Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury is an excellent combination of games, offering both co-op Mario mayhem and a 3D Mario collect-a-thon in a single package. While Mario 3D World might not be Nintendo at its most creative, it’s still a must-play multiplayer game for Nintendo Switch owners, and Bowser’s Fury is much more than just the cherry on the cake.

Even among its retro FPS peers, 3D Realms has put out a best-in-class experience that rivals anything released this year. The fact that such a game can come after the character’s inauspicious debut in Bombshell makes it all the more miraculous.

For anyone looking to whittle away dozens of hours in a fully realized war between light and dark, good and evil, Shin Megami Tensei IV will provide in spades.

With a ton of replayability, a haunting and beautiful world, and satisfying gameplay, the PS5’s first exclusive hits it out of the park. Bluepoint did an excellent job updating Demon’s Souls to feature modern graphics and quality of life fixes without stripping anything away from the original. After how well this and Shadow of the Colossus turned out, I can’t wait to see which classic the studio tackles next.

As a value buy, Diablo III: Ultimate Evil Edition is unquestionably solid and, given its enhancements over the last two years, is difficult to fault.

This is the kind of thing I love about quirky little gems like this: They can either fall entirely flat, or they can be the diamond you know is easily lost in the dark recesses of the cheap-o games section of your online retailer of choice.

Fallout 4's Vault-Tec Workshop DLC would be more than worth it for most players if all it did was make the cavern space available to build their own vault. That it adds a 4-5 hour quest on top of making these assets available, for the same $5 price as the other workshop DLCs, makes it a really fantastic value, and one that will give a far greater return to anyone who's wanted to take their experience from Fallout Shelter to the main game.

While I’m not increasing Guacamelee’s score with this review, it is easily one of the best next-gen games you can own right now, especially considering the price. I know some reviewers don’t take that into consideration, but with persistent cooperative play and plenty of exploration, genuinely fun combat, and gorgeous 1080p graphics, it’s hard to find a better value for your digital currency of choice.

Dozens of hours of gameplay, the only racing game on PS4 at launch, a fantastic showpiece for your next-gen hardware of choice, and a hyper-connected experience—Rivals is one of the best games to own on PlayStation 4.

Octopath Traveler 2 is another love letter to Square Enix’s golden years. It’s a greatest hits comprised of mechanics from across several franchises, even if it doesn’t build on the original’s formula too much.

The Metro Redux edition is a compilation of two solid FPS games.

With the exception of the backgrounds being occasionally distracting from the strings of buttons on the occasional track, there really isn’t anything negative here.

At times Most Wanted elicits the hungriest of addictions, feeding on the player's desire to beat more and more friends. While a few gamers might find the ride too fast or too arcade-y, racing fans of all shapes and sizes will find hours and hours of fantastic rivalries.

The most important aspect of the Extended Cut DLC is that BioWare didn't have to make it, nor did they have to make it for free. They could have crossed their arms and refused to change anything, but they instead acknowledged some of their fans' complaints and ultimately made the ending better.

Although the content feels curt and the difficulty is somewhat dependent on the luck of the draw, the game's high replayability and bit-tastic presentation will scratch that itch to play just another round. So be careful... you might just dance the night away.

In essence, Observer plays out much the same way FMV games from the 90s did. Fittingly, players are in this game as an observer, and those who chafe at lack of agency should look elsewhere. This is Daniel Lazarski’s tale, and it’s not a happy one, but it is one worth playing for any sci-fi or cyberpunk fan.

Throughout the twenty-two chapters and a wonderful final level that you won’t want to miss, Nathan Drake’s story is finally complete. Whatever a future developer chooses—Naughty Dog has said this is their last Uncharted—they have mighty big shoes to fill. Muddy, worn out, hilarious shoes.

I’ll stop here and simply recommend The Nonary Games wholeheartedly.

With Wii U gamers hungry for software, Pikmin 3 offers an interstellar feast.

This is a game that takes the side activities in BioShock and puts its full weight behind it. If you’ve ever hoarded every useless scrap of paper and loose cigarette in other games, Void Bastards will reward you. It’s a constant cycle of upgrading your character and venturing deeper into the void while you find new rooms and tougher challenges. Best of all, there’s a definitive end alongside the promise of a harder difficulty. It’s everything you could want in a procedural shooter, bridging the gap between action and strategy in an innovative new way that makes it easy to want to jump into the void over and over again.

That inFamous: First Light echoes the main game’s themes of siblings and what it means to lose family struck me deeply, especially as brotherhood has taken on different meanings for me over the years.

So far Subnautica has been the outstanding title of 2018 for me. We're only a month in, but the time I've had with this game has been incredible, and I'm sure it will be a game I remember in December when the year is wrapping up. Even after completing it, I'm itching to go back and see what nooks and crannies I missed.

Despite having a story that is filled with cybernetically enhanced people trying to cope with their dystopian life that is blurred more than ever due to lifelike artificial intelligence, VA-11 Hall-A is remarkably human in its nature.

Observer plays out much the same way FMV games from the 90s did. Fittingly, players are in this game as an observer, and those who chafe at lack of agency should look elsewhere. This is Daniel Lazarski’s tale, and it’s not a happy one, but it is one worth playing for any sci-fi or cyberpunk fan.

Everything in the game works so cohesively to create a masterful package. The wonderful story flows evenly with the memorable characters that battle it out in a strategic twist on turn-based combat.

Despite this, and despite so much else, X-COM: Enemy Unknown feels like the revival of not just a brand, but a genre. If you told me six years ago that I'd be playing a full $60 turn-based strategy game, I probably would have zapped you with a plasma rifle.

If you want a bug-free experience, don't get Kingdom Come. If you want an excellent, open-world RPG that feels like a hardcore version of an Elder Scrolls game, then don't hesitate...Warhorse did a magnificent job crafting Kingdom Come: Deliverance with only a fraction of the funding that an Elder Scrolls game would receive, and I can't wait to see how it supports this game and what its future titles have in store for us.

Though somewhat safe and predictable, Dark Souls II is more refined and somehow more challenging than its predecessor.