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.

All in all, Mercenaries 2 was, despite certain shortcomings, a lot of visceral fun and a great catharsis of destruction.

This Fable-esque game is one that anyone who enjoys the genre is going to have a good time with for the thirty plus hours it'll take to complete as it opens itself to many different play styles, here's to hoping for a patch to fix the quest markers and my 'frozen' character though.

It’s a game with a set purpose – give you lots of battles and lots of baddies to take down. But it doesn’t strike out into any brave new territory or define it’s own genre – sadly, not living up to the legacy of its source material.

Vambrace: Cold Soul has amazing qualities about it, particularly the graphics, UI and combat. If someone were to ask me a week from now, I'd still recommend Vambrace: Cold Soul. The amount of detail is fascinating to me. I'm gonna get out of here before a Spook gets to me. See ya!

For $9.99 (Cdn) Toby: The Secret Mine is a short adventure that is worth looking into for the art design alone and I would love to see the story of Toby told in a graphic novel medium. That being said, it's gameplay, although standard, doesn't bring anything distinctly unique to the table and often the puzzles are just too simple. It's also unfortunate that the game is fairly short and doesn’t offer any replay value at all to allow you to squeeze a few more hours out of it.

Shoot 1UP DX took me by surprise, as I really wasn’t expecting much from it initially, but its unique mechanics really made for a great experience. It’s also fairly priced at a couple bucks so even though there isn’t much content wise, there’s just enough replayability with its online leaderboards for those that want to challenge themselves. While it won’t catch the world on fire, it’s a decent shmup none the less.

It’s a vicious side-scrolling combat adventure that punishes even the tiniest of mistakes. Some people enjoy rage-inducing games, and that’s ok as that is exactly what this game does.

I still don't know if I personally like The Escapists 2. It was slow, extremely frustrating and by no means a casual gameplay experience, but I wouldn't say it’s a bad game. Oddly enough, despite my problems learning the ropes of prison life, and the failure of trying to escape, I still find myself drawn to it. Once you figure out what you are doing, get a grasp of prison life and crafting items, it becomes somewhat addictive. Gamers who enjoy time management will have a lot of fun plotting their escape, and fans of retro games will surely enjoy the pixelated characters and graphics. The Escapists 2 isn't for everyone, but if you're looking for a challenging game with high replay value, or you were a fan of the first game, then you'll definitely want to add this to your Xbox One collection.

While the main narrative is likely to confuse you at first, it does become interesting the further into the dream world as you progress from chapter to chapter. While there may be some symbolism and meaning behind many of its characters and scenes, but you’re most likely to come away with some frustration as you try and figure out some of the most obtuse and odd puzzles in a point and click adventure that I can remember in quite some time. That being said, Bad Dream: Coma is creepy, dark and disturbing, but it was also quite memorable and has decent replay value with its three unique endings.

Multiple difficulties, lots of extra modes, 4-player local co-op, and, one of the better points, it’s also an Xbox Play Anywhere title, so the value for the price is certainly here. It’s just a shame that the main color changing mechanic didn’t have a bigger spotlight, as it could have made Overdriven Reloaded: Special Edition stand out more in a crowded genre.

I have to be completely honest, I spent 98% of my time with Career Mode. I enjoy Career Mode the most in the Nascar Heat series and feel that overall it's generally a solid experience. This time around though, I'm not sold on the overall racing experience of Career Mode, which leaves me somewhat disappointed. My standards are usually very high for video games I know very well and I had high hopes that Nascar Heat 4 would be a great sequel. Now, I'm not even sure that this sequel is worth while knowing the main part of Nascar Heat 4 feels like an afterthought. I'm gonna go into the pit stop for a while and think about this.

Feist is beautiful to look at, but all of this praise is overshadowed by the unfairness and frustration from its unbalanced challenge.

The stand alone expansions will most likely appeal to newcomers more than returning F.E.A.R fans, although some may enjoy revisiting the frenetic action that the series has become recognized for.

Being such a huge fan of tower defense games, I was giddy like a teenage girl at a Michael Jackson concert at the chance to play Hero Defense, but after running into all these glitches and problems without anything adding to the merit or value of why I should care about the story of the game itself, it literally left me deflated. I love this game, I really do, and I feel now empty inside that such a game has so many issues (the camera system being the worst hands down) that prohibit that enjoyment. Starting out I was set to give this game an easy 90 to 95 score, but as I kept playing the score kept going down and down to the point where I should start looking for other games to play.

