With it's beautiful graphics, easy to use interface, replayability and 2 player cooperative mode it should be the definitive hack and slash type RPG on the Playstation 2 for a long time to come.

Graphics are good, controls aren't frustrating, and the gameplay challenges me. I can't see how this could be a better title.

If you felt like the previous iteration of Street Fighter V felt a little anemic, this one is easily an embarrassment of riches. With more new features than is reasonable to recap here, Street Fighter V Arcade Edition is everything the original game should have been, and much more.

Sea of Stars shows modern RPGs how it's done in this incredible throwback to SNES classics. It’s an absolute joy to play from start to finish, though the story, writing, and flat characters leave some potential untapped. Even so, this is a gorgeous adventure that you won’t want to miss.

Astral Chain brings together gameplay elements from all of Platinum’s best, from Bayonetta to Transformers Devastation, and adds the secret spice of detective work to tie it all together. It’s easy enough for newcomers to the genre, deep enough for veterans, and one of Platinum’s best.

Night in the Woods is a fantastic narrative with a beautiful artstyle, theme and plenty of small touches occupying a wonderful world full of loving characters covering a sinister story underneath.

Crypt of the Necrodancer offers just about every feature imaginable, and each one is executed absolutely masterfully. It’s wholly unique and provides a tension found nowhere else, offering up some rhythm to the roguelike genre just as it started to feel like it was getting stale.

Guilty Gear -Strive- is an excellent fighting game with gorgeous visuals, but feels like it's lacking in content. There are essentially only three modes of play, arcade, survival, and online. While the complex inputs and lack of a decent tutorial will leave some players in the dust, fighting feels so good you won’t want to put the controller down.

Pokémon Sun and Moon are the most refreshing and exciting updates to the Pokémon franchise to date. Having found an impressive balance between old and new, providing both nostalgia and innovation, Pokémon Sun and Moon are a must-play for any Pokémon fan. With depth which is surprising and not obvious early on, a new path to becoming the best, and entirely new ways of getting around, there are plenty of reasons to explore the Alola Region.

If you enjoy space battles that are featured in Babylon 5 and other space operas, this game is for you.

It’s film noir, it’s drama, but most accurately it is unique. I’ve played literally thousands of games on every platform under the sun, but Heavy Rain really connected with me.

Shinobi: Art of Vengeance doesn’t settle for redoing the past. Instead, it brings the series forward with a distinct art style and bold new ideas. Art of Vengeance captures the spirit of Sega with a well-designed game that as an overly concerned Shinobi fanatic, I can muster only minor gripes about. It's good, it's fresh, and it's fun.

Visually spectacular and open on the Xbox and PC, but very dark and claustrophobic on the PS2.

Pikmin 4 is a triumphant return for one of Nintendo’s most delightful series. The focus on dandori feels like a revelation that lets everything click together so well you’ll want to sneak in just one more day. It may be a tad too easy, but the real challenge is completing the game quickly and efficiently. This is a gorgeous and engaging title that’s surprisingly lengthy, and another feather in the Switch’s cap.

Final Fantasy XVI features excellent action combat and an intricate story, both with incredible depth. It combines gameplay, story, sound, and music together into one form all inextricably linked. It sets a new standard for action RPGs, and is quite possibly the pinnacle of the series.

The story of the Half-Life universe is propulsive in its own right and the sheer zeal Valve has for this world and the characters in it is a joy to experience. Partnering with a truly responsive AI also has to be seen to be believed.

Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves collection brings two of the PlayStation 4’s best games to current gen consoles in brilliant remasters that would fool even the pickiest of gamers into believing these games were native made for the PlayStation 5. Packed full of adventure, heart, incredible storytelling, fantastic visuals, and believable characters, the Legacy of Thieves collections shows why Naughty Dog is one of the undisputed champions of the medium.

Gran Turismo 7 is an excellent racing simulator for those looking for a more realistic experience or to learn more about cars. There’s a ton of things to do, cars to collect, and tracks to master with the game’s great driving model. While you can feel the sheer passion the developers have for the subject, it does come with some flaws like very slow and tedious progression gates and persistent microtransaction prompts.

