On the surface, Etrian Odyssey Untold may look like a retread, but the enhancements made to the 2007 DS original are substantial enough for veteran players to give it a whirl, and the barrier of entry has been lowered so that anyone who calls themselves an RPG fan can find enjoyment.

A clever game that taps into your inner perfectionist, Overcooked is a delicious treat that plays great and is low on carbs.

Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy may not be able to quite match the humor of James Gunn’s MCU films, but it’s packed with plenty of personality and decently fun (if not groundbreaking) combat. To its great credit, Eidos-Montréal’s story-driven approach always keeps the focus on its ragtag team of heroes, making for a worthwhile and memorable trip to the Cosmic Marvel universe.

Like a good roller coaster, Oxenfree starts with nervous laughter, escalating to an event that leaves the character white-knuckled and wishing they had stayed home.

All the DLC of the original—including costumes and more STAR Labs missions—plus a little nex-gen shine makes a great fighting game even better.

Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE promises spectacle, and boy does it deliver—but all the flashy scenes, Fire Emblem cameos, and J-Pop in the world can’t cover up cramped world design and loads and loads of loading.

Better A.I. and combat mechanics than the first Darkness, gorgeously painted environments, and the same ol' omnipotent snake-headed dark force makes for one heck of a game play combination.

The first new-generation Pokémon game to release on a proper home console does not disappoint. New features like Dynamaxing and the Wild Area are fun additions that make the experience of becoming a Pokémon champion still feel fresh. It’s just a shame that Game Freak didn’t lean into the new features more than they did.

New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe is a must-have for Switch owners who skipped the Wii U. Packaged with two complete games and a plethora of challenges to complete, the Deluxe version will give you plenty of bang for your buck. Even if you already owned the game, it’s worth trying on the Switch, if only to have a mobile, 2D Mario game at the ready. It might not be as difficult as past Mario games, but it’s never not fun.

Hearkening back to a bygone era of simple-yet-deep arcade games where you played for score, not story, Luftrausers takes basic ideas in concept and execution and turns them into hours of challenging, chaotic fun.

For all the technology and exceptional design this new Modern Warfare musters, the only message it can offer is woefully jejune: If governments might be mistaken in their judgments or actions, if the act of war itself might be inescapably evil, at least we can still rely on badass warriors who will do whatever it takes to hold back the evil forces that would come to hurt us in the night, to destroy us because they hate our freedom.

A clear example of a studio going to the well with a franchise one too many times. Although highly polished and still entertaining for fans of the franchise, Ascension lacks the soul of its predecessors as it scrapes the bottom of the Greek-mythology barrel to try to deliver on a franchise that’s clearly run dry of fresh ideas.

Though the games themselves may be a little too obscure or esoteric for some fighting-game fanatics, Capcom’s under-appreciated Darkstalkers series has been brought back in fantastic fashion in Darkstalkers Resurrection.

The classic 2D and 3D platforming games are just as addictive as ever, and the new X Challenges bring a new set of trials for seasoned players to tackle. Newcomers are also welcome with the Rookie Hunter mode, making these collections the definitive way to experience the franchise.

LEGO Dimensions moves the toys-to-life genre in a new direction by introducing the need to build (and rebuild) your toys, and manipulate them during the game. This combined with the brilliant mash-up of different properties makes for a LEGO game fans of the series won’t want to miss.

Loathe as I am to lazily make comparisons, Capy did so first. Super Time Force is exactly as advertised: Braid meets Contra wish a dash of cartoony approach to time-travel. The result is just as spectacularly stupid and spectacularly good as you’d expect from such a description, with an added dash of think-y fun formed by layering multiple reality loops. Sounds bananacakes? Well, it is. And it’s great.

The story takes a step backward, and the new game modes aren't that impressive. Mostly, it's just the same ol' Jigglypuff song and dance from Pokemon Black/White 2.

