Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town is the most barebones of a farming simulator. While updates have been promised to fix the technical issues and inject some life into it, it's not worth playing in its current state.
Whether through loyalty or lethargy, BurgerTime Party! just doesn't do enough with the original arcade game's formula to make this reboot worth checking out.
Ciel Fledge is bursting at the seams with ideas, many of them good, but with so little room for them to breathe, they end up stripped down to their most basic and least satisfying forms.
The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance Tactics is a serviceable strategy RPG, but doesn't make use of its license or innovate in its genre enough to make much of an impression.
Death Stranding deserves credit for daring to be so unique, but the price of experimentation is often failure. It can sometimes achieve moments of tranquil beauty, but is usually such a frustrating slog that it's hard to appreciate the quieter moments.
I don't know if Richard's advice works, but that's beside the point. Less important than its efficacy is the fact that it's manipulative, sleazy and degrading.
Tokyo Dark is a solid if underwhelming detective noir story. It's good for a diversion but will ultimately leave you wishing it were something more substantial.
The Complex is a decent little sci-fi flick, but its interactive elements only encourage you to dig deeper into a story and a gimmick that can’t withstand any real scrutiny.
Simulacra has some interesting ideas, but gets in its own way enough that it wastes the advantage afforded to it by its strong premise.
Cyberpunk 2077 is a great timewaster filled with plenty of opportunities for dumb fun that come from the clever implementation of future tech into its combat. Unfortunately, it fails to deliver on the clear ambition in its writing, mostly due to the clutter that drowns out its few moments of true inspiration.
Five Dates is a clever dating sim that does a lot of things right to stand out from the crowd, but unfortunately ends early enough that it can't leave much of a lasting impression.
Everything Persona 5 Royal adds is a boon to the experience but, unfortunately, it’s not enough to fix the deeply-embedded issues at the heart of the original game.
Convoy is a solid tactical roguelike. While it doesn't offer much to make it stand out from the pack, and the repetitiveness doesn't give it the staying power of the genre's best entries, it is a fun distraction for people looking to switch things up from FTL.
Dead or School is a surprisingly fun, polished hack-and-slash side-scroller with ridiculous fanservice that might turn some people off and a spotty script that struggles to make up for the repetitiveness of the combat.
While it's far more valuable as an entry into the Portal series than a Steam Deck tutorial, Aperture Desk Job ably accomplishes everything it sets out to do.
Deadly Premonition 2 is a competent sequel that comes close to reaching the heights of the original, but falls short due to sloppy gameplay, technical issues and an unwillingness to stray too far from its comfort zone.
Battle for Bikini Bottom isn’t an exemplary 3D platformer in and of itself, but it’s above average for licensed games and its clear passion for the SpongeBob property sets it apart. The Rehydrated remaster is a wonderfully accurate port that makes it accessible for old and new fans alike.
XCOM: Chimera Squad is a great spinoff of Firaxis’ modern XCOM series, bringing with it enough changes to stand on its own. Unfortunately, the simplification of the formula may turn away series veterans and doesn’t give it the same lasting appeal as the other games in the series.
Sucker for Love: First Date is an impressive visual novel that ably balances its horror and comedy, providing a unique take on the Cthulhu mythos you're unlikely to see anywhere else.
The Medium doesn't revolutionize the horror genre, but it's a compelling entry that's worth checking out.