With every aspect of Blackwind comes a new laundry list of issues big and small that make it feel like it should have been incubated a while longer.
Rainbow Six Extraction has some good foundational ideas that aren’t able to flourish in their own game due to its extensive repetition and misaligned progression system.
When Battlefield 2042 hits the mark with its enormous, gorgeous, destructible maps in All-Out Warfare, it’s good, but it sometimes tends to crack under the weight of its own massive scale.
What you know to be true about Call of Duty continues to be true in Vanguard, though there are some surprisingly earnest characters in the campaign and an expectedly addictive suite of multiplayer maps and modes.
There’s an immediate familiarity for House of Ashes in the Dark Pictures catalog, but this entry is as thematically complex and consequently engaging as any game in the series so far.
Back 4 Blood wastes no time trying to divert your attention from its obvious influences, but it doesn’t need to when it nearly lives up to the expectations its spiritual predecessors set so high.
Diablo 2: Resurrected is a faithful, meticulous remaster that shows just how well the original has aged.
NBA 2K22 makes some appreciated improvements to on-the-court gameplay and tries some refreshing, if not entirely successful innovations in MyCareer that make this year’s version feel like a bit more than just a roster update.
While not a monumental upgrade over past installments, WRC 10 makes some welcome changes to the formula that continue to make it a must-play for fans of the sport.
Madden 22 has begun to address some major issues, and while it hasn’t fixed or updated everything, the dynamic on-field abilities and improved game modes make the future look a little brighter for the franchise.
Based on its premise, Foreclosed should be a lot more interesting, but it doesn’t have the balanced gameplay or nuanced story to even crack that conversation.
Much of F1 2021 builds on the high-class foundation from previous games that make the series one of the best racing games out there, but new additions, especially Braking Point, are both great pieces of content on their own and optimistic foundational pieces for the future.
Biomutant works best on paper, but it has too many derivative elements for anything alone to stand out.
NieR Replicant's upgrades put it nearly on par with NieR: Automata, and while it doesn't live up to the tight package Automata provided, it's a great addition for anyone who missed it the first time around.
Outriders actively props up its own strengths and encourages you to employ them, organically allowing you to experience its full potential and mostly outweighing a disjointed story.
The unwavering cheerfulness that permeates every ounce of Balan Wonderworld can't overcome the shallow gameplay and questionable design choices that come every step of the way.
Monster Truck Championship makes a case for the most impressive monster truck simulator on the market, but its lack of content hinders its longevity.
Monster Jam: Steel Titans 2 is at its best when it embraces the arcadeyness, depth, and lightheartedness that define its most exciting moments, though it sometimes punishes the very ambition behind those aspects.
While it misses the chance to transcend the sum of its parts, Maquette tells a beautifully relatable story with a gorgeous presentation, accompanied by a clever and unique size-bending puzzler.
Ys IX: Monstrum Nox brings a wide array of impressive gameplay elements in concert with a wonderful cast of characters to make an exhilarating, thoughtful package that's one of the series' best.