Kingdom Come: Deliverance II is my game of the year. No other game quite felt as immersive, or told a story in such a captivating way. The cutscenes, the writing, the graphics, and the worldbuilding are all things executed properly on a level no other game has managed to achieve this year. It is a peak example of an open-world game that prioritizes quality over quantity. For me, KCD2 is up there with The Witcher III: Wildhunt.

Alto's Odyssey is a great sequel to a great game that introduces new ways to pass through spectacularly designed levels. It's the perfect game to unwind after a long day with a great soundtrack, sound effects, and a feeling that you're traveling through a new and exotic world every time you play.

Neon White introduces many interesting ideas but arranges them in front of you like items at a garage sale. The stage design is simplistic, the gameplay gets old quickly, and the characters and dialogue feel like they’re about a decade or more misplaced with references to pop culture icons that are no longer en vogue. Neon White is an interesting play but, ultimately, it feels like you’re playing a tech demo for something that is supposed to be much bigger.

Yes, it’s a slow-paced, story-driven walking sim, but What Remains of Edith Finch is also one of the finest of its kind; an example of how the genre can tell stories in a way which no other form can achieve, and an enthralling journey from start to finish.

Streets of Rage 4: Mr. X Nightmare gives me everything I loved about old school games and have been missing for a long time — unlockables, secrets, and just so many reasons to get me playing over and over again and having a blast. While it’s disappointing that there is no additional story content, you’ll still have a blast with it.

A thrilling adventure to save a world turned on its head with themes surrounding human nature, civilians in war, and the soldier’s journey. Surrounded by an impeccable soundtrack and pointed visuals, there is not another game which so gracefully pulls this off. The multiple endings are another thing to keep players coming back and are just as thrilling as the first playthrough. There are some issues with cutscenes and sidequests hardly live up to the main questline battles, however.

The Doom series has once again sat upon the throne and been crowned as the best FPS series in history. With extremely fast pace, adrenaline pumping, warcry inspiring gameplay, gorgeous yet gruesome visuals, and a story that makes the player feel like a god, Doom Eternal sets the bar extremely high for any developer looking to compete for the crown of “Best FPS game in history.” But that multiplayer emphasis makes the atrocities of Battlemode even worse then they would have been otherwise and may keep Doom Eternal from achieving immortality.

Horizon Forbidden West is a delightful follow-up to Zero Dawn with drastically improved graphics and new additions to the gameplay mechanics. While the gameplay can get a bit repetitive and the story doesn’t hit quite as hard as the first game’s, it is an enjoyable romp through a wasteland teeming with machines.

Metroid Dread is an amazing return for Samus with fantastic controls, excellent sound design and a wonderful overall aesthetic. Even as someone who’s not normally fond of Metroidvania-style games, the intensity of Metroid Dread held my attention to the point where I felt heartbroken the first time my Switch let me know the batteries were about to die.

Monster Hunter Rise is everything that made Monster Hunter World stand above the other series’ games with additions of fun new features that add to the gameplay. While Capcom still struggles with issues of storytelling and gender roles, the gameplay itself more than distracts from the weird hub world. With graphics I didn’t think the Switch could achieve and remarkably solid controls, Monster Hunter Rise is an absolute must for fans of the series or just people looking for a fun action-adventure for their Nintendo Switch.

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is a faithful and beautifully done remaster of the greatest entry in the Paper Mario series. From fixing the ancient wrong of the US release to the addition of new and incredibly convenient features like fast travel and the ability to switch partners on the fly, Nintendo has somehow taken something made of pure gold and added a pure gold plating.

Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire makes improvements across the board, but perhaps not in the areas that matter most. Its scenes are great, its dialogue meaningful, but its grand scale seems to give a more fractured nature, while bugs and crashes can completely ruin immersion. It’s a game full of new ideas, but it feels like it needs another iteration to perfect them.

