While I enjoyed Parkitect, it’s not something I can see myself investing substantial amounts of time in. It’s easy enough to pick up and play for small amounts of time, and that is enjoyable. There just isn’t enough content to really keep me interested for long. That also falls into the statement made at the beginning of this review about me not being highly creative as well.

While visual novels don’t vary all too much outside of their stories, Destino Indomable’s unique telenovela show backdrop and unscripted scenes actually makes a lot of sense and is quite clever. While the lack of voice acting was a letdown, the over-the-top drama and slaps more than made up for it, and made for a memorable few hours with a dramatic Latin soap opera full of slaps.

The first one was groundbreaking and while maybe not perfect, it couldn't have set the stage any better for the second installment. This was undeniably better than what came before, and the third entry only sealed the deal on where this is going. Now though? This feels like The Last Jedi kind of disappointment. Nothing really seems fresh and interesting, instead just reskinned missions that could have easily been DLC for Sniper Elite 5.

Although Pets Hotel is cute, it’s lacking. It could have been so much more, but I think it falls again into the category of games ported to console that should have had some more care added to them before release. I knew from the start to take the gameplay with a grain of salt. I enjoyed taking care of the animals and the minimal management elements added a bit of interest, but there just isn’t enough here to captivate and keep me playing for a long period of time. While I might recommend this for younger gamers because it’s pretty simple, the clunky mechanics would be frustrating for them, I think.

All in all, Cat Rescue story was cute, and the adoptions were a heart warming and best part for me. Far from Purr-fect, but fun for cat lovers for a few hours.

Tap Wizard 2 is an extremely grindy game. Even though you can AFK for much of it, it does take checking in every so often to actually make significant progress. Interestingly, there’s no Quick Resume support on Xbox, so going to another game closes it completely and puts it into ‘offline mode’. Some might be confused with a $18.99 CAD game where you don’t have to play it very much, but I’ve been hooked, checking back in every chance I can to get one more upgrade so I can make it just that much further on the next run.

So, let's summarize Let's Sing 2025. We have an innovative karaoke game that connects to your smartphone via an app and allows you to use it as a microphone as you go through the needlessly long career mode while you deal with cliche characters and stereotypical situations. All the while limited to what you can sing depending on whether or not you decide to pay more money to unlock the VIP access or be contempt with less than 10 songs and focus on your pronouns and interactions with these stereotypical pandering character faces instead of actually singing good music. Would I pay for this? Never. I would get more enjoyment loading up YouTube, searching for the musical artist that I support their quality music for, and sing along to that, and save tons of money in the process. If you want a good karaoke game, then you can find them as far back as the PS2, but as for Let's Sing 2025, it's a pass for me.

VED has some interesting ideas but it’s as though the game didn’t know quite what it wanted to be at times. This is possibly because it was a completely different game in its early stages. It's hard to be harsh towards a small indie team that clearly made VED with their passion, but there’s so many different components that don’t mesh cohesively, and a story that becomes so confusing that it’s difficult to follow. Even if you could follow the convoluted narrative, you’ll be too distracted with the abysmal voice acting to even remember that combat was actually quite interesting.

Squirrel with a Gun is whimsical, chaotic, and has some funny moments. If you enjoy the silly gameplay you get from games like Goat Simulator or Untitled Goose Game, you will likely enjoy this for the few hours it takes to complete it. Retailing at under $20 CDN, for the number of hours and laughs I got from it seems like a fair price for this nutty experience.

At the end of the day, A Quiet Place: The Road Ahead was a better game than I’d ever expected it to be. I’d wanted to play it, but didn’t have high hopes. However, now that I’ve completed it, I can say that it’s a solid release and one that fans of Alien: Isolation style horror games should check out. It’s definitely not as good as that game, but it also doesn’t overstay its welcome as much as that classic did.

Ship Graveyard Simulator 2 is oddly addictive and satisfying, even for how specific and niche the setting is. While there’s no narrative at all, there’s something quite relaxing by causing destruction to these vessels. Many will see Ship Graveyard Simulator 2 as tedious and repetitious, but I kept telling myself “just one more ship”.

The gameplay can get a little repetitive after awhile, but the narrative brings you around towards the end game. While it’s not the most engaging game I’ve played this year, I enjoyed the running the shop and bartering.

Undisputed steps into the ring and I've decided to look at this as the foundation for a great boxing series. Not even close to perfect though, though there are a lot of good redeeming qualities about this game that should serve Undisputed well moving forward. Is Undisputed good enough to take the crown from Fight Night Champions? No. Is it the worst boxing game of all time? No. Undisputed does a good job incorporating some RPG leveling elements into a boxing game, and does so with a surprising depth of quality. While it may seem simplistic on the outside, once you dive into the heart of Undisputed you will see the wealth of content that this game does provide. Now, the big question remains, is it worth the full retail price of $59.99 good? Sadly, no. With the issues and lack of content I couldn't justify spending $60 on what would easily be a $30 game.

At the end of the day, this is a game that fans of the genre and fans of Dead By Daylight will find the most value in. I guess that goes without saying, though, doesn’t it? Anyone who’s new to things should play Until Dawn or The Quarry first before deciding whether to spend any money on this. Those who want to buy it would also be better off waiting for a sale, as it’s nothing spectacular by any means.

