Animal Crossing has always been a series where every little thing leads to something productive. Doing nothing and staring off into the sky is relaxing, decorating houses is fun and catching critters feels rewarding. There’s never been a real “point” to Animal Crossing but that’s what makes it enjoyable, as every person can enjoy and do what they like at their own pace. New Horizons nails this feeling more than ever, with so many options and lots of things to collect and enjoy. While it’s easy to play in short bursts, it’s often hard to stop playing when ideas keep coming and experimentation is so much fun when there’s little to no consequences. New Horizons is by far the best Animal Crossing and anyone looking for a way to relax or get creative should not miss out.

Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers is what MMOs should aspire to, telling a story for the ages and engaging their players with evolving mechanics. It’s an exquisite adventure that needs to be experienced.

Delivering the full HD experience, Blizzard’s jump to current-gen consoles is a flying success.

There's a giant world to explore here, loaded with details and fantastically pretty. Whether you're stealthing your way through a ramshackle outpost or climbing a radio tower on top of a mountain, it's always engaging, pulling you effortlessly from one scenario to the next and hitting all the right notes along the way.

Play it, and be happy. [Dec 2008, p.57]

It is at once a love letter to the classics that came before it and a gorgeously unique collection of clever ideas, all wonderfully packaged into an 8-bit style game that looks like it jumped straight out of the NES era.

Despite issues here and there, Hollow Knight: Silksong is a game for the ages, focusing on engaging combat along with a world brimming with adventure. In true Metroidvania fashion, Hollow Knight: Silksong will have you coming back for more.

Those who missed out on the XBLA release of Spelunky and want a good tough rogue-like should pick it up from Steam. It’s a little more based on reflexes than most rogue-likes, but even if you find out you’re not that good at it, it is still a riot to watch friends try to get as far as the can before making the wrong step and getting crushed by a boulder.

Fallout 3 is the biggest accomplishment in adventure gaming since Oblivion.

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 is one of the most cinematic superhero games ever created. It’s a little shorter than its predecessor, but it includes a memorable main story and some of the best side quests found in an open world game. Kraven ends up being a more compelling villain than originally thought, and whenever Venom and his symbiotic abilities appear, it’s an absolute treat.

Outside the campaign, The Final Shape does mostly well. The Pale Heart is a visually-arresting space to explore, though doesn’t change the Patrol Zone formula in any meaningful way. The addition of the Dread enemy faction and Prismatic subclass add freshness to the sandbox, though don’t offer any evolution to the way you’ll play Destiny 2. The only truly downright awful thing about The Final Shape is that, for $50, there’s still not a whole lot of included content, leaving Destiny 2’s core activities starved for anything fresh. Destiny 2: The Final Shape is, ultimately, more Destiny 2, and it provides a meaningful ending to the 10-year Light and Darkness saga.

Like a great novel, Inkle’s games can steal entire nights of sleep from you as you’re immersed in their text, and Sorcery! 3 is their most potent work to date.

To put it simply, Stephen’s Sausage Roll might be some of the meatiest and most delicious food for the mind you’ll taste all year.

Tadpole Treble is a game built for music lovers by music lovers. Its solid gameplay forms a perfect foundation for the music, which is the real star of the game, to take center stage. The level editor, however, is what gives Tadpole Treble real staying power. The type of feature that could make this a sort of cult classic, I wouldn’t be surprised if we start seeing YouTube videos of levels built in Tadpole Treble. If you like music, you should pick it up.

The visual clarity and overall quality-of-life improvements are a welcome addition and only help excel this dungeon, high school life simulator even further. Persona 4 remains one of the best JRPGs on the market and now it’s accessible to more players than ever before. Whether you’re a long-time fan or a fresh to the franchise, Persona 4 Golden is an experience you won’t soon forget.

Treasure’s library is filled with classics, from Gunstar Heroes to Bangai-O to Sin and Punishment, but Radiant Silvergun is an incredible achievement even for one of gaming history’s greatest pure-action developers.

The only downside is that GlaDOS has no new speaking parts, making the challenge levels feel lifeless. [Dec 2008, p.56]

As it remains, this is still one of the most charming, charismatic adventures you will have, leaving those who experience it with a smile across their face for the duration of their play.

