Mario Kart is typically the best racer for most people. That’s no different with Mario Kart 8. Nintendo has combined its classic gameplay (finely tuned as ever) with beautiful visuals, and the result is something that I love playing — and so will most people.

Bethesda went the extra mile to tweak existing quests in order to fully integrate the experience, and their effort shows. The constant treks across Skyrim do get a bit old after a while, but the wealth of new powers, information, and intrigue you'll find along the way more than makes up for the long walks.

LaserLife is terrific, though quite brief. It’s filled with wonderful sights and sounds that build into a memorable expedition into the universal human experience. Despite its lack of length — and some irritating technical issues — it’s a tremendously fun and memorable adventure that stays with you long after its sounds have faded away.

The light swipes of the controls can take a gentle touch, and you’ll definitely want to just buy the unlimited credits rather than put up with the freemium annoyances. It won’t entertain you for day-long stints. But if you like Pac-Man, this version is a must for your phone.

Curse of the Moon 2 didn’t need to innovate on much. The whole point of the series is to give Castlevania fans an experience similar to those classic 8-bit adventures. And Curse of the Moon 2 does that well, offering a fun and challenging sidescroller with beautiful pixel art and tons of replayability. But it also lacks the nostalgic punch of its predecessor. Instead of feeling like the first new classic Castlevania game in decades, Curse of the Moon 2 is the first one in a couple of years. That’s really through no fault of its own, but just as Mega Man 10 doesn’t have the same reverence as Mega Man 9, I expect a similar fate for Curse of the Moon 2.

Despite all the advances, Giants suffers from poor video quality and characters who jabber incessantly. Younger players might not notice, but new gamers coming to the franchise could find it grating to listen to the same line of dialogue over and over only to get a cheesy-looking cutscene as a reward for their patience.

Persona 4 Arena Ultimax does everything a good fighting game sequel should. It adds new characters, modes, and other changes that improve the experience. The story is a bit long, but it features plenty of fan-service for devoted followers of the series.

If you already tried the 1.5 HD Remix and couldn’t get into the series, I doubt this will change your mind. But for Kingdom Hearts fans, this is a great package.

Like Donkey Kong ’94, Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker is a fun experience distilled down into digestible chunks.

I enjoyed the novelty of the interface along with the ability to experiment with maximizing different character classes. There are some genuinely cool moments that harken back to classic RPGs, especially around the boss fights. Because of the threat of perma-death, they felt especially tense and I had to psych myself up before I took on the Big Bad. Despite some repetitive content, the overall experience was fresh and fun.

Hitman Go is a smart and well-designed puzzle game that proves being an assassin can be fun, even in a meticulous, turn-based way.

The final product doesn’t feel like a 2016 game. Instead, it’s this strange adventure that invites you to get lost in its world. I love that, and I think anyone who loved Team Ico’s previous games will appreciate what they find here.

While two big draws are definitely the affordable price and flexible multiplayer options, the game also earns its place among the other top action-RPGS of the year. It's well made and fun, just not revolutionary.

The Deus Ex series has a great storyline, and it paints a compelling, serious vision of the future that we should all consider to be a warning, given our own divisive political climate. I love how a video game can bring up a serious subject and hold up a mirror to our own times. But the ending makes it feel like this story just isn’t finished, that it’s simply a midway marker to a larger, more weighty tale with a full and satisfying ending. Deus Ex: Mankind Divided takes us only part way there, and we still want to get to those enemies in the shadows.

Sorcerer King offers a nice strategic balance, and the feeling of carving a swath through a landscape already dominated by your enemy gives the game a fun, challenging feel.

Dark Room doesn’t give you much room to complain, unless you hate things that make you have feelings. It’s the best-paced, most emotional entry yet, and it handles its super-serious subject matter with skill and maturity. This is the chapter we’ve been waiting to play since the beginning.

Crysis 3 is the strongest entry in the franchise. The puzzle-like combat scenarios have never been better with its suite of gameplay options and opportunities while the engaging narrative urges you to see Prophet’s journey through to the end. And if you’re a console owner, you can rest easy knowing that it still looks great on seven-year-old hardware.

Offers almost everything a Borderlands 2 fan might want in their DLC, but it all ends up being a little too expected to truly achieve ground-breaking status. Thankfully, some hilarious new characters and an impressive setting hoist the add-on content up to a level that makes it hard not to recommend to anyone looking for a little bit more of that sweet, sweet loot.

Die-hard Danganronpa lovers: add seven points to this score. For everyone else: 85.

With combat that’s simple but has some depth and a story that fits in the franchise’s lineage, this ramp up to next month’s Final Fantasy XV is a great way to enjoy a story you love while also sharing it with others who are experiencing it for the first time.

