Burnout Paradise Remastered is a breath of fresh air for the racing genre. It takes the realistic aspects of racing and throws them out the window with fast and furious driving that feels great. The sense of speed achieved as you zip through the streets of Paradise City listening to Soundgarden’s ‘Rusty Cage’ is truly astounding. It’s both frantic and fun.

Among Us VR is a great execution of an extremely popular game - and genre - of recent years. It’s a perfect fit for the medium, and at a refreshingly low price too. As with the base Among Us however, it’s simple stuff - almost a proof-of-concept that this kind of game works in its respective medium - and it may be up to other VR developers to really build on this finger-pointing party game premise to take it to bold new places.

A Plague Tale’s linear story is immediately compelling and gripping.

Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores is a fantastic follow-up to the base game, offering a great new storyline, a beautiful area to explore, and the best boss fight in the series. It's a must-play for Horizon fans.

Call of the Sea is a great start for developer Out of the Blue but didn't entirely capture me on any front, despite standout moments.

Fresh Tracks took an hour or two to click for me, but I was addicted once it did. This is a really unique and fun rhythm game featuring awesome original music that all ties together with an increasingly fun narrative. You'll want to turn off the game's extra/optional sound effects to be able to completely lock-in to the groove, which is a little awkward for a title where sound should be completely dialed in. Still, I can't wait to finish writing this review so I can jump back in and try to improve all my high scores in one of my new favorite rhythm games on the market.

Despite a bug that forced my first playthrough to end prematurely, Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice is an incredible game that will continue to linger with me as a singular and emotionally affecting experience. For its audio and visual design alone, it is stunning, but for its ability to use the video game medium to bridge our understanding of mental illness while also telling a personal and powerful story, it is a masterpiece. If you feel capable of withstanding the emotional strain it requires, a dark and fulfilling tale awaits.

Disgaea 5 Complete is an awesome addition to the Nintendo Switch line-up of games. Taking this time-intensive tactical RPG on the go with me was an enjoyably experience; I am not always at home and willing to spend 80 hours on my couch playing a game. The game’s premise feels like a soap opera at times, but it adds to the enjoyment when acted out by these silly characters. My only word of advice is to bring your Switch charger with you, because you’re going to need it.

Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony is by far the best sequel to a video game series that I have ever played.

Jurassic World Evolution 3 is without a doubt the absolute best dino park management game that has ever been made. Any of the issues or complaints I had from the first two games have either been improved on or completely eradicated. The campaign and challenge modes are worth checking out, but you'll find yourself absolutely absorbed by building and maintaining your park in the sandbox mode. It's a magnificent blend of nostalgia and contemporary game design, and is well worth dumping hours of your life into.

Fantasian Neo Dimension is one of the best JRPGs I have played in a very long time, and that is saying a lot, considering we've had some great releases recently. It has a nostalgic feel to it that is reminiscent of the older Final Fantasy games, almost like stepping into a time machine. The trajectory system in combat is brilliant, it has an interesting story, and the difficulty is just right where it demands strategy while remaining fair throughout. The beautiful world made strictly from handmade dioramas is nothing short of extraordinary and is one of the most creative initiatives I've seen in gaming. Fantasian Neo Dimension does everything right for a turn-based JRPG, and anyone seeking their next great experience in the genre should look no further than this remarkable creation.

It's difficult to review a game like Strange Antiquities as most of the pleasure and pain it derives will depend on if you click with the style of puzzle it presents. But if you're looking for a slightly cozy, slightly dark world in which to inhabit as the nights get longer, then I'd suggest at least checking out the demo of this game to see if it works for you. If it does, there's almost no better feeling in the world than getting that eureka moment as you solve a particularly tricky puzzle.

The writing style and dialogue is unique in each chapter, correlating to how the characters would speak in that time period. The poetic choice of words in the Middle Ages chapter, and the old western Lingo in the Wild West chapter were the most impressive in that respect.

Assassin's Creed Shadows is a bloated collection of uninspired quests that quickly turn into a repetitive, boring grind. While the art and history teams deserve recognition for their efforts, it's all unfortunately wasted on a narrative that goes nowhere, is poorly explained, and has no satisfying resolutions. None of the changes and tweaks that Ubisoft brought to the table move the needle, and the game is ultimately more frustrating than it is fun. This is a game that desperately needed to succeed, and instead, collapses under its own weight. Future Assassin's Creed releases need to innovate instead of being yet another rehash of games we've already played in different locations. There are other open-world games in similar settings that are much more worthy of your time.

