OOTP 25 remains atop the sports simulation pack by giving users unprecedented control over their management experiences. While action-oriented users might need a little adjustment time for this type of sports gaming, this series continues to redefine what “immersion” means in digital experiences.

As much as I loved all the activities that Wilds provided on the side, Thunder’s Drum continued to call my name. Centering the world around the mountain provides compelling motivation to keep pushing through the main quest. I was equal parts interested in advancing the central storyline and in exploring all the side content that Wilds had to offer. That’s a rare, and joyful, feat for an open world game to achieve. Wilds pulls it off.

While the combat leaves a bit to be desired, Masquerada is by far the best story-driven game I’ve played, and I have no doubt that I will play it again. There’s something incredibly valuable about playing something that challenges the way I see the world, and that’s an experience worth repeating, even if I have to plow through a few fights to do it.

It’s telling that the biggest complaint I can generate about 11-11 is that it suffers from occasionally-lazy plotting. The storytelling is good enough that the developers get away with some fairly large coincidences, and we’re asked to believe that Harry is almost unbelievably bad at languages. However, the story reaches a point where it beggars belief that he’s still baffled by what the Germans are saying. There’s not much apart from that to criticize, though — this is a great tale being told by people with the skills necessary to tell it.

The Flower Collectors is a short but sweet experience that succeeds based on the merits of its writing and storytelling. It’s a game that successfully tackles political corruption and champions the left, yet still manages to be an engaging addition to the Adventure genre — something I wish more of its peers would do. While we probably won’t see a major studio adopt these politics anytime soon, I’ll always know that there’s at least one out there that does it well.

I can't thank Capcom and Atomic Planet enough. They've let me into a world I wasn't developmentally ready for 15 years ago, but which still makes me feel like a kid again. I always knew I'd come back to Monsteropolis someday. Thanks for waiting, Mega Man.

The total package. It's not some pared-down version of game that appeared on a next-generation console... There's tons of content and diversity in the addictive gameplay.

For players intrigued by SOMA but hesitant to jump in due to the sneaking and hiding, there’s never been a better time to try it. While much of the challenge from the original mode is gone, the story, sound design and slow-burn exploration are more far more meaningful than its handful of monsters. SOMA hosts one of the best stories I’ve experienced in a videogame, and now the lowered barrier for entry will allow more people to experience it — if that’s not the mark of a successful addition, then I don’t know what is.

Some players (like me) who aren’t fans of online competition may question whether Injustice 2 is worth a full price purchase, but there’s a lot more content in this package than in the average fighting game, for DC fans and fighting game fans alike. Highly recommended!

Overall, Super Mega Baseball 3 is everything I’ve ever wanted in a baseball game. The jump to triple-A pricing may be a shock for series fans, but SMB3 is worth every penny.

Dreamfall: Chapters is the finale that this trilogy deserves — the story is top-notch, anyone coming to this with no knowledge of the previous entries will still be entertained, and longtime fans will get to finally walk away content – if not a little sad – that The Longest Journey has now come to an end.

Lost Judgment is a fantastic success. It expertly builds on the foundation laid by the first game while also continuing to differentiate itself from the Yakuza franchise in smart ways. It’s still very much a Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio Joint, but their brawling mechanics have never been sharper, their graphics have never been better, and this is one of the strongest stories they’ve ever produced. It’s a no-brainer purchase for fans, and new players will find it surprisingly accommodating.

For players more interested in narrative than challenge, look no further. With powerful storytelling, strong performances from the central cast and disturbingly relevant themes, The New Colossus is a high water mark for AAA stories. As it fires on all cylinders to deliver bombast and blood with its right hand, be warned — the most devastating hits come from its subtle left hook.

While X-Morph: Defense may not reinvent its wheel, nearly every decision it makes is a smart and correct one, and this out-of-nowhere project with a dull-sounding title really hums. It’s fast and furious, yet this wonderfully-crafted tower defense/shmup hybrid does everything it can to be a welcoming, player-positive experience that doesn’t sacrifice the quality of its strategy or the intensity of moment-to-moment play. X-Morph: Defense might need to spend a little more on PR, but don’t let the lack of buzz disguise the fact that it is absolutely worth the of the price of admission.

