Keeper is another unique Double Fine creation, excellently executed with incredible art direction and fun puzzles, even if it doesn't push the envelope.

Shovel Knight Dig, while far from being the furthest departure from the franchise’s classic gameplay, still manages to be a unique experience thanks to the unique twist of having to use a platforming move set to make progress by traversing vertical space. The Shovel Knight gameplay is still as crisp as ever, and Shovel Knight Dig’s story and progression systems do a great job of staying out of the way, and ultimately encouraging you to try one more run.

Monster Hunter Stories 2 isn't extraordinary by any means, but it's a charming, engaging, colourful experience that's still easy to recommend to fans of traditional JRPGs.

As far as sequels go, SteamWorld Heist 2 expands on its predecessor's compelling gameplay in multiple ways while providing a compelling new setting. Some aspects need further tidying up, but it's still an enjoyable journey.

We Love Katamari REROLL + Royal Reverie is an absolute blast to play. Its gameplay is addictive, the story is hilarious, and the soundtrack features music that will end up haunting you for days.

Ubisoft's newest open world game makes a decent debut, but not one without stumbles.

Buoyed by a fantastic setting, Like A Dragon: Ishin! is bound to be a treat for all fans of the series.

Atelier Ryza 2: Lost Legends and the Secret Fairy overshadows its monotonous alchemy system with a fitting combination of charm, exploration, and a dynamic, living world.

Fluid and adrenaline-fueled combat make Stellar Blade an intriguing experience.

Suikoden 1 and 2 HD Remaster: Gate Rune and Dunan Unification Wars brings the two beloved classics to modern platforms with smart and sensible updates that only reinforce all the reasons the series was so beloved in the first place.

Black Myth: Wukong delivers breathtaking combat, stellar production quality, and unforgettable boss fights. Its few quirks don’t hold it back from being one of the genre’s best games in recent memory.

Hellblade 2 sticks to what its predecessor was good at, delivering a technically, visually, and narratively impressive experience, even if it's one that feels a bit too familiar and straightforward from a gameplay perspective.

Kena: Bridge of Spirits delivers an all around excellent experience that's consistently engaging and manages to enrapture the player, even without doing anything particularly new or innovative.

Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0’s battle royale is an iterative upgrade.

While not a monumental upgrade over past installments, WRC 10 makes some welcome changes to the formula that continue to make it a must-play for fans of the sport.

Tempest Rising is a wonderful throwback to a genre that often feels forgotten in the modern age.

An experience which promises much and delivers on some, F1 25 is without doubt a worthy entry but the feeling is its innovations could be greater.

Aside from rigid combat and some visual hiccups, F.I.S.T.: Forged in Shadow Torch delivers a unique world with an intriguing narrative and tight traversal.

STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl on PS5 combines hardware-specific features, sonic ambience, and enhanced NPC behaviour to create a gameworld laced with immersive, emergent brilliance.

Ys IX: Monstrum Nox brings a wide array of impressive gameplay elements in concert with a wonderful cast of characters to make an exhilarating, thoughtful package that’s one of the series’ best.

After taking a year off, HB Studios' signature golfing franchise sees a strong resurgence thanks to excellent gameplay and presentation.

Football Manager 2023 might be a small improvement over its immediate predecessor, but it's still an incredibly accomplished management sim that you can easily sink hundreds of hours into.

With an enhanced version of one of the series' best 3D outings to date, as well as a legitimately great brand-new adventure starring a returning fan-favourite, Sonic X Shadow Generations is well worth a look for fans of Sega's platforming franchise.

The Show succeeds in honoring baseball’s past despite marginal gameplay improvements.

Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy might be by-the-numbers, but it's a consistently enjoyable experience with great characters and an engaging story, thanks to an excellent understanding of what makes this property tick.

Teardown has some genuine moments of chaotic fun that are sometimes interrupted by long periods of tedium and some minor performance issues.

Brutal action, mind-boggling scale, spectacular set-pieces, and a bevy of content come together in what is one of the best action games in recent memory. Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 is unmissable.

