Battlefield 6's new Redsec battle royale mode is grounded by strong gameplay from the main game and mechanics lifted from Warzone, Apex Legends, and Fortnite. However, with clunky menus and UI, some poor HUD, and bereft of its own ideas, Redsec needs to start building a house on these foundations as quickly as possible to become more than a pitstop for me.

Overall, Keeper is a pretty uneven experience. The first act doesn't offer much in terms of excitement beyond the initial wow factor of its gorgeous environments that are teeming with life and interesting vistas. Things pick up in the second and third acts, but Keeper takes a little too long to get to the good stuff. Outside of the basic puzzles and a short platforming section, the first few hours could have done with a little more to keep the player interested. That said, for those who do manage to stick with Keeper, you will be rewarded.

Viewfinder's puzzles are both impressive and intuitive — a very hard balance to find! That said, I felt like the game failed to explore its many cool ideas to the fullest, and unfortunately its attempt at a story was a buzz-killing distraction. It's a fun puzzle game, but I expect a sequel would really blow people away.

The Toaplan Arcade Collection is an absolute must for arcade gaming buffs and action game purists alike, and it offers a great opportunity for newcomers to check out some two-player classics. However, it is a bit disappointing that the collection comes with no supplementary materials. Plus, there's no getting around the fact that some of these arcade games just aren't very good!

The Toaplan Arcade Collection is an absolute must for arcade gaming buffs and action game purists alike, and it offers a great opportunity for newcomers to check out some two-player classics. However, it is a bit disappointing that the collection comes with no supplementary materials. Plus, there's no getting around the fact that some of these arcade games just aren't very good!

It pains me to have to score Rematch so low. As an online action game fan, my heart was an open goal here. However, a rushed launch has led to a mountain of problems that make this a recommendation only for Game Pass subscribers. Do not spend money on this game in this state. My hope is that we can revise this score at a later date, should Sloclap address the issues.

Despite its fantastic visuals, superb voice acting, and a gorgeous, intriguing world filled with character and charm, South of Midnight sadly falls flat. A lack of variety in enemy types and some dull combat make combat encounters tedious and frustrating towards the end, whereas the story, which starts off so promising, ultimately gets lost in the hollers along the way.

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 lives up to the precedent set by the original Space Marine for the most part, offering a storyline and co-op experience filled with gore and action brought to life with excellent visuals. It's held back by irritating AI companions and a campaign optimized for co-op, leaving an un-balanced experience for solo players. However, if you're looking for a game to live out a Space Marine fantasy, and want some co-op fun, you'll be in for a real treat.

Cobbled together from parts of previous games, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III is one of the worst entries into the series. From the vapid campaign with those woeful DMZ-like open combat missions to the Multiplayer that relies on nostalgia for anything interesting and the toothless, uninspired Zombies mode that is just an awkward version of DMZ, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III absolutely nowhere near justifies its $70 price tag.

Atlas Fallen continues Focus Entertainment's run of publishing enjoyable new IPs and features the type of fast-paced action-RPG experience you'd expect to see from Deck13 Interactive. While it seems to lack much in the way of exciting story-based side content, which ultimately upsets the pacing of the main story, there is no doubt that Atlas Fallen is a feast for the eyes and a sand-surfing ride filled with plenty of high-octane combat encounters.

Redfall isn't a bad game per se, but its lack of a clear vision or sense of direction prevents it from being anything more than just decent at best. It spreads itself too thin and overextends beyond Arkane's wheelhouse, falling back on systems and mechanics borrowed from around open world games and beyond that don't really gel with one another, and leaving Redfall a game confused. Enemy AI is largely pretty shocking, which stops the big multi-faction fights being as interesting or intense as they could be, and while gunplay and abilities do feel good, you're constantly re-gearing up for an endgame challenge that never comes, upgrading to new gear simply to tread water against the same threats as before at a slightly higher level. There's definitely a decent time to be had with Redfall (especially in co-op) in spite of some baffling design decisions, but given Arkane's track record, it's hard not to be deflated by what Redfall could have been compared to what it actually is.

Minecraft Legends is a fun and compelling action-strategy game that is well worth checking out. While it does have issues with finicky building controls, wonky mob AI, and a lack of depth for the big strategy heads out there, more casual players will enjoy this one. The campaign doesn’t overstay its welcome, and PvP is a riot with other players, provided you’re in a party chat. If you have kids who are interested in Minecraft, Minecraft Legends is a no-brainer and a great way to introduce them to a new genre.

There's a lot going on in Atomic Heart, so it's perhaps unsurprising that consistency and cohesion aren't the game's strong suits. It does, however, excel in spectacle, presenting a fascinating world and packing it with an assortment of incredible mechanical creations.

Wanted: Dead is very much an acquired taste, but those for whom its eclectic nonsense clicks will likely love it, even if it's not technically a great game. It's a throwback to a bygone age of gaming that's clearly made with passion, with the team just doing whatever the hell it likes rather than sticking to typical gaming standards to create something that certainly stands out in the modern landscape, if not always in the way it intends to. Stingy checkpointing can kill the game's momentum should you fall foul of a tricky encounter and have to replay large portions of a level, but there will be some folks who like that extra punishment for failure — just as with more or less everything else about Wanted: Dead, it's all going to land for someone out there, and I can see this one going down as a bit of a cult classic.

