I enjoyed every minute of it, and it's rare to find something that radiates as much pure joy as this does. I can't say enough good things about it.

Despite being something of a mixed bag from any perspective, there's no doubting the fact that even a middling Metal Gear game easily outclasses most of its competition.

Overall, I enjoyed my time with Theatrhythm Final Bar Line. The note charts are interesting and build on themselves as sections of a song are repeated, the track selection is immense, and as a bonus, it plays great both in docked mode or on the go, which means that it’s easy to pick up and get a couple of songs in, anywhere or anytime. Rhythm fans and Final Fantasy fans alike shouldn’t miss out on this one.

Overall, this is a very fun and slightly quirky game, with a definite challenge to it.

And the compelling nature of the online game is thanks to the same simplicity that makes the single-player game utterly forgettable. Simple to pick up and understand, the game mechanics allow the player to concentrate on the strategies of the various online games and immerse themselves in an action-based flow.

The game is intended to be played every day, usually only for an hour or two, as opposed to the multi-hour sessions that are usually devoted to videogames.

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.

In the end, Pragmata is a great new IP from Capcom. It’s endearing, it offers a unique and satisfying take on third-person combat, and also boasts plenty of scope for exploration, impressive bosses, rewarding payoffs and a significant amount of built-in postgame content. What more could someone ask for?

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.

Kojima seems to have recognized that he started running so fast that he forgot to tie his shoes, and thus Substance finally gives players the opportunity to more deeply explore the beautifully nuanced stealth engine that was so sorely undermined by his penchant for melodrama.

This is a fantastic presentation of two top-notch virtual novels. My only major quibble is that player is never made aware of how important it is to play the two games in the correct order. It’s not enough to see a couple of endings in 999 – if players don’t make it to the true ending before moving on to VLR, it will be casually spoiled in the most off-handed way imaginable. Beyond that, very little goes wrong here, and I’d say that this one of the best visual novel experiences I’ve had.

Gorgeous, polished, and legitimately challenging, it is as good a 2D platformer as one will find, nostalgic or no. Very few games manage to be old-school and new-school at the same time, but Rayman Origins threads that needle to near-perfection.

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.

Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus is a remarkable title, the best Wolfenstein game yet, and one of the finest singleplayer FPS titles ever created. With so much recent chatter about the death of the triple-A single player game, here comes BJ Blazkowicz with two middle fingers pointed directly at that idea. And with such a lengthy campaign, the lack of multiplayer isn’t even missed. The thrilling action, tight controls, incredible variety of tactics, and a surprisingly emotional, thought provoking, hysterical story make this one not to miss — the fact that it brings timely commentary on undesirable aspects of American society is even more icing on this Nazi-stomping cake.

Putting the lack of new content aside, Axiom Verge is just as good now as it was in 2015, and it also pulls off the rare feat of being incredibly imaginative while also paying obvious homage to its inspiration. Thomas Happ clearly loves Metroid a whole lot, but his outstanding art design and musical talents keep the game he spent five years of his life on from feeling like a knockoff. Anyone with a Switch who hasn’t played Axiom Verge yet will find a polished adventure that would be a great addition to their library — just don’t leave it in the backlog pile.

All of these positives were true in the PS2 original, though, so the triumph of Leifthrasir is in making things easier to enjoy on current platforms.

As much as I loved the bulk of the game, by the end I was burning out, and burning out fast. Despite that, I'm glad that some studios are still willing to show an almost insane level of ambition in realizing the games they want to make without compromise, even if it does lead to a few dire moments here and there.

Despite the minor flaws described above, Unavowed is truly something special, and it deserves every accolade it’s about to receive. I honestly can’t remember being as drawn into an adventure game as I was during this one, and the time just flew by. Simply put, Wadjet Eye’s newest title should be in every gamer’s library as soon as possible.

For the genre fan, Sin & Punishment: Star Successor will be a sublime, smoothly controlling treat. For the novice, it's a fairly gentle introduction to a classically hardcore experience. For Treasure, it's a great chance to addict a vast new audience to their style of game.

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.

It’s a bold strategy to focus on the documentary aspect of a game or series, specifically the features normally used as bonus materials in many game compilations. However, due to the nature of the subject matter, this is an excellent blend of movie and game, much like the topic of the documentary. The collection is packed with hours of video footage, images, documentation, a gushing fan letter from John Romero of DOOM fame, correspondence, early art, and even early prototypes of Mechner’s original versions of Karateka, as well as fully playable versions of other games Mechner developed, but never was able to publish. This is easily one of the best and most complete historical documentaries of a videogame, ever, and should be held up as an example for future collections.