Games as good as Enter the Gungeon don’t come along very often. There’s so much to discover here that you’ll be playing this game for a long time. And you’ll still come back even after you see everything. Gungeon is the pinnacle of rogue-like design.

Saros is Housemarque's ultimate creation; the culmination of years of hard work and experimentation. Returnal is Game of the Year quality, no doubt. But Saros has taken what Returnal offered and refined it, only adding to the formula until the end result is Housemarque's finest release yet. In a sea of great April games, Saros' excellence stands out as another Game of the Year contender.

One of the most expansive titles ever made.

Super Mario Galaxy + Super Mario Galaxy 2 feels less like a simple rerelease and something closer to a remaster, especially when played on Switch 2. While not as polished and fully featured as they could be for the price tag, these are still phenomenal games and absolutely worth blasting off in again and again.

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle perfectly translates the fun of the films into video game form. It’s a globetrotting adventure that’ll have you brawling through deserts, sneaking across a German boat in the Himelayas, and trying not to get bitten by snakes in long forgotten temples. The story is phenomenal, but the real highlight is the gameplay. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is absolute bliss from start to finish and would make Dr. Jones proud.

You could certainly play through this game again and get a good bit of fun out of a repeat, despite the fact that it takes roughly 12 hours to beat the game.

Dragon Ball FighterZ is a near-perfect fighting game that appeals to casual players without alienating veteran fighters. The dramatic finishes are a nice touch, the story is amusing and lengthy, if not repetitive at times, the visuals are beautiful, and there is enough content to satisfy any Dragon Ball fan itching for a good fight.

The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening is everything a remake should be. It retains the nostalgia of the original game while celebrating it in an entirely new way. The map is small but dense, filled with side quests, interesting character designs, and a surprising moral dilemma. This charming, toy-like world is the perfect way to experience Koholint Island, regardless of it’s your first visit or your 50th time washing ashore.

It’s nearly impossible to summarize a game this big, or this complete. Assassin’s Creed Odyssey lives up to its Homeric namesake in scope and scale, adding fantastic new elements to the solid foundation Origins laid before it. For me, it’s easily the best Assassin’s Creed game to date, and I can’t wait to keep playing it long after the credits roll.

While the emphasis on the Batmobile late in the game can be incredibly tiring, the characters and world around you never stop propelling you forward. Combine that with the numerous upgrades for your weapons and plethora of side content available, and you have one hell of a Batman video game.

This is a long game, trial and error or not. The problem is you may become so frustrated that you have to play this game in spurts or destroy your controller. I'm glad they made this game more difficult, but it borders on the maddening.

As far as replay value is concerned I wouldn't call FFTA a classic, like the original, so I'm not so sure that FFTA would have many people wanting to play it again. It is really fun the first time through though.

I’ve 100 percent completed the game and unlocked the platinum trophy, but I can’t stop swinging through the city and saving people. By the end, it really is your city with your people to help, your landmarks to admire, your jungle to swing though. This is the new benchmark for Spider-Man games and I can’t wait to see what Insomniac does next.

There’s a lot of content in Okami HD. Unfortunately, interacting with the wealth of characters, locations, and collectibles becomes more of a chore when the story and action is so repetitive. Despite the different coat of paint, each new encounter felt like the last. The colors began to fade around the halfway point, and the game just kept painting without adding anything new to the page.

There's a reason why New Super Mario Bros. sold a ton of copies on the DS, and New Super Mario Bros. Wii will continue tearing up sales charts: It's fun for everyone. If you're still on the fence about New Super Mario Bros. Wii, get off the fence and get it.

Pokémon Sun and Moon are the most refreshing and exciting updates to the Pokémon franchise to date. Having found an impressive balance between old and new, providing both nostalgia and innovation, Pokémon Sun and Moon are a must-play for any Pokémon fan. With depth which is surprising and not obvious early on, a new path to becoming the best, and entirely new ways of getting around, there are plenty of reasons to explore the Alola Region.

This truly is a great game with a well thought out story, beautiful graphics and great voices.

Monster Hunter’s return to PlayStation (and Xbox) is a very smooth transition. The game performs perfectly and gives more players the opportunity to head to Kamura Village for another awe inspiring adventure.