Not only is it a great use of classic horror material with top-notch production, it's a superb portable boardgame that doesn't require the effort and schedule coordination needed to gather a group of friends on the weekend.

Aside from that though, the original Dragon's Dogma was one of the better role-playing games to come along in quite some time when it originally debuted last year. Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen is the very same game, only better, stuffed with even more content, and cheaper to boot. Now's a perfect time to dive in for new players, and those who've beaten it already will find a nice new challenge in Bitterblack Isle alongside some additional goodies for carrying over their save as a loyalty bonus. It's a game that keeps on giving, only with a bit less Dangan.

Not only was I treated to a fine fighting game worth playing, but I got the chance to spend more time with beloved characters who I never guessed I'd ever be revisiting. My compliments to both Atlus and Arc System Works for producing a superb game that far exceeded my expectations.

In sharp contrast to many other games' hackneyed, hastily tossed-together multiplayer, Pandora Tomorrow offers one of the most creative and compelling online games ever made.

With bright. beautiful graphics and fantastic level design, Kalimba is a near-perfect action/puzzler that's always challenging in the most rewarding way. It's rare to see a game so difficult be so encouraging, and the developers should be applauded for making this kind of hardcore skill experience accessible to everyone.

Offering excellent driving gameplay to all levels of player skill, Dirt 3 raises the bar for accessibility in a realistic driving simulator. With dozens of unique tracks, cars, and multiplayer games it offers and harassment of content without ever feeling overwhelming. By their very nature racing games are was going to be a little repetitive but Dirt 3 has almost completely succeeded in removing frustration from the mix.

There’s basically nothing to find fault with in Dave the Diver. Did I have trouble mastering a few of the cooking minigames, and an easy mode for the rhythm games would have been appreciated – but that’s a drop in the ocean compared to what it does right. Filling out the fish index, sneaking through a secret base, gambling in a merfolk casino – everywhere I turned there was something new to try, and all of it was built with care and wit. There’s a shocking amount to do here, all of it is worth sinking time into.

Still There is slow and it takes patience to get through the introductory sections, but after players have settled into the world and lived in Karl’s skin, it does an amazing job of telling one of the most touching stories I’ve seen in ages.

It's easy to learn, it's got a sexy design, and it's entertaining alone and with friends. Without a doubt, this has been one of the best iPhone games I've come across so far.

It’s hard to say whether Utawarerumono: Mask of Truth is better than Mask of Deception since they’re essentially one story split into two halves, but I found the entire tale thought-provoking and its characters lovable and (mostly) funny. It’s a visual novel worth playing, and now that I’ve reached its end, I’m a little sad saying goodbye.

What appears to be a simplistic, gratuitously violent game on the surface gradually reveals an impressive degree of depth, much in the way games like "Quake III: Arena" require much more skill and strategy than meets the eye.

Improves on the elements Spector himself felt most integral to the game and does away with much of the extraneous elements he felt detracted from the experience he was trying to create. The result is a game that is more focused than the original, and although it often overlooks fundamentals it is one of the most brilliantly crafted games of the year.

It took the better part of a decade to happen, but I’m finally in a position to say that when everything was said and done, Kentucky Route Zero came together beautifully and has solidified itself as essential for anyone interested in games that have plenty to say and share their message in a beautiful way.

It's so good, in fact, that I'm still eager for more. It's a good thing that the next expansion, Blood and Wine, is coming soon...

Numenera ended when the credits rolled, but in my mind, the story is still going. That wouldn’t be possible without top-level writing and world-building – the kind that sucks me into its universe regardless of technical shortcomings. In other words, it’s the perfect follow-up to Planescape: Torment, as thought-provoking, mature and challenging as its predecessor. For those who like their sci-fi more than a little weird, I can’t recommend it enough.