While a large number of areas remain untouched and the remixed enemy placement isn't exactly an all-new quest, Scholar of the First Sin is the best version of this game, and it remains an exceptional experience. For those who have not yet played Dark Souls II, or for those who skipped the DLC chapters, I whole-heartedly recommend this edition.

While my memories of playing it in the past weren’t great, the masterful music and visual presence combined in Lumines: Arise really turned me around on the series. It’s not one to miss!

Flower is a shock to the gamer's system because it reminds us that games aren't about fanboy allegiances, media hype, and quarterly earnings. Good games—like good art—can simply be food for the soul. Flower is the kind of soulful nourishment we need more of.

Sonic Mania is easily the best Sonic I’ve played and also manages to be a return to the classic Genesis style. While recreating some aspects of the 90’s experience meant dealing with annoying things like running out of lives and restarting entire zones, it didn’t ruin the overall experience — this trip down memory lane was a welcome one.

In short, Rise is a great iteration on the classic Monster Hunter formula, making things more approachable and getting rid of some of the series’ less desirable elements. They may have made sense in the past, but the removal of much busywork is a net positive in my eyes. It’s a shame that Capcom didn’t include the massive Sunbreak expansion with this release given that it’s already out on Switch and PC, but it’s not like this package is lacking in content or value. For hunters of any experience level, Rise is a great entry in a storied series.

As weird as some the diplomacy and other mechanics can be, it’s an impressive title with a ton of depth to get stuck into. Now, I’d better get back to my current mission in progress — those enemy armies won’t eat themselves, after all.

By far the worst thing about Driver is its inability to really draw me into its universe.

PixelJunk Shooter is one of those instantly-intuitive games that only takes a minute before completely clicking with the player—once the controller is in hand, everything makes sense and flows effortlessly.

Nearly a dozen years after it’s initial release, Okami remains a beautifully-realized vision that will still be enticing to players for a long time to come.

Minor quibbles aside, Absolum is an excellent beat-’em-up full of cool combos, neat build variations, random events and enjoyable roguelike power evolution spearheaded by a team that Absolumetely knows what they’re doing when it comes to crafting quality content. For fans of roguelikes or side-scrollers, this is one to check out.

The definition of what a perfect sequel should be, and an excellent game in its own right.

West of Loathing is one of the best RPGs on the market, hands down. The simplistic art style and humorous themes mean anyone will be able to get in and enjoy themselves, there’s plenty of laughs and sharp writing, and players only need to engage with it in the ways that they want to. I’m hard-pressed to find anything negative to say about it! And now if you’ll excuse me, I have to hit the ol’ dusty trail and get back to it…

It's hard to deny that from its humble beginnings to the spectacular finale, Kingdom Hearts II is absolutely what the first game should have been. Its production values are still amazingly high, but the mechanics and tactile experience of play are now equals.

GGX2 is probably the most vibrantly animated two-dimensional videogame ever made, with each attack and movement drawn to exceptional detail.

The bosses in Ratchet & Clank however had always seemed on the cusp of greatness, but never quite reached it. That changed with A Crack in Time. While most of the game's bosses are fairly nondescript, the final two are exactly what I was waiting for. Fast-paced, multi-faceted, and grandiose in scale, these battles were, in a word, awesome.

This game managed to do something its 3-D counterparts never could: catch my interest and hold on to it. I spent a lot of time simply looking around each level, experimenting with each character and attempting to find the various chao emeralds.

In a world of generic RPGs with cookie cutter plots and characters, Persona 3 is like a breath of fresh air—a game that marches to a different drummer and is worth playing because of it.

Tales is far and away the most entertaining game I've played from Telltale yet.... And given the way the final episode ends, I'm very much looking forward to the sure-to-come second season.

As wonderful as Gone Home is, it mostly demonstrates that there's still a long way to go.

Even if the tunes aren't all things to all players, that shouldn't hold anyone back from putting cash down and picking up one of the most original games to grace consoles for some time. DJ Hero 2 is sublime.