While I do wish there was a bit more overt storytelling, if you like games similar to Inside and Little Nightmares, One Last Breath is a short game (I played through in about two hours) with a delightful art style and captivating score to check out and spend a few hours with.

Broken Roads is a sharply written, intellectual adventure RPG where your choices of dialogue and problem-solving are drawn from philosophical concepts. That’s what it does best and what kept me playing through the hours spent in the Australian Outback. The concept was great, but sadly the gameplay wasn’t for me. Trying to drop a fully fleshed out CRPG in about 20 hours was a monumental task and I wish they kept to just the morality system and philosophical dialogue. That was where the Broken Roads were more favourably traveled. I liked its style and tone and if that resonates with you, perhaps you’d like to spend some time with it as well.

I’m still somewhat surprised at how little actual racing there is, as you’re generally just managing your meters and team orders throughout a race for the most part. Races are quite long, so you need to have a dedicated amount of time to see each to completion, but it does become monotonous to simply be watching two meters for the majority of each race outside of the attacking portions. I’m sure true fans of the sport will enjoy seeing actual Pro’s and Teams as it caters to its niche audience, but as a newcomer there wasn’t enough to want me to compete for that yellow jersey.

When playing Gigantic: Rampage Edition, I genuinely wanted to enjoy it. I was rooting for this game and wanted this to be a quality option because I feel that as gamers, our community grows better with better options and I wanted Gigantic: Rampage Edition to be that very thing, but after playing this, the only thing that was gigantic wasn't my gaming experience, it was my disappointment.

War Hospital tells tales worth hearing and shows a side of the Great War not usually thought about. While it may not be as exciting as being in the thick of battle in the trenches, it’s a unique side of War that’s equally as important. Do your best to prevent casualties of War, but prepare your heart for not being able to save many.

GRAPPIN gets more difficult as you progress, though not always intentionally, as I would fall to my death multiple times due to floaty controls or missing my jumps because of the first person view. It’s a shame GRAPPIN loses all its good faith and momentum with the awful final stages, though I’m still glad to have played through it for that gripping and intriguing ending.

Overall Alchemist: The Potion Monger is a fine little family-friendly game. The story is simple and the aesthetic is delightful. It scratches the itch for home design and crafting sim fans. Your pets are adorable, and I spent far too much time petting them and seeing the little hearts above their heads.

Mediterranea Inferno isn’t meant to be a happy story with a fairytale ending. It’s a raw tale that’s honest, filled with a bunch of emotion and uneasiness. Some might be turned away by the LGBTQ+ theme, but it was certainly one of the more memorable and unique visual novels I’ve ever experienced and I’m glad to have gone on vacation with the trio of friends, even if the ending(s) weren’t what I initially expected.

I’ll be honest, when the credits first rolled I put down the controller and my initial reaction was quite apathetic. I didn’t hate Grotto, but I didn’t really enjoy it either, as I don’t normally gravitate towards visual novel-like games. That said, as I let my thoughts simmer for a day, and especially while writing this review, it just somewhat ‘clicked’ with me, and the more I reflected, the more I realized Grotto was actually quite memorable and how I appreciated what it was going for. I kept thinking of the questions I was asked and how my interpretation of my answer vastly differed from the person seeking the advice. It made me wonder if something similar has happened in real life with advice I’ve given, as there’s usually not always a ‘right’ answer to many questions. While some won’t enjoy the lack of ‘gameplay’, Grotto is a unique experience that makes you think of how you interpret situations and what you would do in times of desperation.

It's clear that Arcadian Atlas is a love letter to other greats in the TRPG genre, it has just as many things that I liked that I didn’t as well. Loved the leveling system, but combat overall was repetitive and tedious, lacking much of a challenge. Aesthetics are wonderful and animated quite well, yet the soundtrack is completely forgettable and doesn’t always match the tone of what’s on screen. I enjoyed Arcadian Atlas overall for what it is, an indie tactics style RPG, though probably more than I normally would as it’s been years since I’ve played a great one, but it’s got a ways to go to be considered alongside the greats of the genre.

Bunhouse is cute. The customizable bunny characters are adorable. It’s an easy game to pick up and play for short bursts, it just has too many bugs and not enough content to keep me interested in for a long time. With its great price point, and local co-op gameplay, it is an excellent choice for families or kids to play together.

While I found my first playthrough a confusing and frustrating mess, it made much more sense trying the other classes. They all play differently enough to warrant other playthroughs and require different strategies. Once I got the hang of the gameplay and how to best progress, I went from being frustrated to wanting to play ‘just one more turn'.

Waiting more than two decades for a sequel, I’m sure true Jagged Alliance fans will overlook many of its shortcomings and frustrations, as it does capture the same feeling, it seriously needs some work on its control scheme to be more much fluid and less confusing. For every moment I was enjoying, I was equally frustrated when I missed point blank shots or accidently ended my turn prematurely due to a wrong button combination.

While all the pieces are there for a great Metroidvania, complete with unique setting and characters, Cookie Cutter frustrated me more often than not due to the broken parry system that rarely works as advertised. I wasn’t expecting to play a love-revenge story as a lesbian android that talks to her robotic vagina, filled with violence and gore, but it certainly was a memorable adventure.