Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Gates to Infinity is a fun game, there’s no doubt about that. However, the difficulty is kind of low for the most part and the dungeon layouts, while random, will get repetitive very quickly. Still, it’s worth a play through if you’re a fan of Pokemon or of the past Pokemon Mystery Dungeon games.

Phenomenal simulation and an amazing presentation make MLB 13: The Show one of the best sports games available on the market. Vita owners are still missing out on a couple of key features like the Diamond Dynasty mode but you still can’t deny the insane amount of game packed into this little package.

BioShock Infinite Burial at Sea Episode 2, for the most part, is a fitting end to the entire series.

Those expecting a huge departure in Sam & Max Episode 2 will certainly be disappointed. Situation Comedy is more of the same. The same great writing, the same great acting, the same great mystery and the same great characters.

A quick burst of new gameplay and story make Fishy Tales of the Nekomata worth picking up if you've played Muramasa Rebirth to exhaustion and can't get enough.

One of the coolest video game duos are back for a brand new adventure full of memorable characters and great graphics.

With its sense of humor and over the top plays, The BIGS proves to be a baseball game that is accessible to just about everybody. If you're sick of learning complex controls and memorizing player stats, then The BIGS has been made specifically for you.

Wayforward's heroine has come a long way from her GameBoy beginnings, and she's still got some great adventures in her yet. The gameplay is on point, and the visuals are top notch. The experience is a little on the short side, but fun throughout.

Scrapland is dripping with charisma despite its two-dimensional characters and decaffeinated storyline. The compulsion to return to Chimera again and again is hard to resist, even if it's just to satiate your curiosity of how good things could have been.

As the game has updated visuals, new additions to modes, and more microtransactions than a Prime advertisement, WWE2K25 has some bright spots. But it just feels like a superstar that dominated NXT and then was snuffed out when they joined the Main Roster. Better than last year's, but not by much. WWE has a credo: Then, Now, Forever, Together. I want now, now.

The physics, graphics, and sounds are state-of-the-art, but the always hard to please Dave has a bone to pick.

Wolfenstein is the perfect mindless shooter, and I totally mean that as a compliment.

Even if the RPG elements are a little too shallow, Chroma Squad has great gameplay and a big ol' heart and presents it all with a smile.

Playing through this trilogy made it clear to me why the Crash series burned out. It failed to reinvent itself. It budged only a little bit on its mechanics, and never embraced anything that fused the old with the new. That’s not to say that it fails overall, however. There are hits and misses here, but it’s a worthwhile experience. It works. It’s challenging, it’s frustrating, and sometimes, fun.

Project Cars delivers a solid racing sandbox that is both entertaining to play and stunning to see in action. Unfortunately, the game's career system lacks proper progression and any incentive to complete its races.

ATV Offroad Fury Pro won't win any awards for graphics or game play, but it does feature an insane amount of levels, modes, mini-games and multiplayer fun.

Mahokenshi will test every logical and strategic bone in your body. A mix of deck builders and board games, Mahokenshi pushes the player to try different strategies, and the game is not shy about smacking down your pitiful attempts until you get it right. Come prepared for a unique experience, and put on your toughest armor, and you may get hours of enjoyment from this one. Just don’t take it personally when you find yourself face down in the mud.

The release and quick subsequent patches show that ECOLE and French-Bread are intent on seeing Melty Blood Actress Again Current Code has a long lasting presence in the minds of American fighting game fans.

Becastled is a streamlined and satisfying blend of city builder, tower defense, and real-time strategy that is easy to pick-up and tough to put down at times.

Nova Lands is an engrossing supply chain management game that can be tough to put down. As is typical for the genre on consoles, there are some minor quality of life frustrations, but it’s an easy game to recommend despite that. For newcomers to this sort of game, Nova Lands might be the perfect starting point, while genre enthusiasts can expect to spend many hours building and optimizing.

It's actually really hard to pick between the two which might be a better game, but for me, that Last Surprise remix in Dancing in Starlight really steals the show.

But this is more of a tool than it is a game, something that will allow you to create interesting characters and take them on a fairly boring adventure.

For those who might be tired of the traditional Musou hack and slash format, Spirit of Sanada offers up enough changes to make the series feel fresh while retaining the traditional 1 vs. 1000 hack and slash gameplay that the series is known and loved for.

If you didn't play the first game, you may be a little confused in terms of the story, but it's an incredibly fun game.

A clever adventure puzzle game that reminds me of a simpler time in gaming. The guys at Double Fine do a great job in working with mechanics of yesteryear and make The Cave a compelling adventure from start to finish.

