Stray didn’t want to tell an epic tale spanning oceans, it didn’t need towering bosses with glowing weak points to create the greatest tension. What it did do was weave a tale that the smallest creature can make the biggest difference and that despite our seat as the apex species, that perch is ever precarious, there’s always something ready to take the spot and life will continue. It’s certainly something that we need to be reminded of periodically.

It combines the vast environments of GTA, the quick, the satisfying combat of great action games, a vertical dimension of game play and the character progression of RPGs in a very entertaining and unique package. The content is strictly for adults, but otherwise, it's a slam dunk.

It’s a pretty solid Yakuza tale, and it builds upon the progression and combat systems from the previous games pretty well. The side stories are fun and weird (sentient cleaning robots?), and there’s still a hefty number of side activities to explore. It’s a great looking game with some minor technical issues, and will likely provide the average player with dozens of gameplay hours.

If you didn’t play Kirby and the Forgotten Land before…well, that means you really need to play it now that it’s on the Switch 2. Not only do you have the fun bonus content, you also get one of Kirby’s best games, his foray into 3D platforming where you can really see the creative team behind the game stretch their powers to think of how our pink puffball hero can interact with a world that has more than two dimensions. Things like the Kirby-car and the Kirby-spike do a great job of making our hero more powerful, but in fun new ways than we saw in older games. And the key word there is “fun,” regardless of whether you’re playing Kirby and the Forgotten Land in its original form or now that you have the option of playing this Star-Crossed World expansion on Switch 2. If you missed it last time around, or even if you just feel like revisiting it on the Switch 2, it’s well worth checking out.

There's some interface stuff I'd like to see streamlined a bit, but the visuals are fantastic, the gameplay is certainly interesting and unique, and the overall presentation is spot on from what I've seen of UFC in general.

Hardcore fans of Fable should check this out, however, along with those few of you buried underneath rocks when it originally released.

I still think this series has some ways to go to get back to the very high heights it once achieved. While 2K clearly learned from last year, they had to fix so many problems that they still have some ways to go before they can truly call themselves the standard for sports game. But it’s important to look on the bright side: NBA 2K19 shows that none of last year’s problems broke the game permanently, and there’s hope for the game to return to its former glory sooner rather than later.

Little Nightmares II is a wonderful follow-up to the original, and manages to feel similar yet unique. The world-building is amazing, the puzzles are simple but fun, the story is intriguing, everything adds up to a really great experience. Tarsier Studios has outdone themselves with Little Nightmares II, and I cannot wait to see what they have in store for us next.

Everything from the visuals, audio, and presentation have been bumped up a notch to a level that would make any fan who has turned their heads for the last 3 years take notice.

PC is without a doubt the definitive way to play Destiny 2, if you have a system that can handle what the game demands of it. Now that the game has launched across the board, updates and new content will be available on all platforms at once, so PC players don’t have to worry about being left behind. As long as Bungie continues to support the game and ensure that the PC community isn’t ignored in favor of the PS4 or the Xbox One family of systems, Destiny 2 is a game that I will be playing religiously for years to come.

The game of baseball is represented perfectly in MLB 06: The Show, and not only is this a candidate for best baseball game of the year, but possibly best sports game as well.

Magic: The Gathering is a fantastic card game, long standing and one of the best. But these games are little more than a enjoyable advertisement for the paper game or Magic Online. So much so that there are obtrusive ads in the game about buying boxes of paper cards and joining the local Magic community.

My concern overall is, will the Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster do well enough to ever help justify a new game? The fans are out there, but after part 4, and a canceled sequel, I would remain cautiously optimistic. This is still a remaster that respects its roots in most ways as something that is a product of its time. If you can get past the time management frustrations and balance issues, and make sure to use all your save options, it’s still a bloody and entertaining experience worth the price of admission.

Music aside, overall this year’s madden is a definite buy if you are a fan of the series or a fan of the NFL.

It easily blows the first game out of the water, and puts the gameplay in titles like Grand Theft Auto to shame.

Picross DS has me captivated. Ever since I received it I can’t put it down. I’ve played it every night before bed.

The end result though is a very playable method of swinging through the city yet at the same time looking flashy and a lot like the way it was done in the movie. You can imagine the final few seconds of the first movie to get an idea of what you can expect, except you'll actually be doing it.

One very beautiful, but very difficult, flight simulator. Real life physics are tough, even with a slider bar that allows a bit of control.

Xenosaga has that extra special something that has been missing from RPGs for the last couple of years, an enthralling, profound story that leaves you truly wanting more.

A fantastic port on the GBA, but the controls hold it back from being a great title on the system.

If one thing can be said about what EA has accomplished this year it is that they have taken their efforts seriously and have delivered the most realistic playing version of the pigskin classic that gamers have ever witnessed.

