish pacing prevents this adventure from making any big leaps.

A poor story, writing and performances coupled with outdated quest design make King's Bounty II a tough game to play through. Turn-based battles are enjoyable but can't make up for the game's numerous issues.

Despite showcasing an interesting visual design, Scorn is an agonizing trip through a bizarre alien world with clunky combat, glacial mechanics, boring exploration, and a misplaced narrative.

SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy was created with a specific audience in mind, and if you’re not in that audience, you can do much better. The fighter just isn’t particularly enjoyable to play, with a tepid combat engine and poor Switch performance.

Crude, repetitive, rarely scary, and quite often boring, Choo-Choo Charles butchers an unusual concept and only offers a few moments of mediocre tension.

Anamorphine is a narrative adventure that fails to deliver its story with enough competence to offer the player any emotionally engaging content. So what you're left with is a low-budget, brief experience with no replay value and a high asking price.

We Should Talk is an interesting first effort from the small team at Insatiable Cycle, but it feels more like a beta than a finished product. There's just not enough content here to justify taking the time to check out this narrative adventure.

Werewolf: The Apocalypse - Earthblood is a forgettable and disappointing adventure. The World of Darkness is rife with potential, but Cyanide squanders it with this dated action adventure title.

Across three hours, In My Shadow has a few puzzles that might make you stand up in your chair. But the rest of the dull, fiddly shadow-moving experience will make you wish you turned out the lights and had a nap instead.

Beat The Game does not feel like a complete game. You scour a tiny area and collect a bunch of unusual sounds for limited mixing purposes. A few well animated cutscenes are not enough reason to experience this extremely brief adventure. Aspiring DJs may be able to create something pleasing to the ear, but others will prefer the sounds of silence.

Painfully plain mechanics and an inadequate narrative render SolSeraph insufficient entertainment for nearly anyone. ActRaiser fans will find its flaws indefensible, and anyone else who manages to stumble upon it will fail to be captivated by the excruciatingly repetitive tower defense and tiresome action platforming.

A polished, well-presented skin wrapped around thoroughly unremarkable stealth fundamentals. Serial Cleaner is not an actively antagonistic experience, just draining and unrewarding.

The Station lacks the storytelling it needed in order to justify playing it. The lack of gameplay could have been overlooked if the story was up to snuff, but it just simply isn't. What results is a short, boring experience that will only satisfy the most desperate of sci-fi fans.

Bit Dungeon Plus isn't the worst game around, but it doesn't do anything particularly noteworthy with its mechanics. If you're just dying for a co-op roguelike, I suppose this will do, but you can find a lot of better examples elsewhere.

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.

Kentucky Route Zero is an incredibly dull and over-embellished text adventure that fails to engage, entertain, or provide much value to anyone but perhaps the uppermost art connoisseurs.

Simplistic, unpolished, and lacking any sense of inspiration or effort, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Mega Battle will neither entice any new fans nor satisfy the nostalgic hopes of those familiar with the TV franchise’s brand of goofy action.

The Waylanders tries to imitate a variety of mechanics from leaders of the RPG genre, but fails to implement any of them effectively, while offering nothing original apart from the astonishingly poor dialogue.

Into A Dream has some interesting ideas, but the muddled storytelling and enjoyment-sapping gameplay stifle its ability to have a positive impact.

Song of Horror manages to provide atmospheric horror, but its lack of quality characters, unapologetically slow gameplay and heartbreaking save corruption bug make it a game that just isn't worth the time.

Bloodshore finds itself stuck in a cruel circle, as a bland game adaptation of a roughly cut movie, which in turn is a bad adaptation of a game genre.

You'll want to steer clear of Dead Alliance, especially at its ridiculous $40 price tag. There is a decent game buried here, but digging through the bugs, shallow gameplay and underwhelming mechanics is just not worth it. If you simply love FPS and are quite fond of the idea of weaponized zombies, at least wait until a big price reduction, a number of major patches, or give it a rental.