First there was Donkey Kong, then came Mario, Mega Man, and Sonic. Now we have Meat Boy. The world's newest 2D platforming legend has arrived.

Dead Space 2 is a ludicrously intense, graphically gorgeous, thoroughly atmospheric game that takes everything the first title did and ramps up the absurdity to dangerous levels.

Few minor gripes aside, Okami HD is the definitive version of one of the past decade's premier games and absolutely deserves to be played.

Improvements to the user interface and AI at all levels result in it being more approachable for newcomers without losing any of the strategic depth that long-time fans crave. It vastly improves combat, making the micro-level gameplay both more complex and entertaining. It trims all the fat, leaving only decision-making, strategic planning, and the sheer joy of crushing your enemies. Civ V is the pinnacle of the franchise to date.

3D Land is a game in which Nintendo shows other developers how they've been doing it wrong since the 3DS launched, and provides a template from which future games ought to be built.

While not every new track is memorable, there is a consistent quality here and a few of them represent Mario Kart at its best.

The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe might joke about overly aggrandizing reviews, but it’s one of the few games that’s actually deserving of one. For all its smugness, I’d love to sit here and tell you that The Stanley Parable is pretentious and full of shit, but it earns every right to its pretension. And I for one and so glad I’m here to see it. There’s a reason it’s considered one of the best games of all time.

If you've been skipping out on Monster Hunter games for a while because they seem to blend together, jumping into World is your chance to get in.

With zero cost to play and one of the highest skill ceilings of any game I've ever encountered, Dota 2 is a modern multiplayer masterpiece.

With its flowing, open approach to mission structure, thoroughly engrossing story and gorgeous visuals, this is the kind of game that all others should strive to be. While there are some elements that don't feel quite as developed as they should have been, and augmentation is more Hobson's choice than true choice, Human Revolution provides a level of quality that only the most adamant cynic could fail to be impressed by. More importantly, it is everything a fan of Deus Ex could want in a game.

Pushmo is not remarkable enough to justify a 3DS purchase on its own, but it is certainly another in a growing group to chip away at apathetic feelings toward the system.

One must take note of a very simple fact -- Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater is so damn good that it single-handedly justifies the $49.99 asking price. I would happily pay that for the game on its own, so the fact that it comes with the still-engrossing Sons of Liberty and an extraneous Peace Walker is pure gravy.

Into the Breach is a mechanically perfect game that is surrounded by mediocre design decisions. I absolutely adore the tactics-style gameplay and how simplistically the game can convey so much information. But with the only run variance being the three pilotable mechs and the potential upgrades, things just start to feel "same-y" after not too long. For those, like myself, who can easily fall in love with intelligently designed mechanics, there is a lot to love about Into the Breach, but it's not as well-rounded as it could be.

It innovates enough to the point where people who are tired of the same old song and dance will find new mysteries to master; but still maintains that strong marriage of world building and sense of pride garnered from besting taxing conflicts.

Not only is Chicory a fun game, and not only did it speak to me on a profound level, it also made me want to be a better me. I’m not exaggerating nor using hyperbole, it’s a well-built experience with a tremendous amount of heart. It wants you to be you, and it wants you to know that the best you can do is always good enough.

Creative Assembly's most polished game to date, and serves as a reaffirmation of the values that made the series the revelation it was more than a decade ago. It seems only fitting that those values were reaffirmed in a game based on the same setting as way back then.

Rayman Legends is occasionally flustering, and sometimes seems to demand more than a conventional controller is capable of. The surprisingly slapdash jury-rigging of Wii U features on other systems is glaring in its inelegance, too. However, we're still left with an impressively designed platformer that proves itself a worthy followup to Rayman Origins, making a few notable omissions, but adding some excellent new ideas of its own.

Kentucky Route Zero Act IV is fu*king fantastic.

Astro Bot Rescue Mission, like its titular hero, gets the job done.

Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker is worth playing through in full if you’re into the story. I still hope that one day — I’m talking a decade-plus from now — Square Enix preserves this tale by any means necessary, even with a single-player rework. It’s timeless, and exceeds the quality of many other mainline games in the series. Whether you stick around for the theme park rides afterward is entirely up to you. The rides I’m going on still have some life left in them.

We loved it before and we still love it. This title would have sit very high on our recommendation list just as a straight PS2-to-PSP port, but the new additions make it appealing to both the new gamer and the seasoned Persona fan.

If shoving Toonami and the Titanfall 2 Pilot’s Gauntlet into a blender and turning it to the highest speed sounds like a good time, then Neon White might be what you’re looking for. It’s a blood-pumping, speed-infused anime shooter with style and a decent bit of heart. While it’s short and sweet, Neon White gives just enough to get the player keen on shaving off seconds and fractions of seconds until they are, indeed, a speedrunning freak. For anyone who likes to go fast, that’s at least worth the price of admission.

Even if it didn't have an extra chapter to conquer, Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition deserves a third release.

Nintendo didn't go above and beyond the call of duty with The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D, but the improvements do in fact make it a more playable experience. Many of the frustrating elements from the original are gone, and because of the nature of the three-day cycle, it's a perfect thing to pick up, play, and turn off after one cycle completes. Majora still isn't my favorite Zelda, but I'm much more inclined to go back to it on the 3DS.

For all its humor, endless replay value and subtle, accessible strategy, it's no wonder that Plants vs. Zombies remains one of the best games to come out of the casual gaming market.

You can just tell the developers had a ball working on Iceborne – it shows. And it's infectious.

I may not have like this iteration as much as the rest, but it's still streets ahead of most current action games and deserves a warm spot on your shelf by the bonfire.

Perhaps it's the fact that, between the first Rez and this new version, I'd immersed myself in games like "Synaesthete" -- games which successfully couple music and gameplay to the point where the player experiences the game exactly as he or she would a music video. Compared to these titles, Rez HD, even with its updated graphics and improved trance vibration, now feels rather antiquated.