For Rick and Morty fans, High on Life is a day pass to Roiland Amusement Park, where wisecracks complement the alien bounty chases. For anyone who isn’t enamored by the brand of humor, the aspiring thrill ride will be decidedly middling, with uninspired gunplay.

Under Par Golf Architect is a chill, satisfying course builder that nails the basics but never really challenges you. It’s fun to tinker with, just don’t expect it to truly play under par.

Combat can be fatiguing rather than stimulating, and frustrations are plentiful. But underneath it all is a game with potential, influenced by an assortment of classics. Hunt the Night, but only if you are tolerant and can forgive some conspicuous imperfections.

Street Racer Collection feels more like a nostalgic sampler than a full-on retrospective, serving up four varied entries of Vivid Image’s spirited ‘90s kart racer. While it’s not the complete history fans might hope for, it’s a mildly fun, curious time capsule that demonstrates the power of split-screen rivalries.

Should a remake attempt to improve on the original work? The developers of Rainbow Cotton side with historical accuracy. This rebuild of the ill-received Dreamcast game largely eschews improvements, which feels like a missed opportunity. This is for stalwart fans of the series only.

Look past the game’s beguiling ‘arts and crafts’-inspired visuals and Ufouria: The Saga 2 is woefully unmarkable. Exploration, combat, and the game’s dialog are all just adequate, rarely producing the kind of enjoyment delivered by Ufouria 2’s peers. 33 years in the making, Sunsoft’s follow-up is tragically unessential.

Following nearly a decade-long retreat, EA Sports PGA Tour has returned. But instead of attempting to beat its competitor with a decade and a half of honed experience, the game often focuses on flash. The 30 courses here all look beautiful and lifelike, while the golfers all mug convincingly after bungling a nine-foot putt. But essentials like smooth swinging and the ability to customize a competition are missing at launch.

While Buaichan’s faults make for an absorbing character study, the game’s localization flaws undermine what could be a compelling adventure. Sure, Shanghai Summer looks great, and the plotline supplies potential. But having to infer what’s meant in most lines of dialog making playing a chore.

Cyber Clutch: Hot Import Nights launches you into a neon-drenched, turbo-charged collision of drifting and combat. But the result isn’t always smooth. Stylish and chaotic fun in short bursts, it’s mismatched mechanics and wayward handling keep it from crossing the finish line.

Thwarting disaster through the cultivation of social bonds is a promising idea, as Makoto Shinkai and the Persona series have demonstrated. While Loop8: Summer of Gods transports port us to rural Japan, circa 1983, it does little with either the context or concept. The result is an unsatisfying time cycle that delivers few role-playing rewards and few characters worthy of truly caring about.

Ultimately, Song of Nunu: A League of Legends Story is a mediocre spin-off. While the relationship between Nunu and Willump can be charming, the game’s succession of gentle puzzles feels too ordinary and sporadically glitches. The main thing this road trip offers is a sweet bond between boy and yeti.

Before long, expanding your basic oceanic oil rig into a complex city grows tedious. That leaves random events to maintain interest, which is a short-term solution. When coupled with issues arising from the lackluster Switch port, that means you might want to pass on Drill Deal – Oil Tycoon’s offer of an offshore career.

Scar-Lead Salvation might be worth a cautious look if you’re in the mood for some scrappy third-person shooting. For everyone else, it’s more a case of missed potential than a direct hit.

Wreckreation captures flashes of Burnout’s celebrated, high-speed chaos, but too often crumbles under the weight of its own ambition. Its playground of racing and destruction can be stimulating in short bursts. But underneath the hood, technical hiccups, uneven design, and the lack of crash junctions restrain any high-octane potential.

RPG MAKER WITH certainly isn’t for everyone. But if you’re ever longed to craft your own adventure and have a surplus of free time, this (along with SmileBASIC 4) can turn your portable console into a robust dev kit. The benefit over RPG MAKER MV is the ability to share components WITH others.

Catan- Console Edition does a decent job at adapting the game into a digital format, offering a high-definition sheen to the tabletop classic. Expect a serviceable base game that’s elevated when facing off again humans. Given the lack of any campaign or unlockables, playing against CPU-controlled opponents might give you a case of island fever.

Energy management decisions help deliver enough strategic depth to Tour de France 2023’s chase for the yellow jersey. But the game’s unsophisticated physics modeling and middling aesthetics do little to elevate the sense of simulation. That said, there’s masochistic enjoyment to be had in the game’s reproduction of 150+ kilometer stages- where a single bad decision can ruin an hour of focused effort.

Galactic Vault can be a fun shooter that lets you grow into a walking arsenal across each mod-filled run. But in a genre packed with sharper, more inventive rivals, it feels like it should be your backup plan, rather than being your main heist.

Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader delivers some of Owlcat’s strongest writing, meaningful player choice, and smartly streamlined turn-based combat, making it an excellent fit for the grimdark 40K universe. But a shaky Switch 2 port weighed down by performance issues and lingering bugs undermine those ambitions, resulting in an ambitious CRPG that feels rough on Nintendo hardware.

Twelve years after the original release, this port of Toy Soldiers feels a bit dated. Sure, there’s some mild gratification found in gunning down the game’s mechanical infantry. But between the infuriatingly resistant bosses and the negligible improvements, you’ll want to think twice before enlisting.

Although the run-and-gun stages can grow tedious, Rendering Ranger: R² [Rewind] attempts to redeem itself with enjoyable shoot ‘em up sections. Unless you’re a devoted retro enthusiast, stick with back-to-back sessions of Contra and Gradius.

Space Adventure Cobra – The Awakening nails the look and swagger of Buichi Terasawa’s cult classic with slick anime cutscenes and a faithful retelling of the early series. Unfortunately, once control is handed over, clunky movement and overreliance on the Psychogun drag the adventure down.

With its tech trees and a broad toolset for burglary, Thief Simulator 2 occasionally provides autonomy as you prowl its suburban neighborhoods. But that sense of freedom can vanish during heists, as the title expects you to follow a rather strict approach to stealing.

Sadly, Neptunia Riders VS Dogoos feels more like an expanded mini-game rather than a fleshed-out experience. Given the franchise’s reference-filled saga, it would be great to see the cast star bring their banter to action games. But here, there’s not enough style or substance to hold attention spans for more than a few hours.

In the ‘80s and ‘90s, Yu Suzuki’s arcade games helped propel gaming into the third dimension. Coin-ops like Space Harrier, Out Run, and After Burner felt innovative, each dazzling the senses as they tested reflexes for a few fleeting moments. Air Twister, the pioneer’s latest, does little to advance the basic formula. Expectedly. It looks and sounds better and attempts to inject long-term incentive. But this feels like the arcade pioneer coasting rather than truly tapping into his creative spirit.

Given the number of first-rate CCGs on Steam, Zero Division can’t be recommended in its present state. Bugs can be irritating, but forfeiting progress is poised to infuriate players. As such, fans of CCGs might want to track the game’s progress. If these annoyances can be eliminated, managing a trio of decks and cultivating some team-based advantages could be agreeable.

At launch, Hammerwatch II doesn’t live up to the legacy established by its predecessors. It’s evident that Crackshell wanted to push play toward an open world. But convoluted characteristics like vague quest details, an underdeveloped day/night cycle, inadequate control schemes, and time limits on quests all work to undermine the studio’s ambitions.

Unlike many of Atari’s recent reboots, NeoSprint isn’t willing to deviate too far from its source material, save for the inclusion of a track editor. As such, the single-screen racer might have you feeling nostalgic for Micro Machines or longing for the luxuries (and point-of-view) of a more modern racer.

Rightfully, Beary Arms sounds like a goofy good time, but combat is so sluggish and underpowered that most runs feel like chores instead of experiments. There’s charm in the concept of a gun-toting bear, yet the grindy progression and flat combat make it hard to justify sticking around for another run.

Some might take issue with Tiny Troopers: Global Ops’ vague stereotypes or its glorification of war. The real problem is the simplicity of the game, where you’ll face eight hours of near-continuous circle strafing. It’s incentivized by a multitude of upgrades, which not be enough of an incentive for enlistment.

Sacred 2 Remaster smooths out some of the original’s worst technical issues, but it still can’t quite rein in all the chaos that made the game infamous. Sure, it’s the best way to revisit Ancaria, but you’ll still need plenty of patience.

The concept of horse girls competing in whacky mini games undoubtedly has potential as a game. But Umamusume: Pretty Derby – Party Dash’s four contests are remarkably bland, with each growing stale after a few replays. There’s fun to be had in an unlockable mini-game, dialog in the game’s story mode, and in an unlockable mini-game, but there’s not nearly enough value or vigor to recommend a full priced purchase.

Ultimately, NBA Bounce is NBA Jam with less flavor. There are some changes to the arcade hoops blueprint, from three-on-three matches to party modes with randomized gimmicks. But the lack of actual players, distinctive athlete models, and any online play confines Bounce to the bench.

Demonschool flirts with brilliance in its tactics and aesthetics but can’t keep its coursework consistent. You might enjoy the vibe but expect the semester to feel twice as long as it actually is.

Effectively, Rose & Camellia Collection is an assemblage of five of the series’ six games with Joy-con play and a two-player competitive mode patched in. While the decision to preserve the now-defunct Flash games is reasonable, it feels like the publisher should have expanded the games. Inserting the catfights around an expanded visual novel would have nurtured a sense of tension and would have been a welcome supplement that would have helped justify the shift toward Rose & Camellia becoming a paid product.

