Astral Ascent is the roguelite I’ve been wishing to play for a hot minute. Its combat is highly variable, incredibly replayable, and quite gorgeous. It’s a fantastic example of a roguelite that is easy to pick up, fun to return to, and rewarding despite losing early and often.

A great game and a top quality remaster, consider it a must-have.

Xenoblade Chronicles 3D is translated well from its big brother. While there is a drop in visuals, the gameplay design and delivery that make this JRPG great is still very much intact. The added 3D visuals, superb story and voice acting will make this game worth your time and effort.

Most sports would probably be better if human participants were replaced with cars. While this thesis is typically reserved for late night conversations with close friends, Psyonix accepted it as a genuine assignment and produced Rocket League. It's soccer with cars—and the execution of this idea has no business being as good as the fantasy.

Its age is apparent in open-world areas and questionable pacing, but its clever puzzles and thick fan service are just as appealing now as ever.

Mario+Rabbids: Sparks of Hope from Ubisoft Milan and Ubisoft Paris is a fantastic and better follow-up to its original 2017 experiment. The characters are better, the addition of Sparks changes how the gameplay works, and the overall tactical strategy options the game provides the player in a huge world make for a consistently fun adventure. Beware of the difficulty, though, as it can get infuriating at times.

Looking for a fun, engaging racing sim? Look no further than Dirt: Rally. The game offers plenty of challenge, and even requires a new mental approach to racing games.

Terrible Toybox and Devolver Digital’s Return to Monkey Island hit all the right notes that proper homage to the original. It brought classic humor, a great story, and a new way to play the game to make it faster. It’s one of the brighter spots of a skimpy game release year.

Simply put, Metroid: Samus Returns is an excellent game. It honors the past and adds a lot of great new gameplay elements. The Metroid series strives in 2D, and Samus Returns is another clear demonstration of exactly that.

The intriguing storyline and fluidity of the game make it a good one to play.

Triangle Strategy from developer Artdink is a marvel of a tactical RPG experience. While it is heavy on story that is driven by complex and solid branching choices that affect outcomes, and fantastic acting, it still brings some amazing tactical gameplay with new twists and turns.

StarVaders from developer Pengonauts is an addictive deckbuilding turn-based game with meaningful content and thick strategic gameplay options.

While 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim‘s monstrosity versus mech action may have faltered in key ways, it is impossible to turn a blind eye to how absolutely captivating the entire package is. Gaming allows the most bizarre, gut-wrenching, poignant stories to be told in such broad, creative strokes. Vanillaware’s ability to reach into decades of inspiration and craft their own intricately wonderful narrative about growth, loss, and a million other things should not be ignored because it is delivered in such a complex, entertaining way. This is a game that does not have to beg for players’ maximum attention as each new revelation leads to yet another unmissable moment.

Regardless of any decisions made in The Outer Worlds, know that Obsidian has justified them. This is a game that is confident with itself. It is in no way small. Featuring some of the strongest games writing I’ve witnessed in years, it’s hard not to want to dive back into this world as a completely different character and tinker with the story just to see how it attempts to gel with player choice. For awhile, I thought this genre was nearing life support. Now, I’m confident that the community will embrace The Outer Worlds to the point where Obsidian has to give us more of this universe. It’s so well-realized, so lovingly crafted. It’s the best choice.

Dragon Quest Builders is an absolute delight on the PC. It balances story with building and still has time to sprinkle some familiar Dragon Quest RPG essence into the mix. While the camera is still a pain within tight spots, and when building large walls, the overall body of work is still solid.

Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered from developers Guerilla Games and Nixxes is a worthy update from the 2017 game. The update brings many visual enhancements, improves environments, and creates better character interactions. It brings a great game up to PlayStation 5 standards and helps bridge the gap between the original and the sequel.

On its own, Yakuza 0 is a great, albeit dated, entry in the overarching Yakuza franchise. Yakuza 0: Director’s Cut might not feature enough content that Yakuza fans may enjoy, but it’s an excellent port for a Nintendo Switch 2 owner and an even better entry into the Yakuza series for those who have not yet played a game from Ryu Ga Gotoku.

Super Street Fighter IV: 3D Edition is most certainly the strongest launch title of the bunch. With console-mimicking portable gameplay, strong online functionality, and an addictive figurine collection mode, this game utilizes most of the 3DS's many capabilities. Sure, it may not be the pure fighter that some may be looking for but as a handheld fighter, you'd be hard pressed to find a better experience.

The Special Edition of Mass Effect 3 is an interesting release that those gamers with only a Wii U shouldn't miss. For everyone else, the fullest experience can be had elsewhere.

A year or so later, Helldivers II remains an entertaining romp of online co-op fun. It flexes its muscles with wacky lines, a large number of ridiculous military objectives, and various ways to strategize and be entertained.

All that aside, PoE is an experience I am still working through at the time of this article. It’s tough and long, but absolutely rewarding, and it makes it very clear why games in the lineage of the genre — Baldur’s Gate, Icewind Dale, and so on — are still held in such high regard today. Someday I hope to tackle those, but until then, PoE will keep me very busy.

Its shameless implementation of 90s-era mechanics and design does mean that participants will need to have a love for conventional JRPGs—and perhaps a bit of patience to endure the homogeneity of the first part of the game—but beyond that, Bravely Default is a great experience.

There’s a reason why humankind has found space travel to be so alluring. It’s mysterious, expansive, and comprised of limitless opportunity. Starfield taps into each of those aspects incredibly well. Once you get past the ridiculously complicated and information-heavy tutorial, the game opens up into a loop of players’ own imagination rather than a linear highway most are expecting. Starfield changes the RPG game by adding a slow burn of a main quest alongside a character management system that keeps players’ power in check. It’s nearly perfect, and I can’t wait to spend another chunk of my life playing another excellent Bethesda RPG.

DOOM is a masterful reboot of one of the most important and legendary franchises in the history of games; bravo to id and Bethesda.

There's a lot to love about this game, and not a lot to criticize. It's a wonderful experience that brings online and offline intensity to an entirely new level. DICE and EA did a great job with Battlefield 3 and I hope they continue this trend for the next game.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge has a ridiculous magic to it. The game is one of the best cooperative experiences players can have, not only because six players can wreck through the Foot Clan but because it evokes those nostalgic days of gaming with your friends on a couch during the weekend. Drenched in admiration for the Turtles franchise, Tribute Games has created a beat ’em up that chooses to perfectly encapsulate what the genre was for licensed titles two decades ago. Players seeking bells and whistles and newer mechanics might be disappointed that the game does not push the envelope. Yet Shredder’s Revenge is an immense joy for players who want to be taken back to the past or simply have quick bouts of fun wildly mashing buttons to beat up vibrant villains as some of the best heroes we’ve had in entertainment.

Midnight Munchies have done something incredibly novel with ONE BTN BOSSES. They’ve merged bullet hell gameplay loops with a striking visual aesthetic to create a highly replayable arcade game that, yes, only needs one button. While I personally want more bullet hell bosses and a deeper roguelike mode, there’s enough in this delightful package to hold me over for hours to come.

Metal Gear Solid Δ: Snake Eater respects its source material in ways that other games should follow suit. The story is retained, each emotional gutpunch hits home just as hard (if not harder), and the core stealth gameplay that you and I grew to love in our adolescence is preserved. While it’s hard to ignore that this MGS lacks Kojima and the segmented maps are archaic, it’s just as hard to ignore that this iteration of MGS3 is the faithful modernization you and I deserve.