Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve is, in many respects, the most accomplished version of a series formula that has worked for decades.
Control Resonant is unmistakably a Remedy game - bizarre, ambitious, at times frustrating and often inventive.
EA Sports FC 27 doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but it does refine the football and expand the social side of the experience, while wanting to keep you engaged and spending, for as long as possible.
Even with its flaws, Luna Abyss’ rewarding traversal, intriguing worldbuilding, and memorable boss encounters make it worth recommending to fans of Returnal, NieR, and Doom.
Diablo IV: Lord of Hatred delivers some meaningful improvements and additions, but stops short of fully addressing long-standing issues.
While it may not carry the novelty of the original, Hades II delivers a meaningful evolution.
While Neon Inferno doesn’t reinvent the run and gun genre, it succeeds by delivering a tightly focused, mechanically confident experience built around a unique idea.
Lumines Arise successfully refines a proven formula with thoughtful mechanical additions, exceptional audiovisual design, and a wealth of modes, though HDR support is sorely missed.
Dispatch is a rare example of a narrative adventure that understands exactly what it wants to be and executes its vision with finesse.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 is an entertaining and feature-packed entry that suffers from the cost of trying to be everything at once, resulting in a robust but uneven package.
Shinobi: Art of Vengeance succeeds in bringing Joe Musashi back for new audiences, with fast and fluid combat, a unique execution system, and some of the best hand-drawn art in a modern side-scroller.
Gears of War: Reloaded’s few issues don’t detract much from an otherwise great package that still holds up and is now also accessible on PS5 with standout DualSense features.
Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition successfully revitalizes an already ambitious RPG, refining its gameplay with worthwhile performance and quality-of-life improvements while preserving what made it special in the first place.
Diablo IV: Vessel of Hatred introduces enough new content to make it compelling for Diablo 4 fans at launch, despite concerns about potential endgame grind.
Despite some drawbacks, Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 is the best new entry in the series that fans and newcomers alike can appreciate.
Despite its setbacks, however, Tsukihime: A Piece of Blue Glass Moon’s strengths in narrative and presentation make it a worthy recommendation to fans of visual novels.
While the initial narrative pacing in Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth is rather slow, the eventual payoff is well worth it, as are the game’s diverse range of activities and gameplay mechanics.
While Armored Core VI’s narrative and level design could have been more progressive, the deep and engrossing gameplay mechanics compensate for those shortcomings, delivering the ultimate mecha combat experience
A few noteworthy issues aside, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre surpasses its predecessor by delivering a thrilling and engaging asymmetrical multiplayer horror experience.
A dearth of content and some questionable monetization practices raise concerns about future prospects of an otherwise engaging multiplayer shooter with some interesting dynamics.