Not being able to turn the ever-present bright flashes off is a shame, but Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective is a ridiculously unique, captivating game that is very much worth puzzling through.

Ruthlessly charming to a degree that renders minor quibbles negligible [insert alligator joke].

Ratchet & Clank is the best mascot action platformer game since the classics such as Spyro the Dragon and Crash Bandicoot on the original PlayStation and at the budget price of $39.99 it is easily recommendable for those looking to relive those days.

Make no mistake, Shovel Knight is a classic, side-scrolling, retro platforming, and if that’s the kind of game you’re looking for, it’s one of the best out there.

Arizona Sunshine 2 brings much welcomed changes and evolutions to the formula of the first one. With the inclusion of its adorable Buddy, Arizona Sunshine 2 is a great VR zombie game. [Meta Quest]

Although not quite on par with an MLB, Super Mega Baseball 2 is a great entry for its price, offer-ing enough simplicity in gameplay to be enjoyable to practically anyone.

The Lion’s Song is a masterclass in storytelling and a great fit for fans of portable Switch gaming, especially those looking for a narrative-driven experience.

Metroid Dread is a wonderful, modern take on a classic game from childhood. It looks as beautiful as any of today’s games, but has a feel of the games of old. The scary tone of the game and its intense foes give you a challenge worthy of the series.

Akiba’s Beat is both a stellar role-playing experience and a heartfelt yarn with bite. One of 2017’s best RPGs so far, and a new personal favourite.

With over a dozen games in the long-running series, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart still manages to feel fresh and exciting, taking full advantage of the PlayStation 5 by delivering what, for many, may be their first taste at a definitive next-gen feeling game for the still-budding platform.

Naughty Dog have created a masterpiece of a remake in The Last of Us Part 1. All of the emotion and action has been brought to the PS5 in stunning fashion.

Way of the Passive Fist is a game that continually left me wanting more and I highly recommend it.

Loud On Planet X is a fun and different rhythm game with a great roster of indie artists. It's well worth the small asking price.

Unicorn Overlord combines the stellar Vanillaware aesthetic in a tactical RPG experience that feels like a modern classic in the making.

Destiny 2: The Witch Queen represents the highest peak the franchise has seen in years, if not ever. Held back by some grindiness and nigh-inpenetrable plot gates, it’s one of the smoothest FPS experiences available today, thanks to its best story yet and a host of gameplay adjustments.

Super Mario Party Jamboree takes the best parts of its predecessor and combines it with the best parts of the classics for an unforgettable Mario Party experience.

This is a beautiful, surprisingly poignant, and simply well-designed take on a familiar genre.

Animal Well kept me captivated from start to finish and long after. Fans of Metroid-likes NEED to play this.

Slayaway Camp checks all the boxes and will slash its way into your heart.

Resident Evil Village is a worthy sequel that takes full advantage of its Gothic setting, with Capcom delivering an absolute masterclass in survival horror thrills.

Yooka-Laylee is both a joyful ode to Rare’s heyday and a polished platformer that stands head and shoulders above what few contemporaries exist in the genre.

ROMEO IS A DEAD MAN combines so many of the things that make Suda 51’s games so beloved and makes something fresh and insanely fun with them.

When you want to feel like a powerful mech rider carving through massive demons, Panzer Paladin just can’t be beat.

It’s not a perfect game by any definition, but what game is? It’s also not a game that will convert random people into first person shooter fans. What you will find in this game is a series of shooting and platforming set pieces that will make you think, “Wow! I just did that? I am awesome, all hail me!”

ANTONBLAST is a game that both embraces and exceeds its inspiration. If you were a fan of Wario Land or even Pizza Tower then you were probably already going to love this, but I can safely say I think you’re going to love it for reasons beyond the games it was inspired by. Its silly, chaotic style will be incredibly approachable for newcomers, and its plethora of extras and collectables will be catnip for fans of the genre. You might even say, ANTONBLAST is a one-Ton Blast.

Fans of Total War and Warhammer can now rejoice and form a pact as this is a game that blends the two franchises together beautifully.

“Farewell” succinctly captures everything that Life is Strange does well in a beautiful and devastating package.

Nights of Azure overcomes its tropes and the occasional bit of fan service with a heaping helping of content, stylistic panache, and one of the most memorable gaming narratives in recent memory.

With a massive scope of puzzles to solve, Islands of Insight has something for every puzzle enthusiast out there.

Paranormasight: The Mermaid’s Curse is just as intoxicating and surprising as its predecessor, but has an integrally different tone and flavor to its surprisingly heartfelt love story. It’s a new classic for the visual novel genre.