Wo Long packs in some novel gameplay mechanics, but it might not be the hardcore experience fans of the genre are seeking.

While it may not overtake its inspiration, Ready or Not offers an unflinching tactical shooter experience with tense missions and brutal circumstances.

Honkai: Star Rail upholds miHoYo's strong reputation for compelling RPGs. Even with the gacha systems, it offers a fun free-to-play experience with fun story-telling, interesting companions and sleek gameplay.

Diablo 2: Resurrected is a faithful, meticulous remaster that shows just how well the original has aged.

Avowed doesn't reinvent the wheel and it isn't the most deep or complex RPG, but thanks to strong writing, storytelling, world-building, combat, and exploration, it succeeds in delivering an engaging experience that fans of the genre will want to check out.

Atelier Yumia is far from the best entry in the series for newcomers, but it's certainly the largest and most accessible.

Moving Out 2 is a great game that excellently builds upon the strengths of the original and adds even more creative levels to the mix that will constantly challenge you in new and interesting ways.

As a rogue-like that may not be on everyone's radar, Inkbound goes beyond expectations to deliver an addictive and gorgeous turn-based experience.

Anyone looking for a chance to duke it out with their favorite characters, some great fan service for Persona 3 and 4 lovers, or just a great fighting game, is going to enjoy what’s on offer here.

Between Dead Cells and other rogue-lites, The Rogue Prince of Persia may not hold hardcore fans over in the very long run. Nevertheless, its premise is incredibly solid, backed by strong gameplay that channels the essence of its gameplay in all the right ways.

Bandai Namco's effort to bring back a classic does just about enough to preserve the original experience's magic while making it more fun for new and returning players.

F1 Manager 2024 isn't a total overhaul of previous years, but despite some issues, it delivers a compelling management experience for fans.

Some part of me pines for the good ol’ days of the sprite-based visuals and old-school vibe, but as it stands, City of the Wolves is a strong continuation of the franchise that will hopefully grow into its own with more support and polish.

Remnant 2 is a worthy successor, taking everything great about the original and expanding it in several fun ways. There are some blemishes and occasional frustrations, but it's still an engaging world-hopping odyssey.

This is certainly one of those games where the whole is greater than its parts, making the small irritants a little more forgivable in the end.

While WWE 2K25 tries to be more than just a yearly roster update thanks to its new features, the game tends to trip over itself with its ambitious new stories, while also hamstringing the PC release with strange decisions like hard-capped frame rates and locking cutscenes to 30 FPS.

THE FINALS has room to improve, but it shines in all the ways that matter. If you're keen on a new first-person shooter that mixes chaos with strategy in a sleek package, it's worth a look.

Planet of Lana is an incredible journey. It's a down-to-earth traipse through a unique but endearing off-world setting, with tight pacing and excellent presentation underscoring a tale of camaraderie and familial devotion. Whether it's the incredible visuals or the stellar gameplay, it's worth your time.

Reanimal is exactly what you might expect from the original Little Nightmares team, and yet, wondrous in its own right. Like venturing down the rabbit hole of unrelenting terror, it's an experience that will stay with you long after the credits roll.

Blood West is an excellent game for fans of stealth games. It makes use of classic design ideas from games as wide ranging as the seminal Thief titles, to more modern ones like S.T.A.L.K.E.R. in order to shape its mechanics and general gameplay loop. The progression system encourages exploration, which is made all the better thanks to excellent level design.

Granblue Fantasy: Relink's plot falters in several ways despite some impressive combat, bosses and gorgeous visuals. Nevertheless, it's a solid holdover for action RPG fans who don't mind grinding.

Lies of P succeeds in almost everything it sets out to do. Not only do we get a wonderful new setting in the form of Krat to explore and dissect, but we also get some great gameplay to go along with it. While the story sets up some interesting things, it takes too long to get it rolling. The game ultimately relies too heavily on the gameplay to keep you intrigued. Not that we’re complaining.

