Citadel: Forged with Fire is a good game, but needs more polish.

If you're looking for a horror experience that perfectly weaves tension, presentation, and narrative together like the original Layers of Fear did, then Layers of Fear 2 will disappoint you. However, if you're simply looking for a freaky experience to play after dark, you'll enjoy Layers of Fear 2 quite a bit.

ReCore leans on some beloved gameplay conventions while injecting some of its own, gloriously unique and fulfilling elements. The RPG layer provides boatloads of additional gameplay and the setting, story and characters are just something I want to see more of.

One thing is for certain, developer iFun4All's Serial Cleaner concept is on point, and it certainly seems like something that could spawn into a franchise in its own right. At $15, Serial Cleaner is a worthwhile purchase if you're looking for a light puzzle game to play in short bursts, because trust me, you will get mad at it here and there.

Though the story itself and the characters are relatively well written, the game's shortness and poor voice acting take a lot away from the experience. Good visuals and sound can only do so much.

While its 11 years in the making has given the developer, Virtual Air Guitar Company, some strong foundations, its first air guitar game, Air Guitar Warrior isn't King of Kinect Mountain. While it starts off fun, it quickly becomes challenging which may leave people feeling like they've bitten off more than they can chew. I would love for this to be the game that wakes Kinect back up, but there are a few too many bum notes.

A seamless blend of genres and high replayability make Empire of Sin and excellent choice for strategy gaming fans.

Dangerous Golf isn't really a bad game, as such, but it's probably too expensive for what it is. I was really looking forward to playing it but have ended up feeling a little unfulfilled. It's a great little time waster, but I think it would have been better as a mobile game than something sold for $20 on the Xbox One.

Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions gives you the chance to play the wizarding sport that was missing in Hogwarts Legacy. There are fun characters to unlock, plenty of fun cosmetics, and iconic locations from the books to play in. Aspects of the game have been altered to make it more multiplayer friendly than in the books. However, the game feels very imbalanced when it comes to online matchmaking and even responsibilities within a team. It needs some considerable tweaking but can still be fun for big Harry Potter fans.

The tweaks to the gameplay - including the Skill Stick and slowing down of things in general - are massive improvements, and the inclusion of The Yard and a revamped Face of the Franchise make it so that any player can jump in and have fun. Unfortunately, there are also still many problems, including various bugs and glitches found early on, and in the way that the classic Franchise mode has been handled. Madden NFL 21 is almost certainly a must-buy for fans of the sport, but fans will have to hope that as we move into the future, EA is ready to take things to another level once again.

Hunting Simulator 2 is an addictive open-world game, but it may have limited appeal due to its genre.

War Hospital is a fantastic concept mired by bugs and crashing issues. During Chapter 1, the game struggled with various bugs, UI quirks, and performance degradation. But perhaps most egregiously, was the fact it crashed on the victory screen without an auto-save to back up 4+ hours of progress. As it stands right now, War Hospital is difficult to recommend, even though it emulates the best aspects of Frostpunk quite well.

Madden NFL 24 is a step up from Madden NFL 23 in some ways, but not enough to make it feel like a huge improvement. Animations and AI have never been better, but the stale vibes past Madden games have suffered remain the same in the latest entry in this long-running franchise.

Disintegration is built upon a fantastic concept and can be a blast at times, but there's always a frustrating issue or two around the corner that drags the experience down.

Sonic Mania is undoubtedly a tighter, more exceptional experience; Sega should really allow that team to design the levels for the next 3D release! But if you missed the 3D Sonic experience and can tolerate some bland level design and roughness, Forces is certainly a worthwhile follow-up to Generations – especially for the reduced asking price.

Despite the performance issues, We Happy Few is a must-own title for any gamer who loves survival open world titles and quality world building.

Ghost Recon Breakpoint is a good game, and one that I didn't expect to like as much as I did. I found Ghost Recon Wildlands to be an incredibly boring experience, and Ghost Recon Breakpoint redeems itself with a better story, voice acting, and gameplay enhancements.

