Forza Horizon 5 is undoubtedly a visual showcase and technical benchmark for PC and Xbox Series X owners. If you have the hardware to run this game on PC, this is the choice to make.

The best thing about Episode 1 is that you can jump in with the series here and still fall in love with it. The core formula remains so good that you can either play the series chronologically with this first or go in release date order as many will do and still have a lot of fun. For anyone who loved the first, get the season pass and have fun as each release comes out. For newcomers or those who dabbled in the series a bit, at least try out the first episode and experience a dramatic narrative that will make you a fan of the franchise.

Whether you’re someone who wants to play one of the toughest games of the year, or someone who just enjoys pure gameplay at its finest, you’re doing yourself a disservice not giving N++ a shot. You’ll die a million times, but every single one of those failures will remind you that success is just around the corner, and that’s a beautiful, beautiful thing.

It goes without saying that these classic Mario titles hold up extremely well. Each one is still fantastic and even Mario 64 manages to remain fun without feeling outdated aside from its slightly wonky camera. Neither Sunshine or Galaxy have seen official re-releases since their debut in most countries and Super Mario 64 only had a mediocre virtual console port that was generally hated due to severe input lag. It’s fantastic to have all three of these now available on Switch and they absolutely hold up. It’s a huge disappointment that at the time of this review Nintendo has said that this collection will only be available until the end of March 2021 but hopefully they see some other form of release so it can be enjoyed for the entirety of the Switch’s lifetime. Anyone looking to play through the games again or try them out for the first time shouldn’t miss out on Super Mario 3D All-Stars.

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.

Inazuma Eleven: Victory Road is a comprehensive experience in the soccer RPG franchise. It’s a fascinating take on the genre that provides a slow build for the story mode and a lengthy look at the franchise’s past. The emotional heights of the main narrative and the compelling way it turns the fundamentals of soccer into RPG disputes is a remarkably strong reminder of what makes the Inazuma Eleven franchise unique.

Showcasing the expert storytelling abilities Visual Art’s/Key’s are renowned for, Planetarian ~the reverie of a little planet~ is a visual novel that fans of the genre should be required to play if they missed out on it previously.

Not just a cult-classic, but a classic full-stop.

Tormentor X Punisher is loud, mean, occasionally unfair, intentionally ugly and thoroughly awesome. Its attitude infuses every aspect of the game, from enemy designs, the chunky low-resolution art and especially the excellent voicework that, yes, is repetitive but a major part of setting the tone. Death is brutal and easy, survival guaranteed to be short, and the leaderboards populated with people who are basically wizards. Getting a score over 100,000 is a feat to be proud of and I’m not ashamed to admit I’ve only done it once so far. Dying is inevitable, but not the point of Tormentor X Punisher. While the pink-haired demon hunter isn’t surviving this, she’s going to take as many minions and bosses as the game can churn out as she swears like a sailor to her last furious breath.

At this point, the first three original Mana titles have all received remakes. Trials of Mana not only wipes the floor with the other two, but stands so far above them it’s hard to believe the vast difference. It’s a fantastic remake that captures the original story and characters with an amazing new way to enjoy it.

PixelJunk Monsters 2 is straightforward enough to be enjoyed by casual gamers, but trying to perfect it on the highest difficulty will provide a worthwhile challenge to the hardcore gamers.

Demon’s Souls is the game to get a PlayStation 5 for and arguably the best launch title in the last couple of decades.

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.

If there is one way to best describe the experience that Episode 5: Polarized has to offer, then it can easily be done through the word that Dontnod Entertainment specifically chose to feature in the title of the fifth and final episode for Life Is Strange. It will no doubt polarize people on whether or not they believe it’s a satisfying (or fulfilling) conclusion to what has been such a spectacular title.

LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is a triumphant reinvention of the LEGO series, successfully adapting the entirety of the mainline Star Wars films, building out a galaxy filled with activities to pursue and reinventing gameplay mechanics for a new generation.

Everything that sold everyone on College Football 25 is bigger and better in College Football 26. The game simply can't be put down and the game modes are more encompassing than they were last year. Road to Glory will have you making multiple characters and Dynasty Mode will have you hooked on the updated aspects with recruiting and crossplay with your friends online. 300 coaches, multiple playbooks, 136 teams and the updated Team Builder with a better online process makes College Football 26 an unprecedented experience. The elephant in the room is the physics-based gameplay as the extremely upbeat and snappy gameplay from last year takes a slight dip in favor of more realism and that's truly felt. Bugs that weren't nearly this apparent last year are here at launch. The physics-based gameplay starts to shift the franchise towards Madden, and a big selling point to many on this series is that it isn't Madden. In the end, however, there's an impeccable College Football replication in EA Sports College Football 26.

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

Shantae and the Pirate’s Curse works just as well on a console as it did on a handheld.

The Alters delivers such a high-quality experience in gameplay, graphics and storytelling that it’s easy to forget that this isn’t an AAA game (or priced like one, either). Exploration and survival-management gameplay pair perfectly with the themes of death, purpose and trauma that recur throughout the plot, making for a memorable and unique adventure that keeps you on your toes at all times.

MultiVersus shows there's enough promise to expand the platform fighter genre with a new focus on 2v2 gameplay and intriguing movesets for each character. We didn't call Mortal Kombat a Street Fighter clone, despite them sharing a 2D plane. Nintendo didn't even begin the platform fighter genre: it only popularized it. The term "Smash Clone" is a demeaning one, which is a huge turnoff for many. MultiVersus should get love for its concept, and as it continues to build, hopefully it will get its time in the sun.

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.

There are many titles like The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles which never get localized for more fans to enjoy, and although it took six years, it’s safe to say it was worth waiting for. Perhaps the best part is regardless of one’s history with the series, anyone can give this entry a try as it’s a proper prequel that requires no prior knowledge in order to dive into right off the bat.

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.

Even with its imperfections, Hitman: Absolution is a magnificent achievement that goes well beyond expectations and will lead future stealth action titles into a better tomorrow.

Earth Defense Force 2025 is a fantastic example of everything that makes pure action gaming so much fun, packed with replay value and over the top set pieces, and a more than worthy sequel that tops its predecessor in every way.

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.

If you love adventure games and have yet to play The Lion’s Song then jump aboard as soon as possible. Those who don’t dabble in the genre due to challenging puzzle gameplay should also take notice given the relatively simplistic gameplay here. Finally, anyone who loves to be taken for an emotional ride will absolutely get that by playing through all four episodes. Whether you opt to play on Steam or mobile you’ll be in for a splendid storytelling experience with The Lion’s Song.

Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit Remastered takes players back to what these games used to be and looks great doing it. As it includes all of the major expansions and comes at a discounted price, it’s also a fantastic value. Despite playing the original to death, I’ve put way too much time into this fresh release and feel like I haven’t done even half of what I want to do with it. A perfect companion to the also highly-recommend Burnout Paradise Remastered, Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit Remastered should serve as a baseline for what these titles should be in the future.