Overall, Somerville has a fantastic and intriguing world that’s begging to be explored from the off. Wonderful art and sound design compounded with excellent character animations really bring this narrative adventure to life, but a smattering of bugs, lacklustre puzzle elements, and an ambiguous story that left me feeling unrewarded after posing so many initial questions, really hampered the experience.

Gotham Knights' situation as a game aptly reflects the struggle of its protagonists — the new team has big boots to fill now Bats is gone, and while they can't quite live up to his legacy, they still manage to make an impression by doing things their own way. Combat is decent once it opens up, and traversal and the overarching gameplay loop are both great, but it's a shame that Gotham Knights' performance leaves a lot to be desired. Much of New Game+ feels like you're building a character for an endgame that doesn't exist at this point, so I'm looking forward to seeing what the four-player Heroic Assaults are like when they arrive in November. I'll be combing Gotham for those last few collectables until then, and despite its technical issues, I must say that I was surprised how much I warmed to Gotham Knights after it failed to grab me initially.

Saints Row doesn't try to reinvent the wheel, but it doesn't need to — it's a solid open-world adventure with loads going on, and one that is really only a good helping of polish away from sitting among the genre's better games.

Bright Memory: Infinite is a promising new entry from a small studio, with visuals and a gameplay loop that give it the opportunity to sit alongside some of the heavy hitters in the genre. While it's lacking in a few elements that could carry it through to greatness, it's also dripping with potential and could be the start of a successful franchise if FYQD-Studio polishes some of the game's foibles. All-in-all, it's a short romp through action-focused levels that's sure to offer any FPS fan a burst of fun and have them feeling like a killing machine in the process.

Tiny Tina's Wonderlands expands on Borderlands 2's Assault on Dragon Keep DLC in some interesting and meaningful ways, but feels like it struggles to stretch out what was a fantastic gimmick for a shorter expansion to fill a full-length campaign without falling back on repeating its material.

Grid Legends is one of the cheesiest games I've ever played, thanks to its Drive to Glory story mode. Putting that to one side, there is a good racing game here with an excellent AI system (that can go a bit awry), some beautiful and well-designed tracks, and cars that feel great to drive. However, Grid Legends is dragged down a bit by the easily-forgettable story mode, and the game is just far too easy even on the highest difficulty. Still, there is a competent racer here that offers plenty of thrilling moments and enough cars and modes to keep fans of the genre happy.

As much as I enjoy the moment-to-moment gameplay of Rainbow Six Extraction and have had a blast with it both solo and in co-op, it's impossible to overlook the glaring balance issues and lack of any kind of appealing endgame it has at the moment. Ubisoft does have a great track record for turning decent games into great ones in the long run — just look at Siege or The Division — so I'm hoping we'll see a similarly impressive evolution here eventually. For now, though, Extraction is undeniably entertaining in the short term, but it's the long game that worries me, and I'd love to be proven wrong. When everything comes together here, Extraction somehow manages to capture everything that is great about the Rainbow Six series while also taking by far the most liberties with its premise and structure. That's got to count for something.

Right now, Battlefield 2042 is offering plenty of new features and gameplay elements that will benefit the series’ veteran players, although I’m not sure if there is enough there to hold the attention of players that don’t already have a vested interest in it, at least while they wait for the various problems to be fixed. That really is a shame because even though the persistent issues are frustrating, unnecessary, and annoying, underneath it all is a game that is brimming with potential, and one that I’m enjoying much of my time with — combat is tense, challenging, and unpredictable, and it offers the very best Battlefield experience in recent years... when it hits right.

Sherlock Holmes: Chapter One deviates little from the established Frogwares detective game template, but that doesn't stop it from being a compelling adventure and perhaps one of the studio's stronger games overall. It's got a meaty and intriguing core story, loads to see and do off the main path, and some swerving cases that will take some serious sleuthing to come to the right conclusions — I'm not sure what more you could really ask for from a game like this besides that tried-and-tested trifecta, except maybe a little more polish. The lack thereof doesn't hurt the game too much, mind, so if you enjoy solving crimes while being really, really, really ridiculously good-looking, this mid-price mystery should definitely find its way onto your wishlist.

Echo Generation is a gorgeous turn-based adventure game with an awesome retro vibe. It doesn’t always live up to the adventure it promises, with combat sometimes feeling too lengthy or repetitive, and it’s not always clear what you should be doing, but if you’re browsing that Xbox Game Pass library and wondering what to try next, or if you’re looking for something that captures that sense of childhood adventure, you should give Echo Generation a try.

Fans of the toy line will likely find stunning digital recreations of the cars they love here, whether now or in one of many content updates already on the cards, along with a generally competent racer to use them in. Still, said fans may find that the dedication to the brand here elevates the experience to a degree, although those with less love for Hot Wheels in general might just see this passable racer as more of a slightly cynical vessel through which to peddle pretend toy cars for the next few years. Shiny and on-brand, but nothing particularly special, honestly.

