For a game that had such a long development cycle, this game feels like it made use of all that time. Dambuster really knocked it out of the park with this sequel. If you’re a fan of Dead Island, you’ll easily enjoy what this game has to offer. It may have not have the parkour that Dying Light has in it, but it definitely beats Dying Light in its zombie-slaying gameplay. I had a great time with this game and I’m still looking forward to playing through the game with other characters. Dead Island 2 truly delivers!

I had fun playing Minecraft Legends, but there are some aspects of the game that could be improved. The overworld is really large and really gorgeous in a Minecraft voxel kind of way, but it’s largely empty of anything more interesting than resources. I wish there was more to discover on long rides into the wilderness, but once I had reached all of the main locations I pretty much relied exclusively on fast travel. The assaults on the Piglin bases are fun, but as you make your way further into the campaign some of the sieges turn into grind fests. It would help if the siege weapons worked automatically, but you have to man them and manually aim their attacks – and then they have a cooldown period. Trying to monitor Piglins attacks while you’re aligning distant shots on structures, and then the need to check to see when the weapons are ready again is a constant distraction. Your enjoyment of Legends will depend a bit on how you enjoy playing Minecraft, as well as where on the RTS spectrum from noob to leet you fall. As for me, I’ve played a lot of Minecraft in many different ways and RTS games since the original StarCraft, and I found myself enjoying Legends.

Overall Monster Energy Supercross 6 is better than Supercross 5, but not by much. The game is worth a pickup for serious fans, but if you already own Supercross 5 and are happy with it, it might not be worth it for you. I do enjoy Supercross 6’s smoother controls and upgraded Supercross Park, but other than that, it’s nearly the same as the last game. How much you’re going to like this game really depends on how big of a fan you are.

Overall, I’d say that this is a good video game adaptation of a board game – the AI is competent enough to be challenging to average player, but not so strong as to be frustrating, and the graphics put the original cardboard and plastic game to shame visually. I wish there was more information on the rules and even gameplay tips, though, as well as more gameplay customization options. CATAN: Console Edition won’t replace sitting around a board with friends, but it’s a good enough option if you want to learn the game or just take a board game break when you can’t round-up your friends for a game night.

Overall, WWE 2K23 is better than 2K22 and it’s worth a pick up for hardcore fans and especially those that missed out on 2K22. The graphics engine really does help in making all wrestlers look better and it definitely makes created wrestlers look better. The loading is way, WAY shorter on 2K23 compared to 2K22. The additions are more like “touch-ups” when compared to the complete overhaul that we saw in 2K22, but it definitely tunes up modes in the right areas and makes them more interesting in the process. Just like 2K22 made me not want to return to 2k20, WWE 2K23 makes me not want to return to 2K22, so that in and of itself makes it worth the purchase.

Dark Revival creates an interesting world and it has a unique art style, but the gameplay itself comes up short. While there are some imaginative locations and enjoyable moments, overall it’s the kind of game that you’ll play through more because you’re interested in how it all turns out than you are in the journey to get there.

Texas’ stage is a desert area with a surrounding caravan. It has some great scenery of rock formations behind the caravan and is quite colorful and bright. Texas is one heck of a fighter. This bull combines heavy damage, good range, and fast movement into one huge bull that can definitely take a hit. His main flaws are his slow attacks and (of course) he is one big target. Texas is a fantastic first character for the season pass. Let’s hope the fighters that follow are just as good!

Them’s Fightin’ Herds is a great fighting game for players that favor a style of fighting similar to Street Fighter. It’s actually a great game for beginners with all the help you can get from the game’s tutorial mode. It will be interesting to see how this game stacks up with other fighters at major tournaments. I have already seen it showcased at a few tournaments and hope to see more of it. The only thing the game is really lacking is story mode completion and a bigger roster. Other than that, it’s a very solid fighter.