Atlus has really created something special with Persona 4, because it still maintains the freshness of Persona 3, while also being different and in many ways superior.

Ultimately, MLB 09 walks a fine line, catering to both hardcore baseball fans and more casual players. There are a lot of deep game play elements and features to be explored, some complex and intricate.

Videoverse is game that managed to hit me with the force of a truck in various ways, from the more subtle things like the in-game community’s reaction to a collapsing world around them to the parts that were more upfront, like Emmett and Vivi’s budding relationship. But even if you don’t have any emotional connections to similar online groups, what’s here is still an engrossing visual novel, one with a great story and a clever retro gaming world to explore. Videoverse is a definite highlight for the genre and one not to be missed out on.

The Last of Us Part II was a masterful game back in 2020. The haunting and emotional story, the morally-complex characters and themes, the blend of stealth and combat, the environmental storytelling, and the immaculate presentation all came together to deliver an extraordinary game that remains a conversation topic to this day. The Last of Us Part II Remastered is a reminder of the original’s excellence, and it’s a fantastic remaster that remains true to the original product, all while enhancing it in fantastic ways.

As far as the game itself is concerned, God of War Ragnarok could best be described as a safe sequel. Ragnarok focuses primarily on storytelling and big cinematic moments while refusing to take any chances when it comes to combat, exploration or other parts of the gameplay. This refusal to innovate sometimes backfires as there are plenty of moments when the narrative isn't strong enough to carry the rest of the game. God of War Ragnarok is mostly an enjoyable experience, especially when you include Valhalla as part of the package, but the sequel ultimately falls short in several key areas and isn’t nearly as memorable as its predecessor.

It feels like a dream seeing Bayonetta on PC, and thankfully, it’s no nightmare. While the frame rate is locked during cutscenes, everything else about the optimization has been done near perfect. Maxed out at 1080p60 is an easily achievable feat, even for older hardware, and the graphical enhancements only shed light on how well the visual aesthetics hold up so many years later. The controls are also done well for keyboard and mouse, so with the option of a gamepad, this is undoubtedly the best version of Bayonetta yet. As for the game itself, the story isn’t for everyone, especially considering how extraordinary deranged it is, and there are a couple of unforgiving combat scenarios. Fortunately, Bayonetta is still an alluring adventure that will hold a smile on your face until the credits roll.

Dead Space 2 is one of the most disturbing, grotesque and unsightly games I've ever played...but it's so damn good.

Capcom broke out their calligraphy brush and created a masterpiece that, while shows some signs of aging, remains an awe-inspiring experience like no other.

With a renewed focus on tangible gameplay improvements and general realism, this year’s iteration of the longstanding franchise feels like the best yet. Being able to execute more accurate dribble moves and jump shots is fantastic on its own, but hearing engaging and varied commentary at the same time makes the entire experience feel fantastic.

If you loved the first Geometry Wars, you're going to adore Geometry Wars 2.

Monster Hunter: World marks the beginning of even greater things to come in the future. It re-imagined the series from a wider perspective, while keeping the core of what so many players new and old will continue to enjoy.

It's faultlessly fun, both solo and multiplayer. If you're releasing a competing title later this year... well, it sucks to be you. [Vol 3, Issue 2, p.57]

If you’re looking for an example of how to create meaningful downloadable content that doesn’t feel exploitative, you’d be hard pressed to find a better example than Hearts of Stone.

Linelight‘s unapologetically simple aesthetic is cunningly packed with a punch matched only by its intelligent assortment of variety and execution in creating a puzzle game that blossoms into something more than merely guiding colored bars on a circuit board-like winding of lines. A testament to the ever-growing puzzle genre, Linelight is nothing short of a stroke of genius.

Around six months since Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2 first graced our screens, Vicarious Visions’ reimagining of the famed skateboard series is still as fun, giddy and accessible as it always was. And with the game arriving on new consoles, though this may not be some astonishingly absolute improvement in all corners, the PS5 release especially still offers up noticeable improvements to the experience. Avoiding the peril of subtracting from such nostalgic appeasement, instead adding to it in a way that makes levels feel both original yet familiar all at once. But it’s through the added perks of its improved load times as well as the DualSense controller’s haptic feedback alike where Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2 on PS5 results in an even more joyous revisit to one of gaming’s most cherished series.