It breaks my heart to criticise Sable so. The first few hours are truly remarkable, packed with moments of beauty, creativity, and childlike wonder, but the more you play, the more the mask slips. Despite the technical issues, it's testament to the abilities of the small team that it has been able to create a world so inventive and interesting, if one whose sparseness starts to work against it once the initial sightseeing tour is over. It's a crying shame, though, that those who want to see everything that this captivating setting has to offer — whether through inherent completionism, chasing achievements, or simply being drawn in by the lush playground itself — are those who will suffer Sable at its worst, even if the highs should still prove strong enough to carry you through the lows in the end.

Struggling is a game that I was sure I was going to dislike but had me changing my mind with pure joy from the earliest stages. Struggle by name, struggle by nature, this is one title that will challenge your mind and your patience, but reward you with great comedic moments, a varied soundtrack, and more “what the hell?” moments than you can shake a stick at.

Overall, Lake is a lovely addition to the narrative adventure genre — even if it doesn’t go so far as to push the boundaries of that genre — and offers a relaxed adventure which could serve as a welcome counterpoint to some of the chaos going on in today’s world. You can almost feel the stresses of Meredith’s city life melting away, although Lake does a good job of not pushing you towards one decision or another. It’s entirely up to you, after exploring Providence Oaks and working your way back into the lives of its people, to decide what Meredith should do next. I had fun in my time as Providence Oaks' mail carrier, and even though that job can feel a little stale at times, Lake's charming inhabitants and its gentle story make it more than worth a visit.

Overall, I really enjoyed my time with Aliens: Fireteam Elite and aside from a handful of bugs, the game shows promise of a solid third-person co-op survival game. The rich lore and stunning level design put it on par with other successful Alien titles in terms of presentation (if not in terms of being faithful to the source material with its hordes of papier-mâché Xenomorphs), and although there isn’t anything revolutionary about the gameplay, the experience itself feels well crafted. I hope to see some of the issues resolved in the near future, but can happily say that this isn’t just another game to toss on the Aliens failure heap.

The Ascent is a beautiful and entertaining action-RPG when everything is working as intended, but those moments are sadly much rarer than they should be. We know the team already has several patches planned so hopefully, a lot of the issues we encountered will be ironed out by the time you dive into the game — I'll be keeping an eye on these updates and will look to update and/or modify this review should things be significantly improved, because I'd have liked to have scored The Ascent higher. Combat is frantic and fun, the world is amazing, and there are some really satisfying abilities to bust out against foes, but you need a hell of a lot of patience to put up with all the technical nonsense going on with the game in its current state.

Biomutant really feels like it has so much heart behind it, and that’s more than enough of a pull to keep you coming back for more. You could just focus on those end-game bosses, but it would be a crime to do so — Biomutant’s expansive world offers so much that you’ll lose hours to exploration before even thinking about taking on some of those sidequests. It’s also a breath of fresh air to see the unique combination of inspirations and themes behind the game, which do indeed help it to stand apart as a real mash-up of genres wrapped up in a “post-apocalyptic kung-fu fable.” The only issues are where Biomutant doesn’t quite measure up to the scope and complexity it offers, leaving it feeling as though a little more polish would complete its transformation into a real gem.

The Medium is an interesting and enjoyable game, but one let down by some awkward animations that constantly threaten to break the immersion created by an otherwise captivating game world, and those weak stealth sections that Bloober Team can't seem to leave behind. It's very much a one-and-done game — you can easily see everything it has to offer inside of ten hours, so the pricing might be a little questionable for both the quality and quantity of what you get here. Still, price won't be an issue for Game Pass subscribers, for whom The Medium is a unique yet flawed gem that we'd absolutely recommend checking out as part of the service.

The world of The Great Ursee is dramatic and looks gorgeous with its pleasing sunset vistas that really pop thanks to the game’s brilliant use of HDR. However, The Falconeer does fly too close to the sun in some areas. A largely forgettable and at times confusing story will be a disappointment to some, while inconsistent collision detection and a lack of mission checkpoints create frequent disappointing turbulence. Faults aside, for a game that’s been created by one person, and is one of the cheaper Xbox Series X|S launch day titles, you should definitely consider picking up The Falconeer along with your new console.

With a darker storyline and a wonderfully re-imagined London that is the star of the show, the third entry into the franchise feels as if it’s slightly matured from Watch Dogs 2. The new ‘play as anyone’ mechanic is innovative but sadly soon becomes redundant. Numerous bugs and glitches also mar the overall experience. Having the game crash several times and losing about 20 minutes worth of progress each time is not something that should be happening with a big-budget title such as Legion. Even after downloading the latest hotfix, crashing issues still persisted. This will likely be fixed with more patches later on down the line, but it will still be disappointing for those who purchase the game on day one. However, if you can keep a stiff upper lip about some of the bugs, you’ll have a lot of fun with Legion. Even if someone does end up calling you a twatwaffle.

