Dark Arcana: The Carnival is a simple, but fun game that plays to its strengths. With tons of different puzzles to keep you occupied and a story that is consistently interesting, it does a solid job of keeping you entertained. And it's a good choice for anyone who enjoys a brain workout.

Ubisoft promises Hyper Scape will shape "the future of battle royale," but as it stands, it's not as fun as it could be. Wonky weapon balancing and floaty combat steal the game's momentum and stop it from being a stand out in its genre.

Technomancer is a great RPG that isn't quite as good as it could be. The few small flaws that it has are outweighed by a fantastic story that will pull you in piece by piece. The story isn't something we've seen before, the gameplay is well done, and the graphics are all on spot.

The ease of being able to pick up and play Heart&Slash should be a huge deciding factor if you're thinking about purchasing it. It is brilliant for filling in time between mainstream title releases, if not a game worth picking up just for the hell of it.

Black the Fall might not hit the same level as the games it tries to emulate, but it does a damn good job of trying. I thoroughly enjoyed myself and found the puzzles to be varied enough to hold my attention, and difficult enough to be persistently rewarding.

With its interesting plot, unconventional setting, and mixture of physical combat, stealthy assassination, magic, and ranged attack abilities, as well as satisfying interactivity with the open world, Seven: The Days Long Gone is an excellent and ambitious isometric role-playing game you definitely shouldn't miss.

Black Forest Games did a fantastic job recreating the original Destroy All Humans, but its problems run deeper than superficial graphics. Its nostalgia and a few gameplay enhancements, while welcome, won't make this an adventure worth revisiting for most.

While Wartile is a gorgeous and beautifully sounding game, the lack of challenge or depth in its gameplay and the risk of severe crashing problems holds it back from being something greater.

NBA 2K24 is a great game that features some of the best features the franchise has had in years. A streamlined MyCareer mode, additions to MyNBA Eras, and more should make this a classic. However, microtransactions litter nearly every meaningful mode, ruining what would be a stellar entry.

Dear Ester, is in no uncertain terms, amazing. Its mysterious storytelling, haunting soundtrack and stunning visuals create an experience you won't want to wait to throw yourself back into.

The Ascent is a solid evolution of the twin-stick formula, offering some of the most detailed and impressive visuals the gen has to offer so far. However, The Ascent needs a couple of polish passes as of writing, due to bugs and other glitches. Additionally, the game suffers from a lack of testing, with balance problems and structural issues that weaken the latter half of the game.

Atlas Fallen is an above-average action RPG with plenty of positive qualities. It’s fun to explore the gigantic open-world desert, the Wraiths are formidable and entertaining enemies to fight and the combat system is satisfying thanks to the risk-vs-reward Momentum Gauge mechanic. While the story is formulaic and some gameplay mechanics could use some ironing out, they don’t bog down the overall experience.

Serious Sam 4 fails to capture the spirit of older games and somehow manages to feel like a step back for the series. While there is a Serious Sam game here, it's wrapped in a shell marred by consistent visual and audio glitches, ugly graphics, and some seriously dated game design.

Battlefield 2042 has a strong core and has the potential to be one of the best games in the series. However, balancing quirks, performance issues, and some fundamental design decisions are holding it back from true greatness.

Biomutant has an interesting setting and world but is held back by technical issues, an unintuitive combat system, lack of proper characterization, and very repetitive missions.

Marvel Heroes Omega is free to play. Want to grab a relatively affordable Founders Pack while they're still available? We recommend the Spider-Man Homecoming Founders Pack, which includes Spider-Man, two movie costumes, and other bonuses; or the Deadpool Founder's Pack with Deadpool, an extra costume, $5 of currency, and an XP boost. Both packs are $19.99 each.

Othercide could use some quality-of-life improvements, but this is one of the most stylish games I've played in years, complete with oppressive gameplay that is as thrilling as it is rewarding.

Everything is absolutely fantastic, and while in-game performance isn't perfect, it's hardly enough of a downside to affect my view of the game overall. Avalanche has truly brought the thunder.

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 is more of a live service than a standalone game, one that continues to recover from a catastrophic launch. It relies so heavily on streaming its assets and world textures from the cloud that it's plain to see how its offerings could disappear should the service ever shut down. Nonetheless, Asobo Studio's developers have worked tirelessly to recover this visually breathtaking but temperamental simulator into something that appeals to a broader audience rather than a tight-knit niche. It could become a category-leading example of post-launch improvements if it continues its upward trajectory, and I encourage everyone to try it at least once.

I found the screen lock and wrap mechanics repetitive at times, and I definitely wished for a story and greater meaning from the adventure. Still, considering the $9.99 price, puzzle platforming fans might still want to give this fantasy a shot.

Gravel is a lot of fun, offering an enjoyable arcade-racing experience with oodles of sideways flare. It's well presented and has plenty of appeal for fans of single-player games that just want something they can pick up and play without much of a learning curve...The lack of HDR is disappointing, but at least the Xbox One X has been considered, though personally I'd trade 4K support for 60 FPS every day.

This year's WWE game has a lot to love, from the huge roster to the revamped MyCareer mode. But it also suffers from the same old issues, such as the lack of a proper comprehensive tutorial, stiff and unintuitive controls, rough character models, and a general lack of polish.

Despite my love for the art direction and music of BELOW, the gameplay's flaws have led me to ultimately dislike the game overall. It's not completely bad, but a lot of it feels shallow and bland compared to other roguelikes.

Small flaws only minorly detract from an otherwise uplifting and enjoyable game. While TurnOn is a game about restoring power, it also leaves us with the feeling that just once in a while, we should probably turn (everything) off, too.

With a vast virtual park to explore, loads of beloved characters, and plenty of minigames, Disneyland Adventures is one of the best Disney games out there.

Some fluffy dialogue moments came off as immature, but in all, this fairly priced RPG packed more punch than first met the eye.

Mafia 3 isn't without its problems, but they should be overshadowed by the depth of the story of the game. It is really carried through its use of narrative cut scenes, which unfortunately lets the gameplay elements of Mafia 3 down by a wide margin.

Given the impact that Outcast originally had on open-world PC games, it's wonderful that original developer Appeal and Big Ben have rescued this game from obscurity by bringing it to modern console and PC audiences. If they really wanted to win over new players, though, they really should have improved the controls and added the ability to skip past dialog during conversations. Outcast: Second Contact is still a great game, but you'll have to tolerate some dated elements to enjoy it fully.