If you're a fan of constant raising stakes with no reprieve, then this is certainly the sort of thing that will appeal to you. Even if not, it will still appeal, but in smaller doses. Either way, Tharsis is a compelling, but polarizing, game.

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]

Tales of the Shire is a frustrating missed opportunity. Decent cooking mechanics aside, nearly everything else you’d hope to see from a cozy hobbit life sim is either missing or half-heartedly executed. Meanwhile, those familiar with developer Weta Workshop for their contributions to the groundbreaking Lord of the Rings films will likely be surprised by how technically inept the game is. Even the smallest person can change the course of the future, but in this case, our furry-footed friends simply fall short.

Metal Max Xeno is one of the most average RPG's I've played in a long while. It's almost a comfort food in a strange way: warm and familiar but without any spice.

A decent game that simply tries too much. Mixing role playing and strategy aspects, though never the best at either, there's a lot to do. The other major issue is simply how ugly it looks outside of the drawn art.

Curse of Osiris offers little as far as content is concerned. The brief campaign is forgettable and treated more like hold-over content than a proper full expansion. The only real redeeming feature about Curse of Osiris are the Raid Lairs.

There might have been plenty of co-op shooters since Left 4 Dead, but few managed to wrangle the same fun, fear and frantic combat as Earthfall did.

Alfred Hitchcock - Vertigo is an interesting narrative-driven adventure game, or more like an interactive story, which incorporates several themes from Hitchcock's work. While not linked to the film of the same name, Vertigo is similar in many ways and - like Vertigo - features a compelling and well-told story with (mostly) interesting and well-developed characters. However, this story is countered by distracting facial animation, issues with balancing the generally good audio, and other technical problems. Alfred Hitchcock - Vertigo isn't a bad interactive story, I'd even recommend the story, it misses the mark on too much for me to not offer some caution.

A well-designed sandbox that’s at its most entertaining when you ignore what’s supposed to be the core of the game. The story is a dud, and the game's Ultimate Team-inspired upgrade system is an attempt to force a square peg into a round hole, but there’s no denying tearing down desert roads at 180 mph in a souped-up 1965 Mustang is a blast. Need for Speed Payback is a fun joyride, but it doesn’t quite hold up over the long haul.

WWE 2K Battlegrounds is clearly a rush job, but the game’s simple, fundamentally sound action can be a real breath of fresh air at times. Unfortunately, that air is tainted by overbearing microtransactions that feel particularly crass given the game’s cartoony, kid-friendly aesthetic. Battlegrounds could have been a contender if 2K had truly believed in the game, but once again, the publisher only seems to be interested in wrestling open fans’ wallets.

Drag x Drive delivers some moments of frenetic multiplayer fun, but an inflexible and physically-demanding control scheme, lack of personality, and dearth of content severely limits the game's long-term appeal. Drag x Drive could have been a solid addition to a larger Wii-Sports-style collection designed to show off the Switch 2's mouse functionality, but on its own, the game is far from a slam-dunk purchase.

Dolmen innovates the Soulslike genre with how it handles Energy and ranged combat but lacks a clear vision of what makes these games enjoyable beyond just some interesting mechanics.

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.

KING Art's take on the series was supposed to introduce it to a new generation of fans, but as things stand, it would be better for those interested in it to get the older Black Mirror games, as the reboot is marred by a variety of issues that prevent from being a memorable experience. There is a decent adventure game hidden somewhere beneath the mediocre writing, bland characters, and technical issues, but it would be better to look elsewhere to get a better experience.

The Dwarves is a role-playing game that fails to reach its full potential. Its interesting battle concepts are marred by a mediocre execution, very limited RPG mechanics, and just too many technical issues on PlayStation 4. Despite this, the game still managed to be somewhat enjoyable thanks to the gripping yet not too original story, and charming characters. Due to gameplay and technical shortcomings, however, only die hard high fantasy fans may find some enjoyment in The Dwarves. Everyone else would do better in looking elsewhere.

