Sure, it’s free, but there are tons of free games that at least look like they have effort put into them. This feels like something made over the course of a day and found its way onto the Xbox. Again, it’s free, does feature three-player co-op, so who knows, someone may enjoy this, but I couldn’t wait to uninstall it.
This short 5-8 hour escapade, starring Yuffie, is a delight, and while it’s over before you know it, it leaves a lasting mark on you due to its smart use of her character and the expanded world established in the FF7 Remake. That said, some aspects of this add-on do feel a tad too thin in their offering.
Chivalry II is a blast. It’s a PVP-focus medieval gore-fest that satisfies even in the face of getting slaughtered over and over again. With four classes that each have three subclasses of their own, finding the combination of weapons and abilities that work for you, offers you a ton to work towards. Level up, earn gold, customize your warrior and charge in screaming, just maybe duck when you see that axe coming at you.
Dark Alliance should have been a home run. The world, its story, characters, and the gameplay should have been great. While the game does at least offer up some decent visuals, nearly everything else it aims to do is met with bad design choices, a massive amount of bugs, and combat that feels lethargic in its responsiveness. Dark Alliance is all-around a massive disappointment and does little to earn its worth.
Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart is an adventure that showcases the hardware’s lightning-fast SSD in regards to its gameplay, a game that while is designed as being another safe bet by Sony, is a masterful journey that impresses at every turn. From its engaging gameplay to its vastly enjoyable cast, Rift Apart is a superb game that truly needs to be experienced.
While this isn’t exactly Idea Factory’s Skyrim per se, the small adjustments made to ReVerse feel largely minimal when compared to the more drastic changes ReBirth had to the original. That aside, there is fun to be had here, but for fans who have already played through this adventure, the new additions here for ReVerse are passable at best.
It Takes Two is a charming and beautifully designed co-op adventure that is incredibly refreshing from moment to moment. You’ll pull from a wealth of engaging gameplay ideas, chase scenarios, rail grinding, to solving a series of complex environmental puzzles as you attempt to rekindle that spark, and as the annoying books says “To fix your relationship.”
Necromunda: Hired Gun is often a joyful bit of chaos, zipping around the battlefield, moving from encounter to encounter that it reminded me about my time with Doom Eternal, a game that is clearly its inspiration. While the story and its characters are always second fiddle to its action, there is still a solid bloodthirsty shooter here that can often satisfy.
The Solitaire Conspiracy is an interesting take on Solitaire, fusing a once simple card game into the world of spycraft and espionage. By harnessing the powers of a variety of crews, each with unique powers of their own, you’ll look to affect the cards in your favor as you attempt to bring down the mysterious villain himself, Solitaire.
The Mass Effect Trilogy is a sci-fi epic where players shaped a galaxy in an effort to stop a threat that would see the eradication of all life. While some aspects of the games still show their age, this is without question the definitive edition of three games that have earned their spot in history, a collection worthy of the title: Legendary.
I really wanted to love Biomutant. I first got my hands on it way back in 2017 at Pax West. It had its hooks into me right away with its vibrant world, fast action, and its incredibly recognizable protagonist. While my anticipation grew throughout Biomutant’s long-gestating development, I never hyped it up. Now, after completing it, the finished product has left me mixed, and in many ways has left me uncertain on whether or not I enjoyed it.
Knockout City wasn’t a game I was planning on giving the time of day to, but damn if it didn’t sink its hooks into me deep. It’s a fast-paced 3v3 game of dodge ball on rooftops, in sewers, and out in traffic where the action rarely lets up. It’s hard to say the shelf life this game will have going for it, but given the community building around it, it’s likely to at least stay in the conversations for months to come.
Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance is still the fantastical hack and slash romp it was 20 years ago, despite some drastically dated mechanics and visuals. It certainly has its issues, even as a simple 4K re-release, but joined up with a friend in its local co-op mode certainly aids in pushing past its aging gameplay.
Nier: Automata’s road to what it became started here. The enhancements made to Replicant put it nearly in the same league as its sequel, whereas the original was a far cry from Automata’s greatness. The characters, the story, soundtrack, and enhanced combat give Replicant the much-needed push to have it stand alongside some of the best action games ever made.
Deiland: Pocket Planet Edition doesn’t rise anywhere near the top of farming simulators on the Switch, mostly due to some rather poor design choices, yet it is still remarkably charming in its own right and has a calming and meditative gameplay loop that did its best to keep me hooked for at least a little while.
Outriders is a game you'll likely make up your mind over within the first few hours. While the game doesn't take great strides in being wholly original, the sum of its many inspired parts makes for a vastly engaging experience, decked out in its low-budget sci-fi narrative. It's big, aggressive, insanely enjoyable, but only when you're actually able to connect to its online servers.
