Dungeon Defenders: Awakened is a fun time, especially with others. But it doesn't have as much content as the game it's remaking yet, meaning that people still playing that one might be reluctant to move onto this version.

Partisans 1941 is an interesting, and dare I say necessary addition to the pool of World War II games. If memory serves, the only big title to have previously tackled red resistance was Company of Heroes 2, and that one was almost a piece of Nazi propaganda. So, if you’re mindful of the bit of possible Soviet whitewashing that’s in Partisans 1941, you can definitely enjoy this slightly unusual World War II experience. I mean, I love shooting Nazis as much as the next guy, but it does help to remember that the first “W” in World War II doesn’t stand for “Normandy.”

There are noticeable flaws in MyCareer's story and in other modes. Combine these with controversial and divisive microtransactions that have been mixed in, and you might have some qualms. However, NBA 2K20 still remains on a league of its own. With loads of content, amazing core gameplay mechanics, and unrivaled presentation, it keeps you engaged whether you're playing casually or competitively.

The Deadly Tower of Monsters is not the tightest 3D hack-and-blast arcade homage you’ll ever play, but it is the only one to feature puppies dressed as deadly hoovers, amazing stop-motion dinosaurs, and set design to rival Forbidden Planet.

Remembering those who fought, died, and lived through the First World War, 11-11: Memories Retold captures your imagination with vivid artistic presentation. Despite not being an action-packed or violent war game, it manages to pack a hefty emotional punch.

AWE had a lot of potential and I'm sad to say that it's mostly wasted here. Most of what it offers is exactly the same as what players have experienced before and I found the new stuff to be equal parts obnoxious and tedious.

Far: Changing Tides may be familiar to those who played the original, but it's just as soothing and enjoyable a trip as ever.

Trifox is colorful and humorous with a minimal story but a surprisingly full gameplay experience. While I had some issues with the mechanics, the game still manages to be a solid 3D platformer and twin-stick shooter.

MechWarrior 5 is lengthy and complex but extremely tedious and often obnoxious. What could have been a very enjoyable experience is dragged down by bad movement, menus, and pacing.

Orcs Must Die! 3 is a hectic, challenging hybrid of action and tower defense that is a lot of fun for anyone looking to kill a ton of orcs.

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.

Farming Simulator 19's new features do push the series in the right direction, but more needs to be done next time around. The old flaws have to be rooted out so a truly fresh new experience can grow.

A chaotic dust bowl of an open world, rendered and recorded with Avalanche's usual technical excellence on PC. Like Max's car some parts are a little ramshackle, but if you stick to causing bedlam there's plenty of fun to be had.

It might have some problems with its difficulty curve, performance, and the way it's being sold, but Lightmatter is a very solid puzzle game that offers a decent amount of playtime, some very good puzzles, and a great story.

Medieval Dynasty is a survival RPG that manages to stand out in the oversaturated market that it occupies. By combining ideas from several other popular franchises, developer Render Cube has managed to create a genuinely unique product. Its story hardly stacks up against AAA RPGs like The Elder Scrolls but it's good enough given the game's many other strengths.

Cloudpunk absolutely nails the cyberpunk aesthetic, but it backs up style with substance. A thoughtful and sensitive story, interesting characters, and some challenging environmental puzzles all make its attractive setting really fun to play around in, even if there are limitations.

I really wanted to like Floodland. The colony management/city-building sim from Vile Monarch and Ravenscourt seemed right up my alley. With post-apocalyptic themes centered on climate change and humanity’s struggle to survive on a harsh world, it was too good to pass up. Then, I played it, and part of me started wondering if this was still an Early Access game. True, there were interesting mechanics and familiar concepts. However, there were also confusing moments, unclear information, and an odd lack of a pure sandbox mode.

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.

Intriguing and often disturbing, Martha is Dead makes for a worthwhile narrative experience, barring some issues.

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.

Kakarot is mediocre as a game, but excellent as a Dragon Ball experience. The combat is just okay, the world is mostly empty, and the game has too much fluff, but as a longtime fan I enjoyed myself a lot.

Tribes of Midgard has a lot of interesting concepts, from Norse Mythology inspirations to facets from other genres. Unfortunately, it's dragged down by poor pacing and rushing just to complete objectives. It's better if you have friends who also enjoy it. Unfortunately, as a solo player, you'll start wondering if there's anything else to look forward to.

Musou-slashing meets light tower defense and the effortlessly heartwarming world of Dragon Quest; with all the vivid art direction, retro audio, and somewhat repetitive questing that implies.