Tell Me Why has an engaging narrative that will keep you glued until the end. Although it's not as emotional an experience as the Life is Strange series, there's more than enough there for you to care about the character's outcomes and work towards a good ending. The memory mechanic provides for some tough decision making, and the light puzzles break up the heavy dialogue and exploration, which makes for a satisfying gameplay experience. It's just a shame that Tell Me Why is dragged down somewhat by poor facial animations and some shaky voice acting at times, but if you can get past that, there's an intense and enjoyable story here that's been crafted and handled well on several different fronts.

Ninja Theory's first multiplayer outing could be something special, but it's a lack of game modes and a dedicated ranked mode stops Bleeding Edge from taking on the other big team-based multiplayer games. However, the game does feature some superb third-person combat and team play. Working together with a group of friends or dedicated players has never felt so satisfying. The varied cast of characters is exciting and fun to play with, while the Mods system adds a layer of customisation to the game. Bleeding Edge is definitely worthy of your time.

Die-hard fans of early 90s platforms have been finding their own ways to play these games for decades, and without a substantial display of additional features, it's hard to point to many reasons to purchase – except if you want a relatively easy achievement completion.

Plants vs Zombies: Battle for Neighborville isn’t a huge evolution for the series — but it is mostly an improvement, and appropriately prepared for the persistent multiplayer culture we find ourselves in. Players jumping straight from Garden Warfare 2 to Neighborville may find the action too similar, though they will at least appreciate the distractions of some exciting new classes, new maps and a more engaging story mode.

Ghost Recon Breakpoint is the reigning poster child for the late-generation live service game. There is more on offer here than most people could ever dream of playing unless you retired from all other games — and maybe your family and your job too. But players should measure their content in quality, not quantity. There’s still a lot of fun to be had in Breakpoint, but you’ll need friends or good co-op partners to see a lot of it. For solo players, the gameplay loop wears out fast and even the awesome Jon Bernthal can’t save the project’s clashing design principles. Breakpoint measures its successes in stats like user engagement, but I still measure mine in memorable moments, and that’s one area this gargantuan game is not servicing.

Man of Medan is a game we want to love – for all of its B-movie nonsense and cookie-cutter characterisation, there’s a “so bad it’s good” vibe that would be entertaining for playing in couch co-op. Unfortunately even this slight praise is undermined by some frustrating gameplay and a host of easily avoided accessibility issues. Players will probably find themselves rattling through the game just to see things through, and might even get a kick out of tweaking some outcomes – but the first Dark Pictures tale is unlikely to linger in the memory for long.

Ultimately, this pack can make a player's city look the part of a modern capital trying to tread a difficult ethical line between industry and eco-friendly practices; it's just a shame that there isn't more of a progression and reward incentive for all players to properly interact with it.

The Sinking City is just the latest in a long line of horror games to be delivered via the Lovecraft Express. Because it's not adherent to any one of the author's tales, it manages to feel different from the crowded pack due to the blending of noir storytelling, its big open world full of side quests, and an investigative loop that asks you to put on your thinking fedora. Lousy combat and a low-res, buggy, lifeless land are blemishes for sure, but overall while this may not be the best of the bunch, The Sinking City is certainly the most ambitious of all recent Lovecraftian horror games.

Despite it all, I'd still say Final Fantasy XII is a good game. Its combat is almost entirely automated, but it's designed by you thanks to the programmable Gambit system, while character progression through the job system is deep and open to creativity. Running up to enemies and having the AI fight your battles for you may not sound great, but it is absolutely is. I'd be happy to play another forty hours, but preferably without any more story.

Despite its name, Layers of Fear 2's main problem is that there isn't anything going on under the surface. It's a competent enough walking simulator with a few decent jump scares and a little bit of mystery, but with no interesting mechanics to speak of and no effort to help the player feel attached to the vague story it's hard to justify the play time to anyone. If you were a big fan of the first iteration and need more in your life, you won't find anything particularly wrong with Layers of Fear 2. For anyone else, there's simply too many better examples of both horror games and narrative walking simulators to recommend stepping aboard.

Team Sonic Racing is Sumo's third race around the track with SEGA's flagship characters. It's not their best effort of the trio but because of the intriguing teamplay focus, it stands up as a worthy game for fans of the genre and families alike. The roster leaves a lot to be desired and the game needs a few changes under the hood to really play how it should, but it makes for a fun co-op or competitive game best played locally with loved ones.

Brief Battles can be very fun if you have local players of comparable skill to play against regularly. It feels great to play, it's visually clean and distinctive, and it's got a high skill cap. Unfortunately, most of us aren't so lucky and the lack of online or even AI gameplay really hurts it. As an alternative, the game offers up both single player and co-op challenges. The co-op challenges are short and easy while the single player challenges are long and brutally difficult if you're going for gold medals. Knowing all those caveats, the challenges are fun and the game itself is designed very well. That's commendable in its own way and means platformer aficionados might find something to love here.

