Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is a good game that should be easier to stomach for franchise veterans than Modern Warfare. The campaign is fulfilling, albeit short. The faster-paced multiplayer is also easy enough to jump into and have fun with. It's just a shame that I can't shake that feeling that Treyarch's true vision has been held back by Activision forcing its ideals onto them.

Those who covet unique 4X factions and absorbing, atmospheric exploration should probably head elsewhere, but if you’re looking for logistical military exercises and satisfying galactic planning then Polaris Sector has you well covered.

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.

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.

Filled with great games, and there's a lot to love. But a third of them are in the other collections. You also still can't pick a game from a simple menu, which I simply can't understand.

Striking, peaceful, and wholly focused on exploring at your own pace, Sable is a joy to play. The optimization could use some serious work, but this is an extremely compelling game that offers a better open-world experience than many AAA developers have crafted.

A callback to what made Assassin's Creed a hit for many over the years. While the main character and the movement fall somewhat short, the world and reintroduction of classic mechanics make up for that in a big way.

ScourgeBringer has strong pixel visuals, extremely tight gameplay, and a high level of challenge. But a lack of variety limits its appeal.

Melding the city-building and exploration genre together shouldn't work this well. Airborne Kingdom does a fantastic job of continuously throwing new challenges at the player, while simultaneously devouring countless hours in the process. For a mere $24.99, this is a title that will absolutely give you plenty of bang for your buck.

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.

Carrying a decent amount of extra content with an enjoyable new character, Project_Hel makes Ghostrunner worth returning to for fans eager for more.

I consider my gripes with this game to be minor at best. I really didn’t know what to expect when I jumped into 2K19 for the first time, but I’m pleasantly surprised find it so enjoyable. I’m still not quite sure why the series garners so much hype every year, though. I wasn’t pulled in enough to become one of those fans, but I will admit it’s proven to be an overall fun and engaging experience nonetheless.

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.

Eldest Souls will punish you with its difficulty, but you're going to love it thanks to refreshing combat mechanics and ridiculously frantic boss fights. However, you might encounter a few issues due to visual miscues, and replayability is solely dependent on how much you wish to rerun tougher encounters.

Filled with solid level design, exciting combat, and challenging platforming, Vernal Edge is a worthwhile Metroid-like that very much has its own identity.

Imperator: Rome combines the quirks and mechanics of multiple Paradox titles, but it lacks the charm and depth to stand out on its own. It wore the trappings and regalia of Marcus Aurelius, yet, once removed, out came Commodus instead.

Runic Games take you on a wondrous mysterious journey through fantastic environments making HOB well worth your time.

Dome Keeper is an excellent rogue-lite for fans of 2D mining games.

Mortal Shell boasts refreshing mechanics that eschew the Souls-like subgenre's tried-and-tested methods. Though a bit on the short side, it oozes bone-crunching, stylish combat, and its performance is superbly optimized. Simply put, Mortal Shell manages to exceed all expectations.

Earth Defense Force 5 is very familiar, but it's the best game in the series and a huge amount of fun. Fans of action games will find a whole lot to enjoy with this one.

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.

ToeJam & Earl: Back in the Groove is an extremely welcome update to the first game in the series that retains and expands upon everything that made that game a classic.

Knights of Honor II: Sovereign does quite a few things right, though it could use more polish for many aspects of the game, starting with the voice lines that generals get.

No fusion accidents here: the merging of Persona 5 and the Musou games has resulted in a very strong Persona indeed.

Weird West does have some interesting and novel ideas. Sadly, bugs, AI issues, and questionable mechanics prove to be problematic.

Despite its difficulty, I’ve been having quite a bit of fun with Horizon Chase Turbo. It certainly does feel like a game from the 80s/90s, as they were known for being quite difficult anyway. The selection of cars and tracks is quite nice, and it’s all wrapped up in a beautiful visual style. So, if you want to take a trip down memory lane at lightning speeds, I’d definitely suggest giving it a try. Just don’t throw your controller at the screen.

The Surge 2 isn't a bad game, but it gets some pretty big things wrong. In the end, I had some fun with it, but the broken parrying, awful enemy placement, and bland level layouts made it more of a slog.

Noita isn't for everybody, but anyone who loves to learn a game's intricacies while getting mercilessly slaughtered at the drop of a hat will find a lot to enjoy.