Wrath of the Druids is simply more Assassin's Creed Valhalla, with a few added twists and some of the same baggage. The benefit of not swinging for the fences is that you're getting more AC comfort food, even if it falls far short of a home run. For 25 bucks, you might need something a little more than that.
I don't think Resident Evil Village is going to be very divisive per se: I suspect the reaction will be generally positive. But it's going to definitely spark some conversations as to how it stacks up against the current darling of RE7, and it has a long hill to climb to match its success financially. As for me, I think it complements it quite well, and then some.
Returnal is a mostly thrilling sci-fi action romp that suffers from a lack of scale at times. In the moment, I'm completely fixated on my run, upgrading like a fiend, and dashing around for iFrames like I was playing a Capcom game. But after that run ends and I'm looking at the bigger picture, Returnal can feel a little smaller than it actually is. Keep that in mind before you take the pricey plunge.
There aren't many games like NieR Replicant, and I'm not just talking about in the modern era, but since 2010 as a whole. Whatever power that be helped Yoko Taro become world-famous, to the point where he can keep making these weird masterpieces, in any format: thank you.
There are some cobwebs to shake out of Oddworld: Soulstorm, and some that will remain even after a hot shower, but you'd be hard-pressed to name very many games that are doing what this series is doing in 2021. I'm glad that Oddworld Inhabitants is still around, doing their weird and interesting thing.
It's a lower bar to clear to be sure, but People Can Fly delivered what Bungie and other studios can't seem to do these days: a complete $60 game. Outriders is a flawed looter shooter that can fall into a rut with its core looting loop, but the gunplay is fun, and that's a decent-sized win. If you can grab two other people to recruit via Game Pass, it's a great way to spend some time.
Like a lot of Monster Hunter games, I slowly started to get more and more acclimated to Rise until I hit a positive tipping point. Once it clicked, it was hard to go back to the old ways, before the wirebug opened up combat and the theme was arguably the most on-point it's ever been. Rise should delight fans both new and old, as long as the former group is willing to work a little bit for it.
The Climb 2 is light on content beyond the main draw, as "glove and accessory unlocks" are not going to be enough to satisfy everyone once they've finished all the stages. But like the original, I'm going to be returning to it every time I get the itch to climb something.
That's pretty much Bravely Default II in a neat little package. It's more Bravely Default, which is more classic JRPG formula, distilled for a modern era. It's not going to reinvent RPGs as we know them, but this series still has life in it yet.
Ghosts 'n Goblins Resurrection isn't firing on all cylinders constantly, but when you're in the groove, on any difficulty, or even with co-op in high gear, it reminds me of why I started to like this series in the first place. Capcom did a pretty good job of preserving it and bringing it to a new generation.