The inclusion of Drivatars also helped keep my attention.

As the midway point of the series, it could've easily become a filler episode, but the shocks, twists, and character revelations keep the story's momentum trundling along as steadily as the train Lee and company now ride on.

If you want an in-depth gaming experience, this isn’t the title for you. But if you’re looking for a quick taste of the Star Wars universe on the small screen, this is an easy to play, surprisingly engaging little game.

Pyre backs up its eye candy with some pretty impressive world-building and fun gameplay, particularly in Versus Mode.

Far Cry 5 is mechanically sound and varied. You’ll find something that entertains you, and Ubisoft has nailed all of the underlying elements of character and world progression. At the same time, it squanders some decent writing because it can’t decide what kind of game it is.

It’s been so long since I could say, without any second guessing or qualifiers, that I like a Resident Evil game. I don’t just like Revelations — I adore it. Slower mechanics, scrounging for items, and marching headlong into the unknown are features not entirely lost in new RE games, but they’re rarely expressed as well as they were in pre-RE4 titles.

This is probably the weakest episode yet, but only because of those very minor problems in the first section of the game. Don’t take that as some kind of damning criticism because this is still a very good time. I’m still riveted.

It still manages to be deep and suspenseful some two decades later, which is a testament to how skillfully crafted the original was. By keeping true to its roots, Resident Evil HD Remaster manages to strip away all of the superfluous additions we’ve seen piled on over the years, leaving only survival horror in its purest form.

All That Remains is short, roughly two hours long. Yet Telltale Games has done a good job in setting up future episodes by asking tantalizing questions about its plot and cast.

Angry Birds Star Wars is far from the most original game you'll play, but the addicting formula still works great, and fans of the classic movies will love seeing this silly take on Luke Skywalker's adventures.

It’s not the system’s best puzzle game — that’s still probably Crashmo — but it is its most varied.

Ubisoft managed to turn a complex genre into a Mario-friendly experience that never insults the intelligence of its players.

Although a bit slower paced than its predecessors, In Harm’s Way is probably the most violent entry of the series to date. It introduces intriguing new characters and gives old ones (very brief) screen time. But it’s the progression of Clementine’s character that will keep you invested throughout the short runtime.

Madden NFL 25 is the best American football game I’ve played since Sega’s last NFL 2K effort. It’s polished. It presents itself well. And it’s a lot of fun.

The look, feel, and sound won me over. Forgiving the mission structure and forgetting the tower-defense junk, this is pretty much what I would expect from an action shooter for this console generation.

Shadowrun Returns stumbles a bit in its effort to re-create on the PC the isometric RPG world gamers fell in love with on classic consoles, but it redeems itself by providing players with a seemingly infinite toolbox to craft their own adventures.

Sonic Lost World is beautifully brutal. More important, however, is that it’s a worthy addition to Sega’s most beloved franchise.

The depth of puzzles and creative building aspect will keep players hungrily coming back for more.

The game's cast and gameplay are just as inventive as they were in the past, and I had trouble controlling that "one more match" urge while playing. The content available is comparable to most modern games, and this should be required playing for any fan of the genre.

While minor bugs, inconsistencies, and a lackluster story restrain Watch Dogs, its impressive environments, fluid interconnected mechanics and welcome multiplayer components set the bar for future open-world experiences, and help it to stand as a sign of things to come.

SteamWorld Quest is so refreshing because it’s a turn-based RPG I want to play specifically because of its combat. It is so rewarding to work toward a big play and then dropping three cards with multiple synergies.

I’ve never been much of a history buff, but maybe I would be if more games like Valiant Hearts: The Great War existed. Between the artistic backdrops and the soldierly tasks you commit, both right and wrong, Ubisoft Montpellier retells the events of World War I in amazing detail. Yet, the story is always about the people on the frontlines and what they endured, not the politics.

Though I had a few minor quibbles over Overcooked 2’s garnishes, it’s overall a delectable followup.

Even though the PS3 and Xbox 360 aren’t equipped to give you the best ACIV experience, the core adventure here is more than good enough for fans who won’t be burying their current-gen consoles any time soon.

This newcomer thinks that Yakuza Kiwami is a blast. I can’t speak to how different it is from the first game, but the sheer amount of content and personality makes it worth checking out. Though the fights could get repetitive at times, the combat system kept things interesting on the whole.

It’s a must-play word game with an adorable visual style and plenty of incentive to keep you coming back because the quest for bears is noble and just, especially when they’re this cute.

The game’s high production values add charm and character to the experience. The compelling storyline and animation make up for dialogue that might linger a little too long and puzzles that might speed by a little too quickly.