RAGE 2 is a pure power fantasy and there's nothing inherently wrong with that. It serves up some awesome powers and skills at an irresistible pace and makes the player feel like they're ready to take on the whole wasteland in one go. The problem is the story is over so quickly that you're soon left with nothing to do but exactly that — drive around the world, stop at every icon on your map, blow up everything inside, and move on. The amazing gunplay and combat of RAGE 2 shouldn't easily get so stale, but because of an open world all too familiar and a story that hardly gets going before it ends, players are left to rule over a kingdom of dirt.

In virtually every way, the series has improved in important ways since V2 – from a more intuitive control scheme to better level and mission design, more varied environments, and improved gunplay across the board. All of this makes it hard to argue that anyone new to the series should try V2 Remastered. It offers too many 2012 issues in a prettier 2019 package. However, if you're already a fan, these poorly aged issues are more forgiving, making Sniper Elite V2 Remastered worth aiming for.

Mortal Kombat 11 has some design issues, but overall I enjoyed my time and I can sincerely say I'm looking forward to the inevitable sequel.

Shadowgate is very easy to recommend to fans of the original game or of the early days of point-and-click in general. For modern genre enthusiasts, it may be a tougher sell thanks to basic presentation and lots of opportunities to get a game over. Regardless, this is the best updated version of a thirty year old game that one could hope for, and it should leave nostalgic adventure gamers hopeful for more classic revivals in the same vein.

Cities Skylines is an essential metropolitan simulator, but some of its DLCs aren’t all that necessary. Parklife might be the least essential of the major updates so far. Its mechanics don’t impact or benefit the systems of the main game enough, and individual building objects aren’t attractive either. However the ability to shape a park space on both a larger and smaller scale does make cities feel more alive, more lived in and more like mankind has carved a space into the natural landscape. Die-hard fans of the game will jump at the chance to fine-tune and beautify their creations, but the casual city planner probably won’t find enough here to be worth the investment.

If Avalanche can improve the inventory system, fix quest tracking, and get it so the enemies can't cheat through walls and other physical spaces, they'll have repaired most of what ails these dysfunctional machines. Generation Zero isn't the game I wanted it to be today, but in a world where games are alive and changing all the time, I'm hoping the singularity is still near.

It's not all bad. The combat and the flying are legitimately amazing in Anthem. They're so good that, despite everything else about the game being quite bad, I still thought about playing the game during my hours away from it. In a few years, Anthem might be a good experience. Today, it's hard to recommend.

Degrees of Separation opens like a touching fairy tale complete with well-written narration and a soft tone of lovers determined to find one another. Sadly, the game betrays them and the player alike by structuring progression exclusively around collectibles. It results in a world that is pretty and pleasant to look at, but often tedious to move through. Still, it's better in co-op and won't take more than one or two date night sessions to see it all, leaving it a flawed fairy tale, but still one with heart.

Jump Force somehow only achieves mediocrity at best despite the star power found on its roster and the potential that comes with that cast. The characters are indeed faithfully recreated, stylish abilities and all, but nothing feels seamless. From the horrible cutscenes and choppy combat animations to the struggling frame rate, everything feels cut together haphazardly. Jump Force looks like an excellent idea on paper as a crossover containing over 40 characters from various Shonen Jump series, but in practice, the vision falls flat due to a serious lack of polish.

With unique and tricky puzzles, 39 Days to Mars will feel right at home in any puzzle fan's game collection. The simplistic art style allows the puzzles to remain the focus of the experience. The choice of solo or co-op mode is ideal but the controls are slightly awkward, making things a little off-putting in both modes. While not perfect, 39 Days to Mars is a great time filler when you and a friend want to put your brains to the test for a few hours.

Yonder is the type of game I wish we had a lot more of on Xbox. Its quaint and relaxed nature is a breath of fresh air and an easy recommendation for families playing together. While its more structured story leaves less post-game life to live compared to its genre counterparts, it also manages to find a comfy middle ground between simplicity and depth. It's approachable, adorable, and sows the seeds of happiness in its characters and players alike.

JackQuest attempts to blend genre features together with its platforming and metroidvania elements, but it ends up being quite average in execution in almost all aspects. The art style and catchy, albeit short, soundtrack are positives, but they do little to eliminate the middling feel of the game. The plot doesn’t make me care to learn anything about the characters or what will happen to them, and the gameplay, while serviceable, doesn’t compel me to recommend JackQuest to fans of this style of game. It isn’t a terrible game, but there are far better options for those who are looking to for a fun retro romp.

Just like its campaign can be fun after you forgive its glaring flaws, Wrecking Zone is similarly full of potential and could be something really cool with further development. In its current form it can certainly be entertaining, but considering you can't deliberately play with friends yet, you'll wait a long time in matchmaking. It all lacks variety round to round, so the fun feels fleeting. Hopefully the developers have the green light to build on the multiplayer suite because it feels like they could have something really worthwhile on their hands after a few updates. For now, it's pretty easy to jump off.

