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.

It excels in many ways from fast and challenging combat to well-designed boss fights and good level design. The only problem is that it feels like the "lite" version of all of its inspirations, offering a taste of a masterpiece instead of a new take on those archetypes. You'll get Dark Souls without the measured combat, Bayonetta without the intricate weaving of combos, Castlevania with far fewer utility abilities to learn, and Zelda with puzzles that are far too easy for most. Still, what's taken from each of those games is mostly good, which makes Darksiders III a successful comeback story.

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.

Thankfully, even as some features are conspicuously absent, nothing else in Battlefield V feels rushed. It's a smooth experience, offering yet another audiovisual master class, and regularly delivers a true sense of spectacle in a way that other console shooters simply can't match.

As a vessel to transport fans of the series back through its many stories, World of Final Fantasy Maxima is an unqualified success. The game is filled with old friends to meet and side content to play through with them, but it's also completely accessible as an entry point into the series for new players thanks to a forgiving combat system and a story with great humor and characters. The combat can be a bit easy, and there's not a ton of side content to keep you busy, but these drawbacks are far outweighed by the special experience of playing through the story and getting invested in the world. If you come into this with eyes wide open regarding the combat, there's plenty to find and enjoy in this world.

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.

IO deserves praise for knowing their series so well and bringing the types of changes to this sequel that longtime fans will appreciate most of all. It's the most accessible Hitman to date thanks to improved information sharing, but it also runs deeper than anything before it, making it a game truly built for the fans that know Agent 47 best. No other stealth game plays like Hitman, and Hitman 2 is the best this unique series has ever been.

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.

The Shapeshifting Detective truly does make the player feel as though they’re controlling the main character in a murder mystery TV show. Quality of life improvements such as skipping repeated scenes on later playthroughs and hiding useless menu options would be appreciated, but on the other hand, the game’s narrative is so engaging that I was tempted to take notes in order to keep all of the characters’ stories straight. Finding flaws in alibis, spotting discrepancies in statements, and slowly getting to learn about each character’s backstory were the main highlights of the game, and they manage to overshadow the less appealing aspects of this sleuthing experience.

11-11 Memories Retold is a touching and tearful World War I game that puts the human element on the front lines. Never about being a war hero and always more to do with the real people in uniform and the reasons that brought them there, it's a story that you won't soon forget and even one you can help shape with several tense decisions left to players. Stiff animations and some plot holes hinder the project, but overall 11-11 is among the best World War I stories ever told in video games.

The game makes for a fun adventure with a bit of a family-friendly leaning, and allows you the freedom to chase mission markers or just slow down and explore. A good variety of missions will please any players who haven't yet grown weary of the developer-publisher's oft-seen open-world design, making Ubisoft's risky project a game that shoots for the stars and in many ways manages to get there.

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.

It’s fun, challenging, accessible and deep enough to keep this casual player around, and the few negatives can’t stand in the way of what makes the game so excellent. I’d recommend this to anyone with even a passing interest in the fighting genre, and especially to those like me who just want a fighting game that’s fun to play.

Red Dead Redemption 2's vast, detailed and stunningly beautiful open world sits as the perfect backdrop for its compelling and well-paced story filled with epic set pieces. With deeper gameplay mechanics, a larger cast of diverse and interesting characters to meet, and a wealth of content from side objectives to mini-games, RDR2 is a shining example of what makes Rockstar's games so special. It might have been a long eight-year wait for a follow-up to Red Dead Redemption, but it's been well worth it as the game may go down as the greatest of this generation. Few games have ever had as much hype around them as this one, and yet few have ever met and even exceeded their expectations in the way Red Dead Redemption 2 has.

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.

Black Ops 4 is one of the most packed Call of Duty experiences to release in years. Multiplayer could still use some balance and spawn tweaking, Specialist HQ's implementation flopped, and there are still bugs to be addressed. Nonetheless, there is something here that feels like the biggest step in the right direction the Call of Duty series has taken in a long time.

It's fun for most audiences, but if you have kids of a certain age, My Memory of Us is a fantastic game to play together as it offers good puzzles for younger players and important themes worth your family time. Teaching kids about the worst parts of humanity is a delicate subject but also necessary so that they may grow up more loving and intelligent than some people in our history books. My Memory of Us is at its best as a teaching tool that reminds players of the power of love over hate.

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.

With subtle touches to the on-court gameplay, better and more numerous game modes, and an addicting player upgrade loop, it's a tough game to put down.

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.

Anodyne is indeed reminiscent of 2D Zelda titles, but it manages to not be bound by comparisons as it offers a fresh and welcome take on this style of game. Though some brute force combat hinders the experience, it uses certain ingredients from the games that influenced it while also injecting its own brand of humour, presentation, and gameplay into the mix to create an experience that fans of the genre should not miss.

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.