The original Devil May Cry paved new roads in action gaming. As a remake, DmC: Devil May Cry largely repaves the same road, but a gleefully brutal combat system and the patented bad attitude bring the sexy back to mass demon extermination. Even better, the action endures throughout a lengthy campaign with few drops in the tempo - no small feat, that.

The visuals remain entrancing, the music is as powerful today as when it was released, and the task of clearing baddies from webs continues to be challenging. If you can look past the roughest levels, you’ll find this to be a fun and highly memorable game. Here’s hoping Llamasoft gives it a little post-release polish so it can become a modern classic, just like Tempest 2000.

Progress is the smartest use of an iPad I’ve seen in a long while.

The challenges will please more core gamers while the comprehensible level design will likely attract new players attracted to the art style and refreshingly different gameplay mechanics. I recommend it heartily to fans of Portal (either version) as well as gamers who may be suffering from shooter fatigue.

In spite of its uninspiring story, Splinter Cell: Blacklist creates a sense of urgency that few games can match. It gives you the tools — the guns, the high-tech devices, the goggles — to accomplish your mission and then lets you use them as you see fit.

Nostalgic WWE enthusiasts will love the enormous roster of modern and classic superstars, and the 30 Years of Wrestlemania mode is the most entertaining single-player campaign the series has seen.

It’s fun to play in two-level sessions, allocating around half an hour to an hour per level, and between the main objectives, optional missions, and side story quests, there’s an incredible amount to see and do here.

While the industry seems to have moved on from both the PlayStation 3 and traditional role-playing games, Atelier Shallie: Alchemists of the Dusk Sea is good enough to bring players back.

The game and story have a couple of execution flaws, but A Way Out tells a good story, and much of the vibe about the themes of trust, brotherhood, revenge, and loss are conveyed through gameplay in a novel way. That’s reflects a good understanding about the cutting edge of interactive achievement.

Deadpool won’t win any awards for innovation, and it won’t really stick with you, but you’ll have a hard time not enjoying its self-aware humor and action. Fans of Deadpool the character will have a great time with Deadpool the game. As far as super hero games go, this is definitely one of the better ones.

I wished the story was longer and the game had more things to do besides capturing things in a hole. But the story was lighthearted and the gameplay was fun. If you don’t have high expectations, I think you’ll find Donut County is a nice diversion.

It's a neat trick for a game to dish out a real challenge without inflicting a lot of stress in the process. This is not something we see very often, and it would be nice if developers could replicate this experience more frequently.

Beyond tools, save points, and modest firearms, you absolutely cannot underestimate the importance of Alien: Isolation’s sound. Just like the art direction, the music offers the same kind of fan-pleasing connective tissue to Ridley Scott’s film.

Fans will like it, but they won't love it. It is a bit of a letdown when it comes to providing enough new experiences.

If I was a more cynical and lazy person, I could have written this review in one sentence: Yup, it’s Soulcalibur. But I also happen to like Soulcalibur, so I won’t complain too much.

It’s a little sad that Star Fox Zero, a game that wonderfully shows the benefits of the Wii U Gamepad, came out so late in the system’s life. Still, it’s worth getting for anyone who owns the console, especially if you were a fan of the series in the ’90s.

As strong as the writing is for the background conversations, the main story is confusing, and, at the end, predictable.

Elite: Dangerous is unforgiving, obfuscating, and occasionally dull, but it’s always immersive and beautiful. It offers an incredible universe to explore that, despite occasional graphical repetition, offers the tantalising possibility of wonders yet unseen at the end of each new hyperspace jump.

Delivers huge value at a generous price: $40. If all you want is racing, you might be disappointed when you learn everything that awaits you, but it's easy to appreciate the wealth of multiplayer options, the smart gameplay and design, and how well it all comes together.

Max Payne shoots more rockets out of the air than Nathan Drake falls off of stuff.

The saving grace of this game is multiplayer.

It’s not quite Persona 5, but it’s still a meaty (down, Chie) role-playing experience.

Carries the standard proudly, offering all the smart level design, split-second escapes, and tight gameplay that creates (and deserves) such devotion. But it's not a system seller, and it lacks inspiration. Mario U is comfort food … warm, filling, and delicious but not particularly remarkable. And Mario should be.

Axiom Verge uses Metroid’s building blocks to create a fantastic adventure that can stretch for hours if you want it to … though maybe not always in a good way. I’m not a big fan of the genre, but even I started getting obsessive over my map and item completion rates.

Fe stumbles at times, in part because of its sometimes elusive camera. But it’s memorable and beautiful, worthwhile simply for diving into an alien world and letting it carry you away with its sometimes adorable, sometimes breathtaking creatures.