Overall, the pace of the game is good and the story is compelling. I really connected with Lucy and was determined to help her solve the mystery of the forest, although towards the end I had a pretty good idea of where it was going. The rotating tile puzzle was a bit frustrating – it felt like a master level puzzle that should have been a single encounter near the end of the game and not something that had to be returned to throughout it. Also, the last part of the game drags on a bit, featuring a large, multi-location puzzle with a simple mechanic that requires a lot of backtracking and a mid-puzzle requirement that’s not at all obvious and needs to be found through trial-and-error. Also, there are four possible endings to the game, but the ending that you’ll see will be based entirely on which song you choose to sing during the game’s final interaction. Each ending will give you enough to go on so that the story reaches a conclusion and leaves some questions open-ended for you to ponder later – enough is left answered to leave room for a sequel, though. Unfortunately, the only way to see the other endings is to play through the game again.

The load time in the XSX version is lightning fast in single player. I don’t even get the chance to read but about three words of the loading screen descriptions before it switches to the next area. The graphics are equal to the PC version – I compared the two and didn’t see any noticeable differences. The only real flaw with this release is that it doesn’t include the Sunbreaker expansion. It does mention in-game that the Sunbreaker expansion will be coming soon however! If you have yet to experience Monster Hunter Rise, then be sure to try it out on Xbox or PlayStation now since it’s just as good as the PC version overall.

A lot of the balance in the game just feels off, too. Invaders come quickly and often, and there’s just no time to get your tower into a minimal defensible state. Even if you get lucky and have the cards to close off your tower, the game punishes you for this tactic by generating enemies from a moving warp portal within your tower. Your wizard is forced to collect items from the rooms that they are produced in, but you can’t give commands to your whole tower while you’re off the throne. It feels like these and other restrictions were added to compensate for issues with the gameplay, when what was needed instead was more time spent refining and balancing it. Perhaps one day a game can make these two genres work together, but Dwarven Skykeep isn’t that game.

Overall, Callisto is a really good survival horror experience. If you like Dead Space, you need to try this game. The main campaign has a lot of passion put into it and I had a bunch of fun with it. The game definitely has some problems here and there, but I think true horror fans will admire it for its fantastic campaign. I really feel that this series will have just as interesting of a world as Dead Space if the series continues beyond this first installment. The story is overall good and the ending begs for DLC or a sequel. Be sure to try this game if you’re in the mood for a cinematic horror experience with a lot of intensity.

I’ve played plenty of retro collections that either just give you a library of games alone, or accompany the games with a bunch of box shots and manuals that you often have to unlock through play, all thrown together under a menu almost as an afterthought. Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration is nothing like those game collections. I thoroughly enjoyed making my way through each chapter - the videos are fascinating and playing the games after learning about the story behind them made me see some old favorites in an entirely new light. Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration is a game-changer – it’s the way all future retro game collections should be made.

If you’ve played a Dark Picture Anthology game, you know what to expect with The Devil in Me. This one ups the ante when it comes to gameplay, but as I’ve pointed out, the new gameplay mechanics aren’t always welcoming, but for the most part, they are an improvement. Other than the change in gameplay, the game plays very similar to the other Dark Pictures games. Whether the story is good or not, or characters are interesting or boring is all left up to opinion for the most part. I’d say that The Devil in Me is about mid-range when compared to the rest of the series. Honestly, from the beginning it seems like the best one, but then the story starts to drag toward the end and it suddenly doesn’t seem as good anymore. I do feel it’s better than Man of Medan, but the other problems bring it down to Man of Medan’s level.

Overall, this game is my new favorite game by Supermassive Games. It’s just as long as Until Dawn and it has even more branching paths in its story. Definitely pick up this game if you’re fan of games like Until Dawn or Dark Pictures Anthology!

The core Call of Duty gameplay is there, but Modern Warfare II has some issues and fails to be anything more than an average game in the series.

Even with the minor arguments, Signalis is a fantastic survival horror game, especially for an indie title. It’s honestly one of the closest recent games that I have found to be compared to old-school survival horror. The limited inventory and the fact that you eventually have to run by rooms full of enemies eventually gives that old-school feeling all too much. Fans of old-school survivor horror should run out and buy this right now.