The first new-generation Pokémon game to release on a proper home console does not disappoint. New features like Dynamaxing and the Wild Area are fun additions that make the experience of becoming a Pokémon champion still feel fresh. It’s just a shame that Game Freak didn’t lean into the new features more than they did.

It’s rare that a game can succeed at offering something for all audiences, but Puppeteer manages to accomplish just that. With a charming story, innovative gameplay, and a theatrical visual style that’s impossible not to love, this platformer’s a great fit for parents, kids, and everyone in between.

The journey of Metro Exodus is more rollercoaster than train ride, with peaks and troughs rather than a steady level of quality throughout. Its technical issues make the product feel rushed, but these are worth suffering for a series that’s ultimately heading down the right track.

Sony San Diego’s hardball sim only sees incremental changes this year, but several of them—particularly directional hitting—are welcome. The core game remains solid and even spectacular in places, but online remains a total joke.

The perfect bridge between Season One and Two of The Walking Dead, 400 Days expertly sets up new characters in fun, interesting bite-sized chunks that will do nothing but get fans more hyped for Season Two.

While there’s little new here to differentiate between titles besides the change of scenery to WWII’s Eastern Front, Relic once again delivers a premiere RTS experience.

Rime captures the essence of adventure through its mysterious locale’s various paths, inviting visuals, and well-designed puzzles, but it also seeks to use its gameplay mechanics as a storytelling device. While variety isn’t strong throughout its run, the world created offers an experience that—at least for one playthrough—is worth taking.

In Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy, players familiar with the original Naughty Dog games will be welcome back into the vibrant world inhabited by Crash, Coco, and their journey to defeat Neo Cortex. However, developer Vicarious Visions has done more than slap a fresh coat of paint on the games by creating a cohesive platforming system and visual language across all three titles.

Danganronpa’s heavy storyline segments and somber themes won’t be for everyone, but for Vita owners looking for something fresh, stylish, and enthralling to play on their handheld of choice, this is an utterly fascinating game that shouldn’t be missed.

In a time of movie-scale video games with photorealistic graphics, downloadable content, post-launch patches, and 50+ hours of game play, Mega Man Legacy Collection reminds us all of the perfection demanded from both developers and gamers in the 8-bit era of gaming.

There’s some strong core gameplay to Hyper Light Drifter, but not much else. Unfortunately, no amount of nostalgia is going to make up for that.

While the original Gravity Rush pushed the Vita to its limited, Gravity Rush 2 is unleashed upon the far more powerful PlayStation 4, giving us a game that’s as big in scope and substance as the concept designs its world and characters were born from. Among Sony’s efforts to give their console a wide array of more niche experiences, this gravity-controlling Kat is Queen.

The first new-generation Pokémon game to release on a proper home console does not disappoint. New features like Dynamaxing and the Wild Area are fun additions that make the experience of becoming a Pokémon champion still feel fresh. It’s just a shame that Game Freak didn’t lean into the new features more than they did.

While the driving is superb and the visuals are stunning, the inherent limitations of Rivals‘ AllDrive concept begin to hamper the experience near the end. The result is a game that’s three-quarters great fun, one-quarter miserable, frustrating slog.

New aspects in NHL 16 like the on-ice trainer and the Morale system in Be a GM give the game some welcome layers of depth, and the actual gameplay is as good as ever. However, you can’t help but get the sense that the biggest additions to this year’s game just came from putting back features that were cut from last year’s title.

Another solid Pokémon spin-off, but die-hard fans will quickly miss much of the gameplay from the main series.

Madden NFL 19 is, in pretty much every way, less exciting than its predecessor, at least on a conceptual level. Last year’s game had a new engine and a completely new mode to boast. This year’s biggest selling point—Real Player Motion—definitely makes running a more viable offensive option. Otherwise, all you’re getting is part two of what’s becoming an unnecessary trend in EA’s sports-related telenovelas and a whole lot of advertising for Madden Ultimate Team.