Paper Mario: The Origami King came in hot to a system that’s boasted excellent new adaptations of flagship games. It’s impossible to ignore the high bar Nintendo sets with these releases and the quality we come to expect from them. This one absolutely delivers on being fresh and new, living up to the quality we expect and is an exciting addition to the switch roster for those of us looking for the next great game to commit to. We have come to expect only the best from Mario RPG’s and this one still manages to blow through expectations and leave confetti flying.

The Final Shape is simultaneously Destiny 2's most personal, most daring, and most conservative expansion yet, pushing boundaries while also playing it safe.

A sequel should always be better, and Horizon Forbidden West is much better than its predecessor, by a distance as great as the journey itself.

Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 is a potent Genki Dama to the series’ longstanding issues, and a bigger, better game than the original by every stretch of the imagination. A true must-have for any Dragon Ball fan.

The Shenmue II & II collection is hands down, the best way to experience these title (warts and all), for both longtime fans and newcomers alike.

Legion absolutely feels like an expansion that will improve on everything good Blizzard can deliver, and will hopefully shape into an absolute monster of an expansion.

The Switch makes a near-perfect home for Super Mario Maker 2, an exceptional platformer as well as a boundless course editor.

It really is the F1 themed racing game that The Codemasters should have made all along.

Monster Hunter Wilds may very well set the standard for not just how Monster Hunter plays but also how it tells its story.

Final Fantasy VII Remake does the impossible, somehow allowing me to relive one of the biggest gaming moments of my childhood as if it were new.

The Following is a stellar, value-packed addition to Dying Light that not only extends and improves upon the solid experience that fans have come to expect, but also enriches the original product to definitive status.

Street Fighter 6 packs a punch and should not be missed by fans of Capcom's legendary fighting franchise, while new accessibility controls make the game more welcoming than ever.

Tyranny is an exercise in depicting humanity’s worst facets, and it does so in a nuanced, interesting way while being an engaging and accessible CRPG.

Bomb Rush Cyberfunk is an indie megaton mic drop from Team Reptile on how it’s done, paying serious homage to the genuinely unique, visually arresting and musically ahead-of-the-curve games that Jet Set Radio and Jet Set Radio Future originally were.

Elroy and the Alien captures all the heart, charm and inventiveness of the golden age of point-and-click adventure games.

Return to Monkey Island is a game that any fan of the series should love (regardless of its initially unorthodox art style) and one that players can tailor to their particular skill level. Having spent many hours navigating its treacherous islands, sailing its high seas, and matching wits (and swords) with an endearingly quirky cast of characters, I can easily say that this is one adventure you won’t want to miss the boat on.

Iceborne is the definitive endgame of Monster Hunter World and a proper sendoff to the game that ignited a new generation of fans in the West to experience the series for the first time.

Rogue Legacy 2 is finally on PlayStation, the uninitiated MUST play this title.

Yakuza 0 is a great game, and it’s PC port keeps the game’s charm completely intact.

Luigi’s Mansion 3 is a graveyard smash you don't want to miss.

Undertale is like Earthbound if it were a Hayao Miyazaki movie: strange, interesting, and profoundly unique. The ways in which each little choice can affect the game will constantly keep you guessing, and its multiple paths are each truly moving experiences capped off by a “true ending” that actually had me weeping by its sheer force of power.

RoboCop: Rogue City excels as an action game with light RPG elements, delivering a lot of hours of high-quality blasting.

Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden masterfully weaves a narrative that not only captivates but also challenges players to reflect on their own moral compass.

Death Stranding the Director's Cut is the definitive way to experience the game and is worth checking out for those who may have missed it on other platforms.

Wandersong is an incredible experience.

Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds Ultimate takes the solid foundation of a Beat ‘Em Up and applies 2D Fighter controls to it for a fast, arcade-style action that’s impossible to put down.

Keeper takes a straightforward puzzle-based walking sim and elevates it tenfold with an unbelievable level of interactive storytelling.

Mages of Mystralia mixes clever spellcasting and magical customization in a fun fantasy realm that players won’t want to leave.

The PC version of Death Stranding 2: On The Beach maintains, and in some ways, lifts the high bar of quality its console counterpart set.

Flywrench creates complex challenges through simple design structures, absorbing you into to its mesmerising gameplay for hours upon end.

If Shovel Knight is Mega Man X, then Specter Knight is Zero; his expertly-crafted new campaign is a perfect complement to one of the best 2D platformers ever made.

The hardcore difficulty and lack of menus will be enough to turn some players off, but for those that stick it out, you’re in for a Hell of a good time.

Thanks to its writing and emphasis on freedom, it’s unlike any other RPG out there.

EA Sports Madden NFL 26 is the most complete, authentic and rewarding entry the series has seen in years.

