While the spirit of the series is here, the execution simply needs to be refined from the ground up; hopefully soon we will have another SAW game that is actually in Jigsaw’s caliber.

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.

It’s not the in-depth park management game that some may be looking for, and there is a fair bit of repetition with in-game quests, but I still really enjoyed my time with Jurassic World Evolution. Creating new dinosaurs and having a successful park was extremely satisfying and addictive, and recommended for anyone looking to immerse themselves in the Jurassic Park Universe. Just remember, you’ll have to learn a lot on your own, but once you do, it will be a dinosaur park sim game you should enjoy.

All in all H.A.W.X 2 delivers on what you expect from it, and falls short when it tries to mix things up.

All in all, TOW is a good racing title that at higher difficulty settings, will present a challenge to the more experience cart-race gamer, and at the same time is accessible to the more casual player.

Enemies blend into the jungle so well that by the time you see them, they've probably started shooting at you. This took my normal "run into the middle of the area and fire like a madman" battle plan and changed it to "tip-toe through Vietnam, through the hostiles, very quietly" (so I wimped out, so what).

Whiplash offers up some real unique ways of getting the job done, unfortunately the fun is short lived, I made it through the game in about 10 hrs, not really a long enough challenge for a game, and after the first few hours the cartoonish humor starts to loose it’s luster.

On paper, Endzone: A World Apart may seem like any other management sim, but I thought it was well balanced. You can adjust all the difficulty options and slow/speed up time, so you shouldn’t really feel overwhelmed. With lots of scenarios to explore and overcome, as well as a massive survival mode, it kept me engaged for more hours than I intended to play it each time I sat down and picked up the controller. Even with the normal management sim ‘issues’ when using a controller, I really enjoyed my time with Endzone - A World Apart: Survivor Edition. It has a massive amount of content available and if you enjoy this type of city builder/management game, I encourage you to check it out.

All in all, the gameplay is very realistic and well done, but the game did let me down after I had so much fun with the first one.

The art style and character design, particularly of the Rabbids, is fantastically clever.

While it lasts, Operation: Tango is great fun. The puzzles are engaging and never too simple to solve, but they are also not so difficult as to become frustrating. Operation: Tango forces players to find new ways of communicating, often leading to funny outbursts and miscommunications. Operation: Tango is clever, well-designed and engaging. It has a good mix of silly puzzles and those that require more thought. Although short and not all that replayable, it’s well worth a play through with a friend who has patience and a keen eye for detail. Fans of co-op puzzlers should consider trying their hand at this game.

No Longer Home is a thought-provoking game that tackles a lot of really complex ideas and feelings. It has a beautiful design, including elements reminiscent of Broadway productions, an interesting soundtrack and, despite my frustration with Ao and Bo at times, it left me wanting more. I spent a lot of time thinking about this game after playing it while writing this, and that alone means it impacted me in a way. Which, for a narrative loving gamer like myself, is all I really want.

Even with its flaws, and understanding it’s one of their older titles, I still enjoyed my time with Dark Arcana: The Carnival, even if it was a short adventure. I love these types of games for those nights I simply need to relax and not worry about shooting anyone or racing against my friends. You might scoff at HOG titles, but they are quite relaxing, and if you’re not proficient at puzzle games the difficulty here isn’t very high and it allows you many alternative ways to progress if you ever become stuck. While not Artifex Mundi’s best title to date, it’s still a fun adventure and a great way to get your feet wet with their catalogue in a long forgotten genre.

Sure, Fashion Police Squad is like any other classic shooter but with a gimmick, but it’s a fun one. Full of humor, puns and fashion one-liners, it’s hard not to smile every so often, especially when a new enemy is introduced, because you know you’ve seen this very exact fashion crime at some point. With its classic Doom inspiration, it’s certainly one of the more unique FPS games I’ve ever played, full of fashion and style.

Panic Porcupine isn’t for the faint of heart. If you get frustrated by dying numerous times, then you’re going to have a bad time. On the other hand, if you enjoy a challenge or even want to speedrun, there’s a lot on offer. You’ll need to have reaction speed and accuracy if you want to see Panic complete his journey, and while you might simply assume it’s a Sonic knock-off, it’s more akin to a Super Meat Boy than anything else.

