Metaphor: ReFantazio is genuinely a genre-defining release. Atlus has once again proven that they are kings in the genre (get it?), showcasing decades of effort and development history culminating in what I think is a deserving Game of the Year contender. Between Katsura Hashino’s direction, Shoji Meguro’s compositions, and everyone else that’s part of Studio Zero, Metaphor truly shines even in a year, and arguably decade, full of such excellent JRPGs. As an absolute must play this year, Metaphor: ReFantazio really blows it out of the water as something you should get your hands on if you’re a fan of the genre, and stands out as a premier entry point to the genre if you’re unfamiliar.

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.

As a Switch title, Yakuza Kiwami is perfect and feels right at home on this hardware. It is important to keep in mind, however, that Kiwami is a title from 2016, and is just a direct 1:1 port, so don’t expect any additional quality of life changes from the previous releases. That said, again, it is incredible and highly worth your time, and is an excellent starting point to jump into this zany franchise. If this does well enough, I can totally see RGG Studio (Rya Ga Gotoku Studio) porting the other games to the Nintendo Switch, whether this rendition or the upcoming successor.

Unknown 9: Awakening feels like it wants to be greater than it is, which is a big shame given how much effort was seemingly put into it. Having an extended out-of-game universe is really neat, but I think it unintentionally hurts enjoyment of the game when you go to play it. I specifically wanted to avoid the external media of the game going in to see what it would be like, and it makes the game feel like it’s following up on something we should already have knowledge of as the player. Combined with subpar combat, glitches resulting in cutscenes being wonky, and hit-or-miss performance on PC, it definitely hurts Unknown 9. If Bandai continues to work on this franchise (can you call it that yet?) I think they can really knock it out of the park, but as a first entry it really fails to hit its mark.

Super Mario Party Jamboree is everything that makes the series so loved and so hated. There were times when I wanted to ragequit and throw my Switch at the wall, and there were times when I cheered at unexpected good fortune in minigames and star placements – and those times often came in quick succession. Super Mario Party Jamboree shows that Mario Party is still a blast to play nearly three decades into its lifespan, which is a pretty neat achievement however you want to look at it.

For its price point, Sonic X Shadow Generations is a true value for hardcore Sonic fans and fans of platformers alike. With high replay value, and even with some control hiccups, Sega reminds us of what they can do with their blue hedgehog and his edgy counterpart.

I would certainly recommend checking out Kong: Survivor Instinct when you get a chance. It’s a fun way of making use of the Legendary roster of characters without actually putting you in control of Kong, Godzilla, or the rest. I was far more impressed with it than I expected to be, and I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised by it too.

I was already a Blumhouse fan and now I’m a Blumhouse Games fan. Fear the Spotlight is an easy recommendation for any retro survival horror fan.

Overall, the Until Dawn remake is a stunning game, however it does have its flaws which will hopefully be corrected with future updates. Gamers playing it for the first time will enjoy the storytelling and structure of the game, and those returning will appreciate many of the upgrades and added scenes. I can’t say if it was a necessary remake as the original game is only nine years old and still holds up, and at this point I recommend holding off on purchasing it until the price gets an adjustment and the current glitches are corrected.

The upside of lightUP making essentially the same game over and over again is that they generally know what they’re doing, and their games generally work as they’re supposed to. If you just want another metroidvania, you’ll find that here. But you could also find it in most of their other games, which makes it hard to see why you’d pick this one specifically.

All in all, I’d definitely recommend giving Yars Rising a go, especially if you enjoy Metroidvania style games in general. It won’t be the best one you’ve played in the genre, but it’s a good time throughout despite some annoying sequences that slow down the action. It also has a great soundtrack featuring a number of notable synthwave and game music artists like Megan McDuffee, FLOOR BABA, Chiyoko Yamasato and many more. I definitely enjoyed my time with it, and I think you will too.

I’d say G.I. Joe: Wrath of Cobra can be fun, provided you can get some friends together on the couch to play through the game with you. If not, as a single-player experience, there’s far better options on the market nowadays. It’s a good looking game, again I really did dig the design of these classic characters, but there’s not a lot else supporting the experience that would keep me coming back again and again.

UI issues aside, I have been enjoying my time with Throne and Liberty, and do plan to play more of it post-review. I’m still not entirely sure the end-game content is going to be for me, but NCSoft seems to be putting out steady updates and has a solid content plan in place so far which seems promising. Even without engaging in the PvP side of things I still feel that I have plenty of other things to do within the world, and provided you’re not just mainlining the story to hit level cap as quickly as possible, you’ll likely be pleasantly surprised by how much Throne and Liberty has to offer right out of the gate. Considering it’s free-to-play, I see no reason to not check it out whenever you have a chance.

If you want a game that evokes the spirit of Jet Set Radio but on a different method of transportation, Parcel Corps delivers that. It’s hardly a unique spin on the genre, but if all you want is arcade-y gameplay and driving around a vividly coloured environment, you’ll get that here.