Rising is one hell of a rollercoaster ride that all Metal Gear fans should definitely play, but more than a decade after MGS2, it turns out that I’m still frustrated in the role of Raiden. But this time, it’s simply because the game doesn’t quite unleash his full potential.

Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony is a worthwhile new chapter in Spike Chunsoft’s now-beloved series about the struggle between despair and hope, bringing some legitimate twists and shocking surprising with it. It also, however, serves as a sign that Danganronpa may be running out of steam—and that this should perhaps be the chapter where we say goodbye to that adorable psychopath Monokuma.

If you love a great story and some fun first-person shooter action, Metro: Last Light is sure to please. Only a couple of minor shortcomings hold the experience back, including the much-improved—but still not completely polished—stealth gameplay.

Still a stellar fighting game, but if you already have it on a console, there's no point in picking it up again.

Pokémon: Let’s Go, Eevee! may be a remake of the oldest Pokémon games in the series, but it shakes up the standard Pokémon formula more than any of the main games since. With a catching system reminiscent of Pokémon Go, an adorable Eevee or Pikachu partner, multiplayer, and gorgeous graphics, the Let’s Go games have something to offer for every Pokémon fan, though the game’s changes may be just different enough to throw off the nostalgia for returning players.

While The Last Story is a solid offering from Japanese RPG legend Hironobu Sakaguchi, the boilerplate storytelling, familiar tropes, and lack of meaningful exploration make it feel like it could have been so much more.

HAL Laboratory fails to innovate at all within the puzzle genre and throws many of the same obstacles at you over and over again—to the point where BoxBoy! is as plain a platformer as its monochromatic motif.

Great gameplay and a humorous, well-written plot are more than enough to help LEGO City Undercover overcome some of the franchise’s lingering technical flaws, making it one of the few worthwhile experiences on the Wii U.

It’s tempting to call Dragon’s Crown Pro a lazy rerelease, because beyond a slight visual bump and new orchestration of the soundtrack, this is basically the same game from 2013. The thing is, five years later, it’s still an incredibly engrossing experience, so I can appreciate the effort in simply bringing that same game to modern hardware.

A House Divided is the weakest episode, by far, in Telltale’s Walking Dead series. Much of the action and plot “twists” are predictable and don’t hold nearly as much weight as in previous episodes.

Kirby’s debut on the 3DS could not have been better as new powers and puzzles complement classic Kirby gameplay to provide an experience both fresh and familiar to longtime fans.

This new-gen installment of the inFAMOUS franchise offers a new hero, a new city, and tons of new powers. But this is still inFAMOUS at heart, and it’s filled with familiar—if refined—open-world gameplay. Protagonist Delsin Rowe’s story is more interesting than former leading man Cole MacGrath’s, and his powers are more fun to use, too. As far as I’m concerned, this is the first must-play PS4 title.

New franchises are always risky business, but Tom Clancy’s The Division delivered on everything it promised and more, with only the occasional hiccup.

One of the best Vita games becomes one of Sony’s best PlayStation 4 offerings. While its portable origins mean the game never truly pushes the console on a technical level, Bluepoint has refreshed and reworked the original Gravity Rush with the care it deserved for its debut in high definition.

Paper Mario: The Origami King once again takes the series in a completely different direction. Mushroom Kingdom is bigger and more alive than it’s ever been, but it comes packaged with a combat system that quickly becomes stagnant.

Taiko no Tatsujin: Rhythm Festival is a solid new entry in Bandai Namco’s rhythm game franchise, offering a roster of fresh music to enjoy, some creative new game modes, and more unlockables to have fun collecting. The game doesn’t offer as many multiplayer options as its predecessor did, but does feature more to keep solo players occupied. Rhythm Festival also offers what is arguably the biggest addition the franchise has ever seen, the Taiko Music Pass—a new music subscription service that can greatly expand the life of the game while also bringing with it some additional concerns over our subscription-laiden future.

