Death Stranding 2: On the Beach is a world of both the familiar and the alien, of trails well-worn yet frontiers to be explored. So much of what made Kojima Productions’ first title such a unique experience is here, with something brand new to explore. Those looking for a comfortable walking simulator to transport goods by food and explore nature have exactly what they’re looking for, while those who come to Hideo Kojima’s works for the off-the-wall narrative and memorable fight scenes will also walk away satisfied with plenty to chat about online. This is one title that I’ve been taking my time with and enjoying at my own pace, even if that experience has been hauntingly lonely the past couple of weeks.

For now, though, Diablo IV Vessel of Hatred is a solid expansion that is perhaps not heavy on content but more than makes up for it with many systemic changes that will elevate the whole game for years to come. [Review in Progress]

Overall, besides the aforementioned lack of instant assassinations in some cases, I do have a lingering concern regarding the depth and variety of content, an important aspect of games belonging to the open world genre. Ubisoft stated that it would always be meaningful, but I still have to check whether this will actually be the case....Other than that, though, Assassin’s Creed Origins is looking great so far. Check back soon for our full review, which will also include our opinions on the story – including the modern day part, which is indeed included as you can glimpse from the screenshot above.

For now, it's looking positive, even though it certainly has its issues. [Review in Progress]

I have completed the main 'Master of' quests, but I have not yet reached the conclusion of the story. Based on the compelling narrative, the excellent eight-character combat overhaul, and the meaningful addition of the Masteries system, the game currently sits as my personal favorite entry in the series. The ultimate score will depend heavily on the payoff of the final narrative act and whether the combat holds up against the toughest challenges. [Review in Progress]

For a $60 (or $70 on current gen) release, don’t expect the Call of Duty Modern Warfare II campaign to be solely enough for the asking price. With a roller-coaster story that bounces from locale to locale with a lack of attention span across its four-hour runtime, 2022’s Modern Warfare 2 is disappointing after coming off the highs of Vanguard and even the first reboot of Modern Warfare. It’s a serviceable shooting gallery that really doesn’t have much to offer that we hadn’t seen before across prior campaigns. [Campaign Review Score = 65]

Despite being a masterpiece of split universes and the often futile attempts to fight fate, we're living in the timeline where the original source code for Chrono Cross was lost to the scars of time and the remaster that exists in this age wasn't given the focus that one of the greatest JRPGs of all time deserves.

So far, I'm having a lot of fun with Top Spin 2K25, though there are some obvious shortcomings, like the lack of online doubles and custom matches, the very limited roster of pro players, and the too-long rallies. I'll reserve final judgment after proper testing of the 2K and World Tour modes when they go live.

Nintendo’s Labo VR Kit is yet another genius experiment from the minds of the Big N, but is it essential for Switch owners? Once again, the primary value is in building the ToyCon, not actually playing with them. Having said that, playing with them offers a far better gaming experience than what players found with the other three Labo kits.

REVEIL feels like a game that tries to be like its inspirations but fails to deliver on what makes them stand out. The game doesn't appropriately do much with the potential it has and the atmosphere and tension it builds doesn't really go anywhere. The twist at the end also comes out of nowhere and exists only to deliver a shock that really isn't deserved.

Nintendo Labo Vehicle Kit is another fascinating, clever step in Nintendo's Labo line, one that still managed to be as enjoyable as the first time I started folding cardboard months ago. The building is still far better than the playing, and adults will likely find it too simple, but kids and creatives will once again find loads to while away their time with here.

The game is solid and feels good to play. The plans for the game's first year sound interesting, with each Season introducing new content revolving around a theme and new quality of life features. Hence, the ball is literally on Ubisoft Montreal's court now. Will they be able to complete their three laps of the arena and score five points? We will just have to wait and see. [Review in Progress]

While The Outlast Trials is a game that can be completed, it has many issues that currently keep it from being a fun experience. The game is very repetitive and cumbersome while the balance that it has is all over the place. Unfortunately, these issues seem to be only fixable with a lot of reworks and massive patches. Even then, it still won't address the boring gameplay loop and the lack of actual challenge outside of modifiers that only exist to make the game even more frustrating. This is a game that only hardcore Outlast fans can be invested on and thus, it is hard to recommend.

