Back on PSP, I loved playing the Class of Heroes games. They scratched a similar itch as series like Etrian Odyssey and Wizardry at the time. Nowadays there are many more cool and interesting DRPGs, such as NIS’ Labyrinth series and everything Experience, Inc. has done since then. But due to their cutesy charm, silly attitude and surprisingly treacherous dungeons, Class of Heroes stands out to this day. If you like to set up your own party of weirdos based on your own granular choices, then bash them against endless waves of monsters and traps for the sake of loot and progress, you can’t go wrong with Class of Heroes 1 & 2 Complete Edition.

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.

The climbing in Surmount is a bit wonky and takes some getting used to, but once you get a feel for it, climbing quickly becomes addicting. Reaching camp at the end of each level was met with a sigh of relief and a feeling of satisfaction that compelled me to keep making progress. The levels are challenging enough to give you a sense of accomplishment when finished. The rigorous platforming is offset by the colorful, cartoony aesthetic and charming characters. I enjoyed getting to know the locals and unraveling the mysteries of Mount Om just as much as I enjoyed trekking to the summit. Technical issues aside, Surmount offers an engaging and accessible climbing adventure that kept me coming back for more.

As someone who enjoyed both Dead Island games, warts and all, Dying Light certainly feels like a vast improvement...Unfortunately, Techland is still unable to deliver a story worth telling. I didn’t feel any emotional attachment to any of the characters, nor did I care if they ended up surviving or not.

It's a testament to its stage design, though, that I came away feeling utterly satisfied despite the game so constantly getting in its own way. Chibi-Robo may not be destined for Nintendo stardom, but Zip Lash shows how the tiny robot still has plenty of room to grow, experiment, and find what works for him.

Although Citizens of Earth has its fun moments, I can't say that any part had me rolling in laughter. Its cast of characters may be cute and entertaining for a while, but relying on stereotypes and characters makes them forgettable. As a consequence, the entire game ends up being forgettable.

There’s combat and light puzzle-solving, but at its core, High on Life is a narrative sandbox adventure that requires little more than your time and attention. As someone who’s been feeling a little stressed and seasonally depressed lately, I sincerely appreciated that (and the ability to watch Tammy and the T-Rex, that’s also pretty rad).

Far Cry 5 was a good game that could have been great. Had Ubisoft not been so concerned with holding my hand, or overwhelming me with clutter to keep me from getting bored, Hope County would have gone down as one of the better open worlds I’ve stepped foot in.

Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance delivers a solid D&D adventure, with exciting combat and a slew of monsters to take down. Though my experience was a bit dulled by crashes and some minor bugs, it certainly didn’t ruin the game for me. Dark Alliance fits in nicely in the pantheon of Dungeons and Dragons games.

I don’t believe it is as good a game as Forza Horizon 3, despite having much better tracks, but would not hesitate to recommend the console version to any driving game fan. Had I not experienced the aforementioned performance issues, I would be inclined to give Forza Motorsport 7 my highest recommendation for PC players. As things stand now, I cannot give it any higher than a 6/10. If a patch arrives in a timely fashion (the 8 months it took to fix Horizon 3 is unacceptable) that addresses the performance problems, I would have no issues with a 9/10.

Shortcomings aside, Earth Defense Force 2025 is an action experience that will put a big, stupid grin on your face. Like Starship Troopers, EDF is a campy adventure that doesn't attempt to redefine the paradigm, but offers a reliably good time.

Survive the Fall is a fun game that does a lot right, but its rough edges, bugs, and optimization issues also mean it never reaches the heights it could. There are a lot of good ideas here, and patient fans of base management and survival games can find a lot to love. Sadly, that love is not unconditional, and your patience may be tested sometimes while playing.

I have the patience to play the game and hope for that potential to be realized, but the unbalanced kickoff and silly decisions like attaching hosting duty to masterminds is not something I expect many people to weather for long. Resident Evil Resistance could be so much more with what it has on the surface, but what’s under the hood needs some thoughtful tweaking if Resistance is indeed a cause worth fighting for.

I'll throw Kitfox Games and Sundae Month a bone in this sense. Gaming needs more wholesome experiences like this and I'm glad Pupperazzi exists. If the team revisits this concept in the future, I'm excited for what it's capable of delivering. For now, I'll just look at this game as a ruff draft of something potentially greater.

