NHL 22 on current-generation consoles is the best NHL experience that has released in some time. It also provides the biggest change from last gen to current gen consoles of any EA Sports game yet. It still has its issues at its core with how the AI plays and there are bugs that crop up often, but the overall experience feels fresh and the game looks much improved. The lighting and reflections provide the biggest boost while Frostbite brings more realism to player faces and jerseys. I feel more could have been included with Frostbite on the physics side, but this will come in the future. While the modes remain the same, the updates to each are sufficient and the addition of Superstar X-Factors allows for a game-changing experience. Online, if not getting disconnected, generally works as it needs to. NHL 22 offers the right feel for a new console that a lot of sports games haven’t provided in the last two generations.

The battle royale mode is slick, tense and the most exciting addition to Call of Duty in years. Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 is a solid entry in the franchise thanks to Blackout and Zombies, and though multiplayer may not having any exciting new features, there’s still plenty of fun on offer. This Call of Duty can safely be declassified.

Dishonored 2, with its refined mechanics and expanded gameplay following suit, personifies what a sequel should be.

Liberation Maiden is an outstanding on-rails shooter worth its $8 price tag.

There’s a strong variety of unique puzzles, and with the gorgeous world that can be taken-in, Trine 2 ends up being a luscious adventure. If you haven’t had the chance to pick it up on the many platforms it has been released on, then now is the best time.

Song of Horror: Complete Edition is a lot to take in all at once. The slow pacing and puzzle difficulty make it an exercise to get through, making the episodic pacing seem like the better choice. What is special here is the right way to do a paranormal horror game that involves something you can see but not control. A few variations of quick time events used to defend yourself and having to also think on the fly is a new exercise in horror games. The atmosphere is fantastic as dark environments mixed with excellent ambiance goes unrivaled, especially when it comes to indie titles. The Complete Edition is also only $30 at launch making it clear that Song of Horror: Complete Edition is worth a play for any old school horror fan.

It would be easy to say that you should just wait until later to pick up Killer Queen Black once more content has poured in, but no, you should check it out as soon as you can. The action is still quick and intense while requiring a healthy dose of strategy, it’s visually stunning and it’s another stellar example of “easy to learn, hard to master.” Top it all off with the insane amount of fun that can be had while playing with friends and Killer Queen Black a no-brainer. Much like the NBA Jams and Mortal Kombat IIs of the ’90s, what we have here is an impressive home version of an arcade hit that can easily keep you tied up for a while.

Whether playing for the first time or revisiting once again, Rescue Team DX delivers an amazing adventure that doesn’t end after the story has been beaten. The difficulty is right in the perfect spot that’s satisfying to overcome challenges, while being random and wild enough at times that some help might be needed. The art style and music making it worth hunkering down in one area to admire the surroundings, while each new area offers brand new surroundings to never get bored of. Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX is on par with if not superior to the original in many ways, and offers the perfect kind of journey for players looking for the latest adventure in the world of Pokémon.

It's a massive game filled with a lengthy single player campaign and a long-lasting multiplayer component that can be played day-by-day or minute-by-minute. Patience is a virtue as Skulls of the Shogun was worth waiting for.

Most of the game is well put together and engaging and when it finally reaches its pinnacle, with the bosses and the Sky Tower, it becomes a compulsory addictive game.

Dragon Quest III: The Seeds of Salvation shows its age even with the modernization but it also holds up very well. The game mechanics and story progression are echoes of a forgotten past which will invoke nostalgia in older gamers but may just seem archaic to the younger crowd. This one holds up the best out of the three Switch titles. The first two games are mainly worth playing for historical interest or nostalgia but this one should be played by any JRPG fan for its own merits. While this title does a nice job of concluding the Erdrick trilogy, it’s a great title in its own right and still enjoyable over thirty years after its release. It would be great if the subsequent Zenithian trilogy found its way onto Switch.

