Shovel Knight Pocket Dungeon may seem like a minor yet unexpected twist for the franchise, but it’s a twist that pays off big time. The core gameplay is easy to get into, but you quickly discover that there’s a deeper level of strategy required, and the next thing you know, you’re on a streak of multiple runs, trying to get past that one particular level. Throw in multiple characters with different playstyles that allow for variety, amazing graphics and a nice chuck of stuff to unlock, and you have a true gem, be it roguelikes or puzzle games (or both) that you prefer. Shovel Knight Pocket Dungeon might be a pocket-sized dungeon, but there’s a huge amount of fun in it.

Guacamelee! is a rich, fun, free-scrolling action platformer with a fantastic fighting engine, some truly tricky platforming challenges, and a vibrant style all its own.

While Gorogoa is one of this year’s shortest experiences, it’s still one that’s worth checking out, as it turns a relatively simple idea into one of the year’s most compelling and innovative puzzle games. Its eye-popping artwork may draw you in, but it’s the superb brain-teasers where you warp around entire worlds and a narrative that leads to some surreal visuals which will keep you hooked until it ends. You may never look at a mere four comic panels and the storytelling that can potentially occur in them in the same way again.

Darkest Dungeon is difficult, but not because its systems are unclear or unfair. In fact, the richness and complexity of its mechanics are miraculously transparent. What makes Darkest Dungeon challenging is balancing and equipping a party and the essentially unpredictable nature of the dungeons and combat.

While a bug-squishing patch would be nice, Civilization Revolution is an excellent revision of the series despite the trades it makes for accessibility over depth.

Dirt Rally 2.0 may just be the most complete racing experience of this generation. The physics and handling model will be a treat for hardcore racing fans, even if it pushes away casual racers. The improved lighting engine brings an utterly realistic and beautiful dynamic to gameplay as the cars look fantastic inside and out. Replays are truly a marvel despite some visual issues hurting the immersion. Yes, there are some things behind a seasonal DLC paywall, but that doesn’t affect what is being offered at launch. Dirt Rally 2.0 feels like the true racing game to test everyone’s driving ability.

Metro Redux doesn’t provide enough new content to be worth repurchasing except for the most die-hard fans, but if you haven’t experienced the masterful adaptation of Glukhovsky’s series yet, fix that mistake and get Metro Redux on the double.

Bowser Jr’s Journey is easy to overlook and it’s a shame it wasn’t a more thought-out experience that could have been enjoyable given a good shake up instead of just being a glorified mobile title. There’s a lot of things done right here, but also some missed opportunities that could have been better executed overall. Anyone who wants to dive back into the Mario & Luigi RPG series will likely enjoy their time with Bowser’s Inside Story, but it’s an extremely relaxed experience that won’t be too memorable outside lots of chortles along the way.

Even seventeen years on it still stands taller than just about every other game that built upon its foundations. Aesthetically speaking, almost no game of its era has aged quite as gracefully, and even with the remastered visuals turned off it still looks great.

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided is the epitome of the phrase, one step forward, two steps back. I hate comparing it to Human Revolution as it was something special, but Mankind Divided feels like an underwhelming, repackaged experience.

Guilty Gear Strive proves there’s still some fight left in 2D gaming. Between the gorgeous visuals, rocking soundtrack and highly-polished gameplay, Guilty Gear Strive delivers the total package when it comes to making a great fighting game and is one of the best modern 2D fighters. A lot of care went into making this a contender for gaining a strong online presence, but the developers also didn’t skimp on single player content. The cinematic approach to the story mode was an unusual choice, but something longtime Guilty Gear fans will likely appreciate the opportunity to sit back and watch the story unfold in a visually-stunning cinematic experience. Guilty Gear Strive makes subtle tweaks, but for the most part follows the formula that made previous entries great.

Nine Sols is a Metroidvania that does what many have failed to do within the genre and actually creates an experience that feels like an authentic, grueling, atmospheric and unique 2D Souls game. Artistically, it's hard to find any fault with it as the blend of Tao Tradition and Cyberpunk dystopia is captivating. The narrative is gritty, mature and uncompromising, which leads to an engaging story from start to end, and the gameplay is a refined showcase of combat, platforming and puzzle-solving. The difficulty settings may be a little askew, and some may feel that the central themes are too graphic and unsettling at times. But all in all, Nine Sols, in a stacked year, as far as Metroidvanias are concerned, does more than enough to force itself into the conversation, as it could be a contender for indie game of the year.

Axiom Verge is absolutely worth your time if you’re a fan of old-school Metroidvania games, but even if you’re not, it’ll still be a lot of fun.

Wealth of Nations adds real depth to the game.

