Valfaris is pure badassery in every level, from its brutal environments, the monstrous abominations of its bosses and of course the driving guitar soundtrack pushing the action forwards. It’s hardcore run & gun action from the very start and exactly what we dreamed 16-bit gaming would grow into back in the day.

Trials HD is a whole lot of of fun. It seems simple enough, but there’s an incredible amount of skill needed to be good at it.

Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze for Switch remains a stellar platformer, both in its presentation and more importantly, its finely-tuned challenge. Grueling in its difficulty, yet cunning in its delivery more so, the necessity on getting every split-second move or decision right may put off some, but those keen to stick with it — even replay a level a few more times thereafter — will quickly discover Tropical Freeze’s loop isn’t so easy to put down.

This year’s most unique game is something that gamers far and wide should experience for themselves, be it as a pallet cleanser in between massive AAA releases or as something to show them the power of the medium itself.

Mario Kart World is a surprising step forward for the Mario Kart franchise. The introduction of the rail and wall riding systems are welcome additions, adding even more skill-based racing to the already beloved formula. That’s on top of Nintendo putting the World in the Mario Kart World name. Nintendo has crafted an impressive interconnected lobby system, allowing you to explore the vast world while in-between matches. This Free Roam feature could be better improved, though, with a better map system and potentially cooperative play in the future. All in all, Mario Kart World is one of very few Switch 2 exclusives to truly speak about, offering an immense amount of value at the console’s launch. It’s highly addictive and will leave a lasting impression on fans and newcomers.

Nioh 3's gameplay still excels, but there are some noticeable issues. Ninja style is a fantastic, fun new way to play the game and build characters around, but Team Ninja doubled legacy inventory management issues from previous games. Samurai style remains enjoyable and refined yet also feels a bit too tame when compared to the speedy new Ninja style. Nioh 3's balancing also feels off, swinging back and forth between easy to difficult, and then very easy in co-op. It's a lot of fun to play, but the experience can vary wildly. Still, Nioh 3 is the culmination of Team Ninja's continued work on refining the Nioh experience. Nioh 3's ambition has yielded the most enjoyable and accessible entry in the franchise yet.

In the past Nintendo’s reluctance to embrace new intellectual properties for release on the Wii has failed to produce new classics. However, their dedication to their established franchises has always seemed to result in fun games and Punch-Out!! for the Wii is no exception.

Persona 3 Reload is a fantastic update on the classic, but some design choices make it hard to declare it a definitive version. New voice acting, graphical facelift and improvements to combat make this version of Persona 3 feel contemporary and an absolute joy to play. The omission of The Answer epilogue and the choice to play a female protagonist that were included in other versions of Persona 3, however, can make this version feel incomplete. But aside from the additional content being excluded, Persona 3 Reload is a great example of how to remake a game in a way that appeals to modern sensibilities without alienating the original fan base.

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown combines elements of the classic 2D games with the 3D reboots to create a solid metroidvania. In fact Prince of Persia translates to this genre so well it's surprising it took until 2024 to happen. The gameplay is a mix of fighting, platforming and puzzles that are balanced in a way where things never get stale. Many of the obstacles Sargon faces will present a challenge and only the most skilled players will make it through without falling prey to a trap at least once, but none are so challenging that they can't be overcome with a little perseverance. The same can be said for the combat, where learning the intricacies and nuance of the combat system is an important part of winning against the challenging boss fights. Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown may not revolutionize the genre, but it's one of the better metroidvanias to come out in recent years.

Pentiment is a short but sweet adventure from Obsidian, one that plays to their strengths when it comes to dialogue and gives players enjoyable mysteries to figure out. While there are hiccups at times with the story structure and the climax, it’s still a captivating journey through a rather tense period in history, but one that also seems oddly calming thanks to its likeable characters and visual flairs that bring Tassing to life.

As ridiculous and as unruly as it’s ever been, the five year wait for Bayonetta’s third outing ends on a predominantly satisfying high. Finding enough new ways to make its decade-plus old combat formula feel fresh and exciting all over again, Bayonetta 3 is at its loveably over-the-top best when everything is focused squarely on the combat, the combos and the pursuit of the best ranking to add to one’s collection. Even new faces like Viola provide interesting enough divergence, even if the narrative material — much like the main story throughout — isn’t as strong by comparison. It doesn’t always get the balance of spectacle and execution spot-on, but Bayonetta 3 doubles-down on the familiar parts that matter and succeeds with just how creative combat can get. Bayonetta 3 is the quintessential PlatinumGames outing that despite its brief issues is just too engaging to ignore.

If you stick with the original runner or his female counterpart, don’t mind a bit of iffy 70s-throwback art, and can forgive the repetitious level backgrounds, the actual running/jumping/sliding gameplay rapidly gets under the skin, demanding more and better play.

LYNE is a great game not only for its clever puzzles, but for the soul soothing elegance it emanates throughout the experience.