Broken Lines is a game that frustratingly misses nearly every shot it tried to make. While there are moments of fun to be found, they are unfortunately buried in trenches of tedium and disappointment.

Battlefield 2042 feels like the most complete Battlefield game yet, mainly thanks to the incredible depth provided by Battlefield Portal and the brand new Hazard Mode, even though it is unclear whether it'll be enough to draw flocks of new players to the franchise. [Review in Progress]

Maybe the hidden message of the game is "patience is a virtue", but I don't need five to six hours of trudging through extremely littered forests and streets telling me that. Maybe you will like A Quiet Place: The Road Ahead, but I sadly didn't.

Being able to play through Call of Duty: Black Ops 7's campaign in a full squad of four and then jump straight into the Endgame makes this one of the more enjoyable Call of Duty campaigns in recent years, even if the story being told fails to live up to the hype. [Campaign Review score = 84]

Gal*Gun Double Peace is certainly a title that’s not for everyone, but if those titulating screenshots get your heart going ‘doki-doki,’ you’re exactly the kind of person that Double Peace was made for.

Although I'm not yet ready to deliver a definitive verdict on FBC: Firebreak, my current impressions are definitely positive. Despite being Remedy's first foray into multiplayer, the Finnish studio crafted a fun co-op shooter with a lot of personality, thriving on the unpredictability offered by the Remedy Connected Universe that makes it easy to look past some of its issues, such as the unsatisfying gunplay. With a promising content roadmap, FBC: Firebreak has a bright future ahead, and it'll be interesting to see whether it will manage to stay as fresh as it does in the first dozen of hours or so. [Review in Progress]

Skully is a masterclass in bad platformer design. Characters that are a chore to handle, sloppy level design, lousy camera controls, irritating puzzles, and a general lack of personality combine to create a profoundly tedious experience. If challenge is literally all you care about (even if it’s wildly unfair), Skully might be worth a shot at a steep discount. Everyone else should spare themselves the headache.

Trailblazers isn’t a bad game, it just doesn’t do anything to make me ever want to go back to it. The multiplayer portion of the game does not have enough players to get into matches consistently (or ever, in my case) leaving the lackluster single player content. There’s also the local multiplayer but, just like the single-player content, you and your friends will get bored relatively quickly. To top everything off, the price of the game is far too high for what you are getting, making it difficult to convince anyone you know to pick it up.

Daymare 1998 is meant to be a blast from the past but all it really does is destroy your old memories of those 90s horror games you played so long ago.

God of Rock has to be one of the worst attempts at combining rhythm games with other genres. While the game has a solid foundation, it really doesn't have much else as it fails as both a rhythm game and its fighting game aspects feel more like an overcomplication of something that already works well in other versus rhythm games.

FlatOut 4 is a frequently irritating game that's held down by incredible amounts of grind, it has some saving graces with a variety of game modes and track types, but they don't do enough to balance out against the negatives like AI, physics and more.

My concern with Predator: Hunting Grounds is a simple one. If Illfonic doesn't fix the issues with getting in a game and a few bugs like AI enemies glitching into the floor, as well as develop some content to actually liven it up, it'll become another Evolve. If the issues are fixed and a bit of content is made, I could genuinely see this having a decent following. I know I'd come back to it.

While not our final score for Godfall, we're reserving the opportunity to adjust the tally for Godfall based on the endgame content. If it somehow redeems the lackluster loot that players will carve through during the campaign, that number might change. Otherwise, go into this one looking for some quality swordplay and subpar swords. [Provisional Score = 70]

Fort Solis is technically great from a graphical and audio perspective. The issue is that the narrative and gameplay do not match up, being poor by any standards. It's challenging to get into Fort Solis, from poor pacing and storytelling to gameplay that is boring at the best of times - primarily thanks to some of the slowest movement speeds in gaming today. When you are in, you'll be glad to get back out as soon as possible.

Windbound wants to offer a deep story backed up by rewarding exploration, crafting and survival in a beautiful open world. However, it only really lands the beautiful open world part of this, with it getting close to the line with the rewarding exploration and crafting aspects. The problem is that for all it wants to offer, Windbound is just too shallow and repetitive and offers no real replay value.