NHL 13 is a solid effort and should not be missed by fans of NHL Hockey.

It may not be the best game you'll ever play on the system, but it's guaranteed to be one of the games that makes you fully appreciate what the handheld has to offer.

Steamworld Dig is all about exploring the great underground unknown, and all about the promise of something cool and mysterious waiting for you if you'll just dig a little deeper. The Xbox One version of the game may not bring anything new to the table, but that doesn't make it any less worthwhile if you haven't already played it.

It’s not going to be making very many year-end lists in a couple of months. But The Smurfs – Dreams is good enough for what it is – which is to say, a 3D platformer that’s aimed at a younger audience – that if you give it a chance and don’t expect too much, you’ll probably have a good time with it.

If you’re fine with installing Anti-Cheat software and have no issues with either paying through the nose or grinding away to improve your player, then it’s hard to imagine a better basketball experience. But that’s a very big “if”, and if you just want a game you can pick up and play like you were able to a decade ago (or maybe more, at this point), those days are long gone.

The new kicking meter makes it way onto current generation, providing a ton of more control and consistency with the kicking game.

One, there is little else like it on XBLA or PSN for that matter. Two, the puzzles will provide the perfect amount of game time for the money. Three, it's 10 bucks and provides more game depth than Dante's Inferno and COD's single player games combined!

It may not have the flashy summons of the "Final Fantasy" series or an innovating attack system like "Vagrant Story," but what it lacks in other fields it makes up for in real character and originality.

While the console versions of Tony Hawk's Underground 2 may be a better game than the original Underground, you can't help but feel that the game is something you've already played before.

It's a great game separate from the franchise, and definitely does a favor for the third person action genre, but with the CV characters and license attached, it becomes even more enjoyable for me.

Not only is Crisis Core one of the best looking PSP games on the market today, but it also marks the best spin-off Final Fantasy title that has come out of Square's big Final Fantasy VII Compilation effort, easily blowing away such dredge as "Dirge of Cerberus."

There are very few titles on the PSN currently that play anything like it, and the mix of puzzle solving and platforming is extremely well done.

Its especially exceptional considering it's the first release from the developers at Vigil, and shows a certain level of polish that a lot of new IP's released last year was definitely lacking.

Starfield is, overall, a very good RPG from a studio known for making very good RPGs. Not the most surprising news I’m sure, but it’s nice to see that they’re able to break away from the Elder Scrolls and Fallout settings successfully, and I do feel like their take on space exploration is a breath of fresh air for this type of RPG experience. It’s a huge game overall, so if you’re the person that believes time played = value, you’ll be pretty happy with this one for sure, but at the same time if you’re worried about overall quality, I think you’ll still enjoy your time with Starfield. I look forward to playing a lot more of it over the next couple of months, attempting to see everything the game has to offer. So in short, check it out, it’s pretty darn good.

Arguably the best compliment I can give Alan Wake is that it is a console-to-PC port done right.

OlliOlli: Switch Stance isn’t going to make you rethink anything you thought about them first time around — but if you thought they were great games back then, this package will serve as a nice reminder that they’re every bit as good as you may remember.

The bottom line is that EA has made nothing but vast improvements with this version of the NBA Live series.

Indigo Prophecy is unique, artistic, immersive and beautiful. There’s no reason in the world why any self-respecting gamer shouldn’t have this game in their collection.

Theoretically Monaco: What’s Yours is Mine is a great game. In actuality, your mileage may vary.

Between the characters, weapons, and, the animal spirits, there is more than enough content and comedic action for everyone with a weird sense of humor.

All in all, Cat Quest III is simply fantastic. It’s got a vibrant world, fun action, a solid story, and, of course, pirate cats, all wrapped together in a package that should entice anyone.

A really solid RPG title for the PS2, and while it doesn’t manage to fill in the top slot for RPG’s on the system, it definitely ranks up there in the top 4 or 5.

This one breaks the mold of conventional gaming and is still extraordinarily fun to play.

All in all, this is the game that just might finally put the name Codemasters into gamer's minds that haven't enjoyed their past successes like Colin and Pro Race Driver. DiRT isn't too simish or arcady but finds that nice blend that goes down smooth everytime.

Even a forgettable version of MLB The Show still delivers a best-in-class baseball experience. It makes it hard to recommend if you picked up the last few years’ editions, but if you’ve taken a year or two off, it might be time to jump back in.

Battlefield: Bad Company may not be the award winner that COD 4 was, but it is damn near as entertaining and a lot easier to get into. This is a war game for the casual gamer who just wants to have fun blowing stuff up.

Whether you’re a Skylanders fan or a gamer who’s looking for a charming and unique family-friendly game series to get into, Skylanders SWAP Force comes highly recommended.

