An unrefined rogue-like, but a hell of a rhythm shooter. A killer soundtrack and some striking visuals blend beautifully with frenetic shooting to produce pure adrenaline.

Wasteland 3: The Battle of Steeltown has a few notable flaws, and it's also a fairly short romp. However, there's enough content and tactical depth to make you want to keep adventuring in this post-apocalyptic landscape.

Inscryption's twists and turns are hit-or-miss, but the game's oddities are worth experiencing for yourself.

While fairly short and easy, SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake does a good job of bringing the cartoon world to life with good writing, fun platforming, and colorful, varied levels.

As far as games in the series go, One Piece Odyssey is one of the best if you don't mind the narrative issues. I wasn't expecting it, but it ticks all the boxes that a solid JRPG needs.

Override 2 has a lot to offer prospective players. From its satisfying, enjoyable combat to its varied, colorful stages and mode options, the game has everything it needs. Except for people playing it.

Ambitious in size, scale, and scope, Edge of Eternity offers a somewhat enjoyable romp that could last you over 40 hours. Sadly, it's also very rough around the edges, and poor pacing can be detrimental to your experience.

Assuming that you're not playing this kind of game for the relationship aspects, Pioneers of Olive Town is a good farming RPG. It continues many of the long-established trends of the Harvest Moon series, whilst adding in some welcome quality of life improvements. Although perhaps not quite on Stardew Valley's level, this is still a game that is worth playing and one that genre fans will enjoy. As a bonus, thanks to it now being on PC you don't have to deal with the Switch version's various performance issues.

Back 4 Blood is another great multiplayer zombie game, but some serious balance issues force it to stumble out of the gate.

Relaxing and lovely, Submerged: Hidden Depth doesn't have much in the way of gameplay, but it's still a nice experience for anyone who wants to explore its sunken world.

Avatar Frontiers of Pandora soars to new heights with its innovative gameplay mechanics and gorgeous world design. But I constantly found myself hitting walls and fighting against the game's combat instead of working with it. There were moments that I dreaded partaking in, and others that I reveled in.

Gorgeous, creative, and tense, Somerville can make for a fairly gripping adventure, but difficulty seeing what you're doing, a fair amount of frustration, and an underwhelming conclusion make the experience less than it could have been.

Persona 4 Arena Ultimax on PC is a port with some questionable drawbacks, like the lack of a lobby mode and no rollback netcode on launch. But it's still the same great fighting game beloved by many.

While there are some notable flaws and shortcomings, Asterigos: Curse of the Stars does manage to entertain and provide the necessary thrills.

Adios is brief and mostly concerned with dialogue, but it's a thought-provoking piece of interactive fiction, even if the visual style clashes with the narrative.

The Murder on Eridanos DLC expansion doesn't add too much to the Outer Worlds experience, but it has just enough personality and humor to make it worthwhile.

A fantastic throwback FPS with wonderful levels, awesome weapons, and top-notch gameplay, Postal: Brain Damaged is held back by bugs and balance issues that can't ultimately tarnish this worthy game.

It may be very short, but Kill It with Fire is creative and entertaining all the same. I'll never look at a frying pan the same way again.

A Total War Saga: Troy is limited in scope and unit variety. Similarly, its middle-ground approach between a purely historical title and one that's filled to the brim with mythological elements might not please everyone. Still, it manages to entertain owing to unique faction leader mechanics and Divine Will strategies. Grab it while it's free, but wait for a few fixes and balancing tweaks if you're planning on buying it separately.

Maquette has a strong narrative bolstered by top-tier voice performances and honest, relatable writing. The puzzle mechanics are unique and exciting, but the game is let down by signposting issues and obtuse design choices.

Chasing Static is let down some by overused narrative tropes and a short length, but strong world design and enjoyable pacing help make it worth a playthrough.

Röki is the heartfelt story of a family divided, and a lesson about trust, family, and strength. It preserves the magic and message of the folk tales it draws inspiration from.

