Judgement is a fantastic Yakuza game, but the spinoff's other elements can feel half baked. Brawling and investigating can both be fun, but it's clear there's depth missing from both aspects. The PS5 version is a blanket upgrade, with improved lighting, textures, and load times, but could have used a bit more care to preserve the artistic choices of the original.
While Ashwalkers has an interesting art style and atmosphere, it does little to capitalize on its survival mechanics, choice based narrative, and is far too easy for what it wants to be. While Ashwalkers may be worth a single playthrough, there's not much to motivate repeat visits to this wasteland.
SaGa Frontier Remastered is a game for die hard fans of the original only. Veterans will appreciate the quality of life features along with the addition of Fuse, but everyone else will be put off by the sheer amount of grinding, barebones plot and characters, and tedious leveling system.
Tasomachi: Behind the Twilight is a fairly rote 3D platformer with some great music and a nice aesthetic. While the controls feel floaty and there are numerous other annoyances, there's still fun to be had exploring the intricate towns.
While it's still too difficult to get into, Monster Hunter Rise is the best entry to date. Hunts feel faster and more dynamic than ever and additions like Weapon Swap Skills, Wyvern Riding, Palamutes, the Rampage, and especially Wirebugs keep the gameplay fresh and exciting.
The Kingdom Hearts PC ports are surprisingly excellent. With a substantial amount of options in 3 especially, this will no doubt please players who want to experience some of the saga at upwards of 900 frames per second. While there are a few blemishes, like blurry movies and no mouse support, each of these games is well worth owning for fans of the series. Just wait for a big sale.
Tales from the Borderlands is just as good as you remember it. The characters feel real and human, while the plot is compelling and worth seeing through to the end. This port could have used a few upgrades or even just kept the choice summaries, but at the end of the day it's a game I'll replay for years to come.
Lost Words: Beyond the Page is a heartfelt and human exploration of grief. While it will certainly make you feel things, it stumbles a bit in the execution with ham fisted moments, glitches, and overall simplicity of puzzles.
While the games themselves haven't aged terribly well and there are too many fighting games here, NeoGeo Pocket Color Selections Vol. 1 demonstrates the best way to preserve old games. On top of simply playing the games themselves, you can take a look at everything that came with the cartridges way back when on top of taking advantage of convenience features like rewind. Unfortunately, this is undermined by the incredibly small screen size which you cannot change.
Bravely Default II is a good RPG that undermines everything amazing the previous two games. The new battle style discourages risk taking and thus less freedom with the job system. The first 30 or so hours are great, despite a slow start in terms of gameplay, but the last 20 are too frustrating to be worthwhile and the story ends on an unsatisfying note.
SNK Vs. Capcom: Match of the Millennium is a decent, casual style fighting game from the previous century. It has tons of characters and modes to keep you interested for a short time, but don't expect any depth whatsoever here.
Capcom Arcade Stadium is the best way to play a few of Capcom's arcade classics. It's clear a lot of love went into making sure these games were emulated perfectly and to recreate the atmosphere of a bustling arcade. Whatever you want to play here, you can't go wrong.
Anodyne 2: Return to Dust is a work of art you absolutely must play. It's heartfelt and personal, with tons of fun puzzles to solve and locations to explore.
Sword of the Necromancer manages to bring something new to the flooded rogue-like genre while providing a heartwarming story. It has a multitude of options to allow players to tailor the game to their liking. It's breadth of mechanics allow for tons of experimentation that will keep you coming back until you finally get the true ending.
Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury contains two excellent Mario games, but is unfortunately held back by frustrating controls, especially in multiplayer, and a lot of waiting in Bowser's Fury when going for 100%. If you can get past that though, you're in for some of the best 3D platforming Mario has to offer.
While Werewolf: The Apocalypse - Earthblood may contain interesting ideas, like being able to shift forms in an instant, its gameplay and story are too generic and boring to be worthwhile.
Hitman 3 is the ultimate Hitman experience, period. The game runs almost improbably crisp, and each location is a ton of fun to explore. Replayability is a must, but not just because of the brevity of the campaign, but because there is so much to do in each one. Adding the missions of yesteryear appends even more to the package, along with the ability to be the assassin in VR or take it on the go with Stadia or Switch. I could try and nitpick it for what it doesn't do or where it comes up short (of which there's almost nothing), but when it comes to being an early contender for Game Of The Year, Hitman 3 hits its target dead center.
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: the Game is one of the best modern beat-em ups, despite a lack of much competition in the genre. It's gorgeous visuals and amazing soundtrack complement its surprising depth in combat perfectly. Scott Pilgrim is back, and hopefully here to stay.
Collection of SaGa Final Fantasy Legend contains three good games, but lacks any extras like manuals, save states, or cheats other than game speed to make it stand out. It's certainly a better effort than any of Nintendo's recent re-releases, but we can do much better to preserve the history of games.
Werewolf: The Apocalypse - Heart of the Forest is a great visual novel with tons of impactful choices, great visuals, and excellent sound design. While it slowly loses steam after the introductory chapters, it's still well worth multiple playthroughs.