Into the Breach shows that strategy games don’t need to do anything new because they can create some of the most memorable gaming experiences to be had if done correctly. Into the Breach is a game that is being played even when away from the computer, because it can’t help but fill the mind with possibility.

Set against the backdrop of a gorgeous Japanese aesthetic, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice combines what makes a From Software title special into an excellent, solid package that fans are going to love. Death may be a constant in Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, but it’s worth getting up each time.

Tekken 8 is a bold direction in the fighter genre that ultimately leads to it being one of the greatest fighting games of all time. The amount of content that Bandai Namco is offering here is more than ever before seen in a fighting game.

The first Bayonetta is slowly showing its age, but its more robust sequel remains at the top of its game. It contains some of the best combat mechanics that are perfectly integrated in the most over-the-top, outlandish scenarios. It’s stylish, frantic and oddly addicting. Unfortunately, the story may as well be non-existent and the voice acting from characters such as the newly-introduced Loki will make you want to skip cutscenes. It doesn’t help when you hear the brat calling Bayonetta Love every second sentence and cussing every scene. Regardless, it’s all about the craziness that PlatinumGames usually brings to their games and they’ve hit it out of the park with Bayonetta 2. They refined the formula with the sequel, creating a top-tier action game that shouldn’t be overlooked. It may not be perfect, but this is a solid remaster that more players need to experience, and considering you get two games for the price of one, this ends up being an incredibly appealing package.

Alan Wake 2 is the perfect release for Halloween as it presents a psychological horror movie into video game format. Fans of the original title will thoroughly enjoy what this game has to offer as it keeps its core design while offering much deeper story content.

Neon White isn’t just a contender for the title of year’s best action game, but also a fascinating blend of genres, all mixed together to create a truly unique delight. The stellar level design, swift platforming and gunplay, and the terrific challenge in figuring out the optimal demon extermination route work together in harmony to make it a true heavenly delight, all set to a soundtrack that won’t be leaving the heads of players anytime soon. Neon White isn’t just a speedrunner’s delight, but a delight for any gamer in general, and it would be foolish to pass up something so sublime.

Ten years after its initial release in Japan, Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition has proven that sometimes classics can still get better with a little extra love and care to make them shine brighter than ever before as a true masterpiece.

Some of its flaws live on in this 3DS remaster, but ultimately The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask 3D is a game that absolutely deserves three days of your time.

Monster Hunter World is a fantastic entry into the series and stands as a pinnacle of accomplishments for Capcom. Iceborne does everything within its power to improve upon that and does it fantastically. From the wide and varied amount of new monsters and sub-species, to the quality of life changes in the new village, Iceborne nails it extremely well.

Those already tightly entrenched in the series won’t have anything to scoff at. Significantly improved over its predecessor, Dark Souls III will have players immersed in the deep and rich fiction that From Software is known for.

Go ahead and spend the points on this, regardless of if you have an older version, or even if you somehow haven't heard of Rez. [Spring 2008, p.60]

Demon's Souls knows that winning is something to be earned, and the satisfaction of living up to the challenge it presents is its greatest reward.

It Takes Two is thus far one of the year’s best platformers, best overall games, and can likely stake a claim as one of the best co-op games ever created. It merges a grand platforming adventure with sublime co-op play through a blend of perfectly-crafted challenges and jaw-dropping levels and setpieces that you need to share with someone close to you. It’s a triumph in almost every area, with such a wide range of expertly-executed ideas and gameplay concepts that it deserves to be called a true passion project in almost every sense of the word. You need to experience this as soon as you can, so grab a friend and prepare to be wowed.

While it may have, once again, fallen short of being a classic, it is a large improvement over the first game despite its numerous weak points.

Sure, there’s no Trance Vibrator attachment, but being immersed entirely in Rez’s world is an almost religious experience in and of itself.

Despite the new changes and how much they add to and improve the overall gameplay, it still feels like the same fun zombie killing game at its core.

All in all, if you know from the start you are getting into a game that is entirely based around its cooperative multiplayer elements you are going to be rewarded with hundreds of hours of the best gaming experience you have had in years.

All in all, if you know from the start you are getting into a game that is entirely based around its cooperative multiplayer elements you are going to be rewarded with hundreds of hours of the best gaming experience you have had in years.