Excellent first entry Capcom! I think a lot of fishing fans will be wishing for a little more customization, but this is a solid title for the price it is being sold at.

The idea and gameplay behind Relicta is interesting, as is the story, but the puzzles become quite challenging in certain sections, sure to frustrate some. While it’s quite a lengthy game for its genre, it does feel like it wears out its welcome near the end, as I just really wanted to finish it and be done. While there’s no reason to replay once you’ve completed the story aside from any missed collectables, I’m still glad I got to experience Relicta and Doctor Patel’s journey across the moon.

If you’re looking for a traditional football video game you better look elsewhere, as this game plays more like a turn based strategy game than anything else, it just uses the football backdrop as its setup. Blood Bowl 2: Legendary Edition took some time to grow on me, and while I don’t see myself playing it much longer in the future, I definitely appreciate its strategic elements that require some unique tactics based on your opponents. If you’re already a Blood Bowl 2 owner and enjoyed it, the Legendary Edition is an easy sell with the 16 additional races alone, even if many of them require some serious skill to use properly. For those new to the genre, Blood Bowl 2: Legendary Edition is a great addition if you want to take the time and learn all of its intricacies and develop some strategies to become skillful in a strategy based game, just don’t let its football setting fool you into thinking it’s a regular sports game like I mistakenly did.

Make sure to remember you will be getting absolutely nothing new game-wise in Smash Hits; you will only be able to replay the classics from Guitar Hero 1, 2, 3, and Aerosmith with all your instruments.

Full of subtle humor, I might not have laughed out loud but I surely chuckled a few times at the puns or situations, the ghost hamster being my favorite character of the bunch. While it’s a short adventure, it’s a memorable one. The world and characters are endearing and even though I’m usually not too interested in visual novels, Melon Journey: Bittersweet Memories is charming and endearing, feeling like one in a melon.

Every time it takes a step forward in its production value, it seems like something happens resulting in the game taking two steps backwards, and you're left feeling a sense of disappointment. Limited car selection, poor audio, challenging driving mechanics that that feel like a blind folded staffer was the model, really hit this game hard. There seems to be more focus on trying to make the tracks look pretty rather than make a great driving experience, and this is why I would pass on the $59.99 price tag. Saying that breaks my heart, but in reality, V-Rally 4 maybe shouldn't have come back yet?

It is much more of a simulation than any of the other fishing games out there. There are not crazy camera angles or strange arcade play modes.

I can’t give a full recommendation if you plan on playing solo, but with a few friends Dark Alliance is a much richer and better experience, even with its current shortcomings. D&D fans should have enough here that will appease while casuals can still enjoy an entertaining dungeon crawler with some buddies, a perfect fit to try out with Game Pass as long as your group can agree which characters to play as beforehand.

The complexity within is quite astounding, as even after a handful of hours of tower building in, I’m still learning and figuring out how to be a successful landlord. While I don’t find it as addictive as some of the more classic Sim games, the enjoyment and replayability is here without a doubt. Even if you don’t want to get hardcore into the building strategy side of the menus, casual fans too can build some low rise apartments or malls should they desire.

Sure, there’s not much of any context as to what’s going on, or why, but Metrico+ is a distinct experience that should be had by puzzle fans, even with the noted shortcomings.

While it’s come a long way since I played it in its first iteration from Game Preview, it still feels as though something is missing. Maybe I’m just not a fan of the forced PvP elements, as I’ve died to other players much more than any boss or monster in the game. Yes, that’s part of the experience, but it would have been a less frustrating experience if I was at least paired up with players of equal skill and level, not those that have done it all. There’s obviously a following, but with a PvP-less option, I know I would have stuck around longer with some friends trying to collect those bounties.

RAGE 2 is a game that is easy to recommend to people who like and are in search of good open world shooters. A masterpiece it is not, but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth playing. Although it’s not as great as I was hoping, I enjoyed my time with this sequel and am glad that I played it. It might not be a masterpiece, but it’s a fun way to spend ten or twelve hours.

I Saw Black Clouds was just enough supernatural to keep it interesting, if you took that branch of the story, and enough character development for each person I met to see that everyone had a role to play in the outcomes. If you are the type or person who likes drama and suspense type of movies/TV, or campy psychological thrillers, you’ll likely find something here to entertain you.