Covering horror as often as I do, I know by now the telltale signs of a horror game that is little more than a walking sim with a few scripted door slammings. Conarium thankfully rises above this regularly faulty approach by including just enough actual threats to keep players on their toes. It is still an adventure game in part, but it gets that part mostly right too thanks to a good atmosphere and a story worth following whether or not you've read its original inspiration from H.P. Lovecraft. Puzzles and controls leave a lot to be desired, but Conarium does much else well, making it an easy recommendation for any fans of the author.

It's fitting that just days after Microsoft announced the name change of their internal production branch from Microsoft Studios to Xbox Game Studios, Crackdown 3's launch screen displays the old moniker. After a year of exciting studio acquisitions for the company in 2018 and a stronger push for first-party moving forward, Crackdown 3 is the last remnant of the bygone era of Smartglass, live-action/video game hybrids, and forced Kinect purchases. It survived the purge where Fable Legends and Scalebound did not, but even in its best moments, Crackdown 3's campaign feels like it was born too late.

Far Cry New Dawn continues the series' year-long descent into self-parody with this uninspired sequel. The spinoffs for Far Cry are usually very exciting, previously taking us to an alternate future or the ancient past. In New Dawn we return to Hope County, now with 300% more pink. Neither the premise nor the execution of the setting and story ever justify the project, but for fans who haven't tired of the series' formula yet, you can't really go wrong with more of the same when it's well done. It's mechanically tight and often engaging while it lasts. Let's just hope New Dawn is actually the setting sun for this version of Far Cry. The series could really use a makeover soon.

Away: Journey to the Unexpected tries to do a lot at once, which is a tall task for a game mostly built by just a pair of people. Ultimately, its strange direction lends to the charm of it all, but it's also clear the game is lacking in a few key areas — namely, shoddy combat and inconsistent level randomization. Still, it was billed as a "feel-good" indie and I'd have to agree. Despite its faults, I'm happy to have played this weird game.

Aside from the pacing, the episode is let down by a variety of technical issues which add a layer of frustration and detract from the experience. Fortunately we can see that the pace of Episode 3 is likely to pick up, and hopefully that finally reaches the potential this story is promising.

Purely as a game, it is mediocre at best, but for fans of the show, there is something quite entertaining and quite enjoyable about the title. Fans will have a smile on their faces as they work through all of the content and events, and if that is what the title is aiming for, then that is probably more than enough.

Onimusha: Warlords wasn’t revolutionary when it launched in 2001, but it was certainly good and time has been kind to it. This remaster offers a fresh overhaul of the game’s visuals and gameplay that make it feel accessible and enjoyable for a modern audience. The gameplay itself holds up quite well despite lacking the depth some other action titles have, with a variety of enemies and weapons to fight and wield. The story is horrendous and the camera can be difficult, but exploring the world has a nice flow to it that alleviates some of that. Onimusha isn’t a 2019 classic, but it has earned its place as a 2001 classic that’s still more than worth playing today if you’re in the market for good games from bygone eras.

Where Blood Money offers classic levels and assassinations with unwieldy controls and gunplay, Absolution offers smart, tight controls and better action but unfortunately few sandboxes for which the series is famous. You can see in hindsight how IO put it all together for 2016's relaunch of the franchise, and how they built on that even further to release the very best Hitman ever this past November. The Hitman HD Enhanced Collection, thus, makes for a fun and nostalgic trip for longtime fans, but a contract not worth taking for most everyone else.

At the beginning of the season, I called The Council the new benchmark for narrative adventure games. In some ways that's definitely still true, and with any luck we will see this series inspire other studios to go deeper. Sadly, those developers will also come away with a clear example of how not to close out a storyline.

The addition of multiplayer feels as though it comes at the expense of Fallout’s memorable story-driven moments. What good is a vast map full of players if they're given little to no purpose? When no other players are around, the game’s world feels almost empty. The attention-grabbing locales and landmarks add to Appalachia's charm, but it's difficult to not wish for living, breathing characters to inhabit it. Post-apocalyptic West Virginia is described as a wasteland, and this term paints an inadvertent but accurate picture of what Fallout 76 is right now.

MechaNika is a weird and wonderful experience that won't be for everyone. The story is bizarre and worthwhile, touching on some pretty serious points. You meet fascinating characters and will spend an enjoyable hour or so finding everything you need to complete the game. The point and click mechanic definitely feels like it needs some work to make it behave optimally for consoles, and you might be disappointed how soon you get to the end of the story, but it is one well worth experiencing nonetheless.

If you've played the developer's other titles then this one isn't any different; it largely works as intended and still provides a quick Gamerscore fix if that's what you're looking for. If you're new to the developer's output, while the game is a decent entry point for those new to the genre, it's not their best work. With Noir Chronicles: City of Crime, Artifex Mundi has made you an adventure game you can refuse.

Currently, it's a great idea dragged down by poor implementation. Patient players may be able to look past the game's less than optimal menus and mechanics that the fun new features are built around, but for most players, it'll feel pretty frustrating to have to play it in its current form. It's like when you get a new toy but first must remove all those ties and straps keeping it displayed in the package. Dynasty mode often feels like you're stuck removing those straps. There's a toy right there before you, but it feels like you never get to finish unboxing it all.