Age of Mythology: Retold - Immortal Pillars is an excellent expansion that further enriches the Age of Mythology experience.

Sid Meier’s Civilization VII manages to give players enough freedom to create their own version of gameplay over and over again. Pairing that with some truly stunning art, and a system that welcomes players new and old, Civ VII is the strategy game to own this year.

Unbox took me back to a time when games were about fun.

Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition graces the Nintendo Switch with one final gift from its underappreciated older sibling, the Nintendo Wii U, bringing with it the best version of the already stellar JRPG experience.

What Remains of Edith Finch required me to carry out acts knowing full well how they’d play out. The game isn’t gruesome by any stretch, but it’s not a story of happy endings. It’s a story of sad retellings and painful memories, but ones that a family is desperate to preserve. And despite the painful things I saw unfold in the Finches’ home, I’m glad they preserved those memories for me to find.

The Jackbox Party Pack 3 is an excellent collection of games perfect for parties, made even better now that you can conveniently take that party anywhere with the Switch.

If you missed it back in 2011, El Shaddai ASCENSION OF THE METATRON HD Remaster is a second chance to experience a MUST PLAY in gaming.

The Binding of Isaac: Afterbirth+ is a perfect fit for the Switch, and barring some framerate problems in local multiplayer, is arguably the best way to play this modern classic.

Headlander is a perfect storm of thought-provoking sci-fi, biting humor, and pitch-perfect gameplay that comes wrapped in a stylish, affordable package, and is one of this year’s very best.

Octopath Traveller 0 masterfully transforms the once mobile game into a fully fleshed JRPG romp that feels as feature-rich and engaging as the prior console and PC releases.

30 Birds is a wildly imaginative odyssey that’s as creative as it is beautiful.

Microsoft and Turn10 have done a wonderful job putting together another Forza game that is near flawless from an artistic and technical viewpoint.

Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time improves on the series in every conceivable way, delivering one of the most feature-rich games of the year.

Ultimately, Jamboree TV is where the real party is in Super Mario Party Jamboree - Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Jamboree TV when it comes to new features tailor-made for the Switch 2.

Helldivers 2 on Xbox Series X|S is a strong port that finally lets Xbox players enjoy the acclaimed co-op shooter—and a long-overdue taste of LiberTEA.

Rez has never looked more mesmerizing or been this fluid. The VR ads a new layer on the experience making it one of the most engaging and hypnotic games I have ever played in VR.

Much like Vermintide itself, it may not be groundbreaking in any one way, but it’s reliably and consistently fun, and still beautifully immersive in that Warhammer sort of way.

Dawntrail goes exactly where Final Fantasy XIV needed to go, experimenting with the player character's role in this world as its borders expand.

Mario Tennis Fever combines the same fun and technicality of the classics in the series with a wealth of variety and new ideas that make it one of the best in the series.

Octopath Traveler is a sublime mélange of classic role-playing sensibilities and modern conveniences that speaks to this RPG aficionado's soul.

Dead Space kicks off 2023’s AAA horror lineup with a seamless, masterful execution of action and frights.

Remnant: From the Ashes is a surprisingly good combination of Gears of War-like third-person shooting with Souls-like difficulty.

Batman: Arkham Shadow lets the player fully live out their Batman dream. It had incredible immersion, a great story, and gameplay that made me really feel like the Dark Knight, but it isn’t an experience I will soon forget.

The Champion’s Ballad acts as a perfect tribute to both Breath of the Wild and to the Zelda series.

Diablo IV: Vessel of Hatred delivers a fresh yet familiar experience that will keep fans hooked for months.

Arknights: Endfield combines fluid combat, elaborate factory building, and Death Stranding-esque building to create a gacha RPG like no other.

Despite being relatively light in narrative, that shouldn’t stop anyone from playing this. The focus is clearly on combat and exploration, both of which are excellent examples of great design and execution.

Yo-Kai Watch 2 is a fantastic sequel to a fantastic game.

Sifu is a masterfully crafted lesson on patience.

Jurassic World Evolution 3 is a fun sim with great stories, unique challenges and a sandbox that you can get lost in, all in a game that has the potential to become a favourite sim, no matter what kind of sim you are into.

It’s a fairly significant time investment and, while it doesn’t do anything new with the patented Horizon formula, The Frozen Wilds is jam-packed with side quests, ravenous machines to hunt, and an interesting story. The new enemies are interesting to fight and the new region is a joy to explore.

Viewfinder is an incredible mind-bending puzzle game that never stops innovating and never stops being fun.

Stellaris captures the craziness and fun of sci-fi in an engaging, infinitely replayable strategy game.

The real marvel of Mayan Death Robots is that it’s the first game of its type that I don’t feel is an incomplete experience if you don’t have friends to play it with.