While the singleplayer experience is forgettable and the open world is small, the meat of Absolver lies within its deep gameplay and engaging combat. I recommend picking Absolver up if you're a fan of fighting games with nuanced mechanics. The martial arts theme is also fairly unique for this type of fighting game, so if you're simply looking to try something new, Absolver is a great choice.

Despite its colorful and interesting world, the game feels like a chore to get through because of these performance issues. While the frame rate isn't as bad as some other titles out there, in order to get engrossed in a title there can't be any technical distractions. Unfortunately, that isn't the case for Elex on Xbox One, and it doesn't matter how great the content is, the lack of polish is what will push consumers away.

Among The Sleep is your run of the mill psychological horror with a unique perspective and a thought provoking story. A relatively short experience at 4-5 hours long, this crowd-funded game is actually something to be admired, both graphically and intellectually (if you read between the lines).

The Park threw me a curveball I never expected in its portrayal of severe mental illnesses and its ability to warp and distort reality. I really enjoyed the game as a whole, short as it is, but I feel my experiences with depression, and the fact I am a parent, will make me see something a little different to other players as maybe neither of these things are relatable to you. But the story is well told (when you can read the font), and without falling into a bad pun territory, it really is a ride I won't forget for a while.

A somewhat uncomfortably patronising experience, but generally Kick and Fennick has a silver lining in that it's short.

Sonic Frontiers is an above-average 3D Sonic game with potentially intriguing ideas, but the positives are constantly at odds with the negatives. While it may have an engaging combat system, classic Sonic platforming levels, and awesome boss fights, they do not make up for bland open-world locales and an overabundance of dull mini-games that break the game’s pacing.

Warmind offers a lot of new content with some fantastic weapons, but the unbearable grind and Heroic Strike problems heavily detract from the game. The fact that the new campaign is lackluster and it's still hard to find Exotic Engrams doesn't help either. Additionally, Bungie failed to deliver on Masterwork Exotics because only a handful of items can be upgraded at this time.

Bee Simulator is fun for a short time, but won't keep people's attention for long. Its charm can't save it from boredom. When you throw in the price tag, it's tough to recommend.

Deadbeat Heroes is a good first effort from the small team at Deadbeat Productions. The combat is fast, fluid, and easy to learn – even if it lacks the depth of a good combo system. Enemies are well-varied, as are the environments. The game's aesthetic won't impress anybody, though, and the music is atrocious and repetitive.

None of these issues are enough to bring a fighting game down on their own, but together they make for an excruciating exercise in patience, and I might have been able to find that patience if the game at large had more to offer. Its hyper-focus on gameplay does it no favors in that regard. Wait for a sharp discount if you must have it.

I had a really fun time with this game. With how in-depth the story of Suicide Squad and the Justice League is, Kill the Justice League encapsulates the basis of what the comics portray in a bite-size journey. The game and the comics are not the same, and there are chaotic points during boss battles where I experienced FPS drops and freezes. With all this in mind, I'm eager to see more meat brought to the game with future DLC's and content.

And it really doesn't need microtransactions. No, it's not pay to win, you don't have to even think about touching them. But that EA even included them turns me off a little. There are very real things to fix with this franchise, and asking people for more money inside the game isn't how you do it.

The Xbox One version suffers from lengthy loading times and occasional frame rate hitches, though the strength of the story and atmosphere mostly offset these issues. If you're intrigued by The Town of Light's exploration of mental health and abuse and can stand a slower-paced, less-than-challenging game, this one might just cure what ails you.

Conglomerate 451 has a strong first couple of hours. The story takes place over the course of 75 weeks, a mission for each week. You play the director of a paramilitary organization that's been tasked with destabilizing the rogue corporations which have taken over the district 451 in the city of Conglomerate. Though the setting is a bit heavy-handed, unlike say the original Mirror's Edge, it's not bad, but no one will chalk it up as telling a groundbreaking story in the cyberpunk space.

