While this revisit to the Derceto Manor can be a bit jank at times, it captures a genuinely macabre, unsettling, and investigative narrative that Alone in the Dark has long been missing.

Tomb Raider Reloaded has a fun gameplay loop thanks to its intuitive mobile design. The roguelike elements create genuinely challenging combat encounters, and I was a fan of the auto-fire combat design. That said, I was a bit annoyed with how shamelessly the game tries to sway you to spend time and money on it, and the sheer amount of non-gameplay features and mechanics felt like overkill. If you’re someone that can look past the stereotypical mobile game shenanigans, Tomb Raider Reloaded is a solid addition to your mobile gaming library.

This is the most daring the series has been so far, but it's still very much cut in the cloth of Media Molecule's pre-made pattern.

It really is the quintessential Vita game. It tries a lot of things, hits really hard on a few, and everything else doesn’t quite come together. It’s from before even Capcom struck gold with Monster Hunter World, still figuring things out and building momentum itself. The gameplay along can sustain hours of squadded up, monster wrangling, gear upgrading fun. But the storytelling really whiffs despite a strong start, disappointing more as a result. And in terms of interesting stuff going on besides the main loop, Freedom Wars fails to find the sauce as well. This one is here for a good time, but not a long time. I should probably go to jail myself for that one, yikes.

I liked most of the systems Tokyo Clanpool offers, especially how they all revolve around each other. Synergy in RPGs is great! The only problem here is that combat proceeds at a ludicrously slow pace, and doesn’t have much in the way of flourish. It’s mostly slowly-scrolling text in front of wobbling enemy art, with chibi character portraits occasionally appearing when something cool happens. But they just kind of appear and vanish without doing anything, once again giving off a low budget vibe regardless of what the budget may have actually been. I ended up holding down the fast-forward button for most combat encounters, which is a bad sign for a game that’s mostly combat encounters.

As a big Diablo 2 fan, Resurrected has let me down in many ways. What little changes have been made to the original formula are welcome, but feel like leftover bread crumbs from a larger pie that could have been. Diablo 2 was in a bit of a weird place in that it was not hard at all to access and play the original game, even on modern PC hardware. This new release does make the game available to console audiences, which is an awesome change, but the lack of crossplay really hurts here. Resurrected could end up becoming a much better value down the road as the development team begins introducing updates and upgrades, but as of right now, you should avoid this package unless you are happy with straight-up Diablo 2. That being said, there are many reasons to be thrilled to revisit the game, particularly for the timeless soundtrack and to get a glance at the spiffy new paint job. Just make sure to set your expectations accordingly.

At its core, Once Human is a survival game that encourages and rewards exploration. It nails the gameplay loop of gathering resources and gear, upgrading your character, and then venturing out to do it all over again. I had a great time running around and fighting alongside friends, and I’ll probably continue to jump in and play when I get that survival itch. However, it’s hard not to be put off by forced live-service elements that undercut mechanics and lock unique items behind a paywall.

If you are fortunate (or unfortunate) enough to have buddies who would be into crab battles, Fight Crab offers a few different ways to get it on, including online co-op. It also supports most of the community features offered by Steamworks integration, such as achievements, leaderboards, and the ever-awesome remote play support. Objectively, this is barely a game but the events occurring within are preposterous enough that its $20 entry fee can be justified by interested parties. Equal parts fever dream and time-waster, Fight Crab may find a way to sidestep into your Steam library.

As it is, Wheel World delivers what its premise suggests and that's a relaxing bike ride — nothing more, nothing less.

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet have some excellent ideas that push the franchise in a fresh direction, but they’re unfortunately bogged down by unacceptable performance problems at every single turn. While my biggest problems with the games could theoretically be addressed in future patches, I’m not sure how feasible that is given the capabilities of the Switch’s hardware. That said, there is still a lot to enjoy, but it’s hard imagining that these games will have wide appeal outside of the dedicated Pokemon fans that are willing to put up with the issues and inconvenience.

It's too bad that now that the company has shown how well it can work, it's taking a bow.

I'm fine with the endings for Max, Chloe, and everyone else. It disappoints because of the path the game took in getting there. The ultimate result is a letdown and it leaves a sense that Life is Strange could have been such a more memorable experience than it was.

Fans will most definitely enjoy their time in the VR world of Virtual Rick-ality, but they shouldn’t go in expecting to have their minds totally blown either.

Super Mario 3D All-Stars is frustrating, because it could be more. It could be so much more. But even with Nintendo phoning it in, the games themselves are such classics that they're still worth putting in your Switch library. Just make sure you add it before it goes away forever.

Aeolis Tournament is a fun, easy to pick up multiplayer game that pits friends against each other to determine the top spot. Players will enjoy the simple control scheme and short events. However, the lack of variety in the events will hinder the replay value of Aeolis Tournament, thus turning some players away.