Construction Simulator 2 gives a fascinating insight into building processes, and a deeper appreciation of specialist construction machinery. Once past the initial learning curve, the gameplay is methodical with a meditative quality that will make it relaxing for some and boring for others. It strikes a good balance between realism and accessibility, and it’s genuinely satisfying to complete projects. However the realistic aspects of the game leave no room for creativity and will limit its appeal to those who can find satisfaction in completing set tasks. It's a niche game, but if you're interested in construction you might dig it.

Ultimately, the game falls between two stools, not realistic enough for the hardcore enthusiasts and not gamified enough for the gaming community. If a better balance could be found, then there is great potential here, but sadly, at this moment, the title just can't reach its own lofty ambitions.

Fans of H.P. Lovecraft are going to enjoy this game more than most as it brings to life his weird and memorable world to an extent few games, if any, have ever done. Every character and setting feels pulled from the pages in a way that is definitely admirable. It's just too bad much else that surrounds it doesn't impress as much. With a lack of polish in every way, diluted investigations, and rigid stealth sections, Call of Cthulhu isn't the investigative adventure-RPG most will want it to be. If you adore the author, this adaptation is worth a look. Otherwise, you can toss it back into the ocean.

Ultimately, GRIP has fun gameplay at its foundation, I'm just not sure this first attempt takes the game everywhere it needs to go.

Nickelodeon: Kart Racers squanders its should-be exciting premise of combining a fun genre and beloved characters. It's a bit of a feat for a game with this sort of head start to end up so poorly. With so few characters, unattractive audiovisual design, and a Nickelodeon license that feels almost tacked on in the end, it's very hard to recommend to anyone other than families with low expectations who just want a kart racer with SpongeBob or the Ninja Turtles in it. That's a small target audience, and for the many more outside of it, Nickelodeon: Kart Racers definitely isn't worth the ride.

Home Sweet Home is an otherwise effectively scary horror game that is betrayed by some unfortunate bugs. One in particular stopped the game short with ten minutes of plot wrap-up remaining, preventing the full game from being seen. On top of that, even the game's best scares can get hindered by enemy AI that misbehaves by running into walls or getting stuck on loops that demand you hit reset. When it's all working, Home Sweet Home shows a lot of promise, but there are a few too many unintentional scares by way of the game's flaws to recommend it to most horror fans right now.

Revenant Dogma feels like a game of missed opportunities. The story is either much too confusing or later all spoonfed to players. Spelling mistakes and subpar visuals make the game feel too rough around the edges. The characters' conversations only tell, never show and the gameplay soon gets repetitive. For genre-deprived fans, it may be enjoyable enough, but for anyone looking for a great Xbox JRPG, Revenant Dogma falls short.

Fishing Sim World is perhaps one of the most niche titles on the Xbox platform, and despite its popularity, angling is not a sport that you may expect to translate well to a digital world. Yet, Dovetail Games have captured the essence of coarse fishing surprisingly well. The ambient sounds of nature surrounding you are very realistic, and there's that same sense of tranquility you have when fishing.

The first of three post-launch chapters, Isle of the Dead takes no risks whatsoever, giving players a little bit more of exactly what the game was already. If you want a new level to explore with friends, this will give you that, but if you were hoping to see Strange Brigade in a new light, episode one of The Thrice Damned campaign is not for you. Like the base game, it's a no-frills experience, but this time a few frills would've been welcome.

Unfortunately the episode is let down by the less than subtle way it deals with delicate subjects like racism, as well as gameplay that means this episode feels like quite a slow start to the story. There are several hints throughout the episode to suggest the gameplay may be spiced up in the future, and it may need it if players are going to make it through to the end of the story.

All in all, WWE 2K19 feels like a game in which annual players will find enough to enjoy, but anyone looking to make their way back into the ring is best to wait it out in the locker room for another year.

Razed is fun and flashy. It’s a platformer focused on speed and precision and it’s backed up with fair level design and good mechanics. In its dash towards the finish line, it hits every step almost perfectly. Unfortunately, the couple misses hold it back from top marks. It’s got an uneven difficulty curve that will undoubtedly turn away some casual players. It’s also got an almost required backtracking element to find hidden upgrades and that’s not fun when all you want to do is break records and keep moving through the levels. Razed is nevertheless a joy to play on many occasions and that’s often enough to make it worth playing.

Think of the Children is carried by how fun it can be with friends. The silly situations, crazy cosmetics and chuckle-worthy court dialogue are best enjoyed with others. But the flaws become overwhelming in single player where levels aren't balanced for the lack of players, leading to a lot of frustration to merely beat the game, much less be eligible to get the coveted A+ rankings. Local co-op only and lacking controls and mechanics are other reasons that make Think of the Children a niche recommendation to only those dying for couch co-op experiences because the game is a disaster for solo players.

Telltale must've known their time was almost up, and even built this season as Clem's abbreviated final fight, but they maybe couldn't have predicted that it would all end even sooner than that. There's still hope for two more episodes, and that fact is really the only reason we're reviewing this anomaly in video game history at all. As it stands, it's worth playing if you can get a hold of it just to see where it might have have been going — and "might have been" appears to be all we have left.

