Age of Mythology Retold brings back a classic, with new - great - visuals, a new UI, and a few new gameplay features. While it does, for the most part, feel more like a remaster, there's still an incredible amount to love here, and the few new features the army of developers have added bring a whole new level to the game.

The Casting of Frank Stone is yet another hit from Supermassive Games, delivering an engaging horror story deeply rooted into the lore of Dead of Daylight equally enjoyable by fans of the original game and those with no knowledge of the multiplayer game created by Behaviour Interactive. While its short length and limited gameplay may slightly hinder the experience, the game remains a worthwhile purchase for those who appreciate well-crafted supernatural horror stories.

Emio - The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club really sneaks up on you. For much of its runtime the game is a likable, if somewhat by the book, throwback detective visual novel, but Nintendo swings big in terms of narrative in its final hours, ultimately delivering a story that’s much more daring, dark, and affecting than anything this franchise has delivered before. Whether you’re a visual novel nut or just in the mood for a good mystery with some teeth, Emio will leave you grinning.

Visions of Mana is a fun JRPG for the first thirty hours but the continuous backtracking and overall padding left me feeling like my time wasn't being respected by the time Val's journey came to a close

Black Myth: Wukong stands out as one of the strongest debut games released in recent times. While not groundbreaking in any way, it masterfully blends elements from several popular franchises to deliver an engaging action RPG experience that ranks just below the very best in the genre. Although stuttering issues and minor gameplay flaws hold it back slightly, these shouldn't deter any action RPG or action game fan from picking it up. The Journey to the West has rarely been this enjoyable.

Overall, it was enjoyable to watch the relationships between the characters unfold. However, the prologue soured it early on for me, as it felt a bit too overexaggerated. The conversations and getting to explore new environments were some of the best parts of Dustborn, while I unfortunately found the combat system to be a little lacking in places. Still, the idea for this game is incredibly unique and one that I really enjoyed.

The Sims 4: Lovestruck does do a good job at sprucing up the game and trying to make it a little bit more dynamic, the same way Growing Together did. However, some of the features were incredibly lacking, and I felt that there could have been much more added to make it worthwhile. I really liked the new interactions that they added to the game, but aside from that, the expansion was still quite flat.

Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn is an enjoyable and highly accessible Soulslite. A44 created a great entry point for the genre, not to mention an exciting fantasy setting that mixes black powder, magic, and influences that go beyond the usual European medieval style. The combat is fun and won't cause you to break any controllers. The story is also worth following, although the game perhaps end up too soon, leaving narrative and gameplay possibilities to be explored by a sequel.

While Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess may not be the best action game or the best tower defense game around, Yoshiro and Soh's journey is undeniably compelling. Thanks to great map, scenario, and enemy design, along with plenty of viable tactical options and a wide arsenal of abilities, this new IP from CAPCOM stands out as one of the most surprising titles of the year, held back only by minor issues, such as a shallow narrative and a low challenge level.

With its three entertaining scenarios showcasing Remedy Entertainment's narrative and visual design prowess, the Alan Wake 2: Night Springs expansion is a more than worthy DLC for all fans of the base game and the Finnish developer, provided they can keep their expectations in check. The expansion's short length, a little over two and a half hours, and its stripped-down gameplay will inevitably disappoint those looking for something more substantial.

It’s easy to see why Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD stood out in its original form on the 3DS, and even today, there’s plenty of reason to like the green guy’s spooktacular sophomore outing. That said, limited efforts to update the original material, particularly some of the game’s more frustrating structural and design choices, makes this Mansion feel just a bit creaky.

Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree expands the base game by offering more of what made it one of the best open-world games ever. It features a well-sized map dense with secrets to discover, new masterfully designed dungeons, and introduces new, fun tools to help the Tarnished tackle some of the most challenging enemies in the game's dark and brutal world. While the lack of new gameplay mechanics may disappoint some, don't let this deter you. Shadow of the Erdtree is every bit as good as the base game, and it is an essential purchase for all those who loved FromSoftware's amazing action role-playing game.

While Still Wakes the Deep offers up its fair share of thrills, railroad-style level design, a short runtime, and a surprisingly superficial story result in an experience that may entertain in the moment, but will likely be forgotten rather quickly. Still Wakes the Deep may well float your boat at a discount, but there are better, scarier fish in the sea.