Aside from the technical issues, The Invisible Hours is a masterpiece. It takes the best elements of live theater and videogames, and melds them into a mystery experience like no other. Halfway through my time with it, I found myself wishing every mystery could be told in such a dense and thorough manner. This isn’t just a successful narrative experience, it serves as a proof of concept that any number of stories could be told using this same format. The Invisible Hours is a must-play for mystery fans, a must-play for VR players wanting an entirely new experience, and a must-play for anyone interested in getting in on the ground floor of a bold new concept in visual storytelling.

One of those really rare sequels - one that actually lives up to the spirit of the original while improving on it in subtle ways.

For my money, Days Gone remains one of the absolute best open-world games on the market, and now more people will have the opportunity to try it out for themselves as it puts its best foot forward. That’s something worth celebrating, I think.

Overall, Regalia is a beautiful adventure where each action the player takes accomplishes something, and it feels like every part of the experience has something to offer. The cast of characters and surprising story (no spoilers here!) show the developers’ dedication to both tactical RPGs and their narrative.

While technically a prequel, Shovel Knight: King of Cards is a fitting end to the Shovel Knight saga. It continues the tradition of great graphics, sound, and level design set by the original, while still providing a fresh take on platforming.

Resistance 3 does plenty. It's beautiful, thrilling, and-quite unexpectedly-contains one of the most memorable campaigns this side of Halo and Half-Life. In a year full of Sony-branded disappointments, Insomniac has produced an absolute gem.

For players accustomed to modern affordances and styles of play, Moon may be a challenge to get into. Its graphics, a mix of Claymation-esque renders and spritework, have not been updated, and neither have the more tedious aspects of its gameplay. Even so, there’s something moving about inhabiting this world, loving the weird denizens, and bringing them what happiness we can. And isn’t that the way it should be? If goodness and love win, shouldn’t they win with goodness and love?

Little Nightmares 2 lives up to its name. The journey is challenging and frightening, but haunting is what it does best thanks to powerful imagery that will ensure players will keep thinking about this short journey long after they’ve finished. It’s an emotionally wrenching tale, but it’s absolutely one worth taking.

Hypnospace Outlaw is a fascinating experience that I wholeheartedly recommend. It is well-written and authentic, and while the early going may feel like completing chores, it soon tests the player’s detective skills. With cases that are satisfying to solve and a story that also applies to the internet as we know it today, it’s a must-play.

Recreates some of the humor and visceral energy of the Chinese novel that loosely inspired it. But the characters and dramatic movement in this story of war are given enough time, thought, and care to come into a life all their own.

While many players won't initially be able to experience the game the way it was intended, once the online patch becomes available, I would recommend it without reservation to anyone who's got at least one game-playing friend.

Bugsnax leans heavily on the unique nature of its titular creatures, and it succeeds by doing so. They’re cute, they’re creepy, and their existence makes no logical sense whatsoever. Armed with a bit of design this indelible, the developers could have phoned in the rest and raked in the merchandising money. Instead, they fully committed to delivering a narrative worthy of the creatures starring in it. It was a risky choice, but it was also a daring and clever one, and that’s exactly what it wants to be.

It’s been a while since I’ve truly felt blown away by a big-budget videogame. In the third year of the current console generation, we’ve had some excellent stuff come out, but few notables that might be seen as defining titles in the medium. Final Fantasy XVI feels like that once-in-a-generation game. A dream team of designers, artists, and producers came together to forge a brave new path not only for the Final Fantasy series, but for action games in general. While debates on what makes the series special will continue, there’s no question that this one is setting a new standard for RPGs.

There’s not much to dislike about this new Doom. The multiplayer’s bland, the sound mix could be a little punchier, and players who expect deep worldbuilding and story twists are straight out of luck, but putting all that aside, Doom remains packed to the gills with exceptional blood-spraying gameplay and deserves respect for this unfiltered, uncompromised approach. My advice? Grab a chainsaw, rev it up and get stuck right in.

In a very Hitchcockian gesture Kojima structures the entire game around a plot twist no one will see coming and many might not even like. This kind of audience-foiling gutsiness is always a delight in my book.

An incredible game which deserves respect from anyone with even a passing interest in FPSs.

