Thumper is a beautifully dark, unforgiving and utterly fantastic rhythm game, and its sense of menace is only matched by its wonderful playability.

That being said, DJ Hero is a quite fresh approach to the rhythm genre despite the areas where it obviously falters. It’s certainly an expensive game to grab, but its unique style of play and well-done mashups do a good job towards warranting it.

One of the most versatile racers on the market, Forza Horizon 2 fires on all cylinders.

It would be easy to dismiss a game like Monster Train as nothing more than yet another entry into the ever-increasing deck-building genre upon first glance, but after just a short while playing it, its various complexities begin to reveal themselves, making for deep gameplay that keeps you coming back for just one more run. Much like the best puzzle or strategy games, Monster Train excels in being insanely addictive, all while being easy to learn yet hard to master. Shiny Shoe should be commended on this labor of love, an absolute gem where controlling the forces of Hell feels like a blast of heavenly fun.

The combat can feel a little repetitive in long play sessions because it essentially is, but overall SteamWorld Heist is an excellent merger of role playing and turn-based combat.

We couldn’t have asked for anything better than Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward. It comes packed with a staggering amount of content that will leave players overwhelmed in both quantity and quality. It contains a storyline that’s highly entertaining and rivals most RPGs in length, three new jobs that are more than welcome additions and flying mounts that help revolutionize traversal in Eorzea.

While the 3DS title may have received mixed reception, Luigi’s Mansion 3 is a wonderful return to form from the first title that does the series justice. It’s on par, if not better, than the original simply because of the great atmosphere and wonderful puzzling challenge it brings. While fighting enemies isn’t the most difficult thing ever, especially for older players, it’s still fun and never overstays its welcome between exploring each and every floor in the haunted hotel. Luigi’s Mansion 3 is an absolutely wonderful time that makes it easy to want to jump in and keep exploring the hotel to find every last secret it has to offer.

It may not have the best soundtrack, but Dance Central 3 is polished, packed with content and utilizes the Kinect better than any other dance game.

It’s amazing that Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn managed to turn a generally detested game into a great one, but this is proof it’s possible. Playing on PS4 is quite the experience as well.

Dark Moon is a likable if flawed journey through an enjoyably spooky world, and while it may not hold up to a long-term residency, it’s certainly worth a weekend getaway.

I got a gang of friends together to test it out and we spent hours unlocking songs and fooling around, but, because some of us are guitar heroes and some are guitar zeroes, having a truly quality time is a tougher than it should be. It's still well worth a look. [Nov 2007, p.63]

If you’re intoGuitar Hero, buy this game. It’s one of the most solid Guitar Hero titles yet and should keep you busy for a long time.

Dragon Quest XI is still one of those 100 hour RPGs that deserve the attention. It may falter in some spots, but it shines brightly in others. There’s no better time to get back into the slime-slaying business.

When compared to the original, Octopath Traveler II is largely more of the same but better. The battle system is just as enjoyable as it was the first time around with additional layers of strategy added. Solistia is a great new world to explore, and the added day and night cycle help make everywhere feel more alive. While at its core it plays like a classic turn-based JRPG, the Break and Boost system helps set it apart from the classics that inspired it. The HD-2D graphic style does a fantastic job in making Octopath Traveler II feel both contemporary and classic with one of the best soundtracks among recent games. It hits the sweet spot where it brings enough elements of contemporary gaming to the classic JRPG format.

Core Keeper is a strong survival game that can easily chew through the hours, providing a great balance between adventure and homesteading. There's a sense that no idea was left out, whether that be a constant pet companion or minecart rail lines, and while these may not get fully fleshed out, this is a rare occasion where quantity manages to make up for depth. The pet levels up and sometimes enemies drop treats that give it a nice experience boost, and that's all it needs to do. Minecart goes on tracks, riding it beats walking and maybe it doesn't need a complicated system of switches and sidings to get the job done. The underground world of Core Keeper stretches on for functionally forever, filled with chasms, monsters, resources beyond measure and even an underground sea. There's a huge amount of ways to play with it all and sometimes that's more than enough.

The Taken King has come and he’s brought a much-improved experience.

Code: Realize ~Guardian of Rebirth~ is an excellent story with creative, likable characters.

