While the basic premise of The Warriors on the silver screen remains intact in its videogame adaptation, it is confronted with a gritty sense of realism, which gives the original artistic vision of Hill a whole new angle. And that, dear Mr. Ebert, is art indeed.

Red Faction: Guerrilla scores, and it certainly adds a nice twist on the established open-world game formula.

With peerless strategy gameplay, brilliant level design, and great storytelling, Valkyria Chronicles 4 is a worthy inheritor of the name. And just in case the number in the title seems daunting, rest assured, the game is every bit as playable for complete newcomers to the series as it is for those who’ve been waiting 8 years for the series to return to the west.

While I’m glad that I waited for Darkest Dungeon to hit the Switch, I still have misgivings. It’s certainly better on the go now than it was on the Vita, if for no other reason than the screen is simply larger, but it doesn’t feel like a great fit. However, in docked mode it’s still the same amazing game that it’s always been, although it looks sharper on PS4. After holding out all this time to finally get the optimal experience, there’s just no easy answer. However, one thing does remain clear — now that the devs have added even more tweaks and amenities, the core experience is still outstanding no matter what platform it’s on.

Anyone interested in horror, Lovecraft, or top-notch point-and-click adventures has no excuse for missing this one.

The standalone Gwent release is free on GOG, and I encourage those who enjoy it to shell out the money for Thronebreaker, a strong expansion of both the base game and the Witcher universe. Geralt’s portion of this story may have concluded, but the folks at CD Projekt RED seem committed to sharing more tales from this world, and I couldn’t be more excited.

Even if it had made serious strides over Far Cry 3, even if the gameplay held true to the series's core, even if its story weren't junk, even if it had been put together perfectly, I would still find Far Cry 4 annoying as hell. It's not just that Ubisoft can't execute; it seems like they can't design anymore. To compensate, they've just slapped whatever crap they can onto an open world in the desperate hope that large portions will make up for the flavorlessness of the meal. Instead, I got sick of chewing, and longed for the days when Far Cry just shut up and let me shoot some guns.

From start to finish, The Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney Trilogy is intertwined with memorable characters and thrilling courtroom scenes depicting both the best and worst of humanity, presented triumphantly in a manner I won’t forget anytime soon. Even if the core of the gameplay loop is showing its age a bit, it won’t hinder anyone’s enjoyment by much — a good story is a good story, full stop.

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.

Although Moss is relatively short at around four hours long, it was firing on all cylinders at the end, the final portion of the adventure brings the beautiful score, lush visuals, and tight, varied mechanics into a unified whole that’s pushed at a frenetic pace into a satisfying climactic end. I found myself completely exhilarated and thrilled.

Embracelet is a brief experience, but the journey is a satisfying one and this charming idyll is absolutely worth visiting.

Right from the beginning, Silent Hill 3 tells its story with the subtlety of a sledgehammer. The all-important sense of pacing that the first two games had is completely lost.

Outer Wilds is rife with breathtaking sights and sounds, and at the very least, no one could accuse it of being unambitious. Mobius Digital may be a small team but, almost paradoxically, they achieve a remarkable sense of scope by keeping things modest. However, their work suffers from the glacial pace of progress and a hands-off approach to storytelling. My biggest issues – a lack of combat, direction, or material rewards – are obviously deliberate, bold choices on the part of the devs, and I commend Mobius for them while also chiding the cold, inscrutable product that resulted. I admire Outer Wilds, but I don’t love it.

Its thin characters and unconvincing narrative aside, the game maintains a sense of inertia, pounding action, and a balance between solid gunplay, distracting puzzles, and satisfying environmental traversal.

It’s not hyperbole when I say that by recognizing all of its ifs and thoroughly ironing them out, Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun is one of the best tactics title I’ve ever played, and it’s certainly one of the finest games I’ve played this year. As a masterpiece in nearly every respect, I salute Mimimi Productions and eagerly look forward to their next work.

It never feels as though it's doing much more than going through the motions, and as a result, neither did I. Lacking the joy and spirit intrinsic to truly inspired projects, inFamous may have painted by the numbers correctly, but technical success is not the same thing as creating a brilliant masterpiece.

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.

Radiant Historia: Perfect Chronology offers a staggering amount of content for the price — there are nearly 300 different events to see, and the campaign can finish with dozens of possible endings. Patient RPG fans looking for intriguing story hooks and puzzle-like battle mechanics would do well to try it. Those looking to simply enjoy the narrative without being punished can also dip into Friendly mode and enjoy the experience as well.