A great game. Because of the differences from previous iterations it may be a little disappointing to die hard Mario Kart purists. But for anyone who likes the series in general, the decision to get this game is a no-brainer.

Wasteland 2 is an excellent update on a classic RPG experience, placing you squarely in the harshest of settings with a more benevolent role to play than most other “post-nuclear” game experiences with an excellent and open world exploration and battle system, as well as deep character customization and a dynamic, ever-changing story and world experience. While the game suffers from some look and feel issues and has a mostly abysmal camera, Wasteland 2 is still a great new title that can sate your desires for apocalyptic exploration for now.

Free-to-play games often carry the stigma of being “pay-to-win” — a design philosophy that says if you want to win, buy in. Orcs Must Die! Unchained isn’t that. It’s a hoopla of co-op action that works whether or not you want to drop some dough. While the new Sabotage mode is a welcome, albeit lesser refined addition to the series, it’s in Battlegrounds that Robot Entertainment flexes its action gameplay muscles and it’s the game type that will keep me coming back for dozens more hours — or at the very least, to nab those daily login bonuses.

I am already itching to get back to playing it, but in closing: The Witch Queen is undoubtedly the best overall campaign experience that Bungie has ever released, as a result of its great story, cool tweaks to gameplay, and inclusion of puzzles and mechanics previously restricted only to endgame content. I have only just barely begun to scratch the surface of so many of the new systems introduced with this expansion, but as soon as I have played enough to form an opinion on it, I will update the review.

Jack Move is a fantastic and bite-sized RPG with some incredibly interesting character building. The story feels too jam packed and tonally inconsistent, but it and the characters are enjoyable for what they are. While I’m not a fan of the art style, it does what it sets out to do for the most part and is accompanied by some excellent jams.

With improvements in literally every area, Forza Motorsport 6 positions itself as the absolute best racer on the market. There are a few oil leaks, but when compared to the upgrades, they are easier to ignore.

Things are a little wacky and over the top, but it works fine and the game is better because of it. With a compelling story, unique approach, and strong gameplay you can't go wrong with Bully.

Whatever your gameplay preference is, Call of Duty: Black Ops has you covered and is a must-have title for any shooter fan.

By casting the player as a character in the game, and through the use of the Vita camera, this title makes us reevaluate where a game world stops and reality begins.

Theatrythm Final Bar Line is a good celebration of Final Fantasy’s musical history. While a few key songs are behind a paywall or missing entirely, fans will find a lot to like here.

A triumph, MLB 13: The Show blasts the competition so far out of the park that the grazing cows out on the countryside get a souvenir. Every second of the game is exciting and enticing on different levels.

This is a labor of love by Gearbox and if you’re at all into historical stuff, this game is for you.

It’s not for everyone (even one of our own editors described it as “barf-tastic” at one point) but if you let its hooks into you, you will discover one of the most addictive, rewarding, crazy-ass games of recent memory.

Walk in with the realization that it won't be perfect and you'll have a fantastic time

This title manages to combine the fun and excitement of the X Games with a technically solid racing engine and come up with an experience that can satisfy nearly every kind of race fan. Add to that tons of unlockables and challenges, toss in some excellent multiplayer, shake well with a lot of attitude, and you’ve got a game that no racing enthusiast should miss!

The humor, story, and gameplay are all top notch.

The team at Survios have done something few others have accomplished in the VR sphere - they’ve put out a whole game. It’s not a concept, it isn’t Early Access, and it’s not a half baked demo - Raw Data is a complete product featuring a single-player campaign, cooperative multiplayer, PVP, multiple classes, and more. While there are still a few bugs to iron out, Raw Data manages to elevate itself above the usual wave shooter fare.

Don't space out; Capcom's PRAGMATA is a stellar, action-packed game that will have you over the moon... Well, on the moon. The multifaceted combat system, lunar setting, and gripping story come together to deliver a tense, atmospheric, and heartfelt story about survival and a meaningful bond, although it does suffer from some slight predictability.

By taking the chains off of the game mechanics, removing the disruptive Auction House, and refining the game mechanics that serve as the base of Diablo III, Reaper of Souls is finally the loot-grabbing adventure we all wanted.

