Song of the Deep has a sweet and appealing core at its center, but small frustrations make it difficult to appreciate those qualities.

With a little more polish, God of Rock may prove itself to be a worthwhile rhythm game title yet. Unfortunately, in its current state, it feels like more of a swing and a miss than a headbanging hit.

I often felt like I was fighting the game just to get around, which was frustrating in a software kind of way rather than an atmospheric enhancement. I wasn’t scared because I was too busy squinting or yanking on the flashlight’s pull cord just so I could pull on doors and latches. No amount of spooky ambiance in the background could bring me back into the experience.

All things considered, it took me a little over an hour or so to see just about everything that Cruis’n Blast has to offer. The Nintendo Switch racing scene has been dominated by Mario Kart and I feel like Cruis’n Blast had a chance to make a real case for bringing other classic Nintendo racers back into the scene. But if lackluster graphics and mediocre racing mechanics are all we’d get it might be better to leave our precious memories in the past. Cruis’n Blast isn’t unplayable though and would probably make an enjoyable experience for someone with kids or younger siblings. Everyone else should probably head to the arcade and hope they have a much more enjoyable arcade experience available to try out.

The richness of the atmosphere and charismatic lead performances pulled me through the story. That paired with a solid, no-frills investigation mechanic helped mitigate some of the technical problems and the sadly tacked-on demon hunting sequences. It's a distinctly average experience, but it has enough going for it that I'm glad I was able to conquer the bugs and see it through.

Despite the issues, bugs, and nitpicks I have with 2022’s take on Kao the Kangaroo, at the end of the day the game is functionally playable, looks gorgeous, and there’s plenty of fun to be had with it especially in regards to platforming and combat.

With all that, what you’re left with is a sort of checklist-style experience. You go to each ooting, fill stuff out, unlock new clothing items and collectibles, and do that over and over again. If you’re the kind of player who finds satisfaction in a low-pressure grind to simply gather a bunch of things until you’re done, that’s the kind of system you’re engaging with here. If you’re a SPYxFAMILY fan and think Anya is insufferably adorable, there’s a lot of fun in simply hanging out with her and snapping photos of her legendarily goofy facial expressions. But if you need a little more substance and goal-oriented action in your games, you won’t really find that here. I found my interest deflating quickly, especially after giving all the minigames their first tries. The game may as well have been over after that point, and any further cravings for this IP were better met firing up Crunchyroll or opening up a book.

It seems to suffer from many of the same launch and ongoing issues that plagued Friday the 13th: The Game, but there's a silver lining here. Should the issues I lined out be addressed and improved with future updates, and additional maps and objectives rolled out over time, this could indeed be shaped into an exciting prospect. In its current state, however, it's best left to hardcore Predator fans insistent upon adding any related media to their collection.

It has some nice Metroidvania moments, although it sputters towards the end to only rely on its color-coded components to keep me out of certain areas, which felt like a cheap way to finish the game.

The finished state of Balan Wonderworld is disappointing to say the least. For all of its style, I was really interested to see how they would expand upon the preview. The aesthetic and characters are there, the music is captivating, the level design made me want to explore and experiment where I could, and the abilities mostly gave me options to do so. However, these things are held down by a lot of contrivances and outright holes in either functionality or context.

Samurai Shodown manages to present a superb alternative to quicker, more bombastic fighters. This comes across as more of the thinking man's fighter, testing a player's reaction time and rewarding those who are able to read their opponents over those who try and go for meaningless combos. Samurai Shodown doesn't need to stand atop a crowded fighting game mountain, because it's done a nice job staking a claim over on a nearby hill.

Last Flag's biggest problem, unfortunately, is that it feels limited. Two maps at launch, regardless of how well-designed they are, is an undeniable disappointment. I wish I could have seen the developers go to town on multiple maps, giving them the same detailed treatment that they gave to the game's characters. I wanted to feel the same love for Last Flag that I did for Team Fortress 2 (and its CTF mode) back in the day, but that intangible hook just wasn't there...Still, if you're into Capture the Flag, I wouldn't wave the white flag on Last Flag and its budget price point, because it's certainly a solid debut effort from the Night Street Games crew.

The clever puzzles and vivid visuals can only do so much to quell the frustration caused by the unfortunate glitches and bugs I encountered throughout the game. However, if you can push through the myriad of technical hiccups, Airhead is a decent puzzle-platformer that simply needs a bit more tuning under the hood.

At its best, The Fisherman leaves you amped up from an intense fight with a river monster you’ve been trying to coax out of its hole for hours. At its worst, it feels like an attempt to quickly cash-in on work done for the freemium version that came before it.