Oddly enough, Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons is more about the journey than the destination. It’s sobering, funny, heartfelt, and inspirational all at once, sprinkled with some real life lessons in between. If this is what Starbreeze Studios is truly capable of, then we’re ready to see plenty more — especially if it means more interesting experimental mechanics like the ones exhibited here.

It has its issues with Vaan being one of the most lackluster protagonists in Final Fantasy history, but the combat is fun, versatile and highly addicting. It helps that Square Enix has put in an on-the-fly button to enable the High Speed Mode, which cuts down on unnecessary grinding of items, license points and experience significantly. The game has also been masterfully remastered, with beautiful 1080p visuals and some added visual techniques such as bump mapping applied to the environments.

Every element is perfectly in place with dynamic gameplay, inspiring level design, a fantastic Noisia/Combichrist soundtrack and an over the top modern tone that wholly compliments the series. Combine all that with a 15-20 hour campaign full of an emotionally resonant (and often outlandish) story, and all but the most jaded gamers will walk away satisfied.

Dragon Ball FighterZ has excellent gameplay mechanics and successfully captures the Dragon Ball spirit. Dragon Ball FighterZ is not just a must-play title for gamers who love Dragon Ball Z, but also for the fighting game community as a whole.

Star Ocean: The Second Story R is an example of how remaking a classic game should be done. From the overhauled graphics to additional quality-of-life improvements that can make the frantic battle system even more enjoyable, Star Ocean: The Second Story R takes the best game in the series and makes it even better. Gemdrops could have just increased the resolution and called it a day, but instead put in the effort to make a truly worthwhile remake of a classic. This remade version is a must play for Star Ocean veterans, but would also serve as a good entry point for RPG fans who haven’t got around to this series.

While not the best in the franchise, Silent Hill f is a true Silent Hill experience. It's just a great horror game even if you don't want to judge it against other Silent Hill titles. This is the second AAA horror game released in the same month, so Halloween is looking very competitive this year. The technical aspects involving both the audio and the visuals showcase what the PlayStation 5 Pro can do, albeit one bad section. The other world gameplay elements do stray a bit too far, not to mention the relatively short campaign — although it does have some replayability thanks to the five different endings, each feeling like director's cuts. Still, the core ideas of Silent Hill are here, with a unique cultural setting with a story that has very dark endings. Both horror and Silent Hill fans need to experience Silent Hill f.

Sonic Mania is one of those games that your childhood has always dreamed of. One of the biggest icons in the industry gets the old-school game it deserves, a nice and lengthy throwback to Sonic’s glory days that’s still spiked with the kinds of creative juices to keep things fresh, even after twenty-five years. With adrenaline-fueled gameplay, jaw-dropping visuals, and massive levels that encourage exploration, this is an absolutely terrific platformer and a true gem that’s guaranteed to please fans and newcomers alike. So yes, add a third checkmark, because this may be the greatest Genesis game never made.

Desperados III is a downright fantastic real-time tactics title. The gameplay is simple to understand and get started with and each stage puts players to the test. While each stage is contained in size, it provides a sandbox of open opportunity for players to experiment. Rarely does failing leave a bad taste in a player’s mouth. Instead, it simply inspires players to keep trying until they finally succeed. The utterly compelling gameplay immediately ropes you in and simply doesn’t let up. The real-time stealth tactics genre is back in grand fashion thanks to Mimimi Games and Desperados III.

Closing out a season of fantastic launches, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle finally delivers on the promise of Xbox Games Pass, delivering a high-quality and entertaining single-player adventure that fans of the series will absolutely adore.

While Pony Island is a short game —we clocked in at around two hours for a playthrough— it is an achievement. Very quickly, Pony Island’s subtle ominousness becomes a journey into utterly fun madness.

With fluid combat, huge areas to explore, dungeons to conquer, loot to lust over and friendships to be strengthened or destroyed by an able co-op mode, it’s surely the best of its kind on consoles. Diablo III was good when it launched in 2012. Now, it’s great.

Diamond Dynasty has enough to keep you coming back for more and this is fueled by the Moments missions. The Show should always be considered as one of the top console exclusive games on the market as MLB The Show 19 is the definitive baseball game of this generation.

You may get a sense of deja vu as you play, but GRAW 2 is still a game that's worth having in your library. [May 2007, p.52]

On paper, it’s easy to pick apart Resident Evil 7 for its inconsistencies; the game struggles to find a balance between being purely horror or a title more reminiscent of Resident Evil’s past, and the poor presentation and writing don’t help. And yet, in the moment, much of that can be easily forgiven or even straight-up forgotten because it immerses the player so well into a terrifying world of horrors thanks to the polish, initially intense combat sequences and numerous memorable sequences that range from simple exploration to grand, over-the-top boss fights.

While there has been an influx of open world games over the last few years, Crystal Dynamics have been able to find a perfect balance of cinematic action and strong adventure elements...Rise of the Tomb Raider is an adventure like no other, giving players a twenty hour experience that will have them engaged from the moment Lara comes on screen.