Tennis World Tour 2 is an undeniable improvement on the original release and it's also arguably a great tennis game for those who can get into it. Aesthetically, it looks good from afar, with fluid animations and speed that honestly gives the feel of a tennis match and features a wide number of game modes, giving you a lot to play through. The problem, however, is that the core game mechanics are inaccessible and unapproachable, offering no settings to reduce the reliance of awfully specific precision-based button pressing which can ruin the core career mode. A mixed bag, this will appeal for fans of tennis, but the opaque nature of the gameplay makes it too hard to recommend.

Should you get Payday 2 on Switch? Well if you want an interesting multiplayer shooter and don’t have access to it on other platforms, sure. Otherwise? Probably not. Maybe wait to see how things are after an update or two.

Medieval Kingdom Wars is a very ambitious game, one that certainly has the potential to be far better if Reverie sticks to their promise and keep up with updates and fixes. At the moment it's a little better than adequate, it can even be good at times. It just has a few too many flaws and can hit too many boring patches, preventing it from reaching that higher level.

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.

The Dead Island 2 Haus DLC is nothing more than a quick romp that can be moderately fun if played in the middle of the campaign for a little 2 hours or so diversion, but it simply doesn't offer enough for returning players, as it only exacerbates how the game tends to become a little repetitive a dozen hours in.

Brawlout isn’t terrible, but it’s a struggle to recommend to anyone. If you play Smash Bros. by yourself a lot, maybe this has the kind of content you’ll enjoy, but with no reason for casual players to get involved, and an inferior competitive game compared to Smash, Brawlout isn’t a game I’d put on my wishlist.

Flint: Treasure of Oblivion is a game that undoubtedly required way more time in the oven. While its engaging story, captivating presentation, and the charismatic pirate captain James Flint pull players into the adventure early on, the experience is marred by a horrendous interface, clunky controls, poor tutorials, and the subpar execution of several mechanics. As a result, the game is hard to recommend except to the most dedicated tactical role-playing game enthusiasts willing to overlook its many glaring flaws.

Endless Ocean Luminous offers some agreeable laid-back moments, but a lack of depth and complexity, even compared to the 15-year-old Wii entries in the series, waters down the game’s appeal. Endless Ocean Luminous was always destined to be a niche product, but even the diehards may find the game’s narrow focus on procedural generation and unexceptional online play over almost anything else a bit fishy.

Despite the backlash from fans decrying that Metal Gear Survive isn't a true Metal Gear game, what's available in this $40 package is a hundred-plus hours of one of the most polished survival games to ever make it onto consoles.

Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League has a sprinkling of that classic Rocksteady charm, delivering polished visuals, fluid traversal and combat, and some snappy repartee, but the whole experience is bogged down by dreary, repetitive mission design, empty live service elements, and a feel-bad story that’s mean-spirited to the point of feeling oddly resentful. Perhaps most damning, not even the thing promised in the game’s title – fighting and dispatching the Justice League – ends up being particularly fun or memorable. Those who really want to see what becomes of the Arkhamverse may not be able to resist picking this up, but I suggest waiting for a steep discount before subjecting yourself to this tedious team-up.

With the current flood of action role-playing games inspired by the Souls series, Stray Blade wasn't setting out to light the world on fire, but the game did have the potential to be much better than it turned out to be. While the experience isn't entirely unplayable when everything clicks together, the clunky execution of most of its gameplay mechanics makes it difficult to recommend the game to anyone but those who live and breathe ARPGs and need to play each and every one of them.

It can be difficult to square the decade-plus Skull and Bones development cycle with its lack of features in some areas, but this isn’t the wreck many expected it to be. The game’s naval combat is simple yet engaging, its world is striking, ship customization is satisfying, and there are plenty of varied things to do, even if most of them don’t involve getting off your ship. Skull and Bones can be repetitive and it doesn’t exactly capture that devil-may-care pirate lifestyle, but keep expectations in check and there’s fun to be had sailing these pleasantly predictable seas.

I do hope they bring Mario Party to Switch soon, but until then, this honestly isn’t a very good replacement. Not worth it unless it’s a gift for a younger gamer, or you happen to get together with friends and 3DS consoles often.