In short, WWE 2K24 is a crowning achievement for a series that nearly buried itself just four years ago, and I’ll be playing it long after the referee counts 1-2-3.

It’s one of the most enjoyable recent entries in a medium that it takes perverse glee in tearing apart.

Human Fall Flat is a puzzle game with so many possible solutions, workarounds, and approaches that playing with other people makes for a genuinely interesting experience. Any game that makes me laugh as hard as this one deserves some praise, but particularly when it’s as well-designed, challenging, and entertaining as this one.

Robocop: Rogue City exceeded my wildest expectations when it comes to what a Robocop game could be, and the team at Teyon should be immensely proud of delivering a true love letter to one of the defining films of the 1980s. Anyone who’s even a casual fan of Robocop should buy this game without hesitation as soon as feasibly possible — no Robocop fan will walk away disappointed, and this experience is worth way more than a dollar.

The Mass Effect Trilogy is incredible. The overarching story and its characters are excellent, and each one was better than the last. I wasn’t sure if these games would hold up in the current environment, but they absolutely do. They’re still worth playing, I recommend them, and to anyone about to jump in — play at a slower pace. Do not rush through. Explore everything they have to offer and relish in their richness.

If the player were disappointed by this scenario in the original, he'll probably be disappointed now too. However, with a wealth of new content and lots of other welcome additions and tweaks, Left 4 Dead 2 continues to focus on what it does best, and it's damn good at it.

Iceborne simply cements Monster Hunter World‘s position at the top of the Hunting genre, providing one of the best and most fully-featured expansions in recent memory for a title that would already gleefully suck up hundreds of hours even in its original iteration. Anyone who’s a fan of the series should be all-in on this expansion already, and for anyone yet to check it out… well, now may very well be the best time.

There are dozens of Dragon Ball Z games and Kakarot represents only the latest attempt to fully retell the manga’s story in videogame form. However, the quality of the experience makes a strong argument for this entry being the last one since the cartoon graphics perfectly recreate Toriyama’s visuals and the story hits every beat far better than the anime managed to. By presenting a great story with such perfect fealty, it’s safe to say that (for now, at least) Kakarot is the definitive Dragon Ball Z videogame.

A fully realized game, utilizing the JADE engine which "Prince of Persia" borrows. But more importantly, it has partially realized characters that have more feeling than human characters in other games.

Overall, Tetris Forever is both for fans of Tetris and also those who deeply care about videogame history. Not only is it collecting an amazing set of entries in a franchise that is both prolific and excellent, but it’s also a much-needed encapsulation that preserves its important legacy.

For players looking for something a little outside the usual fare, Sorry We’re Closed is the offbeat survival horror genre-blend they didn’t know they’d been waiting for — and as one of that number myself, I can say that it was an experience unlike any other.

Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition is one of the best games available for the Wii. Period.

No review will ever accurately convey the tension in navigating through a sea of multiple colored bullets that fill every inch of the screen or the joy in finally nailing a 100+ chain combo because Ikaruga, like all good shmups, is visceral.

As one might expect, it offers excellent platforming, interesting and well-defined bosses, and great atmosphere — everything about it feels like a fantastic entry into a hallowed series while still offering new features that keep it fresh for new fans. Mega Man is back!

After years of letting gamers simply play other people’s songs, Harmonix has now decided to let players create new music using those songs. It truly feels like a fully-realized vision of melding music and games in ways that haven’t been done before and feels like the next step in music games. Harmonix is back in fine form, and that’s a tune we can all dance to.

Perhaps this game appeals less to adolescent and adult males than most games do: Starfy is more Kirby than Mario. But it does what it does very well, and I hope that this title is merely the beginning of Starfy's legend in North America.

I’m an Aliens super-fan. I think that’s clear at this point, so it’s worth saying that I’m going to be predisposed to love a game that goes to the lengths this one does to recreate the aesthetics of that film. The flipside of that fandom is that I’ll recoil from anything that gets the franchise wrong. So with that in mind, hear me when I say that this is the best Alien game ever made. In fact, it only has one flaw — despite ending on a fantastic climax, Incursion is only part one of the whole story. I knew this going into it, but I was still shattered to see To Be Continued come up at a particularly shocking moment. That continuation can’t come quickly enough, but until it does I’ll keep playing Alien Rogue Incursion over and over again.

