Final Fantasy XVI heralds in a new standard for Japanese role-playing games and while the RPG components themselves are limited by Square-Enix standards, it's the narrative and gameplay that exceed all expectations.
Cal Kestis' latest journey, this time to seek out a long-lost Jedi stronghold on Tanalorr, should feel intimately familiar to fans of Jedi: Fallen Order. Star Wars Jedi: Survivor builds upon the successes of the original title but doesn't quite do enough to stand up on its own merits.
Kazuma Kiryu's lineage is ever present even as the streets of Kamurocho are swapped for the well-traveled streets of Kyo at a time when American influence was only starting to reach Japan. Despite being a period piece set during the tumultuous Bakumatsu period, Like a Dragon: Ishin! still feels like that classic Yakuza JRPG that fans already know and love.
A tale built on revisiting past adventures in media res, One Piece Odyssey relies so much on retelling great stories that came before it that the adventure in Waford alongside Lim and Adio feels like an afterthought.
The Callisto Protocol, throughout all of the tension and suspense, can't mask the terrors within might only be surface deep.
Undoubtedly less cryptic than the original PS2 remake thanks to additional content to help streamline the experience, Romancing SaGa Minstrel Song Remastered is about as pure of a JRPG experience that one can expect to get from Kawazu and new players can finally see why folks have been singing its praises after all these years.
With a flow of combat that rivals that of the Doom Slayer, Evil West hits its mark when taking on vampires, werewolves, and everything in between, despite finding the rest of the experience a bit lacking.
The return of Task Force 141 brings along with it an unusually topical storyline that lacks the signature Blockbuster appeal of your typical Call of Duty campaign and instead feels like a Direct-to-DVD sequel.
Tactical RPG fans and those that love the chaotic nature of Rabbids owe it to themselves to check out both Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope and its prequel Kingdom Battle for a gaming experience you won't find on any other platform.
A fast-paced combat system and operatic soundtrack from Motoi Sakuraba aren't enough to save Valkyrie Elysium from a fate worse than Ragnarok: mediocrity.
Worthy of being hailed as a potential Game of the Generation when it was first released, The Last of Us Part I is fully remade for a new generation of PlayStation consoles. With some of Naughty Dog's best graphical tech to date, this is one you'll have to see to believe.
A disservice to the original Soul Hackers mythology, Ringo and Figue's adventure to avert the end of the world feels all too predictable and lacks the risk-taking of other Shin Megami Tensei titles.
A welcome change of scenery to the faster strain of Soulslikes, Thymesia gets straight to the point of sword and claw without lasting any longer than necessary.
A second series of serial killings is fair game in AI: THE SOMNIUM FILES – nirvanA Initiative, a title focused around the established world of the prior game with newcomers that are just as hungry for the truth as Kaname Date once was.
While going back to World War II might not be on the top of players' minds when it comes to a new shooter, the new Axis Invasion mode brings Dark Souls competitive PVP to a stealth series in a way that might be impossible to top.
Dolmen innovates the Soulslike genre with how it handles Energy and ranged combat but lacks a clear vision of what makes these games enjoyable beyond just some interesting mechanics.
Godfall: Ultimate Edition addresses many of the shortcomings of the original release by bringing in a greater focus on Endgame content and reducing much of the grind it takes to get there.
Despite being a masterpiece of split universes and the often futile attempts to fight fate, we're living in the timeline where the original source code for Chrono Cross was lost to the scars of time and the remaster that exists in this age wasn't given the focus that one of the greatest JRPGs of all time deserves.
If it weren't for Remedy's inclusion of a somewhat routine FPS campaign (with some strange PTSD and telepathy moments thrown into one half), CrossfireX would simply be among one of the worst FPS titles I've played on Xbox. However, players might still find some joy in at least experiencing half of the campaign for free via Xbox Game Pass before downloading the competitive multiplayer and throwing all of those smiles away.
Ubisoft Montreal's attempt at a cooperative alien survival shooter takes the operators and abilities that players love from Rainbow Six Siege and brings them into a familiar style of shooter that longtime fans of Left 4 Dead or GTFO can appreciate with a squad of friends