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This entry to the Valkyrie series makes a graceful shift into the action RPG genre while only stumbling in a few small ways.
The last game in the series to bear the FIFA name is a fittingly unambitious entry. It makes minor changes here and there, but there's not an awful lot to differentiate it from last year's offerings. Thankfully, the on-pitch action is still a hell of a lot of fun.
For hardcore genre fans, The DioField Chronicle might be worth looking into, but keep in mind that many probably might not have patience for its considerable flaws.
With a steep learning curve and bland presentation, Session: Skate Sim ends up being a disappointing package for hardcore and casual fans of the genre.
Return to Monkey Island is well worth the wait. This is a quest for booty you don't want to miss.
Serial Cleaners offers up an incredibly unique premise, some fun characters, and a lot of great levels with a surprising level of interactivity to tell us stories that aren't really told too often. Couple that with a great sense of style to evoke the 90s and Serial Cleaners becomes a surprisingly interesting game.
Shovel Knight Dig, while far from being the furthest departure from the franchise's classic gameplay, still manages to be a unique experience thanks to the unique twist of having to use a platforming move set to make progress by traversing vertical space. The Shovel Knight gameplay is still as crisp as ever, and Shovel Knight Dig's story and progression systems do a great job of staying out of the way, and ultimately encouraging you to try one more run.
One year later and Deathloop is still very much Deathloop. It's intriguing, boasts strong production values, and offers an interesting mix of immersive sim and roguelite mechanics. Unfortunately, this is all bogged down by repetitive gameplay, a so-so PvP mechanic, pacing issues, and iffy AI. It's worth a try, but your mileage may vary.
While the characters and story don't do enough to push it over the top, Soulstice delivers a great action game that just about anybody can enjoy.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails from Hero is one of the best titles in the franchise and an incredibly well-made RPG overall. Experiencing the tale of the Special Support Section has never felt better, be it in terms of combat, writing, or presentation.
SBK 22 has a solid core for fans of the sport who want to sink time and master their bike, but it's not a game you're going to want to go into blindly.
NBA 2K23 does a good job with introducing some cool ideas into its stubbornly lackluster larger format.
Splatoon 3 may not benefit from the novelty that propelled the series to instant stardom, but it is chock full of content, and the self-assured step the series has made at launch yet. The core remains compelling and fun, but several issues from older games still persist. Those who were on board the first two times, or at the very least intrigued, are going to love what is on offer here.
Metal: Hellsinger is an easy game to recommend-the music's great, it feels really good to play, and it looks great. The only real caveat to all of this is that, if you're not a fan of metal music, Metal: Hellsinger might not have much for you. While its combat is great, the music is what truly elevates it from being just another boomer shooter.
Biomutant still sits in the slightly-above-average tier of its genre, albeit much more confidently than before.
Despite dropping the ball in one of the most important categories for a modern fighting game, this is a fighting game that stands out from the pack, plays great, and honors its source material more than it needed to, and that certainly counts for something.
Simply put, LEGO Brawls is a disappointing game.
Steelrising is a solid Soulslike with well-implement and familiar design and mechanics, but its alternate history clockpunk French Revolution setting is what makes the game shine. Spiders' latest is a game that deserves your attention.
F1 Manager 22 does a decent job learning from other management simulations but only rarely feels like a step forward for the genre.
Scathe has a lot of clever and interesting ideas. Unfortunately, it's the execution that lets it down. Somewhere underneath the agonizingly-slow progression, pointless plot, and a visual mess as a result of its desire to also be a bullet hell, Scathe is a game with potential that's sadly never reached.