TL;DR: A strong submission into the small world of Scrollslike.

Tainted Grail has a lot of what I want from an open world RPG. Its exploration is rewarding; Stumbling into random corners of the map often leads to something interesting, be it a quest or loot. It reminds me of Elden Ring at some points where you know that the unassuming rock formation or growth of trees can lead to a small dungeon. The RPG systems are pretty robust as well. It follows the Scrolls system of usage leading into mastery, so you're rewarded simply by doing things.

As for the story, the game doles out its narrative hooks evenly, so you're kept intrigued throughout. For most of the game, you'll find yourself wondering if Arthur, the noble and honorable knight, is to be trusted. Many quests point towards distrust, but Arthur's melancholic campfire interactions make it hard to believe that this was a man unworthy of your allegiance.

With all that said, the game fails to stick its landing because of two things. First, the 3rd act is markedly less polished than the first two. The map isn't as carefully and deliberately populated with content. Second, the game becomes frustratingly easy by the final stretch. If you're like any normal rpg player who finishes a good amount of side content, you'll find yourself overly strong for the enemies of the third act. There's no longer any fear of being caught unawares at night nor is there a fear of engaging crowds of tough mobs. By the third act, I was foregoing my magic build and focused solely on all my unupgraded skills just to taste some semblance of a challenge. Even still, I found that enemies fall far too easily.

Hades 2 is quite literally twice the content of its predecessor. It returns with the same fast-paced, reflex-intensive combat mixed with its intuitive but elaborate boon system. Its gameplay is addicting and the fact that there's two kinds of runs makes this an absolute steal even at full price.

The only downside I have is that the story isn't as robust as the first game. The stakes are higher now but I found myself caring less about everyone. What made Hades 1 so compelling was its exploration of family ties. It felt more personal. Hades 2 trades the personal touch with a more apocalyptic plot. Melinoe is as strongly written as Zagreus but not everyone is as interesting to talk to now than in the first game.

Still, games like this live and die on their gameplay. It's very easy to forgive Hades 2 for its narrative shortcomings when the gameplay loop is tons of fun.

The Excacation of Hob's Barrow is a well acted narrative with a mystery that remains intriguing all throughout. Its puzzles aren't anything extraordinary but it fortunately doesn't lean on too much pixel hunting or obtuse point and click logic. As a horror game, Hob's Barrow isn't particularly scary. Creepy is a better term. Still, it's a worthwhile experience given its short runtime.

It's got a strong start when the world and the story still feels like its brimming with possibilities. Once you realize that the game is only a tapestry of half-baked exploration, progression, and writing, Dragon's Dogma 2 doesn't really have much to offer besides a great combat system.

Pathfinder: WOTR's entirety reminds me of the original Baldur's Gate games. The sense of exploration, the high-stakes, world-ending plot; the complicated build variety (turned up to 100), and the various personalities you'll meet throughout the story.

I'm sad to say that it doesn't reach quite the same heights as those Infinity Engine era games, but it does try its hardest. The effort and love that went into this game shows in the sheer amount of content available. This is one gargantuan package, and while I would appreciate a little trimming down, it's still a pretty good time.

The game's strength lies in its implementation of character building and roleplaying. The choices in this game are varied. They exist not only as a narrative tool, but also as a mechanical one, with players presented with near-infinite choices for how to develop their character.

What Pathfinder excels at in mechanics, they fall short in writing. Most times the writing of the game is passable and innocuous. However some moments feel shoehorned in with modern syntax and writing that poorly reflects how people speak in real life.

A pretty solid live-service game that's rich in content. You'll rarely run out of things to do, but the numerous choices available also makes the game overwhelming, especially for newcomers. Much of the content is also housed in "islands" in that there is little to no interaction between each discrete piece of content.

Despite that, Warframe remains an enjoyable free-to-play action shooter that's sure to satisfy your need for player progression and farming.

Icewind Dale is a great Dungeons and Dragons adventure that has you exploring dungeon after dungeon with your own self-made party. The encounters are hand-crafted and well-balanced, posing challenging but fair obstacles for adventurers. The game's combat and character-building systems are engaging enough to tide you over a 30-40 hour campaign even if its story leaves a lot to be desired.

A Soulslike with a bunch of unique ideas without the deftness to execute them properly.

The entire game just lacks the spirit that makes the Dark Souls series a pioneer for the genre. Enemy variety is lacking. Bosses are mediocre. Pieta, the first major boss, is an amazing fight, almost as though the developers blew all their resources on the her alone. Every other boss afterwards has been nice at best, and, most of the time, boring at worst. Graphical fidelity, while amazing, is let down by same-y environments and uninspired designs. Map design is confusing (partly because of how monotonous each area looks). Combat is serviceable, but serviceable isn't enough to keep you coming back to this game when everything else in the package is lacking.

Overall, Lords of the Fallen is a frustrating experience that falls severely short of what you'd expect from a soulslike game. If anything, I only recommend getting this at a deep sale.

Dark Souls is surprisingly ahead of its time owing to its stellar and interconnected level design. Exploration always feels rewarding and enriching. Combat is simple but tightly designed. It does show its age in certain aspects like graphics. Some areas are also questionably constructed (looking at you Anor Londo archers and Sen's Fortress rafters). And if you come in here expecting the bosses of Elden Ring and other newer titles then you'll likely be disappointed. Dark Souls is more deliberate, almost playing like a turn-based game trading blows with bosses. If you can get past a few slight janks here and there, then you're sure to find yourself enjoying this title.

Survival Horror at its best. It has everything a Resident Evil game is known for: horror, item management, disempowerment, and some really interesting puzzles. The entire experience is so tight and well-crafted that playing the B-scenarios (which have just few differences) still feels as fresh and frightening as the first run.