Visual Concepts has made the jump to next-gen and has done so incredibly well for players jumping into NBA 2K21 for the first time, making it seamless for players since its initial launch to transfer to their progress to Xbox Series X|S. Aside from some created players needing a bit of an upgrade graphically, NBA 2K21 Next Generation is a solid sports title that fans will surely enjoy for the gameplay, its visuals and love of the game.

PHOGS! puts a smile on your face, is utterly weird yet charming, and unique. Give a two headed dog a bone, or two, and download PHOGS! on GamePass if you’re looking for a unique puzzler that is simple yet entertaining.

Whether you are a longtime Kingdom Hearts fan looking to enjoy the iconic music interactively, just enjoy rhythm action games, or want to see what all the fuss is about as someone new to the series like myself, go ahead and give KINGDOM HEARTS Melody of Memory a try!

Difficulty is one thing, unfair is something completely else. GONNER2 fits somewhere right in the middle, though leaning slightly towards unfair and almost out of spite. If you enjoy brutally difficult roguelikes then GONNER2 is exactly what you’re looking for. GONNER2 is also on GamePass, so there’s no reason to not check it out and see if you can handle its challenge.

All in all, IMMORTALS FENYX RISING surpassed my expectations. It was a fun and beautiful game, full of exploration, puzzles, combat and humour. Despite being left with wanting more from the combat in the game, I could not stop playing it. Between the humour and the sheer delightfulness of Fenyx, I was captivated and found myself wanting to continue exploring and playing its world more. In the end, it is a game that I can wholeheartedly recommend if you are looking for something new to play this year.

At the end of the day, Bright Memory is a bit of a tough one to score. I went in not knowing much of anything about it, and would be lying if I said that I didn’t end up having some fun with it despite its faults. Still, regardless of how impressed I am by the fact that only one man developed this thing, there’s not a lot to it that stands out. It’s dated, it’s buggy and it’s beyond short. Still, it can be pretty fun if you temper your expectations and understand that you’re not going to get a lot for your money.

Overall, I have to say that I have become a fan of WRC 9, as it is definitely a deep and rewarding game. It portrays the ins and outs of managing a rally racing team as you are in charge of all the major decisions. As we are in the midst of the COVID pandemic, the actual WRC did not have the chance to race all of these real life rally courses, so you have the chance to represent what could have been. While the visuals do suffer a few hiccups over the course of the game, it still looks great and the sound is impressive. If you are a rally fan, or an all around racing game fan, then you should seriously look at WRC 9, as it will keep you busy for quite sometime and it is worth the investment.

With the vibrant, colorful choices, the art style gives off a very positive, happy vibe to a narrative that unfortunately seems to be a mix of Cinders' feelings, both negative and positive. It's nice to see that throughout gameplay, the art style stays consistent. Cinders is a true work of art. Even with a few hiccups along the way, I'd recommend Cinders to anyone that finds visual novel games even remotely appealing. Cinders clearly is made for a certain audience and bravo for their merits. As for me, I'll keep looking for my Prince Charming and explore some more.

Even though Gears Tactics is a shock to the franchise’s core gameplay, the new strategic take still works for its unique setting. It may not play like any Gears that you’re used to, but it still fits and feels like a true entry into the series without feeling forced. While I could have done without the padded side missions, Gears Tactics still has amazing visuals, writing, gameplay and everything else that fans have come to love about the series. Super fans will obviously get the most from its narrative as it has deep ties into the series’ overall narrative, though strategy game fans can jump in and still enjoy the experience without being a Gear-head.

Perhaps you have a friend or family member that isn't into gaming but is really into drones and you want to crossover the hobbies to spend a little extra time together without the overall cost of the drone equipment and/or potential damages. If so, then go ahead and give Liftoff: Drone Racing a try, but otherwise, maybe see if you know anyone who does play with drones in real life and see if they have one you can learn on; it might be more fun.

