Cyberpunk 2077 is a victim of bloat, but you can choose to ignore a lot of it and take in the sights. That's where Night City is at its best, and I sincerely suggest that you take your time going through it, as rushing will only lead to disappointment.

Speaking of alleviating frustration, Birthright is probably the best starting place for newcomers. Not only does it offer unlimited grinding opportunities to beef up your party, but the actual missions mostly consist of easy "rout (kill) the enemy" parameters. The tale is also relatively open and shut, following a traditional storyline from a macro perspective, while keeping the complicated relationships intact.

Little quality-of-life additions like GamePad item management go a long way with The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD. They manage to hide some of the game's less flattering blemishes, and let you focus on what it does best. While I still wouldn't put it near the top of the Zelda pile, it's still head and shoulders above most modern adventure games.

It takes the best parts of Crypt of the NecroDancer and makes them more accessible, which really comes with the territory when you're paying homage to The Legend of Zelda.

If you've ever wanted to try your hand at Monster Hunter, start with Generations. The tutorial aspect isn't any better than normal, but it's much more likely to appeal to a wider audience with its breadth of customization options and content. If you've been champing at the bit for more great gameplay you already love, with lots of new things to discover, Generations doesn't disappoint there either.

It's not often that we see a DS RPG with this level of creativity and polish in the story and gameplay departments, and the fantastic music and art only accentuate that. Even if you think you've done the time-travel RPG before, you should still definitely play Radiant Historia.

More than just a great DSiWare game, Shantae: Risky's Revenge is a great DS game, period. One of the best, in fact. There's so much love and detail here that it would be criminal to let this franchise fall into obscurity a second time.

A spectacular re-release packed to the brim with more content than most paid downloadable titles; that all of this is available for free is simply mind-blowing. The multiplayer is as deliciously evil as it ever was, but I just wish more tweaks were made to tailor the single-player mode for solo adventurers. If you are able to gather a group, however, you will have a blast.

Despite my qualms with certain challenges and the last boss, I cannot get enough of Risk of Rain 2. I love the characters and discovering secrets while setting new goals for myself. As someone who mostly bounced off the first game, the sequel sucked me in like a Primordial Cube (an in-joke, hah!). There is so much to love here, whether you are a fan of the first game or roguelikes as a whole.

I was deeply absorbed until the game flipped for the first time, then I fell out of love. I reconciled before the end, but I was still left feeling like I played a few similar games of different quality. Maybe it was a good idea to change things up before it had the chance to grow stale, it’s just nothing gripped me as firmly as the first chapter.

Gratifying predatory battles, a unique visual exhibition, and a variety of engrossing game modes makes Conviction an absolutely solid experience that nobody should feel disappointed in.

Kingdom Battle may have proven that a Mario and Rabbids crossover can work, and work well. But Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope has cemented this as a franchise in my eyes, one that is worth playing if you’ve got any interest in lighthearted tactics with a Mario and Rabbid twist.

The Talos Principle has some important things to say, but more thoughtfully, it wants the player to have important things to say as well. Even those who do not bother to think about the philosophical topics can find a smart, sometimes frustratingly difficult puzzler here. It really shines for those open to both.

Cities: Skylines is a title that will eat up hours of your time, and with a commitment from the developers to continue support for the title in the future, and Steam Workshop integration, the huge amount of replayability the base game has will become even bigger. I wholeheartedly recommend this game and can’t wait to see what modders and Colossal Order have in store for us in the future.

Maybe the next 2D Metroid will take more chances, but Returns is far better than I expected it to be.

This game is a classic in every sense of the word, and I'm overjoyed that it's available for a new generation to get their hands on.

Exactly what it wants to be.

If you're a lover of games that require you to put in before you get out, and you recall the glory days of the Eastern RPG, where experience points were the lifeblood and the grind was king, you have literally no decent excuse for not finding a way to play Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch. A classic of the modern age, built entirely from classics of the past, it's advised you get comfortable, cancel all your plans, and prepare to enjoy a game that will dominate your life for the next few months.

Legend of Grimrock 2 will consume your mind in many ways. The puzzles will slowly tear away at your brain until they are solved, and the amount of focus needed for just about every combat encounter is through the roof.

A mixed bag. It’s vastly better than its predecessors in many ways, but there are a few areas -- big ones -- where it falls flat. Still, I can say without hesitation that it’s easily the best Madden game since the franchise entered the high-definition era.

With online play, cooperative career, and a flesh-melting soundtrack, this is the best installment of the series yet.

A better game than its Japanese counterpart, with more characters, improved balance, and online play. Due to the slightly uneven graphics and the occasional downgrade from the original version of the title, I can't say it's a perfect game, but it's damn close.

It's funny, its puzzles are satisfying, and, as Anthony mentioned, is a fine example of episodic gaming's potential.

Had Vanillaware crafted a title where the story and the action wove into one another flawlessly, we'd be looking at the greatest game the developer has ever made, without question. Unfortunately, that's not what this game is, and while what is here is great, it's crushing to see just how close 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim came to perfection.

The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom puts a new spin on the series’ formula but never quite finds itself. I like coming up with creative ways to use as bed as much as the next person, but I’d prefer if the challenges were more consistently creative in return. Instead, things just bled together until I could have just played on autopilot. It takes more than a dress and a bed to keep things interesting.

Obsidian has out-Fallouted recent Fallout efforts.

While the tiny screen and the sometimes cramped controls may keep it from being tournament ready, Super Street Fighter IV 3D Edition easily one of the best titles the 3DS launch has to offer.

Blaster Master Zero 2 is a clear improvement on its predecessor. The graphics are slightly better, the story is better written, and the soundtrack is more diverse; I could go on and on. Maybe Zero 2 won't make a convert out of you if you didn’t enjoy the first, but it is well worth exploring for fans of Inti Creates and Blaster Master.