This hopefully isn’t the last we’ll see of Eidos Montreal’s Deus Ex, but if it is then A Criminal Past at least serves as a compact summary of their tenure at the helm. Nothing too radical here, just a well constructed prison level for Adam Jensen to be let loose upon.

Dead or Alive 6 uses reliable mechanics while adding new twists to freshen up the gameplay. Combat is fluid, fun, and exciting, yet, overall, it's not without glaring flaws.

Monark delivers a satisfying JRPG experience, with a creative and unique battle system and creepy demon-filled world. But a weak story and characters prevent the game from truly delivering something stellar.

Need for Speed Unbound has the racing and the world down pat, but the game is marred by too many roadblocks and a heaping helping of tedium.

Destiny expansions are supposed to give new life to the game. They’re fresh starts after whatever disappointments existed in previous seasons or DLCs. However, Destiny 2: Beyond Light has several problems and questionable decisions that make the first week alone already feel like a letdown. This is nowhere close to what Forsaken provided, and it doesn’t scratch the itch the same way that Shadowkeep did. In any case, I’ll see what the weekend holds, level up my two other characters, and discern if Destiny 2: Beyond Light is worthwhile.

Oddworld: Soulstorm offers a refreshing take as a reimagining of an old classic. It provides platforming goodness, a bit of trial-and-error with situations, lots of secrets to find, and thousands of Mudokons to save. Sadly, it does have some noticeable shortcomings related to its controls, friendly AI movement, and save system.

The Innsmouth Case is a charming text adventure that brings the seaside town of Innsmouth into the twenty-first century, but leaves the horror behind. In its place is a humorous hunt for story bits that scratches a much different itch than was originally intended.

Iron Danger is a fun game that takes us to fantasy Finland and lets us play with time. This is a surprisingly good combination before you take interactive environments and the vibrant art style into account. If you want to play a fantasy RPG that’s lighter on the RP and heavier on G(ameplay), try this one out.

Historical accuracy, and the sheer number of units and scale of the map notwithstanding, Steel Division 2's offensive gets bogged down due to its cluttered UI, confusing layout, and repetitive battles. It does have solid foundations perfect for more improvements in the future.

My Time at Portia is great at first, but it's as insanely stretched out as it is tedious and empty.

While familiar and somewhat basic, Outriders has a lot of riveting action and a compelling gameplay loop that will satisfy people looking for their next looter shooter fix.

All in all, Isonzo is as great as the previous WW1 game series games, if not better. The developers are breaking the mold without giving in to the worse impulses of the AAA FPS game industry. The real question at this point is how sustainable the player counts will be. And if they are, can we get the real snowy hell of the White War? Because if there’s one way to make fighting in this rocky hellhole worse, it’s to take it two kilometers above sea level and sprinkle it with ice.

Although Rage 2 features top-notch close-quarters combat with a variety of enemies, it’s defined by its big boss battles define it. However, it doesn’t offer enough to maintain an entire open world game. The activities outside of shooting and story missions quickly grow stale, as does the world itself once you blaze a trail of destruction across it. While its glitches and issues aren’t enough to outright ruin the game, they happen frequently enough to be distracting.

A decent enough turn-based tactical game with a genuinely excellent atmosphere, let down by limited tactical options, poor mechanic explanations, and a number of issues that make it seem as though the lofty ambitions outstripped either time, money, or ability.

Problems with the game’s performance and lackluster AI, along with matchmaking issues which I’ve personally experienced mar an otherwise promising outing. In the grim darkness of the far future, there is only war and a Tyra-need to polish Space Hulk: Tactics further.

Bus Simulator 21 certainly kicks things into high gear above its predecessor with a lot of appreciated quality-of-life improvements. But, it's brought down by an awkward driving system, UI clutter, AI clunkiness, and apparent optimization issues. Yet, it remains a solid new product in the active driving sim genre.

Some jank does not stop Encased from being one of the most ambitious and greatest CRPGs in years.

Tandem: A Tale of Two Shadows does a good enough job at executing its well thought out premise. But, it isn't the revolution in puzzle games it purports to be.

With peerless aesthetics and creative-yet-simple gameplay, Draugen provides a thrilling tale of intrigue and tragedy that is sure to satisfy the curiosity of gamers the world across.

A satisfying combination of action platformer and strategy game. The former might be notably better here than the latter, but Smelter is a decently long game with great visuals and gameplay.

Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 is a lackluster sequel, lacking depth and variety.

