Overall, some minor technical nagging is the only thing that really holds back Horizon: Forbidden West back. It has a delightful protagonist, an engaging story, a wonderful setting, fun combat and exploration, and lovely visuals. I enjoyed just about every moment I spent with the game. If you were a fan of the original, then the sequel delivers on everything that it promises. Newcomers will likely want to finish Zero Dawn first, but as long as the idea of hunting robot dinosaurs with a bow and arrow sounds good, then two of the finest open-world games await you.
OlliOlli World is a delightfully charming little platformer. It has its own sense of style, and it's dripping with personality. The gameplay is a delightful mix that's easy to pick up and play but difficult to master. If you're looking for something that scratches the Tony Hawk bug, then OlliOlli World succeeds in spades. Just don't get frustrated when your near-perfect run is ruined by a stray cat sitting at the very end of the level.
Dying Light 2 is a good game that happens to be the long-awaited sequel to a great game. There's still a ton of fun to be had, and the exploration alone is worth the price of admission. At the same time, it's bigger without necessarily being better. I had a lot of fun with it, but I can't help but feel more positive toward the original. If you're looking for a fresh new world to smash zombies in and you're burned out on Harran, then Dying Light 2 will scratch that itch well.
Praey for the Gods is game that is inches away from being a new classic. It does many things very well, and it is an incredibly impressive achievement for a small team. It is dragged down a bit by trying to be too many things at once. I applaud the attempt to spice up the "in-between" time that Shadow had, but the result doesn't quite hit the mark. If you have a tolerance for tedium to reach some brief high points, then Praey delivers, but newcomers might be best served by starting off with Shadow of the Colossus.
A lot of what I write sounds negative, and that's the difficult part of discussing Aeterna Noctis. It does a lot of things that I genuinely like: It has excellent boss fights, some creative levels, an absurdly huge amount of content, and the platforming mostly works well. That level of heartfelt dedication makes it all the more frustrating when you get caught up on the areas where it still needs polish. I enjoyed a lot of the game, but I remember the annoyances more than the enjoyment. If you're willing to work past that, there's a lot to play in Aeterna Noctis, but it's easy to imagine someone reaching a particularly annoying bit of platforming and moving on to something else, especially because the game's long length can make it feel more exhausting than exhilarating. Metroidvania fans should absolutely give it a shot, but don't expect something as easy to pick-up-and-play as some of the genre greats.
Overall, Chorus is a fun arcade-style space shooter. The open world isn't super engaging, and the plot can be a touch messy, but they're secondary to the fun of piloting your super ship as you spin, shoot lightning, and turn into lasers. If you're in the mood for an entertaining and punchy space shooter with some cool mechanics, then Chorus fits the bill. I wish the plot were better conveyed and there were more variety in side-quests, but that certainly doesn't mar the experience. At the end of the day, you're blowing up Cthulhus with your magic space anime powers, and isn't that all it needs to be?
If you like mecha anime or even mecha-themed SRPGs, Super Robot Wars 30 provides a strong introduction to one of the longest-running SRPG franchises. It's a great encapsulation of what makes the franchise shine, and it's filled to the brim with fanservice in a way that will warm even the coldest mecha fan's heart. On its own merits, it is a lengthy and enjoyable (if easy) SRPG, but it really shines if you know the source material. It's not for everyone, but if SRW30 is for you, it'll give you everything you could possibly want.
It's difficult to recommend Gundam Battle Operation: Code Fairy - Vol. 1 on its own merits. It's effectively one-third of a storyline that is a tutorial and stand-alone story for GBO2's gameplay without its "gotcha" elements, but at this moment, the game is effectively incomplete. Vol. 2 and Vol. 3 will be released within the next month. When it has the full storyline and set of units, it'll be a lot easier to make a determination about the entire package, but until that happens, you're better off waiting unless you're a huge Gundam fan who has to play this right away.
Bright Memory: Infinite looks incredible for a game from a small development team, and the core sword-and-gun gameplay is fun enough. However, everything surrounding those two elements feel unpolished and poorly thought-out. The incoherent story, the non-combat gameplay mechanics, and general lack of quality control drag down the entire thing. If you're looking for a quick and breezy shooter to tide you over for an afternoon, Infinite might be fun for you. Otherwise, there's nothing here that you can't see in videos that show off its rain-soaked beauty.