Vigil: The Longest Night aims high and almost hits the mark thanks to its amazing level design, epic boss fights, uncanny visuals, and Lovecraftian and gothic horror themes. Sadly, it's bogged down by its muddled story, confusing map layout, and perplexing campaign progression.

An ambitious and mostly fun shooter that delivers a satisfying BioShock-inspired story, but Atomic Heart falls short of greatness due to evident feature creep, frustrating platforming segments, and silly oversights in terms of its accessibility.

Construction Simulator (2022) seeks to give the series new life, but doesn't quite strike the nail right on the head. Its beautiful visuals offer a richly detailed world to explore and work in, but its simplified mechanics and tedious design choices can turn some hardcore simmers away. Yet it still provides an all-round decent heavy machinery experience.

Vengeful Guardian: Moonrider has a lot of heart and very strong level design, but its weakened by a low level of challenge.

While there's nothing particularly meaty or mindblowing about the experience and it's very easy, Luminous Avenger iX 2 is another enjoyable entry in the series.

Promising and lovely, Backbone can't live up to its stellar early chapters, but there's still a worthwhile experience contained within.

Ghostrunner is a very well-made game with excellent graphics and tight controls, but it's often frustrating, with a very uneven difficulty curve and some horribly tedious sections. Plus, once you're done with the campaign, all that's left is to do it again.

Uneven, yet unique and compelling, Lost Words has some truly effective narrative and design elements. It's let down a bit by overreliance on the protagonist's less-than-interesting literary attempts, but it's a worth playing for fans of narrative games.

With some major balancing issues that made a majority of its classes unenjoyable, Tainted Grail: Conquest redeemed itself by showing that when the game was balanced, it could be a fantastic experience.

Deep, attractive, and highly playable, Windjammers 2 is still missing some of what it needs to really shine. Plus the online is currently on the fritz.

Neon Abyss’ emphasis on thriving, not surviving is a breath of fresh air in a subgenre defined by struggle. It’s chaotic, cathartic gameplay is a welcome surprise and unique take on the formula.

It takes a while to find its voice and stretches a three song soundtrack to near breaking point, but this first episode demonstrates a willingness to take a stand-alone Guardians of the Galaxy plot in intriguing directions. Most importantly: it pulls off just enough jokes.

Interesting and charming in its own way, The Survivalists will keep you entertained in short bursts as you try to complete the main objective and craft items to stay alive. Unfortunately, the AI system of your monkey companions is quite cumbersome and clunky. You'll often find yourself more annoyed than delighted due to all the monkeying around.

Wolfstride is an enjoyable anime-like mech fighting adventure with an interesting cast of characters. Other than the slow start, it's easy to ignore the parts that fall short.

Dying Light 2 still retains many of the key factors that made the original enjoyable and exhilarating. Unfortunately, it's also bogged down by technical issues, janky mechanics, and a restrictive save system that prevents you from readily seeing outcomes.

Code Vein is pretty fun, but it's dragged down some by some rote characters and dialogue and mediocre, tedious level design. It's also probably too easy for genre fans, but it's a solid game in its own right.

A sturdy conversion of a robust set of board game rules. The top-down, corridor-heavy setting is reminiscent of Space Hulk, but Legions of Steel places more emphasis on equal fire-fights between the competing factions.

Enjoyably frantic, and gory, Darktide is gratifying to play, but the experience is softened by performance issues and dreadful load times.

The fact that it's not as breathtaking as its predecessor shouldn't really stop horror fans from picking up this creepy run-and-hide simulator.

Corpse Party 2 has a strong first chapter, but it's hard to really recommend since the others have been missing in action for so long. Fans will want to support the localization, but other people would be better off waiting to see if the game is ever finished.

A deadly combination of challenging puzzles and curiosity-driven exploration, though it’s the puzzle fanatic that’ll walk away most satisfied.

Some technical issues still exist and delving deep into mysterious sites doesn't mesh well with the overall gameplay. However, Age of Wonders: Planetfall - Revelations does present an engaging campaign. Likewise, its unique mechanics such as the Heritor secret tech and Forgotten faction's use of Entropy weapons are worth a try.

