DO NOT call PS All-Stars a Smash Bros. knock off, it is actually anything but a copy or clone of Nintendo's fabled fighter. SuperBot has taken the most basic premise of that series and crafted a full-featured fighter that delivers something beyond the casual experience and that crosses over into the competitive fighting realm.

PQ2 manages to take the best elements from the original game and give us a lot more content, a lot more obstacles, and a lot more freedom.

While you were partying, Narita Boy studied the techno-blade. Impossibly good pixel art is locked behind bad-but-gets-better platforming and okay-but-gets-cool hack n' slashing.

Flying Wild Hog has topped their previous game, Hard Reset, in nearly every respect with Shadow Warrior. A myriad of beautiful environments, crazy but balanced and innovative combat, and a smoother difficulty curve prove that the Polish studio has graphical, level and gameplay design talent to spare. Don’t miss this one.

After two years of nothing but rocky seas, Puzzle Quest 2 manages to right the ship and correct the course.

Telltale’s first Batman episode is marred by technical issues, but the writing, gameplay and presentation are superb as always. Maybe hold off for a couple weeks while it gets patched, but after that, Batman fans should definitely take the plunge.

Planet of Lana is a joy to behold, having been crafted with aplomb by a team of artistic and musical virtuosos. The gameplay itself is nothing you haven’t seen from other side-scrolling puzzlers, but it gives a wide berth to the stunning art and musical score that reach Disney levels of quality.

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.

Arma 3 refines and masters the military simulation genre.

Forgotten Sands feels like a big expansion pack, and while the acrobatics are far and away the best in the series, the combat has a lot of unrealized potential and the story isn't that satisfying.

Neverwinter is one of the best free-to-play games this year, with its fluid combat, extensive amount of quests, and Foundry tool in which players can create their own adventures. Most importantly, premium points and items don't affect the game for those who choose to adventure on the free route. Role-playing fans owe themselves an extended journey to the world of Neverwinter.

Although it doesn't supply intense space battles like Sins of a Solar Empire or Stellaris it doesn't have to. Instead Master of Orion delivers an exciting universe where every action has a diplomatic action or consequence you can act on.

A fun and simple little spatial puzzler, Astroslugs is a pleasant way to spend those fragmented bits of free time.

The game has some seriously good ideas, but there's no question that it will only play to a limited audience.

Harvestella is a fresh coat of paint on a familiar wall. It’s a good wall, solid foundation, level, able to withstand the elements, and damn good paint. But it’s still a wall. If you want to play the newest, most innovative farm sim to date, it’s not going to be Harvestella. If you want to play the best version of the farm sim for the modern era, look no further. While it does some odd things, like invisible walls to areas you can clearly see, or not being able to jump on a rock, in the end, those don’t matter. Farming is fun, dungeon crawling is fun. The visuals and soundtrack help make Harvestella one of the best possible versions of the farm sim.

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.

If you aren’t bored with WW2 shooters, Medal of Honor Heroes 2 is definitely the one to pick up. Its responsive controls, online multiplayer and immersive use of the Wii’s features make it much more memorable than any other recent MOH game.

Super Mario Maker for the 3DS is enjoyable but it has its drawbacks. While the 100 Mario Challenge and Super Mario Challenge are both fun to play through, the lackluster search function of the Recommended Courses, having to go through the Super Mario Challenge to unlock most of the stuff for stage creation, and the quizzical lack of ability to upload courses and share them with the world outside of locally and via StreetPass make this a hard game to recommend at $40 for a lot of people.

Sure, Mafia: The Old Country has guns and cars, but the more important pieces are the awesome story, great performances, and beautiful setting. Cinematic in all the ways that most games only dream of, The Old Country delivers a nuanced and thoughtful story full of thrills. I couldn't tear myself away from it.

Mainlining kills two birds with one stone, fulfilling a childhood fantasy and just plain being a great game at the same time. If you're looking for a unique sort of puzzle/mystery game, definitely give this a try; it's obvious that Sam Read and Rebelephant have worked hard on this, and the result is a truly enjoyable game that's fun for fans of many game genres. Well worth the money.

Army of Two: The 40th Day is not going to win anyone's GOTY award. But where pure fun and entertainment are concerned--especially with a friend on your team--it doesn't get better than splashing around in this bloody giggle pool.

Life Goes On is an ingenious puzzle game that puts a whole new spin on dying in video games. Sadly its’ biggest downfall is the fact that the game is on the short and easy side, but if you’re trying to get every achievement and medal in the game, you can squeeze out a few more hours from this one. If you don’t mind all of that, I definitely recommend picking this one up.

Rainbow Six Extraction offers players a surprisingly new experience, a more stealthy take on co-op shooters than is found in the competition. With blistering difficulty, tension to spare, and a delicious argument-inducing bug out mechanic, Extraction uses shooter mechanics in ways that feel utterly unique and original. Perhaps a bit light on content, but we all know that more will come in time. A stress-filled creepy good time, even for non-shooter fans.

Chorus’ controls and awesome powers make its space dogfighting some of the best, but the convoluted story and frustrating difficulty spikes hold it back from greatness. I would love to see a sequel with more interesting missions, where it just gets out of its own way and allows players to soar.

Quick, fun, but shallow. Puchi Puchi Virus gives you a quick dose of puzzling fun, but the new game smell wears off quick.

If you’re looking for a mobile puzzle game worthy of your time, then Umiro is where you should turn. It’s short, with admittedly low replay value, but hey—it’s a mobile game, primarily. It’s not the place to look for a fully-fledged, complex plot, but it does the job on the puzzle front, and is great at keeping you engaged for however long you have to play it.

The racing is addictive, vehicle customization is deep, the world is charming, and there is much to see and do in LEGO 2K Drive. Some minor speed bumps are baked-in, but they cannot stop this otherwise solid racer.

Caravan SandWitch is a gorgeous, cozy exploration game with a story that falls flat. It won’t hold a spell over you for long, but a weekend is all it needs.