Scarlet Nexus lives and dies by its combat, which is a good thing, because the combat is great. It's fast, frantic, consistently enjoyable, grows progressively more complex, and feels surprisingly strategic on a very fundamental level. But in most other ways, the game fails to live up to its potential, most notably in how it fails to do justice to a good setting and solid world-building with uninteresting characters, a mindless narrative, and deeply flawed storytelling.

Endling - Extinction is Forever is a harrowing and surprisingly affecting experience.

Last Epoch offers a middle ground between its contemporaries in the action RPG genre, offering players plenty of deep character customization options while still managing to stay understandable and approachable. While its story might feel meandering, the endgame content is plenty fun on its own, and its dungeons are some of the most fun bits of content in the entire game.

Ys 10: Nordics isn't a bad game and offers plenty of action RPG fun for newcomers and veterans. However, some design elements feel off, leveling off what should be the series' next ascent to greatness.

The Artful Escape is an incredible odyssey of self discovery, and its few shortcomings don't hold it back from being an excursion patently worth making.

By building on the first game's strengths and taking confident steps forward in some key areas, Lost Judgment delivers an arresting and captivating experience that surpasses its predecessor in every way possible.

DNF Duel’s approachable take on the genre might hold it back for some, but will likely hit the sweet spot for many newcomers and mid-level players.

The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered is everything a fan could want and an excellent primer on what makes the series so magical.

Knockout City brings more to the table than you might expect, but still leaves a couple of much-needed ingredients at home. As a result, its fate as a multiplayer game is unclear.

The PS5 release of Warhammer 40,000: Darktide essentially acts as a celebration of the game reaching its current state of being one of the best co-op shooters out there.

The King of Fighters XV is a huge upgrade over its predecessor in its visuals and presentation, and its minor tweaks to gameplay make an already stellar franchise even better.

Pikmin 1 and 2's Switch ports might not be much of an upgrade in a technical sense, but the games themselves have stood the test of time wonderfully well, thanks to their timeless game design, addictive loop, intuitive controls, and healthy dose of charm.

Far Cry 6 doesn't do a lot to shake up a tried-and-true formula, but still offers up an engaging story and plenty of enjoyable open world mayhem in the series' best setting to date.

From its incredible story and how well it tells it to its wonderfully realized setting and more, all of Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons' biggest strengths are present and accounted for in the remake. Given how faithful of a recreation it is though, those who own the original will likely wonder if the remake is worth a purchase.

While there may be some issues out of cockpit, Star Wars: Squadrons is an excellent spiritual successor to the X-wing series that captures the look and feel of Star Wars.

Trepang2 doesn’t really care about its setting and story. Instead, it just wants to give you some guns, the ability to slow down time, and just set you loose on some corrupt corporations and a shady cult. It features fantastic gunplay and some excellent enemy AI to play around with, and despite the visual clutter, you’ll quite likely find yourself having a good time.

Resident Evil Village is an essential Switch 2 pick for anyone who wants survival horror tension with blockbuster action.

If you're itching for a brand new third-person shooter with some unique mechanics, then Rollerdrome may be the game for you. Its presentation, arena design, controls and combat are superb, and make up for the otherwise short length.

Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe is very much worth trying, especially for younger or less experienced players, who will find a high quality title with a lot to offer waiting for them.

Ice-Pick Lodge's time-bending adventure of overcoming an outbreak is its most involving, deftly written and compelling adventure yet.

Gears of War: Reloaded is a great trip to the past for franchise veterans while newcomers will certainly enjoy its current-gen take on the adventure that started it all.

Dynasty Warriors: Origins is not only the best entry point for newcomers, but one of the best offerings the series has had in recent memory. The intimate zoomed-in story portrays the Three Kingdoms figures as likeable and complex characters with compelling motives. Combat can be hit or miss, but there's no denying the unmatched scale and spectacle of the 1-v-1000 battles.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II suffers from feeling light on content.

As a streamlined city-builder with some conquest and exploration thrown in, Bulwark: Falconeer Chronicles is worth a look.

Ridiculously charming and extremely relaxing, New Pokemon Snap provides the most realized and fleshed out window into the Pokemon world yet, also delivering a robust and entertaining game that makes good on the original title's potential remarkably well in the process.