Mario & Luigi has also become known for its sharply humorous writing. While that's definitely present here, it's obscured by the sheer mass of dialogue.

Star Wars: Battlefront is everything a Star Wars fan could want. The game’s locations feel iconic, complete recreations of the beautiful settings introduced to us in the movies. But the game’s casual attitude towards weapons, and the limited number of locations to explore make Star Wars: Battlefront sizzle out far too early. Top that with an exorbitant DLC offer, which features content that feels like it could be in the base game, and EA has already done a great job of freezing Star Wars: Battlefront in carbonite before it’s even had a chance to live a fulfilling life.

It’s hard to imagine Touken Ranbu Warriors having strong appeal to anyone that’s not a die-hard Musou fan itching for a new Warriors-like. Those that played the original Touken Ranbu will surely get a kick out of seeing those characters come to life in a new way, but there isn’t much to write home about beyond that novelty. Touken Ranbu Warriors feels like just enough to maybe hold you over until the next mainline Dynasty Warriorsentry comes around.

Hello Neighbor 2 feels more like an updated version of the first game. It’s considerably larger than the first game, and the expansion of the AI technology to additional characters is a welcomed decision. Outside of that, there is very little separating the two games. Hello Neighbor 2 still has a clunky UI, unsatisfying controls, and problems being consistent with its own rules. Where there was a real opportunity to take the franchise to the next level, this sequel just feels like more of the same.

How much fun you’ll have in the bleak, frozen landscape depends on how much you are still smitten with mid-90s first-person shooter mechanics. Serious Sam would rather die than apologize for being what he is. Those looking for an evolution or some sort of next step in gameplay design may as well look elsewhere. All encounters in the game play out exactly the same way they have for the last thirty years. You can mix things up with weapon choices, co-op, and difficulty settings, but that’s about it. 2016’s Doom received loads of (justified) praise for finding a way to push this genre forward. Siberian Mayhem is clearly content to keep touring with the hits. While I won’t drag it for being true to itself, only devout followers of the church of Sam need apply.

Everything its predecessor was: an intense and enjoyable RTS that gives you the feeling of really being an armchair general. It is just unfortunate that after waiting so long for a sequel, it doesn't offer too much in the way of innovation.

In the end the new abilities, like taming animals and riding them, are great additions to the game, but they just aren't enough to save Far Cry Primal from being a fairly average and mindless adventure in a time long forgotten.

As a modern blast from the past, Akimbot is an acceptable adventure that takes its cues from PS2 platforming classics but falls short of its own expectations. Its gunplay, platforming, and variety of mini-games are mostly adequate, and some levels show moments of creativity. However, the lack of character progression, uneven difficulty spikes, and unrewarding exploration hinder the effort. Ultimately, the original Jak & Daxter and Ratchet & Clank have stronger level design and more interesting ideas, and those games came out over two decades ago.

Sure, if you want to hook up with a friend and bash some skulls in, you can do that here and even have a great time marveling at the impressive gore system. But stick around for more than a few hours and you might find yourself wondering if spending thirty minutes digging through trash to make your baseball bat do five more damage was a mistake.

There’s no doubt in my mind that Lord of the Rings fans will appreciate a lot of what Gollum is offering. It’s genuinely cool seeing such a fascinating side character step into the protagonist role in a story that further expands on a universe teeming with secrets to discover. It’s a bummer that there isn’t much else to write home about. A dull gameplay experience and technical hiccups make The Lord of the Rings: Gollum just as much of a polarizing experience as its main character.

For fans of Namco Bandai, Capcom, and Sega, Project X Zone 2 is full of the characters you love, in-jokes you'll laugh at, and over the top attacks and pairings that would make a FanFiction.net author blush. However, if you're just looking for a turn-based RPG to sink your teeth into, there's better to be had on the Nintendo 3DS.

The focus on speed and chaos is what ultimately undoes Mario Golf: Super Rush. I would say that when it comes to Mario Golf, slow and steady wins the race, except this game has shown me that racing and golf don't really mix.

I am disappointed by the mixed feelings I get from Backbone. It is absolutely worth a look solely on the merits of its audiovisual presentation, but its attempt to offer commentary or insight into the topics its narrative broaches repeatedly fall flat, particularly in the latter half. EggNut clearly has the goods in the art and music departments, so I would love to see what they can do with a stronger narrative in the future. If you do choose to give Backbone a shot, make sure to get the Artifact Edition, as it includes the wonderful soundtrack. 6/10 otters in 3-piece suits.

NHL 24 puts a few pucks in the net but ultimately falls short of expectations.