Despite the new changes and how much they add to and improve the overall gameplay, it still feels like the same fun zombie killing game at its core.

Titanfall 2 breathes new life into the concept and has solidified it as a franchise.

It’s not worth the double (or quadruple) for those already with the game, but it’s still an incredible adventure any way it’s sliced.

I wanted to like Xenoblade Chronicles 3 a lot more than I did as it has a number of faults that made me drift away from it, but in the end it’s an undeniably well-constructed JRPG that succeeds far more than it fails.

Super Mario 3D World was already a fantastic Mario title that alone made it worth owning a Wii U back in the day. The inclusion of Bowser’s Fury fixes the character speed and the addition of online have made this one of the greatest Mario experiences to date. It’s hard to put into words the pure joy and chaos this enhanced port has brought, but considering the main campaign was already fantastic alone, it’s only been improved tenfold by the ability to bring it online and make for some of the most enjoyable chaos to ever exist in the Mushroom Kingdom. Whether wanting to play alone or take it online with friends, Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury is absolutely worth picking up and one of the most ridiculously fun online experiences on the Switch.

Pokémon Pokopia is a huge new direction for Pokémon, much bigger than might be expected for a spin-off. It retains the heart of Pokémon with literally hundreds of different monsters to chat with, and it's always a lot of fun to see who's showing up next. The different areas are nicely designed, frequently with interesting secret areas, although it can feel overwhelming arriving at a new island and seeing just how much there is to do to bring it back from the edge of ruin. There's a long way to go to discover how the world got broken and then fixing it, but as the days roll by and the islands come back to life, the hope that maybe a Ditto and its trainer might eventually be reunited grows with the health and comfort of the reappearing Pokémon.

By no means perfect and at brief moments falling victim to its own expansive vision, Tetris Effect remains a welcome surprise to those appreciative to the series’ longevity and versatility of content. A fitting referral for that go-to saying: greater than the sum of its parts.

Motive Studio has done the unthinkable with Dead Space. It has turned this iconic, incredibly memorable survival horror game from fifteen years ago into an even more immersive and engaging experience. This isn’t just a simple graphical upgrade, but an overhaul on a significant portion of the mechanics and storytelling, crafting a better and more gratifying universe to dive into.

The problem with Borderlands 2 is that it's just more Borderlands. Normally I don't criticize something because it didn't go out of its safe zone, but having played close to 100 hours of the first game and with very few changes outside some AI behaviours and environments, it makes the sequel feel less special than it should be.

Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade won’t make the wait for Final Fantasy VII Remake Part II any easier, but it does at least make its best moments look and play better than before.

Fans of the original and newcomers alike will have fun playing this remake.

Fire Emblem: Three Houses is an amazing title for new and old fans alike, with a gripping story and gameplay that can ease one in easy or start out rigorously hard for any type of player. There’s so much to be experienced in the world of Fodlan that anyone looking for a wonderful tactic RPG will be in for a fantastic time.

Forza Horizon 6 is magnificent. It’s everything we could have hoped for, finally bringing the open world racing experience of Forza Horizon to the Asian setting.

NieR: Automata: The End of YoRHa Edition combines top notch gameplay with an incredible story to create one of the most memorable and unique experiences in gaming. Certain concessions had to be made to accommodate the limitations of the Switch’s hardware. The graphics had to take a minor downgrade and there was animation stuttering in combat, but overall this is impressive port. Being able to play NieR: Automata on a handheld system is the biggest selling point with this edition, and the aforementioned concessions are a small price to pay for this ability. The gameplay and story are just as enjoyable and impactful as ever. NieR: Automata is one of the best games of the past decade and playing it on the Switch is a great way to experience it.

Because of some frustrating controls and combat design decisions, Bastion is held back from being excellent, but remains great nonetheless.

Horizon Forbidden West’s PC release is a joy to play to get a refresher on the latest game in this series of breathtaking games so far. It's a blast to run around and experience the world the game offers with maximum detail. The work put into the game to make it run smoothly on PC is amazing. Players will be happy with this PC port and can look forward to experiencing the game once again without any restrictions or graphical limitations on it.

As familiar the high standard has become for a series this grandiose, not only have Ryu Ga Gotoku matched the expectations set by 2020's Like A Dragon before it, with Infinite Wealth, they’ve just about exceeded them all over again. All the style and substance from prior is here and accounted for from its intriguing plot, to its assortment of side activities, to a battle system cleverly integrated.

