The story plays out subtly throughout the adventure and adds that something special to make the game more than just a pretty platforming journey.

The biggest complaints with the game are not that the concept and execution aren't good enough, the issue is that the game deserves more content, more attention, and more development of its great ideas.

A Nest Of Vipers delivers an emotional rollercoaster of action, consequence, and a distinctly true Game of Thrones feel that George R.R. Martin himself would approve of.

Save for the ever-encroaching reach for players’ wallets with the Virtual Currency system, the sheer breadth of content alone in NBA 2K19 will be plenty to satisfy newbies and long-time fans of the franchise looking for a complete basketball sim experience.

It's not perfect, but that doesn't stop Behemoth from being one of the best VR games to date. It's an action-packed adventure that should greatly appeal to fans of games like The Legend of Zelda and God of War, with a healthy balance of gritty combat, satisfying puzzles, and immersive exploration. It's the latest must-have VR experience and one of the best virtual reality games to release all year.

In some instances, a remake can feel like a brand new game, but that isn’t entirely the case here. The Last of Us Part 1 is no doubt a better-looking game and the DualSense functionality adds some nice immersive touches to the gameplay, but it doesn’t feel fundamentally different. There’s an exceptional game on display but it was exceptional back in 2013 and 2014 for the remaster. As a result, interest in the game is going to be all over the place. Some will see it as a cash-grab, others will be happy it exists for the new fans that will come from the HBO series, and specific fans will appreciate yet another opportunity to journey with Joel and Ellie in an experience that is one of PlayStation’s best.

It’s visually striking, mechanically sound and diverse, and it takes advantage of the bells and whistles tied to the new platform. Some might be disappointed by the story, but overall the dimension-hopping adventure is exactly the type of fun-loving experience that Insomniac Games has been delivering since the very beginning. At a time when there aren’t a lot of games highlighting the power of next-gen, Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart shows the next big leap for gaming.

The controls are tight, the challenge is stiff, and the graphics are second-to-none. Crash Bandicoot 4 is a highly-polished platformer and stands out as easily one of the best platformers available on current-generation consoles.

Velocibox is a a tremendously hard bit of brilliance. It’s highly replayable and it comes highly recommended.

Cities: Skylines achieves everything we wanted in SimCity with ease.

However, there’s still plenty to the game that make it worth recommending to anyone who’s ever enjoyed holding a plastic instrument in their hands. Make no mistake, Guitar Hero is back — and, thanks to the smart changes made to gameplay and presentation, it’s more satisfying than ever before.

Ratchet and Clank makes the rest of the current-gen remasters looks lazy, by rebuilding the original game from the ground up and delivering a hilarious adventure full of enormous guns.

Resident Evil 2 is definitely worth the price of admission, especially for horror fans or fans of the Resident Evil franchise. The game pays homage to the original release while successfully updating the experience for modern audiences. It’s not perfect, but it’s close, and here’s hoping it inspires Capcom to remake other Resident Evil games in a similar style.

Asgard’s Wrath 2 is without a doubt one of the best VR games and a surefire system seller for Quest 3. It presents an engaging character action experience that leverages the power of Meta’s new VR headset and tech to ensure fast and fluid combat, a rich set of environments, and a scope that is consistently jaw-dropping. Some precision quirks with the combat and the lower fidelity graphics are small gripes but they ultimately do little to hold the game back from being a compelling adventure that is hard to put down. If there is a game to showcase how VR can match the scope and the scale of games like God of War and Zelda, Asgard’s Wrath 2 makes the strongest case yet.

A Plague Tale: Requiem is everything that one could want from a sequel to A Plague Tale: Innocence. It's more ambitious and action-packed than Innocence, and is quite easily one of the best new game releases of the year. The fact that A Plague Tale: Requiem is a day one Xbox Game Pass game adds significant value to Microsoft's subscription service, and anyone with Game Pass should be sure to play it as soon as they can. Those on other platforms shouldn't miss out either, as A Plague Tale: Requiem is easily worth full price. Simply put, A Plague Tale: Requiem is a must-play game.

While every Pikmin game has followed the winning formula that was established two decades ago, each has added its own tweaks here and there. Pikmin 4 seems to have taken the biggest leap in that regard, and yet everything feels like a logical and fitting next step. The core of the gameplay is the same and provides the hours of whimsical RTS challenge and fun that fans expect, while the new modes and mechanics keep it from feeling stale. Every mainline game has been an improvement on the last, and Pikmin 4 is no exception. Other than the co-op, there’s really nothing negative about the game, besides perhaps the loading times. But it’s really a testament to how great Pikmin 4 is that waiting 30 seconds to get back into it is too long.

