The visuals, interface, framerate and online matchmaking, combined with one of the best original soundtracks ever to grace a video game, make for impeccable production values. This is an experience that could have benefited from being open world, however, as well as having more varied combat and map design.

Bloodborne: The Old Hunters is a solid add-on to an already outstanding game. While it fails to try anything new and is relatively short, the bosses make this something worthy of trekking through, especially for existing fans.

While a story or intriguing use of narrative might have only gone so far, though, Golf Story’s easy-to-grasp; hard-to-master core gameplay — that still manages to pace its teaching players the smaller details — is what will keep players coming back for more. Having them hunt down even the additional side-quests on top, no matter how zany or surreal the premise might be. It’s this unorthodox approach ultimately that gives Golf Story its unique identity and undeniable appeal as both a sports title and an independent release. While the influences are clear to see and the source material might not be entirely original, this game is wonderfully, weirdly different, but engaging all the same.

Shin Megami Tensei III Nocturne HD Remaster is an apocalyptic blast from the past that goes beyond what we could have hoped for in celebration of the cult classic. This isn’t your typical HD remaster, as Atlus has went back and recorded an astonishing amount of voice work, something that wasn’t even in the game to begin with. They also cleaned up some of the visuals, even though it still looks like something that’s nearly twenty years old. That’s on top of redoing the translation and ensuring we have both Dante and Radiou to choose from recruiting. There are aspects that don’t necessarily hold up today in its combat and exploration, especially considering the maps are linear, but if you’re in it for just the story, you’ll be in for a treat with the new Merciful difficulty. Whether you’re a hardcore fan or a curious observer, Shin Megami Tensei III Nocturne HD Remaster is a classic worthy of being in any RPG player’s collection.

While Ubisoft has shown that it can deliver outstanding blockbuster AAA titles, its growing library of creative downloadable games should put EA and Activision on notice: this is how to be creative.

Call of Duty: Black Ops II continues the trend of a Michael Bay action film packed into a video game format. There's spectacle, voice talent, zombies, and finally a story with a good set up and player agency to boot. It may lack significant innovation, and the missions set in the 20th century are far from compelling story pieces, but with a robust multiplayer experience and a half-decent story, Black Ops II does the series proud.

Ys Memoire: The Oath in Felghana may show its age with its mechanics, but still holds up surprisingly well. It lacks many of the standard features of modern Ys games, such as multiple playable characters, minigame battles and homebase building, but still provides the same story-driven adventure with fast-paced action combat. It's a relatively short adventure that can be completed in around ten or twelve hours, but none of that time is wasted with unnecessary filler. Between the charming visuals, enjoyable gameplay and amazingly-reworked soundtrack, Ys Memoire: The Oath in Felghana is a great action RPG that should be experienced by all fans of the genre and a must-play for fans of Ys.

While Oxenfree II: Lost Signals doesn’t hit the same heights as the original game, it still delivers another enjoyable adventure, once again serving up another unique ghost story that uses haunted technology to great effect, which succeeds thanks to terrific dialogue and well-crafted characters. Camena may be quite similar to Edwards Island in a lot of ways, but it still plays hosts to a nicely spooky trip more than worth taking, especially for fans of the first title.

Mechanically it’s more of the same – which is to say that it’s a unique and deftly-constructed second-person stealth title.

Awesomenauts was an easy recommendation before, and with the addition of new characters and other improvements, Assemble! is a must-have both for those who haven’t experienced the game and veterans who want to play the best possible console version. Anyone who enjoys run and gun shooters or action platformers will enjoy this, and it’s a perfect gateway game to the MOBA genre.

While there’s a strange absence of online multiplayer in Kirby Fighters and the Hypernova feature feels somewhat underutilized, Triple Deluxe still ends up being an experience overflowing with delicious content to be gobbled up.

Nama Takahashi’s creation here is not the most extravagant nor is it the most lavish in detail, but that marriage of an easy-to-grasp gimmick and reliance on visual suggestion means ElecHead is not only striking, but joyous to play through too.

Destiny Connect: Tick-Tock Travelers is a fantastic game full of heart. Breezy with a bit of substance to it, the battle system is a ton of fun and the time travel-centric mystery plot is a lot of fun to see unfold. If you’re looking for a fun RPG for younger players or just want something that’s a bit like a Studio Ghibli film in game form, pick it up. There’s a lot to love about Destiny Connect: Tick-Tock Travelers and you can’t go wrong grabbing it on either the PS4 or Switch.

A 30 dollar eShop purchase will net you some 50-60 hours of gameplay, which is nothing to sneeze at, and the full Japanese versions of all three games are included as well — perfect for a gamer looking to practice the language and start importing.

