Metroid Prime 4: Beyond does not seek to innovate. It is a remarkable entry on a technical, visual, and audio level, but it has some rough edges in terms of difficulty, puzzles, and the very backtracking that defines the Metroidvania genre. At times it holds the player’s hand and tries to connect its world through a somewhat sparse and linear desert, even if it delivers solid technical performance. It may not be a complete package within the genre, but it will still manage to move and excite fans of the saga.

With everything to gain and little to lose, Tribute Games’ latest entry leaves you satisfied thanks to the obvious love and care the studio has for the beat ’em up genre. In this case, the story, visual design, replay value and references all feel on point, but the game comes up short in length and some players may be left wanting more. That could easily be addressed with updates that add more missions, more characters and, if possible, a versus mode between characters.

Whether it’s your style or not, there’s no doubt that Kirby Air Riders is both bold and innovative, making it a unique experience that already feels like a cult classic in 2025. It perfectly blends casual, welcoming gameplay for those who just want to have fun with a surprising amount of depth and challenge for players looking to master all of its mechanics and objectives.

The franchise knows how to revolutionize the genre, but this new installment doesn’t reach the spectacle of previous entries. The system is more polished than ever and visually impressive, yet it falls into the comfort zone and tries to steer into unfamiliar waters, turning into something that doesn’t quite feel like Call of Duty. The weapons and the new movement system are fun, but they’re not enough to fill the gaps of a dull story that almost pushes this military shooter into an entirely different subgenre, bordering on the fantastical.

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment, besides being the definitive musou game based on The Legend of Zelda series, is an installment that fits perfectly within the narrative arc established by Tears of the Kingdom. It boasts a satisfying technical presentation, an art style that respects the original game, and, above all, a solid gameplay loop thanks to a considerable number of missions and battles filled with drama and action. While the experience can become repetitive after several hours, the option to play in cooperative mode on the Switch 2 helps maintain interest and provides a compelling conclusion to the Zelda story told thus far.

ARC Raiders presents itself as a post-apocalyptic extraction shooter that breaks away from the traditional military style that gave birth to the genre. It stands out with a fresh and solid proposal that leans toward third-person action and a gameplay loop built around exploration and looting mechanics — all while driving the extermination of machines, either solo or in teams of three. Through feats and mission systems within each raid that feed into individual progression, the game showcases both ambition and a distinctive identity. It achieves this with visuals and sound design that feel as realistic as they are satisfying.

Sanatorium: Mental Asylum Simulator combines the best of resource management with a deeply human and critical narrative. Through a simple yet effective card-based system, the game portrays the horrors of psychiatric treatment in the 1920s with both irony and sensitivity—avoiding sensationalism or trivialization. Its tone, oscillating between the sinister and the darkly comic, manages to entertain while inviting reflection. Small in scale but grand in ambition, it’s one of those indie gems that accomplishes a lot with very little.

Sports Interactive and SEGA stay true to their essence of portraying the world of football from a different perspective. With Football Manager 26, diversity takes center stage, and the addition of the Premier League license — together with an optimized interface and a more intuitive transfer system — make this entry a strong draw for both newcomers and longtime fans alike.

Square Enix remains the king of retro remakes, once again proving its mastery with this beautifully stylized version brimming with charm and nostalgia. The original creator of console RPGs may no longer be as groundbreaking as before, but this is still a gem for fans of the genre—even if it offers little to those watching from the sidelines.

Obsidian Entertainment—famous for Avowed, Pentiment, and the widely acclaimed Fallout: New Vegas—does it again, delivering an RPG as formidable as it is replayable. An instant classic for genre fans that will satisfy even the most demanding players. A chapter no choose-your-own-adventure enthusiast should miss under any circumstances.

Super Mario Galaxy + Super Mario Galaxy 2 arrives to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Super Mario Bros. Both games add notable features, including an assisted mode that makes play more accessible, improved Joy-Con support, a wonderful soundtrack with over 100 musical tracks, and even new chapters that expand both main stories. Even so, tighter attention to small details, less finicky camera shifts, or a more active co-op mode would have truly completed the experience.

Ninja Gaiden 4 marks an exhilarating return to one of the most iconic hack & slash sagas—one that has inspired countless successors. Despite retaining some of its old habits and featuring an explicitly linear level design, this new installment delivers a decisive katana strike straight onto the list of the best action games of 2025.

Persona 3 Reload arrives on the Nintendo Switch 2 with a visually optimized—but technically limited—edition. This revisit of the acclaimed 2024 JRPG successfully adapts its interfaces and resolutions for both handheld and docked modes, offering a polished visual experience overall. However, it struggles to maintain consistent performance during exploration and combat sequences. As expected for a port arriving nearly two years after its original release, this version does not include any of the previously released DLC.

