While Persona 3: Dancing in Moonlight is weak on content, the game does a great job at celebrating the absolutely stellar soundtrack of the third entry in the iconic JRPG series.

Earth Must Die is an unapologetically hilarious and campy sci-fi romp adventure with perhaps one of the best playable villains in recent memory. This game vigorously scratches a nostalgia itch that will undoubtedly be felt more strongly by some (like me) more than others, and a generational gap may leave younger players culturally ostracized from this experience for one reason or another. However, for the demographic that it's definitely meant to serve, Size Five Games has knocked it out of the park yet again. The gameplay itself and point-and-click puzzle mechanics can feel a bit finicky and frustrating at times in light of how much everything else shines so vividly, but that's still not enough to diminish the whimsical, nostalgic spark this game provides.

Its low skill barrier should not be confused with a lack of quality. Minecraft Dungeons does a tremendous job translating the world of Minecraft into a dungeon crawler.

Tails of Iron 2: Whiskers of Winter is a great sequel that is bigger and more punishing in the best way. The addition of elemental spells and a monster-hunting gameplay loop make the overall experience a huge improvement over its predecessor. However, the game has some issues that are hard to ignore. Due to the game's large focus on exploiting elemental weaknesses, it's hard to create a reliable build without having to constantly switch gear to accommodate the upcoming boss or biome. Additionally, the increased emphasis on enemies using elemental AoE attacks mixed with multiple enemies in some encounters can really make it difficult to focus on what's happening on screen. Still, Tails of Iron 2: Whiskers of Winter does enough stuff right to warrant its existence, and any fan of the first should definitely play it.

Road to Boruto goes above and beyond what I expect from an anime-inspired game. Not a single facet of this game is done lazily and everything has the same effort and care put into it. Barring some minuscule graphical issues and somewhat shoddy plot points, Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 Road to Boruto is this generation’s Dragon Ball Z: Budokai. It’s the eponymous anime fighting game and is one that will not only be remembered fondly but will also be revisited to see what a great anime fighter looks like.

Windjammers is a fun and fantastic multiplayer arcade game and the Nintendo Switch version takes advantage of that strength.

Easily one of the best VR shooters on PlayStation VR at the moment.

I enjoyed my time with Fate/Extella: The Umbral Star as it satisfied my craving for a game in the Fate universe. The fighting controls are tight and responsive, and the action is intense. The lack of enemy variation was disappointing, but it didn’t take away from the frenetic fun of pulling off well animated combos against thousands of aggressors.

There is nothing particularly revolutionary about Sniper Elite: Resistance, but games don't always need to do that to be good. This is a fun game that serves as a window to an important part of history, and if you enjoyed Sniper Elite 5, you will most definitely love this. If you are new to the franchise, I highly recommend giving this a go if you crave that tactical espionage fix typically associated with classic Metal Gear. Just remember: headshots only.

If not for the relationship between yourself and Turing, as well as the backstories, interactions, and performances of the secondary characters, there wouldn’t be much to keep one engaged. Thankfully all of that is present and make Neo-San Francisco and the stories it holds worth playing through to the very end.

Filled with well over 150 levels between the base game and the New Super Luigi U expansion, there’s more than enough in NSMBU Deluxe to keep players occupied on-the-go or surrounding a big-screen TV.

Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order is one of the most cathartic and fan service heavy Marvel games ever.

The icy hellscape of Frostpunk 2 translates surprisingly well to Sony's sleek console. The PlayStation 5 occasionally has hiccups, and the DualSense controller is far from ideal for a strategy game this intricate, but the game does a brilliant job patching over these issues to let you enjoy a strong narrative experience. I got to build what I thought were thriving civilizations, and then watch them fall apart through my own shortsightedness. Frostpunk 2 is a beautiful, honest depiction of how far humanity can go when survival is the only ambition, and it makes my multiple political downfalls worth living.

After five games, the Sudden Strike series has established itself as one of the best real-time strategy titles available, and Sudden Strike 5 keeps this legacy alive and well. The large maps give you plenty of tactical flexibility, unit pricing is well-balanced, and the new smart management features are a lifesaver for anyone allergic to micromanagement. This is not a revolutionary release, and I have some gripes with durability and effectiveness of certain unit types, but Sudden Strike 5 remains a welcome take on a winning formula.

