Reviews

The first direct follow-up to the Tomb Raider reboot, Rise of the Tomb Raider followed everyone's favorite treasure hunter as she traveled the globe in search of the secret of immortality. And while the original game was already packed with content, its new 20 Year Celebration Edition introduces a bunch of new content and some additional game modes, which are all very welcome and work well. You can even play through the game using the classic Tomb Raider skin for Lara now.

ICY is a survival game with strong RPG elements, a deeper story than is usual for this kind of game, and some fairly prominent Choose Your Own Adventure inspirations. The new Frostbite Edition addresses some of the criticisms the original release received and fixes a heap of bugs. The resulting game works well and is entertaining enough provided you're in the mood for a mix of a survival game and a CYOA story.

A sci-fi horror adventure, Observer takes its cues from the likes of Blade Runner and Deus Ex in terms of setting, but then layers a surreal angle of solving crimes by exploring the weird to the max memories of other people on top of that. A stylish, intriguing, and immersive game.

Another fine example of a modern 2D platformer, Klaus offers a compelling difficulty curve, a wide variety of challenges, multiple playable characters that at times have to cooperate to progress, and an endless arcade mode that will truly test your skills.

The Saints Row DNA runs all throughout Agents of Mayhem, and not just because one of the available skins adds Johnny Gat himself as a playable character. At its core, it's a third-person open-world action game with a wacky superhero story that's played a bit more straight compared to Saints Row 4's parody of the genre. With plenty to do, unlock, and explore, the game is entertaining enough, but it really needed to have proper multiplayer to reach its full potential.

While there's no shortage of side-scrolling puzzle-platformers out there, Matterfall is a testament that high production values and a competent team can elevate even the simplest of concepts into something fun and exciting. If you're looking to blast some alien robots while dealing with tricky platforming challenges, you should look no further than Matterfall.

A glorious return to fast-paced sidescrolling form, Sonic Mania is exactly what a Sonic game should be. And with it coming after so many experiments with trying to shove a 2D hedgehog into a 3D hole, it feels even sweeter to now go back to the series roots and realize what we've been missing all these years.

Somewhat narrow in scope and focusing merely on combat, Dungeon Rats offers a series of tactical challenges strung together by tight resource management, memorable locations, and a complex character-building system. That it also gives us a chance to revisit the world of The Age of Decadence is a nice bonus.

A combat racing game based on a line of toys, Micro Machines: World Series is delightful in its premise of diminutive cars racing around everyday household objects that look huge compared to the cars themselves. The game's multiple modes, power-ups, and multiplayer functionality make it a great option if you're looking for some combat racing.

Stylish, atmospheric, and downright unique, Darkest Dungeon is simply too long for its own good. By the time you reach the endgame, the sheer size of the game's campaign is likely to erode your will to keep playing just like the horrors you'll be fighting erode the sanity of the heroes under your command.