Marshall Honorof
Assassin's Creed Valhalla is a good time, with fun combat and a beautiful setting. But it's also full of the open-world busywork that's characterized the series lately.
Nier Replicant deserves praise for its clever characters and unorthodox setting, even if the gameplay and level design can get repetitive by the end.
Trover Saves the Universe feels really, really chill, and that alone makes it pleasantly different from most other games out there.
Ghost of Tsushima is pretty similar to other open-world games, but a strong combat system and a solid samurai story give it some staying power.
In spite of some imperfect emulation, Mega Man X Legacy Collection reminds players why they fell in love with the series.
Star Trek Online, while somewhat repetitive and a bit violent, still offers players an interesting, faithful Trek story.
'Murdered: Soul Suspect' is a throwback adventure game that delivers plenty of fun — no bullets required.
Although it's quite short, "BioShock Infinite: Burial at Sea – Episode 1" succeeds from both a storytelling and a gameplay perspective.
Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers brings a daring and unusual JRPG back into the spotlight, but doesn’t smooth over many of its rough patches.
Live A Live presents an interesting take on the JRPG genre, with seven separate stories to complete across wildly different genres. The premise deserves a lot of credit, as does its confident execution. However, some chapters are much better than others, and the combat isn’t quite strong enough to work as Live A Live’s central mechanic.
Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot delivers a well-crafted, satisfying action/RPG, provided you’re already invested in the DBZ mythos — and ready to hear the same old story over again. The open-world elements aren’t as well-developed as they could have been, but the combat and gameplay variety help carry the game through some rough patches.
Assassin's Creed Valhalla: The Siege of Paris provides more familiar gameplay, but doesn't add much to the well-worn series formula.
Buy Man of Medan if you liked Until Dawn and want to see how The Dark Pictures Anthology might shape up. Avoid this game if you can't abide performance issues or slow gameplay.
Marvel's Avengers: War for Wakanda adds an interesting playable character, but the game's structure is as repetitive and unfocused as ever.
No Man's Sky is a gorgeous game that gives players a satisfying sense of exploration, but the experience can be incredibly repetitive.
Tearaway Unfolded has an inspired art style and memorable music, but both the gameplay and the story are rather undemanding.
Assassin's Creed Rogue can be just as enthralling as its predecessors, but it sometimes feels dated and inconsequential.
Lords of the Fallen is a little bland, but it's a perfectly good distraction with a bit more bite than most modern action/RPGs.
Sleeping Dogs: Definitive Edition is still a great game, but the asking price makes it a bit of a tough sell — at least on consoles.
Diablo Immortal has solid core gameplay, dragged down by incessant and confusing free-to-play nonsense.