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.

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.

Smart design, a fantastic script, and a stellar soundtrack all make Relooted a delightful indie surprise to seek out.

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.

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

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.

Packed with awful mission design, an always-online campaign mode, nauseating AI slop, and microtransactions everywhere, Black Ops 7 is the nadir for the iconic franchise and a miserable experience all around.

Aphelion is hugely ambitious, but saddled with an unengaging narrative and dated mechanics that result in a rare misstep for Don't Nod.

Passion and ambition don't always equal quality. Lost Soul Aside has plenty of ideas, but no vision to put them together. Instead, it settles for a muddled selection of borrowed mechanics, tied together by disastrously bad writing and acting.

SYNDUALITY needs to take a long, hard look at itself and ask what does it want to be, and how will it get there. Right now, it’s not worth the asking price, especially with all the micro-transactions still found in the game. But maybe, after some updates and potentially a free-to-play model in place, SYNDUALITY emerges a better, more thought-out product.

Hugely ambitious and rife with ideas, Of Ash and Steel is an unpolished and deeply broken throwback to an era most have left behind.

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.

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.