Seemingly directionless plot and occasionally excessive effects aside, Everhood 2 offers plenty of challenges for rhythm game fans.

Even with a superfluous F1 Life and some odd bugs, F1 22 maintains its strong fundamentals while tightening up its racing and offering more options.

Metal: Hellsinger is an easy game to recommend—the music’s great, it feels really good to play, and it looks great. The only real caveat to all of this is that, if you’re not a fan of metal music, Metal: Hellsinger might not have much for you. While its combat is great, the music is what truly elevates it from being just another boomer shooter.

Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii is an addictive, fun and an absurd experience. But most importantly, it is a complete blast to play through.

MLB The Show 21 does exactly what a sports sequel needs to do; it refines and expands on the best features of the predecessor, without taking away from what works.

RIDE 6 is the motorcycling series at its most complete, where worthwhile onboarding, progression with momentum, and an overall passion for two-wheel machinery outshines uneven presentation and a festival setting which misses the mark.

The Quarry may not be attempting anything groundbreaking, but what it does end up having, it executes on perfectly with great acting, a tightly-knit story, and relatable characters for a fun couple of nights of horror.

Trine 5 treads the same ground as its predecessors and falls prey to the same shortcomings, but it's a solid co-op puzzler that has some gorgeous visuals and is a great time.

Elden Ring Nightreign is an unusual yet well-executed effort by FromSoftware, blending rogue-like progression and battle royale mechanics into a fun co-op experience despite some nagging issues.

ROUTINE may have been a long time coming, but it’s definitely well worth the experience now that it’s finally here, especially for fans of the horror genre. It keeps you immersed at all times thanks to its lack of UI and full-body awareness.

Once Upon A Katamari delivers an amazingly fun time. It may be derivative with its graphics and story, but the impressive level variety across nine eras and sheer wealth of content ensure fans and newcomers will be rolling until they're sick of smiling.

Despite DiRT 5's boilerplate customization and being a tad too eager to punish its players at times, it exceeds as a true step forward for its genre in the ways that matter most.

Kirby Air Riders realizes the full potential of its predecessor, delivering a chaotic, colourful and vibrant experience that is not only overflowing with enough content to keep you hooked for dozens of hours, but is unique and enjoyable enough to make sure that you don’t question whether the time you’re clocking in is time well spent.

Pacific Drive can be broken down easily into other genres, but it's unlike anything available in terms of tone, atmosphere and execution.

Age of Imprisonment doesn’t do much of note narratively, but as an action game based on Tears of the Kingdom, it’s pretty darn good.

Lego Voyagers is a simple yet charming game built around dedicated co-op play. There’s no dialogue, no quests, and no tutorials. Just you, your partner, and the Lego-built environment. It could certainly have been better, but as it stands, this is a highly accessible experience offered at an attractive price point.

When it comes to the joy of off-road driving, few games can capture the feel as expertly or effortlessly as Expeditions: A MudRunner Game. The lack of online co-op at launch, or even a central narrative might hurt it a bit, but it’s still an excellent driving game owing to the thousands of small player-driven emergent stories that can pop up, and the sense of exploration is still downright fantastic.

Pay-to-win issues notwithstanding, Visual Concepts' NBA 2K25 is the premier basketball title, packed with enjoyable content and notable improvements.

Equal parts first-person shooter and kick-fest, Angry Foot is a adrenaline-filled romp with a few annoyances.

Alan Wake Remastered easily stands on its own among modern, similar games due to its exceptional design, tight execution, and handful of technical improvements.

This fighting collection makes some much loved cult classic games broadly accessible on modern platforms, while being filled with goodies and extras for fans. That's good enough.

Observer: System Redux improves on the original’s visual style and wonderfully disturbing nightmare sequences, but it doesn’t fix an uninspired plot or lack of consistent horror elements.

Beyond Good and Evil 20th Anniversary Edition is a great way to replay a beloved classic, and an even better one to experience it for the first time.

F1 24 could have been the ideal follow-up to last year had its handling not been radically revamped. However, as it stands, it's still a compelling racing sim with fun Career Modes and a strong presentation.