Rival Stars Horse Racing is easy to pick up and occasionally beautiful to look at, but it rarely feels engaging where it counts. The mobile-rooted progression and lack of real decision-making make it feel more like a routine than a rewarding race. It’s time to put these slapdash free-to-play console ports out to the pasture.

Varlet delivers some sharp psychological commentary about an always-online generation, but it too often buries them beneath tedious combat and filler tasks. With the story and themes are engaging, if you’re hoping for a Persona-level experience, expected to be frustrated by the game’s conspicuously uneven execution.

Energy management decisions continue to sustain Tour de France 2023’s chase for the yellow jersey. But the game’s unsophisticated physics modeling and middling aesthetics don't help the sense of simulation. This season, there are actual athletes in Team mode and basic online multiplayer racers. But it's clear that Cyanide is coasting.

Candy Rangers tries to blend rhythm-game precision with candy-coated shooting chaos but ends up melting under its own messy mechanics. Despite some good ideas, this sugar rush turns sour all too quickly.

At present, Dungeon Drafters has an inventory of issues that include crashes, a frustrating user interface, balancing woes, and a script that desperately demands proofreading. Yet, for all these faults, there is potential in the mixture of grid-based movement and the sheer abundance of card-based attacks.

UFO Robot Grendizer – The Feast of the Wolves plays a lot like the anime adaptations that lined store shelves across the early 2000s. Sure, the series’ signature visuals and Grendizer’s arsenal are here and accounted for- but the play feels more like a work-in-progress than a polished retail game.

Tiny Garden’s ambitions for a relaxed agronomy are undermined by repetition, the lack of controller support, and instability. If you’re lucky, you might be able to get one tranquil afternoon of distraction but not much more.

If you are yearning for controller-tossing difficulty and can tolerate a bit of imprecision, Aeterna Noctis offers an expedition that will test your reflexes and just as often, your patience.

Lone Ruin is the equivalent of one of those mediocre made-for-Netflix films. It looks good and offers some unexceptional action but nearly everything here feels copped from superior works. Factor in an extremely short running time and you’re better served with one of the many other twin-stick roguelikes on the market.

Sadly, Yuuna and the Haunted Hot Springs: The Thrilling Steamy Maze Kiwami is neither naughty nor novel enough to recommend. While fans of the manga or anime might be tempted to go dungeoneering with ghosts, ninjas, and cat-girls, the Mystery Dungeon-style gameplay is too derivative.

Architect Life: A House Design Simulator offers a creative outlet for aspiring virtual architects, with a variety of design challenges and a robust sandbox mode. Unfortunately, clunky controls and inconsistent camera behavior can undermine the enjoyment, making what should have been a fulfilling and fun experience feel more like labor.

Survivor Mercs has some cool ideas, like squad-based combat and base-building, but it struggles to make them feel rewarding. Slow starts, weak upgrades, and unclear systems keep it from standing out in an already crowded genre.

A thoroughly disappointing PC port undermines Raiden III x MIKADO MANIAX's improvements. The lack of Steam Deck support and the presence of screen tearing is about as frustrating as losing two ships on the first stage.

With its striking visuals and stylish traversal, Star Overdrive makes a promising first impression. But the fun slowly descends into frustration as you face repetitive design, shallow mechanics, and a desolate world that offers little reward for exploration.

2023’s Astrosmash feels like the product of an industry that’s increasingly favoring profitability over artistic expression. Yes, it vaguely plays like the original, looks less pixelated, and now has obligatory power-ups, effectively checking off the minimum qualifications for any update. But for fans of Mattel’s ground-based shooter, it’s a missed opportunity to truly honor a classic.

Sadly, Neptunia Riders VS Dogoos feels more like an expanded mini-game rather than a fleshed-out experience. Given the franchise’s reference-filled saga, it would be great to see the cast star bring their banter to action games. But here, there’s not enough style or substance to hold attention spans for more than a few hours.

Lackluster role-playing combined with exploit-laden five-on-five matches means that Soccer Story is a substandard contender.

Irem Collection Vol. 1 contains a trio of tough, but satisfying shooters that deserve remembrance. But with numerous problems with the emulation and a complete lack of historical context, the games here deserve far better.

Taxi Chaos 2 desperately wants to channel Crazy Taxi’s breakneck magic, but its sloppy physics and constant bugs grind that momentum into the pavement. What should be an exhilarating arcade throwback instead becomes a frustrating mess that’s more likely to make you quit the ride than chase down a high score.

