No amount of grind or patronizing feedback from Professor Mirror can dim just how charming New Pokemon Snap is. It's calm, colorful, and cozy, rewarding you for capturing free Pokemon just living their lives in the wild. Aside from being a much-needed alternative perspective on the Pokemon world, there's little else like it in video games right now.

A very retro collection of games from an obscure portable system of the past is probably a hard sell for most gamers. For those with an affection for the Neo Geo Pocket, this is a fine bit of nostalgia. The fighting and Metal Slug games included are still remarkably fun and show off the precise controls of the system. Beyond nostalgic charm, though, the original Neo Geo arcade versions are also available in the Switch store and probably a lot more appealing.

Capcom’s latest pack of coin-op classics won’t disappoint old arcade hounds looking to re-experience their youth.

The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners would be a great game even if it wasn't in VR.

Ocean’s Heart is a charming, albeit uninspired, Zelda-like 2D adventure that wears its influences a bit too heavily. Despite that, Ocean’s Heart would feel right at home on SNES, featuring a lovely 16-bit pixel art style that really shines through. Old-school Zelda fans will likely enjoy it and as a retro-styled RPG, it still comes recommended despite these flaws.

I was ready to enjoy House Flipper 2, and I really love it. I don’t think it’s perfect. I’d love to see some fine-tuning done through patches, especially with highlighting spots you miss when those spots are small or hidden under objects. I also felt that the Grid and Precision options for placing items were finicky at times, so I’d love to see improvements to that as well so I stop putting items in the wrong places. In the end, if you like simulation games like the first House Flipper or Powerwashing Simulator, then you’ll love House Flipper 2. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some more renovations to do.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga Collection serves up ample old-school gameplay nostalgia, though it’s appeal it limited.

Tear down Hell itself to some of the best heavy metal in all of gaming with Metal: Hellsinger, one of the best experiences of the year.

Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty is a game that lives up to its legacy. Team Ninja's latest features a healthy dose of demanding and oftentimes punishing action that will certainly cause many players to bounce off in frustration. That's more than understandable. In fact, if I wasn't reviewing the game, that very well could have been me. To Team Ninja's credit, though, I'm glad I've seen it through. Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty has provided hours of excellently crafted levels that will test your wits and dexterity. Just know what you are getting yourself into.

After a six-year absence, PlayStation’s knitted icon returns in stunning form in one of the year's best platformers. With an A-list cast, superb visuals, and some strong co-op gameplay, Sackboy: A Big Adventure successfully proves that Sackboy can thrive without LittleBigPlanet’s creation mechanics, all while still paying homage to his roots.

Ubisoft's second effort into mountain and extreme sports is an obvious hit. Leveraging the tech of modern platforms makes Riders Republic a fast-moving, always exciting open world, but it also makes room for those who just want to soak up the scenes of life from the mountaintop. While the audio tracks may have you reaching for the mute button, it's maybe a better experience with your own custom soundtrack free of the super-dorks roaming the cutscenes anyway. In a year where Ubisoft's sandboxes were seeming stale, Riders Republic manages to keep me chasing down every icon like I rarely do anymore.

Klonoa Phantasy Reverie Series successfully updates two solid platformers for modern audiences.

The Quarry's strong cinematic horror experience and intriguing narrative make it a worthy spiritual successor to Until Dawn.

Horizon Call of the Mountain is a really good VR experience. It looks great, controls well, and the free-climbing concept is well executed. It’s a nice adaptation of the Horizon world into VR. It’s a shame the experience isn’t a bit meatier; it would have done well with a more fleshed-out combat system in particular. Still, the fact that I didn’t want to stop playing, even as my arms began to ache, is a sure sign that this is a fun experience. It’s maybe not a must-have system seller, but anyone who invests in a PSVR 2 would should give Horizon Call of the Mountain a playthrough.

Whereas so many modern indie horror games can feel like on-rails haunted hayrides, Song of Horror keeps players on their toes. By innovating on the games that so clearly inspired it, Song of Horror feels comfortably set in two worlds at once: past and present, and with any luck, it may inspire the future of horror games as well.

Road 96 sets out to ask hard questions such as "when is violence the right response to a despotic regime?" and "is voting alone enough to fix a broken system?". But by the end, it never quite manages to answer those questions. While its politics take center stage, it's actually Road 96's interpersonal drama that I came away most fond of.

For those who love arcade fighters, the Capcom Fighting Collection offers a treasure trove of glorious nostalgia.

Observer System Redux is a prettier, smoother version of a good game, but its setting and characters are so grotesque and dark that it can be hard to get through.

Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes has the nostalgic feel of a '90s JRPG but revitalizes the genre with lovable characters and epic strategy sequences.

From the story and the karakuri to the kemono monsters themselves, Wild Hearts has some world-class mechanics and writing behind it. It falters in a few important places as well, especially regarding performance, but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth your time and money. If you love taking down fantastical beasts of every shape and size, this time in a world inspired by feudal Japan, there’s no substitute.

The Mafia franchise again presents one of the medium's best-written stories, though the series still stumbles on building something special around that story.

Blacktail tells a wonderful fairytale in a storybook world, but not all of its breadcrumbs lead home.

It’s not the best title in the series, and it could have definitely benefited from less padding, but it is a good one, and it’s nice to finally see it in the West.

Othercide is a modern gothic take on turn-based tactics. It's stylish, difficult and a solid addition to the genre.

Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands is an excellent spin-off that adds its own twists to what makes Borderlands great.

If you just want an old-school roguelike to test your mettle, you can't go wrong with Curse of the Dead Gods. It's the right mix of challenge and experimentation, providing dozens of hours of playtime before it starts to wear. After that, you may even find self-imposed challenges and the chase of perfection enough to keep you delving back in for another run.

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity is a heck of a Warriors game and a fantastic love letter to Breath of the Wild and Zelda in general. Maybe Age of Calamity is a stop-gap to tide fans over until Breath of the Wild 2, but no effort was spared in making it a quality game.

There’s a lot about System Shock that still feels like it’s almost 30 years old, and most of the updates that Nightdive has made are in the service of making it feel like it’s “only” almost 25. It’s outdated mechanically, narratively, and visually, all of which was clearly in the service of making SS23 feel like a lost retro classic. It’s still one of the most tense experiences in any game this year, and most of its decisions only work in its favor. Citadel Station doesn’t make sense, and that’s part of what makes it dangerous. If you can deal with that, and if you enjoy this sort of nail-biting, razor’s-edge gameplay, System Shock 2023 is well worth your time.