The best parts of Amalur are still intact, but with the caveats of the visual bugs, outdated look, and endless sprinting, you’ll need to keep those rose-colored glasses on for the entire playthrough.

The combat, mechanics, and visuals are definitely better than its predecessor, as is Conton City and its myriad of quests. However, the constant feeling of “I swear I’ve done this before” can weigh down on the player at times.

FIFA 21 is a mash up of incremental steps forward, baffling design choices, and seemingly ignored issues. It simply doesn’t do enough to make the overall experience significantly more enjoyable than it was last year.

Stranger of Paradise is a peanut butter and chocolate combination of Final Fantasy XV and Nioh. The beauty of it is that you don’t even have to be a fan of Final Fantasy I to enjoy Stranger of Paradise. The story explains everything you need to know and anything you bring into it from previous knowledge is just extra. The combat is just spicy enough that you can feel like a powerhouse, but lets the players somewhat tweak the difficulty to their own desires if they’d rather face a tougher challenge. If this is the way that Square Enix will be remaking the early Final Fantasy games I am entirely in. This iteration takes modernization to the best possible level.

By the end of Iron from Ice, Telltale proves they are worthy of telling a tale in Westeros. It makes sense to me now that Telltale wanted six episodes for Game of Thrones – the amount of time they need to explain why they are here demands it, and it will give the rest of the season room to breathe.

A really fun game, filled with fast-paced, side-scrolling beat ’em up action. It brings gamers back to days spent in arcades pumping quarters into machines. It may not do too much in terms of new, but what is available is polished and extremely enjoyable.

For the most part, Mandatory Happiness is a Psycho-Pass game made specifically for Psycho-Pass fans. The story has no real bearing on the overall plot of the series, but it definitely adds a lot to the compelling universe, and even provides useful explanations for some lore points brought up in the TV show (hyper oats, anyone?). Mandatory Happiness is a great supplement to the already fantastic Psycho-Pass story.

It’s chess with Space Marines and Orks, and a few twists in the title game mode.

Tormentum is a fun and intriguing point-and-click, thriving on unique art style and simplified mechanics that truly showcase how excellent the genre delivers narrative in a non-intrusive and natural way.

In conclusion, Styx: Shards Of Darkness is a unique beast. In a time where every game seems to be committed to diversifying their gameplay as much as possible, and appealing to as wide an audience as possible, Styx: Shards Of Darkness is unconventionally pure in its approach. It is a stealth game through and through, and despite it’s flaws, is still one of the better games to come out in the genre for a long time.

Spellbreak runs well, it’s unique, and most importantly, it’s fun to play. If Proletariat Games sticks with Spellbreak and continues to improve it, it should be able to carve a long term niche in the popular battle royale genre.

There isn't a VR game quite like Thrasher, with its stunning visual style, simple yet rewarding gameplay, and singular aesthetic. It's proof of just how unique VR gaming can be.

Even with its few faults, Rise of Iron is an impressive expansion. Just when everyone thought Destiny was finally dying and we were moving to the sequel, Bungie went and spiced it up again with something fun and challenging.

It serves its purpose and delivers on what it advertises, giving players a power fantasy experience where they can tear through waves of enemies with the touch of a button. It’s an enjoyable Musou title which will keep fans entertained, and takes some small steps forward that future installments could use to great effect.

Steelrising is a fantastic video game held back by its adherence to other giants of the genre, and a lack of polish, whether that was due to time constraints, budget limitations, technical hurdles, or myriad other reasons. Whatever the case, the developer’s passion for the setting, and the ambitions of a studio on the cusp of the big-time shine through. While nothing revolutionary, Steelrising is well worth your time and attention.

Ultimately, the game goes much beyond the alluring eye candy that may appear to be its biggest selling point to a casual observer. While it doesn't neglect the fanservice, it's a rock solid fighting game with complex and nuanced mechanics that will likely satisfy even the most demanding genre enthusiasts.

Crammed to the gills with campy humor and a series B-movie look and feel, this is nearly a must-play for anyone who’s a fan of the old, cheesy films of the past or who enjoys listening to C-list directors ramble near-incoherently about their creations.

Telltale is clearly trying hard to make their Guardians series feel like Guardians of the Galaxy. Whether it’s the goofy montage that plays out to a typical Guardians track, the bickering in the group, or just one of Drax’s superbly-delivered one-liners, episode three continued to just feel like a good time.

Zombie Army Trilogy may not do much new in the grand scheme of things, but everything that it does, it does well. Shooting is fun and engaging. The story is slightly silly but it keeps everything together. Enemies are varied and make enjoyable targets. Horde mode is an absolute blast that really makes the multiplayer portion of Zombie Army Trilogy stand out as the true champion.

When the game works, it certainly works. Getting past the camera issues and annoying padding is a fun game that’ll definitely keep you entertained. Plus, you can become a giant spectral reaper and pick apart enemies the size of a Transformer with a single swing.

Ultimately, Watch Dogs: Legion’s main mechanic feels like an incredibly ambitious move that almost pays off for Ubisoft, but not quite. In favor of cramming as many playable NPCs into the game as possible, Legion ends up sacrificing story and character investment. Ubisoft’s vision of near-future London is a beautifully realized sandbox world that I loved spending time in, but it’s also forgettable and not one that I see myself returning to anytime soon.

There’s polish to its presentation and controls, invention in the way it strings together the combinations of different abilities, and oodles of charm in its aesthetic. Especially as a game to play while in portable mode, Shu is a platformer that any fans of the genre should consider trying.

F1 24 is definitely an upgrade over the 2023 version, but not a big one. The single-player modes are getting the biggest overhauls, and if you’re a fan of those, you’ll love them. Everything else, though, looks fairly similar to what it looked like in F1 23, but with a new logo taped over it.

Shape of the World is the perfect game to pick up after a particularity stressful day at work, and promises to keep you engaged in its simple gameplay through a combination of gorgeous environments and immersive game physics.

Fighting game players who are into the genre for the sake of going toe-to-toe with other players will have far more to look forward to than those who are attracted to game’s overall presentation or alternative game modes. So in the midst of quite a few missteps and mediocrity, you can’t deny that at its very base Marvel vs Capcom: Infinite did at least offer some solid improvements to gameplay while still keeping the overall pace and feel of the franchise. Unfortunately, the game struggled to achieve much else outside of that.

Dead Rising 4: Frank’s Big Package still comes with all the flaws and warts it had during its original release, but if you can look past that, and deal with some laggy multiplayer connection problems, there’s still a fun and varied story experience waiting for you here.

It’s so frustrating. The game is fun. I’ll always wish that Game Freak had taken another year or maybe even just a few more months to polish up what drags it down.

It’s difficult to ignore the lacking story and largely dead play areas. If you’re a fan of Dragon Ball in general you’ll find smiles and some fun here, but if you’re looking for an amazing RPG experience, you may want to look elsewhere.