Ben Thomas
Back 4 Blood is an immensely fun multiplayer shooter, with an astonishingly replayable cooperative campaign full of intense periods and challenges that encourage teamwork. The competitive Swarm mode may not have the refined suspense of Left 4 Dead's Versus mode, but it does have a few satisfying moments.
Lost in Random is a pleasant action-adventure with a clever use of numbers, great visual design, and a unique combat system that allows players to roll with the punches.
As one of the most frustrating games ever made, I Am Fish is a special kind of awful. With horrible traversal, unforgiving physics, inconsistent challenge, and terrible stealth sections, it is about as fun as getting your head stuck in a fishbowl.
There is a vast rainbow of greatness within Life is Strange: True Colors. Its awesome characters, emotional connections, effective humor, intricate animations, fun moments, and outstanding music are why it is one of the best narrative adventure games in years.
Discovering the past of an abandoned village in The Rewinder is satisfying thanks to a neat time-altering mechanic and basic adventure puzzles. This adventure only stumbles with some translation errors and minimal complexity.
WRC 10 is a decent rally experience, thanks to the solid driving model and improved vehicle feedback. The new tracks are good but team management has regressed and other changes are a mixed bag in what is a predictable yearly release.
Fantastic trips through colorful minds and a robust narrative help to make Psychonauts 2 an enjoyable adventure and a faithful sequel.
Those seeking a short, relaxing adventure will find that Omno has just the right mix, including a vibrant world filled with creatures, calming music, basic puzzles, and easy-going platforming.
Outstanding cyberpunk visuals and fun top-down shooting make The Ascent worth playing in single-player. But it could have been even better with less tedium, tighter pacing, and fewer bugs.
Chernobylite combines a multifaceted narrative with stunning, atmospheric levels that repopulate with fantastic points of interest. Players can sneak or shoot their way around the faithfully recreated Zone and see the modest ripple effects of story choices they can alter following each death.
With amazing art and music, Backbone has a killer introduction and a great vibe. Unfortunately, due to a dreadful turn in the narrative and underdeveloped gameplay, this is a classic case of style over substance.
Despite some brisk and occasionally satisfying combat, Necromunda: Hired Gun is a boring and clunky foray into a deep dark hole within the WH40K universe.
Managing a small group of bums becomes addicting in Garbage, with the objective to keep them alive and train them to fight. Unfortunately some leveling grind, repetitive and random fights, and technical blemishes mean that the game does not go the full distance.
Across three hours, In My Shadow has a few puzzles that might make you stand up in your chair. But the rest of the dull, fiddly shadow-moving experience will make you wish you turned out the lights and had a nap instead.
Subnautica: Below Zero is a good survival game, even if the new frozen land areas are not fun to explore and the story has several pacing issues. Fortunately, the solid progression system and mastery of the sea makes it easy to recommend for fans of the original.
While the bunker in Paradise Lost is interesting to explore at first, it is not packed with enough narrative content to match its ostentatious surrounds. This brief walking adventure quickly becomes frustrating as you wait for the mostly unsatisfying story to reveal itself.
The dark and creepy world from Tarsier is still as excellent in Little Nightmares II as it was in the original. With decent puzzle-platforming, and a few new mechanics to keep things fresh, the sequel revels in all things big, small, and grotesque.
The Medium is a flawed horror experience with an interesting story and a visually captivating spirit world. Fixed camera angles add excess clumsiness and the terrible framerate drops make it difficult to enjoy the split-screen views. With some glacial pacing and a lack of genuine scares or challenges, it fails to create a strong bond with either of its two worlds.
Night City is a place of splendor and possibilities. Its many interesting corners have remarkable visual detail and diverse tasks that allow players to be aggressive or stealthy. Appealing characters and their tangled stories elevate Cyberpunk 2077 and it is only the technical issues and a few missing features that keep it from reaching legendary status.
Call of the Sea is a new take on Lovecraft's lore with a vivid introduction that enhances the moments when the game transitions into darker waters. With an interesting story and solid puzzles, it is an adventure game worth playing.