Solid, a football title that can and will be enjoyed. The progression from year to year is small, but how we look back in five years is what makes the difference.

Despite some questionable (and that’s being friendly) difficulty scaling, Nier: Automata is largely a success. It’s the most unique game I’ve played in 2017, one that will assuredly be in our thoughts when it comes time to consider the best game of the year. You'll have so much to do and so many ways to do it, with a series of endings as vast as a game like Torment: Tides of Numenera (which was mostly text-based). Nier: Automata begs to be replayed, even as it's punishing you for doing so.

Live A Live is still full of charm, and the graphics and gameplay have been tweaked just enough to give it some modern touches. Hopefully, it’ll get the recognition it deserves alongside Square’s other classics.

However, if you’re unbothered by framerate, the Switch version of Ion Fury is just as complete content-wise as it is on any other platform. You won’t miss out on or gain any content on the Switch, and this is the only way to take the game on the go. If you’re set on picking up Ion Fury, your choice of platform really comes down to portability vs. framerate. If a handheld version of the game is essential, the Switch is the only console that can offer that feature. Otherwise, you’re best off picking the game up elsewhere.

The story, the full narrative, is relevant to a lot of children like Ethan Carter and is steeped in sobering realism. For that, I would encourage you to discover it and find him.

It’s no system seller, but instead an excellent addition to the existing Wii U owner’s library—whether you’ve played it already or not.

If you’re already a fan of Yacht Club’s charming 8-bit franchise, there’s little doubt you’ll want to pick up Specter of Torment. Its story angle alone as a prequel renders it unique, and encountering familiar characters and bosses from the perspective of a baddie is the sort of script-flipping that makes this universe worth perpetually hanging around in.

Horizon Zero Dawn for PC earns a great score as it still does so much right, easily deserving the attention of any curious PC gamers who feel as though they missed out, and for anyone who’s happy to jump in at that $50 launch price.

Even if you're likely to move onto the console version or you don't play your 3DS much, this edition of the venerable brawling series offers everything you could want and will likely become a standard bearer for the platform.

Here's what really makes For Honor great, though: its difficulty curve. I haven't played a game that slaps you in the face as much as For Honor since I played Dota 2. You'll play and play and feel like you're getting nowhere until one day, one game, or even one moment where you see everything differently, and, while you won't instantly master it, you'll now clearly see the path to mastery.

Arguably the best Jurassic Park-themed game to date, and a must-buy for fans of the films.

There's nothing quite like Albion Online in the modern climate of MMOs, and frankly, it's a breath of fresh sandbox air.

Make no mistake—regardless of my feelings about not getting the full trilogy, and my mild disappointment with how Gears of War plays in 2015, The Coalition has made a triple-A package worth picking up for any fan of the series.

If you can stomach the rhyming, you’ll find Aurora an engaging heroine with a worthy cause who can slog her way through even the most intense RPG battles.

Aside from some faulty matchmaking, the package is a fighting game worth playing. It looks good enough and runs smoothly, and even when lagging, the online play is nice and clean.

Though Dead Rising 3 doesn't have the most detailed graphics nor the most groundbreaking gameplay, it's a thoroughly entertaining ride that anchors the Xbox One far from the grave.

For a game made by an independent studio paid for by crowd-funding, it sure looks and feels top-class. Those who funded the game should be proud of themselves, and so should the team members who crafted it.

Diablo 2: Resurrected makes playing Diablo 2 more enjoyable than ever. The visual upgrades are immense, and I still enjoy the tight game design as much as I did 20 years ago. I wish that more quality of life improvements were introduced with this remake/remaster. Just a few more small changes could have rectified some annoyances that stem from it being a 20-year-old game. As it stands, it’s almost too close to the original in all the wrong ways while missing multiplayer options that were removed for no reason.

It's true that the plot is a mess and a few odd quirks keep Anarchy Reigns from being a polished AAA release, but despite that, there are tons of freaks to beat up, plenty of online combatants to choose from, and balanced gameplay that doesn't take itself too seriously.

Cities: Skylines may have been a dark horse at first, but with After Dark it's now a formidable thoroughbred.

Dragon Quest Heroes II is exactly what a spin-off should be. It appreciates and honors what makes a Dragon Quest game distinct from other JRPGs, while still offering something different than the main series. The gameplay is exhilarating, using over-the-top animations and simple controls to keep you engaged in every battle. The amount of content, while no Dragon Quest VII, is certainly enough to get your money’s worth.

It's tremendous fun, despite recurring problems we've come to expect from Ubisoft games occasionally threatening to derail the experience.

Knowing your role makes Intercept one of the better cooperative experiences available on PlayStation 4 right now.

The only way to ensure that players don’t forego buying PES 2019 in favor of FIFA 19 is to hope that they stick with the controls long enough for them to appreciate the deeper mechanics that make PES 2019 so good.

Getting Doom on a new platform is inherent to the series’ DNA as people find more oddball hardware to run the classic game on. Playing Doom on a pregnancy test is not the most optimal way to play it, but it is possible. And Doom Eternal on the Switch is similarly possible but not optimal. The Switch port is still thrilling and has an addictive combat loop with incredible pacing yet it’s inherently held back enough by the platform’s weaknesses to make it the least appealing version. It’s a novelty to rip and tear on the go, but it’s questionable how, well, novel that novelty really is. It runs Doom… sorta.

As a game, it's fairly simple, and playing by oneself could grow dull quickly. It's really when people play together, either locally or online, that #IDARB takes off.

If you're looking for an accessible, free-to-play MOBA that isn't trying to nickel-and-dime you at every turn, then MXM is the game for you. A few small flaws aside, MXM is a treat among free-to-play MOBAs that shows imagination and restraint not often shared among its peers.

Duke Nukem 3D: 20th Anniversary World Tour is a polished trip down memory lane of one gaming's most impactful creations. It's true to the spirit of the original while also layering in a few goodies to improve quality of life. It can be rather emotionless at times due to its age, but it serves its purpose well. Welcome back, Duke.