If you've ever desired to roleplay as a variety of avian creatures with a tendency to pull off sick tricks on four-wheeled boards, then SkateBIRD is basically your only option. This cute indie game successfully delivers a goofy skateboarding experience most of the time, but annoying and plain inconsistent movement as well as some boring level design prevent SkateBIRD from being great.

Crackdown 3 just doesn't meet contemporary standards as a premium $60 title, with dated visuals, thin gameplay features, and an under-delivered story. There are too many open world superhero-style games that simply do it better. That said, it's not a bad game, by any means. To enjoy Crackdown 3, you probably need to be the type of person who really likes basic sandbox mayhem, because that's effectively all Crackdown 3 has (and wants) to offer.

Crysis Remastered has beautiful lighting and textures, but a stylistic misunderstanding of the original as well as technical issues galore make this remaster feel lacking.

Warcraft III: Reforged still delivers the same satisfying core gameplay and laudable campaigns, but Blizzard under-delivered on promises and removed features that made the original game something exceptional.

One-Punch Man: A Hero Nobody Knows is a great fighting game, but its open levels need more work when it comes to the voice acting and animations.

Mount & Blade: Warband isn't supremely polished and swanky, but it is enjoyable, and there is enough intrigue to keep anyone entertained if they can see beyond its datedness. The fighting mechanics and the horse-riding need overhauling entirely for it to be a great game, but in the meantime, Warband is a good game to spend a few hours at a time in.

Anthem offers amazing combat, astounding visuals, and excellent all-around production value, but suffers from baffling design choices and awful writing that hold it back from being something truly special.

Starfield: Shattered Space returns to Bethesda's design roots, giving a singular location to explore in a DLC that's tinged with terror. Despite not exploring this science-fiction horror tone as much as I'd have liked, it's still a fun experience worth checking out, with art direction that's genuinely stunning.

Modern Warfare 3's campaign is exactly what I expect when I sit down and boot up a Call of Duty title. The plot featured enough predictable story beats to benefit from my nostalgia for the franchise. However, there was a noticeable lack in big, memorable action sequences for itself. Multiplayer has been some of the most fun I've had in COD in a while. I was even pleasantly surprised to find Modern Warfare Zombies to be a good time.

Dead by Daylight is a lot of fun once you get into a match, especially with friends. The tension of struggling to complete objectives while avoiding an invincible killer can't be understated. But the downright unfair difficulty for survivors can be discouraging, especially since you have to play a very long time to unlock useful perks to make things easier.

Sword Art Online Alicization Lycoris features many compelling ideas, but its technical foundation needs more work.

You can't just release a racing game at this price point with no campaign, no real incentive to keep playing, and so many unenjoyable game types. World Series feels like a free to play game that the developers decided to charge $30 for. From a developer like Codemasters that is renowned for its racing games, World Series is an obvious misfire and destined to be forgotten.

While Black Mirror manages to get some things right with horror atmosphere and great exploration of the setting, it fails to achieve success on almost every other front. Between the poor writing, average voice acting, the low-quality lighting and camera, and the god-awful performance, Black Mirror is a game that offers you little for what you pay.

The presentation is mostly excellent, with a good looking game powered by a solid engine underneath that results in exceptional realism. If you're expecting to pick it up and win right away, forget it, there's a real challenge involved. I'm also delighted that it's coming with Xbox One X enhancements.

Aside from average voice acting, Earthfall is a gorgeous, innovative masterpiece that innovates on the Left 4 Dead formula. And it is well worth a look.

Redfall is a serviceable first-person open-world shooter with perhaps the most needless "RPG layer" in the history of always-online games. Tools that might make the sandbox more fun are arbitrarily spread across four separate playable class characters. Weapons you enjoy using will lose effectiveness as you "level up" with the game's pointless progression system, which only hinders the otherwise interesting campaign. There are far too many similar shooters out there that simply do almost everything Redfall is trying to do, only far better. Redfall struggles to grasp an identity of its own in a very noisy market. While embers of fun do exist in Redfall, it's maddening that this is the product of the legendary studio that gave us Prey. Arkane is very clearly out of its depth with Redfall.

