Nioh 2 is a balanced and beautiful game. It will certainly frustrate you to the point where you will want to walk away, but that first victory over a big bad demon will ignite a thirst in you to continue your difficult journey through ancient Japan. This game is not for the weak of heart, but most know that going into it.

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.

LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens isn’t simply another movie licensed turned into a LEGO game. It’s a beautiful opus for the LEGO series that shows that Tt Games isn’t resting on its laurels enjoying the money rolling in. The developers have put a lot of love into the presentation, gameplay depth and overall experience to bring a top-tier game that should entertain both adults and kids. Kudos to them for keeping the series fresh.

EA Tiburon did a fantastic job with making the right adjustments for this year’s Madden title. Improved defense and a more balanced offense makes for a fun football experience.

Phantasy Star is the best release so far from the Sega Ages series. It shows off innovation, outside the box thinking, and, after all these years, it is still a blast to play. It’s one for the ages, folks.

Wizordum from developer Emberheart Games is an experience that contains a 90s first-person shooter backbone with modern gameplay elements to keep it fun and relevant. Not all gamers will buy into this mix of old and new, which will be a missed opportunity on their part.

It's exactly the game we all wanted it to be. As long as the Azure server infrastructure can keep up with demand, Respawn's idea will continue to work perfectly. Pilot v. Pilot, Pilot v. Titan, Titan v. Titan. All of the possible gameplay scenarios are compelling, fair, and fun.

Illfonic completely understands what it takes to fulfill every player’s wish of being a Ghostbuster in Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed. While some of the gameplay elements could be tweaked a bit better to provide a bit more of a responsive experience, I truly felt like a Ghostbuster the entire time. With awesome story beats placed throughout to keep the leveling-up experience worthwhile and exciting gameplay to keep every job feeling fun, Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed is the realization of the perfect Ghostbusters experience.

Ritual of the Moon’s takes five minutes from twenty-eight consecutive days to consider, measure, and test the variable nature of morality. It’s a cycle of play that finds a rhythm with the player’s social and behavioral conflict, and questions that seemed trapped in ethereal ambience reveal honest and unexpected conclusions. My own introspection and negligence, as it turns out, have a lot in common.

Overall, Spelunky 2 is an absolute delight to play, even in the midst of my repeating failure in the game. Its randomized level generator and the bevy of tools to strategize your way through each level makes for a fun time. While the PvP isn’t up to snuff with the main adventure, the ability to play this game with friends (online or local) will keep you occupied for months to come.

Spyro: Reignited Trilogy is a wonderful recreation of three of my favorite games from my childhood. I’m so happy that I got to experience the games again in a new way, and it really excites me knowing a new generation will get to experience it as well. Is it the last time we’ll get to see Spyro and his buddy Sparx outside of the Skylanders franchise? I certainly hope not. And if this much love has gone into this remake, it would be a shame if it was.

In sum, Skunkape has done another excellent job remastering an old point-and-click gem from the Telltale archives of years past. Though I wouldn’t put the Sam & Max episodic adventures in my all time list for the genre, they do rank highly, and are absolutely worth playing if you enjoy the genre or want to experience some zany plots and characters. We’ll look forward to the third and final remaster hopefully next year.

MLB The Show 25 from San Diego Studio is a good upgrade from last year’s game. The gameplay feels tighter and smoother on the offense and defense side of the field. Including the new feature Diamond Quest gives more depth to what a typical baseball game would be, bringing in new ideas on how you can compete in Diamond Dynasty. MLB leads the way again by bringing a solid experience and off-beat innovation that works more than it doesn’t.

Expressed in modest trappings, Nidhogg quietly aims to recast the mold of a competitive fighting game.

Mega Man Star Force Legacy Collection is a near-complete collection of the Nintendo DS’ Mega Man titles. Featuring welcome quality of life benefits, new-and-improved (for the most part) audio/visuals, along with online play, it’s a must-have for a Mega Man fan wanting to replay some of the best titles in the series’ history.

At the end of the day, NCAA Football 12 is a very deep and rich football experience that any college football fan shouldn't miss.

Graphically, Shardlight features some really pretty pixel art. Not every scene is worth writing home about, but the vast majority are. Tiberius’ appearance and voice-acting set an appropriate chilling tone for example, while the wide color palette from the radioactive greens of the shards to the browns and darker tones of a dystopian world push for a great atmosphere. Combined with a script and voice-acting that ranges from good to excellent, and a soundtrack that compliments the mood perfectly, and you got yourself a great game.

Bye-Bye Boxboy! is a succinct, value-packed title. It’s the bookend of a great puzzle series and it doesn’t try to be more than what it is — an addictive puzzler that’s accessible and not overly difficult. For only $5, it’s an excellent deal and can be enjoyed it short five minute spurts or for much longer at a time. No 3D support is included, so you can enjoy this just as well on a 2DS as a 3DS. If you’re into puzzlers, or this series already, this is probably the easiest recommendation I’ll make all year.

Despite a few frame rate issues and dated graphics, Earth Defense Force 2025 is an insane amount of fun.

Pyre understands the primal thrill behind executing a dangerous slam dunk and the dueling probabilities of luck and dexterity necessary to make it happen. With Pyre, Supergiant Games' passion for systems-driven trials of skill and fondness for vibrant, wistful fantasy converge in the Mutant League NBA Jam daydream role-playing game I never knew I always wanted.

A robust, entirely worthwhile release that gives you plenty of bang for the buck and expands upon one of last year's best games in a purposeful way.

Furi becomes essential by identifying and removing what it declares expendable.

Crow Country is the perfect kind of nostalgic trip, one that doesn’t bait players along in hopes of being more of the same thing they remembered. The best games of its type work to wedge themselves into the library of classics they were inspired by. Crow Country looks, sounds, and plays similar to old 32- and 64-bit games because it is, not because it wants to be.

Crimson Desert is almost impossible not to recommend in its past, present, or future state for anyone who has a fondness for open-world games. There are numerous ways myself or others could add or subtract to make it the most ideal personal RPG. But because Pearl Abyss has provided us with so many tools already, it’s hard not to appreciate and soak up the boundless freedom provided here. I’m absolutely curious what it will look like in the fall after months of tinkering have settled in. Maybe co-op will get added, maybe it will just be more pets. Either way, it’s hard to deny the resounding success Crimson Desert is right now.

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.

I’m thrilled that Switch 2 owners get a chance to enjoy the OG Switch’s best games, but whether or not the Switch 2 update breathes life into Animal Crossing: New Horizons remains to be seen. The 12-player online play is nice in theory, but it’s far from enjoyable thanks to Nintendo’s archaic approach to online play. The Megaphone and mouse-capability are nice-to-have changes, taking some of the pain out from relying on Joy-Cons for minute adjustments. The biggest benefits of the Switch 2 upgrade are its pro-consumer pricing and its utilization of the console’s processing power.

Techno Banter deftly expresses that bleary-eyed, frenetic atmosphere of an all-nighter. Betwixt all the madcap quests echoing the lasers and blacklights piercing the foggy dancefloor is a thrumming beat. This is not as simple as just being a game. In fact, the gamey bits are more of a vehicle delivering players to the true charm of its writing, which is both humorous and sincere. And much like that 4am rave, Techno Banter will linger on the senses long into the daylight.

As my first Pikmin experience, I really enjoyed Hey! Pikmin for a variety of reasons and found little wrong with it. Whether you have played a Pikmin game before or not, or are just looking for a fun game that’s not too easy and certainly not too hard, give this one a go. I believe a demo is still available from the eShop at the time of this writing as well.