Aquatico is a city builder that barely tries to innovate anything, and anything new is immediately overshadowed by how bland and mediocre the rest of it is.

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

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.

Unity of Command II: Desert Fox DLC gives the glory and the grime of Western Desert campaign as well as plenty of what-if scenarios.

Amazing visuals and stellar atmosphere notwithstanding, The Callisto Protocol is held back by a cumbersome combat system, technical woes, and other odd design decisions.

Wavetale is only four hours long and can be too one-note for its own good, but a captivating world and resonant story make it worth playing all the same.

High On Life is a hilarious piece of comedy that also makes for an enjoyable first-person shooter, especially if you're into Justin Roiland's brand of humor.

Choo-Choo Charles is undoubtedly an amusing concept. But it feels more like a semi-polished tech demo than a retail experience, which isn't helped by the awful enemy logic.

Marvel's Midnight Suns offers a surprisingly complete experience, going above and beyond what you're used to in XCOM-esque tactics games. From the dynamic card combat system, robust customization options, and hilarious banter with teammates to the fact that you've got a fully explorable hub with secrets, it's got everything you could ever want and then some.

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.

Crisis Core is still a favorite of mine after all these years and it's even better with greatly improved combat. The character models aren't necessarily an improvement and the price is too high, but this is a reunion that's well worth attending.

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.

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

Gungrave GORE is one of the worst of 2022. It's functional, but supremely awful the whole way through.

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.

With an unsettling atmosphere, gripping tension, and new actions for characters, The Devil in Me is a major improvement for the franchise. It just needs a way to skip scenes during replays to avoid the tedium.

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.

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.

Sonic Frontiers succeeds in finally making Sonic truly work in 3D without many of the problems that plagued past titles. While it's far from perfect and could have used more polish, it's a fairly impressive game that offers up most everything fans could want.

With a subtle art style and in-depth narrative, Flat Eye manages to tell a dystopian story without feeling preachy. While it is a management sim, you won’t find this game as mechanically full or complicated as others in the genre.

Yomawari: Lost in the Dark's core gameplay loop is one that's not exactly brimming with mechanical complexity. But thanks to the impeccable atmosphere, extensive enemy variety, and memorable moments, the game doesn't really need it.

Harvestella may have unsightly character models and rote combat, but it offers a satisfying blend of farming sim and action RPG that scratches the itches it's supposed to.

Pentiment's vivid art style, tight narrative, and choice-driven gameplay are a treat to experience. However, the restrictive save system and constant clicking to finish dialogue conversations can be detrimental to your enjoyment.

The arena combat features in Dying Light 2: Bloody Ties are refreshing for a time. Unfortunately, the clunkiness and tediousness from the base game remains. Worse, there's a litany of crashes, and a game-breaking bug that can cause issues with your save.

Star Ocean: The Divine Force has exciting combat mechanics and a fun traversal system, but it's hampered by poor performance, bland cutscenes, and questionable pacing.

How to Say Goodbye explores the afterlife from a more personal point of view, with a focus on healing at your own pace. If you can ignore the sometimes clunky puzzle solving, this is an easy day-length game to play when you want a lighter approach to death.

Decent gameplay and decent level design can't save The Chant from its poor story and total lack of scares.

The Entropy Centre is far and away one of the best first-person puzzlers you can play. If the genre does anything for you, you should come away satisfied with what the game has in store.