Godfall is the quintessential launch game. This gilded PS5 exclusive shows off the power of the new hardware with its intricate, reflective halls of gold and obsidian, bioluminescent plant life, and enemies who explode in a shower of particles. “Next-gen is here,” it shouts, in a scream that’s barely perceptible over the whistle of high-speed steel. Underneath all of that sheen and noise, though, there’s nothing new at all.

If Arms Race is updated and improved, then I could see it being worthwhile, but if this is all it has to offer, then Designer's Cut feels like something that should have been a free update rather than an integral part of a new season pass.

Helping the Grumpuses reconnect with each other and overcome their character flaws is a worthwhile experience. I may not have loved catching bugs, but I came away smitten by Beffica Winklesnoot, Chandlo Funkbun, and the rest of the Snaktooth Island Grumpuses.

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla was a risk. Not really because it took Vikings as its subject matter — people love Vikings, to the extent that loads of folks are a bit sick of Norse stuff at this point. It was a risk because it compounded the ideals of Assassin’s Creed’s origins and Assassin’s Creed Origins. Fortunately, it turns out that the best game in this series is the one that’s drawn from pretty much everything that came before it, in order to carve out its own unique identity based on the absolute best bits of its many, many predecessors.

Fuser may not garner the attention of the masses like some of Harmonix’s previous titles, but it has plenty to offer for those in need of a party - whether it be by yourself, with your COVID-19-approved circle of friends, or with the game’s potentially bustling online community.

There’s something to be said for the importance of innovation in this medium, but you can’t overlook refinement, and Spider-Man: Miles Morales is more refined than the sugar in a New York bagel.

Astro’s Playroom asks you over and over to fondly remember the memories that you and Grandpa PlayStation made together. But, more importantly, it’s a promise of new and treasured memories to come.

The goal of Cover Your Eyes was to be a "16-bit love letter towards survival horror past and present," and I think it made a dang valiant effort to do so. I was quite happy to turn a blind eye (so to speak) to small-scale bugs which will hopefully be squashed before its official release. However, lacking character portrayals and other more fundamental sources of frustration will likely still hold the game back from reaching its full potential.

But, I will say that Immortal Realms: Vampire Wars is very true to its subject matter, as it did feel like the life was being sucked out of me as I played it.

Bakugan: Champions of Vestroia is a good enough first step if the end goal is to revitalize and reintroduce the Bakugan franchise to a new generation. Would the exact same game still work if the Bakugan name weren’t attached to it? I’d lean towards no. There are a lot of great ideas in Bakugan: Champions of Vestroia, but ultimately, none of them really hit the mark - at least in terms of what I was expecting from my first-look at the game.

Yakuza: Like A Dragon is a high point for the genre - and perhaps the highest point it will reach on the PS4 or Xbox One. If this is where JRPGs are starting, going into the next generation of consoles, there's reason to believe that we're in for a decade of riches.

Dirt 5 is similar to Project CARS 3 with its arcade racing style - just with a larger focus on rally racing. The style absolutely works in Dirt 5, offering up accessible rally racing to anyone interested in getting behind the wheel. Of course, the drive is what you make it. So should you want to become a master racer to take on other skilled players online, that option is also easily available to you so long as you're willing to put in the time.

I wouldn't necessarily call this high-art or a gaming masterpiece, as it's rich with horror movie cliches and light on actual gameplay. But if you liked Until Dawn or Man Of Medan, then you're sure to enjoy this. Just make sure you have those fingers ready to go because some of these QTEs can be deadly.

What's here is solid, and while certain elements need refining (such as the finicky gunplay, lack of compelling melee options, and limited cosmetic options,) I can see Population: One eventually growing into one of the more compelling multiplayer options on the platform.

Aquanox Deep Descent isn’t a bad game. There are just plenty of opportunities for improvement. Piloting the ship throughout Aqua’s underwater world feels great. Honestly, I kind of wish the game had featured more of an open-world to explore, especially with the amount of salvaging and looting you perform throughout the campaign anyways. But that’s not the case, leaving little reason for me to dive back in after playing the game once through. Hopefully, a more robust online community will allow the game to thrive with its multiplayer component, but as it stands, Aquanox Deep Descent will likely be most enjoyed by hungry mech-genre fans who are looking for another ship to pilot. Just don’t forget to bring a towel.