Writing a review of The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles is something I never thought I’d get to do, but I am so glad that Capcom decided to take a chance in bringing these two exceptional stories to the West. Despite its status as an offshoot from the main franchise and a heavy reliance on very specific settings, it might even represent the best opportunity to delve into this wonderfully quirky and original series thanks to excellent quality-of-life improvements and slick presentation. Longtime fans have surely bought it already, but The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles is a fantastic pickup for anyone looking for a good yarn coming from a series filled with them.

The music is often phenomenal, the translation and dialogue are exquisite, and the world is one that's worth spending time in. However, it's all based on grind-heavy gameplay, and it's still subscription based. My advice is to buy it, burn through the new content, and then put it aside until the next substantial expansion is released.

Out of the Park Baseball 14, like it predecessors, does exactly what it sets out to do-it provides the hardcore fan with the most detailed front office sim experience possible.

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.

In a game that encourages perfection to the nanosecond, having to occasionally stop to think about which button does what can occasionally cost time. It's a small issue and one that won't affect players unconcerned with high scores.

I very much enjoyed this game, and the good elements definitely outweigh the bad, but I sincerely hope that a sequel gets produced someday, because with a few changes and some better writing this could be among my all-time favorites.

While the future of the game is anyone’s guess, at present Diablo IV is a solid, but strangely unambitious take that fails to bring much new to the table. By the end of my travels, I was more than willing to put it down and take a break — somewhere amongst all the grinding, Diablo IV had unfortunately ground me down as well.

Skipping my usual witty remark or pun-laden ending line in closing, let me just say that Clash of Heroes is an absolute winner from start to finish. Any gamer worthy of the title needs to have a copy of this cart in their library. Buy it. Ra

Total War: Warhammer is a great addition to the Total War formula and the most radical departure from the series yet, and the differences between each group offer more replay than anyTotal War before it. Unfortunately, a tiresome endgame comes too early and kills the pace of each campaign. If Creative Assembly can find a way to deal with that issue, this entertaining entry will be truly outstanding.

Apart from the suboptimal multiplayer matching, Sunbreak is damn good Monster Hunter and I hope they keep some of the features introduced here as the series moves forward, especially the human NPC companions. For anyone who owns and enjoyed Rise, picking up Sunbreak should be a no-brainer. It’s an intelligent expansion that retains the best of Monster Hunter Rise and adds more than enough to warrant its existence atop an already-meaty title.

I wonder if we haven't reached the point where games like this can start leaving out the plot entirely. It's a game about giving the player a gun and telling them to go nuts.

Beating The Lost Age is going to require at least 30 hours (and more if the player wants to do all of the side-quests and find all of the hidden goodies) and maybe more if gamers aren't good at puzzles. There's nothing inherently wrong with a game lasting this amount of time (although it does seem long for a handheld RPG) as long as the gameplay warrants it. Too bad for The Lost Age that it shows all of its tricks in the first 12 hours or so...

It's easy to recommend this compilation to anyone looking for JRPG gaming on the go, and this pair of games is poised to steal my free time all over again—and I'm perfectly willing to let it.

I thought that Grapple Dog was one of the best 2D platformers I’d played in ages, and this sequel absolutely lives up to its pedigree. Whatever the developers want to do next with these characters, it’s going to be worth tagging along.

While Monster Hunter 4: Ultimate is still Monster Hunter (and thank goodness for that) Capcom has put a great deal of effort into improving the overall experience, and I'd say that their revamp has been a wild success.

Dragon Quest Builders 2 takes what was great about the first game and expands on it meaningfully, focusing on community development and large-scale building. While the combat is less-than-stellar, the overall result is a more unique experience that offers much to work with on the Isle of Awakening.

Despite my qualms about the combat engine, graphics and the amount of minor bugs on display, it's a testament to BioWare's craft that Dragon Age: Origins is as intensely addicting and as ultimately satisfying as it is.

Steins;Gate Elite is as good as Steins;Gate ever was, and its aesthetic retooling may give it just the pizzaz it needs to reach to a new generation of visual novel nerds.

Aside from a few minor quibbles (I can jump across streets and hop over entire buildings, but a knee-high window ledge is insanely finicky to get past?) Titanfall is undoubtedly a great game which does an exceptional job of breathing new life into an increasingly-stale genre.

Tomb Raider is a fine game, but something essential feels like it has been left out. Lara seems to have found the map, but missed the treasure.

Asgard’s Wrath 2 would be an enjoyable thrill-ride if it could only get out of its own way, yet every highlight was drowned out by missteps. Players new to VR gaming are likely to be quite impressed, but as someone who’s been into VR for a while, it’s tough to see past the problems and enjoy the parts that pop.

