As a player, a lot of what’s on the table with The Outlast Trials ain’t for me. The prospect of time investment for a survival horror-style game combined with the Fortnite-style game loop makes my brain hurt. But I understand why it works for the folks who are down, and looking at those sickos having a great time in the Early Access version is a vicarious sort of fun you can have from the critic’s position. I don’t enjoy it, but I “get” it, and being able to see the enjoyment elsewhere helps wrap my head around the game holistically and fill in the blanks. I open this window into my brain for y’all to help explain why a game I won’t be picking back up again still gets a good score!

WWE 2K24 is packed with features. Some you know, while others are new or have been given fresh coats of paint. Showcase mode is worth the price of admission alone, but the diverse roster and deep systems kept me playing for hours. No matter what your story is, you’ll have fun finishing it and starting others.

Penny’s Big Breakaway is a delightful breath of fresh air for the 3D platforming genre. It doesn’t just feel like a love letter to Sonic, but rather a number of mascot platformers from back in the day that captured our hearts. There are a few issues here and there, but for a first official release in 3D platforming from Evening Star, it’s a great start, featuring a massive collection of beautiful levels, solid mechanics and gimmicks, and a soundtrack that keeps the vibes charming throughout. There’s a lot to enjoy here, and I hope it’s just the start of things to come for Evening Star, Penny, and the world of Macaroon.

Expeditions: A MudRunner Game is an interesting iteration on Saber Interactive's earlier off-road simulation titles that brings some new features while keeping the core challenge familiar to fans of the series. There is a lot of content available, though much of it inevitably boils down the main concept of having to deal with hard environments. Most of this works reasonably well, but some of the new additions feel a bit light and not as fully fleshed out as I'd like them to be. Overall, it is an enjoyable experience, but only the hardcore fans of the series are likely to make it through the hundreds of hours spent climbing over rocks and sinking into pits of mud.

I have to wonder what happened to this project over its lengthy development cycle that took it from a promising spin-off of one of Ubisoft’s most beloved games to what will undoubtedly be remembered as one of 2024’s more underwhelming big-budget releases. It’s not entirely disposable, but it’s far from the treasure it promised to be.

There’s a strong foundation to build on, both from narrative and combat perspectives, and more than that, I just want an excuse to spend more time in Last Epoch.

Every plot beat or character written in pencil, waiting to be erased if it doesn’t fit the narrative ideas the Remake series tries to tie together. Rebirth’s narrative choices can feel inconsistent at times, and often questionable, but its heart carries through...Despite it all, a stellar combat system, evocative soundtrack, and extensive cast of characters make this a journey worth seeking out, even if the pieces don’t fit perfectly. I look forward to seeing how they tie this story together and hope that its third entry is more focused on what makes this series special.

Pacific Drive is a mystery that draws you in little by little and rewards you for staying dedicated with both a better vehicle and more ridiculous threats. Every excursion left me wondering just what I’d discover, both from survival and story standpoints, as well as what kind of crazy threats were going to try to make my life harder. Fun and interesting characters and a pretty great soundtrack help to keep things fun, but maintaining the station wagon is easily the most compelling part. It’s your best friend through thick and thin, even if it’s trying to eat your mind. That can be somewhat forgiven since it makes up the core of an ultimately great rogue-lite survival game.

If anything, I’m grateful to qomp2 for introducing me to the concept, and eventually to experiencing the first qomp. I can see why that game hit the way it did, and inspired Atari to pick it up and try its own version. It’s a cool subversion of one of gaming’s oldest-standing innovators. But it feels shortsighted to hand the project off to a different set of hands, when the first set is the one that made the magic happen in the first place. And there’s genuine effort here, but the vibes are off, man.

This game is rough around the edges, but those edges are serrated; there’s an authorship to the chaos and slight jank that feels woven together from top to bottom. The systems, humor, structure… every aspect of this game feeds into the other for an experience that nails cohesion. Helldivers 2 plants its flag in the dirt and announces itself with a rare confidence in video games today. Now get out there and serve some piping-hot Liber-Tea, soldier.

After being in early access on multiple platforms, Inkulinati delivers a satisfying game with an original art style in its full release. The colorful, humorous character art and animations are impressive and entertaining. A lot of effort went into creating a dense and intense combat system. However, Journey Mode becomes predictable within a few runs and could have been more innovative. The lack of online multiplayer is unfortunate too, especially for a game based on dueling. Inkulinati is a fun page-turner, but it’s still in need of several revisions.

What changed and what remains the same in Mario Vs. Donkey Kong on Switch is a little confusing at times, and it raises the question of why a remake was the best choice and not a full new game. Still, "if it ain't broke" and all that. The original Mario Vs. Donkey Kong holds up nearly 20 years later, and nearly every new addition makes the already-strong puzzle game even better.

I definitely had fun solving a bunch of puzzles, especially ones that involved finding the right visual path through a group of rings, or playing a sort of reverse Minesweeper with black and white squares. Others like hidden objects or hunting for nodes inside a boundary were annoying, but I never felt forced to try them. There’s a lot to like about that idea of zero pressure puzzle-solving. But everything else, like leaping, floating, and gliding around the open world, filling in the skill tree, or deciphering the map and other UI elements, bogged me down. Islands of Insight is a shot at blending together ambitious scale with cozy gaming, and has to try harder than it should to not collapse under its own weight.