I really enjoyed the tonality and setting, but it’s hard to justify the asking price of $47.99 CAD for a single player only affair, though a decent sale at half price would be more in line with a solid recommendation. Somehow the different gameplay elements do blend together well, making for a very strategic experience, though it will take a lot of trial and error to fully understand it. Immortal Realms: Vampire Wars may not be the most robust strategy game out there, but has a unique setting with an interesting narrative if you’re starved for a new strategy game.

All in all, I think anyone who plays either roguelike's or platform genres will enjoy playing ScourgeBringer. I found it an entertaining game for when I wanted to get in a game and smash some bad guys, even for a short period of time. As an action platformer, ScourgeBringer is a really great example, even if it is a bit short. As a roguelike, it checks the boxes but doesn’t really do much else that's unique. Give ScourgeBringer a shot if you like either of these styles of games and want a challenge, plus it's on GamePass as well.

Assassin's Creed Valhalla is well executed on several levels, sans the bugs that I ran into. It is a true AAA title that is a worthy playthrough for fans of the game old and new. It is a tale of fate, loyalty, glory and morality. Eivor must make tough decisions as to how to grow their settlement and how they navigate relationships in the world. The decisions you make will change components of the story, so you are in charge of your own destiny.

While previous DIRT fans might not be so sure about its arcade direction this time around, for everyone else, it’s an accessible and fun racing game that doesn’t take itself too seriously. If you happened to get one of the new consoles, playing DIRT 5 in framerate mode is how you can showcase what your new TV can or can’t do. While there’s not much length to the career mode, Playgrounds allows you to create or play anyone else’s track, adding longevity, even if the overall package is a little light on substance.

Sure, this latest COD does not break any ground for bringing a new and innovative COD title; however, when you look as the game as a whole, and realize that a major chunk of it was developed during a Pandemic where everyone was working remotely, and you can appreciate the title including the story, the multiplayer and the Zombies mode. Given all of this, you will probably be playing this title for quite some time given that there will be free content arriving in the future that enhances both the multiplayer and Zombies mode. If you are a Call of Duty fan, Black Ops Cold War is a decent addition to add to your game library. If you are a casual fan of the series, or even new to the franchise, then this game will still be something you can enjoy too.

Stories Untold celebrates early adventure games with its narrative text format, telling a suspenseful story through limited visuals and thrilling narrative. It’s a compelling journey, and much of the excitement comes from one’s own imagination. It’s not a long game, but the tale kept me hooked. However, Stories Untold is not for everyone. Players not used to the text format may find the gameplay tedious or unintuitive.

I always appreciate games with such important historical importance like this and was thankful it wasn’t just a dry history lesson. At the same time, it was quite challenging to keep on top of everything needed to survive, especially when much of my success felt luck based at times. While it has its moments of enjoyment when everything goes according to plan, having to restart numerous times because you lose an important squad member like your medic becomes quite frustrating. There’s a lot of depth and strategy to be had within WARSAW, but surviving will be the priority and fun being a distant second.

There’s just enough musical variety that FUSER can appeal to nearly everyone from any musical taste or genre. No matter what mix I was trying to attempt, my head was constantly bobbing and my foot was tapping along to the beat. While I don’t fully understand the scoring system, as getting 5 stars on songs seems quite difficult, I still have fun every time I play and try out some new combinations of songs, always having a smile on my face and grooving to my own beat before sharing it online for everyone else to hopefully listen to. FUSER has recaptured that something special that Rock Band did years ago.

I’m not sure if anyone was really clamoring for this double pack on console, but here we are. While not a bad pairing, the main issue is that both games, Commandos 2 and Praetorians, suffer from showing their age. Time has not been kind to them, and while they’ve been given the “HD Remaster” treatment, it’s still quite a rough go visually and mechanically. I actually ended up enjoying Praetorians moreso than Commandos 2, but time has not been kind to both games.