The Bradwell Conspiracy doesn't do enough to deliver on puzzles, but with good writing, some big puzzle game fans might find some enjoyment.

Your Toy is a great indie horror experience that expertly fuses engaging, creative and tough puzzle design with a chilling, ambitious story and unnerving horror gameplay. Despite some sections where the game suffers from the obscurity and complexity of some of the puzzles, Your Toy overall is an excellent title that's definitely worth picking up if you're brave enough to go toe-to-toe with a homicidal teddy bear.

Mighty No. 9 is largely not fun, and irritating in many ways: controls, voice acting, repetitive music. It is a hollow and empty experience. This is pretty much the kind of game you'll buy when it's on sale dirt cheap to see what all the fuss was about.

An innovative concept can be found behind Soul Axiom, but various missteps in its delivery hold back its potential. With frustrating puzzles and bland level design, it feels the developer's approach to the game has been misguided, limiting what could've been a detailed and engaging storytelling experience.

On the surface, Dragon Ball: The Breakers is a homely spinoff with confusing controls and an apparent lack of budget. However, the more I play, the more I adore its fascinating ideas and glowing peculiarities. In spite of its notable shortcomings, this asymmetrical multiplayer title commits to outlandish gameplay mechanics and delivers a charming, absorbing Dragon Ball experience unlike any other.

While there's not much in Pribyslavitz that's worth returning to, rebuilding it and reaping the monetary benefits is a great experience.

Shred It is sometimes a little buggy — the animations for the jump aren't seamless, and there have been occasions where the character hasn't landed a jump or has hovered through a large part of the course. These glitches aside, Shred It is great for filling in a few spare minutes and soaking up lots of easy achievements in the process.

A great addition to any city management gamer's library, Buildings Have Feelings Too! uses limited resources and space to craft complex puzzles wrapped up in a charming setting.

Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance is a decent brawler if you're looking for casual fun while chatting with your friends on Discord. If you're expecting much depth from the plot or combat mechanics, you'll likely be disappointed.

Super Dungeon Bros adds some fun and flair to a classic genre by never taking itself too seriously. Pick a rock god and run through level upon level of dungeons in order to wipe out enemies and find all the best loot.

Though it's fun for the first few hours, Extinction ultimately offers a dull and repetitive experience that fails to compare to the game it was inspired by.

There is no good reason to buy this game unless you're a die-hard One Piece fan that cares about the characters enough to slog through the awful gameplay. The story and visuals, while great, simply aren't enough to make this one worth your time.

Party Hard offers a frustrating yet fun and addictive experience. Not being one to let a game beat me, I've thrown people into fires, stabbed a bus full of people (beginning to feel like a real serial killer here...), killed harmless animals, and burnt down rooms with people in them, all in the name of peace and quiet.

If you enjoy multiplayer games of this type and are willing to overlook the engine anomalies, you may find yourself rapidly addicted to the game's exploration density and loot systems. If you're easily frustrated by bugs and issues, you may want to sit tight a bit to see what Bethesda does to polish things up, cus oh boy, it could use a bit right now. If you're a fan of the single player, branching narrative the series is known for, you'll want to wait for Fallout 5.

It has the top down shooter feel of Smash TV but on a much larger and free roaming scale, the Super Attack is reminiscent of Streets of Rage, and it also may remind you of other games like Commando or even Contra. For me, these only endear the game to me, as it's taken parts of my favourite games when I was younger and turned them into something modern. It isn't as polished as some Xbox One indie titles, but for a debut, it's playable and mostly enjoyable, if not ridiculously hard to play alone.

What started as a mostly unpleasant experience, turned into one of the most fiendishly fun yet difficult games I've played in a very long time. When I got over my bad case of Gamers Ego, I learned to roll with the punches the game dealt me and tried harder. I discovered little exploits I could use to take down some harder monsters a bit easier. I learned how to use weapons properly and which items stack with each other to make powerful builds.