Pushmo’s Wii U debut maintains the franchise’s exceptional standard of fun, deep puzzles, but don’t be surprised if you find yourself occasionally missing the portability and 3D functionality of the first two games.

Making a spin-off to a beloved niche series that then drops its most popular character seemed like a crazy idea at first, but Judgment is a success beyond what I could have expected. Though it never quite escapes the shadow of its older siblings, this tale of a fallen lawyer and his refusal to let go of the truth provides an experience that has a lot to offer both Yakuza fans and newcomers alike.

Forza Motorsport 5’s Career mode is a shell of its former self, giving little reason for players to keep coming back. Couple this with a dismal launch lineup of cars and tracks, and this is a surprising step backward for the Forza franchise as it helps kick off Microsoft’s next-gen console.

Firewall Zero Hour is one of the most precise and tactical VR shooters out there. Too bad the systems surrounding it are so wanting.

The best thing I can say about The King of Fighters XIII is that-mentally and emotionally-it took me back to the era of the NeoGeo and reminded me of why I fell in love with SNK's fighting games in the first place. Forget KOFXII-this is the company's true first step in trying to remind the world that it continues to be royalty in the genre it once ruled over. I just hope enough players out there are still ready to listen.

Far Cry 6 barely hangs together on the strength of the gameplay loop it inherits from its predecessors. Beyond the addition of some fun new toys, like the “resolver” weapons and Supremo backpacks, nearly every design change is mystifyingly for the worse, and the mismatch between the gameplay and storytelling ambitions is more conspicuous than ever.

Fans of The Walking Dead comic book or TV show will love the character development and attention to detail this first episode takes. The only downside is a lack of replay value and the waiting for Episode 2.

For fans of Dishonored, Knife of Dunwall does not disappoint. And for those less infatuated than I, the Daud DLC may offer a promising look at the series’ potential. Unfortunately, Knife of Dunwall’s across-the-board improvements are incremental at best.

The Evil Within feels like a project shackled by the desire to relive past survival-horror glories instead of pioneering brave new ones. Sometimes, it seems, giving fans what they think they want isn’t really the proper course of action.

Easily the best Lego game yet, Lego Batman 2: DC Superheroes' expansive world, original story, and bevy of unlockables should please fans of all ages.

The strong gameplay design from Kirby’s Epic Yarn still shines a decade later, and the carefully-crafted additions in Extra make the original feel threadbare in comparison. While some of the new features may feel a bit “extra,” that is the name of the game. A couple of addicting new minigames and added higher-difficulty game modes for more advanced players make Kirby’s Extra Epic Yarn a game anyone could enjoy.

Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate is a tough sell for newcomers, but if you’re patient, it’ll make a believer out of you with lots of freedom afforded to your playstyle, even if the controls sometimes make the experience more cumbersome than needed. Hardcore series fans, of course, will need no convincing here.

I was really pleasantly surprised at the tremendous amount of content I was able to get for such a small price and even more pleasantly surprised at how much fun I had with it. If you're looking for something to workout your mental muscles and don't want a plot driven game, then I can't more highly recommend Quarrel.

Pokkén Tournament DX may only provide a few benefits for returning fans, but the improved local multiplayer and expanded roster may be enough to draw back the old crowd. Overly simple AI and easy Challenges make the game’s single-player mode a breeze, but new players may find that simply playing with their favorite Pokémon is enough to enjoy the fight.

Project Warlock is a first-person shooter created by a tiny indie team that punches way above its weight. While its reason for existence may initially seem to be for paying homage to its genre’s forefathers, Project Warlock quickly grows into a game all its own, providing an enthralling shooter experience all the way to the end.

Prey is mildly limited in scope and replay value, but everything that is there will hook players almost immediately. In terms of quality over quantity, Prey made the right trade off.

Until Dawn doesn’t always live up to the potential Supermassive Games envisioned for its ambitious PS4 project, but the game succeeds in enough ways to make it a fascinating and engrossing twist on the horror genre.