While there’s definitely fun to be had with Fuser, the not-particularly-musically-gifted people (like myself) may struggle. The budding Calvin Harris and Tiesto’s of the world, on the other hand, will surely find enjoyment in the game.

The newest Seasons expansion is a welcome addition and enriches the overall gameplay experience.

The aesthetic, charm and gameplay Tokyo Mirage Sessions brings make it worthy to stand on its own and I hope that those who end up playing the game see it this way as well. Nintendo seemed to think that Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE was worthy of an encore here on Switch, and I find it to be a worthy encore, indeed.

At the end of the day, despite its somewhat dated gameplay, I was still impressed by the time the credits rolled. Ninja Gaiden 2 Black reminds us why the franchise was formerly the gold standard for 3D action. It's fast, furious, and a bloody good time. I can't think of a better way to prepare for Ninja Gaiden 4.

Way more than just an annual roster update, WWE 2K24 chronicles the history of sports entertainment's biggest even with its 40 Years of WrestleMania showcase, but it also shines in a massively improved GM mode and four brand new match types.

LEGO Party! stands tall as one of the best games ever in the competitive board game-style genre. Sure, it's derivative of Mario Party, but it also improves on many games in that series in a multitude of ways. Almost all of the 60 mini-games here are truly great, the game boards are creative, and the player customization options feel endless. I do wish it had a couple additional modes and maybe another game board or two, but that's really just because I want more of this awesome title. Regardless, LEGO Party! is such a blast, and a game I sincerely hope catches on so we can keep getting more content and sequels.

Elder Scrolls Online: Dragonhold, while moving the needle a bit in terms of zone design, is ultimately more of the same.

It’s a little disappointing, and really quite surprising, that River City Girls 2 shows very little impetus to improve on its promising predecessor. The girls have still definitely ‘got it,’ and still make this colourful and characterful journey worth it through some rough patches, but there’s a little too much reliance on the assets of the original to make it feel worth the rather steep asking price. The original game made a fan of me, while the sequel just about manages to sustain my loyalty, though that will definitely be affected by how WayForward deal with its woeful frame rate issue in the coming weeks.

If you already love the Borderlands franchise--even the third game—you’re guaranteed to love this newest addition to this chaotic and bombastic looter shooter. Borderlands 4 is undoubtedly my favorite Borderlands game to date. It is a culmination of everything that the franchise has learned thus far and then some. Be it a new traversal, quality-of-life improvements that make the hunt for the perfect legendary all the more palatable, or even vastly improved writing, Borderlands 4 excels in everything its predecessors struggled with. The sheer diversity of characters, gear, and ways to have fun is never-ending, and the open-world format is a surprisingly welcome addition to this amazing co-op FPS. Borderlands 4 is a leap in the right direction, and I can only hope that this trend continues upwards for the rest of the franchise.

House House's Untitled Goose Game is undoubtedly a hilarious experience, but it lacks a varied toolset to maximize said hilarity.

Jung’s theory aside, Persona 3 is all about the time we have, how we choose to spend it and who we choose to spend it with. In this light, the game’s true mechanics shine. The relationships that we forge can—and this is probably true in life—affect our ultimate outcome. And time? Well, it’s hard to think of a better way to spend 50+ hours than getting points for scarfing down takoyaki and fighting bad guys.

All-in-all, a second portion of Overcooked‘s co-op insanity was exactly what I was looking for.

Bloodroots is a very simple, straightforward game at face value, but it’s also one that offers tons of replayability and features a high skill ceiling. If you’re a fan of games that are all about mastering gameplay mechanics in pursuit of that one, perfect run, you really can’t do better so far in 2020 than Bloodroots. It’s a game that I’m very much looking forward to returning to time and time again over the coming months.

Hunt: Showdown offers one of the most strenuous multiplayer experiences I’ve ever had and I loved every second of it. There are some defeating lows and victorious highs that come with its addicting PvPvE gameplay. While it definitely has some things that it still needs to refine with its overall formula, as it stands, it’s a really solid game for those into horror elements and hardcore FPS gameplay.