Raid is terrific fun in co-op, with interesting objectives and fine leveling and upgrade systems. If you're looking for a cooperative multiplayer-focused alternative to this fall's other big World War II game, you can't go wrong with RAID.

A gorgeous forest setting is sullied by an extremely short story and little explanation of what to do. Once you figure it out, however, you'll be charmed by all the little details and, of course, the adorable characters.

Hints of a solid, finished shooter shine in CrossfireX at times, but at the end of the day, all you're getting is a short, average campaign and a multiplayer experience that lacks content and feels torn between two worlds.

With a user interface barely optimized for controllers and a release three years after its initial alpha, it feels that consoles are a mere afterthought of the original vision.

While Road Rage is too uneven to be a true Road Rash successor, it captures enough of the fun of motorcycle combat that made those games great. If you can ignore the dumb story, drab visuals, and lame soundtrack and just enjoy the smooth racing and brutal combat, you're bound to have a good time.

Despite a nice variety of game modes, decent graphics, and a clever roster system, R.B.I. Baseball 18 continues the franchise's tradition of not making the cut.

Soda Drinker Pro is a humorous concept and while entertaining in theory, after one minute of playtime you'll have experienced all that's on offer.

Arcade Game Series: Galaga is the best home version of the original Galaga arcade game yet. Whether or not the new features warrant an upgrade from the Xbox 360 version depends entirely on your devotion to Galaga and how much you care about Achievements. If you do like both Galaga and Achievements, this version is a must-buy.

Arcade Game Series: Pac-Man is the best home version of the original Pac-Man arcade game yet. Whether or not the new features warrant an upgrade from the Xbox 360 version depends entirely on your devotion to this Pac-Man game and whether or not you care about Achievements. If you do like both Pac-Man and Achievements, this release is a no-brainer.

If you were only ever going to buy one DLC pack for Forza Motorsport 6 then make it this one. It adds enough to the game overall to be more than worth the $20 outlay, especially if you've been craving a NASCAR game on the Xbox One.

Despite these flaws, Lies of Astaroth is still a passable game. However, until PvP, daily rewards, and other small details are corrected, some people may find it somewhat lacking.

The sighs of frustration and feet jiggling is also a pleasure to watch in other people as they play. If you're a little bit evil inside, pass the controller to someone else and watch them squirm for maximum karmic bonuses. Share the frustration, it's the only way to not go entirely mad.

You always know what you're getting with a Call of Duty DLC: a selection of competitive maps and one cooperative Zombies map. This batch of maps is quite strong, with Dominion and Noir the clear standouts. I look forward to playing more of them in the weeks to come.

The complete absence of story and story-based quests means that only players who really dig mining and building will get much long-term value from this one. Leaving out the story and story quests is a big missed opportunity to capitalize on what makes MMOs so special.

Despite the quality aesthetics and cool Zelda II-inspired game structure, Elliot Quest is a hard game to recommend. The stubborn refusal to explain anything is just one of many obnoxious design decisions that distance the player from the game. I normally love this style of game, but even I gave up in annoyance after a while. If you like old school games and can stomach deliberately obscure design, maybe you'll enjoy this one more than I did.

Diablo III's Necromancer plugs a hole in the heart of long-time fans of the franchise, who wished for the return of the Diablo II staple. It brings a huge amount of versatility, allowing for solo play, ranged damage, support, and melee, with beautifully rendered armor sets to compensate. The voice acting is well realized, and the Necromancer is just so damn fun to play and learn.

ACA NeoGeo World Heroes 2 is a solid home version of the classic arcade game. World Heroes 2 doesn't stand the test of time as well as the later revisions of Street Fighter 2, but it's still worth a quick look from fighting game fans. You get 14 characters, many of whom are unique or funny, lots of great backgrounds, and a cool deathmatch mode. Plus, the Achievements are easy and quick.