Story is a little generic, and combat is mediocre and frustrating at times. But Weaving Tides is about puzzles, and they have it in spades. Most of the issues, like linear gameplay, can easily be overlooked when thinking about this relaxing puzzler.

Max Payne 3 is a real love-hate relationship. Just when the solo story is getting good, the gameplay will get clunky, the slow-mo will go unused or Max will do something dumb. But then you remember how fun and creative the multiplayer is, and you can't in good conscience completely hate the game. Max 3 is a rocky return to form but at least Max Payne is back and dodging bullets again.

FORM was an enjoyable and mildly challenging romp through some beautifully crafted spaces populated with puzzles that achieved a nice balance between being interesting without being either too easy or frustratingly difficult. Sadly, I was ready for more than it had to give.

Big Brain Academy: Brain Vs Brain is a great pick up and play title. I found myself becoming addicted to trying to do better each time I sat down. The new addition of multiplayer is very welcome. Allowing each user to select the starting difficulty made this a fun game to play with my very non-competitive wife. If mind games are something you enjoy, or if you’ve played a Brain Academy or Brain Age title this would be a good addition to your Switch line up.

Dust & Neon is a fun isometric twin-stick shooter, enveloped by the trappings of a roguelite that won’t be for everyone. Even so, it never felt unfair, thanks largely to its tight and fun gunplay mechanics that fans of twin-stick shooters will easily latch onto.

Sniper Elite: Resistance isn't really doing anything new, and that's ok. It's sticking to a tried and true formula and delivering on promises for solid gameplay mechanics spread out over sprawling open levels. It does carry forward the best features ironed out in previous games like kill cams, a balance of stealth and action, freedom to meet objectives, and even Invasion mode to add some spice to the mix if you're so inclined. It's not groundbreaking but it doesn't have to be because it follows a well trodden path that is already established and frankly just a lot of fun to play.

Atomfall is a delightful surprise in a year packed with big game releases. I haven’t felt this amount of joy from discovery, or this level of player agency in a game in quite some time. Wherever it is on your list of games to play in 2025, move it up.

A rather expansive DLC pack, New Super Luigi U actually stands up well on its own. It offers up a healthy challenge and plenty of fun for those who enjoyed New Super Mario Bros. U and games past.

While the first game was an enjoyable proof of concept, Sanctum 2 is that idea realized. A great experience all around, it brings the best of both the shooter and tower defense worlds together. Try to bring along a couple of friends for the adventure though, as they will make it exponentially more enjoyable.

Windjammers 2 is a fast and fun arcade style game that fans of the original and competitive vs games will enjoy. But the game is very light on single player content, so unless you want to play against others online or with friends, you probably won't get much out of the light arcade mode.

While there are quite a few survival games out, the Flame in the Flood approaches the end of the world from a new perspective. Its an enjoyable survival game that always ends in peril; nevertheless, the Flame in the Flood is worth playing over and over again.

If you're looking for a few hours of non-stop comedy then you would be a fool to pass over Ice Station Santa. This Sam & Max adventure hasn't evolved much from the first season, but it tells an interesting story full of memorable characters and plot twists. After this game you'll never look at Santa Claus in quite the same way.

They may not look as good as the 3D fighters of today, but both King of Fighters 2002 and 2003 are fantastic fighting games with a deep roster of unique characters to choose from.

Sportsball is a fun and fast paced game…when played with friends. Sadly there’s very little single-player content to be worth the ten dollars if you rarely have other people to play with, and there's also no online play at all, but beyond that Sportsball can make for a fun afternoon of soccer with a bit of Joust thrown in.

Dengeki Bunko: Fighting Climax may have suffered a little in the transition to Vita from a visual standpoint. But the gameplay is certainly on point and fighting game fans finally have a reason to turn on their Vita again.

Transformers Prime on the Wii is still a good game and I do recommend giving it a shot, but if you already have the 3DS version, you're pretty much getting the same game again.

Salt and Sacrifice to Salt and Sanctuary is like Dark Souls 2 to Dark Souls 1. It diverges a lot from the original, with some ideas that work well and some that don't. All in all, it's still an excellent 2-D Souls-like Metroidvania that brilliantly infuses Monster Hunter elements with challenging combat. Despite some poor design choices and questionable difficulty spikes, it's still astonishing to think this game was created by a team of just two people.

The Callisto Protocol is a gorgeous and gory science fiction horror experience that lives up to its big brother Dead Space in many ways, but fails to do so in others. The high production value, stellar cast of characters, top notch audio and visual design, and an excellent mix of adrenaline pumping action and terrifying horror are all overshadowed by a frustratingly designed dodge mechanic.

