Backbone does both, striking a balance between nostalgic and new, breathing another breath of life into the genre with its gritty, sad grin. This 2D, sidescrolling, pixel-art noir is a short but solid adventure mystery with stunning visuals and meaningful characters.

Featuring two very good games and one fairly mediocre game in one package, Ninja Gaiden Master Collection is well worth trying out, whether you missed out in the past or just want to slash up some enemies as Ryu Hayabusa all over again.

All of the new additions and more sandbox Career Mode arguable make Heroes of the Inner Sphere the best way to play MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries. On both PC and Xbox, Heroes of the Inner Sphere is worth every C-Bill.

Rift Apart cements Ratchet and Clank as one of PlayStation’s premier franchises.

Necromunda: Hired Gun does have redeeming qualities. The movement is great, the gunplay feels good, and the environmental design is stellar. There's simply a legion of issues on both the design and technical fronts working overtime to hold it back. If you are willing to overlook Hired Gun's many problems and massive amounts of jank you'll likely have a great time blasting gangers to bloody bits. But, I won't fault you for waiting on a sale or sequel instead.

Virtua Fighter 5 has aged like fine wine, and while some modern games feel more fluid or look prettier, Sega's classic cannot be replaced.

The Famicom Detective Club duology is, at its core, a beautiful set of remakes that will please players that can look past some of the dated mechanics.

The Famicom Detective Club duology is, at its core, a beautiful set of remakes that will please players that can look past some of the dated mechanics.

Maneater is a solid fit for the Nintendo Switch, but porting this ocean-faring adventure onto Nintendo's handheld/console hybrid after a year of availability does take away a lot of the luster.

Elite Dangerous: Odyssey is an unfinished expansion with some cool ideas in need of a lot of additional iteration and work. As it currently stands the Elite Dangerous PC community is beta testing Odyssey for the inevitable console launch, despite the expansion being advertised as a finished product. Unless they don't mind paying to play in a glorified beta, commanders should stick with Horizons until the dust settles.

While it may have a few flaws, Biomutant is a great game that reminds of a simpler time for video games.

Rust Console Edition is a vastly inferior version of the game being sold at a higher price.

Knockout City is an absolute blast, even if it doesn't have many reasons to return after players have had their fill.

Shin Megami Tensei 3 Nocturne remains a solid JRPG even today, but the remaster could have gone a bit further at this price point.

Days Gone has its high points and the open world looks better than ever, even if it is still filled with by-the-books gameplay systems and inconsistent execution.

Mass Effect Legendary Edition is a fan's dream come true. With all three games and almost all of their DLC included in one upgraded package there simply isn't more to be asked for here other than a full remake.

If you are still enjoying Valhalla then Wrath of the Druids is worth a gander. Hopefully the Siege of Paris expansion breaks the mold a little, but for now this first expansion acts as a serviceable excuse to revisit Assassin's Creed Valhalla, if nothing more than to tour about 9th century Ireland.

Subnautica: Below Zero doesn't reach the same heights as the first game, but it's proof Unknown World's 2018 survival game wasn't a fluke. The act of exploring a mysterious underwater world whilst trying to survive is nearly as captivating in Below Zero as it was then. I'm still not a fan of the survival genre, yet I loved every moment I spent with Subnautica: Below Zero. I may know most of the tricks by now, but that didn't make the experience any less magical.

Resident Evil Village is a great survival horror game that leans into the action and silliness of earlier entries in the series to mixed results. It's not as good as Resident Evil 7, and it's not as good as Resident Evil 4. It feels like a strange mixture of the two, and while it seems like it might be able to strike a good balance in its first half, the second half dashes any hope of that.

Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition is, simply put, the best way to experience the game. The hardware requirements are steep, but if you’re lucky enough to have a ray-tracing enabled graphics card, there’s no reason to play the original release instead of this version. Sure, ray-tracing was a feature in the base game, but the Enhanced Edition has been built from the ground up with ray-tracing in mind and it absolutely shows. Whether you’re trapped in the series’ staple claustrophobic tunnels or staring out across an expansive vista in the new open-world sections, Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition looks absolutely stunning thanks to its significant graphical overhaul.

New Pokemon Snap is largely successful in recapturing the magic of the Nintendo 64 original… while it will probably not appeal to people who are not already a fan of Pokemon, for fans, New Pokemon Snap is a wonderful piece of fan service and wholly charming.

Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion is a short action game that lacks replayability, but it provides an adorable experience in a unique package.

Judgment is proof that the Yakuza formula works even with a fresh set of faces. I really hope we get to see more of these characters in a sequel or future spinoff, especially if the detective side content gets a little more love the next time around.

Gamers weren't quite ready for Yoko Taro's NieR back in 2010, but now the now cult classic is getting another chance in the way it was originally intended. On top of additional content and bonuses not found in the original, NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139... features a beautifully melancholy narrative that is equal parts gut-wrenching and heartfelt, all of which is very worth experiencing.

Being the most consistent annual sports franchise out there, MLB The Show manages to overcome the loss of a few key features to give players yet another reason to step right back into the batter's box in MLB The Show 21.

Outriders has great ideas and those come shining through at various high points to spectacular effect, but it is pushing against the weight of inconsistent execution and unstable systems.

Monster Hunter Rise takes the best elements from the series and mixes them with a few new mechanics to give players a fresh experience that is the most accessible in the franchise to date.

It Takes Two is co-op gaming at its most joyous and whimsical, and will forever be in the hearts of anyone that is lucky enough to play it.