If I were to describe The Hundred Line -Last Defense Academy- with one phrase, it would be greater than the sum of its 100 parts. Despite the hurdles in its character writing and monotonous first 30 hours, this collaboration feels like a culmination of Uchikoshi and Kodaka's driving philosophies. Hundred Line's joyful and cruel execution of its themes is the linchpin of its quality. The strategy RPG battles are compelling in both gameplay and story. Uchikoshi’s fresh and risky take on his branching narrative framework brings to life world building and heartfelt character moments. But it was Kodaka’s contributions to the main scenario that most surprised me as someone mixed on most of his games. If Danganronpa v3 was an artist's celebration and critique on artistic expression, then Hundred Line is a human's celebration and critique on humanity. The capacity of people to love and hate. By its final moments I was reduced to a sobbing mess, and that is all the confirmation I need to know that Too Kyo's six year ambitions have paid off.

Death Standing: Director’s Cut is the definitive version of the game. It’s gorgeous and runs at 60 frames per second, while including everything from the PC version. The new missions are a bit too light on content, but they round out the experience nicely.

The least of the three games, but it still plays better and has a far more vivid imagination than its competitors (once again my eye drifts towards Resident Evil).

A tale straight from our childhood tree forts—Outer Wilds will reawaken the passion for exploration that you thought you lost.

While other versions of Tomb Raider may be less expensive and offer a similar experience, the Definitive Edition combines the already stellar gameplay with vastly improved graphics, creating what is most certainly the best version of Tomb Raider available.

Ninja Theory has done a great job capturing the action of the Devil May Cry games, and you'll be hard pressed to find a better action game.

Planescape: Torment Enhanced Edition brings an incredible list of improvements to one of the most enduring and unique RPGs ever written. Simply put, Planescape: Torment is not like anything that came before it or since, and this Enhanced Edition has updated it nicely.

Pyre is a wonderfully made game, with simplistically beautiful graphics, and an engaging soundtrack. The gameplay can get a bit repetitive, but that doesn’t stop it from being an enjoyable journey. The characters and challenges were more than enough to make up for it.

The Journey is a smart addition, though it can be a little tedious at times, top-notch presentation and decent performances make the tedium tolerable. The actual gameplay is still enjoyable, but mostly unchanged from previous iterations.

Be that as it may, this is definitely one of my must-have games for this year. It’s too bad it's so damn short!

With a fresh story, AAA quality gameplay, a solid amount of gameplay, and now complete freedom of movement in the controls, Marvel’s Iron Man VR is absolutely phenomenal. This is a major win for the Meta Quest 2, and a must-have for your library.

Doom has resurrected not only a series, but an entire flavor of shooters.

The Old Republic hasn't raised the bar for MMOs, it completely reinvents the genre entirely.

Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle features excellent turn-based strategy gameplay and buttery smooth combat and animations. A fluid and fun must-have for Switch owners and strategy fans alike.

Takes it time which lets players sink deep into the game world. This makes all the difference between a good game and a great one. Far Cry 2 is the latter.

Crash 4 will delight fans new and old with its stylized visuals, delightful sense of humor, and hard as nails platforming. While the new characters have a few control issues, the game is an absolute blast from start to finish.

It looks great on the PSP screen, and it offers as much content as any of its console cousins.

In the meantime, I can easily say that Star Wars Pinball is a must buy for Pinball Wizards, crazy old wizards, and even us pinhead mortals.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance II’s last hurrah is a stellar one. Mysteria Ecclesiae is a detective-like tale featuring a lot of great dialogue and even more stealth. While it may be more fun to fans of that character build, the story is worth taking another trip to 1400s Bohemia.

Call of Duty: World at War is a fantastic title.

Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom is this perfect execution of an RPG that I haven't experienced in a long time. It's grand in its vision and, while simple in the execution, the execution it delivers is nearly flawless nonetheless. There are moments where I wish the game paced itself better, toned down the threatening music, or attempted to tug at my heart a bit more, but the game was fun and charming and worthy of praise. Buy this game.

Demon Tides is an amazing, incredibly expressive 3D platformer that might just be one of the best in its genre. It can be janky and imperfect, but it's so fun to move around in that a feeling of joy will shine through at all times. It's hard not to have a smile on your face while playing Demon Tides, whether you're exploring, gliding through the air, or tearing your hair out to a Mr. Mint Trial.

There's just so much to do, so much to unlock, with and an incredibly deep battle system and an interesting story line, there's plenty to keep you coming back for more. "Final Fantasy Tactics Advance" take notice: you have competition.

Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 + 2.5 ReMIX is a collection that can provide countless hours of RPG action and mixes Square Enix’s brilliant esoteria with Disney’s magical childlike wonder into a story unlike any other. It is also a collection of games that have been around for years, and provides little new content to long time fans. Brilliant is a word to describe the content, albeit familiar, but a little refresher may be just the thing to get you fully amped for the future of the series.

I can’t overstate the power of the game engine behind The Movies. The possibilities are almost endless given that this game is mod friendly. Once fans get their hands on this game, we will get to see some incredible movies.

Persona 4 Arena Ultimax is a worthy successor with enough gameplay differences to justify a purchase for those who have the original.

With a $30 price tag, Rare Replay presents an amazing value. You likely have enjoyed these games before, at least in part, and there is no better way to experience them now than in Rare Replay.

Hitman 3 is the ultimate Hitman experience, period. The game runs almost improbably crisp, and each location is a ton of fun to explore. Replayability is a must, but not just because of the brevity of the campaign, but because there is so much to do in each one. Adding the missions of yesteryear appends even more to the package, along with the ability to be the assassin in VR or take it on the go with Stadia or Switch. I could try and nitpick it for what it doesn’t do or where it comes up short (of which there’s almost nothing), but when it comes to being an early contender for Game Of The Year, Hitman 3 hits its target dead center.