I wound up bailing out on Star Wars: The Old Republic well before hitting the level cap, but not before digging into it more so than any other MMO I've played. Even if it is an unhappy marriage between two wildly different game types, the fact that it kept me hooked for so long at least counts for something.

Overall, Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle brings a welcome shot of vitality to the turn-based strategy genre thanks to interesting team mechanics and a colorful Nintendo theme that sets it apart from its contemporaries. Taking one of the biggest IPs in the world and marrying it to an all new type of gameplay was a huge risk that paid off wonderfully, and I’m glad that it finally found its way to my Switch. Now, bring me a sequel with a couple of needed improvements and 100% fewer rabbids, and we’re in business…

Difficulty aside, Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time is arguably the manic marsupial’s best adventure yet, and an imaginative, enjoyable and welcome return for one of gaming’s most beloved mascots. It’s by no means a revolution, but it does feel like the game Naughty Dog intended to make over 20 years ago, this time fully realized by the devs at Toys for Bob. Crash fans and platforming fans alike would be N. Sane to miss it.

Ni No Kuni II is absolutely delightful. While the original was bogged down by some cumbersome mechanics, Level 5 has done an outstanding job of cutting the fat while adding new elements and keeping things fresh — It has almost none of the filler that plagues the JRPG genre. I can’t stress how happy it makes me to see a game as good as this appeal to both someone like me, and to children as well. But most importantly, it’s not a kids’ game — it’s just a fantastic JRPG.

While the bonus modes didn’t hold my attention for long, Shantae: Half-Genie Hero Ultimate Edition still comes highly recommended based on the strength of the two primary campaigns alone.

The quality of the port and of the game itself make Valkyria Chronicles Remastered a must-play title for strategy fans who haven't cracked it yet. The proposition of a purchase might be a bit more fraught for vets who don't feel the need to revisit since there's no genuinely new content here, but there's no question that it's good to see this classic made available to new fans on a new console.

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.

Nobody comes to platformers for the story, they come to them for joy of play – and Demon Tides is nearly pure mechanical joy. It’s a geyser of creativity and passion that ennobles the genre. There are flaws, but they’re very hard to see from the heights this game reaches the vast majority of the time. Anybody with any interest in jumping and/or collecting should leap, not walk, to the digital storefront.

Creeps into your life under the simple guise of a game and soon dominates your every waking (and occasionally sleeping) moment. It's like being possessed in The Exorcist or like a pod person in Invasion of the Body Snatchers—you still look like you, but you're sort of a shell of your former self because all of your faculties are focused on the game.

Despite the uneven quality of its contents, there’s no denying the sheer value present in Kingdom Hearts 1.5 + 2.5 ReMix. It’s the Greatest Hits Collection of Kingdom Hearts, and anyone curious about the series or looking to refresh their memory ahead of the new stuff should pick it up.

In spite of these less-than-stellar choices, I will say that Crysis 2's high points outshine the low ones. Frankly speaking, it's rare that I'm able to completely disconnect from a game's plot and remain interested enough to roll credits, but in this particular case, putting the Nanosuit through its paces was more than enough to keep me playing from start to finish. If the developers tweak a few things and put more emphasis on the free-form parts of play that shine the brightest, I'll be quite interested to see what happens when Crytek starts hyping Nanosuit 3.0. Rat

Those interested in Persona 4 Arena: Ultimax for the fighting will be satisfied with what's on offer, but narrative fans curious about what happens to the gang before the next official Persona RPG debuts will likely feel burned. The story side is a tedious, thudding disappointment compared to the stellar stuff the series usually delivers.

There was never any question that I was going to obtain and enjoy Rare Replay, but there's enough great content here to ensure that even those players who didn't grow up with these games will find a lot to love.

In summation, nirvanA Initiative‘s a good time. It does get a little long in the tooth during certain sequences and the pacing’s not as tight as it should be, but it’s a well-written and amusing murder mystery that should scratch the itch of any Visual Novel fan in the market for solving some of the craziest homicides in videogames.

If Monolith's ducks had all been in a row, Mordor could have been a top contender for the year, but even so, it's still worth getting into for no other reason than it delivers what I've wanted from Assassin's Creed since the start.

Like Pokémon, SMTV doesn’t do much to change its formula. Newcomers might want a greater emphasis on story or less grind to the gameplay, but those who are keen for this sort of content will find what might well be the best in the Shin Megami Tensei series thanks to its stylish graphics and engaging tactical gameplay.

Though there’s a surprisingly large field of competitors on the platform, Rolling Gunner ends up as the best scrolling shooter available on the Switch. While it clearly embraces the traditions of its arcade-oriented predecessors, Koizumi’s work serves as both as a solid introduction to the genre as well as a satisfying deep-dive for veterans.