While a different game from its prequel, Mothergunship: Forge is a great arena shooter with a strong challenge level. It takes practice to get past that first boss and into the more ornate areas, but along the way you’ll unlock perks and new weapon parts to help each run get farther into the heart of the ship. As the rooms get bigger the amount of area to keep track of grows as well, requiring you to constantly be aware of what might be coming outside the field of view. The enemies spawn in waves and don’t let up until the room is finally complete, each area a bite-size challenge that in total grow to a sizeable quest that can easily leave you sweating with the effort of keeping an eye on everything while actively dodging what you can’t step out of the way of. Destroying a mothergunship is by no means easy, but with the right weapon construction plus inhuman situational awareness the mechanical invaders might just get shot, blasted, lasered, exploded and beaten into much less-threatening piles of scrap.

Super Bomberman Collection is a pack filled with fun games from the Super Nintendo era that are still just as fun today as they were back in the day. Filled with variety, they can be a strong option to recapture the magic once again. The collection itself ends up a little lackluster, though, with online multiplayer not being part of the pack by default and the basic additions that don’t even allow for complete remapping. In the end, it feels like more effort could have been put into celebrating such a classic IP.

Whirlight: No Time to Trip is point-and-click that oozes passion and charm in its world, characters, narrative and gameplay. Its main issue is that it falls for the biggest and most common trapping of its genre: the ingenuity of its interactions come at the cost of some solutions being less intuitive than would be ideal. The result is a game that can be just as frustrating as it is whimsical.

Frostpunk is a unique strategy game that offers both an engaging and addicting element. Hours will go by as you are consumed into the doom-and-gloom of your city while trying to make sure people don’t die. The game is fairly linear in its premise, but offers unique situations that haven’t been seen in other city-building titles.

Keep Driving is a charming, captivating and moving roguelike unlike any we've ever seen before, weaving an introspective and meaningful slice-of-life narrative while without sacrificing gameplay and interactivity. There's room to improve, sure, but that doesn't mean that the final product falls short by any means (and we all know by now that roguelike titles like this are ripe for updates and content expansions). At the risk of being overly sappy, it's a game that really does keep us wanting to keep driving.

Nex Machina is an utterly fantastic arcade twin-stick shooter that doesn’t so much revolutionize the genre as get almost every aspect just right. The shooting feels great, the dash mechanic gives you plenty of flexibility in getting out of tight spots, all the secondary weapons are unique and useful in their own way, and the enemies never stop coming up with new ways to cause trouble.

Streets of Rage 4 doesn’t do much to advance the formula of classic beat ’em ups and that’s what makes it great. The game can be completed in roughly three hours, which is just enough for this type of game. Unlocking all the Easter eggs is a nice way to add to the nostalgia fix. Playing through with each character offers a slightly different game experience, but the real joy comes from playing these types of games with friends. Streets of Rage 4 is a must play for fans of retro beat ’em ups.

This game is tightly designed and coded, contains tons of abilities to take advantage of, and is just downright fun.

Criterion Games have once again proved that they're the pinnacle development team at Electronic Arts and will lead the Need for Speed franchise into a brighter future. While there are some shortcomings, such as poor map navigation and some rubber-banding issues, Most Wanted is an adrenaline-pumping racer that will leave you with sweaty palms.

Fortunately, Naughty Dog has made sure that that core is as human as ever, and as a result, have produced another stellar title that stands shoulder-to-shoulder with not only some of the studio’s best works, but some of the industry’s best action-adventure games ever.

As a fighting game, the single player content is only half of the equation as most people will want to go head-to-head against their friends. The combat system in Soulcalibur VI is nuanced and deep enough where those who want to master craft can devote hours to perfecting their battle skills, but it’s also accessible enough for newcomers to have a chance. The Soulcalbur franchise never became bad, but has dulled with some of the more recent titles. Soulcalibur VI blends what made the first couple games so memorable and incorporates modern elements to move the series forward, resulting in the most enjoyable Soulcalibur title since 2003.

If you’re someone who typically shrugs off indie games as somehow less meaningful then their AAA counterparts, you owe it to yourself to play Hyper Light Drifter. Alex Preston and his team have delivered a title that highlights everything great about the medium as a whole, it’s as simple as that.

With challenging stages of frantic combat and an epic style in both visuals and soundtrack, Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound is a masterful example of 2D platforming action. It’s a strong experience throughout its full length, and both old-time fans and those new to the series are highly likely to enjoy it if they give it a try.

Whether you’re a skater (like myself) or simply a gamer who likes to virtually tear it up, Skate 2 offers a fairly complex control scheme that rewards those who dig into the moves with one of the most bold, creative, and downright fun games, like evar.