At the end of the day, it’s hard to say whether Serious Sam: Tormental deserves your time and attention. As a twin-stick shooter, it’s designed well and works to provide enjoyable gameplay for anyone looking for something simple. But when compared to its peers, it’s just not that special or unique that would warrant an extended amount of time spent on it, even if you happened to be a big Serious Sam fan.

MLB The Show 22 is a fantastic baseball simulator that fans of the sport will enjoy. Unfortunately, there aren’t enough notable changes to the game that make it a must-have. There are some little tweaks here and there that dedicated players will notice, but the total package isn’t too different. That said, it’s still worth picking up if baseball is your game.

Unless you are a big fan, The House of the Dead: Remake is not the best way to experience this classic for the first time, and it would have probably been better off dead than revived in this form.

Even with a weaker fighting system, though, The Kaito Files is more than worth the purchase for any fan of the series. Fantastic writing, enjoyable characters, and a gripping narrative make this experience another highlight in the series, more than proving that Kaito is worthy of being a protagonist.

The game feels like it’s meant for those who miss the GBA-era glory days, and it may just satisfy if these particular limiting factors can be overlooked. And, with all that said, it’s certainly a step in the right direction when looking toward the future of a genre that’s more or less being monopolized by Pokemon.

While LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is more of an evolution of the franchise than a full on revolution, it’s still quite possibly the definitive Star Wars video game collection right now, not only from a content perspective, but from an authenticity and a fun factor perspective as well. Equally charming as it is nostalgic, it’s a wonderful experience, especially for those with a soft spot for that galaxy far, far away.

Overall, I am happy to have a modern way to play Chrono Cross and Radical Dreamers. Could Square Enix have polished this up a bit more to fit the standards of a remaster in 2022? Absolutely. Is Chrono Cross still a stellar game regardless? Absolutely. I am eager to play through it again in New Game+ to make different decisions and recruits.

In essence, In Nightmare is a narrative heavy puzzle game where all too often you must engage in more action heavy scenes in order to progress. That, coupled with frequent sections where you must navigate a room of either a single monster or multiple and avoid detection, caused the game to wear out its welcome sooner than it should have. When it’s just puzzles where you have have all the time in the world to reason out is when the game works best, and I found myself wishing for more of that as the game went on.

Hardware limitations and frustrations aside, Moss: Book II is another resounding success for Polyarc, despite a few strange missteps in finnicky weapon switching and minor quality of life tweaks that could come as part of a future update. The collectibles provide ample reason to keep playing after you’ve finished the story, and the puzzle-based environments are just as beautiful to look at as they are a satisfying enigma to crack.

If you’re looking for a cute, fun game or need a palate cleanser from difficult titles like Sifu and Elden Ring, then Kirby and the Forgotten Land came at the perfect time.

This is one game that is certainly worth checking out, if only for the setting and story premise, and if you could find some way to look beyond the less than ideal conditions of the gameplay segments, then perhaps you already possess the necessary steel and nerve to make it in the Weird West.

The biggest issue you could perhaps point to with Relayer is that it really isn’t for everyone. If you don’t enjoy visual novels, if you aren’t into turn-based games, or if you hate anime tropes, this game likely isn’t for you. If, however, you enjoy your anime, mecha, turn-based tactics, and a deep and interesting story with a rich cast of attractive characters, it’s easy to recommend Relayer. It’s really as close to a playable sci-fi anime as it gets, and I’m all for it.

While the gameplay felt familiar, Tiny Tina and the rest of the main cast carry this one on their backs through witty, fun dialogue that stayed consistently entertaining throughout the campaign. The banter, fantasy setting, and TTRPG concept really created so much more enjoyment than I expected to find here.

Long-time fans of the series might be disappointed, but it is at least check the same boxes that all of the other titles in this niche genre do. More casual players will probably just want to pass on this entirely, as the pros won’t outweigh the cons.

