Dead Island 2 is hampered by dull design choices, repetitive combat, and a painfully weak story, with its only saving grace being its great performance on PC.
A fun, if repetitive, kart racer whose charms are sullied by its predatory microtransactions targeted right at young children.
Smooth online matches and an impressively in-depth story already put Street Fighter 6 leagues above the competition.
Beautiful, horrifying, and impressively updated through the power of Unreal Engine 5, Layers of Fear is a deft upgrade for two horror gems.
This throwback management sim's incredible building tools are let down by a limp campaign and a serious lack of depth.
The game barely qualifies as playable given its myriad of technical issues, but even when it is working as intended, you'll wish that it wasn't.
For The King 2 is surprisingly one of the most tactically challenging games of 2023, but suffers from being a bit too much of the same next to the previous monarch.
A supremely satisfying turn-based strategy spin-off, and one of Persona's best ever stories.
Tekken 8 is a marked improvement over Tekken 7 and a perfectly executed balancing act, keeping older players happy while revealing its trademark freedom to newcomers.
Lacking both depth and balance, Cursed Clash is ultimately a transparent attempt at trying to sell something solely based on its association with a popular IP.
A huge improvement over the original, and a captivating journey from beginning to end.
Sand Land proves once again that Akira Toriyama and video games are a perfect match.
An even better version of one of the best Early Access survival games.
A beautiful, 100-hour-long journey from beginning to end, Metaphor: ReFantazio takes the best elements of Persona 5 and somehow improves on them.
Sparking! Zero is everything Dragon Ball fans will have wanted, but it's also just a blast for those unbothered by its extensive fan-service.
Insultingly short for its price, but that might be its one saving grace considering how derivative it feels.
A hack 'n' slash soulslike with an uninspiring plot and tedious level design but its satisfying combat and tough boss fights might make it worth trying.