Mouse: P.I. For Hire is beautiful and has a beautiful soundtrack. It's the rest that gives me pause.

Like Veronica Mars, Life is Strange is still charming in its later seasons, but you can see where the conflicting visions over the story don't mesh. It's lovely to see these characters again, I just wish they'd be allowed to have an ending.

Disciples: Domination knows exactly what it is and what it wants to do. It's an old-school strategy game with great combat but also frustratingly shallow mechanics in other areas. Fans will love it; everyone else will wonder what the big deal is.

Crimson Desert is a gorgeous audiovisual experience with obtuse mechanics, poor mission design, and a nonexistent story. It plays like an MMO trapped in the frame of a single-player adventure game with too many cooks in the kitchen.

Packed with incredible atmosphere and intriguing lore, Marathon is hampered by a nightmarishly bad UI and punishing game mechanics that make the experience frustrating for anyone but groups of dedicated fans.

Toxic Commando has immaculate vibes and incredible set pieces for fans of post-apocalypse mayhem, but it struggles with mission design and performance issues. For fans with friends, it might still prove indispensable.

Compiled with love and care for its iconic mascot, Rayman's 30th Anniversary Edition has some odd and major pitfalls, but it's still a worthwhile package for those interested in gaming history.

Heavy on nostalgia and fan service with the occasional violent delight thrown in, Requiem is a mostly fun Resident Evil title that still feels like a step down from its predecessor.

Despite these issues, which are notable, I would recommend Cairn to almost everyone. Even as a thought experiment. It's the kind of passionately designed indie game that deserves attention, even or especially when it gets in its own way. In the moments where it focuses on the pure experience of climbing, it is an atmospheric masterwork. Visually, it is one of the pretties games released this year. I wouldn't be surprised if it didn't grab a bunch of awards on art design alone.

Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is half the classic adventure we love and partly a step into the next evolution of the franchise. Sadly, it refuses to fully commit to either one, leaving this adventure halfway between the two.

Winter Burrow is beautiful and wonderfully written adventure brought down by obtuse and frustrating design choices.

It's hard to recommend Arc Raiders to anyone but the fiercely devoted. It is burning bright now, but there's so little to differentiate it from the competition that anything can and most likely will topple it from that throne. If it had dared to think outside of the limitations of the extraction shooter genre, it could have come upon something really special...Now, it's just a good extraction shooter, and what a shame that is.

Nostalgic to a fault, Battlefield 6 is the bare minimum product that is designed to get better over time. Right now, it's just fine, but nothing more.

Complaints aside, I enjoyed my time with Claws of Awaji, even if it didn't exactly light my world on fire. Would I have specifically sought it out if I wasn't reviewing it? Probably not. But that's simply because I'm a little burnt out on open world adventures at this part of the year.

There is a better, more nuanced game buried underneath the blind love for the genre. I'm just not certain that The Precinct has the interest or skill to find it. As it stands, this is an acceptable if not great GTA clone that stumbles by ignoring the elephant in the room.

Stratogun is a niche title for a niche audience, and it's perfectly content to be just that. It doesn't do anything revolutionary, nor is it the finest example of its genre. But it is a solid, well-designed example of passion. For the initiated, that's enough.

Days Gone remains a mixed bag. The Remastered version is arguably the best the game has ever looked or sounded, and it's the most fun version to play. But the main gameplay loop, coupled with a terrible story and lead character, still continues to frustrate. The resulting game is a contradictory experience that's gorgeous to look at yet not much fun to play.

Wren’s Resurgence is for a limited crowd, but I’m not sure that’s entirely a bad thing. This is a labor of love that understands what it’s emulating. It has its heart in the right place, and there is plenty to enjoy in the platforming aspects. It’s nowhere near perfect, but sometimes passion is enough to cover other parts that fall short. If you find yourself missing the days of NES action games, Wren’s Resurgence is a perfect antidote to that nostalgia.