It is entirely possible that Speaking Simulator is just not made to be enjoyed by me. I could see where a streamer could use the game to make a video and get some cheap laughs, letting friends at a party take the controls, or something similar, but as a full-fledged solo game, I found it to be incredibly underwhelming.

Even the true fans will retreat to YouTube to watch the cutscenes, because there's nothing to entice players here. Re Mind is a dud and a total disappointment for any KH fan.

Journey to the Savage Planet is playing in a genre full of titans, and it’s holding its own. The quirky environments and slick traversal systems make it a pleasure to explore. While the humor doesn’t always land, it still has a charm to it. If you can find someone to go on an adventure with you, there’s a lot of entertainment to be found in this bubbly and zany little package.

Despite the roughness that comes with some of its systems, Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot is one of the best Dragon Ball Z games we’ve ever seen. CyberConnect 2 has really brought some of the most iconic bits of the Dragon Ball saga to life with its work on the cutscenes, and the game has plenty of offer fans looking to get lost in the world. You just have to be willing to look past some of the more shallow systems and repetitive combat to experience the good.

Ring Fit Adventure is an excellent cross between fitness and action/adventure. Nintendo manages to create their best exercise game yet while weaving in classic adventure tropes to gamify the experience. Ring Fit Adventure is a great way to usher newcomers into gaming while helping longtime gamers stay in shape.

It’s a game that feels like it should have had a big manual when it first launched, but without that manual, you only have half the picture, and so you’re stumbling around in the dark trying to make sense of everything. Sometimes that’s fun and mysterious. But a little too often, various parts of the game clash, and Labyrinth of Lost Souls becomes more trouble than it’s worth.

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.

Phoenix Point expands upon the XCOM formula brilliantly, offering a fantastic campaign that leaves you twisting and turning. Despite a bit of a slog through the middle section of the game, there’s a lot to love here, and Snapshot Games has every right to be proud of the work that they’ve put in to bring this wonderful end-of-the-year delight to life.

It's also a strong way to put the Shovel Knight saga to bed, essentially bringing everything full-circle in such a way that it encourages players to go right back to the original Shovel Knight story. King of Cards is aces, in ways I never expected it to be.

I went into this game really expecting to like it – and I did, for the most part. In the end, I couldn't get past the odd tone and the feeling that it was penned by someone who didn't actually respect the source material, but wanted to write a self-aware parody of it.

If you’re looking for a new FPS game to pick up and you’ve been a fan of Call of Duty in the past, then Modern Warfare could be a great reason for you to return to the series and see what has changed and what has remained the same.

Lost Ember is a great adventure through a world reclaimed by nature following the days of man. Only taking a few hours to get through, it manages to tell a meaningful and necessary story without ever overstaying its welcome. The visually pleasing art style coupled with some neat gameplay mechanics are enough to overcome some gameplay hiccups. Lost Ember is an experience that will stick with well past the credit roll.

While the first Life is Strange was a fantastic story that I felt stumbled to the finish line, Life is Strange 2 feels the opposite. It started rough and gradually grew into a strong tale of sibling's rasing one another. How they go about raising one another is ultimately up to you.

Darksiders Genesis feels a lot like some of our favorite parts of the Marvel Ultimate Alliance games mixed with Darksiders tone and puzzle-solving. It unfortunately brings some issues in those games along, such as enemy repetition and glitchy environments, but these are light problems among the genuinely enjoyable and accessible gameplay.

Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts launches with a budget-friendly price but still feels undercooked.

Pokemon Sword and Shield are a great first step for the mainline titles on Nintendo Switch. Game Freak follows the tried and true formula of the series while ushering in inventive new ideas to elevate the player experience.

Pokemon Sword and Shield are a great first step for the mainline titles on Nintendo Switch. Game Freak follows the tried and true formula of the series while ushering in inventive new ideas to elevate the player experience.

Pokemon Sword and Shield are a great first step for the mainline titles on Nintendo Switch. Game Freak follows the tried and true formula of the series while ushering in inventive new ideas to elevate the player experience.

Every aspect of this game feels like it was made by a sadistic Dungeon Master who just never gives their friends a break. Of course I expect to die hundreds of times when playing this kind of game, but there’s gotta be something that keeps me coming back for more, that makes the challenge enticing, and I just never felt that here.

It’s not very often that a game of this calibre comes along. Disco Elysium is mad with psychedelic energy, unabashedly dramatic, and dangerously well-written. I wish, like the detective, I could forget all about Disco Elysium, if only to experience it again as if for the first time. It’s truly one of the greatest RPGs ever released.

Even the things that were off-putting felt more like small stumbles than full-on faceplants. With so much to explore and unravel in this game, plus accessible daily puzzles, Katrielle and the Millionaires’ Conspiracy feels like a game we could get lost in for a good, long time.

While Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order has some exciting combat and moments of genuinely interesting storytelling and acting, it just falls short of hitting the mark. It borrows heavily from several genres without actually adding anything new to the conversation. That’s not to say it’s bad, it just didn’t leave me wanting to revisit this galaxy.

It’s visuals and core mechanics hark back to classic action-adventure titles. At the same time, cleverly designed and well defined systems provide for something fresh and exciting.

The Ninja Saviors: Return of the Warriors is a fun throwback to a simpler time, but the bonuses don’t make it a top five beat-em-up.

I didn't expect to like this game as much as I do, and I certainly didn't think that a Story Mode would be the biggest selling point for a game known as a mini-game compilation, but here we are. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 is an excellent game with a fabulous soundtrack and fan service for fans of either franchise. The game's Story Mode does a great job of introducing players to all of the mini-games, while also teaching them about the rich history and culture of Tokyo. Sega has done a great job as ambassadors for the city of Tokyo, and the 1964 retro 2D mini-games and events are nostalgia-filled romps that will leave players smiling from ear to ear.

WoW Classic targets the original WoW player base, the same player base that’s been playing since the game released in 2004, so if you started playing WoW at later expansions, like Cataclysm, or Mist of Pandaria, it may not hit you with the same nostalgia as so many other WoW veterans. I guess one could argue that the difference between WoW Classic and retail is, simply put, accessibility. What takes hours in WoW Classic, can take 20min or less in retail WoW. Which begs the question, does having a more or less accessible game make for a better or worse experience? This is the question I pose to you the reader. Ponder it and let us know what you think in the comments below.

I don’t think it’s fair to compare it to “blockbuster” releases pumped out by studios primarily interested in rushing out their next iteration year after year. Talking about Death Stranding requires a much different approach, and an understanding that many games don’t ask of their players. It feels like it’s on another level entirely, one that many developers haven’t reached or simply won’t.

WWE 2K20 closely aligns with much of the current WWE onscreen product. It features the most promising roster in history, yet manages to squander it with incompetence, all while expecting fans to lap it up like they always do.