So is it worth it this year? That's a firm "yes". The Hypermotion 2 engine lives up to its hype and delivers what it probably the best simulation of football I've seen. You have a variety of game modes to find your favorites with some like Volta that deliberately speed up the pace that the engine tends to slow down in Career. You also have the widest variety of stars to choose from featuring men's and women's teams as well as all the licenses and real player likenesses you can hope for. However, Career mode needs some love. And by love I don't mean more meaningless transfer cutscenes. I mean depth beyond just the UK pyramid: add some real lower division teams across leagues and stop neglecting everything outside of Europe.

Mechwarrior 5: Mercenaries brings back most of the combat and management the series is known for. Your mileage may vary on just how satisfying that is, but in objective terms there are a number of small issues—from AI to graphics—that add up and keep this game from its full potential.

Scribblenauts Unmasked is a nice addition to the Scribblenauts series and an awesome addition to the lineup of DC-themed video games. There is plenty to love here for fans of both universes however DC folks will find that the experience is tailored especially for them.

Grey Goo isn't a paradigm shift but Petroglyph still really know what they're doing when it comes to RTS. They introduce some clever new twists on the formula and tell an intriguing story in the process.

Potion Permit has you go from unwelcomed guest to belle of the ball. This doesn’t feel like other life-sim game in a couple of ways. The handful of mini-games, the romancing, and the gifting feel different, in some good - and sometimes only decent - ways. The pixel art looks great, and load times on the Switch were a breeze. I would have liked more of an overall challenge; the game never feels hard or very difficult. Potion Permit works best when throwing on some headphones and listening to a podcast.

Dungeon Hearts is a perfectly fun puzzle mash-up that is marred by inconsistent difficulty and lack of a narrative. While the actual combat is fun, it's a shame that players are forced to start over every time the game ends. Even with its problems, there are enough good ideas here to make it worth the low retail price.

As an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink sandbox, Crimson Desert is endlessly compelling, and frankly, irresistible. As a single-player RPG trying to tell a story, it falls flat on its face. Amazingly, it features one of the best and most immersive open worlds since Red Dead Redemption 2, but tries to give it purpose with a narrative that will have you scratching your head, or worse yet, scrolling on your phone.

Promise Mascot Agency is a delightfully bonkers blend of Japanese crime drama, business management sim, card-battler, and open-world collect-a-thon. No aspect of the game goes very deep, but developer Kaizen Game Works has threaded the needle here, creating an engaging “lite” version of several video game subgenres.

Joggernauts presents a smiling face to the world, bouncing happily in place and waiting for someone to love it. But before long, it rips its mask off and reveals that it is, in fact, a ludicrously difficult game. It all starts with Ooh and Ahh and Oh, that’s cute, but later there’s running and screaming. Groups of friends that love games will have a riot savaging each other over their performance. With a fun and accessible veneer, Joggernauts is ready to break the world.

Carnival Games VR: Alley Adventure is a great deal at its low price point. The fact that 2K is continuing to support a VR title is encouraging, and the new minigames combined with the enhancements to the base game make this a no-brainer for fans of the franchise. While Alley Adventure is not a game changer, it continues the base game’s strategy of throwing everything at the wall, and hoping that each player finds something that sticks. There are a few extraordinary experiences included, and even the “filler” minigames can be rewarding if players take the time to properly engage with them.

Cold Iron is a game that requires players to think and act fast. While it is brief, and some might consider it too difficult, the game never feels unfair. The solutions to its unique puzzles are right in front of you, and your own wits and skill are the only things that stands between you and sweet, sweet victory. If you have had a hankering for a new gaming experience and don't mind getting your hide tanned a little bit, Cold Iron may just be your huckleberry.

Battlefleet Gothic: Armada is not your typical space strategy game. It's a fun violent strategy game focused on space combat rather than micromanaging an empire.

Ayo the Clown is a fun, light platformer with origins that can be traced directly back to any number of Nintendo classics, putting it in esteemed company. Though the difficulty might be a bit much for the smallest kids, Ayo the Clown is a light-hearted, family-friendly game that deserves attention from platformer fans.

Etrian Odyssey 2 Untold: The Fafnir Knight serves as a good place to start with its accessibility and less steep learning curve. It's a great game for JRPG fans, and is a welcome addition to the franchise, even if it is getting a little crowded now.

The Ezio Collection is a great bundle with three great games, but that's really all it is. Newer fans of Assassin's Creed that have missed out should absolutely check this out but fans that experienced it years ago really don't have much of a reason to pick this up.