Ghostwire: Tokyo is a must-play for anyone who loves action-adventure, even with some less than inventive design choices for its structure. And even though it is set in a city where the only other inhabitants are spirits, yokai, and The Visitors, everything about Ghostwire: Tokyo feels so alive. It has fantastic stories, a rich setting, and addictive gameplay that keeps getting better as the game progresses.

Dawn of Ragnarok might be Valhalla’s largest campaign expansion by scale, but I didn’t enjoy it nearly as much The Wrath of the Druids and even The Siege of Paris. Unless you’re a hardcore Valhalla fan or someone who is particularly enamored with finding a collecting the (admittedly cool-looking) new armor sets, wait for this one to go on sale to satiate your craving to plunder.

Every once in a while, a true indie gem comes along. A classic for the ages lauded by critics and players alike. One inspired by classics, taking their best mechanics before refining and crafting something wholly unique and simply unforgettable, for better and occasionally, for worse. After more than 15 hours of deciphering cryptic clues and losing myself in its meticulously-crafted, mysterious world, Tunic has cemented itself in that bracket of all-time indie classics, and one that you simply have to play.

As it stands, this is a tough one to recommend as long as the bugs persist, but it may be worth checking out after a patch or two to resolve the more blatant issues.

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.

Even with slight hiccups like this, I still adored my time with Far: Changing Tides.

The true problem of Babylon’s Fall is that it has no sense of identity. There’s nothing that sets it apart from games like it, and it only shows itself as a poor comparison to other, free, games. Babylon’s Fall feels like it was made to check a box, because it is just so empty and slapped together. The cookie-cutter levels only serve to wear you down as you just want to make it through main missions that are just about your only way to play the game.

Gran Turismo 7 is looking like it could be the best racing game of 2022. There are so many other superlatives you can go with for this game like it’s the best-looking PS5 game or it’s one of the best PlayStation exclusives of this generation so far, but the important thing is that the game is just straight-up fun. Despite a few stumbles here and there, the shine of Gran Turismo 7 greatly exceeds the negatives and makes it a must-have for anyone that’s looking for their next PS5 title.

I’m a huge fan of this HD-2D style approach Square Enix is taking with these games. Octopath Traveler looked like a souped-up Final Fantasy VI, and similarly, Triangle Strategy looks like a souped-up Final Fantasy Tactics with more modern mechanics and UI. I think fans of the genre are going to really appreciate what Triangle Strategy has going for it, even if the character development could use a bit more work. And for genre newcomers or those less familiar with it like myself, this is a fantastic entry point with an engaging story to keep you hooked.

The freedom ELEX II allows through the traversal mechanics is something that I have never encountered before in a game like this but will now always think about going forward.

The development team has to be applauded for pushing the boundary of the horror industry with its ideas. It’s just a shame that it stumbles so heavily when it comes to the execution and dilutes its strongest element with generic, repetitive gameplay.

As an open-world skeptic who was pretty much convinced that the Souls formula wouldn't work in such a setting, I'm happy to have been proven wrong. Elden Ring retains the heart of what makes FromSoft's action RPGs so compelling, and takes things to a whole other level by pulling the best elements from their older games and improving upon them in this one.

Ultimately, it’s a great game that will almost inevitably become even better with time, but the launch package won’t disappoint fans of either franchise involved. Especially Warhammer Fans are in for a treat, with new lore and new heroes providing a ray of hope for a better future after quite a few bleak years.

Horizon Forbidden West is a spectacular sequel to one of the PS4's best exclusives. Its narrative is one of its strengths, with unforgettable characters and twists and turns that maintain a solid pace throughout, and it's combat has been expanded on, adding in new weapon and ammo types to make eliminating machines and humans an immensely satisfying experience. All of this is wrapped up in a world that feels more alive and meticulously crafted than its predecessor with visuals and animations that bring that special blockbuster feel Sony's exclusives are now renowned for to the PS5.