With Automatron Bethesda has shrewdly managed to zero in on one already compelling point of Fallout 4's experience, dropping in a new twist that solidly expands on that point in an interesting new way. As such, it's a perfect add-on for those either experiencing the wasteland for the first time or returning for a new play-through. It's simplistic and short story component means that it arguably doesn't have enough content to actually draw you back in on its own, and that's a shame, but if more Fallout 4 is on the cards for you already and you love customization, there's a strong argument for playing it with Automatron attached.

Miasma Chronicles is a demanding but well-balanced tactical RPG that should scratch the itch of XCOM fans or anyone seeking a modest challenge. It's disappointing that the narrative elements don't hold up on their end, because they easily detract from an otherwise satisfying game.

Behind the game's accurate depiction of the Fairy Tail world, I am not quite sure if this game adaptation offers much to anyone besides diehard fans. If a player is already not into the anime or manga, the game doesn't do a great job introducing the Fairy Tail world, and the systems in play aren't especially interesting on their own as an RPG. Fans will get a kick out of the Fairy Tail game, but it's hard to recommend otherwise.

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX is going to end up surprising a lot of people. Once you get past the initial few hours, it becomes clear why the series has sustained such a fan-base over a long period of time. Although it has its share of annoying faults, the entertaining story, the huge amount of content to complete, and the fun, simplistic gameplay makes it a great choice for Pokemon fans and dungeon-crawler fans alike.

For all of its good and bad, Rune Factory 5 still manages to capture bits from the series that keep it enchanting. It’s rough around the edges in ways that are hard to ignore, but for those who can push through the occasional chugging, there’s a lot to love. Hakama’s latest vision for the series bodes well for future iterations, offering some much-needed change while remembering the pieces that make the series so beloved.

Thanks to its whimsical soundtrack, interesting script, enjoyable combat system (even if most of its copied from I Am Setsuna), there’s plenty of aspects found in Lost Sphear that I fell in love with. Whether you’re a seasoned veteran of the genre or a newcomer looking for something accessible, you should give this one a try. Just expect nothing mind-blowing.

Utawarerumono: Mask of Deception was a pleasant ride from beginning to end. While the pacing can be off with how infrequent the combat is, the story more than makes up for it. There are plenty of laugh-out-loud moments intermingled with the dramatic punches found within. Combined with the excellent voice acting and the charming art design, and fans of this genre will discover a lot to fall in love with.

I come away from Steelrising feeling satisfied but not enamored. It's an adequate foray into the Souls-like space, and it incorporates its own traversal gimmicks well enough, but lackluster quests, boss encounters, and level design hold it back from being an exceptional entry in the genre.

Right now, I don't recommend System Shock remake on Switch 2 if you want to play handheld. If you want to play docked, it is better than last month, but not as stable as it should be. This is definitely one to play on PS5 or Steam Deck if you have access to those platforms. I hope the Switch 2 version improves before the physical cartridge release because I was excited to buy that for my collection. I don't think I will bother if it ships with this current build though.

It can be good, simple fun when it wants to be and even in its most aggravating moments, it manages to be carried by a cast of entertaining characters in a bizarre, charming world.

Zwei: The Arges Adventure is sadly not a very interesting game, but I give XSEED huge props for their dedication in finally bringing the title over to English players. At less than 20 hours in length for the main story, it's a title that might be worth checking out as a sort of curious novelty, but it's probably not going to leave any lasting impression.

I went into Dark Envoy curious about the title, but I came away apathetic and annoyed. There are some interesting class & skill systems in place, but tedious encounter design, a sluggish narrative, forgettable characters, and a multitude of performance issues, all make this title a difficult RPG to recommend.

If you really enjoyed Tales of Arise's cast or combat, then you may come away from Beyond The Dawn satisfied, as there are certainly more battles and banter. But stale questing, trite plotting, and thin content overall mostly left me apathetic more than anything else.

Ultra Despair Girls may not be as great as the first two Danganronpa titles, but it's still a worthwhile experience for fans of the multimedia franchise. There is plenty to look forward to in this entry, especially since Another Episode takes a wider look at the world than its predecessors. Getting through some of the shooting bits may be a little rough, but overall Another Episode is a game worth playing through.

I was ready to be done with Crystar after its first 15 hours and leave somewhat satisfied, but the last chunk of the game really soured the rest of the experience. I was willing to give a pass to the stiff combat and the average writing precisely because it was building up to be a tighter, more entertaining experience. However, by artificially extending the length of a game that didn’t even make good use of its extra time, Crystar’s faults end up being impossible to tolerate and very easy to loathe. I really wanted to like Crystar, but I guess I couldn’t find much light in its darkness.