An excellent action game with terrific combat and spot-on controls. The campaign is at a decent length, but there should have been more to do after clearing it.

The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope provides wonderful scares, a tense and foreboding atmosphere, and some thought-provoking moments thanks to a memorable cast of characters. It's a worthy addition to Supermassive Games' series. However, the inability to skip scenes remains the most tedious aspect as was the case in past titles.

Minoria is another strong game from Bombservice. Although it isn't necessarily better than their last, it's an enjoyable experience with great controls, good art, and an interesting story.

Brief and more of an experience than anything else, Sludge Life is a chill way to spend a couple of hours.

An improvement on the first episode, but still marred by technical issues and. A move in the right direction, but it's still too early to tell if this is more The Killing Joke or Batman & Robin.

Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts 2 still manages to offer a decent romp with its blend of stealth and action. Unfortunately, it relies too much on "long shot contracts" as opposed to the sandbox-oriented exploration of its predecessor. Likewise, given a multitude of challenges in each level, the autosave system becomes noticeably restrictive.

Warhammer 40K: Mechanicus – Heretek could’ve been a step forward for Bulwark’s stellar first foray into Games Workshop’s license. It had a chance to reinvigorate interest in a tactical RPG set in the Warhammer 40K universe. A newcomer might consider it part of a “more complete experience,” but a returning player might be vastly disappointed. With limited new content, repeating your old romp, and a handful of bugs, it proves to be a disappointment that likes of which will bring shame to the Omnissiah. It lacks the spirit for the machine spirit.

BattleTech: Heavy Metal DLC could stand to have more exciting content, so that it isn't overshadowed by the accompanying free update.

In many ways, The Dark Pictures: House of Ashes is significantly better than its predecessors. One can even say that it's the most thrilling and action-packed offering from Supermassive Games. Unfortunately, it's also plagued by technical and design issues, as well as a borderline ridiculous twist.

Although the writing and characters aren't all great across the board, Ten Dates is a surprisingly engaging experience filled with lots of fantastic acting, plenty of content, and some tight editing.

Undeniably odd, yet constantly willing to be accessible, Mundaun has a lot to offer anyone fond of horror and exploration.

Honey, I Joined a Cult has multiple components, and they all work well together. Its customization options add a layer of replayability that isn't often found in management sims. However, it the well will run dry for some.

A brutal RTS game that will not let you catch a breath, Men of War 2 is a great gameplay experience that needs its other aspects to be on par with how complex and thought out its core is designed.

The Surge does a lot of things well, and has some pleasant and unique twists on the usual conventions of this relatively young genre. The problem is that it gets a lot of the basics and balance painfully wrong, resulting in an experience that’s a little dull, repeatedly infuriating, and frustrated by poor design decisions. It doesn’t do enough wrong to make it an outright bad game, but it’s one that should be approached with caution even by ardent fans of the genre.

In lieu of what many community theories predicted is a cute and casual adventuring experience with an adorkable cast of Grumpuses and Bugsnax. But all that being said, Bugsnax isn't without its tricks.

Cleverly designed and rather lovely to look at, though a little slight, and not something that'll keep you occupied for long stints.

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

Even with some refreshing concepts related to investigations, Gamedec stumbles owing to uninteresting plot points, bland characterization, unclear systems, and pesky bugs.

The Invincible sets out to make you think about what if "not everything, everywhere is for us," and it does not disappoint in the slightest. With cutting-edge graphics and a compelling storyline, the only things holding this game back are its occasionally confusing objectives and relatively mediocre NPC design.

Delightful, fun, quirky -- Book of Demons keeps you entertained as it provides a unique take on what Diablo and the ARPG genre provides. Unfortunately, it also becomes repetitive and aimless towards the end.

Successfully marrying two completely different types of gameplay while still making sure they're sufficiently deep is no mean feat, but Sunday Gold offers up that and more with its excellent gameplay and lovable cast of foul-mouthed characters.

Chasm is a retro-infused, Metroidvania style roguelike. Although it brings back many nostalgic feelings with its art style, there is much more to be desired and no real sense of accomplishment once you've completed the game.

Aside from some doubts about the balance and the AI, and some Warhammer-specific quibbles, Warhammer 40,000: Battlesector is a great Blood Angels experience.

A cutesy life sim game where you gather materials and keep villagers healthy. Potion Permit certainly has its own unique charm as you continue shaping the fortunes of Moonbury and its citizens. Unfortunately, it can get fairly monotonous later on.

The Last Faith fails to make waves in a market already far too saturated to make space for something that doesn't bring innovation. Beautiful design, both in sound and scene, is let down by predictable gameplay.

