Dragon’s Dogma II may not be a direct sequel to its predecessor, but the same charm, adventure, and structure still remain. As you discover your Kingdom is under the rule of a false Arisen, you’ll rise up with your Pawn companion to thwart this evil plot and bring peace to the land once and for all.

Ereban: Shadow Legacy tells the story of Ayana, the last of her kind. As she escapes the clutches of the Helios corporation. she’ll come to rely on a group of unlikely allies in the Forgotten Suns as she attempts to find out what happened to her people and how that secret holds the fate of the world in its grasp.

Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth is a tremendous undertaking. The transition from Midgar to its jaw-dropping surroundings is filled with strong character moments, incredible action, and a wealth of open-world busy work that only slightly drags the whole package down. Nonetheless, Rebirth is amazing.

Unicorn Overlord is quite simply put, a masterclass in tactics, strategy, and its wonderful use of a 70-strong roster. While what may seem like a simple auto-battler to start, its depth shines as you have complete control over how your parties attack and approach combat across a war-torn land destined to be reclaimed.

South Park: Snow Day has a fine enough premise. You once again take on the role of the new kid as you are pitted against the boys via their roleplaying antics. However, this shallow hack and slash attempt misses the mark and is likely the tamest South Park has been in decades.

While Pepper Grinder is a fairly short affair, It plays extremely well and the skull coins make for good reason to dive back into some levels to fully complete, especially with wanting to purchase all the outfits and see each of the locked levels.

Alone in the Dark once again has us heading back the Derceto, the iconic location from the original game, complete with a reimagined cast of familiar faces. While the atmosphere and exploration are all top notch, some basic gunplay and bland puzzles unfortunately hold this back from greatness.

Outcast: A New Beginning may sound like a reboot given it lacks a II in the title, but this is very much a continuation of the previous game’s story and world. While its gunplay and mobility shine, the story, mission design, and generic open world certainly don’t.

Expeditions: A MudRunner Game can often be fantastic in allowing you to traverse its rocky and swampy terrain. By equipping the right truck and bringing along the right tools, this driving game can often sing to its puzzle-like elements. However, its mission structure is sadly lacking and it disappoints on a technical level. For as good as Expeditions can be, it simply made me want to play SnowRunner instead.

Suicide Squad Kill the Justice League was set to be dead on arrival. A live-service romp in the Arkhamverse that once stood tall. This live-service co-op shooter is boring, bland, and is more focused on racing to the endgame than letting its fun character moments shine.

Skull and Bones shows its development troubles across every system both big and small. Its combat and customization are solid, but the world, people, and core fundamentals around are lacking, flat, and uninspired. Skull and Bones’s biggest sin is that you never once feel like a pirate and instead a glorified delivery driver on the open seas.

While its use of the license is what it is, the gameplay itself is solid for a little distraction here and there. I played huge chunks of this game portably via a few lunch breaks and found a decent amount of enjoyment from it.

Overall, Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden is marvelous, a wonderfully crafted love story by a team that has elevated their game to new heights. Its central cast is remarkable with lives that felt truly lived, their pasts that really define them as people.

Alisa: Developer’s Cut takes aim at emulating the origins of survival horror. From its fixed camera angles, tank controls, and visuals, it’s a faithful love-letter to the genre, warts and all.