The game is overall a lot of fun to play. If you’re in the mood for an asymmetrical multiplayer game that you don’t have to take too seriously, then Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed is a great choice. The game is best played as a party game with online friends or randoms. I do feel that this game might have some complications with staying relevant in the future however since there just isn’t much outside of the one mode of play and there isn’t enough extra content to unlock once you reach a certain level. In the short run however, this game is quite good. Be sure to give the game a try if you’re a Ghostbusters fan. I’m sure fans of the series will feel right at home the most!

Scorn reminds me a lot of what Agony was trying to go for when it released – a fresh new experience through a nightmarish setting. With Scorn though, it arrived very playable with only a few issues, unlike the tragedy that we experienced with Agony. Horror fans should definitely give Scorn a try. Scorn is an experience like no other horror game and every horror fan needs to support this great effort.

Madden NFL 23 is another incremental update in a franchise known for putting out incremental updates. Updated rosters, a few minor additions to existing game modes, and a couple of gameplay tweaks – you know the drill. The presentation is still thoroughly dull and even the soundtrack feels tired. The gameplay engine is in need of more than an incremental update, though. The “if it’s in the game, it’s in the game” game still feels more like you’re playing a Madden game than a simulation of an NFL game. With the passing of its namesake, perhaps it’s finally time to build a new game, one that NFL fans can really get excited about.

Midnight Fight Express is an intense button masher brawler that gets repetitive too quickly, but it’s still fun and actually quite deep.

Despite Bell and Bones and the occasional bug, Whateverland does have its charms - the game’s setting is certainly unique. There are some interesting characters inhabiting Whateverland and some of the puzzles are fun to work through, but that’s not consistent throughout the game. The burglary path puzzles can be rather frustrating at times. Point-and-clickers will probably be more forgiving of the game’s rough patches given the dearth of games in this genre these days, but others may not find the motivation to press on through to the end.

South of the Circle tells a compelling story, and the minimalistic animated art style and excellent voice-acting make it an absorbing experience. It’s easy to recommend to anyone interested in experiencing a story with themes not usually touched on in games, but if you want a lot of gaming in your games you’ll probably want to pass on this one.

Madison is one heck of a scary game that fans of Visage will really enjoy!

I greatly enjoyed my time with Monster Hunter Rise Sunbreak. It’s not really the type of game you can simply jump into. It does have a bit of a learning curve from the beginning, but once you get over that, it’s a lot of fun to go questing about. The new additions with the Sunbreak add-on give a lot more options to a game that already has a lot to do. Overall, if you like Monster Hunter Rise, you’ll enjoy Sunbreak just as much. Capcom seems to be adding more to the game with extra updates as time goes by as well!

Backroom Beyond is overall extremely repetitive. The worst part about playing it is that there is such little reward for completing each room. Your only reward is to simply start the next area. The game has an interesting subject matter, but the overall gameplay just isn’t fun for too long. Even though the game changes up each level, you’re still doing the same thing in the long run (pushing a block over a button) and it doesn’t hold up well for long. This game needs more variety in its puzzle solving.

The game honestly felt bad from the start, but all I had to tide me over was combat, but once I got further and started to open up more crafting options, it became very addicting. If you’re a fan of crafting or survival be sure to check this game out. As a horror game, the only true horror is pretty much in the game’s setting, but zombies are your main type of enemy and you actually get to play a zombie hybrid as well. Overall, Deadcraft is a very addicting survival and crafting action game.

There were times while playing that I felt the zen of cleaning, my mind cleared by the soothing sound of water as it steadily droned on or changed pitch while moving between different surfaces. There’s also a certain sense of satisfaction that comes with transforming some grossly dirty areas into the pristine places that they were meant to be. However, there were plenty of times when the simulated work felt like real work. Spending over ten minutes walking slowly back and forth across a driveway to finally get it clean and then looking up and seeing how far you have to go to get the rest of the home clean can be both frustrating and disheartening. The relaxing moments provided by the game were simply outnumbered by those that became more and more tedious by the sheer number of large surfaces that must be cleaned in the game. You can easily spend an evening cleaning somebody else’s home for them, and then look back and think that you could have spent the limited time you have for relaxation and entertainment more wisely.