Kingdom Rush: Frontiers is a good follow-up to the original game. It’s far more creative with enemies and protagonist characters, but also far more difficult. Regardless, the experience is more fun than not.
Before Your Eyes is a devastating journey in VR that you won’t soon forget. While the journey itself doesn’t last that long, the story is long enough to leave an imprint on the gamer for years to come. It has a very Grave of the Fireflies vibe to it, so bring the tissues.
Storyteller from developer Daniel Benmergui is yet another feather in the cap of Annapurna Interactive. It’s a cleverly designed puzzle game that does a superb job of pushing the importance of visual storytelling as it relates to a narrative. While its longevity might be in question, the journey through the game is good enough to forgive that is even an issue.
Destiny 2: Lightfall is disjointed in story, but pulls through with its gameplay. Something has to give with the former, as the story needs to be memorable and engaging, and this expansion simply didn’t get there in either category.
Ragnarock is a wonderful rhythm game from WanadevStudio that does enough to separate it from its Beat Saber brethren. The Viking backdrop and drum-beating fun make it unique in its music-driven rhythm gameplay, as does the variety of music included. The difficulty jumps from easy to hard is a steep climb that may not be everyone’s cup of tea.
After the Fall from Vertigo Games is a wonderful jumpstart to the PSVR 2 starting line-up. It has some fun zombie shooting times, great upgrades, and reasons to revisit the game, but falls short in substance in some areas. It is worth your time if you’re looking for a good VR experience.
Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo is a more complicated version of Phoenix Wright. It contains some tricky puzzles to overcome while being driven by a thick amount of Japanese folklore, as well as a touch of horror. It can be frustrating, if not overwhelming at times, but its take on the Phoenix Wright gameplay logic puzzle structure makes for a fun and unique experience.
Resident Evil 4 was a marvel when it was released back in 2005 and Resident Evil 4 Remake follows the same path. It’s pure perfection from beginning to end and groundbreaking with its backend improvements and details. Capcom has hit another home run with this one.
Spongebob Squarepants: Krusty Cook-Off – Extra Krusty Edition is a fun game that is built on a casual gaming backbone and runs well on the Nintendo Switch. While it will never reach the impressive gameplay heights of the Overcooked series, Spongebob Squarepants: Krusty Cook-Off – Extra Krusty Edition delivers fun levels, good controls, and enough reason to return to it over and over again.
Catan: Console Edition has some design issues but can be manageable when desperately looking for a CATAN fix on current generation consoles. It certainly needs some work in its default setup, speed options, and dice-rolling mechanics, but for the most part, it still does the trick.
Dead by Daylight on mobile from NetEase Games is quite good. It captures the essence of its PC brethren and makes for a wonderful, yet casual horror-filled good time.
Theatrhythm: Final Bar Line revisits music-driven gaming experiences with classiness and potent powerfulness that will make any Final Fantasy music-lover happy. It contains a fair amount of challenge, sometimes an impossible amount depending on difficulty, while also allowing you to enjoy decades of musical enlightenment the Final Fantasy series has created.
Hogwarts Legacy is mostly everything it promised it would be. The main story is quite good, the side quests seem endless, and the magical mystery that most know in this wizarding world from books and movies is ever present in this game.
Akka Arrh is a fascinating game that finally gets a proper release after forty years. The gameplay is fast, addictive, and embodies everything great about an 80s arcade experience.
Metroid Prime Remastered is a solid return to one of the best games in the Nintendo library. Its upgraded visuals, outstanding audio and controls, and timeless adventure is worth the revisit.
Wild Hearts is a massive single-player and co-op hunting game with an RPG backbone supporting it. The mixture of story, creative mechanics, thick strategy, and beautiful visuals makes this a top-tier hunting experience. If the controls could be improved a bit and break from traditional stuck-in-the-action sequences, it would be nearly perfect. Overall, it’s a great first go at a genre that is severely lacking in competition.
Returnal is still a perfect game in my opinion. It hits all the right notes, even when it feels impossibly difficult. The gameplay structure is complicated, precise, and entertaining. The PC upgrade makes the experience even better with superior visuals and a plethora of ways to play the game. This is a superior version of a superior title.
Mahokenshi is a fun game. It contains a healthy amount of tabletop strategy, an addictive deck-building component, and a dash of RPG elements to keep some motivation going. Its gameplay is challenging and brutal at times but in the end, it works more than it doesn’t.
Hi-Fi Rush lives up to the hype it has received. It’s a fun experience with a musical backbone that works perfectly with its action platformer roots. Definitely a huge plus for the Xbox family.
The Pathless is still a fun game after all these years. It is driven by a deep story and simple gameplay mechanics. While I would have loved to see a bit more life in the world, the gameplay is still very much engaging and endearing.