This is an honest entry into football gaming, the kind you can buy this year and enjoy for two, or three seasons, or however long it takes for EA Sports to add new features worth checking out. Career Mode remains a far cry from Football Manager, and the licensing situation might as well have changed the series name to "European Football 25". Odds are it will not get better for a while. FC 25 is like watching football: a mix of great moments, frustration, and occasionally asking yourself "Why did I put two hours into this". The answer is that FC 25, like football, is just good fun.

Super Mario Run isn’t breaking the mold for App Store games, but it does have a certain Nintendo quality, charm and polish that is frankly unmistakable. A unique twist on the Mario formula, Nintendo has been able to substantively add to the genre in a meaningful way. Everyone with an iPhone should go ahead and try the title – even if they don’t end up investing in the $10 entry fee.

A great experience and is one of the funniest games I have ever played.

Closing Thoughts: It won't blow your socks off, but Mind Over Magnet will at least loosen your legwear with its incredible understanding of game design fundementals, a magnet gimmick that feels fresh, solid visuals that serve the gameplay perfectly, and music that I could listen to for hours. It won't last you too long, and it doesn't try to do anything super out of the ordinary, but it's a short and sweet game that hits a home run for every ball it's batting at.

Hey! Pikmin is an incredibly fun platformer that’s easy to pick up and doesn’t take a ton of hours to finish like many games that have come out this year. While I was able to get through the game in a couple of days, reaching 100% completion on each level will take some time and serious dedication.

Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 is the best-looking game on the PlayStation 5 right now. The beauty of its graphics is jaw-dropping and helps enhance the emotional impact of its set pieces and carefully choreographed levels throughout its 6-hour story. The new features, such as developer commentary, 60 FPS, improved photo mode, and Dark Rot Mode, are great additions that improve the already fantastic base game and are enough to justify the investment. However, this sequel isn't a game for everyone, and those who have never played it should go into it with their expectations in check. It's a walking simulator focused on delighting its players through fidelity and cinematics, rather than having fun through its gameplay.

Dragon Quest III HD-2D is unapologetically a remake made for long-time series fans. Anyone looking for a faithful representation of the classic game with updated graphics will get precisely that. The addition of Ortega's backstory is mildly interesting, but it doesn't elevate the story, which remains extremely basic. Gameplay and exploration remain the highlights of Dragon Quest III HD-2D and will provide hours of enjoyment for turn-based RPG enthusiasts. While it might serve as an entry point for newcomers to the franchise, its mechanics stand in contrast to what many expect from a contemporary RPG, potentially deterring them within a few hours.

Ape Out is a great little gem and one that works great as a portable single-player game for when you want to kill time. Loading times are adequate and don’t keep you staring at your reflection for too long, and the art style and the music work together in harmony. If you’re not a fan of twin-stick titles and potential bursts of rage-quitting, then this might not be the game for you. But if you want to be a banana munching gorilla on a rampage, then Ape Out is right up your alley.

Neither a full-fledged sequel nor a cheap cash grab, XCOM: Chimera Squad is a solid spin-off with a smaller scale approach to the XCOM formula.

For the King isn’t hesitant to punish players for dumb moves or unlucky rolls.

428: Shibuya Scramble left an empty feeling in my stomach once I had finished, as I realized my time with these characters had come to a close and no new significant time would be spent with them. It’s a familiar feeling, one that punctuates the end of stories that I was always sad to have to finally put down.

Rivals of Aether II gives fans of the genre a lot to love, with the promise of even more on the way, and the game is constantly getting patches and improving. If it offered a proper story mode and slightly more intuitive mechanics on top of cleaning up the skins for clarity's sake, it would be up there with the best fighting games ever. It feels incredible to play, the music is awesome, and the visuals are some of the most unique in the industry without feeling like they're compromising for frame rate. If you're a fan of Smash Bros. gameplay, you owe it to yourself to give Rivals of Aether II a shot, but you should know that it's still a work in progress, even after release.

Dungeon crawlers aren’t for everyone, but Demon Gaze II is the perfect place to start for players who have yet to try out the genre.

This is the beauty of Mosaic; it’s not just another tale made up for storytelling impact. These are feelings and situations I felt empathy with and that are a current problem within our world today. It’s great to see more developers wanting to go down this route when creating games and wanting to make a difference. I’d be surprised that when the end credits roll on Mosaic, you wouldn’t want to change even the smallest details of your own life for the better.