New Pokémon Snap might be one of the most thoroughly pleasant games that’s come out for the Switch, if not ever. While the core gameplay is the same as it was in 1999, everything about the 2021 game is better. The environments are visual delights, the Pokémon are lovingly recreated, and the progression and pacing are just right. If the hobby of gaming has started to feel like a second or third job, then New Pokémon Snap might just be the vacation you need.

Whether you just want to play or want to prove you’re a top-notch designer, LittleBigPlanet 3 should have what you’re looking for.

While it's pretty evident that the campaign isn't going to hold its own versus Warfighter or Black Ops 2 this year, Ghost Recon's multiplayer is a teamwork tour de force that'll hook you hard.

An inventive premise and surprisingly deep combat system sits at the core of what could’ve been a great game—if so many technical issues didn’t surround it and detract so much from the whole of the experience.

While it’s not everything it could have been, Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney is still a funny, charming, dramatic, and emotional game, one that brings two very different franchises together into one fantastic gaming crossover.

The true test for The King of Fighters XV is going to come in the days ahead, as the game gets into the hands of the general public and we see how everything fares both online and in far larger pools of player-vs.-player matches. For now, I’m excited for KOF XV. Its gameplay feels solid, its roster is satisfying, and its overall visual design once again does the series justice. I just hope all of those things hold up once the real fight begins.

Ultimately, I’m not sure if Sackboy: A Big Adventure will go down as the most memorable title in the PlayStation 5’s lineup. (Indeed, it’s also available on the PS4, though I can’t speak to that version at all.) I’m also skeptical the realignment away from LittleBigPlanet will help Sackboy join the likes of Mario and Sonic as true platforming icons. But there’s no question fans of the genre will find a lot to love here—and plenty of it.

While Trials Fusion isn’t the best entry in the long-running motorbike-racing franchise, the core of what made previous entries so great remains, which should satisfy longtime fans and newcomers alike.

Hakuoki: Demon of the Fleeting Blossom brings the world of Japanese girl's romance games to America-but is a game that both sexes could find a lot of enjoyment in.

Is it possible that the fourth version of a fighting game built on a simple control scheme could still be worth visiting? Yes, and the developer’s devotion to the series gives current fans and those who may get bit by the Naruto bug down the line a good reason to start the game up with friends again and again.

Just Dance 2014 has a lot going for it. The tracklist is solid and offers a varied selection of musical stylings (though it never strays too far from dancey, which is to be expected), and the choreography is accessible, but still provides something of a challenge for anyone looking to really nail a routine down to its details.

In an era when so many other wrestling games continue to focus on style over substance, a legendary Japanese franchise returns to remind its rivals of how things should be done. While Fire Pro Wrestling World isn’t without room for fixes or improvements, it’s still by far the best video game wrestling experience to arrive in recent memory. It’s been 12 years since the last proper Fire Pro game, but it was absolutely worth the wait.

Sniper Elite 5 is the best game in the series so far. Its intricately designed levels, deep weapon customization system, and satisfying gameplay offer hours upon hours of entertaining ways to kill Nazis. After five games, the game’s story and character development still feel too underdeveloped, making every mission blend together in an unending series of contextless kill cams and gravelly voiced one-liners, but if you don’t care about any of that then you will still find a lot to enjoy.

Final Fantasy XIII-2 isn't quite on par with the best Final Fantasy adventures, but it's a competent, enjoyable adventure from start to finish-something the series has been lacking in recent years.

Despite a few minor technical issues, OlliOlli‘s simple, focused take on skateboarding is smart enough to breathe new life into the waning genre.

Anyone hoping that Battlefield would finally get a respectable single-player campaign will be sorely disappointed, but if you’re looking for a worthy evolution of the franchise’s sweeping multiplayer battles, you’ve come to the right place.

Great level design, strong replayability, and beautiful graphics more than make up for a sometimes-disjointed plot. The New Order proudly exclaims that Wolfenstein is back, and this new entry should be played by all FPS fans.