Watch Dogs: Legion is a good game that could have been a great game if it had fully committed to its systems. Its recreation of London is stunning, its core concept is up there with Shadow of Mordor’s Nemesis system in terms of innovation, and I would love to see where it could go if Ubisoft gives the team a second crack at it. With a stronger story, a much better ending, an improved driving model, and a bit more polish, I could see Legion being a classic. I hope the series continues in this interesting direction and it’s not unceremoniously shunted into a lake.

With a tighter script and more polish, this could've been a fantastic game that paralleled the trauma of child loss to the evil enterprise of colonial expansion. Instead, it's one that insincerely mines trauma from a colonizer's perspective... then asks you to do a half-hearted physics puzzle.

There are certainly areas where All In Games could improve for a sequel, but Ghostrunner is a blast. It's one of the best games of the year and something I'd easily recommend to fans of Mirror's Edge or first-person games in general.

This Postmortem Edition has given me a new respect for Rivers and his development process, but I still feel the same about Home now as I did years ago. It's a unique little game that is worth a playthrough, but I believe Rivers went on to better things with both of his follow-ups (especially the wonderful Alone With You from 2016).

On a personal level, I'm still not truly gripped by everything here, but there are a lot of risky design choices and themes in Vigil. Developer Glass Heart Games should be commended for paying homage to the Dark Souls series while taking it in a slightly different direction.

After seven entries, it's clear the Jackbox team knows how to make a fun set of party games. Jackbox 7 keeps it up with an instant classic in Blather 'Round, another solid take on Quiplash, a zany time with Devils and the Details, the unfortunately bugged Champ'd Up, and Talking Points, a game that's really hurt by the current world circumstances. I can't blame Jackbox Games for the pandemic, but two of these games do take a hit from being played over Discord. And the bugs may be a side effect of at-home development, but I can't say for sure. All I can say is Champ'd Up has so much potential and is destined for Twitch fame once its bugs are flattened. So yes, Jackbox 7 is worth buying. But maybe wait for an eventual sale. And for this dumb pandemic to be over.

I will say that the best way to play this would still be on a PC or Xbox One, as you'll get a better graphical and technical performance. But, most of us Switch owners know that there's usually some kind of price to pay for the opportunity to take games wherever we want on a handheld system. In this case, very little was sacrificed. If you were waiting for this port to happen, then you can whip that wallet out and make this purchase without fear, as Ori And The Will Of The Wisps is a great new addition to the Switch's ever-growing digital library.

I love Doom lore, and this expansion goes exactly where I was hoping it would go. The three levels are wonderfully designed and have some of the most memorable set pieces in the entire game. There's a fight in a foggy swamp against invisible enemies that I adored and there's one particular arena with transforming pillars that I found to be really inspired. I think the combat has become too complicated and I hope Part Two can reign it in a bit, though at this point, I'm expecting to fight three Marauders all possessed by spirits and buffed by totems while turrets shoot me to death. Don't feel bad about lowering the difficulty on this one even if you got through Eternal on Nightmare. It's not you, the game is just frustratingly hard now.

A perfectly fun experience with some replay value, but even in writing this review, I have reached level 33 of the Dun-Djinn with a level-capped Blood Drinker Railermaster and it already feels too repetitive to keep my interest for long. I suppose I could level new characters, but the drive for that is diminished knowing there is not much to do once that journey is complete.

Age Of Empires 3: Definitive Edition is still a solid game. Its single-player content will last you over a dozen hours, and its multiplayer matches will last you several dozen more. While there is no longer that drive to farm XP for updates your Home City, the game itself is good enough that you'll be coming back for rematches time after time.

FIFA 21 is not FIFA 20: Part 2. It isn't a complete reboot of the franchise either, and nor does it need to be. EA has also done more than "just enough" to set itself apart from last year's game. This is something developers of games that release annually can be guilty of. It feels different, and for anyone who doesn't agree with that, Volta feels like a whole new game within the main game for a completely fresh experience this year. Yes, it might be a stepping stone, but it's just the stepping stone FIFA needs to bridge the gap between this generation and the next.

At its core, The Solitaire Conspiracy isn't much more than a gussied up version of Solitaire. Still, the work done in creating an intriguing narrative and piecing it together with an amazing style makes this little venture worth picking up. With the team not opposed to doing some DLC down the line, it could also become a much more substantial game in the future.

The difficulty may push some people away, but those that commit to learning the ropes are in for a thrilling and unforgettable experience.