At just $14.99 USD, however, Guns of Icarus Alliance is recommended for those who want a different kind of co-op experience.

Shining Resonance Refrain feels very much like a budget RPG. While it does some things really well such as well-written characters with excellent voice acting and awesome music, there are plenty of things that just don’t really work. Combat is clunky and dull, the sidequests are mostly repetitive, and the game world feels surprisingly small.

Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus fits right in with the Warhammer 40K universe, and fans of the series would do well to give the game a shot. This is a franchise that is steeped in lore, though knowledge of the story is not a requirement to enjoy the tactical turn-based action on offer here. A few technical hitches keep things from running as well as they should, but there’s nothing game breaking. Alternate endings along with a campaign designed with more missions than time allotted ensure that many gamers will play multiple times, since the game is designed to be played as such. Omnissiah be praised, console Warhammer 40K fans have some weak flesh to upgrade with blessed mechanical augments this summer!

Developer Eko Software has done a decent job with the 4K graphics and textures for Warhammer: Chaosbane Slayer Edition and an even better job of utilizing the powerful PS5’s SSD to almost entirely eliminate load times. Traveling between the home castle and the many dungeons that are now included in the game is incredibly fast, and you’ll be hacking and slashing through the bad guys of Warhammer in no time.

An extremely competent brawler, with a shockingly expansive, albeit slightly disjointed, core campaign. Despite its narrative shortcomings, the moment-to-moment combat is fast paced, visually arresting and extremely entertaining. If you are looking for a fun mindless jaunt to kick off the New Year, look no further.

The campaign is quite lengthy, there is a ton of story to read through, and there’s even essentially choose-your-own-adventure stories inside other characters’ minds. However, the story is very quirky, and although developer Gust attempted to go deeper in characterization, a lot of the drama that unfolds feels at about the high school level.

Romance of the Three Kingdoms XIII undoubtedly has a cult, niche following, as games don’t usually receive that many sequels without such a following. However, this is one niche that is as obscure for newcomers as it is deep, and it’s certainly an instance where real-time strategy simply does not fit on the console with a controller. If you’re a fan of this series, save yourself from grief and pick it up on PC.

Regardless of its question-mark-filled future, Crash Team Rumble is an uncomplicated, yet entertaining multiplayer experience. Crash and the other characters all control well and the core systems are solid, meaning there’s enough here even if you’re not a bandicoot-obsessed fan that knows the difference between Aku Aku and Uka Uka. The appeal doesn’t go far beyond that, though. It’s hard to imagine wanting to sink hundreds of hours into it since the simplicity that makes it approachable keeps it from true greatness. Yet not every game has to become a new obsession, and Crash Team Rumble is content to be just another, if comparatively brief, addition to you and your friend’s game night routine.

Neptunia ReVerse improves a few things from the Vita version, but it ultimately feels like a test of things to come. The fishing minigame is the only real use of the DualSense’s triggers, and while the game’s loading times have been basically erased, that is likely due to the PS5’s SSD speed and little else. It helps when the game’s assets aren’t all that graphically intense to begin with, after all. Neptunia ReVerse plays it safe with a standard JRPG setup for this long-running series, and while it’s something fans of the series will have some fun with, it’s not necessarily a standout title. Neptune has seen better treatment, but she has also seen worse. Thus, fans could hardly go wrong in picking this re-remake up in the near future.

Dreamfall Chapters is an entertaining game that will bring about a satisfying continuation of the long-running series. While it has many of the same trappings that most adventure games suffer from – namely clunky controls and occasionally unintuitive puzzles – this is more than made up for with the game’s story. If you’ve been waiting for the full console release of Dreamfall Chapters to continue your adventures in (and out of) Dreamtime, wait no longer and pick up Dreamfall Chapters as soon as you can.

Shenmue III should have been the final game in this trilogy, all loose ends tied up and (re)vengeance served. Instead, Suzuki-sama hopes to continue Ryo’s story and with little improvement made over the past two decades and I fear that a fourth game will stick to this same stagnant formula. Disappointed as I am with this news, my real hope is that he can pull off a fourth and final game sooner than later. Because as much as I love this series, I’d be lying if I didn’t admit to feeling let down with this revival and worry about ever seeing the end of this tale.

RAGE 2 is a culmination of many gameplay tropes we’ve seen year after year. That isn’t inherently negative, but when it doesn’t do many of them particularly well, it makes you just want to go play better games. Traveling across the map is a slog, the menus are slow and clunky, and there were significant texture issues that broke the immersion for me.

Thief may be a throwback to the early days of stealth games, but this reboot really feels aged and dated. While there is some fun to be had, you will have to sift through a mess of problems to find it.

The sad thing with this series and game, is that there is a great concept here that is hidden under layers of lame puns, bad jokes, and annoying characters.

The addition of various Vita technology adds to gameplay, rather than detracting and feeling forced on you. Yes, the combat is mostly repetitive, and yes, the graphics are nothing to write home about. But with plenty of items to collect and various strategies to try before going into battle, Omega Force has made some significant changes that change up the monotony of battle.

Without the inclusion of basic in-game move lists or character tutorials, Dissidia Final Fantasy NT presents players with a pretty steep barrier to entry and learning curve.

For those who just can’t get enough of futuristic adventure point-and-click games, State of Mind is worth the virtual trip.

Fight for Fortune isn't broken, despite the odd decision to let another game's completion percentage determine your power. As a portable game, it lends itself well to the Vita's on-and-off capability. Still, if you don't like card-battling games, you won't enjoy a second of this, because that's all it is.

SOE has created a huge amount of combinations for characters, and at the current time, with the rapid levelling you could have three or four characters and your main at 30 with a huge variety of powers and weapons at your disposal.

There’s real challenge to be had with the game’s true-to-life physics, and varied weather and track conditions. But the game feels lacking in presentation. It needs something to inject some adrenaline into the career mode. Reading tweet-like messages from your agent gets old, fast. Still, for diehard motocross fans, this is your game.

CounterSpy touches on the gravity of the cold war while presenting it in a polished game that many will enjoy, if they choose to accept the mission.

I wouldn’t recommend playing Men’s Room Mayhem for longer than 20 or so minutes at a time, or you will quickly find the breaking point at which the game gets old. Ironically, Mayhem is the perfect game for a trip to the men’s room.

After the strong start with The Mad Ones, I can’t help but feel disappointed with Hide and Seek.

If you want something you don’t have to think too deeply about or are into competitive multiplayer with friends, then World War Z could be for you. But if you’re expecting an in-depth narrative and a campaign that requires strategy and coordination, then perhaps you should stay away.

The camera problems do threaten to take this off-road game into a ditch, but you’ll likely come back and persevere with MudRunner far more generously and readily than you would expect.

Oddworld: Soulstorm should have been the definitive version of the second entry in the Oddworld quintology, while the new story and characters hold their own, the gameplay lets it down. A plethora of bugs make the game far more difficult and frustrating than it should be, ranging from inconsistent enemy movement and teleportation to traces of elements no longer in the final product. There are more than 1300 Mudokons needing your help, but it might be worth waiting a while before you take on this mammoth task.

Developer Milestone S.r.l. has been making racing games for so long, it comes as no surprise how nicely Monster Energy Supercross turned out. From the detail in the dirt, to the details in the bikes, this is not only a great looking game, but a great racing game too.

The brief levels offer a perfect bite-sized morsels, and you may even end up biting off more than just a nibble each time you play, slamming just one more coin into the slot to start another round.