Foamstars is a lot of unrealized potential. It's like getting excited about a bubble bath only for the bubbles to quickly dissipate and leave behind only some filthy bath water.

Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden is another fascinating new universe from Don’t Nod Entertainment. The studio’s narrative and character design shine through several times throughout the story, but it wasn’t as consistent or compelling as I hoped. The combat was generic and harmless but eventually grew tiresome as it felt like a means to reach the next story beat. Still, Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden is a gorgeous game with plenty of meat on its bones, and I hope it’s not the last we see of this world.

Ultros is a kaleidoscope game. It takes a handful of ordinary things, shakes them up and sticks the pieces together, and then spins it all around. It's just a different version of what we've seen dozens of times before, sure. But it feels special, and it sure does look good.

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.

I feel sad more than anything, because buried underneath the live service slop, there's real potential for a good Suicide Squad game in here. The boss battles show the game's potential. Now imagine more varied missions, different enemy types, and a more interesting gameplay loop that makes the most of this license. Above all else, imagine a better Rocksteady game. Instead of being trendsetters, like with the Arkham series, this studio is now reduced to being trend followers. And I thought the DCEU was bad.

Under Night In-Birth 2 Sys:Celes is a great addition to what we had that improves upon previous games in pretty much all the right ways. The new characters are fun, the new attacks for existing characters make new gameplans fun to learn, and there is a nice variety of online and offline modes in which to explore them and hone your game. I wish the music, story, and online lobbies gave me more, but UNI2 hits the right notes where it counts and delivers as a fantastic bastion of 2D animated fighting game goodness.

I was surprised by how much I ended up enjoying Bulletstorm VR. With how fast the original moved, I thought I was in for a VR version of a town fair teacup ride. Instead, it was a rip-roaring gauntlet, and a refreshing twist on the terrible things I could do to my enemies with whatever weapons and environmental hazards I had at my disposal. The plot is still stuck at 2011, which might be grating for some, as are much of the visuals. However, if your goal is to kick a man into the air and then blow him to bits and pieces like a skeet shoot, Bulletstorm VR just might keep you entertained as an early VR offering in 2024.

Granblue Fantasy: Relink doesn’t have a particularly engrossing storyline, nor does it rewrite the book when it comes to anime-styled character-action games. But it doesn’t want, or even need, to do either. It doesn't even seem to care much if you don't know what Granblue is in the first place. What Cygames brings to the table is polish and energy; there’s a liveliness to this game that makes every minute you spend with it a joy. Rock-solid performance (on PS5/performance mode), unique character mechanics, a massive soundtrack, and even a great dub (Ferry baby-talking her poltergeist pooches sends me) are all a part of that feeling. If you've missed out on Granblue Fantasy so far because of regional barriers or not being into fighting games, here’s your chance to see what it’s all about in a way that couldn’t be friendlier.

Persona 3 Reload is a treat for not only fans of the 2000s classic, but newcomers as well. ATLUS does an excellent job at preserving everything that made the original game special while modernizing it for those that may be experiencing it for the first time. It’s JRPG excellence at every turn, and one I’ll be sinking many hours into between now and the release of the next mainline Persona game.

It feels like there were some very specific ideas the creators of Graven wanted to communicate. But while those ideas sometimes weave together with the game’s dark fantasy, old-school shooter style to form some immaculate vibes, that’s about as deep as it gets. The game seems confused about whether or not it wants to be an awesome action game, a thoughtful explorative puzzler, or some kind of mutant Soulslike gimmick. It sputters across the finish line not really achieving anything but a cool look, undermined constantly by boredom. It’s a shame, because Graven has a hell of a vibe. But there’s simply too much bonkin’ and not enough bangin’.

Despite this not being the traditional type of story we associate with Kiryu, Infinite Wealth is a fitting send-off to a legend of gaming. In the words of Kiryu, “Even if I’m not as strong as I once was, I’m still me. And I’m starting to think that’s not so bad.”

Whether you’re a newcomer to Tekken or an old hand, this is a ridiculously fun game to learn. You want the best the King of Iron Fists Tournament has to offer? Tekken 8 is it, and looks set to carry that torch for years to come.

The three latter Ace Attorney games are certainly uneven, and the first two never quite reach the level of narrative power, or even general coherence, of the original trilogy. However, they do challenge the idea of what an Ace Attorney game can be and introduce some memorable characters in the process. Dual Destinies might be the sour one of the bunch, but Capcom wins the case of Apollo Justice v. the test of time.

The transition to roguelite gameplay may seem somewhat off-putting for players who expected a more Zelda-like adventure akin to the first game. However, even with its shift in gameplay direction, the sequel remains faithful to the original with its humorous tone and cute aesthetic while offering a fresh experience for both new and returning players.

Between the middling voice acting undermining the story, the barely-there puzzles, and the sterility of the visuals, it feels like the magic of adventure games on Nintendo’s older, gimmicky hardware hasn’t been recaptured. But I still had a great time taking it all in. Weird, huh? That’s what being a history nerd feels like.