There really isn't anything like it out right now. As long as you still have a soul and can overlook a few biggish flaws, you'll love Little King's Story.

Rez Infinite is a throwback to an amazing 2001 on-rails musical shooter made fresh once again with an entirely new way to control the action. The PSVR2 version’s new features make it new and exciting again thanks to the hardware’s new features.

I dare say this game could take up 50+ hours or maybe even more to fully finish everything. It just oozes value and I still play Son's of Liberty over and over.

Zero Escape: The Nonary Games is the best way for you to play two of the most frequently overlooked visual novels out there. The additions to Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors bring new life to a underrated gem, and Virtue’s Last Reward is still as close to perfect as it was when it was first released. If you want to experience two of the best stories from the last generation of handhelds, this is the best way to do so.

Final Fantasy VI is still a classic and one of the best in the franchise, now with orchestrated music and redone pixel art. It still retains the issues of the rest of the Pixel Remasters, but does have a bit of extra visual spice on top to make them hurt less.

Odin Sphere: Leifthrasir is the remake this story justly deserves, marred only by slight signs of age, and a time capsule that perfectly preserves the magic of Odin Sphere, for the many years it’s lost and the many years to come.

For $19.99 Wipeout fans can’t lose. Fans of racers in general will also find a lot to like.

This is a game that could be really great once it’s had the time to smooth out it’s rough edges, but that really might not be a risk an average buyer will want to take.

Katamari Damacy Reroll is as simple, silly, and superbly entertaining as it was more than a decade ago. The main experience stays intact, but the remaster does enough to make anyone interested in this game smile. Here’s hoping that Bandai Namco takes this reimagining and invests in the original sequel next.

Chicory: A Colorful Tale is a delightful experience that, while confronting some of the darker parts of creativity, will simply make you feel good. The world is cute and fun to explore, puzzles are a joy to solve, and coloring in the Picnic Province is relaxing.

Flower is a mesmerizing game that truly feels unique, and showcases how Six-Axis control can bring the gamer closer to the experience.

While I’m not sure the harcore end-game will translate with the console audience, there is no doubt that Diablo III is the new couch co-op king.

Persona 4 is still one of the best JRPGs of all time, and this port only further proves that while clearing up your vision of Inaba and adding a new control scheme with which to Face Yourself. With this PC version bringing along the enhancements and new features of Golden, there’s never been a better time to Reach out to the Truth for newcomers or for veterans to Make History.

Dispatch is a very uneven experience. It has polish in some places but severely lacks it in others. It has great characters but you don’t get to spend much time with the good ones. The dispatching segments can be fun but feel somewhat shallow. The game has sparks of absolute brilliance, though can use those sparks to start a dumpster fire. It’s worth playing and enjoyable for any fans of narrative focused games or superheroes, but might be memorable for the wrong reasons.

Racing through remixed and all new zones at blistering speeds is reminiscent of old Sonic while also surpassing it in almost every way. The new characters they bring to Sonic Mania Plus are excellent additions to the stable of playable critters, so it’s somehow an even better package than Sonic Mania was last year.

Console ports don’t exactly have a brilliant reputation. So, how does the Xbox One version of XCOM 2 stack up against its PC counterpart? The short answer is: pretty damn well.

NBA 2K16 took some unexpected chances, and its uniqueness is respectable, even if the final product is far from perfect.

It’s a bit disappointing that Pikmin 3 is so similar to its predecessors — especially since it’s been almost a decade since the last time we’ve had a chance to explore this world with our tiny plant friends. The limited innovation, the dissonance between control inputs, and the lack of any online functionality hold Pikmin 3 back from true greatness. Instead, Pikmin 3 will have to settle for being good — and good is just fine.

Taking the familiar end-game in a much needed new direction and introducing four new races, Total War: Warhammer 2 is packed with fresh content, with more yet to come. Although some of the additions are more annoying than engaging, the overall experience delivers strategy and style in spades. A must-have for Warhammer tabletop players and Total War fans alike.

Tales of Arise is a huge leap forward for the series. Combat is incredibly fun and fluid, the story is fantastic despite a lackluster finale, and the characters are as charming as ever. It’s not only one of the best Tales games, but one of the best the PS5 has to offer.