The level of choice is consistently interesting and rewarding. The artistry is commendable, too, with excellent character portraits and beautiful music that demands a soundtrack purchase. Some players might long for a longer, more detailed narrative in a single playthrough. But if you can adjust to the need to replay the game while making different choices, you'll find this to be a clever and rewarding action-RPG.

The Way is a great evolution of the gameplay introduced by Another World so long ago, adding welcome elements like improved gunplay, better platforming, and more abilities with which to navigate the alien world.

Cyber Complex is a fun arcade strategy game that looks simple but is definitely far more challenging than it lets on. For folks who enjoy fast paced strategy games, this is an excellent game to spend an afternoon with. At only $9.99 it's worth the price, even if it doesn't hold your attention for long.

Pressure Overdrive is a fun arcade style game for anyone who likes racing games and shooting things. The short levels make it easy to jump into, and with plenty of ways to customize, there is an avenue for many different styles of gameplay.

Metronomicon: Slay the Dance Floor is a clever mixture of RPG and rhythm game mechanics. Seeing as how there's no real exploration and a fairly light story, it doesn't quite provide the full role-playing experience. But you do get multiple unique party members to recruit, equip, and level, and lots of monsters to fight on the dance floor.

Halo Wars 2: Awakening the Nightmare is a superb expansion that closes out the game's DLC schedule with a bang. Between the creative levels, fun and simple story, useful and powerful multiplayer leaders, and challenging Terminus Firefight mode, Awakening the Nightmare is a quality experience you don't want to miss.

Dying: Reborn isn't a particularly scary game, especially since you can't die. But it does possess a delightfully odd atmosphere and lots of fun puzzles to solve. This style of game, with all its indie seams and quirks, won't be for everybody. But if you can attune yourself to its quirky presentation (or just want those easy Achievements), Dying: Reborn won't kill your good time.

Jeopardy! is a decent adaptation of the popular game show. It doesn't have the production values and eye for detail to fully capture the TV experience, but it's still fun as a multiplayer trivia game. Other than online matchmaking issues, the only major problem is value. Jeopardy! sells for $20, but for $5 more you could get any of the Jackbox Party Pack games – and they're all miles better than this one in production value and volume of content.

This version of Wheel of Fortune is surprisingly robust, with a great 3D recreation of the TV studio set, completely authentic gameplay that anyone should be able to play, and some fair customization options. The only drawback is the terrible online matchmaking setup. But Wheel of Fortune is plenty of fun to play solo or with local friends, so don't let the online woes keep you from spinning that wheel.

Though the game lacks enough enemy variety that would help it stay interesting for long periods, VALA is a fantastic game to play if you want some mindless fun. Gamers should definitely have this on their radar.

Darkest Dungeon is a tremendous game that offers something quite unique on Xbox One. Few games follow the Lovecraftian tradition so well, with relentlessly ghastly dungeons and terrifying eldritch horrors.

If you're someone who doesn't need a huge community to play with — and if you can come to grips with the intricacies of realistic riding — Steep will feed your lust for extreme winter sports just fine.

While the lack of basic features is a bit grating, and server mishaps can take away from the experience, Switchblade is still an extremely competent vehicle MOBA. The developers are clearly dedicated and passionate, and if the game continues on its current path, it may become the next Rocket League.

At $25, Warparty is an absolute steal for any RTS fan. Considering you get three factions to use, three decently-sized campaigns, multiplayer, and a mode that lets you battle an AI player, you get what you pay for and then some.

It's bright, it's colorful, it looks like a ridiculous amount of fun.

Ultimately, this DLC gives you 3-4 hours worth of highly-refined classic Metro gameplay that is wrapped up with a superb story and sold for a fraction of what other developers charge for similarly-sized DLC releases. It really doesn't get much better than Metro Exodus: The Two Colonels.

Despite its issues, Niffelheim stands as a very competent hardcore survival game that players will be engaged with for hours on end.

A fantastic party game that's perfect for some couch competition.