Final Fantasy IX for PC is surprisingly well done for a sixteen year old port.

It’s not for everyone, but if you surrender yourself to its intricacies you may well find yourself crafting your own ornate strategies for victory long into the night.

While there are times where it feels like Wizard With a Gun doesn’t live up to its full potential as a survival game, it still succeeds overall thanks to delivering action-packed twin-stick gunslinging, a gorgeous world with nice lore to discover, and a lot of stuff to find, be it new furniture when it comes to decorating your Tower or new strategies when it comes to dishing out pain. The path of the Gunmancer may not be the most complex, but it still makes for an awesome journey nonetheless in Wizard With a Gun.

While SnowRunner has a few quirks here and there, overall it’s a fantastic game of exploration and brute-force driving. The maps are beautifully designed, seeming much bigger than they actually are and filled with gorgeous scenery and plenty of goals to track down. The slow pace of the driving takes a bit of getting used to, but fans of the series have already made that leap and those who haven’t yet will find that struggling out of the mire or navigating the ice floes in a river gives its own sense of satisfaction.

While Dodgeball Academia isn’t a perfect RPG, the intense and amazing dodgeball combat combined with a cast of terrific and charming characters and an eye-pleasing blend of visuals to back them up still make for one quick and enjoyable burst of fun in the end. It might end up only getting second place when it comes to this year’s dodgeball games, but it’s a close race, and it still deserves a trophy regardless.

While it has been around for quite awhile, Oceanhorn on PS Vita feels like the best way to play the game. It controls well and looks great on the system. The game itself isn’t creating a new genre, but what Oceanhorn does instead is build a fun adventure using familiar building blocks that we all know. Some people might dismiss this as unoriginal and quaint, but then some people really hate fun. This is a game that earns its spot in any gamer’s library simply by expertly executing precisely what it wants to be.

The game engine is silky smooth and, for the PSP, quite detailed and amazing. You’ll be hard-pressed to find a better-looking game on the PSP. Combat is neither easy nor shallow, and you’ll soon find that with multiple heads in your inventory, Fred can pull off a wide variety of moves.

Football is played on the field and this is clearly where the development team focused with Madden NFL 25. The changes to the physics are meaningful and can create opportunities that weren't previously available in the series thanks to BOOM Tech. Getting a perfect hit with Hit Stick 2.0 can be satisfying thanks in part to sound of the pads and the visual cue. Receiver and defender interactions when going for the ball are engaging and the offensive line play is fantastic. The steps EA has taken to make Madden look and sound like Sunday are clear. The holdback comes down to the same experience with the modes in the game, albeit some surface level changes. The new broadcast options and the presentation updates help Madden NFL 25 to feel different.

While Disney Infinity might be a precisely coordinated marketing strategy, it’s also a imaginative multimedia experience that will appeal to gamers of all ages. Kids will adore everything about it and adults will enjoy collecting their favorite expertly-crafted figures and seeing them in action.

When creating a business sim that attempts to capture the subject matter, a fine line needs to be walked. It can’t get too deep in the weeds of minutia without offering real explanations, nor can it make those explanations boring. On the other hand, it can’t make it too simple, as the subject matter is a huge draw to a specific audience. Planet Zoo pulls off the act and manages to be a great time for it. Plus, people will accidentally learn about the subject matter without ever feeling like they are playing a dreaded “educational” game. There are myriad technical issues that keep the title from being perfect and some of them are biggies. Based on Frontier Developments’ track record, these will be smoothed out in the coming weeks and months. Once this is done, Planet Zoo is arguably the best of this type of game to date.

Sorry We're Closed beautifully takes that otherworldly psychological horror of games such as Silent Hill and puts its own colorful spin on things, resulting in a game filled with an eye-popping visual style, a terrific story with a clever look at relationships via angels and demons, and an amazing cast of characters, including one truly memorable and unsettling villain, alongside a lot of other surreal and spooky moments. While the combat may be a tad frustrating later on, it all still makes for a great entry into the genre and definitely one to pick up.

Those seeking a slower-paced action-platformer with a mix of real-time resource management thrown in will adore Firegirl Hack ‘n Splash Rescue DX. It’s a tough, but fair game and one that feels a lot more fair than the original release thanks to tweaks with the balance and an in-game rewards system. If you’re in the mood for a fun, challenging adventure and have an affinity for side-scrolling action, Firegirl Hack ‘n Splash Rescue DX is a must-buy.

Even with unfortunate performance hiccups, it’s safe to say Ravegan have created one of the more interesting and cleverly addictive shoot ’em ups in recent years.

Resogun Defenders is adrenaline in its most concentrated form and a fitting send-off to one of the best arcade experiences to ever hit a console, current-gen or otherwise.