The online is worthy of special mention, as it’s arguably the most important factor when it comes to a fighting game’s longevity. Fortunately, Guilty Gear Xrd: Revelator nails this aspect admirably. The netcode is solid, with even games held between Japan and the UK offering decent matches.

I can’t stress how much I adored the entirety of Valfaris, and finding a title so brimming with such confidence in itself is rare. This game knows it’s awesome, and as the bosses got harder and harder, I was never once frustrated because I knew I had the tools I needed to conquer its mountain, leading to one of the most satisfying gameplay experiences I’ve had in years. Valfaris is a supremely designed action-platformer made by incredibly talented people, and it headbanged straight into my heart. Play it immediately.

If I were to sum up 1000xRESIST in one word, it would be brave. I walked away extremely impressed with how its core subject matter, and I’ve been constantly thinking about the story since I rolled credits. It won’t change the mind of anyone who doesn’t care for narrative-focused gaming experiences, but I really do think this is going to be a special game for a lot of people. It speaks in a mature way that is extremely rare in a medium not known for its tact, and the team at Sunset Visitor should be proud of their work.

With a notable level of craftsmanship and clear focus on its subject material, Trials HD is going to be endlessly addictive to the right kind of player. I wouldn't have guessed that player was me, but no matter how many times my bike crashed, I kept thinking I could do it if I tried just one more time, and I was constantly hungry to get it right.

I'm always eager to see developers carve new territory in interactive narrative, but I'm not convinced that Her Story's format of chopping up bits of exposition and hiding them behind a nonsensical search engine mechanic is a major step forward for the medium. There's enough solid standalone writing to prevent it from being a waste of time, but I ultimately value Her Story more for its audacity than its success.

Very rarely have I done as complete a turnaround with something the way that I did with Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown. I went in concerned about playing another metroidvania and the bumpy start had me questioning the wisdom of requesting this assignment. However, I am happy to report that those feelings dissipated quickly — The Lost Crown is a fantastic project that both honors the lineage of the franchise while also taking it in a bold new direction. One could easily make the argument that this is the best game Ubisoft has produced in around a decade, and it’s an easy call to say that this is 2024’s first must-play title. Don’t miss it.

Though Bang On Balls: Chronicles doesn’t reinvent the platforming or collect-a-thon genres, it vibrantly fills its world to brim with personality, secrets, and silliness, and the pure joy of discovery and chaos in Bang on Balls had me grinning ear-to-ear throughout its brief runtime. This is a must-play for fans missing the collect-a-thons of the ’90s, platforming enthusiasts, or anyone who wants to break stuff and have a great time doing it.

Ultimately, my advice to anyone interested would be to try Riven ’24, but to give it only quiet evenings, with nothing on in the background and a notepad at hand. Savor the world, take in all of its wind-kissed, sea-girt coasts, jewel-like lagoons, and its bright stone facades cut with geometric planes of sun and shade. Prepare to go slowly, prepare to think, and prepare to synthesize. Also, prepare to get stuck. Even with its modernizations, Riven ’24 is an uncompromising experience, though it has incredible things to show those willing to make the journey.

Carrying on the same kind of rough, unpolished quality into a sequel without any innovation is completely unacceptable to me, Star Wars or otherwise.

My complaints about the storytelling and button-pressing aside, it's impossible to deny that Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time is engaging from a tactile perspective—taking out evil toadstools by kicking a red shell back and forth between the mustache brothers just never gets old.

Developers as brave as these should be recognized and celebrated for their efforts, and players who crave something deeper and more meaningful than another shooter with talky cut-scenes would do well to take this journey.

I can accept but no longer appreciate the conventions of the past that Soul Calibur III upholds and I look forward to a game that embodies the newer and more reality-based ideals of competitive fighting.

Homeworld Remastered Collection is a huge proposition, an indelible package, and it deserves to remain a towering monolith in the RTS game canon as long as possible... And now, I think that maybe it's not so bad feeling tiny.

The slightly disappointing storyline aside, it's impressive just how well the whole thing gels together, and DmC: Devil May Cry succeeds on pretty much every level imaginable.

We Love Katamari is a loving, faithful rendition of Katamari Damacy—right down to its camera, which still wedges itself in places and sputters like an old lawnmower.

