Persona 5 is the pinnacle of the JRPG genre, showcasing for one of the few times in history what it's like when a beautiful story is assisted by great gameplay. This is a game with a wonderful personality, and one with more content than just about any other single-player game you can name...Persona 5 might have arrived with subtlety like a cool breeze, but its tailwinds will leave behind a confident and meaningful reminder that JRPGs are alive and well.

While Ashes of Ariandel created skepticism where there otherwise wouldn't have been, rest assured that The Ringed City is the genuine article and gives Dark Souls III the send-off it deserves.

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

Toukiden 2 is without question a fun game, but so is Dynasty Warriors. My ultimate takeaway is that Omega Force has touched on some pleasant RPG charm and exploration of world and character here, but perhaps hasn’t gone far enough; instead, the game flirts with such elements before falling back on familiarity.

I had a lot of fun with Mass Effect: Andromeda. The galaxy I got to explore was full of life and the combat felt incredibly satisfying. But various issues with important mechanics like the scanner and hefty technical problems prevented my enjoyment from ever lasting too long...Although familiar in some regards, this is a positive in Andromeda’s case. Though, a truly successful revival needs to be innovative, not repetitive, and Andromeda often falls into a trap of tedium. It's a shame because it could have been so much more.

This is one of the best single-player RPGs to ever embrace PC, delivering a long-lasting adventure that entertains with its exciting gameplay while piercing the senses with the story it has to tell. Arriving just days after its console version, it serves as an example that the PC platform hasn't been forgotten.

Nothing short of a spectacular stealth game that brings the genre back to its roots and I can’t wait to see where it goes from here.

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.

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.

As of right now, Snipperclips is the second best game on the Nintendo Switch, more than deserving of a small investment of time and money. If you enjoy anything about Nintendo’s newest piece of hardware, you will definitely get a couple of great hours out of this game. Just be sure to bring a friend along for the fun.

Ghost Recon Wildlands is a co-op shooter unlike any I've played before. It's a tactical shooter that doesn't throw tactics out the window as soon as you're discovered. Though much better played with friends, Wildlands is still a must-have for anyone who loves the tactical shooting genre. Even at the most basic level, there's simply so much to do in Wildlands because they've so carefully populated their open world with enough to do that you won't feel like you're simply walking over massive areas to get to the sporadic points of action.

The $50 asking price of Super Bomberman R is hardly worth it to play by your lonesome, but as a go-to for when Zelda exhaustion kicks in or siblings get sick of hogged Joy-Cons, there’s little reason not to award a sturdy recommend. It provides serious multiplayer mileage, and acts as a return-to-function for the Bomberman franchise, hopefully assisting a more dramatic former-glory restoration sometime in the future.

Fast RMX is one of the best Switch titles out right now. Given how Shin’en is supporting the game with free updates, with the first adding time trials, it’s a great time to pick it up and play this $20 game.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild isn’t just good, it’s the best launch title I’ve ever played. It will single-handedly validate the purchase of the Switch for many people, and given the device's $299 price tag that's a huge accomplishment.

It’s a well-executed set-up with a wondrous payoff. Whereas the fun in a game like For Honor comes from physically learning how to play, the fun in Tides of Numenera comes from achieving encyclopedic knowledge of a whole new universe through truly meaningful choices.

There is a certain appeal to Horizon: Zero Dawn which I have not found in any other open-world RPG game. Perhaps it is the addition of shiny robots to the mix or the story of Aloy herself. Either way, this game has my full attention and I wouldn't call it anything less than stellar. If I had to compare it to another game, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and Shadow of Mordor would be on the top of my list. When compared to these two titles, Horizon is riddled with less bugs, more engaging combat, and successfully incorporates stealth gameplay. Try and guess what I’ll be playing for the next few weeks.

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.

Sniper Elite 4 is finally in a place where people can unabashedly call it "good." Despite its lack of impactful side quests, its morally ambiguous indiscriminate murder and hilarious artificial intelligence flaws that plague any stealth game, Sniper Elite 4 is good. Its sniping sequences are visceral and never get old (I never once turned off the slow-mo feature), and the depth in side missions alone give you more than your money's worth in terms of dollars per hour.

Although inspired by greatness, Nioh is a superb game in its own right. Its test of precision and timing strays from the accessibility of most modern games, reminding us all what the thrill of overcoming obstacle feels like. While not everyone will agree with its hard mode approach to design, its combat system is well-crafted enough to win everyone over. This samurai tale might not be so simple, but it's a legendary one that won't soon be forgotten.

Resident Evil is alive, and although it isn’t quite as we remember, its new perspective has brought with it a terrifying and intimate experience.

Gravity Rush 2 is a marked improvement on the original in terms of story, graphics, gameplay and characters. It's not without its plot stumbles and boring ancillary missions, that hardly detracts from everything Gravity Rush 2 does well. Whether its flying through the sky, walking up walls or exposing a corrupt system driven by the wealthy and powerful, Gravity Rush 2 is a delight.

My complaints boil down to a linear plot, a generic skill-tree system & the game's overall lack of challenge. And while these things aren't necessarily that bad, it's that Dead Rising 4 now blends in with almost every other game on the market, where the series used to stand tall, offering something that no other game did.

Ubisoft deserves a round of applause for addressing the industry’s severe lack of snow sport games with something bold and ambitious. Steep might suffer from play value issues, but there’s nothing comparable. For the more than 10 million skiers and snowboarders around the world, this is a moment of liberation that should go recognized.

The unresponsive controls, sub-par optimization and frustrating, extraneous gameplay elements shackle The Last Guardian to the past, while the emotional story and awe-inspiring imagery beg to be unleashed. It succeeds on the strength of its imagination alone, with no help from any other aspect.

What Final Fantasy XV succeeds at more than anything is providing an unpredictable and memorable adventure. Captivating story and characters were sacrificed along the way, but more than anything this game needed to prove that Final Fantasy can still execute greatness while taking risks. Its combat system and world design carry most of the weight, supported by attractive secondary activities and a great progression system.

With a disaster scenario in hand, or perhaps one created with their easy-to-use scenario editor, you'll get more than enough enjoyment out of Cities: Skylines - Natural Disasters to both consider it a true expansion and make it worth its asking price.

Killing Floor 2 had a tall order, being asked to recapture the attention of an audience that was either too jaded or too burnt out to give it a fair shake, all the while attempting to improve upon a beloved-yet-flawed low-budget title. Sporting a mostly-overhauled progression system, a built-from-the-ground-up skill system and improving on the grisly gore we've grown to adore, Killing Floor 2 has made a triumphant return. It will likely keep you engaged for dozens, if not hundreds, of hours of Zed-killing.

Planet Coaster isn’t just a wonderful game, it’s an important one. It’s effectively resurrected a dead genre, providing an act to follow that is as inspiring as it is fun to play. At a reasonable price point, it’s a great pick-up for anyone who enjoys the process of creation and management.