Darkwood is a tense and challenging horror and survival game with superb atmosphere, great visual presentation, and a strong gameplay core, but it's marred by clunky movement and unintuitive combat mechanics.

Though the gameplay does suffer from feeling too easy at many points, the depth of the game mechanics and excellence of the visuals help carry Thrones of Britannia to greatness.

his is a tight platforming adventure that overflows with whimsy and charm, never overstaying its welcome. Fans of the genre (and Sega platformers of old) will find Belle and her world bewitching.

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.

If you're looking for a (mostly) peaceful gameplay experience that relaxes you and immerses you into an artificial world, Planet Alpha is definitely for you.

Star Wars Outlaws is a fun single-player open-world RPG that allows players to take part in the criminal underworld. Being able to decide which syndicates to work for and who to betray during each quest adds a level of strategy hereto unseen in previous Star Wars games. Infiltrating restricted areas, exploring familiar locales, stealthily taking down enemies, and hacking into terminals adds to the scoundrel experience. The unique Abilities skill tree also makes character progression feel far more natural than many other games. That said, the story isn't the strongest and there are a few bugs that need to be worked out. Otherwise, this is a fun game for any Star Wars fan.

Though the game can get boring after long periods, and the abundance of crude jokes can be annoying, Pit People is nevertheless a great strategy game that's at its best when played with others, but a lot of fun when played solo, too.

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

Though NHL 20 doesn't show massive improvements in any one area over its predecessor, there are enough additions and refinements to make it worth exploring.

Despite some visual issues during gameplay, Laser league is nevertheless one of the most intense competitive multiplayer games Xbox has seen in quite a while.

Though very aggravating to learn at first because of the terrible tutorial, Pure Farming 2018 is nevertheless an excellent farming simulator that brings new content and ideas to the table.

The Coma still manages a strong sense of dread thanks to its dark atmosphere and unstoppable killers. Throw in an intriguing story and sharp writing, and The Coma: Recut is an excellent remake of a horror title that console players never had a chance to play until now.

Today's gamer generally needs concrete objectives to work towards. Sky Force Anniversary hits the mark because it has a fun upgrade system and loads of objectives to complete on every level. You can still play for score, doing your best on the highest difficulty levels and/or participating in the weekly tournaments. Whatever the case, you won't find many shmups with more universal staying power than Sky Force.

While Lords of the Fallen and The Surge may have Dark Souls roots, the more I progressed in The Surge, the more I started to see Deck 13 shining. The shadows are falling away, The Surge is miles better than Lords of the Fallen, and some trademark mechanics are starting to creep into the light. Deck 13 has polished and primed The Surge, and it now feels like it's time to stop comparing it to others and let it be noticed for what it is. Calling anything a Dark Souls clone at this point is purely lazy and an insult to the many smaller ways in which they're no way alike.

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.

State of Decay 2 is by no means a perfect game. It retains the quirks of its predecessor, complete with mixed production values and a litany of smaller problems. That said, the game has never crashed on me, and is wonderfully atmospheric, with great music, sound, and masterful use of lighting to create fear and tension.

Capcom's new franchise takes another stab at combining action and strategy game genres, and it does so with great success. This tower-defense-like pits you against varied hordes of enemies across diverse challenge stages dripping with style, and it's a lot of fun to conquer. It can sometimes be frustrating more than invigorating, though.

Compulsion Games has crafted a love letter to Southern Gothic with its third-person action-adventure game South of Midnight. The characters feel larger-than-life and intimately relatable all at once, while the narrative doesn't shy away from the brutal nature of the South's history. Combat is fun, though limited enemy variety does drag toward the end of the game. Overall, it's a story that feels intimate and uncomfortable, and one I hope others experience.

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.

Avowed takes us back to the world of Eora from Pillars of Eternity, and The Living Lands is the most eccentric, colorful, and wild adventure yet. Obsidian Entertainment has done a wonderful job capturing the "magic" of RPGs like Skyrim that makes exploring every crevice fun, and immersing yourself in this world is stupendously easy. You can still find the limits of this more focused RPG, though, and performance isn't flawless, even on Xbox Series X.

Hopefully Playtonic continues to support Yooka-Laylee with updates and refinements. But even with a few rough edges here and there, this is still a huge game that platforming fans must not miss.

This is a gorgeously executed murder mystery puzzle game where there's more than meets the eyemask. The main story is further fleshed out with collecting guest invitations and finding 52 playing cards, giving you an ever greater reason to leave the guests to their fates for a little longer. The puzzles are wickedly difficult, with the perfect amount of obviousness that will have anyone kicking themselves for thinking within the box.

World of Warcraft: Dragonflight is somehow a breath of fresh air and a celebration of classic design principles in equal measure. The return to more dynamic, old-school talent trees enhances the class fantasy with a seasoning of new abilities across the board. At the same time, the retreat of pressuring, artificial power-gating systems promotes a more healthy gameplay loop. The game is also gorgeous, with a more promising storyline, elevated cinematic delivery mechanics, and deeper core systems which make for one of WoW's best expansions in years.

After a fairly great entry in UFC 4, EA Sports returns with another stellar entry in its fighting series. The addition of a deeper impact system, changes to the submission system, and new striking mechanics make UFC 5 not only more fun to play, but just as thrilling as its predecessors have been.

WWE 2K24 may not offer much in the way of new content for die-hard fans of the franchise, but what it does offer is a great re-entry point for fans revisiting WWE games. Full to the brim with different game modes and the option of playing your favorite WWE Superstar or creating your own story, WWE 2K24 transported me back to my teenage years with the franchise, with a special bit of polish.

The trial and error methodology to creating something that doesn't blow up on the launchpad means you're actually learning real lessons, even if it's something simple like overloading the weight on one side making it fall over.

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.

Minecraft Legends is a wonderful addition to the expanding Minecraft universe, perfectly encapsulating its character while exploring a new, unique action-strategy genre. Its two halves aren't always perfectly balanced, though, and there are certainly ways the game can improve.