A great pack if you like CLAAS equipment, but it doesn't add any major new elements to the existing game.

With its surprisingly creative level design, architecture, and platforming mechanics, Journey to the Savage Planet will wow your eyes, while its quirky humor entertains you from time to time. Unfortunately, flaws such as uninspired combat, lack of enemy variety, and a fairly short campaign mar what could've been a truly unforgettable journey.

Its issues and occasional shortcomings didn’t hugely detract from my enjoyment, and instead just left me with a longing sense of “what if”. Tokyo 42 is still a good game. It’s just one that comes close enough to being a great one that its flaws sting a little bit more than they probably should.

Blair Witch is impressive and cleverly designed in many ways. Although there are answers to the abundant amount of questions that start to stir up over the course of the game, the end result still leaves many of those to be unanswered. The visual and sound fidelity provides an excellent foundation to the story that is being told. For psychological horror fans, it will scratch that much-needed itch.

Mosaic is the plight of the office worker reimagined for the not-to-distant dystopian future. The tedium, the soullessness, the loneliness — it's all here, presented with sleek, stylish art and simple, effective mechanics. But, the burden of virtual corporate slavery is perhaps too much to bear; the game is prone to frequent bouts of monotony that pull players out of the experience.

One Step From Eden provides a unique, fast-paced experience. The combat and deck-building are fun, but it does a poor job explaining game mechanics, and given the depth of the game's card system that makes it a little bit too difficult.

Battlefield 2042 has a lot of problems. From its optimization, questionable design, and various bugs, it is clear that this game was not completely ready to be released. Yet despite all of that, I have still found myself having a good time bathing in the chaotic fun that is Battlefield. It needs some patches for sure, but Battlefield 2042 is by no means a lost cause.

Sparklite is overflowing with charm, and it is an absolute delight to explore the constantly shifting land of Geodia. While shallow gameplay, a lack of narrative complexity, and a few frustratingly random boss battles hold it back from "must-play" status, there's definitely something here for old-school Zelda and rogue-lite fans alike.

Battle Princess Madelyn is both impressive in both visuals and audio. For better, and sometimes worse, the game has modeled itself after difficult games like Ghosts'n Goblins. Metroidvania fans will enjoy the expansive levels, however, satisfaction from level completion and boss fights are less thrilling provided the immediate backtracking you'll perform back through harms way throughout most of the game.

There's a lot to love about 8Doors: Arum's Afterlife Adventure, from its ease of platforming to exciting and varied combat. But the obnoxious boss battles eat away at any good feelings you have toward the game.

Zany and hectic, Cosmo's Quickstop has a lot to offer, but it's damaged some by needless confusion and a bit of unfairness here and there.

Alder's Blood is a functional game, beautiful, but not exceptionally exciting. On one hand, the game looks great and the writing, while clunky, can inspire a bit of wonder. The gameplay is, however, lacking, as you don’t get too attached to your Hunters, and you don’t do much hunting.

Ashes of Ariandel is a well-designed, 4-5 hour jaunt through another painted realm, with a structured PvP annex that to some may be worth the admission price alone. But it’s missing the superlative spark of previous Souls DLCs.

Breathedge has a lot going for it in its well-loved Early Access sandbox portion. But when it becomes more of a walking simulator, things take a turn. Regardless, it's a funny game that's still worth playing for anyone who enjoys the concept and the humor. But I can't help but think that many will be disappointed by the later parts of the game.

Strong gameplay and an even stronger story come together to make Soulstice a good character action game, even if issues with weapons, level design, and the camera drag it down.

With an interesting environment packed with puzzles and mysteries but a distinct lack of enemy variety and scares, Fobia should only be checked into if you can overlook its detriments.

Let’s face it: if you played Life is Strange then you’ve probably bought this already, and if you haven’t, then you should play that first. If you’re one of the few Life is Strange players who haven’t picked this up yet, I’d definitely recommend waiting until we see how the rest of it turns out. What’s here is good and fine, but this episode feels like a prequel episode (no pun intended) that’s building up to whatever’s going to happen.

