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.

Immortals Fenyx Rising may not do much to push the open-world action adventure genre forward, but it does still ultimately succeed at being yet another competent release cut from the all too familiar Ubisoft cloth.

Art is certainly subjective, but most people will be hard pressed to get more than an hour's enjoyment from ART SQOOL.

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity is a satisfying musou hack and slasher, but that style of gameplay can only stay fresh for so long. The carry-over from Breath of the Wild, specifically the strong art design and rich lore, should keep the hardcore crowd invested until the end, though.

Twin Mirror is a teaser for an exciting adventure that it never delivers. There are some good ideas here, like the interesting Mind Palace world and a helpful imaginary twin, but they needed to be expanded. Ultimately it has a short and bland story, with minimal interaction, limited player choice, and a lack of memorable characters.

Sackboy: A Big Adventure is an enjoyable platforming game that feels like familiar territory. It's a solid launch title, and will satisfy fans of the genre and the LittleBigPlanet franchise, but it doesn't do a whole lot to showcase the PS5.

The Pathless is a charming indie adventure with a strong atmosphere, engaging exploration and a myriad of fun puzzles that is too good to be forgotten amongst the next generation hype.

Although short on content, Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is a dependable entry in the franchise with fast action and a variety of solid modes. The great zombies level and the nostalgic campaign are definitely the highlight, and the competitive multiplayer should become strong once it gets more maps and tweaks.

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.

Godfall is such an unpleasant experience it's difficult for me to find anything to like. Occasionally, it flirts with just being a mediocre snooze, but then you hit an aggravating boss fight that reminds you of how poorly it was designed. It would take an entire shift in tone and genre to salvage anything offered.

Tetris Effect: Connected is the best version of one of the top releases of 2018. The multiplayer additions are all excellently designed, with Connected Mode being one of the best co-operative experiences out there.

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.

Astro's Playroom is an excellent showcase for the new PS5 DualSense controller, plus it's also an enjoyable platformer with charming presentation and lots of neat cameos to discover. The fact that it's free is just icing on the cake.

One tiny step forward and three huge leaps backwards. Some minor modern improvements fail to mask the failures of this remake. If you want the best experience, the 2003 original is the definitive edition.

There may be a lot of games you want to try on the new PS5 console, but if you're looking for a palate cleanser between the bigger, flashier games, Bugsnax is the perfect aperitif to your next-gen feast.

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.

You'll likely be able to finish Cloudpunk without running into any game-breaking bugs, but the question is whether you'll want to. Fans of the cyberpunk genre may enjoy running and flying about for a while, but you'd be forgiven for abandoning ship before long.

There's fertile ground in this new direction for Yakuza; Kasuga and Co are worthwhile characters and the new RPG mechanics have potential. Still, this entry feels stuffed with forced mediocre side content, and like a rough draft of what's possible in the future.

DIRT 5 takes the series back to a more arcade style but the career lacks variety, the vehicle handling is often sluggish, and the basic multiplayer setup is a discouragement. Without a rally mode, the only strong feature is the ability to make and share tracks, but that is not enough to stave off some technical issues.

Fuser is an amazingly accessible music mixing tool that will shine in the hands of aspiring DJs using the Freestyle mode. Sadly, many of its old-fashioned game design elements undermine the core of the experience.

The blistering fast-paced action of Ghostrunner will almost certainly appeal to gamers looking for a fresh take on the first person platformer. However, the brutal difficulty can make sticking with it after dozens of deaths a tough pill to swallow.

The Dark Pictures: Little Hope is a stronger second offering in the standalone horror game series. A more engaging story and interesting setting help overcome the shortcomings in gameplay.

Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales offers a fun story in a streamlined adventure that builds on the great foundation of its predecessor, despite a few performance issues on the PS4.

Being able to Play As Anyone in Watch Dogs: Legion is impressive at first, but it becomes a detriment to the core experience that's in need of revitalization. The hacking and stealth infiltrations haven't changed a bit, and with repetitive mission design and numerous technical issues, this latest chapter finds DedSec in an identity crisis.

Amnesia: Rebirth is a step back for Frictional Games. It offers little substance in the way of puzzles, exploration, survival, or psychological horror. Aside from an excellent sequence within a spooky fort, the rest is an uninteresting mess that relies too much on scripted detours.

As the final entry on the current console generation, NHL 21 underwhelms. It plays a decent game of hockey, but with very few changes on the ice, and the new Be a Pro leaving something to be desired, it doesn't offer much to be excited about for returning fans.

Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition is a fun RTS. Historical Battles are a highlight and it's an easy game to grasp for newcomers with tutorials and the Art of War mode. However, bugs, lack of variety and a grindy level system hold it back.

Torchlight 3 is a passable action RPG with decently crispy combat and satisfactory classes. But the workmanlike boss runs, unexciting gear, dull story, bizarre Fort design, and multiplayer issues all keep it below both its predecessors and competitors.