Unfortunately, boredom is the word that best describes Nelke. You can easily dump hours into the game, but never feel like you get anywhere. Nothing feels satisfying, and while Nelke doesn’t have much wrong with it that feels offensively bad, there’s just nothing that’s really outstanding about the game either. This Atelier spin-off is utterly mediocre.

While the plot and its characters did not necessarily engage me, the Servan system has a lot of untapped potential just waiting to be realized.

It's still a solid playthrough and unique enough to consider worth experiencing -- especially with a friend. The best case scenario is that Outward serves as a successful proof-of-concept that leads to an experience down the road that hits a bullseye where Outward just narrowly missed the mark.

For every part of Marvel's Avengers that you might love, there's another side to it that drags it down. There really is a lot to love here, like it's fantastic combat, loveable characters and fun multiplayer, but there's also plenty of glitches, unbalanced economies and poor missions that can make playing feel like a drag. Having some of my favourite Marvel characters decorating a pretty great third-person-action-brawler was enough for me to see it through and feel like I would be coming back for more, but at the moment it feels like one that only Marvel fans will really enjoy.

The Longest 5 Minutes isn’t really the most innovative RPG, despite its presentation, but it’s a short and fun game to play through. You may not be surprised by the plot or challenged by the gameplay, but for genre fans, it’s still worth the playthrough just to see how the unusual situation of a hero losing his memories at the end of the game (rather than the start) is handled.

While Shining Resonance Refrain may not be mind-blowing, it still has its own charm that I could appreciate.

Elex is a hard game to genuinely recommend, it does so many important things to only an acceptable level or worse. It's a game that's carried based on the strength of its quest design, or more pessimistically, one that's let down by a general lack of polish and uninteresting combat. It feels like a nice refreshing counterpart to some modern rpgs that treat their quest lists more like chores, but as a complete package, it falls disappointingly short.

When all is said and done, Fate/Extella: The Umbral Star is a game primarily targeted to fans of the series. I find it tough to recommend Extella to complete newcomers. If Extella is your first exposure to the Fate series, I won’t blame you for being completely lost. There are serious problems in terms of content from a slim amount of modes to a tiny amount of stage variety. Its intriguing story is roughly 20 hours long with each of the four story routes lasting 4-6 hours long. Despite its genre shift from its predecessors, Fate/Extella is an enjoyable experience. It’s akin to a love letter to fans of the series. The more you know about Fate, the more you’ll enjoy this game.

It’s not for everyone. The action can be overtly simplified at times especially compared to earlier entries in the series. The game also struggles at times with its pacing, controls, and framerate. Still, I applaud Koei Tecmo for doing an impressive job in delivering a competent strategy gaming experience on the console.

Shenmue III is a game of half-measures. It ultimately delivers on its promise of the continuation of the Shenmue story for fans that have been waiting on it for years, but that doesn’t mean it delivers on that promise well. Shenmue III could have been so much more, or at least tried to wrap up Ryo’s tale, but instead, we are left with another cliff-hanger. Deep Silver and Ys Net delivered a game that works but is as unambitious and dull as Ryo’s dialogue.

I’m conflicted about Dissidia Final Fantasy NT because I think it looks fantastic and makes good on its total makeover to a thrilling 3vs3 fighting game. Each character is different enough to make them all worth checking out. My problems with its netcode is a hard thing to overcome though; some characters that have strict timings on their mechanics are almost impossible to fully utilize online; these include Sephiroth’s dash cancels, Squall’s trigger on his bravery attacks, Jecht’s very brief window to parry attacks, and so forth. Plus, there’s just not much else to it if you’re not planning to play it online with others a lot. Offline NT fighters can go through its slim excuse for a story and then play Gauntlet endlessly to unlock more treasure and gil to buy more things from the shop I suppose.

All together, Bastard's Wound blends in with the rest of the game in a fashion where it's both possible to appreciate how well it is integrated into the core experience but also realize how absolutely unremarkable it is. This DLC pack fleshes out the game but generally just feels unnecessary.

Nights of Azure 2: Bride of the New Moon is a very disappointing follow-up to the first game. Its reliance on constant repetitive stage runs quickly become boring. Combat is marred by fickle AI partners on top of horrid framerate drops. Its characters are serviceable, but its unimpressive plot does little to make them memorable. If you’re curious about Gust’s ongoing forray into action RPGs, just play (or replay) the first Nights of Azure.