Attack of the Fanboy

While the Nintendo Switch version holds the game back compared to the PC one, the game itself remains a blast from beginning to end, offerings tons of content and a unique take on the Monster Hunter formula.

While it may not be the best entry in the series, Nintendo has at least managed to make par with Mario Golf: Super Rush by offering the core arcade style golfing experience players come to expect alongside some enjoyable new game types that will hopefully continue to get even better with future updates.

Overall, Scarlet Nexus is a simple, yet great and enjoyable experience for any fan of the genre out there. You hunt monsters, make yourself and your allies stronger, gather resources for making new cosmetics and gear, constantly unlock new features for inside and outside of combat, all that while you watch an interesting story materialize in front of your eyes.

Tuque Games must have rolled a natural 20 on their saving throw, because none of Dark Alliance's faults are able to bring the action-RPG down. It’s a solid cooperative dungeon crawler that’s positively dripping with D&D’s iconic Companions of the Hall setting and lore. The combat may take some getting used to, and putting your party together is more fiddly than it needs to be, yet Dark Alliance remains an entertaining adventure from beginning to end.

Not only improving on the visuals and giving players a much requested Photo Mode, Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade also adds the stellar Yuffie focused Intermission DLC that is an absolute must play for fans of the original and new game alike.

While Guilty Gear Strive may lack robust single-player modes, it is setting a new gold standard for the fighting game genre in almost every other way. Guilty Gear Strive feels excellent to learn and play, and it presents it all with an aesthetic and visual flair that is entirely singular. If you are going to play a fighting game right now, Guilty Gear Strive is the one you should pick.

Featuring two very good games and one fairly mediocre game in one package, Ninja Gaiden: Master Collection is well worth trying out, whether you missed out in the past or just want to slash up some enemies as Ryu Hayabusa all over again.

Backbone does both, striking a balance between nostalgic and new, breathing another breath of life into the genre with its gritty, sad grin. This 2D, sidescrolling, pixel-art noir is a short but solid adventure mystery with stunning visuals and meaningful characters.

All of the new additions and more sandbox Career Mode arguable make Heroes of the Inner Sphere the best way to play MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries. On both PC and Xbox, Heroes of the Inner Sphere is worth every C-Bill.

Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart is an absolute blast from start to finish. I loved every second of it, and I was sad when it was over. Even though I’ve already platinumed the game, I’m still probably going to go back through for another playthrough on Challenge Mode. Not only is it an amazing game at its core, but it’s also the first true taste of next-gen.

Necromunda: Hired Gun does have redeeming qualities. The movement is great, the gunplay feels good, and the environmental design is stellar. There's simply a legion of issues on both the design and technical fronts working overtime to hold it back. If you are willing to overlook Hired Gun's many problems and massive amounts of jank you'll likely have a great time blasting gangers to bloody bits. But, I won't fault you for waiting on a sale or sequel instead.

Ultimate Showdown is the best way to play Virtua Fighter 5, and not just because it is the only version available natively on modern hardware. Ultimate Showdown delivers the best version of the game in every aspect imaginable; the game looks better, sounds better, plays more smoothly, and provides the best ways to play the game online.

The Famicom Detective Club duology is, at its core, a beautiful set of remakes that will please players that can look past some of the dated mechanics.

A year later it’s still fun, but with those earlier releases still available at a cheaper price and in better condition they just make more sense for anyone who has a choice. However, if Switch is all you have then Maneater is worth a look if you’ve been yearning for a 2000’s style action game with some new upgrades.

Elite Dangerous: Odyssey is an unfinished expansion with some cool ideas in need of a lot of additional iteration and work. As it currently stands the Elite Dangerous PC community is beta testing Odyssey for the inevitable console launch, despite the expansion being advertised as a finished product. Unless they don’t mind paying to play in a glorified beta, commanders should stick with Horizons until the dust settles.

Biomutant is true to its nature and follows the open-world trope by heart. For this reason, it’s hard to talk about every aspect of the game in detail, since it would make this review so long it would hurt anyone’s eyes. That said, I had a good while to experience a game of this genre that I am invested this much to its world and characters, not to mention its brilliant mix of different types of combat and the easy to approach crafting system.

Rust Console Edition is, well, Rust on consoles. It’s not the best version of Rust, it’s not even a particularly stable version of Rust, but it’s Rust at the end of the day. If you really, really want to play the game but never had the chance to jump in on PC, then now you finally have the opportunity to see what all the hype is about.

Overall, Knockout City is a great time. I was incredibly surprised at how much I enjoyed the dodgeball gameplay, especially after the poor first impression the game made with its reveal trailer and early marketing. I don’t think it has the longevity to maintain a high player count, especially with how weak most of the cosmetics and rewards are at launch and how repetitive the game gets after a few hours, but I really do hope the game sticks around for at least a few months. Knockout City is an absolute riot, especially with friends.

The game itself holds up for the most part. There aren’t many other games like it, and fans of the genre will appreciate its distinct style. Shin Megami Tensei 3 Nocturne remains a solid JRPG even today, but the remaster could have gone a bit further at this price point.

Days Gone has its high points and the open world looks better than ever, even if it is still filled with by-the-books gameplay systems and inconsistent execution.

Mass Effect Legendary Edition is a fan's dream come true. With all three games and almost all of their DLC included in one upgraded package there simply isn't more to be asked for here other than a full remake.

If you are still enjoying Valhalla then Wrath of the Druids is worth a gander. Hopefully the Siege of Paris expansion breaks the mold a little, but for now this first expansion acts as a serviceable excuse to revisit Assassin's Creed Valhalla, if nothing more than to tour about 9th century Ireland.

Subnautica: Below Zero doesn’t reach the same heights as the first game, but it’s proof Unknown World’s 2018 survival game wasn’t a fluke. The act of exploring a mysterious underwater world whilst trying to survive is nearly as captivating in Below Zero as it was then. I’m still not a fan of the survival genre, yet I loved every moment I spent with Subnautica: Below Zero.

Resident Evil Village is a great survival horror game that leans into the action and silliness of earlier entries in the series to mixed results. It's not as good as Resident Evil 7, and it's not as good as Resident Evil 4. It feels like a strange mixture of the two, and while it seems like it might be able to strike a good balance in its first half, the second half dashes any hope of that.

Sure, ray-tracing was a feature in the base game, but the Enhanced Edition has been built from the ground up with ray-tracing in mind and it absolutely shows. Whether you’re trapped in the series’ staple claustrophobic tunnels or staring out across an expansive vista in the new open-world sections, Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition looks absolutely stunning thanks to its significant graphical overhaul.