While creating and destroying roller coasters in Screamride is highly enjoyable, the majority of the game's fun is buried underneath some frustrating design choices.
Despite the talent behind it, The Legend of Korra is too repetitive and bland to be worth recommending to anyone but fans of the television series.
Akiba's Trip: Undead & Undressed features a clever story, but its repetitive combat and bland graphics make it hard to recommend.
Despite featuring some creative brainteasers, Unmechanical: Extended is hampered by its lack of meaningful plot, little replay value and unfortunately brisk length.
Strange Telephone is an entirely unique adventure that ultimately squanders it's off-putting mood and setting. The gameplay and narrative lack depth, and the puzzle design is inconsistent at best.
Last Stop is an engaging piece of entertainment, but not really an entertaining game to play. The fun of the narrative can't overcome the lackluster gameplay and nonexistent player choice.
The Last Kids On Earth and The Staff Of Doom may keep the young fans of the series entertained for a good amount of time. However, the lack of overall depth and no serious tie-ins to the plot of the show makes this an effort that more discerning gamers can safely ignore.
Exception is a bog-standard platformer that rarely rises above mediocrity. Its saving grace is an excellent presentation and a fire soundtrack that you should check out even if you have no interest in playing the actual game. Otherwise, look elsewhere for your platforming kicks.
Degrees of Separation is definitely not great, but it's not exactly bad either. Instead, it's something potentially worse: forgettable. An intriguing premise is wasted on dull gameplay that never rises above simply being serviceable.
Pokémon Scarlet is a good game undone by extremely poor performance. The open-world set-up is fantastic, and the title does a good job of letting you wander into the deep end, but not forcing you to drown. Unfortunately, the copious amount of technical issues with it prevent it from reaching the heights it should have.
As buggy as the bayou, Alone in the Dark is a disappointing return for the classic horror franchise. Derceto Manor has corners worth exploring, and the puzzles are smartly designed. However, the clunky combat, lack of scares, unengaging story and drab voice acting sully the overall package.
The Chant had the pieces to be a unique piece of survival horror entertainment, but the assorted aspects of the title fail to congeal into a satisfying adventure. The combat is clunky and bland, and the story has its moments, but doesn't deliver in the end.
LEGO Marvel Super Heroes 2 will entertain the younger players, but its messy combat and dull open world make it one of the weaker entries in the LEGO pantheon.
Kaze and the Wild Masks is a competently made, and mostly enjoyable addition to the platformer pantheon. However, its over-reliance on gimmicks from the past only calls to mind stronger efforts.
Madden NFL 21 is as enjoyable as it has ever been on the field, but a litany of off-field issues make this one of the weaker efforts in recent years.
Sea of Solitude boasts an abundance of heart, and has a genuinely great look, but the gameplay struggles to rise above anything other than basic.
Dead or Alive 6 maintains the same excellent fighting engine and graphical fluidity of past entries, but it's bogged down by a litany of problems. From the tedious grinding to unlock costumes to the bare-bones online play, it's a disappointing debut on current-gen consoles.
The Council starts strong and manages to liven up the adventure genre with some smart decisions. As the series drags on though, the bugs, unappealing visuals, and lackluster plot development mar an otherwise engaging adventure.
Between the engaging base management and tense espionage missions, Phantom Doctrine is genuinely excellent at times. However, the frustrating combat and often unhelpful tutorials slide this tactical-stealth release down a few pegs.
The overarching story of The Council remains as eerily enjoyable as before, but the tedious puzzles that drive Hide & Seek ignore what made the first chapter such a delight to play through.