While Spelunky 2 doesn’t offer the refined mechanics and enemies of the original, it does add to the chaos and fun of multiplayer. While playing alone is mostly an exercise in frustrating, unfair deaths, with friends it’s a barrel of laughs.

Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered is one of the best superhero games of its generation, and the move to PC gives it an arsenal of new settings to play with. While the frame rate can fluctuate a bit, the fact that it hits the marks advertised and even exceeds them is good news for everyone that owns a computer and is worried they might fall short. Ray tracing is a dream, and while expensive shows the prowess of Insomniac and Nixxes. Even better, this game is available on the go, Steam Deck ready at launch. Just being obtainable would be enough for most, but the above and beyond approach taken in this project is one Peter Parker himself would look at and smile.

HEX Entertainment has found success by blending the strengths of traditional trading card games with the possibilities of a digital platform.

Antonblast is chaotic to a fault. Its explosive personality makes for an entertaining spectacle, but it left me wanting for a more controlled detonation.

Warlords of Draenor is the pinnacle of a game we’ve been playing for over 10 years now. It’s absolutely the most polished version, with stunningly beautiful world design and a wonderful soundtrack that will fill you with awe during the course of your adventure.

Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition is a phenomenal improvement on a rough but fantastic game. In terms of new content, however, it can feel very rushed and unsatisfying. Aside from that, this is still the same Xenoblade Chronicles X fanatics have come to love.

Absolum aims for immortality with its roguelike systems and progression systems. While its attempts at eternal life shine in its world map and strong combat design, its attempts to force you to keep coming back fall flat.

Dark Crusade provides a very balanced game to the world. Relic has a firm hand on what they want a Warhammer 40K themed RTS to be, and they have succeeded.

The storyline and acting is superb. I would call Dark Cloud 2 a classic.

Repetitive, a little frustrating but well done and fairly well polished.

Some people may label Bayonetta as nothing more than Devil May Cry with breasts and pass on this title, but they would be missing out on an absolute gem of a game.

Ratchet & Clank: A Crack in Time is a great addition to the series. It nicely caps the storyline, it fills the underserved (at least by good titles) platformer market, and the few unique new elements breathe a bit of fresh air into the game.

Fallout 4 may be an iterative step forward for the series, but it is every bit what RPG fans know, love, and expect.

Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 is a surprisingly good RPG that is deep enough for veterans of the genre and yet accessible for newcomers.

White-knuckle brilliant Soulslike action, coupled with a movement style not seen in this genre for an entire generation, resurrects a blast from the past in a whole new way. If you are a fan of the genre, this game is pure punishing fun with all that implies. If not, it’s unlikely to convert you. In either case, Armored Core VI: Fires of the Rubicon is a brilliant title that breaks the mold on the genre in a whole new way.

If you own a PSP and you enjoy tower defense games then buying PixelJunk Monsters Deluxe is a no brainer.

Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics is what every retro game collection should strive to be. It presents the games within as close to their original forms as possible, while still offering players a wealth of options to customize their experience.

Gone Home is not only an important game in its own right, but is absolutely vital to the advancement of how we approach narrative in games, as well as the subjects we tackle.

In conclusion, the word I would use to sum up Kirby's Epic Yarn is "delightful." It's only aim is to make you smile, and it does so with panache.

This is the way I want to play tower defense from now on. The Last Friend isn’t a challenging first attempt at combining tower defense and beat ‘em up, nor good at telling a quality story, but it has fantastic mechanics. Weak difficulty aside, each world brought imaginative enemies and bosses and surprises that made it worth seeing what came next.

Along with FreeStyleGames critical examination of every bit of DJ Hero and their effort to improve everything, they have succeeded beyond measure and created a title that no music fan should pass up.

Whether you play through these three games once, or several times, Uncharted is still required gaming. The Nathan Drake Collection puts three of last generation’s most important games in one place, all with enhancements that make it the best way to experience Nathan Drake’s story.

Shivering Isles is an excellent addition to the Oblivion world, and it isn't just a small set of quests or a building that you can use during your travels. It is a fully realized realm for you to adventure in, with a story all of its own.