Pit People offers a ton of game to chew on, and while it might not be the deepest tactical RPG, it manages to translate The Behemoth’s distinctive style while providing an entertaining, often engaging strategic experience. It might not reach the insane heights of BattleBlock Theater’s take on the 2D platformer, but Pit People almost does something even more impressive, by taking an often opaque genre and turning it into an enjoyable romp.

Though its visuals still betray the legacy of SNK’s rich and gorgeous 2D sprite work, The King of Fighters XIV revives the glory of the franchise where it counts most: gameplay and core mechanics. This will hopefully be the first step in a better future for the series, but even this unpolished first entry is worth the time for longtime fans and newcomers alike.

Tales of Berseria flips the traditional heroic story on its head, taking up instead with the vengeance-driven journey of daemon-eater Velvet Crowe and the unapologetically villainous crew of misfits she picks up along the way. A fun premise and some great skits make for a good story, though middle-of-the-road combat and fairly boring dungeons and fields bog the gameplay down.

While the emphasis on fast-paced replayability and a more intimate, nuanced narrative do wonders for Judgment‘s single-player campaign, the game is ultimately held back by its surprisingly meager multiplayer offering.

A bright and shiny pool game with excellent physics and deep gameplay. Single-player suffers from too difficult AI, but multiplayer succeeds on every level. A solid choice for pool fans.

Halo Wars 2 does a fantastic job building on the foundation laid out by the original game. New modes and new characters highlight what is a fun return to the Halo universe, even if the campaign is shorter than I’d prefer.

1989’s Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap could have felt way out of its league here in 2017, but the impressive job that LizardCube has done updating it for our modern era has really given it a second life. It’s a great retro-meets-future gaming experience marred occasionally by elements that just don’t work as well all these years later.

Call of Duty: WWII’s changes to the core Call of Duty experience are few but distinct. This leads to a good balance between relishing everything Call of Duty used to be and still continuing to move the series forward.

Mafia: Definitive Edition is the best of both worlds. Its updated graphics bring Lost Heaven and its inhabitants to life without burdening them with modern game design elements. While the characters themselves haven’t aged as well, Mafia: Definitive Edition, though based on a game that’s nearly 20 years old, feels more refreshing than most open-world games.

All That Remains is a fine way to kick off the second season of The Walking Dead. Telltale made some interesting design decisions putting players in the role of Clementine, and most of their choices—but not all—work out nicely.

Between gorgeous visuals, engaging combat—on Chaos mode, at least—a sizable chunk of Genroku-era Japan to soak in and wander about, and a solid length (anything between eight to 12 hours, depending on how much exploring you do), Muramasa Rebirth is well worth any Vita owner’s time.

The best and worst thing about Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands is that it feels like another Borderlands game. The shooter gameplay is as tight and responsive as ever, the weapons are fun to use, and the writing is a marked improvement over Borderlands 3. The characters are once again at the center of the game’s comedy, and the performances are great (when the actors are actually committing to their roles). But, because this is more Borderlands, a lot of the same annoyances with the series persist, especially when it comes to inventory management and the sheer amount of meaningless loot. Really, Wonderlands’ worst offense is that it can’t get over the series’ legacy of looting and shooting, and misses the opportunity to take real inspiration from the tabletop worlds that it parodies.

Detroit: Become Human is a testament to how far the genre of interactive narrative storytelling has come and, at the same time, how much further it can go. While it might still suffer from some annoying QTE moments and a few narrative speedbumps, it delivers on promises that many other games in this genre make yet fail to keep, especially in how the choices you make can lead to very different experiences down the line.

A Way Out hearkens back to the days of couch co-op, placing players in the shoes of two criminals who must solve puzzles and support one another to escape. The game’s emotional drama runs alongside its silly undertone, making for a game that’s both moving and, at times, unintentionally hilarious.