It may seem crazy to ask players to pay a subscription fee in the growing field of free-to-play MMOs, but if you ask me, WildStar is worth the price of entry.

With its polished cinematic presentation, well-paced action, and surprisingly emotional story, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare brilliantly captures the feel of a grand, epic game.

For players who love killing things, building godly characters, and grabbing loads of awesome loot in the process, Diablo III Ultimate Evil Edition is the biggest no-brainer purchase of this year.

I absolutely loved the Sega 3D Classics Collection. Sega did an outstanding job in picking this lineup (they credit fan requests) and the work is presented with love.

With a brilliant musical score, gorgeous artwork, solid adventuring mechanics, and a ton of other generic positive reviewer comments I can heap on it, Machinarium is elevated from merely good to gaming greatness, and I can only hope that the minds at Amanita produce some more masterpieces like this one

My thanks go out to whoever at Sony was responsible for choosing King's Quest: A Knight To Remember as a free Plus title. It's an outstanding piece of work that surprised me not only for being a wonderful experience in a genre that I usually avoid, but also by coming from a studio whose past work gave no clue that they were capable of such. My hat is off to the The Odd Gentlemen, red feather and all.

With its perfectly-realized art style and a wide variety of puzzles that never break its themes, The Bridge takes its inspiration and runs an impressive distance with it. The developer has produced a charming, inventive, and only occasionally aggravating puzzle experience that I hope Escher would feel honored by.

Rival Megagun is a tight, accessible, and well-executed game that offers plenty of incentive to return, improve and master its play. This is a gem of a title, and one not be missed by fans of bullet-hell games, or shmups in general.

Its charm and style engrossed me from the opening level and never let go, and I received an experience with lots of substance, challenge, and a little heart thrown in for good measure.

Dishonored was already amazing, and this sequel bests it on every level.

As an overall package, though, Code: Realize is professionally presented and stands out as one of the best otome games available in English. In fact, if I could only recommend one otome game released in English this year, this would be it. With a strong female protagonist, exciting story, and likeable male characters, it's an exemplary title in the genre.

Don't be fooled by Superhot's simplistic visuals—they mask surprising nuance and act as a metaphor for the game as a whole. It's a short, digestible action-puzzler that hides more depth and grace in two hours than most sprawling triple-A projects can muster over twenty. What a thrill it is for something as highly anticipated as Superhot to not only live up to the hype, but to surpass it.

Serpentcoil Island is easily, easily one of the best things I played 2024. In a just world, it would be on a lot of others’ lists as well.

At some point, refinement becomes self-defeating as gamers grow tired of overused concepts. Unfortunately, GT3 simply does not offer anything new or unique. Where will the creative minds of developers take simulators in the future? Despite its strengths, GT3 leaves that question unanswered.

In my view, Football manager 2018 is an absolute triumph that revels in the cliche, ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’. The changes, and especially the new dynamics system have never had me feeling closer to my squad, the new engine is slick, and the additional motion captured animations really do freshen up the proceedings. This is another truly stellar outing from Sports Interactive, true masters of their craft and pioneers of the management genre.

As a diehard Dark Souls fan I’ve played nearly every soulslike, and none have done it as well as Mortal Shell. Not only has Cold Symmetry nailed the fundamentals, but they’ve added their own spin to the formula without being coy about their influences. Mortal Shell is the only copycat that can stand toe-to-toe with FromSoft’s own work, and although it’s considerably shorter than their offerings, it’s no less beautiful, haunting and rewarding.

Issues aside, Yakuza: Like a Dragon is a masterpiece that might also be of historical note, since I’m hard-pressed to come up with another series that changed genres without losing what made it special in the first place. Players come to Yakuza games expecting fantastic storytelling, a bustling open world, and intense combat. Ryu Ga Gotoku Studios have proven they can swap out one leg of that stool without sacrificing its strength, and that’s an accomplishment few can claim.