Dark Souls, Far Cry Primal (or any open world Ubisoft game), Uncharted – these are just a few of the games players will cite when finding points of comparison for Horizon: Zero Dawn. But the Guerrilla Games developers have made sure that its game still feels unique by comparison, thanks to a vibrant world bursting with stunning detail, challenging robotic enemies, and a story that explores an uncivilized world in an inventive way. Some weak AI, awkward dialogue sections, and a prototypical open world framework are the game’s bigger faults, but they don’t weigh the game down to much or ruin the experience. When all is said and done, Horizon: Zero Dawn could easily be Sony’s next great franchise, but even as a one-off it’s very impressive.

The game has aged incredibly well, with an engrossing story mode that's an absolute blast (while it lasts) and is greatly enhanced by the addition of local co-op. And even those that have already played Pikmin 3 extensively on the Wii U may want to consider double-dipping for the Switch version, as the new side story missions with Captain Olimar and Louie are a great deal of fun and definitely worth checking out.

Sifu is a one-of-a-kind rogue-like that marries an engaging setup with sublime combat mechanics. It scratches that integral itch that fuels subsequent runs, and it tries its best to avoid the feeling that time has been wasted. Progression exists in many different forms, but Sloclap's standout title pulls off one of the more impressive versions of it. Sifu shows players they are actually getting better at the game.

Super Mario Maker 2 has a bright future ahead of it, but it’s still a fully-featured game at launch. The new tools make for exciting additions to the game, and users have already created spectacularly fun levels that can be downloaded right now. The multiplayer implementation in Super Mario Maker 2 definitely has room for improvement, but otherwise players should have a ton of fun with the game.

Quantum Break pushes the third-person genre through a star-studded cast and time-bending gameplay, although it lacks the replay value that many may have hoped for.

Returnal on PC has all the content on day one that was released for the original game in the year after its launch, meaning that it's debuting on PC in a better state than it was in when it first came to PS5. Developer Climax Studios has hit it out of the park with this port, so any PC gamers curious about Returnal can feel confident picking it up, but they might want to consider getting a DualSense to go with their purchase.

Ultimately, Nioh 3 feels like a confident step forward for the series, expanding player freedom through its Ninja style, Style Shift system, and deep build-crafting without losing what makes Nioh work. While its open-field design can lean on tired ideas, it rarely drags the experience down, and the game's combat is the strongest it has ever been. I enjoyed my time with Nioh 3 enough to immediately jump into New Game Plus, which says a lot on its own, and I'm looking forward to seeing how things play out now with the increased difficulty and customization options it offers. It also helps how well the game runs on the PS5, where it has performed smoothly for me from start to finish with no technical issues to speak of. For longtime fans and newcomers alike, Nioh 3 proves that the series still has room to grow, experiment, and surprise.

The combination of the original game's narrative charm and solid platforming mechanics with a much longer story and more intricate skill trees and bonuses come together to make a must-play game.

Crash Bandicoot‘s original trilogy appears to have stood the test of time better than most, and it’s great to see that Vicarious Visions didn’t fix what already wasn’t broken.

The Bruce Wayne sections help develop the plot and present the player with dialogue choices that will pull their allegiance in one way or another. While the Batman sequences truly typify the character, highlighting both his skills as a detective and a tactician.

Bowser's Fury is great while it lasts, but it is admittedly short, and so Super Mario 3D World's high price tag on Switch may be hard to swallow for those that have already played through the game on Wii U. Double-dipping makes more sense for someone who is wanting to take advantage of Super Mario 3D World's online co-op functionality, but other returning players may want to wait for a sale. However, anyone that hasn't played Super Mario 3D World on the Wii U should go out and buy Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury on Switch immediately, as it is a fantastic Super Mario 3D platforming experience with enough content to keep fans busy for weeks.

Nitpicks aside, Separate Ways is a mostly tremendous addition to the Resident Evil 4 remake and, along with The Mercenaries mode updates that were released for free, goes a long way in making the RE4 remake experience truly complete. Some may still not be happy that Separate Ways is a $9.99 DLC instead of being packed-in with the game like it was in the post-GameCube versions of the original Resident Evil 4, but this version of Separate Ways is a fundamentally different experience and one that surpasses its predecessor in every possible way.