The franchise continues to grow and evolve in the right direction, even if it sometimes feels held back—whether by technical limitations or a reluctance to take risks. Despite these drawbacks and visuals that aren’t particularly impressive, the adventure remains genuinely fun, filled with activities and dynamic exploration. It preserves the signature mechanic of capturing creatures stealthily or engaging in large-scale battles, offering players multiple ways to approach encounters. The storyline stands out as one of the best in recent years, and by breaking free from the traditional turn-based combat system, the game opens the door to fresh and exciting gameplay experiences.

The new installment of the world’s fastest hedgehog feels light, satisfying, and—above all—fun and family-friendly. With very little to criticize, the game not only checks all the boxes of the genre but surpasses them through its variety of characters and customization options. The music, the races, and the overall atmosphere perfectly capture Sega’s golden 90s era.

LEGO Party isn’t a title that completely reinvents the genre, but it does add a few clever ideas. With well-executed humor, strategy, fair competition, and creativity as its strongest points, it stands as one of the most accessible and entertaining party games in recent years. Sure, it could use more content—but its transformations make every match feel entirely different. When it comes to having fun and competing with friends or family, this game has all the right pieces.

As the next step in the franchise, it successfully fills the shoes of its decades-old successes and far surpasses its most recent entries. This long-awaited shooter delivers exactly what fans of the genre were hoping for: movement, adrenaline, chaos, destruction, and particles flying everywhere across massive maps.

Digimon Story: Time Stranger is ambitious within the core of the saga. It aims to expand the combat experience with multiple gameplay layers, supported by a story that pushes mystery and exploration to the forefront, all while encouraging players to collect nearly 450 Digital Monsters. Highly appealing for longtime fans, and though not flawless, it proves just how much the series has matured over the years.

It's a gem for those who love party games or creative titles like Super Mario Maker. Its mix of action, clever puzzles, and an easy-to-use level editor guarantees hours of fun, whether playing with friends or designing traps to torture them. The animations, dry humor, and near-infinite replayability make it one of the most fun party games of the year.

EA Sports FC 26 sets itself apart in gameplay compared to its predecessors in the saga. The third installment under the EA FC banner is a solid option for those who prefer competing against AI thanks to its authentic gameplay. On the online side, passionate Ultimate Team players will once again embark on their yearly adventure, this time with the return of tournaments and meaningful updates to the already established modes.

The return of Crane with the new gameplay mechanic that lends its name to the game is exactly what the franchise needed. In a post-apocalyptic world full of blood and gore, the beast can finally be unleashed to do as it pleases. Techland understood its audience and delivered directly to them, with clever nods, an improved RPG system, more entertaining animations to execute, and a story that may be simple but ties the package together—making this the best Dying Light entry to date.

Ghost of Yōtei preserves enough of the spirit to make it clear why it’s the successor to Tsushima, while introducing enough new ideas to make it unmissable. With breathtaking visuals, top-tier style and combat, it stands as Sucker Punch’s most polished experience to date.

Final Fantasy Tactics returns with all its charm intact—deep strategy, rich storytelling, and one of the most memorable tactical RPG experiences ever created. While some aspects of its design show their age, the balance of challenge, character progression, and political intrigue remain as captivating as they were at launch.

NBA 2K26 remains the champion of basketball simulators in both content and quality. With no real competition in the market, it sometimes feels stuck in a comfort zone that keeps it from fully innovating. Still, the small changes introduced for 2026 make the experience noticeably better in many areas. Its only true rival remains the microtransactions, which limit a fair sense of progression for all players.

Silent Hill F only needed to be better than the last 20 years of Silent Hill—and it not only succeeded, but managed to update the formula, return to its roots, highlight its strongest elements, and remind us of a kind of horror many argued could no longer exist.

This new edition of Kirby and the Forgotten Land (2022) not only brings technical improvements but also adds fresh and creative content through the Star-Crossed World story. From new transformations and stages to challenges and collectibles, this revision expands on the base game. While it could have included more powers for Kirby, it still stands as the most complete version you can play.

Everybody’s Golf Hot Shots returns with all its quirky charm, colorful characters, and anime-style antics. It offers a solid multiplayer focus but is held back by technical shortcomings, slow progression, and a rather simple visual presentation. It’s ideal for longtime fans of the series or players looking for a laid-back golf arcade experience—just don’t expect too much depth.

Midnight Murder Club is a game with a simple premise that aims to connect with players through cat-and-mouse mechanics. It can be called clever, as it relies on darkness and proximity chat as its core sources of fun. Still, while it could shine brighter, it ultimately shows little ambition when it comes to offering more diverse game modes.