All the stumbling around trades away any sense of suspense. It's hard to feel scared of monsters after you've walked circles around them several times. Not even tricks like suddenly switching off the lights saves the mood. Soma does a great job of making me feel lost and frustrated. Perhaps too good.

At a glance, it’s clear that Silent Hill and Resident Evil were major influences on indie horror game Hollowbody. While its retro PS2-style visuals are what initially drew me toward the game, inside of that is a competent survival horror experience that, while not doing too many things different from its predecessors, establishes a world and setting that’s worth exploring. If you’re looking for a game to scratch the itch of those classic survival horror experiences, Hollowbody is definitely worth your time.

GigaBash has a lot of fun elements to it. The monsters are quite varied and well-designed, in terms of both original creatures and obvious nods to classics. I also really enjoyed the battlegrounds, music, and stories (as short as the latter was). And that last note ultimately sums up my experience. In both gameplay modes and story, it doesn’t take a lot of time to see everything GigaBash has going on. Even so, if you can wrangle some buddies together either locally or online, GigaBash would make a solid addition to a party game night.

While this year’s new additions add a sweet amount of new things to do for the franchise, they also arrive with a larger price tag. Super Mega Baseball 3 will launch with a 50% price increase over the last game. For players only interested in pick-up-and-play exhibitions, there is little new content available outside of crossplay. Prospective buyers who are intrigued by the Franchise Mode will need to consider the value offered by stepping up to something like MLB: The Show for a full-featured experience. For those who don’t have access to a PS4, Super Mega Baseball 3 still offers a solid overall package and will not disappoint anyone looking for a good time. 7/10 frozen ropes.

Calling Tempest Rising "familiar but fun" sounds damning, but it's the most accurate way to describe it. Most of what Tempest Rising does, it does very well. There's nothing particularly exciting about it, and it's all been done before.

There are some much-needed quality of life improvements, and the games are well polished and run really smoothly on the Switch. It’s hard to see newer fans finding much to appreciate here, but those that have fond memories of the original Diamond and Pearl will have a lot to love about Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl.

I want to be clear: despite all of the technical issues Slime Heroes has, I think it’s a good game if you’re playing alone. I have high hopes for the co-op once it’s fixed. It’s charming and cute and playing with the spell system is a good time, and it has the ebb and flow of combat that makes Souls-likes fun. If you’re looking for a kinder, gentler Souls-like, Slime Heroes is the game for you. It just feels unfinished. I hope Pancake Games gets to fix it, because this is a hero’s journey you should be able to take together because… y’know, that’s kind of the point. Nobody saves the world alone.

There’s a time and place for games like Crackdown 3. It’s not bad by any means, it’s even quantifiably good and enjoyable. However, while games can be lauded for not following trends, there’s a difference between carving your own path and simply not innovating. You will have a blast playing Crackdown 3, but it won’t stay with you after the credits roll and even the 1,000 orbs to collect might not keep you playing. Much like the old friend, perhaps our lives don’t gel as well as they used to, maybe Crackdown is better left as a cherished memory.

A lot of the fun you can have with Dying Light: The Beast is what you make of it yourself. Exploring the world, unlocking the safe houses, finding cool new weapon modifications and crafting recipes, and generally getting lost. Nothing about the experience was groundbreaking, nor was it as enthralling or immersive as other open-world games. Instead, it was good fun you can enjoy in short or long bursts, whether you want to sink your teeth into zombie hunting or chilling as you wander the wilds and urban spaces of Castor Hills.

There are some much-needed quality of life improvements, and the games are well polished and run really smoothly on the Switch. It’s hard to see newer fans finding much to appreciate here, but those that have fond memories of the original Diamond and Pearl will have a lot to love about Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl.

Narita Boy is a game that takes such a strong influence from so many past works, it can often feel a bit derivative. However, that doesn’t stop the game from being enjoyable, as there’s plenty of unique challenges to overcome as well as some solid lore-building. It’s gorgeous visual design and soundtrack will be enough to entice anyone familiar with 80s pop culture, and could prove irresistible to those that have a fondness for the era.

The original Life is Strange was enough to cement Max Caulfield as one of my favorite modern video game protagonists, and Double Exposure offers a beautiful continuation of her journey. She’s still the deeply goofy and empathetic artist that we fell in love with nearly a decade ago, and this new adventure further explores her personality and beliefs. Jumping back into her story all these years later felt like catching up with an old friend. On the other hand, it’s impossible to make your way through Life is Strange: Double Exposure without performance issues interfering with the experience. It’s ironically right in line with the game’s theme of duality, with the Living and Dead worlds serving as metaphors for what it’s like playing through the newest Life is Strange game.