Rune Factory 5 is improved on PC, and is an enjoyable entry in the series. However, it's graphically dated with serious tech issues, and gameplay is a step back in some ways.

The new Map Expansion for Bus Simulator 18 adds two beautiful new towns and a cool new road network, but prepare to put in the hours ahead of time.

3DClouds' Xenon Racer provides a semi-futuristic racing experience that's a bit rough around the edges, but is incredibly exhilarating, albeit challenging.

Civilization VI: Gathering Storm has new leaders, wonders, and mechanics to freshen up your experience. Unfortunately, some of these features occur fairly late, or are non-factors in your playthroughs.

Rebel Galaxy Outlaw successfully builds upon the first game by introducing an entirely new combat system. This change is a major step forward, and it shows that the developers are putting their resources towards bettering this series. Overall, the rich RPG mechanics mixed with classic space flight make for some deep and engaging gameplay.

Super Animal Royale is a wonderfully fun battle royale that is very welcoming of casual players. Combat is fast, and the mechanics are simple. You're never be left wondering what you did wrong. You just need to click on bad animals. Matches are short and you don't spend a ton of time looting, so the fear of death is much lower than in other battle royales. Super Animal Royale is the kind of game you should always have on your PC.

Double Cross suffers from underwhelming combat and bland levels but makes up for it with a good story and fun platforming.

Fantastic gameplay paired with a game structure that resembles a tech demo makes Boomerang X worthwhile, even if it doesn't live up to its potential.

Imaginative mechanics and puzzle design at war with finicky, picky gameplay mechanics. Add in a borderline useless player character and you've got the recipe for a good puzzle game damaged by various annoyances.

Golden Force doesn't quite have what it takes to be as good as the classics, but it's still a fairly fun time in its own right. It has some issues that make it a bit of an annoyance in some spots, but it still mostly does what it aims to.

Punch Line isn't for everybody, and this port has some issues, but it's a solid VN with a great story and an endearing cast of characters.

The core strength of the Invasions expansion comes from what the Shakarn race can bring to the table. With their focus on infiltration and deception, as well as sonic weapons, they're a refreshing treat for Age of Wonders: Planetfall fans. Unfortunately, the other DLC inclusions aren't as noteworthy or remarkable.

Entertaining to play, but light on content and too repetitive in spots, Aliens: Fireteam Elite isn't without its charms. But the purchase price is a little high for what you get.

Salt and Sacrifice is enjoyable in short bursts. It retains certain core concepts from the original, including a fairly controversial one: the lack of a map. This is further compounded by repetitive Mage Hunts that become tedious after a while.

Skellboy is an entertaining, brisk adventure. The general mechanics are solid, and it's hard not to like switching out body parts, even if the combat could use more immediacy. Fans of action-adventure games and 2D pixel art will likely have a good time.

Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising is a prequel to Hundred Heroes set in the same world, and is a solid action RPG. But its tedious nature makes it hard to enjoy in the long run.

Despite its flaws, Pode is an enjoyable, manageable experience for all levels of players. With the added benefit of both single-player or cooperative modes, players can tackle the game out one stage at a time, or invest an afternoon for a four- to five-hour gaming session. Add in the memorable animations of the main characters (and some pretty expressive chirps and grunts), and Pode is sure to please all who choose to unlock its charming mysteries.

While it's true that GreedFall has some serious problems with variety and bizarrely re-used assets, the story is great and the combat and game systems are quite good. Anyone willing to look past its problems and dig into the narrative will likely have a good time with it.

Warriors Orochi 4 performed admirably well in our benchmark test, and it seems Koei Tecmo have learned from lessons past. The magic system and seamless transitions between attacks make for a freshly dynamic gameplay experience. However, as with all Warriors games, it can get repetitive after a while. The visuals and effects are beautiful, but a gigantic cast, lousy officer AI pathing, and tacked on mechanics make it bloated at the same time.