Hopefully Snyder will release a patch to fix the game's unfortunate glitches, but even in its current state The Floor is Jelly is definitely worth your 10 dollars.

Origins was worth taking the year off. Egypt will be hard to top as a location. The series' dry, ironic, corporate sense of humor is still dull. But nobody can beat Assassin’s Creed’s architectural history lessons, even if you’re still just stabbing folks and jumping out the window while you’re sightseeing the entire timeline.

Pixel Junk Monsters is as good as it has ever been. There is no arguing that this could be the best version of the game to date. Unfortunately, it is the best version of a game that we have already played multiple times. Newcomers to the franchise will find plenty to love, but returning players have seen all of this before.

Atari Mania is not going to have an issue finding its own audience. There are gamers out there who are historians and will get a kick out of it. With 150+ minigames, and some very challenging unlockable items, it will keep you busy. These are the hardest Atari games rolled up into one charming, nostalgic mini-game extravaganza. Grab this one if you like that good ol' Atari pain.

Destroy All Humans! is not a complicated or even particularly difficult game. But it sticks to the original game's strengths.

Dead Rising is an action-packed romp through a mall full of zombies. If that's not a recipe for a good time then you've never mowed down a group of zombies with an actual lawn mower!

Book of Demons is a fun Diablo-like game, but some of the mechanics might be a turnoff for others. Movement is locked to set paths while enemies are free to roam around and there is no equipment as cards represent spells, items, and artifacts in the game. That said, there is still quite a bit to like about Book of Demons as there is a good amount of strategy to employ if you want to survive. However, the price tag might be a bit much given the restrictions some of the mechanics place on you.

Biomutant attempts to channel many inspirations into a compelling package. It does much of that extremely well, excelling at world building and creating a fluid combat system to drive the experience. The one area it falls short is in tying it all together with an engrossing narrative. It not only fails at the narrative, but even worse, fails at the very mechanics of delivering the story. Wander the world on your own initiative and experience a great game; follow the path of the main quest and suffer the letdown of a mediocre tale, told poorly.

I never enjoyed Gears of War the first time around, and although this iteration looks and plays beautifully, it hasn't made a convert out of me. For the Gears of War fans out there, this is probably a great pick-up and should get you drooling over Gears 4.

Rescue - Everyday Heroes provides gamers with an entertaining and casual simulation gameplay experience of both responding to emergencies and managing the operations of a fire station. While the does game does suffer from some gameplay issues with unit pathfinding and lack of location variety, the great deal of included missions and emergency units and vehicles make for a worthwhile purchase for genre fans of management and strategy.

Career mode gets a much needed upgrade while the gameplay has been tweaked enough to feel like a challenge again. VOLTA Football is incredibly fun and a throwback to FIFA Street. It isn't perfect and career mode still has a lot that can be addressed, but EA listened and made upgrades beyond a roster update.

Mario and Luigi Paper Jam successfully mixes the two long-running Mario RPG series, but outside of a few new Paper-based gameplay surprises it’s the same solid, self-aware role playing experience you’d expect from the Mario and Luigi series.

Surprising, but not for the reasons you might think. With only thirteen days to go before the end of the world, Lightning has her hands full. This final chapter tries a lot of new ideas, many of which work. Unfortunately, the game is a little messy and tonally all over the place. Fans of the series will be satisfied with the emotional finale.

Rail Nation USA is an entertaining browser-based strategy game that has players managing a train empire across the United States. While a little bit more control would have been appreciated, the game still offers an entertaining experience that is perfect for those pickup and play moments.

It may not be the WiiU system seller Nintendo was hoping for, but for the hardcore, The Wonderful 101 is certainly everything they could want on the struggling system.

Although the AI is still a cheating SOB, it only takes 40 quarters and about 2 minutes of download time to make the game yours.

Final Fantasy VII Remake is a wondrous exploration of the original, with fantastic writing, performances, and production values. However, an overindulgence in cut scenes and an extremely linear path through the game causes some serious sag in the middle chapters. A fine experience, but perhaps best viewed as a prelude to things to come.

Wavetale offers players several hours of low-stress fun, with a great traversal system and non-taxing combat. Along the way, it tells a sweet story about family. With pleasant visuals, beautiful music, and gameplay that most gamers will be able to autopilot through, Wavetale offers a fun way to while away a quiet afternoon.

Project X Zone is a fun game that brings together characters from various Namco, Sega, and Capcom franchises. While it is a bit easy and not quite as deep as other tactical RPGs, like the Fire Emblem series, it’s not a bad game by any stretch. I just wish there was more to it.