The unfamiliar battle system may put some newcomers off, but those who don't mind putting in a little practice will be well-rewarded with one of the best and freshest fighters in ages. That it's also one of the most absurdly good-looking titles in years is just gravy on top of a pretty damned special meal.

It's visually attractive, tuned to perfection, and presents a classic formula that never goes out of style.

The lack of ability to control the pitch in the air is incredibly frustrating.

If anything, Revival did more to ruin my memories of the old Street Fighter games, because I don't ever remember playing a Street Fighter title with controls as poor as this one.

I liken this year’s football shootout to musicians. In the current season, FIFA is like Madonna – aging but venerable, full of glitz and entertainment value, but ultimately lacking substance. Contrarily, PES is like a fiery independent singer, with minimal flash but much deeper soul where it counts most. In the end, both performers might put a smile on gamers’ faces, but FIFA’s bloat and wrinkles are beginning to show, especially with a younger, hungrier upstart nipping at its heels.

Reventure is a masterpiece of design. With its sharp satirical humour, its tight controls, and its endless inventiveness, Reventure actively invites players to engage with it again and again and again. This isn’t just a love letter to adventure games, it’s a great adventure in its own right, transcending the expectations of the genre to offer a fantastic, multi-faceted experience that satisfies in every regard.

The core experience is still a truly fantastic, deep adventure that should be played by pretty much everyone who can tolerate a stiff, unyielding challenge – but the minimal effort put into this remaster also smacks of a fairly lazy cash grab. New players should dive in without a second thought, but for those who’ve traveled through the Kiln and back before… well, just be aware that there’s almost nothing truly new on offer here.

The writing is strong, its unconventional take on the standard SRPG formula shows creativity, and there's just no denying the fact that this series keeps putting out top-quality game after top-quality game.

If the rest of Tales of the Borderlands is as solid as Zer0 Sum, then Telltale will be able to count another great story under its belt.

Forza Motorspot may not blow most players away with this latest, and indeed greatest installment, but at the same time it’s also hard not to be impressed by what’s on show here. It’s a little risk-averse, but also polished to a high sheen and laser focused on providing a realistic and detailed racing simulation to its core audience, and I think most players will be more than happy with what’s included in this package.

Monster Hunter Tri is most definitely not a game that will appeal to everyone, but it is by far the most polished, user-friendly and approachable entry in the series

There's nothing revolutionary to be found here—no innovative play mechanics, no stunning graphics. This is a rock-solid Nazi-blasting FPS, and nothing more.

A fantastic stealth shooter that, for the most part, utilizes its strengths to great detail, providing a unique experience in terms of level design and the morality of killing in videogames.

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.

At least the petty indignities of the multiplayer are optional and situated around gameplay that's solid and unique, if frustratingly stagnant. In the single-player campaign, however, it's impossible to escape the ham-fisted manipulations of the Assassin's Creed III development team.

I’m grateful that singleplayer exists since it’s hard enough to get two friends together, let alone getting two to commit to a long campaign. However, For the King is a game best enjoyed with others. I finished it solo, but the lack of other players made the experience less enriching. With this in mind, For the King is a jolly questing experience, both as a local and online boardgame experience.

As it stands, it's a fairly empty, unfocused experience that will find a number of fans regardless thanks to the power of the truly killer visuals.

The definitive edition of the game, and should be a no-brainer for existing fans of the series. Newcomers shouldn't miss out either, as it presents deep, meaty gameplay and narrative experience that puts paid the notion that portable platforms can't be home to true enthusiast fare.

After one day of playing GoW4, I knew it was an awesome title. After one month of diving deep into all campaign and multiplayer modes, that feeling hasn’t wavered. The developers showed hints of brilliance with their remake of the original Gears, but no one could have predicted just how firm a grasp they had on the intricacies of what makes this series so special. Its few flaws knocked my score down a few notches, but the gameplay is well-paced, gorgeous to watch, and tremendously satisfying. GoW4 a system-seller and a must-have title for any self-respecting fan of shooters.

There's no denying the sheer amount of joy and mirth to be had in Mass Effect 3: Citadel, even if knowing what led to its creation and how the story ends afterwards casts it in a strange, sad light.

343 Industries made a terrific impression with their first dip into the franchise, but with a lackluster campaign and multiplayer that still needs tuning, Halo 5: Guardians makes them look like one-hit wonders.