It's stuffed to the brim with Moto Grand Prix-related details like racers, tracks, and commentary, and includes plenty of different options that riders can use to tweak their bikes and chase a podium finish. With that said, MotoGP 18 simply feels less thrilling than it should, mostly due to its underwhelming graphics, spartan presentation, and monotonous gameplay.

Confusion within the mechanics hold Ra Ra Boom back from being an excellent debut from developer Gylee Games, and an excellent example in its genre in its own right. From its punchy, wholehearted aesthetic to its ambitious combat, there was tons of potential here. Unfortunately, while I still had a fun time, that potential wasn't met as I ended up just sticking to the beat ‘em up basics to get through, ignoring the bells and whistles almost entirely after growing tired of wrestling with them.

Crisol: Theater of Idols shoots for the moon (or the Sun, considering the narrative) with some bold ideas. The blood curse is a cool concept and opens some doors, both mechanically and narratively. Not everything hits, unfortunately, and that brings the whole experience back down to Earth. It's unique enough that I won't forget it anytime soon, but not quite good enough to make me a Sun worshipper.

While SD Gundam Battle Alliance features a ton of mecha to play and famous moments from throughout the franchise, the grind, spikes in difficulty, and a few other flaws might leave fans looking elsewhere for a nostalgia trip.

It's enjoyable in its best moments and especially in one of its multiplayer modes, but the problem comes with its lack of longevity.

Playing through Unknown 9: Awakening left me with a cocktail of emotions when I finally rolled credits after 13 hours. I usually pride myself in my ability to see eye to eye with a game’s vision and try to find even footing even if I didn’t have a good time with it, but this is different. The experience of playing Reflector Entertainment's debut title is akin to watching a bunch of trailers for those Phase 1 Marvel movies alongside the opening act of the first Avengers flick. It felt like proof of concept for a multimedia franchise that doesn’t want to give away too much but hasn’t figured yet out what it’s even about. All of this is skinned onto the early 2010s cinematic video game experience which aside from a few fun, if janky combat encounters doesn’t know how to set itself apart. It's heartbreaking because there is a much better experience in between the in-between that didn’t work.

Fort Solis is presented like an interactive movie, but with gameplay that detracts from the experience rather than complimenting it. The narrative tries to subvert your expectations to maintain the excitement, but despite the compelling circumstances in the beginning, the story failed to stick the landing in the end. At least the game does not overstay its welcome, clocking in at roughly four to six hours depending on if you pursue collectibles and side content.

The minimalist design gives it a distinct, futuristic style but doesn’t excite.

Despite some missteps, there is good in The Medium. If you want a decent horror story to wade through, which offers telltale signs of the classics we’ve come to know and love, then Bloober Team’s latest is just that.

I like the Tron universe. I’ve been following it since the beginning and have played quite a few games within the IP throughout the decades. Tron: Catalyst’s biggest problem is that it just doesn’t do enough to stand out in the series. The combat and look of the game are boring. The atmosphere and music are detached and out of alignment with the story. The light cycle is fun, but you’re very restrained in where you can use it. And ultimately, while the time loop makes the story and progression more interesting, that arguably worthwhile story is attached to a fairly humdrum action game wearing all of the expected components of the Tron aesthetic.

MySims Cozy Bundle is fun in the moment, and I enjoyed spending small bursts of time on building projects or gathering materials. It’s just that MySims itself is really quite bland and hardly even feels like a Sims game most of the time. MySims Kingdom might just be a fantasy repackaging of MySims, but it makes the most of the foundation EA created with the first game and is definitely the stronger of the two in this bundle.

MIO: Memories in Orbit takes place in a fascinating world, and its story is often beautiful. If there was no combat, it would be a substantially better game. But there is, and it is not. Like all Metroidvanias, MIO: Memories in Orbit asks you to imagine the Vessel as a place that was once wondrous. But I could not imagine a world where I was happy to play in its ruins, no matter how beautiful what’s left of it was.

Like the three protagonists it features, New Tales From the Borderlands is a hot mess. If you don't take the game too seriously, there's a fun, heartfelt adventure buried somewhere beneath the layers of erratic writing and misplaced humor. It's an oddball romp with a bumbling cast of characters who deserve more substance than they were given. If the original Tales From the Borderlands is ice cream, New Tales From the Borderlands is frozen yogurt. And at the end of the day, even Fran admits that frozen yogurt just isn’t as good.

While the multiplayer options are confusing, it's fun to have some friends along for the ride, even as you fight over the last remaining health orb in a massive boss battle. Hey, at least you won't have to worry about shooting the food, right?