Ubisoft has created a wonderful world for gamers to play in, but The Division is held back by a lack of mission diversity and some gameplay quirks.

Full Bore is an enjoyable game if you don't mind puzzles that range from simple to difficult within a few minutes of each other.

PGA Tour 2K25 is a golf game for everyone, offering an enjoyable golf simulation for players of any skill level. There are incremental upgrades across the board from 2K23, though I do have concerns about the accessibility of some online modes, as well as the increased prevalence of premium currencies.

Republique Remastered is an effective, modern point-and-click adventure, and one of the few good mobile-to-PC upconverts. The controls and gameplay take some time to get used to. But it's well worth it to explore the lovingly realized world of conspiracy and paranoia.

World War Z doesn't hide its intentions. It's not a layered, in-depth survival sim. It doesn't try to be anything it's not. It's built around the horde effect, which it nails. They're like train wrecks: you can't stop watching them—except the train is headed straight for you.

The lack of Pokemon to draw can also be a bit of a turn-off for some, but the Free Paint mode’s ability to use a blank canvas or any picture on your SD card can help alleviate that a bit.

An excellent debut for Kirby on the Wii U, Kirby and the Rainbow Curse is amazing to see in motion. Too bad players won't get to do much of that, as spectators get the best seats for this show.

Attack on Titan is an impressive feat, nailing the movement of the anime and that satisfying feeling that you get when taking down a titan is captured almost perfectly. There's a few minor flaws here, but for fans of the series, you're hardly going to notice.

Though it stumbles some with undeveloped multiplayer and arcade modes, the single player of VR Ping Pong Pro is enjoyable - even to a table tennis neophyte. With rock-solid controller tracking and a variety of fun and unique environments to play in, VR Ping Pong Pro is better in a lot of areas than it needs to be.

Samurai Warrior 4 is yet another solid entry in the long-running beat-em-up franchise. It offers a few new gameplay tweaks and a different narrative structure, but is largely the same old brawler you've seen countless times.

LEGO City Undercover is a slap-happy LEGO GTA. This 2017 remaster of the 2014 Wii U exclusive now introduces the originally absent co-op play, while also jumping onto the Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. Easily my favorite LEGO game in years.

Fenix Rage is a pretty good game, but can also be a frustrating experience. If you don’t mind the fact that it could almost pass for a sequel to Super Meat Boy and that the difficulty curve is all over the place and can easily make you frustrated, it is an enjoyable experience.

Hilarious, insane, intense, violent, and at the same time, completely ridiculous, Rocketbirds is a truly enjoyable game. The otherwise great game is only held back by sluggish controls that keep it from achieving its true potential as a great game.

The Last of Us Part I could have launched cleaner, to be sure. But my personal experience with the game was far better than some of what I’m seeing reported online. I was experiencing a stellar game for the first time, and it behaved itself for me well enough that I had a great time. If you are worried about your PC handling TLOU, give it a bit of time for the technical issues to be resolved, but rest assured that the game that everyone loves is intact.

Tearaway is something like seeing Where the Wild Things Are, hobbled together with Elmer's glue, cut along dotted lines with terrible little grade school scissors, and creased with papercraft folds. It's an adventure that's big on controls, a bit weak in dialogue, and best enjoyed in smaller, bite-sized sessions. Tearaway is unusual, in every sense of the word.

Feature-wise, the Vita version of SFxT is a much more complete package than the original release. However, the cramped and limited interface of the Vita inhibit your ability to enjoy them all as much as you should. This is still an incredibly solid experience and an excellent fighting game, however I find myself longing for the ability to use my arcade stick, or at least my console controller.

It looks the same and plays the same, but once you've started chasing down those cute monkeys you won't want to put down the control. Ape Escape 3 gets nearly every element right, it's just not very ambitious in its goals.

With deadly obstacles at every step, this is one game that never lets up. But fans of this type of punishment will enjoy the clever level designs and rage-inducing traps.

A game that certainly isn't shy about what it is, Berserk Boy is a love letter to the Sonic the Hedgehog and Mega Man franchises. While there are arguably some slight concerns along the way on the design front, those shortcomings are overshadowed by fun and addicting gameplay. The game manages to pay great respect to the games that influenced it and still stand on its own at the end. Fans of both classic franchises will certainly enjoy going Berserk!

Well worth the time of any Tex Murphy fan. Wven those that know nothing about the history of the protagonist will find something to like.

Fighting in the 19th century looks boring on the outside, but deep down in the game fighting in the 19th century was about honor, and it is a lot more strategic than one would have thought.