Monster Hunter provides a rush and a challenge few games can match, and those pair well with a heavy build customization system and a sky-high skill ceiling. In short, Monster Hunter Rise Sunbreak is good. It’s very good and worth every penny of its asking price several times over.

While its action and exhilarating set pieces shine, Bayonetta 3 ultimately feels like a subpar port of a great action game.

Riven (2024) confidently reimagines the beloved 1997 point-and-click puzzle game, which both long-time Myst franchise fans and newcomers seeking a challenging yet rewarding experience will love.

Desperados 3 is a much-belated sequel that strikes the right balance between classic gameplay mechanics and modern sensibilities.

For a game made in three years (most of that time as a completely remote team), the scale and ambition of Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is most impressive. The feeling that Respawn is pushing the boundaries of the Unreal Engine past its breaking point is prevalent and demonstrable in the numerous performance issues and bugs, so you might want to wait to pick this up until many of the fixable issues have been addressed.

A sequel done right in the truest sense, improving on everything from epic monster hunting to slaying mechanics while delivering a vast fantasy world.

Returnal is a tightly designed roguelike with some of the best gameplay the genre can provide, and it's the first game since Demon's Souls to provide a reason to own a PS5. If you’re looking for an experience that really takes advantage of the latest console hardware, Returnal offers it and a lot more.

Sparks of Hope is a strong sequel that isn't afraid to reinvent the tactical foundation laid by the first Mario + Rabbids game.

In the end, The War Within is the expansion that WoW needed. It finally feels like Blizzard is starting to listen to their players. If you used to be a player and enjoyed the first expansions, I recommend giving this latest addition a try. After years of lacklustre content, I’m overjoyed that what was once one of my favorite games has been returned to a state where playing is fun again.

Wasteland 3 invokes feelings of classic RPGs such as Fallout and manages to nail the feel and tone perfectly in a modernized setting.

13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim mixes smart design with superb storytelling, then slathers the whole package in gorgeous style.

Overall, Starfield leans heavily on Bethesda’s expertise with past titles, magnified tenfold due to the sheer size, scale, and scope, yet equally hampered by the same facets. While there are a lot of things you can do as you venture forth and boldly go into the unknown, exploration can feel unrewarding as most planets feel empty. Nevertheless, once you’re done with various faction quests and the main story, there’s New Game+ to look forward to, as well as community-made mods in the future.

TMNT make a triumphant return in this pixel-perfect sequel to the classic arcade brawler. If you have a soft spot for classic arcade brawlers of the 80s and 90s, Shredder’s Revenge is a damn near perfect homage and sequel to one of the best of the era. It doesn't get much better than this.

Metro Exodus is back in a high-octane enhanced edition to push your new gaming hardware to the limit. Had the Enhanced Edition demanded a price for everyone, we wouldn’t be nearly as excited or impressed. Since the enhanced version is free for current owners of Metro Exodus on both PC and consoles, this is a great reason to dive into the game again.

Frostpunk 2 is a worthy successor to the original Frostpunk in every single way. It keeps the systems that made the original great while further expanding on the concept by including new governance mechanics that make the game feel fresh and new. It's a must-play for existing Frostpunk fans and a good entry point into the series for newcomers to the franchise.

Huntdown is a throwback run and gun shooter that cares about style and rewards precision.

TUNIC brings together a gorgeous art style, phenomenal gameplay, and old-school game design baked directly into the way you discover the world, delivering one of the most enjoyable games I’ve played in years.

I was impressed by the improvements to the story and Team Ninja's commitment to maintaining what worked in the first game and building on what didn't. I should mention that the music is as good as it was in the first game, and I know I enjoyed the boss fights more as well, even if some did drive me up the wall.

Pikmin 3 Deluxe is the best the series has to offer, a showcase of creative design and smart strategy. It's one of the most enjoyable experiences on the Switch.

Atelier Ryza 3 improves upon its predecessors in a warm sendoff to Ryza and friends.

Kirby and the Forgotten Land marks the 30th anniversary of the ever-hungry pink squishy, proving itself a reliably safe choice for entertaining, all-ages 3D platforming in the classic Nintendo style.

Overall, Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is a refreshing take not just for the long-dormant franchise, but for the modern Metroidvania genre. After completing the campaign in roughly 16 hours (with a bit of side exploration thrown in for good measure), I found it’s approachable for newcomers and presents interesting and engaging challenges for hardcore fans. I can only hope that this leads to bigger sequels down the line.

The Crash series has seen its fair share of mediocre (or even bad) entries, but Crash 4 is a big step in the right direction, and the future of the series couldn't be more exciting.

Tactics Ogre remains one of the most imaginative and engrossing tactical RPGs ever made, and this is easily the best version of the game to date. If you happened to miss any of the past iterations of Tactics Ogre, there's never been a better time to jump in, and hopefully, this means the franchise still has a future.

Atelier Ryza 2 improves on the original in almost every way and, despite a few stumbling points, proves Gust is still one of the best at making something magical out of ordinary things. Atelier Ryza 2 does a lot of things right. But even with the much more engaging combat, better environments, and skill tree reward system, it is, surprisingly, the story and characters that kept me coming back for more.

Minor graphical hiccups aside, Shin Megami Tensei V is an outstanding RPG, made all the more so by its countless improvements over its older siblings. It's tough but enthralling, and brimming with style. More importantly, perhaps, it has great ideas executed to something near perfection. It's been a long wait since Atlus first announced SMT V at the Switch reveal show, but it was absolutely worth it.

Overall, despite some criticisms, Forza Motorsport is more than worth your time. Developer Turn 10 Studios has crafted what is an exemplary racing experience. It feels faithful to the games that have come before it while also improving on an already working formula. Even if the career mode isn't as meaty as I'd like (and really, who cares?), there's something to be said about a game that's so fundamentally sound it brings you back to simpler times. Indeed, it makes you feel wildly free.

Unfortunately, the new single-player mode has quite a few annoying elements, and online play needs some fixing. The good news is that both of these can be tuned and fixed in the future. Even as they are now, I still think this is a fantastic time to jump into the new timeline and crush some literal skulls.