As it stands right now, Hot Wheels Unleashed is a fun racer whose fantastic selection of cars makes up for its relative lack of varied course environments. With updates and DLC it has the potential to become a brilliant mess of licensed properties in the way the best mash-up games are, but what's here is a solid enough foundation to start from, even if it's a little samey at launch.
FIFA 22 is the best in the series to date, even if its revamped animation isn't as revolutionary as billed. As a standalone title it's fantastic, even though avid players will likely feel that changes are negligible compared to last year.
There's nothing inherently wrong with Active Life Outdoor Challenge. It's a charming enough game with controls that are responsive enough for the most part. Its main failing is a general lack of content, and the fact that the Joy-Con and leg strap combination isn't quite as fun as the original mat the Wii version came with. Ring Fit Adventure won't be sweating over the competition, then, but Family Trainer is still a pleasant enough diversion for fans of light CV.
As long as you're willing to put up with some performance hits and the fact that there's no online multiplayer, Cruis'n Blast is a hugely entertaining arcade style racer with incredible set-pieces that has us crossing every possible body part in the hope that it's successful enough to encourage more of the same somewhere down the line.
An impressive remaster of an already entertaining Sonic game, this should keep Sonic fans busy until we get something new (as long as you're happy replaying levels for S-Ranks, because otherwise it's pretty short).
If you loved the previous games, you’ll love this. However, it doesn’t offer anything new to improve on the series’ flaws, meaning anyone who isn’t a devotee may want to try the original first to see if its quirky, sharp-tongued style is for them.
Skydrift Infinity provides solid, enjoyable arcade-style racing action and delivers it at a silky 60 frames per second. What's there is great fun, but with only six tracks and one single-player mode it's not long before you've seen all it has to offer.
The Ascent is a superb action game that looks as fantastic as it plays. Its plot and dialogue can be pretty hard-going but its gunplay is deeply satisfying. On Game Pass it's a no-brainer, but it would be worthwhile at full price too.
Skyward Sword HD is a superb remaster of the decade-old Wii game that not only gives it a much-needed visual upgrade but also throws in so many quality of life improvements (not least of all a free camera) that it immediately makes the original version obsolete.
Monster Hunter Stories 2 is a solid and thoroughly entertaining turn-based RPG. As long as you can put up with some bad jokes and relatively low difficulty, there's a lot of fun to be had here.
These new enemies aside, it’s more or less business as usual in The Ancient Gods. While the pace can be a little slower this time thanks to the way the newcomers have to be defeated, for the most part fans of the main campaign will be perfectly happy with another roughly 5-8 hours of gameplay to rip and tear their way through. Just don’t play it without taking on the main game first.
Super Rush plays a great game of golf but is somewhat more restrained than other Mario Golf titles. Future DLC could potentially change this, but at launch it's merely entertaining, not essential.
If you're new to programming and want to see what it takes to make a game, this is a wonderful and humorous introduction. It does have limitations, though, and mastering its intricacies can take a long time.
As an RPG, Miitopia is about as light as it gets, meaning anyone looking for a modicum of depth will be let down. It's content being a light-hearted, laugh-focused piece of entertainment that doesn't require much thought or skill, and as long as you're content with that too you should have a good time.
SnowRunner is an interesting truck driving game where the environment is your opponent. As long as you can put up with its audio and visual issues and understand that it's an extremely slow-paced game, the rewards for sticking with it are worthwhile.
Those with an interest in Nintendo's history should undoubtedly pick up Famicom Detective Club, and those simply looking for a couple of good mystery yarns will have a fun time with it too. Just be aware that it’s a very linear adventure, and once you’re done there’s very little replay value.
Returnal's constant action and clever semi-procedural structure make it an engaging adventure, not to mention a visually stunning one. The lack of any difficulty levels may unfortunately exclude less experienced gamers, but anyone who doesn't mind dying a bunch of times will thoroughly enjoy themselves.
Nothing about FAR S Ultra is particularly offensive (except the music, which is a crime against the concept of ears). It has some clever ideas but the execution is a little lacklustre, and the relatively low number of tracks combined with the annoying AI and the unforgiving nature of its difficulty means it certainly won't be to everyone's tastes. If you don't have Fast RMX then get that first, but we've played worse racing games for $7.
Moorhuhn Kart 2 takes a game that's nearly two decades old, tweaks the visuals a bit, then actually removes elements from it (such as its character animations and speed settings). With only eight tracks on offer it would be underwhelming at a budget price, but given it's selling for $30 at launch there's nowhere near enough content or quality to justify that price.
RetroMania Wrestling looks like WWF WrestleFest, plays (a bit) like Fire Pro and has a wide variety of entertaining arenas to play in. However, the tiny roster, lack of creation modes, lack of online and brief single-player experiences mean you're really going to need to be interested in local multiplayer if you're going to be playing this one for a long time. To give it the Cena test: it's got our respect for going old-school and it'll get loyalty from the cult following it'll inevitably gain, but it still needs a bit more hustle before it's the finished product, whereas just now it feels like The Prototype.