Cave Story+ is an absolute blast of a game. It’s addicting, it’s entertaining, and the multiple endings will keep you playing time and time again. It’s one of the Switch’s best releases and one you shouldn’t miss out on.

Forza Horizon 4 is beautiful and exhilarating, with seamless multiplayer, compelling progression, and more cars than you know what to do with.

Aside from a few technical blips, Stardew Valley remains a shining Stardrop in its genre, welcoming back fans of the series that inspired it and inviting newcomers to relax in the valley, too.

Devil May Cry 5 reintroduces players to the core values of peak action-adventure gaming, being equally as fun as it is charismatic. Despite a fairly short story that fails to engage at times, diverse gameplay, stunning visuals, and a gorgeous art style make up the difference to make this one of the best gaming experiences early on in 2019.

Injustice 2 is one hell of a time and has plenty of things to do within it, even if you’re playing by yourself. With stunning visuals, an engaging single-player story, a unique, but not overbearing Gear system and the refreshing, ever-changing Multiverse to keep coming back for; it really is a nearly-perfect package. Outside of frustrating zoning characters at the time of release and a few business practice decisions, such as unveiling three DLC characters before the game’s release, Injustice 2 demonstrates how fighting games should be done in this console generation. And it’s damn fun to boot.

A wonderfully heartfelt passage to classic cartoons and rough-and-tumble difficult video games of the past, Cuphead is a can’t miss title on the Nintendo Switch.

Simply put, Arcade Edition finally brings Street Fighter V to a recommendable state. With plenty of single-player content and new wrinkles in the accessible gameplay, it can actually be a good time to sit down, learn a character and just get better.

If you have never played Stanley Parable, you’re in for an excellent ride. Even if you have played it previously, you’re going to find a wealth of new content that has masterfully snuck itself in after several playthroughs, waiting to strike when you’ve all but fallen into your regular routine. Stanley Parable is still a masterclass in narrative storytelling and is absolutely worth revisiting (or visiting for the first time).

With the exception of the forced “Dandori Battles,” the game is an absolute joy to play filled with fun story twists, silly characters, and a fantastic art design. Pikmin 4 has taken everything good from the first three games, removed everything that doesn’t work, and somehow adds new things that make the over all experience something beyond what I could have expected from a Pikmin game.

Dragon Ball FighterZ is the pinnacle of Dragon Ball games, landing as powerfully as a Goku’s Spirit Bomb.

Marvel's Spider-Man finally gives players the best opportunity to do whatever a spider can.

TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge not only recreates the joy of encountering a Ninja Turtles classic arcade game from back in the day but perfectly mixes in modern-day conveniences like advanced combo controls, a multitude of moves, and characters that genuinely feel like they play differently for a more varied experience. Combined with all the deep cuts to the original 1987 cartoon and a powerful soundtrack featuring many songs from surprising sources, you have a powerful love letter to a long-running franchise you’ll want to return to again and again.

Beautiful art design, wonderfully remastered songs, and over 300+ timeless gems from the Final Fantasy universe, with DLC promising even more from other games like Chrono Trigger, give Square fans more than enough to love here. Theatrhythm: Final Bar Line promised a celebration of its huge library of games and 100% delivered. With new gameplay mechanics, even those who have played the previous games can find something new to enjoy.

Severed loses little, if anything, by coming to Nintendo Switch. It gains screen space for the player to bask in its incredible, artistic environments, and though the console can be heavy to hold one-handed for longer play sessions, that’s hardly a reason to stay away from this title. Given its brevity, you may dismiss Severed as a game for a rainy, bored day, but don’t. This is one of only a handful of must-plays in the Nintendo Switch library.

Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus is easily one of the best shooters in recent times, improving on the previous installment and showing surprising humanity for a Nazi-killing gore fest.

Owlboy has a lot of charm but suffers from a convoluted control scheme and some serious game-crashing bugs. The best way to play it is still on the PC, even though the Nintendo Switch seemed like it would be the most ideal place to play it.