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.
Evil Dead: The Game is another solid product based on a movie license that offers a good time for fans of the series and newcomers alike, but don't expect it to knock your socks off beyond that.
Lego Bricktales doesn't break much new ground, but its satisfying and manageable build experience meshes well with its short-but-sweet world structures to provide an easily digestible and relaxing Lego experience.
PGA Tour 2K23 will fill the need for anyone craving a golf game, but it won't push the boundaries of the sport or of sports games any further than its competitors already have.
While it can feel more like a proof of concept for some new mechanics than a vital piece of the experience, Lightfall is another reason to come back to Destiny 2, which proves it's still a top-tier shooter more than half a decade into its life.
Sniper: Ghost Warrior Contracts is a soft reboot that retools some of the series' defining aspects but has significant problems that hold it back from giving the series the rebirth it wanted.
Vampire: The Masquerade – Coteries of New York is a visual novel that has bright spots and some intriguing moments but is brought down by a lot of filler material that adds little to the overall package.
NBA 2K21 makes welcome improvements to its MyCareer and MyTeam modes, but the frustratingly inconsistent new shooting system and lack of changes elsewhere make it feel like it's lost its step over other sports games.
Torchlight III is an imperfect but endearing action RPG whose great boss fights and enjoyable special skills clash with the noticeable relics of a freemium experience.
Call of the Sea's intriguing piecemeal story and beautiful setting falls to the wayside when its lack of signposting and overall artificially obtuse puzzles take center stage for much longer than acceptable.
Override 2: Super Mech League has many of the pieces that would make it work as a full package, but when the oversized mechs actually go to battle, it becomes a shallow, unrewarding shell of its potential.
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.
Assetto Corsa Competizione is a game made only for those seeking a full, unquestioned simulation, and its inconsistencies and lack of structure leave little room for error and a lot of room for frustration, even with the upgraded performance on the new consoles.
A roguelite FPS, Gunfire Reborn takes good and bad from both genres, making for a somewhat frustrating and inconsistent, though intermittently fun experience.
Rugby 20 has a passable foundation for rugby gameplay, but repetitive and barebones modes make it last much shorter than its potential.
The complex systems at Port Royale 4's core never flourish under the weight of its uninspired moment-to-moment gameplay and lack of structural balance.
Outside of nostalgia, G.I. Joe: Operation Blackout does not stand apart from the generic third-person shooter, and its inconsistent gameplay and repetitive missions further mute its impact.
Biomutant works best on paper, but it has too many derivative elements for anything alone to stand out.
You might want to play CrossfireX to understand what’s so popular around the world or have a dash of mindless fun in the campaign, but there’s little else here.
What works about Winter Ember is almost entirely overshadowed by the frustrating moment-to-moment experience that never settles into a true, precise stealth game.