If you simply want to have a good time playing a bizarre game on the Wii, you can’t go wrong with WarioWare: Smooth Moves.

Visuals are just as refined and gorgeous as previous versions of the series, with new and subtle differences added to give the game increased flare and a more appealing look to the eye.

Overall, even with its faults, it's hard not to still absolutely love MLB 14 the Show, especially on the PS4.

V Rising is quite a fun package with great progression, but is held back by how extremely grindy it can be. The combat feels good (albeit can be stale with limited movesets) with the selection of skills and spells you unlock with each boss defeat, the world feels great to explore even while keeping to the shade during the day, and the building feels right at home with some modern city-builders. I think it’s definitely worth giving it a shot, especially with friends, because the solo experience can be quite boring after a while unless you’re really into a solo survival experience. Definitely keep your eyes on this title, and maybe wait for a sale to really sink your teeth into if you’re hesitant.

Regardless of what you want out of a soccer game, FIFA continues to deliver an incredible, all-around experience.

With not much other competition out there at the moment, and a few solid years of hype behind the game, Mortal Kombat X couldn't have been released at a better time. With a new generation of kombatants, updated and refined gameplay, and enough content to keep players busy for weeks, fighting game fans won't be disappointed.

A great game that introduces a fresh feel to a genre that really needed it.

FIFA not only sports fantastic controls, but beauty to go along with it's other two outings ("Madden" and "NHL"). Is it just as good as the other two? You betcha!

One thing that Sega’s game has over EA’s is options.

Hands down one of the most impressive looking games that I have seen on the GBA. The backgrounds are vibrant, colorful and full of life.

The inclusion of Emmy is certainly a great idea, and the wonderful mini-games and side game of London Life are much needed diversions that help break up any monotony earned by just solving puzzles.

Limbo is probably the perfect dark, side scrolling puzzle-platformer.

This one breaks the mold of conventional gaming and is still extraordinarily fun to play.

The controls are solid, the storyline is at least entertaining, the cop chases are fun, the graphics and sound are both well done and polished, and the time it'll take you to finish it makes it worth a purchase.

The game is here in its entirety and feels good to play both with Joy-cons and especially the Switch Pro Controller. Framerate seemed mostly consistent with a few dips that didn’t affect my experience, so the performance is pretty successful. Some new functionality includes gesturing with motion controls and the use of amiibos. Both of these are nice to have, but of all the tweaks and any custom Switch additions I still can’t believe the menu buttons are like they are. Otherwise the base game was the real prize and for better or worse is here as promised.

The writing is light and humorous throughout, and even during serious moments and scenarios, the game doesn't take itself too seriously.

For less than $20, Horizon Zero Dawn: The Frozen Wilds (which was supplied to us by SIEA free of charge) is a meaty story-driven, single player expansion for one of the best games of the year and comes very much recommended. While it doesn’t significantly expand on the some of the mysteries that lingered after the conclusion of the original game, the new content fleshes out the universe in a way that has us more excited for the inevitable Horizon Zero Dawn sequel.

Everything is fluid, and the framerate is incredibly solid considering the amount of enemies that can appear on screen at once, and also considering the massive size of each boss you'll encounter.

The additional characters are fun to play with, and revamped difficulty means that more players should be able to get some enjoyment out of the game, without feeling needlessly frustrated with a few annoying aspects.

Delightfully charming and downright heartwarming, it's hard not to fall in love with Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime. The gameplay is simple yet addictive, and the varying strategies of the Monster Tank battles keep things from feeling stale, something that’s highlighted through the title’s multiplayer mode.

Every game has a quick save function in addition to the standard in-game save points, so you can essentially pick up, play, then put down at any point. So while I certainly would like to see more supplemental material in collections like this, I’d also argue that Collection of Mana is a selection of three great games, one of which was previously unreleased here, and still worth checking out.

I feel the humor falls a little flat, and while I found plenty of stuff to laugh at with Costume Quest, the adventures of a little matryoshka doll named Charlie hasn't done much for me.

Seamlessly translates the PC experience straight to console players with simple controls, a clean interface, better graphics, and the same babble-talk that PC owners fell in love with.

The amount of entertainment value is unsurpassed by any title released thus far...even with its flaws, the title is easily the best baseball game money can buy at the moment.

Whether it is unraveling the mystery of the disc, trying to last over 20 seconds each room, or completing it’s Pokedex-ish compendium of discs, or completing the 8 hardcore challenges Disc Room packs a lot for a variety of players. It seems Devolver Digital has been a beacon of light in an otherwise dreary 2020, putting out another title which will likely land on my personal year end list. So let’s hope we’ll see “the scientist” cross over in another Devolver published title where he’ll be grabbing a crown.

It's a tough sweet spot to hit, but it's one that Luftrausers absolutely nails.