When I first checked out Dustoff Z, I wasn’t sure if I was going to like this game, as I had never been introduced to the Dustoff line of games previously. The first time I played Dustoff Z though I got so caught up in it that I played it for about 4 hours before I had realized that much time had went by. It has enough of a challenge that I can continue to play and not get bored, but I also get frustrated because I can't get past a certain boss until the chopper and shooters get a bunch of upgrades, so there’s a bit of grind to it. That being said, after playing for a few days and losing a handful of hours playing it, it dawned on me that I rather enjoyed Dustoff Z more than I expected.

Ary and the Secret of Seasons feels like needed to be worked on just a little longer. There are far too many glaring issues that need to be addressed before I can give someone at least a 'Give er a try' recommendation. I mean, I can't tell you what to do, but I would proceed with a bit of caution while playing through Ary and the Secret of Seasons. It has a fantastic idea at its core, but this one I just can't fully stand behind right now.

Watch Dogs: Legion really impressed me with its ‘recruit anyone’ mechanic. While I wasn’t initially sure what to make a the non-central main character, it really didn’t affect things as a whole expected it to. The city of London is visually impressive and I’m constantly deep scanning NPC’s I come across to see if they’d make a worthy DedSec member. If you’re a fan of the series, Legion improves many facets of its gameplay, has a great campaign with clever writing and had me wanting to hack the planet by the time the credits rolled, even if the odd crash here and there frustrated.

Put in the time to learn its nuances and you’ll come away with a game that rewards you for the time you put into it, it just takes a very long time to get to that point. There’s a lot of potential to be had, but I found missions to be much too lengthy and tedious to keep my attention with its excruciating slow pacing, especially when losing an hour’s worth of gameplay and having to redo it all over again. Necromunda: Underhive Wars is going to mainly appeal to diehard Warhammer 40K fans and those that want to play anything similar to X-COM with its tactical gameplay, but it’s a hard sell for the casual fan that will mostly likely feel it’s a little too clunky.

NBA 2K21 is a good, but severely flawed game. Once those flaws get fixed though, there won't be a better basketball game on the market.

If Monster Truck Championship was a budget title for $20 to $30 or so, I’d have no problem recommending it for a fun weekend that is much like a guilty pleasure. Sadly, it’s priced at basically double that, and while it has some good ideas, its execution feels sloppy and comes across more arcade than simulation, even with having to use both sticks to control your monster truck. Like your favorite fast food you know isn't great for you, you still enjoy it every time you pull up to that drive through window, though you may have to crush a few cars in the way with your monster truck.

Wasteland 3 is about adapting to a situation and environment while managing a "choose your own story" adventure. While the main story is fairly straight forward, how you experience that story is totally in your hands. This is why I can say that Wasteland 3 is one of the best CRPG games you will ever come across. It provides a depth that would allow you a seemingly infinite way to experience the game without being overly complex and hard to manage and all the while not taking itself too seriously in its delivery. If you want a good RPG there are a ton out there that are a dime a dozen, but if you want one of the best CRPG experiences you can have, then you absolutely have to purchase Wasteland 3.

Even after a dozen hours and more, I still want to log on every night with my friends and grind some genie challenges out to try and get a new piece of gear and upgrades. Best enjoyed with friends, visually it can become quite chaotic when four players are all casting their spells and abilities, filling the screen with particles, explosions and damage numbers. I don’t normally get hooked on ARPG’s like this, but Torchlight III is addictive, beautiful to look at and sounds great, it’s just a shame that there’s so many issues and crashes that are a constant frustration. With a patch or two that fixes its main problems Torchlight III could easily hang with the bigger names in the genre, but until then it’s still an entertaining game to enjoy, but you’ll constantly have to battle against the game itself.

Once you’ve completed a few levels, not much changes aside from a few new enemies and the odd puzzle here and there. The boss fights can be fun and challenging, but there’s really no replayability unless you really want to do it all over again with another character. While it has its flaws and is not your typical twin-stick shooter, Bartlow’s Dread Machine is utterly charming with its old-timey aesthetic design, regardless of how often I may have become frustrated with it.