One of the stated goals of the developers was to immerse the player, allowing her to experience the sense of satisfaction of pulling off an intricate heist, tangoing with the law or paragliding across a Prague estate while remaining dapper and collected. In this I think Sucker Punch definitely delivered.

The magic of PaRappa will not be easily cloned and we'll probably only get one like it in our lifetime. Sure to transcend cultural differences, PaRappa is special; plain and simple.

The Zone feels fully realized, with improved gameplay mechanics and a blend of beauty, horror, and mystique that was irresistible. The engaging story gave me plenty of interesting plot threads to pull at, and allowed me to alter the progression of the story in fascinating ways. The PS5 version has great features, and a year of updates has made HoC better for all players. In my opinion, this is the definitive way for new and veteran stalkers alike to explore the mysteries of the Zone.

Laika is not an easy game to enjoy. It’s a story, at its core, about how dehumanization of an enemy is a necessary step preceding genocide — about how people will become monsters if left with no other options. Most importantly, though, it’s about how cycles of violence can only end if people make the decision to not pull a trigger, no matter how difficult that might be. It’s a brutal, uncompromising journey, and it should have been one of the best titles of 2023, even if reality hadn’t decided to make it painfully relevant.

In any event, my quibbles with this series are quite small, and easy to forgive when compared to the overall experience that Telltale is crafting. There's nothing else available today able to affect me to a similar degree, or that can resonate with me as a human being. That's the sort of thing that carries a great deal of weight, and it makes The Walking Dead easily one of 2012's best.

For fans of the dungeon-crawl genre or for those who just want their Nintendo 3DS to host something a little off the beaten path, Etrian Odyssey IV: Legends of the Titan is at the top of its class, and guaranteed to be one of 2013's best.

Now that this great title is available with high definition graphics, it's a great way for fans of 3D platformers to spend ten bucks.

While the game doesn’t run optimally (some framerate chugging and stutters are quite prevalent, especially in areas with a lot of special effects) the upgraded, enhanced formula that XCOM 2: War of the Chosen offers is absolutely superb. I was fully engaged in this rebellion against humanity’s extraterrestrial overlords, and I’d have no hesitation recommending it to anyone in search of a top-tier tactics experience. And for those, like me, who bounced off of the original XCOM 2? It’s absolutely worth coming back.

To the untrained eye, the Link To The Past cartridge may well appear to be nothing more than another videogame for kids and others who refuse to grow out of childhood. However, it is much more than that, being as worthy a narrative as many popular books out there can be.

Overall, this is the largest and most fully-realized expansion yet produced for Fallout 3, and it's an order of magnitude better than any of the previous installments.

It's extremely smart, has a great sense of humor, a bold design and fantastic art direction.

For fans of titles like Final Fantasy Tactics and Advance Wars, Ravenmark will certainly scratch that strategy game itch.

Whether it's seen as an incomplete art object or a transcendent masterpiece, Journey is beautiful from its solemn opening to its masterful ending.

This brief length shouldn’t discourage anyone with a PSVR from playing Wayward Sky, though – besides being a stellar proof-of-concept showing how one of the oldest genres of gaming will do just fine in this brand new format, it’s a great title all on its own, and a genuine standout of the launch lineup.

I’ve enjoyed many roguelikes over the years, and yet that label always makes me wary. Repetition may be a core component of the genre, but too many developers seem to believe that this excuses them from having to consistently find new ways to engage players before the credits roll. Hades, in contrast, feels like the apex of what run-based, procedurally-generated games are capable of. It’s a staggering effort and the best title to date from an already decorated studio.

This is simply a faster, tenser, more action-oriented Rainbow Six. In other words, it's better. It has none of the tedium of the PC games and more suspense and drama to keep players on the edge of their seats.

The excellent balancing of gameplay and humor make this game a worthy companion piece to VU Games' superlative "No One Lives Forever" franchise.

With its edges and corners firmly creased, Paper Galaxy deserves to sit among the most recognized titles in the mobile gaming space.