Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion takes a pretty bonkers premise, and turns it into a thorough action-adventure game. Not only are the design choices and character dialogue hilarious, but the gameplay hits on all of the beats that make a good Zelda clone. The full game is on the shorter side, but it left me hoping that we haven’t seen the last of Turnip Boy and this curious world.

WWE 2K22 is the definition of a mixed bag. There are clearly areas where the team at Visual Concepts made positive progress with the franchise, particularly in wrestler AI and animations. Many of the marquee talents look fantastic and there is a lot to do within the game. Sadly, most of the modes are half-baked and the series is still suffering from bugs or problems it has carried for far too long. With WWE 2K22 seemingly refusing to make use of the power afforded to it by the new consoles or PCs, what do the fans who buy the game every year have to look forward to? Visual Concepts achieved its goal of surpassing WWE 2K20. The problem is that being better than awful isn’t gonna cut the mustard any longer.

Wattam takes the concepts of action and puzzling, and makes them its own. I thoroughly enjoyed meeting all of the wacky and strange characters that Funomena has conjured up. Starting with the lonely mayor and ending with an entire community of over 100 playable characters is a very satisfying progression. However, Wattam doesn’t provide the extra layer of gameplay that I found myself yearning for.

Creatures of Ava is a deeply human game about monsters on an alien planet. Its themes of empathy and acceptance shine brightly, setting itself apart from similar titles. It manages to deliver a thoughtful message about acceptance and living in harmony while also being something I can play to kick back and relax after a long day.

Battletoads gets very experimental and it's often to its detriment, feeling like it's more focused on being a D-tier Cartoon Network show than a video game.

There is a shocking amount of things to do in Where Winds Meet. If you’re into gacha or are just okay with trying something for free that is pretty rough around the edges, Where Winds Meet does have a lot of content that can be fun to engage in, especially with friends. If you’re just looking for a solo adventure with a good story to digest and cool combat, you’ll probably be let down, as Where Winds Meet doesn’t quite hit the highs that plenty of other games do in the action RPG genre.

I disliked Assassin's Creed Rogue on almost every level, from its numerous game-breaking bugs, to its terrible free-running, and (worst of all) its ruined assassination system. Not even the plot, which fills in the gap between Black Flag and Assassin's Creed 3 while recounting the fall of the North American Brotherhood, is very satisfying.

Madden NFL 20 is the worst major sports league video game out there. Despite some despicable microtransaction design, NBA 2K is an exponentially better representation of its real-life counterpart and has an ever-improving Franchise mode that offers real depth and year-over-year growth. MLB: The Show is the blueprint of excellence for which other sports titles should be judged. Save your money for a series that still respects its fans. 4/10 butt fumbles.

The offering here is on par with just about every other mech game we’ve seen over the past few years, and while there are things that could be better, the stunning anime-style visuals and the sheer amount of customization are two things that make it shine.

Battlefield Hardline feels like a valiant attempt from Visceral and EA, but the gritty crime drama that they're aiming for comes out as an underwhelming effort. Multiplayer offers some fun moments, but it doesn't do enough with the concept to feel like a major leap in the world of first-person shooters. Meanwhile, the campaign feels bogged down under the weight of silly cliches and doesn't offer enough of a tactical, strategic cop experience.

SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom – Rehydrated may be the same game from 2003, albeit wrapped up in a pretty package with some extra, slightly frivolous bells, but it’s delightfully nostalgic. It’s a solid execution on a game that has only grown with popularity since its release. For those ‘90s kids out there, it offers a moment of relaxation, a short break to slip back to a time that was a bit easier than now. Much like SpongeBob, I need it.

I found Toy Odyssey to be, all in all, an enjoyable little romp evne if it wasn't something I probably would have picked up and played on my own. It still managed to be fun and exciting, with an impressive attention to detail and plenty of reasons to keep coming back, as long as you space out your visits to the toy room by a few days proper.

Minecraft Legends cleverly adapts the Minecraft universe for a new genre, even if some of its charm is lost in the process.

As long as you know that it's dangerous to go alone, Extraction is a blast. With Ubisoft Montreal looking to add more content in the future, I'll be ready to exterminate alien parasites for a long time to come.

