The entire package is wrapped together in a gorgeous presentation that serves as Naughty Dog’s PS4 swan song. The Last of Us Part II’s harrowing tale and exploration of violence may not leave everyone happy by the time the credits roll, but it’s another stunning home run for Naughty Dog.

Hades already looked great, but experiencing it in 4k on current-gen consoles is a sight to behold. Hades received numerous accolades and critical acclaim during the previous year, all of which it remains worthy of here. Supergiant has a built a name for themselves with a small but consistent library of games and Hades may be their crowing achievement (so far). The story is relatable and well written, the graphics are gorgeous and the soundtrack is worthy of live performance. While those elements are important, what matters with a game is how fun it is to play, and with the simple-but-addictive gameplay, there’s no excuse not to play Hades now that it’s available on every platform.

Whether you missed out on the original two years previous or are looking for a worthwhile part of the Xbox Series X/S launch line-up, Tetris Effect: Connected is an even more joyous and grander expansion on what remains one of the puzzle great’s most creative interpretations.

Hades is no less than an absolute masterpiece, easily a contender for Supergiant’s finest work yet, and a candidate for the year’s best game. It delivers truly classic action in almost every sense of the word, has the perfect level of difficulty, looks breathtaking and has a unique take on Greek mythology that hits just the right tone, always finding a way to keep you coming back for more, always playing to see what’s next. It’s the stuff of legends and everyone involved should be proud of what they’ve made.

Half-Life: Alyx is an incredible journey, worth every second of the nineteen hours from start to epic finish, and an adventure worthy not only of the Half-Life name but also the enhanced expectations that grew during the series’ thirteen year absence.

Divinity: Original Sin II is not only a contender for best game of 2017, but one of the best RPGs ever created. The game could easily take a hundred hours to complete and the interplay between the well-constructed story, gameplay mechanics and player freedom creates a world I could see myself revisiting with different parties just to watch the story unfold differently. Simply put, Divinity: Original Sin II is truly divine.

Whether or not you enjoy first-person shooters is irrelevant. It is whether or not you want an experience like no other; one that will be left in the back of your mind for years to come.

Braid: is excellent and gorgeous, a little over-hyped, but maddeningly fun overall. [Fall 2008, p.55]

Simply put, God of War II is as good as it gets on the Playstation 2. [Apr 2007, p.44]

Simply put, if you own a Wii U and love Mario, then you should definitely pick it up.

If this were 15 years ago, I wouldn’t have to write 2,000 words explaining why Street Fighter is awesome, but since we’re here, stop reading this review and, for God’s sake, go out and buy this thing.

Not everything is perfect, though as many of the characters and their roles too closely resemble that of how Persona 4 is set up, and managing so many relationships at once can occasionally feel like busy work.

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

It contains not only some of the best combat mechanics available, but everything you could have wanted from a Metal Gear Solid game. Plus Kiefer Sutherland.

What I can say about Rock Band 3, though, is that it's excellent, and a ton of fun in both single and multiplayer.

It may have been sold on seemingly every platform on the planet, but finally we have a proper remake to the 2005 classic. Every square inch of Resident Evil 4 has been remade with incredible detail. There’s new side quests to take care of, such as mini-boss fights, and optional backtracking to open up the three major areas, allowing each to feel lived in.

Naughty Dog has done it again, creating a cinematic marvel that sets the bar for the action genre. There are a couple of off moments throughout the story and the multiplayer, while a decent component, lacks the variety other games deliver, but the thirteen hour single player campaign will blow you away. It’s filled with an intriguing mystery, heart-wrenching emotional scenes, incredibly over the top set pieces, and of course the humor fans have come to love from our plucky (now older) hero and his trusty sidekicks.

It’s not an exaggeration to say that Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is the biggest accomplishment in the series thus far. It leaves a lasting impact and is hard to put down for even a second when the smashing seems to beckon fighters back. Smashing opponents has never felt so fun, fluid and easy to pick up. While there’s places we can hope to see improvement, such as online, it’s still the best smash title in the series for party players and competitive alike. Ultimate is likely to stay around for a long time to come, as it’s hard to imagine any other Nintendo fighting title topping it for in a good number of years.