Lil Gator Game is a short but sweet experience about the importance of holding on to childlike wonder, in addition to being a solid open-world adventure and having one of the funniest scripts around. For players looking for something that harkens back to a simpler time and delivers delight in spades, they can’t go wrong with this one.

Given that they're already churning out over an hour of CGI each time, wouldn't their resources be better spent tacking on just a little more story and calling them films?

Nothing else needs to be said—Zen Pinball 2 owners should buy South Park Pinball. South Park fans must buy this table pack.

Here we have a game that has streamlined itself, stripped away every inconvenient impediment to mass appeal, and in that cleansing has lost something vital

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.

[Vyse's] simple and fun-loving personality is a welcome trait compared to the angst-ridden heroes of today's more popular RPG titles.

Those rough spots aside, The Missing isn’t just a great game — it’s an important one. It uses grim and upsetting content to put players inside of the mind of a troubled person, then offers them a path towards healing. It doesn’t suggest that overcoming mental and social problems is easy, but it resonates like few other things have in recent memory. I can’t say that I personally related to J.J.’s struggle, but by the end of the story, I can say that I felt her pain — and isn’t that what art is for?

Enter the Gungeon is a wonderful mix of intricate difficulty and vast silliness (dodge)rolled into one— Any player partial to roguelikes or bullet-hell games will find a lot to do, and completists will be running around the gungeon for months to come.

Despite those bumps, there's no arguing that Telltale is turning out must-play material with The Walking Dead, and unless the game somehow crashes and burns on an epic scale before it reaches the end of the fifth and final episodes, it's guaranteed to earn a spot on my year-end "best" list. Don't miss it.

While it might be listed as a cute and creepy summer adventure in a PR blast, that doesn’t begin to scratch the surface of what it truly offers. Rather, it’s wonderful coming-of-age story about a young boy still grieving, creating powerful friendships, and finding his “true” happy ending.

While the multi never panned out for me and the campaign missions can sometimes be more frustrating than fun, there's something undeniably juicy about Frozen Synapse Prime.

Thumper isn’t going to revolutionize rhythm games, nor is it the best example of VR out there, but it’s still worth taking a look at — just be sure to listen to your body as you play. If you feel fatigued, battered down, or depressed, then take the headset off and get some air. The overall experience will be better for it. Trust me.

There's one hell of a third-person action game to be found here—quite possibly the best in its class—for anyone willing to look beyond the game's off-putting exterior.

Tom Happ took great care when taking the Metroid formula and expanding on everything that makes it great, and it shows. Although I spent a bit too much time wandering around and I could have done without the eleventh-hour difficulty spike, Axiom Verge is an excellent Sci-Fi adventure that I'd recommend to anyone.

The Geo Mod engine provides mere window dressing to what is nothing more than your standard FPS, complete with big freaking guns and explosions.

Welcome to Elk is a fascinating experiment in game creation that succeeds on multiple levels, and players interested in storytelling, small-town life, or the intricacies of working with meta-elements would do well to check it out.

I won’t say that Umurangi Generation is the best game of 2020, but it’s almost certainly the most relevant, and not just for its most apropos parallels (like an abundance of face masks). This game is a sobering plea of the disaffected youth, and real-world events have given us countless reasons to lose faith in the idiots our parents put in charge. It’s only fitting that the teens at the core of this story never actually speak, because they were deprived a voice by the people who built this terrible future for them.

Overall, I was hooked by the atmosphere and easy-to-learn management of this summer road trip. In a time where games can be a wonderful escape from current world events, Keep Driving brought me back to a younger time when a car meant freedom and opportunity, and a reminder of those good times was more than welcome. As such, Keep Driving is an easy recommendation for sure!

Mortal Kombat has rebooted itself into respectability.

Despite the super armor mechanic, there’s still an absolute ton to love about Streets of Rage 4. The enhanced combo engine is a neat addition that can lead to some seriously insane beatdowns, four player local co-op’s great, and the sleek graphical style, fantastic music and bonus retro characters are all excellent accompaniments to an undeniably strong entry in the 2D beat-’em-up genre. It’s a truly wonderful return to form for a beloved gaming franchise that’s been absent for far too long.

Warhead expands on the forward-thinking ideas presented in Crysis and truly takes them to the next level.

Need for Speed: Most Wanted is caught between two worlds. The game can't quite decide if it wants to be an arcade or a simulation racing game, and it takes a lot to get used to this in-between zone it occupies. That said, once the adjustment period is over, there is a lot of enjoyment to be had when it's not being frustrating.