The Delicious Last Course is a terrific post-meal snack to close out the lengthy Cuphead buffet, hindered only by a potentially game-breaking weapon and a relatively short length that leaves you wanting more.

Resident Evil Requiem is a game for new and old fans alike. It contains the identity of both the recent entries in the franchise and some of the remakes, meshing both horror and action that works most of the time.

If nothing else, NORCO will go down as the game this year that had the most unique world, but it also stands a huge chance of going down as the game with the best writing, story (or stories) and atmosphere. Who could have thought that Louisiana would be a perfect backdrop for a bizarre sci-fi mystery? Geography of Robots did, and it’s thanks to them that we got this memorable journey that folks should check out, even if it may be hard to describe what happened.

Dead Space 2 is one of the most disturbing, grotesque and unsightly games I've ever played...but it's so damn good.

While learning how to Dream Sculpt is challenging with a steep learning curve, Dreams does not let its players flounder. With some practice, anyone can create whatever content comes to mind. Despite it being time consuming, Dreams delivers certain freedoms not found in other games. Dreams is a perfect title for players seeking a robust sandbox with exceptional creation tools. It just goes to show that anyone with a dream can make it a reality.

The Beatles: Rock Band is very much so geared towards fans of the band. Some aspects might not mean much to you if you don’t know the band very well, but you will still have fun playing through the songs themselves.

For those who can forgive the confusing online component, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2 stands as another well-crafted and well-realized remake of an old favorite. For the second time, Vicarious Visions demonstrate both a fond appreciation yet clever deducing on how this type of game should look and feel in current times. It’s this sense of harmony and of finding the treasured middle-ground — between the old we know and the implied new of a better experience — that the studio triumph on where it matters.

Castlevania Dominus Collection is not only a great collection of games, but also an impressive technical feat of bringing games designed for Nintendo DS hardware to modern platforms. Haunted Castle Revisited is the main attraction of this collection, but it's a standout surprise. An old arcade title that was not well liked or discussed got completely remade and ended up being a good game. For Castlevania fans, the DS titles are all must-play games and M2 went to great lengths to ensure those games remained exceptional on modern hardware. Retro game compilations are standard these days, but between the caliber of games included and effort and making sure they run as well as they do, this is one of the best collections available.

The writing, world and systems elevates Disco Elysium into one of the most deep RPGs in existence. This is an evergreen title that will be talked about for years to come. The initial release earned a never-ending stream of accolades for good reason. The fact that more people can now play it, and everyone gets more content, is just awesome. It cannot be described as flawless as there are obvious growing pains. Still, with the sheer breadth of the game and the value to be found here, Disco Elysium: The Final Cut deserves its place in the pantheon of the greatest digital role-playing games ever made.

This is a culmination of everything Guerrilla has learned from working on the Killzone franchise and they've successfully crafted something that delivers on the potential many saw back in 2015. Horizon Zero Dawn is not only one of the best-looking games of this generation, but a must own for every PlayStation 4 owner.

Adorned on top by an excellent unison of technical, artistic and even musical qualities -- not to mention terrific performances from its main cast -- Kingdom Come: Deliverance II is an astonishing achievement in open-world design. The new high watermark not just for RPGs this year, but perhaps any game of 2025.

Longtime fans will no doubt get a kick out of the new modes, although I’m unsure if they’re worth the repurchase for that alone. It’s a matter of whether or not you want to experience Devil May Cry 5 in a next generation, with the options of 4K resolution, ray tracing or a fluid 120fps readily available. It’s a diverse offering from Capcom, allowing gamers to play how they want. Devil May Cry 5 remains a magnificent game and the next generation offering allows you to experience it like never before.

With The Last of Us Part I, Naughty Dog opted to create the ‘definitive’ experience by staying as faithful as possible while incorporating some elements of The Last of Us Part II. The result is an impressive-looking facelift that exceeds the visuals of Part II, but doesn’t offer much new beyond graphics.

While Dusk is a throwback to an older type of game, it’s excellent in its own right, loaded with content and an absolute blast to tear through from start to finish.