At the end of the day Tiny Troopers: Global Ops is a nice follow up to Joint Ops, and even if you haven’t played any of the games on mobile, PC or on console, there is some fun to be had here. Fans of third-person twin-stick shooters will enjoy their time with Tiny Troopers: Global Ops, and those looking for a fun couch co-op experience should look no further. We can’t forget those that may need a break from all the heavy AAA titles on the Xbox Store too, as they should be open to looking at this relatively inexpensive game that is a nice break from the normal. Go ahead, shoot some terrorists in a setting that should bring a smile or two to your face as you play.

While playing AO International Tennis, I found everything from the tutorial to the actual in-game experience to be pretty good. Sure, I wasn't the greatest at becoming the next Rafael Nadal, but the experience was something I enjoyed as I played. That being said, fans may find some control issue here and there, as I did find that some of my shots didn't go where I aimed, and that reaction time was off now and then. Regardless, I have never been one to pick a sports game as my game of choice, let alone tennis, but you may want to consider this one, especially if you are craving some tennis on your Xbox One.

Although my experience wasn’t very broad in terms of my knowledge in multiplayer shooters, I will recommend Deceive Inc based on the fact that any skill level can play. If you enjoy titles like Overwatch and Apex Legends, they will feel at home playing Deceive Inc and still have a great time. Even I could enjoy myself and get in on the action. I had a pleasant time with Deceive Inc and I’m looking forward to the next time I can play.

Damsel is absolutely designed for those that either speedrun or want to climb global leaderboards for bragging rights. For the more casual, it might be a little much with its challenging and frantic gameplay, though that’s where the easier difficultly option comes into play. In short bursts, Damsel can be a lot of fun, but play too much in one session and you might start to feel frustrated with the need for perfection and repetitiveness.

Make no mistake, Farming Simulator 17 is incredibly in-depth as a simulator, almost to the point of being too complicated, but as a game it’s simply not all that entertaining, unless of course you’re all about that farming life. That’s not to say I didn’t find some enjoyment in my time with it, but it was when I was doing things unintended. At the end of the day if you’re looking for an authentic farming simulator, there’s no better out there, but the amount of fun you’re going to have is based on how much fun you find in actually farming.

As with the first game, Overpass 2 is not what one would consider a traditional racing game given the events you participate in and the sim-like management of your team. You will be frustrated when you first start playing, even if you’ve gone through the tutorial, but push through and it gets somewhat better. Like the original, the foundations of something cool is here. I know when I reviewed the first game, I hoped that there would be a sequel with improvements in various areas, and although there are some, Overpass 2 still has annoyances that continue to hold the franchise back. The experiment of the first game continued with the release of a second, but the result is one that feels like it could have used more time. So, the major question is: “Dare I wish for a third kick at the can?”. In some ways yes, but they need to take the time to make improvements, or the third time could be unlucky.

Rocket Arena has an interesting concept and a great art direction with its Overwatch/Fortnite aesthetic and character design, but with a change to free-to-play, I could see Rocket Arena garnering a stronger following given that players are already being asked to purchase premium currency for skins and a Blast Pass to get the most out of it. While fun in short bursts, it took me quite a while to settle on a main, as many characters never clicked with my playstyle, and the poor matchmaking balancing was quite demoralizing as a new player, though bonus points for incorporating crossplay.

What Megaquarium does best is offer a laid back relaxing sim experience on console without feeling too watered down (pun intended). You’re given the tools you need at a slow and steady pace without ever feeling overwhelmed. I wasn’t sure how a dedicated aquarium sim would be, but it’s got a lot of charm and really is quite a calming experience overall for fans of the genre.

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.

The bottom line is that if you can overlook the mind numbing repetition and you're looking for a FPS with non-stop brainless action and a quirky sense of humor, than SSII is for you.

For newcomers, WARRIORS OROCHI 4 Ultimate is easy to recommend if you simply want a mindless button masher, enjoy killing thousands of enemies with ease, don’t mind outdated graphics and repetitive missions and audio. There’s not much thinking involved unless you’re trying to follow along with the narrative and keep track of the insane amount of characters, but generally gamers that play Musou’s know what they are getting into. If you’ve ever played a Dynasty Warriors in the past, you’ll also know what you’re exactly signing up for, albeit with a ton more content this time around.

Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts offers a lot in a surprisingly small package, however, with all the glitches and errors, there is just some guilty pleasure I get when I drop a sniper from 500m+. With a lackluster story mode that means relatively nothing, some graphics that are good but not great, an army of glitches at its disposal and no bullet X-Ray kill cam, this game is far from perfect, and at $40 maybe even a bit overpriced. When you think of all the content you get for that price however, Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts just may be on your radar.

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.