If we assume that videogames are partly about realizing control-fantasies, Nintendogs is about the absolute opposite. Coping with the stubborn and playfully anarchic mindset of a puppy can teach gamers an important lesson: learn to let go.

Seeing my custom character discuss very serious plans while wearing samurai armor and an angry tiger mask is the best comedic relief any game has offered me in the past ten years, and replaying it brought me back to a time in middle school when I wanted nothing but open-world. It’s also the perfect starting point for those new to the series, and any game that lets me dress up as a hot dog while flying on a motorized broomstick deserves a glowing recommendation.

Mortal Kombat 11 was already fantastic, and Aftermath gave me the perfect excuse to revisit it. It looks great, it plays great, and for players (like me) who would rather not get beaten to a pulp by the savants online, dipping in for some drama and a few offline matches is hard to beat. The price is an eyebrow-raiser for players that have already put money in, but for anyone who enjoyed MK11 and wants more, this is a no-brainer.

The Castlevania series is something of a comfort food for me, and any game that can properly emulate what it does gets my recommendation. Predictable as it may be, Reverie is the tight, efficient, and beautiful work from someone who knows the subgenre well. I may even go check out the other three now.

Yakuza 5 is more Yakuza. Way more, and while the content isn't always the best of the series, it's still damned good for the most part. While every decent moment of pulse-pounding drama may be matched by a dose of piffle where characters stare into the distance and talk about following their dreams, there's no denying that Yakuza still brings the heat. Even after spending seventy hours on this, I'm still definitely up for more.

For those craving some deliciously cheesy B-movie flavor wrapped around a concise open-world core, Maneater delivers.

Dead Space 2 is pretty good at that, and the technical work is almost unimpeachable, but something essential has been lost.

Despite the issues outlined above, I've been enjoying my time with Mind Zero, and would recommend it to fans of Persona open to a different take on combat, while being accepting of something that's not as heavy on story.

In a fictional world obsessed with punishment, perhaps it’s fitting that victory in Blasphemous doesn’t come without its share of pains and tribulations. I can’t say that I adored every second of Blasphemous, nor can I guarantee that its conclusion will satisfy everyone, but I can certainly credit The Game Kitchen for building a universe unlike any I’ve seen in games. I’m nauseated by it, yet I can’t look away, and I certainly won’t stop thinking about it anytime soon.

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.

ELEX 2 outdoes its predecessor in every way. The story is more interesting, the character writing is even deeper, and the threats are far more colorful and deadly. While the ending promises a third chapter to come, I only hope the devs fix the combat next time — perhaps they should just ditch melee entirely? Ranged weaponry is the only thing really working here, so perhaps double down on that and focus entirely on guns, arrows, and spells — it works well enough in games like Mass Effect, so why not try it in an open-world context? ELEX 2 is just one failed element away from being a truly great game — unfortunately, that element is ‘Action’ and it’s an Action-RPG.

While it’s far from the most attractive FPS I’ve played this year, Verdun gets its setting and tone incredibly right. There’s a moment in every match where I found myself peering out from behind cover, looking down my rifle, desperate to catch sign of any movement in a field of debris — a moment where the game completely justifies its setting and mechanics. Verdun is rough at times and only half of its modes are any good, but those special moments it offers are rare enough to deserve attention.

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.

Rogue Aces is a true accomplishment, a game that updates a formula from the very earliest days of home computing and makes it feel vital and engaging. While it may not be easy, it’s accessible to all levels of players, and goes to prove that there’s seemingly no classic genre of videogame that a few roguelike elements can’t improve.

Remnant II: The Forgotten Kingdom worked for me because it’s more than a rehash. Between the standalone story for the jungle realm of Yaesha and a good chunk of new booms and buffs for the more mechanically-inclined, this expansion is certainly full of good reasons to return to these realms.

And despite the very real possibility of some people being put off by the huge amount of text to get through, I strongly feel that Riviera has quite a bit to offer-not only to people still hanging on to their GBAs, but to fans of RPG's in general.

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.

Continues aside, Mecha Ritz excels in other areas. Controls are smooth and precise. Graphics are stellar and would feel right at home on the original PlayStation. And I don’t talk about soundtracks often, but the one in Mecha Ritz is top-notch – energetic, electronic beats feel right at home in a world-ending robot clash. Hopefully I am wrong about the lack of continues scaring players away, because Mecha Ritz: Steel Rondo is a solid shmup in all other aspects. It fit right in with my small rotation of shmup games and has become a great way to relax after a stressful day of work and life commitments.

You could make an argument for any one part of Crypt Custodian being the thing that holds it together — the writing, the tactful platforming, or even the somber-yet-delightful world design. But while no single part stands out, these disconnected parts make the whole world worth exploring, experiencing – and yes, cleaning – to its very end.

Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner—Soul Hackers certainly looks and feels like an RPG from a different era—but for me, that's part of the charm. Gamers expecting something along the lines of Persona 4 will need to lower their expectations a bit, because it's almost two decades old.

Although Zero Mission's overwhelming quality wins out in the end, the first play reveals a game that's just too slick for its own good, toeing the fine line between a fun, streamlined experience and a hollow, transient one.

By forgetting some of the market expectations and putting a bit of themselves into their work, the game's creators (some of them at least) have made confident and convincing strides towards evolving the genre, and struck a balance between Eastern and Western gaming tastes that only Nintendo is normally capable of nailing so well. [Andrew "Fletch" Fletcher]

Solo is quiet and playful, with bright colors and a soft art style designed to charm the player into a sense of security so that they’re more willing to divulge their true feelings. It doesn’t offer the deepest or most revelatory personality analysis, but as a tool to make players stop and consider the value they place on romantic relationships in their lives, Solo is a stunning success.

New Gundam Breaker is a love letter to Gundam fandom to the point where the devs can’t imagine that anyone playing wouldn’t know the mechs inside and out. In light of this, the real testament to New Gundam Breaker’s success is the fact that its obvious passion for its subject made me want to learn.

SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake is the kind of thing I love to champion — a mid-budget licensed platformer with a few rough edges that could have easily existed in the ’00s. Sure, it’s not breaking any new ground and could use a little polish when it comes to level design and performance on the Switch, but the final product is a joyous ride from start to finish. For fans of the series like me or anyone else who can’t get enough of that yellow sponge, this undersea multiverse adventure is worth checking out.

It’s the kind of straightforward game that I desperately want more of, but its occasional faults combined with strong competition and a top-dollar price have made it an afterthought less than a month after release. A year from now, a lot of people are gonna buy this on sale for less than $20 and be impressed — that’s not going to help get Immortals of Aveum 2 greenlit, But I do hope the studio finds enough success now to get themselves another project off the ground. They clearly have a lot of potential.

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.

Super Crush KO is a gentle entry into the world of twitch-based combo brawling action — a safe, warm pool for people curious about the genre to dip their toes in before attempting to walk hot coals with Dante or Bayonetta. Also, and I can’t stress this enough, it has a really, really, really cute cat.