It feels like Big Bad Wolf was in need of some shortcuts to get things to where they need to be for the finale, and there's enough reason to get through this episode and see the series through to its finale, but that still doesn't make Burning Bridges anything better than the low point of an otherwise strong and commendable adventure game.

TerraTech has some good elements, with huge scope for building a whole score of different vehicles. Sadly, aside from this and a hefty environment to explore, it doesn't do much else right.

Ninjin: Clash of Carrots starts out as a silly, colorful beat 'em up, then takes a dark turn down a surprisingly frustrating and challenging path. There is a huge arsenal of weapons and perks with which to engage enemies in both local and online co-op. New gear is constantly unlocked along the way, which keeps things interesting (until you rage quit, that is). A little challenge is fine, but in Ninjin, many mechanics feel unfair, and the later bosses' difficulty level is a sharp contrast to the rest of the game. A bit of balancing of the end-game missions would do wonders, but unless that happens, Ninjin remains hard to recommend to everyone.

Persian Nights: Sands of Wonders may well tell a storyline independent of the publisher's other titles, but the game mechanics will be more than familiar to those keeping up with them. The mini-games, puzzles, and hidden object scenes all perform as they should, and the rune battle encounters have been switched up a little to try to keep them fresh in one of few changes to the game format. The protagonist's companion can make conversation painful at times, which is a shame as the developer chose to try something new here too. Regardless, the title will still sate fans of the publisher, and those looking for a quick GamerScore fix, as well as providing a great entry point for those new to the genre.

Armored Warfare is a welcome addition to the tank battle genre. It brings the familiar elements from World of Tanks but adds its own subtle changes to both the gameplay and the freemium model, along with modern tanks and weaponry. As with other similar titles, it may not be for everyone, especially those looking for fast twitch-based games, as the gameplay can be a little ponderous until battles begin. However, once the first shots are exchanged, the battles can be as intense as any other. It is a solid title and will easily let you while away many hours, but therein also lies the biggest drawback, it will cost time to reach those higher level tanks, and for achievement hunters, it will have to be a labour of love to unlock all of the gamer score.

This feels more of an incremental installment which builds on the previous outing, retaining all of the key features whilst adding more content and that's not a particularly bad thing. Outside of the US, NASCAR is still seen as a niche sport, but Monster Games has managed to make a game that will appeal not only to those dedicated fans but one that should satisfy those players looking for a good sim-cade racing title. Even with some new toys that feel incremental at best, it makes for a strong foundation for the years ahead for the series.

If We Happy Few had all of these problems while in Xbox Game Preview and a pre-release state, you'd be more likely to excuse it, but it's rare to encounter so many issues in a full game release. While none were game breaking, they spoil what can be a decent game, with a unique world, interesting characters, and a convincingly damning depiction of the perils of taking hallucinogenic drugs. It's a world to which you want to return, but it's also a world that throws up a new problem with every visit. With several patches, this game could be a fun experience, but right now it can often be an exercise in frustration.

Puzzles seem designed to slow you but never halt you and thus they aren't that interesting. The same can be said for repetitive objectives and visuals. It reads like a laundry list of problems, and yet it remains a lot of fun anyway thanks to strong enemy variety and a frantic pace to the action. If you're looking for a co-op shooter that doesn't demand a lot of you other than good aim and a few good friends, Strange Brigade is a smart choice.

The new setting and cast feel unique and exciting for longtime fans, but those same fans may find the story retreading old plot points too often. More involved gameplay moments and some presentation changes make this Telltale game feel different than the rest as well, like a really cool effect that makes backgrounds seem like they're pulled right out of Kirkman's comics. One particular character arc pushes the limits of believability, which somewhat hurts an otherwise riveting final scene, but overall the premiere is worth jumping into for fans looking to finish what they started over a half-decade ago.

If you're looking for a short burst of fun and Space Invaders holds a special place in your heart, then Super Destronaut DX is perfectly playable. There's a handful of modes on offer to keep things entertaining for a while, but it relies too much on the nostalgia factor and ultimately offers little else. With nothing to keep you coming back after you've earned all the achievements, the game will sadly only be played for an hour or so before it is put back on the shelf and forgotten about.

If you’re looking for a standard Japanese shmup, Defenders of Ekron is going to disappoint, but this Chilean gem offers a nuanced level design that allows it to excel, becoming far better than most of its contemporaries through a revolving door of fun, challenging encounters and enough content to leave you more than content. Sure, it’s full of awful anime tropes that make you resent every story section, and it’s got some game design systems that actively hinder your enjoyment, but those negatives aren’t nearly enough to weigh down the game.

The Mooseman is a game that feels like it accomplishes what it sets out to do, for the most part. The ancient myths of the Finno-Ugric tribes are complemented well by the uncommon visual style. The story that is told over the course of the adventure is fascinating, and the art can range from striking to subdued depending on what the scene calls for. Where The Mooseman falls short is in the areas that are supposed to keep the audience engaged in between the lore-heavy segments.