At the end of the day, your mileage with Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO will vary. I found myself bored as often as I was excited and frustrated as often as I was exhilarated. For fans who simply want to relive the glory of their childhood with Budokai Tenkaichi, there might be enough here to draw them in. For folks looking for a continuation of the depth that FighterZ added or the beat-em-up fun of a Kakarot or Xenoverse style game, I do not see Sparking! ZERO scratching that itch for you.

The Land of the Magnates borrows from so many games that you can’t accuse it of being a clone of anything. On the one hand, it makes it feel like innumerable other 2.5D platformers. But on the other, it means that you can’t go the lazy route and say it’s imitating Prince of Persia. That’s hardly a ringing endorsement, but you could probably do a lot worse.

Ace Attorney Investigations Collection is a love letter to Ace Attorney fans. You can unlock different concept art from each game with every accolade completed. You are also treated to some orchestrated piece not released in the US. This game is both great for returning fans and newcomers to the series. It will make you want to scream HOLD IT and OBJECTION during every twist and turn. The humor and the vast array of emotions you’ll truly gives this game its day in court.

Even if I don’t enjoy God of War Ragnarök’s cutscenes, having this second chance to play the game now that it’s out on PC has at least made me realize that the newer version of Kratos isn’t as much of a reboot as I previously thought. I wouldn’t say I love the new games as much as I did the originals, and I definitely would’ve enjoyed this game more if it felt a little more focused on action and less on dialogue and characters, but God of War Ragnarök is, at the end of the day, a pretty good continuation of Kratos’ saga (and one that runs very well on PC).

I cannot recommend this enough to fans of the series and anybody new curious about jumping into Silent Hill as a series for the first time with this remake of Silent Hill 2. This is an absolute must play for 2024.

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.

As criticisms go, that’s hardly a terrible one: saying that a game gives you freedom to play it as you want to is probably something more games should aspire to. That The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom gives you all that freedom without ever feeling unfocused or overwhelming is evidence that it lives up to its iconic lineage.

Metal: Hellsinger VR is another solid rhythm game for VR headsets, while also being a solid VR re-release of a previously flat title. If you had no interest in Metal: Hellsinger originally, there is nothing here that will sell you to check out the VR version, but if you were a fan of the flat release and have the hardware to check this new version out, I would strongly recommend it.

The story is well-told, with a tight cast of memorable characters that help deliver the tale really well, in addition to limited animation during scenes to keep you entertained, and a hefty payoff with an epilogue chapter that helps tie everything up neatly. I’d certainly be down to check out more games in the series, whether that’s the older ports on Switch Online, or possible future entries down the line. If you get a chance to check out Emio, whether you’re into visual novels or not, I think you’ll enjoy your time with it.

Nothing in Elsie makes it seem very original. It’s borrowing heavily from games that are decades-old without putting any real spin on any of it. If you just miss Mega Man and want a slightly more modern take on that game, you’ll get that here, but you won’t see anything new.

Honestly, it’s kind of a relief that Epic Mickey: Rebrushed turned out so well. It’s not uncommon to have fond memories of an older game that turned out to wildly inaccurate in terms of remembering how good that older game actually was, so playing a remake like this, that shows Epic Mickey was just as fun as I remember it (even if it has an obvious new coat of paint), brings some a welcome feeling. Will Epic Mickey: Rebrushed garner the same kind of cult following that the Wii game got? Probably not – but hopefully that’s because being on more platforms allows more people to play this delightful game.

Overall I’d reckon that Final Fantasy XVI’s PC port IS a good one, albeit with the caveats that it has some beefy requirements to run at higher frame rates and resolutions. It’s a phenomenal game that is now available to a wider audience, so I’d highly recommend checking it out if you’ve got the hardware. Otherwise, if you’re on a bit older hardware (such as myself) from early 2020 or before, I’d definitely recommend holding off and getting upgrades first, or deal with reduced visual quality, resolution, and framerates. I for one wouldn’t want to buy the game to have to play at 720p for 30fps in 2024. Final Fantasy XVI is definitely a great game and a great port if you’ve got the hardware to run it, though I do wish it ran better on slightly older hardware.

I absolutely enjoyed my time with Ara: History Untold, and I think anyone that’s enjoyed a round or two of the Civilization series will feel right at home with this. It also has a solid tutorial to help on-board new players, so even if you’ve never touched a 4X game before, I think you’ll find that Ara is friendly towards new players too. There’s a ton of different ways to build out your empires, and the use of a Prestige system as an option to victory, wherein you gain points for various actions taken, is a solid way of deciding a winner even if you have multiple nations still standing at the end of a game. Definitely check Ara: History Untold out when it launches this week, you won’t be disappointed.

It would be nice if there was more content (and you have to be okay with a little straying from the source material), but as it stands, the game is a chaotic – if all-too-brief – good time.