South of Midnight is an early game of the year contender, but that’s not all. It’s one of the best games released in this generation, a game seriously vying for a place on my list of favorite games of all time, and an utter masterpiece that future developers will talk about. At this point, I’m not sure how much more I can really gush about South of Midnight, so please, just play this game.

If you’re just looking to enjoy Mario Tennis Fever alongside family and friends in the same room, or even in ranked online play, there’s a great deal of fun to be had here. The tennis mechanics and the fever racket system combine to deliver the best (albeit most hectic) gameplay the series has seen in ages. It’s just such a shame that Mario Tennis Fever’s stellar multiplayer action feels so let down by the single player and other modes that surround it.

At its best, Deadpool VR matches up to the standard that Meta has set for its first-party VR releases – which makes the stumbles all the more disappointing. If you're someone who is already experienced in VR and loves Deadpool, the game is an easy recommendation even with those caveats. If you're just now looking to enter the VR market, though, maybe save this game for a rainy day. Maybe by the time you get around to it those pesky performance hiccups will be fixed.

Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties brings quite a lot to the table in terms of a remake, with its refined combat mechanics along with new story content and mini-games. While the pacing and visual changes might be offputting to veteran fans, this is a sleek and modernized way to play this entry.

Fatal Frame 2: Crimson Butterfly remains an unmissable experience for fans of survival horror. But like a spectre captured in the background of a photograph, this remake has lost the finer details which brought the original so vividly to life. Mio and Mayu’s intertwined descent is an immensely engrossing journey of discomforting discovery. I just don’t think this is the best version in which to enjoy it.

Phantom Brave: The Lost Hero certainly isn’t a terrible sequel. As mentioned earlier, NIS’ usage of familiar concepts from the first game should make this offering a worthwhile treat for long-time fans. Sadly, those who are relative newcomers to the series might be turned off by the campaign structure and overall progression.

Atomfall has a lot of interesting ideas and an admirable disinterest in playing by the usual gaming rules. But there are aspects that feel like an identity crisis, and those moments take up a lot more raw time.

If I could slash its frustrating level designs in half, focusing on the character and intrigue its eccentricities added while sifting out the gameplay impurities they come with, Blades of Fire would be an easy recommendation for anyone looking for a cool hack-n-slash. Instead, it’s plagued with unforgivable wheel-spinning that undermines a lot of what I liked about its satisfying gameplay loop.

While it certainly falters in its gameplay department, I'll always stick around for a classic mafia story, even if I can see the ending from a mile away.

It is difficult to tell if I am judging Unbeatable harshly because of how good it should be or I’m being too forgiving over how good I want it to be. At the end of the day, it’s a moot point. Unbeatable, as an experience, is not where it needs to be.

Sniper Elite: Resistance plays it safe with the exception of a few changes. The story is simple to follow, and it feels like something out of a typical action war movie. But that's not to say it's dull. Quite the opposite, actually – the team at Rebellion has mastered the art of killing Nazis, whether that be from afar or up close and personal. Jumping into Sniper Elite: Resistance is a lot like seeing that one friend you haven't spoken to in months, but your conversations pick right back up where you left off. Sure, some things have changed, but the core of what you love is still there, and that familiarity is a nice thing to return to.

The narrative’s final fumble feels representative of Directive 8020 as a whole. I’m glad to see Supermassive giving itself time to experiment and adapt. Pivotal choices and interactions feel relevant, and reward you for paying attention. There are modes and mechanics here I’d love to see taken forward or even ported back into older entries. But many of those additions don’t quite yet feel finalized, and their inclusion comes at the reduction of other, enjoyable elements. For fans of the Dark Pictures series, the cast and setting make Directive 8020 well worth enlisting with the Cassiopeia. But sadly, it doesn’t quite reach the stellar heights I was hoping for.

Bleach: Rebirth of Souls is a fantastic entry for both newcomers and older fans, and helps refresh players who haven’t kept up with Bleach, so that they’re ready for the final part of the Thousand-Year Blood War anime adaptation later this year.

Code Vein II reminds me of a PS2 game, and I say that as the highest praise. It doesn’t always get what’s going for, but man is it trying. It’s the kind of game you’d rent for a weekend and think about for years afterward, not because it’s the prettiest or the most polished or the best in its genre, but because it’s unique and trying hard and succeeding in cool, memorable ways.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 feels soulless and mercenary, doing just enough to avoid major outcry, while always feeling like a nip and tuck version of the games you once knew. This game may not be the worst game in the franchise, at least not for long, but it makes you question what we as an industry are even doing anymore.

All in all, Shadow Labyrinth makes for a pretty bog-standard metroidvania. This clever twist on the Pac-Man maze makes room for some cool ideas, but so much of the best stuff about Shadow Labyrinth gets diluted by straightforward metroidvania design so that it doesn't differentiate itself from the rest of the pack (sorry). Supplemented by awesome translations of classic Namco games, there's still a lot of cool stuff here and there. But frustrating mechanical and meta game choices make it hard to really connect with this world.

Overall, it’s your usual item marketplace that can be found in many other live-service games. But the inclusion of some core progression features and rewards makes the monetization here one of the more egregious examples I can remember.

Lost Soul Aside can only ever be the sum of its parts. I wish I could play a version of the game that worked with its combat, rather than simply letting the sole good element of the game buoy an otherwise disappointing experience. That game doesn’t exist, and so it’s impossible to recommend Lost Soul Aside – precisely because of all its frustrating promise. This version isn’t worth the heartache.

For anyone with an interest in sports games and novel control schemes, Drag x Drive is well worth checking out, but you’ll likely need to do so soon. I worry that, as the novelty fades, online servers – which were already pairing me with plenty of Japanese players – will begin to dry up, leaving only barren parks and bot matches for those who dabble at a later date...That Nintendo continues to experiment with multiplayer oddities should be commended. A little more attention lavished on the looks and ancillary elements could have made Drag x Drive something special. But in its current form, it still feels like a testing ground for what the Switch 2’s mouse controls can handle, and one that may not linger for very long.

Bywater looks like the kind of Hobbit town I’d want to live in. Its rolling hills are gorgeous in all seasons, with well thought-out sightlines letting you see far into the distance at the settlement’s variety. It’s full of lush plant life and chirping birds, with scattered structures accenting rather than disrupting the natural landscape. But it doesn’t feel like the Shire as we know it from The Lord of the Rings books and films, seeming more like a pale imitation rather than a faithful recreation. There’s some cozy joy to be had in the slow-paced daily life of a Hobbit here, but Tales of the Shire ultimately fails to capture the magic of The Lord of the Rings or invent much of its own.

Puzzles are a divisive element in many Survival Horror games. When you need to justify and expand game time for an experience mostly driven by vibes and avoiding awkward combat, what else can you do? Clearly, one easy answer is to add backtracking in order to sniff out keys and doohickeys to fit into mysterious slots powering absurd door-locking mechanisms. It works for Resident Evil, at least. But there’s a balance in making this stuff actually work. A balance the subject of today’s review struggled with, to say the least.

While the story here is a simple one, it evolves as the town comes alive with lights, and is altogether heartwarming. Combine that with the game’s solid decorating gameplay, and I can see myself coming back to this one each festive season, or any time I need a quick pick-me-up.