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.

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.

A must-have samurai sandbox title for those who treasure player agency and reactive narrative above high-level production values. WotS 4’s absurdist videogame take on Yojimbo is surreal, funny and magnificent.

Embr is fun when it focuses on fighting fires and rescuing people, but there are too many gimmicks and unnecessary additional ingredients thrown into this pot. There's enjoyment to be had, but it could have been a lot more compelling had it just gone the obvious route.

Cute, but featuring far too high of a price tag to justify the amount of content it includes.

Sephonie is an outstanding 3D platformer that's weakened some by overly verbose, and often heavy-handed story-telling.

The Dungeon of Naheulbeuk: The Amulet of Chaos has zany humor and tactical depth. Its characters feel unique and memorable too. Sadly, it's bogged down by a nasty bug that can occur during battles, a particular issue that became problematic towards the end of the game, and a lack of replayability.

Sonic Origins works magic with Anniversary Mode, allowing you to play four classic Sonic games in widescreen. However, the speed bumps, ranging from features moved to DLC and a lack of great content, bring the fun to a crawl.

Short, but unique and satisfying despite some frustrating elements, Greak: Memories of Azur is a winning actiony puzzle-platformer with some of the best 2D visuals you can find.

Dark Devotion is intriguing, but design problems and cumbersome combat do their best to keep it from reaching its full potential.

Endzone: A World Apart shows a much more conventional post-apocalyptic world than Frostpunk, and is also a much more conventional game.

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre game does not just use the horror franchise as an aesthetic but builds its core mechanics around the film's essence. The cinematography, music, and tone have been studied with religious fervor to recreate the macabre world Tobe Hooper created almost 50 years ago. Moreover, the gameplay and character progression give it the "just one more" feeling that is severely missing from other asymmetrical horror titles. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre game transforms the iconic franchise into a terrifying experience that will haunt players for a long time.

Unimpressive build variety, strange and tedious resource collecting, and the lack of meaningful and fun progression make Wizard with a Gun a disappointment. Ultimately, Wizard with a Gun has a really great concept and some great ideas, but it fumbles the execution.

Oninaki does a lot of things right. It has a compelling story and solid gameplay but doesn't take either far enough to reach the level of greatness.

As a huge multiplayer fan Call of Duty: Vanguard ticks all of the right boxes for me. It's chaotic and fast paced and besides some bugs that will surely be patched out, there's little to complain about. Unfortunately, the accompanying Zombies and Campaign modes are lacklustre and it is simply not worth buying the game for them alone.

With beautiful visuals, excellent controls, and a ton of content, Dirt 5 has a lot to offer players, especially with how lenient and easy-going the game's structure is.

The connected, living world here is a genuine revelation, and it's well worth exploring if you're willing to mess around and make your own fun. It's just a shame that some of the vibrancy and depth of Watch Dogs 2 has been lost in the process.

Carto is a strong contender for the title of 2020's best adventure. Involved, intimate gameplay and incredible attention to detail make even the smallest islands feel remarkably rich and expansive.

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.

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.

Winter can be miserable, but Snowfall is a worthwhile addition to the finest city builder available.

WWE 2K22 does have some notable problems, such as modes that feel lacking or tacked on. Thankfully, it manages to excel in other departments, including visuals, controls, and performance. Although its predecessors set a very low bar, WWE 2K22 still cleared it and exceeded expectations.

Lichtspeer is really, really good. If you’re not afraid of a challenge and aren’t put off by an absurd sense of humour, you should gird your loins, grab your speer, and get ready to take on the ancient future.

The Beastmen represent another successful transition from tabletop to Total War: Warhammer faction. Their horde mechanics are a refinement over Chaos, while both strategic and battlefield options reflect their inclinations towards ruthless ambushes.

Daemon X Machina doesn't break much new ground, but the gameplay is entertaining and anyone looking for an enjoyable piece of Japanese mecha will find plenty to like here. As long as they don't get completely turned off by the subpar story and dated graphics, at least.

Pumpkin Jack is a competent Halloween platformer that's too generic, shallow, and short to make it a must-play.

Mighty Goose is a damn good game that neatly scratches the run-and-gun itch, all while keeping things moving with strong level design, zany action, and tight gameplay. If that’s up your alley, I’d recommend trying it out.

Packed with plenty of hours of great gameplay, but a far cry from what it could have been, Ninja Gaiden Master Collection is both worth playing and worth being pretty mad about.

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.