Though the ending doesn’t fully deliver on the hours of build-up, it’s still a worthwhile tale to explore. The combination of roguelike design with third-person bullet-hell gameplay mechanics is a true treat, keeping players on their toes and continuously challenging them to get better. Returnal can get repetitive, particularly in the second half due to the repetition of layouts and long bouts between the biomes. Still, the addictive, fast-paced nature of the gameplay helps keep players engaged. Holding it all together is a beautiful presentation filled with next-gen flair and spectacular audio design. Housemarque has done a wonderful job with Returnal and it’s well worth living, dying and repeating to get to the final credits.

Guilty Gear Xrd REV 2 is being published both as a standalone title with the full package (at a bargain compared to other just launched fighters) as well as a DLC pack for half the price for owners of the last game. Because of this, existing fans and newcomers are both getting the best deal. This is a title that comes highly recommended to anyone with a penchant for fast, flashy fighters on the 2D plane. While the genre isn’t hurting for options at the moment, this is a game that can hold its own against any challenger, as long as it doesn’t ask me to play as Answer.

Once again, Turn 10 Studios proves that they’re at the top of the heap when it comes to creating impeccable racing mechanics. Car porn is a term thrown around a lot by racing game fans and Forza Motorsport 7 is just that. It’s beautiful, a pleasure to the ears, mechanically sound and just incredibly fun to play. Variety is a huge component to what makes this such an appealing and sought after series and nothing was skimped this time around. With around 700 cars to collect, 32 tracks with multiple variations of each, a diverse set of tuning and customizations and dynamic weather effects, there is enough content here to last a long time. Also, playing online will always be a highly-engaging and especially entertaining activity, having seen so many crashes and overly assertive drivers. Sure, the campaign mode won’t win over any fans and the implementation of loot boxes can be a concerning trend for the future, but they are small blips on an overly comprehensive racer. For fans of racing games such as this, Forza Motorsport 7 offers more than you can possibly hope for. It’s a top-tier racing experience.

Ender Lilies: Quietus of the Knights is a fantastic metroidvania. It doesn’t do anything to revolutionize the genre, but it does excel at creating at creating a memorable experience that follows the familiar metroidvania template while still being unique. The visual style and amazing soundtrack complement each other well, creating a sense of tranquility in a desolate and horrific world. The challenge hits that sweet spot where the difficulty is high but victory is never out of reach, learning the enemy behaviors and getting an understanding of the collected abilities will allows players who persist to see the story to its end. Ender Lilies: Quietus of the Knights is a must play for fans of the genre as it’s simply one of the best metroidvanias ever developed.

With an absolutely stellar presentation, some of the most memorable tracks picked from the last game, an arsenal of modes to play, and one of the lengthiest stories in a fighting game, Persona 4 Arena has everything a fighter should have, plus more.

Much like last year’s treatment with Grim Fandango, Double Fine have successfully restored one of the true classics of the adventure game world and it is glorious indeed. While not as deep and story-rich as last year’s offering, Day of the Tentacle more than makes up for it in humor, style, unique gameplay and a truckload of charm.

Cyberpunk 2077 combines an engaging story with a huge open world to explore, filled with memorable and interesting characters to work with and plenty of ways to kill them. There are bugs, which is also part of a bigger discussion about the ethics of releasing a game with technical issues with the mentality of patching it later. Currently on PC the Day Zero Patch has reduced their occurrence and there haven’t been any major game-breaking ones, but even so it will be at least another patch or two before it can be said it runs flawlessly. Hopefully with the scheduled patches over the next few months the console versions reach a point where they too are worth playing, but maybe Cyberpunk 2077 will fare better on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X.

Once again cementing its status as a JRPG masterpiece, Xenoblade Chronicles 3D is a game you owe it to yourself to experience.

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD brings one of the Zelda franchises most beloved games to a contemporary platform, revamping some of the features and making room for amiibo functionality. While flawed in some ways, it gives longtime fans a good reason to replay it.

It might not be the most essential or comprehensive inclusion for the game, but it’s still great where it counts: pure, adrenaline-drenched, space-blasting fun.

The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel is hands down the best JRPG this year — and that’s saying a lot considering how many great ones have come out in the past twelve months. But what it has that most of those others don’t is heart.