Like any respectable first-person shooter, Phantom Fury provides some imaginative weaponry. Outside of the middling firefights, the rest of the game is a chore built around bad design decisions. From hunts for colored-colored gate keys to scanning faux emails for passwords, most of Fury is either tiresome or tedious.

As a collaboration between FuRyu and Natsume Atari, Reynatis is crammed with interesting ideas. But like a chef who couldn’t resist holding back on the number of ingredients, the result is a muddled mess. An action RPG starring oppressed wizards has potential, but Reynatis waters down its ambitions under a layer of ununified mechanics.

Too often, Solar Crown embodies what’s wrong with the modern racer. Sure, the cars are meticulously modeled and even have working windows. But these minutiae matter little when fundamentals like a fluid framerate and the ability to race offline are absent. Sadly, the latest entry in the Test Drive Unlimited franchise struggles to match the competency of decade-old racers.

Although Warside has many of the fundamentals of Advance Wars-style battles down, it’s still a work-in-progress. At present, it’s shaping up to develop into a reasonable facsimile of Intelligent Systems’ turn-based series, allowing its military units to charge onto non-Nintendo hardware.

While technically competent, Bloodhound offers few reasons for giving its tedious single player campaign a try. You’ve used all its guns and protagonist abilities before. Defeating waves of foes in cramped arenas isn’t worth revisiting unless there’s a modicum of innovation.

Trident’s Tale suffers from clunky controls, repetitive fetch quests, uninspired combat, and a lack of originality. Ultimately, it’s a tedious and forgettable game that feels more like a dated effort than a modern pirate adventure. ARGH!

A reoccurring goal in the Hyperdimension Neptunia series is saving gaming from imminent disaster. But ironically, Neptunia Game Maker R:Evolution demonstrates some of the same ailments of the gaming industry, with a lazy spin off built around salvaged concepts and sloppy combat. Undoubtedly, Nep Nep and the rest of the Guardian Goddesses deserve far better.

Critter Café first hour exudes coziness as you begin collecting creatures and decorate your modest coffee house. But soon, it becomes painfully apparent that the developers did not flesh out their designs. The next eleven hours are filled with routine sokoban puzzles, playing four basic mini-games, and seeing the game’s eponymous animals not do much of anything. Do not squander your time with this one.

Dead Dragons has most of the fundamentals of a role-playing game but lacks the ambition that elevates the genre’s better efforts.

Accolade’s sports games strove to deliver television-style perspectives. While that innovation nudged the genre forward, gameplay in the Sports Collection often feels archaic. Given the minimal curation, this is for hardcore collectors only.

A reoccurring goal in the Hyperdimension Neptunia series is saving gaming from imminent disaster. But ironically, Neptunia Game Maker R:Evolution demonstrates some of the real-life ailments of the industry, with a lazy spin off built around salvaged concepts and sloppy combat. Undoubtedly, Nep Nep and the rest of the Guardian Goddesses deserve far better.

Unless a miracle patch materializes, Die After Sunset might be doomed after launch. Gunning down the game’s relentlessly respawning enemies just to earn mediocre perks isn’t enough to lift this colorful third-person shooter out of the pits.

Elrentaros Wanderings’ core tension comes from its depiction of parallel worlds and the uncertainty of which one is real. But time spent in both realms proves uninteresting, with monotonous combat in one and insubstantial exposition in the other. There’s a very real sense of dread when the game asks you to repeatedly descend into its insipid dungeons.

Even if you adore C-tier action titles like Wet, Total Overdose: A Gunslinger's Tale in Mexico, and Stranglehold, Wanted: Dead will disappoint. The cutscenes are torturously bad and the derivative action is monotonous. Not even a collection of quirky mini-games can help save this ill-fated hack-and-slash/shooter hybrid.

Instead of reimaging the game, Montezuma's Revenge - The 40th Anniversary Edition is regrettably faithful to the source material. The result is a repetitive and often frustrating slog that will confound all but the property’s most vehement fans. A handful of changes are evident, such as a shift to 2.5D, polygonal visuals. But none of them improve the underlying experience.

Commendably, The Kodansha Game Creator’s Lab pays developers 10 million yen a year to develop games. It would be great to see a program like this succeed, but if the results are as bad as Fairy Tail: Beach Volleyball Havok, the publisher should just call the program, “marketing”. This is a seven-dollar, slightly playable advertisement that would have been free a decade ago.

Abstractly mirroring the chaos of our contemporary world, Realpolitiks 3: Earth and Beyond is a hot mess. While the franchise ambitions for pushing policy-making into the cosmos are ambitious, elements like a clumsy user interface, shortage of explanation, and a lack of comprehensible causality keep this one grounded.

Vilde aims for Norse-infused roguelike thrills but misses nearly every mark. This is a frustrating, buggy slog that feels more like a punishment than power fantasy.