Killer Klowns from Outer Space serves up a sum total of five maps and a single game mode of launch. Those maps are a decent size and feature some randomization, but after only 4 or 5 hours, I felt I’d pretty much mastered them. I give IllFonic credit for not stuffing the game with microtransactions at launch, but with the lack of content on offer, $40 is a big ask, particularly given how thin the source material is. While IllFonic has vaguely promised some post-launch content is on the way, I question how many scarves they can pull out of their sleeves.

While the new Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door preserves the gonzo charm that made the original game a cult classic, not a lot has been done to deal with its padding and other design quirks. If you’re a hardcore Thousand-Year Door fan, worry not, you’re going to love this spiffy new version. If you’re new to the game or weren’t entirely sold the first time around, you’re still likely to find plenty to enjoy here, but you may also notice a few tattered edges.

Senua's Saga: Hellblade II keeps virtually the same scope and structure of the independent triple-A game made in 2017 by Ninja Theory. The story is just as poignant, the visuals are stunning, and the experience is one that every Game Pass user should check out for themselves. However, those hoping for a more traditional game in the vein of the God of War reboot will inevitably be disappointed, and this is unlikely to have nearly that level of success, which is what Microsoft still desperately needs.

Solid core mechanics are not enough to make Die by the Blade the compelling spiritual sequel of the Bushido Blade series fans have been waiting for a long time. Bland character design, clunky animations, horrendously slow progression system, extreme lack of content and mediocre visuals are only some of the issues that mar an experience that is very hard to recommend to anyone in its current state.

Homeworld 3 marks a successful return to a long-revered series. Bringing back the successful space strategy series, but improving the combat by a large amount with a more tactical approach, Blackbird Interactive has successfully made their mark. With exceptional tactical combat, made all the more important by the fact that everything carries over, and one bad mistake could cripple you much further down the line. The additional War Games mode only enhances this, making for a very engaging title.

Animal Well is a fantastic breakout title from both a new developer and publishing studio. Fans of Fez and Tunic will feel right at home jumping into this well.

V Rising may not have the deepest survival game mechanics around, but that is hardly a problem. The game crafted by Stunlock Studios masterfully weaves mechanics from very different genres to provide an experience like any other on the market. While solo players may find the experience becoming a little stale over time, everyone else will find plenty of reasons to remain in this world, whether it's to perfect their characters or build the most haunting vampire castle ever seen.

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.

Sand Land is a fitting farewell to Akira Toriyama as the game elevates itself above most digital adaptations of his work, delivering a well-presented story, solid action, and satisfying exploration. Some aspects of the game’s design may be a bit overfamiliar for open-world veterans, but newer players and fans just looking to explore a fresh world from the master will likely enjoy burying themselves in this sandy adventure.

Taking a step back from Kim Hung Tae's character designs for a moment, Stellar Blade is a phenomenal action RPG that evolves from the framework of NieR Replicant and NieR Automata to become one of the next cult classics.

The Dead Island 2 SoLa DLC is a much better expansion than the previous one, featuring the same enticing blend of wacky characters and explosive zombie slaying action of the base game. The new additions, however, don't expand the core gameplay significantly, making the expansion a worthy purchase only for the most die-hard fans of Dambuster Studios' rendition of zombie-infested Los Angeles.

Tales of Kenzera: ZAU proves that innovation isn't always necessary to craft a compelling experience. With its heartfelt story, compelling protagonist, and solid metroidvania gameplay featuring excellent pacing, Zau's journey is one that resonates, especially for those grappling with similar grief to the young shaman.

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.

While its premise, story beats and main characters echo Suikoden II a little bit too much, Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes manages to stand on its own with a compelling tale, excellent characterization, classic JRPG gameplay and great presentation, which make it easy to look past some of its shortcomings, such as balancing and minor gameplay issues. The world of Allraan may never get into the spotlight again due to the unfortunate departure of its creator, but it is undeniable that it couldn't have been introduced to JRPG fans in a better way.

Harold Halibut is an extraordinary accomplishment in a lot of ways, presenting a gorgeously-realized handcrafted world and a story swimming with unique sci-fi ideas and affecting emotional beats. Unfortunately, a lack of stimulating puzzles or gameplay results in a title that delivers quite nicely on a surface movie-like level, but doesn't dive as deep as you might expect.