Death Stranding was as incredible as I knew it would be, though it's also a game I can understand others wouldn't see the same way. Every step is a puzzle, and every action serves the narrative. Of course, it took Kojima to discover the best way to make a walking simulator. It's also very convoluted in classic Kojima fashion, but I enjoyed trying to make sense of it. I don't know what the replay value will be like, but I put in 100 hours on one playthrough, so I'd say that's pretty good. Recommend to anyone who likes long walks on the Beach.

Boyfriend Dungeon was pretty fun! It was also a pleasant surprise for me. I turned it on to see if I'd stream it for a friend, and then I accidentally played it for four hours. It's pretty simple as far as mechanics go, but that made it easy to sink those four hours I mentioned earlier. The dating sim aspects were also simple, but the characters were all charming enough, though not my type. Well, besides Valeria. Absolutely my type. Anyway, I had a great time with this one, and it was over before I could get sick of it, so this gets nothing but praise from me. Recommend that Valeria marry me.

Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot is a game with incredibly high highs and absolutely abysmal lows. When it would work, there was no other game I would want to play. Unfortunately, it doesn't work that often. Most of the time, it's dull, slow, and sometimes even ugly, which is the only thing it shouldn't be. I would still say I liked it, but that's really my love of the source material shining through. Kakarot is not a good substitute for watching the show, but any superfan who wants reminders of the good old days could check it out.

Forza Horizon 5 is just as good as these games tend to be, but unfortunately, it just couldn't keep my interest. It's not the game's fault, though. I had just played Forza Horizon 4 for the first time a year before this one was released, so I was sick of the formula already. Every aspect that matters was better in this one, aside from the years' worth of content the fourth one had. The new Hot Wheels DLC is the start of that gap already being closed, so don't expect it to take long for this to be the quintessential entry. I'll keep coming back as the DLC continues. For now, though, I'm putting this one away. Recommend to the racing fans.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge is an excellent beat-em-up, and a great callback to TMNT shows and games. I've never been a big fan of the turtles, but I have always liked them, and this game continues that trend. What puts this game into the excellent tier, for me, is the mechanics. Every character feels distinct, and they are all fun to use. There's a lot of depth in the combat system, but it doesn't take much to feel like a pro pulling off sick combos. Plus, it has SIX PLAYER co-op. Finally, a game that most of my crew and I can play together. Overall, this is an easy game to recommend to any TMNT fans, beat-em-up fans, and ESPECIALLY anyone who is both. Recommend Raphael's favorite pizza.

Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage was my favorite game in the Spyro trilogy when I was growing up, and I can thankfully say that is still the case. It was much easier as an adult, but most games are, so that makes sense. It's wild how many annoying things I put up with when I was a kid, though. I don't know that I could have handled playing some of these mini-games 100 times like I used to back in the day. Still, this was a fun revisit, and this remake trilogy isn't bad at all. Recommend to anybody who wants to play some old-school platformers.

Elden Ring is a stellar game. A portal into an alien and unknown world. There is no other game that I've played that made me take every step with caution and intrigue. There were moments throughout this game when I felt actual fear, and I had to psyche myself up to continue the journey. One of the most immersive experiences I've had in a long time. It was also just pretty darn good. It truly feels like a culmination of all of their past efforts. I may still prefer Bloodborne, but this game is undoubtedly a masterpiece. Recommend the big ol' swords.

Yakuza: Like a Dragon is, without question, one of the best games in the series. It's also one of the best JRPGs that I've played recently. Mechanically, it's not too deep, but the combination of the JRPG system with the Yakuza world works incredibly well. The story is nothing to sneeze at, either. I would say that one of the best scenes in the series is right at the end of this game. What most excites me about this game, though, is what could come next. I honestly believe that we can keep going up from here. That is some incredibly thrilling news. Strong recommend from me.

Octopath Traveler is a game I truly wanted to like. I love JRPGs, the turn-based mechanics were solid, and the characters were all well-realized individuals. It's a game with parts that never equal a sum, though. Every aspect is separate from the others. I'm not a particularly big fan of the visuals, either. The biggest problem, though, is the characters. They're all great, but they never really feel like a team. Why bother playing as a group if it would be the same without the group? It's incredibly disappointing. I've tried to play through this thing five times now. I've just got to accept that it's not going to happen. I do not recommend it.

Outriders is a hard one for me. It feels like it's going to be a completely different game when it starts, and I was kind of interested. After that, it takes a shift that wasn't necessarily downward, but it would slope down along with the sideways trajectory. As the game went on, it just lost my interest. Mechanically, there's some nice stuff going on. None of it is exciting or new, unfortunately. I suspect this might be pretty fun with friends, so that would be my recommended approach to anyone interested.