It’s a fun, efficient, and rewarding way to play baseball, and it’s the closest most of us will come to achieving our big league dreams.

It’s charming, colorful, and offers enough content to keep both action fans and Dragon Quest aficionados occupied for quite some time.

It might not be the most fully featured game or the most polished. And the list of things to fix for 2017 is pretty obvious. But, PES 2016 feels right. And for me, fun beats features every single time.

While Forza Horizon can feel like demographic-mongering, interactive junk food, you'll find a deeply engaging racing experience below its overly gaudy candy-paint top coat. The game truly shines when it lets you live out your childhood fantasies, driving that car from the poster on your bedroom wall down a meandering motorway toward the sunset-soaked … well, horizon.

It's hard and unfair in the campaign, but that keeps it challenging. Beyond the gameplay, it's just nice to look at. The battlefields are crisp, and the characters are interesting and colorful.

Sound Shapes is not the best platformer you'll ever play, but it deserves your attention for its accessible level editor and playful visualizations of sound.

It’s got its problems. But it’s a game that will have you staying up late at night, itching to complete just one more turn.

Splatoon is clever, creative, and fun. The multiplayer is a fun twist on the team-based shooter. However, the single-player campaign is surprisingly the best thing in the game. It offers the kind of quality level design you’d expect from a Mario title, but with a healthy dose of shooter mechanics.

A funny, entertaining, and deeply satisfying experience well worth the $10 price. Zen Studios has proved that it has more to offer than pinball, and gamers who enjoy building and destroying in equal measure owe it to themselves to check it out.

If you like JRPGs with neat worlds and systems that reward combat and planning, you'll be able to spend a lot of hours in Xenoblade Chronicles 2.

The Gunstacker system offers an impressive variety of ways to throw bits of metal around at incredible speeds, and the enemy and level designs are (mostly) as creative as you’re going to see this year. It’s not too big on plot, but you’ll probably be too busy using ridiculous guns to mow down waves of grotesque enemies to care.

I’m shocked. The Fall works. Bringing an experience as complicated as Deus Ex’s to a touchscreen should have been a mess, but I was easily sneaking, hacking, and headshotting my way through the short campaign. I don’t know if I’m ready to call myself a mobile gaming convert, but this is definitely one of the deeper experiences I’ve had on an iOS platform.

Basically, if you were a fan of Canvas Curse, there’s no reason to think you won’t enjoy this sequel. A little bit of the uniqueness is gone, but this is still a fun twist on the traditional sidescroller.

The Bard’s Tale IV: Barrows Deep delivers on the faith its Kickstarter backers put into the project. It weaves combat, exploration, music, and puzzles into a game that stands out in a crowded market.

Super Mario Party’s new modes offer a welcome break from what some might consider the main attraction: the board game. They’re faster, and they focus on two of the Nintendo Switch’s strengths that make it such a special console in the first place — good Joy-Con motion controls and fun co-op play. For me, it makes this Super Mario Party the best in franchise history, even if I don’t care for the staid board game.

Pokémon X and Y might mark a big visual jump for the series, but the structure remains steadfast in its dedication to tradition.

X and Y may not surprise you, but Pokéfans will still revel in another chance to catch them all.

War Thunder surprised me. I am not very good at it, but I still have a lot of fun playing it. Because it is a free-to-play game, some players will download it on a whim and quit 20 minutes in due to the poor controls. Those that brave the steep learning curve will be rewarded with a realistic combat simulator that could be truly great one day.

Xenoblade Chronicles is genuinely fun to play. It's an RPG with an extra-capital G, a gameplay-driven game. That's a sign of real progress from Monolith Soft, and hopefully promise of even better games to come.

It’s nice to get back to basics with ShootMania Storm and recall a time when we played for the joy of playing...And while the creation tools offer a potential for unlimited greatness, the truth is that ShootMania is fun today.

Rebusmind deserves a lot of credit for the attention to detail in SwapQuest. It’s full of neat little touches and moments that’ll make you smile and want to keep on playing.

We spent more than an hour playing the game, working up a sweat and having a lot of laughs. If that’s what you like in your VR games, I highly recommend this title.

I actually enjoyed arcade mode much more than the story, and that is the main reason why users can have hours and hours of fun with this game.

Island-hopping in a fantasy world felt new to me, and this builds upon the already engaging strategy that exits in Warlock.

Ibb and Obb is not the most creative or visually striking platformer, but it’s one of the more satisfying and challenging cooperative experiences you’ll find.

ColdWood has succeeded in a handful of bold ways with Unravel. It is showing EA the value in smaller, quieter games. It also feels like another fresh take on the side-scrolling platformer. And while Unravel drove me mad a couple of times, I was mostly thrilled by its wonder and adventure.