The port has some issues with videos, controllers, and optimization, and the game lacks some content in comparison with its predecessor. But it's still a worthwhile experience for One Piece fans.

Great game design wise and play ability wise with a cute story to go along with it. It has the right kind of balance of being both easy to play and challenging at the same time. It really makes you think. The sequel is great for those who want to get into the series and you don't need to have played the first to get into it. Overall a solid solid game.

MegaCorp is a decent inclusion to Paradox Interactive's spacefaring strategy sim. Sadly, it can be overshadowed by what the free update already provides to the core Stellaris experience.

Anno 1800 is a return to Blue Byte and Ubisoft's long-running city-building franchise. Sadly, a number of flaws prove to be detrimental to an enjoyable voyage.

While frustrating due to it abiding by the limits set by retro racers, Slipstream is still a cool treat for any fan of the classics. It looks, sounds and feels like it came from that era. I’m sure if you were to slap a cover sticker on a Genesis cartridge and ask someone that’s never heard of the game if they’ve ever played this back in the day, they’d probably say yes. That’s how convincing it is.

Ronin has little plot to speak of, but is focused like it’s own motorcycle helmeted avenger on a tight and tactical turn-ish-based combat mechanic. Looks a little like Gunpoint. Plays like Ronin.

While it mostly iterates on the foundation laid by other games in the genre, quirky writing and characters help keep things fresh. Unfortunately, Mutant Year Zero’s short campaign and predictable story hold it back from being a slam dunk.

A love letter to Boris and Arkady that brings their anomalous horrors to the Pacific Northwest. Pacific Drive makes up for what it gets wrong in pacing with imaginative gameplay and exceptional design.

A story-driven game, Sand Land is a masterfully crafted world created by Akira Toriyama that finds finds itself in a conflict between its powerful narrative and a lack of detail on elements such as hand-to-hand combat and world design. Overall, an enjoyable game.

Something of a return to form after 15, but sooner rather than later EA will need to stop re-arranging pieces of their existing code and actually develop a properly new and substantial FIFA engine.

Unsighted delivers engaging top-down action combat and a heartwarming narrative about connection, sacrifice, and love. The gameplay is fast and victory tastes sweet. Not everyone will enjoy the journey's burdens, and getting lost can frustrate you immensely, but the destination is worth the journey.

Pagan Online's fast-paced action is weighed down by its disappointing lack of depth. If you want the thrill of being trapped in a barrel full of monsters all day, this game is for you. If not, then it's best to look elsewhere.

Shadow Warrior 2’s excellent combat mechanics cleave through its weak story and over-abundance of iffy loot. The result is a title that’s incredibly satisfying to play, almost in spite of the surrounding flaws.

Hotwheels Unleashed 2: Turbocharged does an amazing job in providing a mechanically and visually pleasing experience, but the campaign mode has some downsides.

Total War: Three Kingdoms - Fates Divided is one of the game's weakest DLCs when it comes to narrative events, but it does present a great scenario for a Cao Cao or Yuan Shao campaign. For the most part, though, you're looking at a highly impressive free update. It truly makes the game more refreshing and engaging, thereby also completely overshadowing what the DLC provides.

Out on the plains and forest floors, the Wood Elf forces emphasise mobility, micro-management (which can just mean lots of using the pause button in single player), and, to perhaps a lesser extent than expected, archery prowess. They represent another smart translation from tabletop to Total War, and add further tactical challenges to Creative Assembly’s ever-evolving game through their expanded economy and unique campaign goal.

It executes its executions exquisitely, and I’m not yet at the point where I’m getting tired of it.

It’s very much a make-your-own-fun kind of game. If you go the staid route of dishing out gun-ishment, it’s a lovely looking but rather empty third-person shooter. If you go the batshit insane route of tying everything to everything and adding rocket boosters, it’s a ballet of hilarious carnage that will likely result in your accidental death dozens of times. It’s just a dance that’s only changed a few steps from the last time.