If you have any love or affinity for NES-era gaming, you’ll find Shovel Knight is an experience worth having.

Now, do I love Pic-a-Pix Pieces so much that I’m ready to proclaim it one of my very (very, very) early GOTY contenders? Probably not, since there’s still a long time and a lot of games to go in 2019. I can, however, say with certainty that after playing the heck out of this game on the Switch, I’m going to pick it up for the Vita and PS4 and do it all over again on those platforms too. If that’s not an endorsement, I don’t know what is.

Fight Night Round 4 can honestly claim to be what Mike Tyson once quoted many years ago, "...I'm the best ever, my style's impetuous, my defense is impregnable, I wanna eat his children..." Well, okay, maybe not the last part, but damn if this isn't a great boxing game! If you are a fan, you are doing yourself a disservice not picking up a copy.

While more difficult initially, it becomes more approachable and easier the further in you get and the more you adapt to the combat. Since you are not leveling in the same way as the other games, scaling does not work the same way. Once you master the basics, you can master the game. Sekiro is an absolute must buy for From Software fans and anyone willing to put in the work to really get a grasp of the flow of combat.

Right now, Bionic Bay is easily one of the best games I’ve played this year. It’s a fantastic platforming experience with a super unique visual style that’s constantly throwing new puzzles and ideas at you throughout the campaign. While certainly not as whimsical or packed with secrets in comparison to something like Astro Bot, Bionic Bay nails its approach with incredibly tight controls and a cool sense of style. I’d recommend checking it out, it may well be the best platformer released this year.

I know I’ve probably done a horrible job of capturing what makes Indivisible so wonderful, but you’ve got to believe me: it really is a fantastic game. If I can love it despite it featuring a whole bunch of elements I usually dislike, I think that speaks to just how good it is — and it means that you already are a fan of anime-inspired graphics, metroidvania platforming, or turn-based combat, then you should find even more to enjoy here.

Add it all up, and Astro Aqua Kitty is a delight in every way imaginable.

If you allow yourself to get absorbed into what Dyad is offering though, I think you'll admit that there's a lot more to Dyad than what a simple text description can relate. And for me that's the sign of something truly great, regardless of the type of media it's presented in.

It's epic, very difficult at higher levels and offers stunning visuals. Online, the ranking system is just as, if not more addictive than Halo 3's, and custom classes and abilities add another layer to each match.

I can’t think of a better platformer released in the past several years. Crash 4: It’s About Time is an absolute must buy and it’s truly about time that Activision returned Crash to his former glory. Hopefully we don’t have to wait another 20 years before we get another sequel.

I again absolutely urge you to check out Monster Hunter: World if you have any passing interest in the series, or have been wondering what all the talk is about. It can be a difficult experience at first, but I definitely do not think it’s impenetrable to newcomers.

It is likely that a few months from now, Super Monkey Ball will be one of the few launch titles that you still will be playing, especially if you have friends to play with.

Vicarious Visions have once again done an exceptional job in adapting a console game to a handheld system, yet for the first time ever, have made it virtually indistinguishable.

I would highly recommend Tom Clancy’s The Division 2 to just about anyone, even if you weren’t a huge fan of the first game. This feels like a much better attempt all around, and certainly scratches the same itch that games like Diablo and Destiny did for me. It also has plenty of initial content to explore, making it feel like a worthwhile purchase while the developer irons out the finer points. So absolutely give The Division 2 a chance, you won’t be disappointed.

It's one heck of a compelling story, which means that all of them do their job. In fact, everything about Root Letter seems to do its job of making it a good, worthwhile game…which, in turn, is why it's most definitely worth a look.

I was extremely impressed with Death’s Door from start to finish, and would absolutely implore you to check it out when it launches this week. Again, it’s just one of those games that was extremely hard to put down in order to write this review, and I’m already looking forward to going back and trying to suss out the additional secrets and puzzles I have yet to solve.

The best representation of the sport ever created. I don't think I can praise it any more than that.

Mega Man 11 is truly a memorable experience and is one of Mega’s finest adventures and it is highly recommended. The 8 bosses are all clever in design and their levels are very appropriate as well. Even if one made me almost rage quit. (Yes, you Bounce Man!) In a year with amazing games, I can see Mega Man 11 in my top 5 of 2018.

I can easily say without a doubt that this is not only the best EA hockey game since "NHL 05," but quite possibly the best hockey game ever. Fans can be happy to know that the series they grew up loving has finally delivered in all department to create the most realistic and authentic hockey game on the market. Second place is the first loser, and that means you 2K Hockey.

But no more than slightly. Firewatch is strong enough in virtually every respect that it can afford to fall a little short of perfection here and there. That may be annoying to anyone who demands absolute perfection, but for everyone else, it means that this is an absolute must-buy.

If you have any love for pinball, you should definitely pick up The Pinball Arcade. Its presentation and re-creation of actual pinball tables is second to none, and deserves to be seen and experienced by as many people as possible.

I still sank hours upon hours into Lara Croft GO, seeking out hidden treasures and trying to solve its very clever puzzles, and I have no hesitation in saying that if you have a Vita, you should pick it up, too.

Shenmue II literally is 5 times the game Shenmue: Chapter 1 is...an incredible experience for me, from start to finish. The core gameplay formula isn’t much different from the first game, just packed with more action and improvements.

XCOM 2: War of the Chosen is a must own for veterans and new players alike. It doesn’t matter how many hours players have put into the original XCOM 2 campaign, starting over with War of the Chosen is completely worth the time.

Almost everything you would want in a NBA game is here. From single games, to seasons, dynasty mode (Association), 24/7 personal career street ball mode, street games, and even deep online play that includes seasons and tourneys.

While there’s been no content added to either the PlayStation or Xbox versions, you’ll still have plenty to do here. There’s the main questline to engage with that’ll take you through multiple monster quest tiers, which is somewhat short compared to other Monster Hunter titles. But the online hub quests expand that out even further, offering up more story content that goes beyond the end credits of the game, and has a number of challenging fights for experienced hunters. There’s also a whole host of free downloadable quests to engage with, encompassing the free DLC that’s come out on prior versions of the game. All in all, you’ll be able to spend a lot of time exploring and hunting down giant monsters, which is pretty much what you want out of a new Monster Hunter game.

Overall, Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak is just more of what you already know and love from the game. It provides further functionality to existing weapons and some new monsters but makes sure not to change too much. For me, it took about 16 hours to complete the main questline of Sunbreak, but as usual, there are easily hundreds of hours to pump out of the content if you want to. Just don’t buy it until you’ve finished Rise’s main story.

The fact I’ve spent the past day playing and replaying Headliner shows how addictive it is. In fact, even as I’m writing this, I’m eager to go back and try out some different choices to see how that impacts the game. That’s not something that happens very often, at least in my experience, and it’s why this game is easily one of the best I’ve played in a very long time.