Shin Megami Tensei V is pretty much the sequel that fans have been waiting for. There are a few potentially controversial decisions, such as the emphasis on an open-world area instead of the franchise classic dungeons, but they ended up working out in the end. The gameplay was fun from start to finish, and the 40-hour runtime seemed to fly by thanks to excellent pacing. If you liked Nocturne but wished it were more modern, SMT5 is the game you've been waiting for.
At the end of the day, Monster Crown has very little going for it aside from that brief rush of nostalgia. The interesting mechanics are buried behind a poorly balanced combat system, a ridiculous story, and a mountain of glitches. There are some interesting ideas, but it's difficult to recommend the title based solely on that potential. It's a game that feels like knockoff Pokémon that you can play on the same system as the real Pokémon offerings, not to mention all of the other competitors. There are patches coming that will hopefully alleviate some of these issues, but until they do, there are much better monster trainer games out there.
Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy is an extremely fun little romp that is genuinely funny and heartfelt. It's fun to play, and combat maintains the feel of a team working together despite being technically only a single-player game. The only real downside is that it is a linear game, so the replay value depends on how much you enjoy seeing alternate outcomes to various cut scenes. If you're a fan of the franchise and don't mind that this doesn't matching the MCU version, then there's a whole lot to like in MGotG.
That basically sums up The Dark Pictures: Episode 3 - House of Ashes. It's a cheesy action-horror movie, except you can help characters survive (or die) with your button presses. It's not my favorite of the lot, but I was relatively engaged. It's an enjoyable enough B movie and feels like it would thrive the best as a multiplayer party game. If you've enjoyed the rest of the franchise so far, you'll enjoy House of Ashes because aside from some quality of life changes, it's largely in the same mold.
That is it. Dying Light: Platinum Edition for the Switch is a straightforward port of a solid game. The basic zombie-killing parkour adventure is still as fun as it was when the game was originally released, and it has only received more content and more things to kill since then. The Switch version runs surprisingly well, so if you're willing to compromise visuals for portability, it might be the game for you. Dying Light 2 might feel like it's eternally delayed, but the Switch version can help tide players over until they get the chance to finally return to the zombie-infested world of Dying Light.
Demon Slayer: The Hinokami Chronicles is basically a game for the fans. Do you want to pick your favorite character and beat up your other characters? Or do you want to see scenes from the original story re-created in beautiful 3D? However, that is about all it offers. It's beautiful, plays well, accurately captures the source material, and that is the beginning and end. If you're curious about the uber-popular franchise, it's probably best to watch the anime or read the manga before diving in.
Metroid Dread is a fantastic return to form for the 2D Metroid titles. Building upon the lessons of Samus Returns, it captures the feel of Metroid nearly perfectly. It's incredibly fun to play, balances the story and gameplay in the way a Metroid game should, and in general, it's just excellent. Its few flaws stood out more in retrospect than while I was playing the game. It's easily one of the best 2D Metroid titles, and it's a fantastic way to close out the ongoing storyline.
Overall, Xuan Yuan Sword 7 is a completely mediocre game. That isn't to say it can't be fun or doesn't have strong moments, but somehow, none of what it does really stands out. It's interesting to see a long-running franchise finally get its chance to shine outside of its home country, but Xuan Yuan Sword 7 doesn't do enough to set it apart from the crowd. There are a lot of interesting ideas here, and I look forward to seeing what the next entry shows off.
It's hard to fault Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania for giving us exactly what it promises. It's a compilation of three older games with some gussied-up visuals and some nice new features. If you've never played the franchise before but were always curious, then this is probably the best place to start. If you're a longtime fan looking to re-experience some older Monkey mania, then it'll be exactly what you need. It's nothing more and nothing less.
Lost Judgment can best be described as The Yakuza Game With The High School. It's familiar and comfortable, and it's likely to please fans of the franchise who weren't thrilled with the JRPG style of the last game. The storyline is sometimes too grim even for a Yakuza title, and it plays things a bit safe, but it's still a darn fun experience. If this really is the Judgment spin-off's last entry, then it's a fitting send-off to the sub-franchise.
Deathloop is an engaging and enjoyable game that manages to capture the feel of Dishonored in a more fast-paced adventure. The unique setting and engaging concept carry the game through the repetitive nature of the gameplay. The multiplayer at the center of the story is more of a mixed bag but still intriguing enough to be memorable. Some annoying bugs drag down the experience. If you liked Dishonored but wished it were less about stealth and more about blowing things up, then Deathloop is the game for you. Just be prepared to die again and again.