Monster Hunter Wilds is a fun experience and has all the staples that make the series so enjoyable. Unfortunately, some choices make it hard to enjoy yourself for a significant amount of time while making your way to the portion of the game that you’re trying to experience.

An incredibly solid game that could fetch $30-40 as a retail copy.

Despite being left wanting a bit more, What Remains of Edith Finch is a one of those examples of truly interactive storytelling. In gaming, there are many examples of titles that are lauded for their narrative that don’t quite hold up when compared to genre contemporaries in other mediums. There have been and will certainly be many more diatribes that explore this phenomenon. Giant Sparrow has created a title that can be held up against books and movies for storytelling prowess and stand strong. With its contemplative story and consistent interesting use of design, this is a title that should be experienced by anyone interested in what video games can do.

It’s not perfect, but it’s as close as it’s going to get for this Deus Ex, and that’s impressive in its own way.

While it may not fully capitalize on the draw of its main premise, satisfying puzzle design, boss encounters and that simplest pleasure of seeing your character hop into and out of worlds on a whim lends Cocoon well-warranted and ultimately long-lasting charm.

It would be an immense understatement to say Simogo have made the five-year wait for their follow-up release worth it. Lorelei and the Laser Eyes defies not just genre conventions, but that of tone, aesthetic and even presentation to craft a game of wild imagination and even wilder a delivery. Yet for all its leisurely skirting the boundaries between one perceived tone or form of presentation to the next, none of what is experienced amid the Hotel Letztes Jahr feels distracting or otherwise ill-fitting. Be it at its most satirical, surreal, strange, and on some occasions, psychologically unsettling. A masterfully-orchestrated series of puzzles that are both stand-alone and interconnected alike, a brilliant use of a more-restricted color palette emboldening its art-style and aesthetic. And best of all: one of the most curious, perplexing but ultimately satisfying mysteries to see fully unraveled and revealed in its truest form. Combined, Lorelei and the Laser Eyes stands as Simogo's best work to date. Even with a portfolio as creative as theirs, a release deserving of that most lofty of titles: magnum opus.

A combination of fun, fairness, beauty and joy, Mario Kart 8 is absolutely brilliant.

Super Mario Maker is a special video game, period. You could include all of the lengthy, metaphor-laden nonsense that your little brain can come up with as to what is and isn’t perfect about it, but at the end of the day, this is a title that allows you to create and play Super Mario Bros. levels for as long as your thumbs can handle.

As far as single player goes, I think nothing will capture the initial highs you got from taking in Rapture for the first time, and the enormous twist the original delivered. However, the sequel’s story is just as intense and has its own narrative highs and a mean twist of its own, and I think the end payoff is a bit more impactful and sinks in better than the ending of the first BioShock.

Dragon’s Dogma 2 is majestic, marvelous and magnificent. It’s an experience that’s like no other that will have you immersed for every second of play. Unfortunately, there are certain elements that hold it back from greatness.

Ori and the Blind Forest was great when it first came out and it’s still great in the Definitive Edition.

NieR: Automata is an absolute masterpiece from beginning to end (or ends, to be a bit more accurate). Even for what was our most anticipated game of the year, I still didn’t expect to be blown away that much, but this was an absolute thrill ride in every area, from just running through a gorgeous wrecked city with wild boars roaming around to surfing down sand dunes in a desert in a cool little touch to fighting off an army of twenty-some robots vomiting corrosive material with some of the finest combat in recent video game history (oh, not to mention the actual thrill ride at one point). It is an addictive, joyous, haunting beauty with a surreal mystery at the center of its captivating world to uncover, and like the best games of its kind, you’ll find yourself diving back in for as much as you can.

Super Hexagon is an incredible game. Its simplicity makes it accessible, and its challenge level is rewarding when you learn to overcome it.

Rise of the Tomb Raider 20 Year Celebration is a joyous occasion that properly commemorates the evolution of Lara Croft and her franchise.

There are times when you feel obliged to find faults no matter how minor, but in the ten-plus hours spent with Moon Studios’ latest, there are none. It’s a feat few studios can rightfully claim to accomplish in recent times but such a claim is more than merited for a game that nails all departments.

Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag is the very definition of escapism, offering a mindbogglingly large amount of content. One could spend upwards of fifty hours exploring the world without completing more than a few introductory missions in the main story — which itself can offer over twenty hours of gameplay.