Looking solely at the gameplay, Great Big War Game delivers. On the other hand, there is more to a game than just the gameplay itself-appearances do matter. From that perspective, it's in need of a little help.

Even with a somewhat steep learning curve and a frustrating final sequence, I enjoyed Fell Seal: Arbiter’s Mark. Solid design and wonderful storytelling more than made up for the annoyance and grind.

The way that Amplitude is structured lends itself more to good reflexes, the memorization of patterns, and concentration rather than simply a good ear for music.

After I'd seen the plot play out and was able to mentally put it aside, it became clear that the lion's share of the pleasure I derived from Bastion was of the technical, hack-'em-up kind. In that regard, I salute it. On the other hand, while my hands enjoyed the time I spent with Bastion, my brain and my heart were left untouched.

I can’t begin to describe how happy it makes me to report that not only is Sonic Mania the triumphant return-to-form that fans have been waiting for over the past twenty years, but Christian Whitehead and his team have made the definitive Sonic game. Of course, this may be a tad hyperbolic coming from a longtime Sonic fan like me, but when I have children, this is the Sonic game i’m going to give them. This is a required purchase for anyone who loves this series, and that dope from the playground, wherever he is, can go launch himself into the sun.

When all’s said and done, Dragon’s Dogma 2 is an outstanding refinement and expansion of every good thing the original — now an undisputed cult classic — brought us, and this sequel is more than welcome, especially since its formula still manages to stand alone when it comes to RPGs.

The devil is really in the details. I was obsessed with collecting recipes all over the world, by seeking out the elusive Wonder Chef, whose dishes provide various healing effects after fights.

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.

I'm far more excited by the ridiculousness of watching a lop-sided ball of junk made of houses, cars, welcome mats, sushi pieces and little girls, with a totem pole jutting out of one side and a herd of cows stuck to the other, rise up into outer space to transform into a star.

Ultimately, it feels as though Indy is having something of an identity crisis. On the one hand, the freedom and agency offered in the latter two-thirds of the world design and free-flowing combat embraces the character in a way that previous digital incarnations haven’t. On the other, stilted puzzle design and a stubborn resistance to its own structure, particularly in the early stages, holds Indiana Jones and the Great Circle back from true greatness.

Everything that Dawn of War does it does exceptionally well. The only real problem is that everything it does has already been done a hundred times before.

For those willing to overlook the lackluster narrative, Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflections is an amazing adventure. The visuals, monsters, and companions made the world feel incredibly alive. The battle system is dramatically improved over its predecessors, and is leaps and bounds better than its initial outing on the Nintendo 3DS. I’m hoping Capcom stays the course with a future Monster Hunter Stories 4, as they are absolutely on the right track with this franchise.

But despite its graphical flair and fancy high-tech features, the hollowness and simplicity of the core gameplay ultimately left the experience feeling unbalanced and unrewarding.

Yes, Max Payne 3 may be a thrilling game, but the most shocking, slickly-produced, well-written cut-scenes in the world can't get a player to fully humanize a character who can magically heal from the same bullet wounds that explode his enemies into red mist.

Resident Evil 7: Biohazard is a tour-de-force. It is scary, disturbing, thrilling, heartbreaking, and intensely satisfying. Played on a television, it’s an exceptionally high-quality first-person horror game. Played in VR, it’s a whole new world of survival horror. This is the best game I’ve played in ages, the strongest argument for purchasing a PSVR, and an exciting new direction for one of gaming’s premier franchises. Rating: Standard version, 9 out of 10. PSVR version, 10 out of 10.

Unfortunately for those sticking to the main route, Rise is a repeat of the 2013 title with less character development and several years' worth of mounting standards.

Despite how many technical and design issues it has now, and regardless of however irrelevant it may be in a few years, PUBG is revelatory, and will always hold a special place in my heart.

With a huge map, hundreds of cars, and countless racetrack possibilities, Forza Horizon 2 is a stellar open world racing game.

As far as deckbuilders go, Monster Train is fantastic. The general strategy and the quirks of fighting on a multi-leveled train make it stand out as its own sort of unique puzzle that rewards players for cleverness. The runs are fast, it’s easy to learn, and the challenge modes give it plenty of depth and replay. Get on board before it leaves the station!

This is the friendliest, most approachable tactics game I've seen in a while, and it's a credit to the 3DS.

Xcom: Enemy Within is a decent expansion to a slightly flawed original.