With bugs, crashes and far too much waiting around, Arcade Paradise really tries to capture some of the highs of old arcades but never really manages to understand the joy that comes from it.
In Nightmare is a frustrating and dull horror experience that can't live up to the many ideas it tries to set up. This left me not only bored, but disappointed in what it could have been.
As a player, I often felt appeased I Saw Black Clouds, like a child pretending to play their older siblings console. The controller is off and they're really in charge but I certainly feel like I've done something. I Saw Black Clouds isn't worth perpetuating that facade for. Sometimes, you're just better off putting the controller down and walking away.
Scars Above is an interesting toe in the water for many different genres but as you start to descend, you realise how shallow that puddle really is. An interesting world and decent elemental mechanics are held back by poor exploration and an unwillingness to push the boat out.
Atomic Heart is an interesting approximation of better games that is slowed down by a tedious open world, messy writing, and jarring tonal shifts.
Deiland: Pocket Planet edition looks to the cosmos but gets pulled in by the inexorable pull of planets - leaving you to crash land after just a few hours. While the rebuild can be fun, the waiting often isn't worth it
I will almost certainly play a sequel if there is one but Sword of the Necromancer is a hard sell. It might be worth resurrecting, but not more than once.
Forspoken is both ambitious, yet incredibly flawed. It pairs hammy dialogue and some poor pacing with a world I want to explore. Forspoken is a game tied between two worlds - losing out by never quite understanding either.
Lone Ruin is a game all about replayability that I saw little reason to replay after the credits.
Though it has plenty of great ideas, High on Life is too overbearing and never quite commits to its best moments.
Evil West isn't a hugely complex game but it's fun enough to recapture both the nostalgia and fun of the early '00s. Though its story and performance can dip, its gameplay doesn't.
Saints Row 2022 is a time capsule of a game and era many have moved past. Instead of building on the legacy of Saints Row, it feels like a tired retread of a game we already have.
Outriders Worldslayer is a DLC made for a specific type of player. It adds more endgame content and tonnes of new unlocks but doesn't revamp the story or really change all that much. If you liked the base experience and just want a little more out of it, it does exactly what it should. If you're looking for a reason to revisit a game that didn't make an impact, this isn't it.
Taking after fairy tales, Witch Strandings manages to tell a predictable story in unpredictable ways. It can often be painful to play but the experience is one I won't forget soon. Witch Strandings is a game I'm glad exists, even if I'm not sure I enjoyed it all that much.
Biomutant is like listening to that song your friend just adores but you don’t have it in you to tell them you don’t like it. You smile your way through it but the experience you really like is watching them talk about it. You stomach the song because you love your friend.
Terminator: Resistance Annihilation Line is a worthy addition to the base game if you enjoyed your time there but it doesn't do enough to fix its many flaws. While the story is rewarding and atmosphere creepy, there's something just a little cynical about the whole thing.
PixelJunk Raiders is just a few steps away from something I could like. It grabs something that could be good and just makes it feel a little alien.
S.U.M. - Slay Uncool Monsters has some good ideas, but is far too basic and unwilling to grow for the huge amount of content it has.
Warhammer 40,000: Battle Sister tries to strike on many occasions but never quite lands. Its gun-play is as enjoyable as a shooter should be but it doesn't offer anything you can't get better elsewhere
Kinetic Edge feels like its fighting with itself just a little too much. While having more modes makes the initial menu screen a bit more vibrant - like Kinetic Edge's visuals - that vibrance becomes tedious and a little wasted