One day, Warhammer 40K: Darktide will be a great game. Fatshark, like many developers, has yet to perfect the art of the rough landing. A polished core experience can't overcome woeful performance and blatantly unfinished features, like the (almost) entirely missing crafting system. I'm confident, however, support will continue until Darktide ends up being the game we all hoped it would be.
A lack of proper HDR and the inability to cap the framerate above 30 FPS leaves this otherwise excellent collection feeling a bit mishandled compared to the PlayStation 5 version.
Klonoa is stuck in classic-game-port limbo -- not given enough shine to stack up against other remasters, and not quite zesty enough to hold up to modern titles. Still, a helping of nostalgia or appreciation for classic games makes these two otherwise great titles worthy of a playthrough.
At times maddening, but always fascinating, Twelve Minutes is a unique vision worth experiencing. It blends disparate genres and explores a twisting narrative using a terrarium of the mundane.
Olija may fail to make as big of a splash as its influences, but it's a worthwhile adventure with a palpable atmosphere.
Cyberpunk 2077 was never going to live up to the grand promises made by CD Projekt Red, but its problems stem deeper than bugs resulting from its rushed development.
Super Mario 3D All-Stars is a lackluster collection of three (mostly) excellent, timeless games. Nintendo has shown us what it can do when the effort is put in with 2004's Super Mario 64 DS, so the lack of attention afforded here stings all the more.
The biggest downfall of Mind Control Delete is also its slogan: MORE. The gameplay is still great, but the focus on quantity over quality makes the experience feel shallow.
Kunai knows grappling hooks are cool, so it gives you two of them. But beyond its best feature, it's an indie adventure that falls just a bit short of its excellent peers.
Borderlands 3, besides being technically unsound, plays it a little too safe to stand out. While the gunplay is excellent and the weapons wild, cringeworthy writing weighs it down.
For a game set in space, Rebel Galaxy Outlaw is rich in atmosphere. While some activities are a bit of a letdown, there's a lot of gratification in cashing in a hefty profit from a lengthy space-truckin' session.
Newcomers, don't hesitate: these are two fantastic titles, and ultimately there's nothing wrong with them. Long-time fans should probably think twice, however, due to little-to-no extras and some questionable alterations.
Low on content and rough around the edges, Battlefield V feels like it was butchered for the sake of future "free" updates. What's here is fun, but it isn't a full-fledged experience, and it feels like an investment in an incomplete game.
When blazing along smashing everything in sight or assisting others in a rare team-based racer, Onrush is an absolute blast to play. I wish it handled its "stampede" a little more cleanly when managing respawns and had enough content to truly justify its price point, but we can only hope future updates and community management will lend it the hand it deserves in building a committed playerbase.
Don't be fooled by its mask of whimsy, Runner3 is a brutally difficult game that pushes its simplistic mechanics to their breaking point. While a little rough around the edges, it's a title deserving of commendation for standing at the front of the pack in a world saturated with games of its kind.
For many it will come down to how much you enjoy Dragon's Crown Pro's combat, and how much of its repetition you can stomach. It doesn't take long to see everything the game has to offer, but the allure of the grind and the near-perfect loot system might keep some players coming back for much longer than anticipated.
The Swords of Ditto is a charming RPG let down by its fumbled roguelite mechanics. A single playthrough can be an absolute blast, but its answer to victory can leave the experience feeling hollow.
Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen arrives on Nintendo's portable console, warts and all. It's more than worth playing, if only for the combat alone, and it's one of the best mediocre games ever made. If you long for the feelings of adventure that often only come when imagining a good Dungeons and Dragons campaign, this should be up your alley.
Lords of the Fallen copies Dark Souls so thoroughly it feels like game design plagiarism but, astonishingly, it's indeed worthy of being mentioned in the same sentence as FromSoftware's brutal dark fantasy classics. Anyone who's survived Lordran, Drangleic and Lothric will find a lot to love here.
Atomic Heart is, most surprisingly, exactly what I expected. Its biggest strengths are the ones that treat the eyes, but great writing and exploration are welcome in an otherwise overstretched experience.