It’s an undeniably fun experience that will please many in its target audience, and even includes roster updates and online play. Not to mention we’re really starting to like a little waggle with our football.

Solo play is also the best it's ever been, with more boss-like encounters, dramatic in-engine cutscenes, and quests rewards tailored specifically to your class.

For anyone who purchased the game last generation, the hi-def version is definitely worth the worth the price of admission for Medieval Madness alone.

Our best sports game of last year remains the one to beat in 2025, too. College Football 26 is the most detailed, authentic, and fun sim on consoles right now, and will keep you playing – and recruiting! – right through to next summer.

It's a port of a damn fine game - losing very little in translation and lending itself perfectly to a handheld frame of mind. Additionally, it retails for quite a bit less than your typical PSP release.

Once you get into the rhythm of the game, though, you remember why this series is so popular. It's not the mythology or the unit design or the videos as much as it is the kill-or-be-killed simplicity of it all.

Deceptively simple. Don't be fooled by its cute-sy look and playful trappings. This RPG is hard as hell and incredibly addictive. Plus, with the extra post-game modes, it manages to deliver an excellent amount of value for your gaming buck.

The streamlined, focused structure eliminates potential tedium without dumbing anything down, and the battle system strikes an elegant balance between strategy and fast-paced action. Stunningly beautiful graphics and a pervasively meticulous level of polish throughout only add to the experience.

By sticking to its roots, Midnight Club Los Angeles may not be a master of innovation, but as one of the most polished, finely honed and adrenaline-filled racing games, you won’t find any that do it better.

This is a specific kind of game for a specific type of gamer - the RPG masochist. But those people are going to love this thing.

Another must-buy game for your virtual library.

Sonic Racing CrossWorlds is a slick, ambitious racer with loads of tracks, primed and ready for future, licensed crossovers. At first too slow and then suddenly extremely fast, the racing lacks finesse, but it gets better as you play. A strong offering that's compulsively playable, but a bit grindy in single-player and not quite S-tier on the track.

Goodbye Volcano High is a heartfelt coming-of-age drama about a group of teen dinosaurs confronted with an uncertain future. Dreamy pop ballads and an absorbing dialogue system offer a gateway into an introspective story about being young, queer, and chasing your dreams in the face of impending disaster.

Not just great for a free-to-play game, Honkai: Star Rail is a genuinely fantastic RPG with slick combat and an engaging story loaded with content. The biggest caveat is, while generous, its gacha system may tempt some players into unwise purchases.

Many Nights a Whisper is a narrative-focused experience where great writing is just the launching pad for you to bring the rest of the story – reflecting on how you feel about the upcoming ritual as you balance granting wishes and archery training. With one chance to land a single, perfect shot – few games have this tension and impact, really making me sit with how I felt about everything.

Enslaved is a bit scrappy in its presentation and would have benefitted from more polishing time, but its heart is in a place few games even try for. Its world is original, fascinating, beautiful, and daunting. Its characters are alive and full of real emotion and they're truly loveable. Its simple combat is spare but elegant, and its climbing sequences get the blood pumping.

Although retreading a familiar nostalgic path, Octopath Traveler 0 improves its JRPG formula, while also being an enhanced and unabridged adaptation of the series' mobile spin-off without the grubby monetization. The cast may not have the same limelight as the original (flawed) premise intended but they still shine in turn-based battles that are among the genre's finest.

There are a few bumps along the road, but overall, Sword of the Sea is an effortless ride. The majesty of Journey, the action of The Pathless, and the tranquillity of Abzu are all present here. Sword of the Sea’s release marks the end of a four-game odyssey that started in 2012 and has reached a simultaneously exhilarating and meditative crescendo.

With a setting that tells a story better than any human voice, Prey’s combat and quests will suck you even deeper into its world.

The wait was worth it. Full stop. While it doesn't top SSX 3 in terms of that game's vibrant sense of place, and is occasionally hampered by being hard for the wrong reasons, SSX is a vast, deep, beautiful and nuanced blend of showboating adrenalin and sharpened intelligent play. It's a demanding game, but its rewards are immense, providing a feeling you won't get anywhere else in gaming.

Dragon Age: The Veilguard is an approachable, expansive action-oriented RPG and feels like a true end to whatever the franchise was before. The book's not finished, but a significant chapter has closed. While Dragon Age: The Veilguard is undoubtedly different in many ways from its predecessors and takes lessons learned from Mass Effect to heart, there's a lot to love – mechanically and narratively – about the new normal and what is hopefully a foundation for what's to come.

Blacklist is a well-designed game from top to bottom, one that is both accessible and flexible. It doesn't force you into playing a specific way, and it provides all the tools necessary to accommodate your playstyle, retaining the agility of its predecessor without its restrictions.

Despite some narrative missteps, Tekken 7 is still a compelling, exhilarating experience. Find the right sparring partner and it will entertain you indefinitely.

Subtlety is what makes Last Light such an exceptionally immersive game. It nails the core tenets of a shooter, then forces you to react to enemies in ways outside of simply taking cover. It plops you in a post-apocalyptic world, then fills it with tons of minor but substantial details, like the shadows of once-living people now permanently nuked into stone walls. It strips you of hope, only to dangle a tiny sliver of it ahead of you like a carrot on a stick.

It ain't perfect – and we're more convinced than ever that perfection in an HD sports game is an impossibility – but it is another soaring triumph that has something for just about everyone.

The PSP version loads a bit more slowly but looks better, and the DS version features lightning-fast loads but tosses in slightly sluggish, clunky touch-controls.

Online play only sweetens the deal, making this one of the best, easily-accessible racers on any system.

Despite its repetitive replay structure, 999 is a thrilling, thoughtful, and fascinating visual novel that represents some of the best the genre has to offer.