Inside isn’t just some incremental improvement over the basic premise of Limbo, it’s one of the best puzzle-platformers ever made. From its brilliant puzzle design, which finds a way to balance constant progress and momentum with puzzles that require deep thought, to its gorgeous lighting effects, this is the type of game that demonstrates why the indie development scene is something special.

No matter which mode you gravitate towards, Sektori offers a fantastic experience from start to finish. The enemies range from familiar to unique in their behaviors, with the bosses in particular being impressive, while the controls and shooting are perfectly tuned so that every hit feels like it could have been avoided or eliminated. There are a good amount of unlocks, ranging from different powerup options to ship appearances and even ship types, although earning that last one will take a little practice to earn. If I have to go reaching for a complaint, it's that the Challenge difficulty level in the Campaign mode, which calls itself "Sektori as designed to be experienced by default," is tuned maybe a notch or two too high. Explorer, on the other hand, is a great time right off the bat even if it does bill itself as more a learning experience, so there's options for those who want to play rather than be ground into neon-pyrotechnic dust. Plus that's only one mode out of seven, so a minor grumble at best. Sektori is top-notch twin-stick shooting with a simple setup and scoring depths for those who want to go looking, and a wonderfully destructive light show even for those who just want to dominate the endless swarms of an arena that never stops pouring on the enemies.

Forza Horizon 4 is an outstanding evolution of not only the Forza franchise, but the open world racing genre as a whole. Bolstered by an in-depth and varied roster of vehicles and race types, seamlessly executed multiplayer, a stunning world to explore that is altered by truly game-changing seasons, hundreds of on-road challenges and collectibles, and a nearly endless amount of customization for races, cars, characters and more, Forza Horizon 4 proves that Playground Games still has plenty left in the tank for their racing series.

It's exactly like Guitar Hero II for the PS2, but made even better by Microsoft's favorite son. [Mar 2007, p.58]

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is a big step in the right direction that’s unfortunately held back by graphical anomalies and open world tropes. It’s an emotional rollercoaster ride that’s heavily back loaded. It'll pull on your heart strings and make you invested in each character more than ever before. It helps that all the memorable moments from the original are not only retained, but strengthened thanks to the graphical prowess of the PlayStation 5. Combat also remains highly engaging, with slight modifications that only enhance the experience further. Unfortunately, Rebirth is also marred with baffling design choices that stifle its greatness. It's filled with mini-games that thankfully are mostly in side quests, as their controls and function leave much to desire. At the very least they will keep you interested as it never gets stale. On top of that, while most of the graphics will have you impressed, low resolution textures and geometry are spliced in the most confusing of ways, only pulling you out of the immersion. Final Fantasy VII Rebirth has its share of issues that prevent it from greatness, but whether you’re a dire hard fan or relatively new to the saga, this remains an RPG for the ages.

It’s no exaggeration to say that Super Mario Bros. Wonder is one of the greatest Mario titles to come out in the last fifteen years, likely since New Super Mario Bros. DS itself. The only real complaint to be had is that we wish there were even more beautiful and fantastic levels to play after the ones that are there have all been beaten. What Nintendo has crafted here is a title with over 38 years of love for their most-iconic platforming series. It’s been a long time since we’ve had a Mario platformer so reminiscent of the much older titles, but also so full of the magic that modern inclusions can bring to the table. This is not a title that any Mario or platforming fan should be missing out on as Super Mario Bros. Wonder is a must-have for fans of the genre and anyone looking for one of the most utterly charming adventures in franchise history.

Those who haven’t taken the two-hour journey to the mountain top yet should stop what they’re doing and dive in. Journey really is that good.

The one blemish are the abhorrent loading times, which is a shame as they’re simply an optimization issue rather than a design one. Expertly crafted on practically every level, Bloodborne is a deviously delicious experience that deserves to be experienced by anybody valiant enough to conquer it.

If you’ve been looking to get back into fighters and somehow missed the boat on Street Fighter IV or have been waiting for something to bring you back into the world of Street Fighting, I doubt there is a better option than a game full of characters, awesome music, and a robust fighting system with great online support.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is equal parts daunting, accessible, beautiful and hideous, but every aspect combines in such a remarkable way that it’s nearly impossible to not give it a sweeping recommendation.