Ultimately, what do I score a game like Unbeatable that has such observable problems but some of the most heart-pumping emotional resonance I’ve experienced in games throughout this entire year? What cute, little video game review cliche can I lean on to help me out of this predicament? D-Cell itself offered a cheeky, little take at how review scores can be perceived, and I figure why not send that ball back over the net? I was thinking a seven at first, but Sonic Adventure 2’s problems are way more frustrating than Unbeatable’s. And I am a little shy as a person. So let’s go with that.

It provides an experience that is generally therapeutic and almost never stressful. It’s not a perfect game, but it’s the kind of game that could be perfect for certain situations or groups of gamers looking for their next adventure.

Peel away impressive visuals, and you're left with a game that seemingly holds itself together with haphazardly-placed thin threads. Being that it's an open world extreme sports game, you're encouraged to explore around the mountains, detecting drop zones and finding new challenges to participate in.

While there are some problems with the design, narrative, and dialogue, overall, the story and experience offered in Little Hope left me rather impressed. The story was creepy and intriguing, and presented a lore-rich world about a town with a past steeped in the occult. For those savvy detectives, there are enough clues that one could piece together the narrative prior to the end, but even if you don’t manage to do this, it’s still a satisfying conclusion and another great entry in the Dark Pictures Anthology.

I love Mega Man games. They're some of the best platforms ever made. However, as much as I enjoy the four titles bundled within its bits and bytes, Mega Man Collection 2 would be difficult to recommend if it cost a penny more than its $20 asking price. It's hard enough to recommend as it is.

It's a solid entry to the series, but it has its issues beyond its slow-paced story. There are some noticeable performance issues, especially as the screen fills up with more and more enemies and effects. Operation Galuga has a tremendous soundtrack comprised of original tracks that pay homage to the quintessential Contra songs of yesteryear, but there were multiple instances where I hit a glitch that left the background music muted. Operation Galuga is certainly Contra, but it can have its janky moments. Still, it's a welcome entry to the series and shows that the Contra series still packs a lot of firepower.

It’ll take a specific kind of person to get the most out of Turok 3. Shadows of Oblivion is an impressive remaster of an interesting retro game, but even when it came out it wasn’t blowing any minds. Did you grow up on games like the Turok series, those chunky, 90s shooters made for consoles before Halo? Are you interested in fascinating, specific corners of gaming history, and what kinds of restorative efforts can be applied thereof? Players just looking for a new shooter to play probably won’t have a great time. For me, I feel like I just slingshot time-traveled inside my own brain. I don’t know what that means, either.

Tripwire Interactive has managed to capture what it feels like to be Jaws, right down to jumping out of the water, landing on a boat, and chomping away at the hunters on it. That in and of itself is a momentous achievement to accomplish.

Any grievances mainly involve user interface choices and the occasional motion control hiccup, but there's nothing here that ultimately derails the experience. It's fun, it's entertaining, and it's sometimes a workout. Samba de Amigo: Party Central doesn't shake up its formula drastically, but it's still a blast.

It still has some legacy issues, but the improvements go a long way. The Marvel fan-service, along with the constant small moments of delight and whimsy, more than make up for a few remaining weak spots.

Despite issues with the game's engine, Goat Simulator 3 is going to go down as a guilty pleasure. It's relaxing in all the ways the original game was and a fun reminder that gaming doesn't always have to take itself so seriously.

Death Note Killer Within is truly fascinating, even to look at from a distance. It’s a smart adaptation of a Shonen Jump manga that is famous for challenging what “Shonen Jump manga” could be at its moment in time. Seeing the characters pop up in games like Jump Ultimate Stars or Jump Force was always awkward, and the other games based on the series remain obscure. So it’s cool to see the folks who made this identify a trend and realize the IP is a good fit, then execute it in a way that both adapts Death Note and have fun with it at the same time. I think it has a pretty limited audience though, as you have to cross several barriers of entry to get what feels like the only way to have a good time. If the gameplay gave more time for its nuances to breathe and shine, was more adaptable to the inherent instability of online play, and was more approachable, there’d be something really special here.

Claymore Game Studios realized what made the original Commandos games so great, retained the heart and soul, and sanded off all the prickly edges. Commandos: Origins is a love letter to the originals in everything it does. The mechanic-heavy sandbox gameplay, the unique cast of commandos, the gorgeous environments, and the level design, all of it coalesces into an experience that is contemplative and intense. It’s a brilliant and challenging strategy game. And doesn’t it feel damn good to punch Nazis?

Bard’s Tale IV started off on the right foot, but proved to be [a] boring installment in a franchise that probably would’ve been better off staying in the 80’s.