While this collection does a respectful job of preserving the original two games, I do wish more work had been done to make the environments really stand out as much as the vastly improved character models do. Still, the Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 1&2 Remastered Collection is a great attempt to improve these games, even if they never really played that well in the first place.

With completely remade visuals and numerous tweaks based on feedback of the original, Shadow Layer Games has certainly did the original a ton of justice as the 16-bit inspired visuals are outstanding, with the same engaging combat and humor that made the original so treasured.

Find Love or Die Trying is your typical visual novel with not much here to add to the genre. Despite that, an interesting bunch of characters and twist on the dating reality show aesthetic is a nice touch with good humor, decent writing, and impressive art.

As two Elven Gods have returned, the fate of Thedas relies on Rook, an unlikely hero who will gather their allies in order to save the lands from the poison that is the blight and have to rely on help from the Dreadwolf himself, Solas.

Threshold is the latest psychological horror title from publisher, CRITICAL REFLEX. As you start your first day on the job at the Border Post, you’ll start to explore and work alongside Mo, your co-worker. While your job is merely needing to keep the train going, you start to realize there is far more going on.

With heavily details stages, slick animations, and a host of intentionally familiar characters, Rage of Dragons became a bit of a cult hit, especially as it originally started out as a new entry in the Double Dragon series. 

Slitterhead has you ghost jumping from body to body as you attempt to kill a city’s worth of grotesque monsters in the process. While combat can function well enough, and the story does get somewhat interesting, a time travel gimmick brings alongside a lot of repeated mission design that really drags the whole experience down.

Awaken: Astral Blade has you hack and slashing through countless abominations as Tania, a Bionic female warrior tasked with a mission. However, as she digs deeper into its mystery, she finds answers that will change her forever.

Echoes of Wisdom is Nintendo’s first debut for a Zelda-led title, allowing the titular Princess to flex her creative muscle to save the Kingdom. While it can at times be charming, it lacks anything memorable in its foundation apart from the brief moments of joy you’ll get from using a few of its clever echoes.

While this collection introduces players to the games that helped spawn Metal Slug, it lacks the bonus content that could honor those games and the teams that built them, especially given the quality of other collections as of late.

SlavicPunk: Old Timer is a sci-fi isometric twin-stick shooter about a private investigator named Janus. As a mission falls into his lap from an old flame. Janus will content with not only those looking to gun him down, but his own personal demons that haunt his every step.

Vertigo Games may be new to the Metro lifestyle, but they pull it off with a confidence that really shows through. The VR touches to bring the series to VR are masterfully handled with only the occasional VR jank issue rearing its ugly head.

Metal Slug Tactics takes all the charm and appeal of the running and gunning classic and crafts a superb tactics experience around it. With incredible pixel art and character art, the game shines in both gameplay and visuals. While it may lack in some variety from run to run, the appeal of unlocking new characters and new weapons keeps the loop engaging.

Shadows of the Damned: Hella Remastered is barely a remaster and feels more like a definitive edition port of a game that wasn’t great to begin with. As Garcia Hotspur enters Hell to save his beloved, he’s enter a world full of dick jokes, bland combat, and boring design.

Phasmophobia has arrived on Xbox Series X/S and PS5. This masterclass in co-op horror is still under Early Access/Game Preview, but the spooks are solid and the game has launched in a good state. If you’ve been dying to play this, now’s the time!

Ys X: Nordics sees Adol on yet another adventure as he teams up with a powerful warrior named Karja to stop an old evil from returning to conquer the seas. Nordics has engaging combat and a fairly decent story, but its ship combat and systems greatly disappoint.

Developed by the minds behind Persona 5 Royal, Metaphor: ReFantazio is a remarkable fantasy journey that leans into many mechanics known throughout the Persona series. As a young Elda is on a mission to save the cursed Prince, he will gain allies in an effort to take the throne and vanquish the curse to save the kingdom.

Hot Wheels Monster Trucks: Stunt Mayhem allows you to command over 20 Monster Trucks that look so great you can almost smell the plastic. However, bland objectives, lacking environments, and a weightless control can get in the way of what should be a banger of a title.