Chicken Police is an off-kilter approach to a well-worn genre, but it’s so well done that it’s worth playing if you’re any kind of fan of adventure games or visual novels.

Hitman: Blood Money is an extremely solid title, with small problems here and there. If you’re looking for a game where obsessive-compulsive tendencies and people watching is valued over hide and seek gameplay, you really can’t go wrong with Blood Money—but just don’t expect it to be an easy ride.

The audio on the PS3 version lags behind the video, making songs very hard to play on higher difficulties. You're either forced to block out the music and sight read the notes or manually change the lag to account for the audio making it more difficult to sight read the notes.

It's no Heavy Rain, but for a game that intended to be loaded with atmosphere and digitize what playing a novel might be like, it delivers on all fronts.

A masterpiece...Brütal Legend deserves all the admiration and attention that some of the best games out there receive. Sales or no sales, this game is easily a contender for game of the year and is just brilliant.

The Sega Ages line up on The Switch continue to impress with each release. While this one doesn’t break new ground, it still manages to fit right in with the other games in the collection. It’s decently priced at $7.99, so it won’t hurt your wallet even if you are simply curious. A less packed release for sure, but still a good addition to the line up and your collection.

Overall, Mortal Kombat 1 is a polished, beautiful work of art that is a remarkably innovative entry into the long running franchise. You can feel the love and care that went into recrafting existing characters in a way I never knew I would love.

It can be funny and disturbing while being challenging and clever. It's just too bad more care wasn't taken in making it available on a new platform.

The controls feel precise and fluid as they react according to the situation you are in. If one thing that may be a downer to some casual gamers is the difficult A.I. in the game.

There’s a lot to enjoy about The Plucky Squire. It really is a gorgeous game, the art design is stellar, the voiceover work for the narrator is well done, and again it just nails the storybook presentation so well. While the puzzles aren’t particularly hard, they are inventive, making use of the 2D to 3D space extremely well. There’s certainly room for improvement in The Plucky Squire, but at the same time I think it’s a game worth checking out when you get the chance.

Unlike a lot of re-releases where you have to say “It was good…for its time”, in this game’s case, you can say “It was good…and it’s still good.” That’s one heck of an accomplishment, and if you haven’t played this game before — or even if you have — it’s definitely worth seeking out.

It's a great, 2D experience that harkens back to the popular Metroidvania sub-genre of adventures games, but manages to blaze its own path and stand out as a wholly unique experience. There's certainly little like it on XBLA, and I highly suggest picking it up.

In the end you can't go wrong if you are a fan of the game. Just don't expect to be wowed by any aspect except the online and offline dynasty modes as they have shown the most attention to features in the game. The rest is just window dressing.

Battlefront II is a good sequel, but it's got too much in common with the first game to make the upgrade a no-brainer.

With it’s unique story and presentation and over the top gross factor, Pig Eat Ball is somewhat of a hidden gem. Most players may pass right over this one but I do recommend at least taking a look at this one. I was skeptical at first, but once I started playing I was really liking what it had to offer. It does need a few updates for the sporadic control issues and to fix up some strange glitches, but it’s extremely playable and fun. Don’t let the name prevent you from playing this very unique title.

The story isn’t terrible, to be fair, but as I said, it’s built around a girl escorting her mostly useless little brother through peril after peril. Even after he gains a few more abilities later in the game, it still doesn’t make for the most compelling gameplay. On a similar note, you’ll really need to enjoy skulking in the shadows and running for your life if you want to get the most out of the game — which, to be completely honest, I just don’t.

If you can tolerate subpar visuals, you’re still getting a full-featured baseball game you can bring with you anywhere.

This one breaks the mold of conventional gaming and is still extraordinarily fun to play.

Taken altogether, it makes for a pretty great experience. Whatever Infernax may lack in originality, it makes up for by being not just a great homage to its influences, but being a blast to play. It may only be February, but I’ve found one game that’s a lock to be one of my favourite games of the year.

I managed to have quite a it of fun with Ms. Splosion Man, despite her pushing me away and at times downright annoying me.

It makes nice use of various special effects and never slows down, but those with epillepsy problems will probably want to stay away. However, if you're familiar with raves, you'll feel right at home.

The complete Baseball package; it looks great, sounds great, and most importantly plays great. It even has all the bells and whistles any hardcore baseball fan would ever want and never fails to impress each and every season.

All in all, I’m pretty impressed with the overall package of Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call.

I’d definitely suggest taking a look at Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, even if you’re not sure you need another AC game in your life so soon after Origins. It’s a pretty great experience overall, and outside of some the standard open world bugs you’d expect in a game this size, I really don’t have any major complaints here. I ended up enjoying it more than Origins, and I really liked Origins. I’m not sure that I want a third game like this next year, but as far as follow-ups go, Assassin’s Creed Odyssey is pretty fantastic.