The larger issue, though, is that heavy, uncomfortable shooting mechanics like these have no place in a series like Uncharted. It was fine in a gritty, downtrodden survival tale like The Last of Us, but this is a series in which inhumanly characters are constantly falling from perilous heights and surviving without a hair out of place afterward. This is a power fantasy. Let it be a power fantasy.

Ironically enough for a game which centers around the concept of genetic ancestry, however, it continually lets itself down by refusing to break away from its own tired and worn-out heritage,

When I’m up against players at a similar skill level and we’re all using the default characters, Soulcalibur VI can be a beautiful dance between players who are one with their weapons. This is a rare occasion, though. More often, I’m stuck trying to fend off oversized custom characters spamming Reversal Edge. With so many people killing what could be a good time online, I think I’ll stick to Tekken to get my fighting game fix.

It’s damn near perfect, and offers an immensely satisfying experience with plenty of replayability — it’s so good, in fact, that after completing it for the first time, I sat down and immediately completed it again on Hard Mode.

While I’d say that the Aliens vs. Pinball pack delivers great value for money overall, the Aliens table all by itself is an absolute knockout. For fans of Aliens or of Zen Pinball 2, picking this one is the definition of a no-brainer.

My advice -- hold on to your $30 until Nintendo releases the inevitable sequels to Super Mario Advance featuring games far worthier of another look.

It’s not an absolute slam dunk for the return of the Tales series, but it’s a solidly-crafted JRPG with a great battle system and fabulous environments to adventure through. It’s a shame the dialogue and story don’t match the stellar work done elsewhere, but on the whole it’s still a trip well worth taking.

If I were to look at any single aspect in isolation, Shape of Dreams isn’t the best roguelite I played in 2025, but it shines by delivering an enjoyable experience with plentiful meta progression that encourages diverse builds and character mastery. These qualitites keep me coming back to grind for more unlocks and the options and modifiers give ample choice to tailor the experience to my taste. For players who are interested in trying this style of combat, or for those who just want to just hop in for a chaotic dungeon run with friends, I fully recommend Shape of Dreams.

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.

Resident Evil Village proves that the developers at Capcom knows exactly what series fans want, and they’re happy to offer it, along with a lot more than anyone was expecting. Resident Evil 7 was a revolution for the series by framing the action in personal, intimate terms that intensified the scares and violence via the first-person perspective. Resident Evil Village proves that the same approach works just as well when removed from the small-scale, southern gothic setting and the action ramps up. Village really is the best of both worlds, and an amazing accomplishment for the series.

I don't know what possessed People Can Fly to saddle such an exceptional action experience with such a terrible story, but being surrounded by monstrously stupid, foul-mouthed sociopaths actively lessened the gameplay experience for me. So long as a player can tune out the plot and characters, Bulletstorm is an unmitigated action masterpiece, but damn, does the story work hard to mitigate everything good about the game.

FRU absolutely delighted me with its ingenuity and elegance. It has gone on to become not only a surprisingly enjoyable indie gem, but one of my absolute favorite exclusives for the Xbox One, and one of my favorites of all time.

For most of its length, FTL is good, bordering on great, but the end is so poor I'd rather quit than win the game.

Due to the bugs, it felt at times like I was fighting New Vegas rather than playing it, and the weariness I felt at the prospect of that battle sometimes was not outweighed by the draw of exploring yet another minimalist location or mowing down more legionaries. That's a real shame, because Fallout: New Vegas almost manages to perfectly synthesize the different strengths of Fallout 3 and its predecessors. Had the world design and the code been as excellent as the writing, we might have had a masterpiece on our hands.

There's greatness in Xenoblade Chronicles X, but it's a shame that it's too often buried under terrible writing and awkward design decisions. That said, when standing atop a forgotten mountain in a hulking Skell as the sun sets... well, it's easy to forget those issues temporarily. Despite all my complaints, I still had a hundred and ten hours go by in the blink of an eye. Xenoblade can be a great experience and surprisingly absorbing at times, but its extreme rough edges could easily shear the skin off a rhino.

A good game that will give gamers roughly twenty hours of offline entertainment and countless more online with friends. My biggest beef remains the fact that the game feels more like an expansion of last year's title as opposed to a new experience.

While the story is pretty obvious from the jump, I still enjoyed it and the great sense of atmosphere that abounds — I was eager to dive deeper, and the flexibility of the puzzles always made me feel clever. In that sense, Viewfinder is an experience I’d readily recommend to anyone, whether they’re a puzzle aficionado or not.

Puyo Pop achieves what a good puzzle game asks for, simple execution yet addictive and deep fun, adding a distinctly weird Japanese flavor to a premise that originated in Russia.