Despite a nonsensical plot and slightly lower emotional stakes, Like A Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name is a stunning refinement of the Dragon Engine that's wholly deserving of your time, whether you're a longtime Yakuza fan or new to the franchise.
Bomb Rush Cyberfunk is an indie megaton mic drop from Team Reptile on how it’s done, paying serious homage to the genuinely unique, visually arresting and musically ahead-of-the-curve games that Jet Set Radio and Jet Set Radio Future originally were.
Armored Core VI delivers superlative visuals and uncompromising challenge that will delight hardcore fans but risks alienating newcomers with its steep learning curve.
Planet of Lana is a must-play for platforming fans, boasting vibrant visuals and a unique, family-friendly take on the classic action-adventure genre.
Featuring a literally jaw dropping, procedural zombie damage system, a diverse and entertaining cast and high production values from start to finish, Dead Island 2 not only manages to live up to the expectations set by its two mainline prequels over a decade ago--it blows them right out of the water.
Fatal Frame: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse is a finely polished, absolutely worthwhile remaster of the fourth game in the franchise, with excellent sound and visuals, fun mechanics, and a genuinely haunting story, held back from a higher score only by its outdated controls and sluggish character movement.
Atomic Heart promises tens of hours of tense, first-person, Bioshock-style combat, a compelling, twist-filled narrative, challenging puzzles and an eccentric lead duo that will definitely grow on you.
Hi-Fi RUSH is a highly enjoyable action-adventure fuses the solid, hack n’ slash combat of Devil May Cry with enthralling rhythm-based mechanics, while also blurring the lines between anime and Saturday Morning Cartoons to deliver a larger-than-life protagonist whose story is just as much fun to watch as he is to play.
High on Life perfectly blends tried-and-true Metroidvania and classic first-person shooter elements with Justin Roiland and Squanch Games’ distinctive brand of dark, fourth wall-breaking comedy, resulting in an action-adventure that no gamer should dare miss out on, especially when it is being offered for free to anyone with an Xbox Game Pass subscription.
Marvel’s Midnight Suns is a both a refreshing, lighthearted take on Firaxis Games’ XCOM formula as well as a shining example of how to faithfully adapt Marvel properties to new game genres that sit outside of the typical action-adventure wheelhouse, propped up by great writing, dialogue, and stellar voice-acting befitting the source material.
Weighed down by a weak and predictable revenge plot, impossible-to-miss visual glitches and gameplay bugs, and stingy restrictions that prevent players from using any their owned equipment in matches, the Bloody Ties DLC drains much of the fun out of what makes Dying Light 2 great.
No More Heroes III for current-gen consoles addresses many of the visual performance issues of the 2021 Switch version while also preserving all the quirks, style and flash that made the original so enjoyable despite them, making it the definitive version that fans and newcomers alike should play.
As Dusk Falls is the kind of game that Xbox Game Pass was made for, in the best possible sense of such a compliment; it’s a narrative thriller and adventure that’s easily worth the price of admission, and more importantly, it’s absolutely worthy of your time.
Final Vendetta is a love letter to the late 80’s and early 90’s era of arcade and home console brawlers that fans of Final Fight, Streets of Rage 2 and SNK’s Neo-Geo console, will immediately appreciate, though the high level of difficulty, lack of continues and no online play might make it a hard sell to newcomers.
With a plethora of visual enhancements and quality of life improvements for GTA V and GTA Online leading the charge (60fps performance, ray-traced shadows and significantly faster loading times chief among them), there’s never been a better, easier or more affordable time to visit San Andreas on current-gen consoles, whether it’s your first trip or if you’ve been away for years.
Despite leaning heavily on developer Remedy Entertainment’s impressive Northlight game engine and narrative chops for its brief single-player campaign, CrossfireX is ultimately a poorly-written, half-hearted attempt at reviving Smilegate’s dated CrossFire franchise and is best avoided by all but the most loyal Remedy and CrossFire aficionados
Dying Light 2: Stay Human is a bold, doubling-down of all the elements that made the first game great, while also making ambitious strides in its open-world gameplay and branching narrative elements.
Halo Infinite brings together the best gameplay elements from the Bungie Halo era, doubles down on Halo CE’s sandbox environments to encompass its entire open world structure and brings new gameplay mechanics that will no doubt become a permanent part of its design document going forward, making it an experience no shooter fan can afford to miss.
Unencumbered by the baggage of the upcoming story campaign, Halo Infinite Multiplayer is arguably the definitive incarnation of the franchise’s online competitive component and is strong enough to stand on its own despite its F2P leanings.
A tedious, time-consuming playing card mechanic, frustrating bug crashes and a repetitive, near-endless onslaught of Ridden enemies led by an uninspired AI Director, collectively drags this spiritual sequel to Left 4 Dead down from the heights it could have reached.