This is the best these two games have ever played, and for those who haven’t played the titles before or returning players who can take advantage of the $10 upgrade, it’s the best way to play them. Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection might not be the shiniest of Sony’s remastered treasures, but it’s a treasure nonetheless.

Madden NFL 15 marks a noticeable improvement for the long-standing franchise.

Those who still fancy the original GameCube version might not be interested if they can still readily play it, but the addition of the challenging new hidden mansion, ability to challenge bosses and local multiplayer can make it well worthwhile for those wanting to try something new. Luigi’s Mansion is still a great classic and fits in fairly well with all the other wonderful ports on 3DS.

This is a sweet, gentle, silly game for people who are still in touch with their inner nerdy child. [JPN Import; July 2007, p.71]

Fat Princess was subversive, politically incorrect and unexpectedly complex in its strategy and depth. Fat Princess Adventures trades a little of that depth for a more straightforward, action RPG-focused design.

The humor is consistent with some of the show’s best episodes, the visuals are wholly original for a game and the gameplay is surprisingly challenging and rewarding. As much of its humor is dependent on character references, those who aren’t avid viewers of the show probably won’t enjoy it, but you should remedy that if you fall into that category.

On top of the fun gameplay, the art direction is a great stylized approach to incorporating the Voodoo influence and Alistar Lindsay’s soundtrack fits the style perfectly.

Vector Unit has made yet another outstanding aquatic racer and anyone who enjoyed Wave Race or the Hydro Thunder franchise should give it a shot. It’s thrilling, controls like a dream and looks excellent.

This is an easy recommendation for anyone that has already played through Tales of Xillia and yet another good reason to force you to if you haven’t yet.

It may not be perfect on all fronts, but MAG certainly lives up to its name as a massive action game that caters towards those who want to experience tactical battles larger than those found almost anywhere else.

Metal Slug Tactics is a fun and nicely-challenging strategy game, but what truly makes it stand out is how it finds a way to incorporate mechanics from the arcade games into its gameplay by placing a unique emphasis on movement. Combined with astonishing visuals (especially during the epic boss battle), it makes for an entry into the franchise that's more than worthy and one that's worth checking out whether you're a fan of the series or not. After all, you can't attack a basket of snakes in order to sic them on your enemies and not have fun.

Despite simplistic controls, Fotonica transports players into a beautiful vector landscape that they’ll inhabit for hours.

Serious Sam’s Bogus Detour is a surprisingly large shooter that takes the long-running arcade FPS and translates it perfectly into a new genre. The gorgeous pixel art is well detailed and animated, and can pack a ton of critters on screen at once without any issues. Blasting through an area, painting the floor red with the remains of a vicious horde that couldn’t quite stand up to a rocket launcher, is basically what I pictured games would turn into back in the Genesis/SNES days. It’s got fast action, tons of weapons, a huge variety of creatures and a handful of bosses to use them against and firepower flies everywhere when the encounters heat up. Serious Sam’s Bogus Detour may look different from Sam’s usual outings, but 2D fans will have as much fun checking out the excellent pixel art as series fans will tearing through enemies both familiar and new.

Void Terrarium is a strange and beautiful dungeon crawling RPG, and despite the familiar genre, manages to feel like there’s nothing else out there like it.

The puzzles are a blast, the graphics and environments are jaw-dropping, and little bonuses such as the challenge levels provide a good incentive to keep coming back for a while. It may not hit the same emotional heights as before, but the latest outing for our stringy heroes is one that cements them as the stars of a classic franchise in the indie gaming scene, so don’t miss it.

Wherever it takes you, Genshin Impact is a more-than-convincing proposition, not least for those adamant on never spending a single cent in-game. The grind to get there may not always feel wholly natural or that players are genuinely being left to wander without restraint, but Genshin Impact‘s meticulous approach to environment design above all pulls through in many wonderful ways. Crafting one of the year’s more immersive and surprisingly rich open-world RPGs.

Sonic X Shadow Generations stands as a reminder as to where the series has gone and will be going in the future. While Sonic Generations values the original with some added features, Shadow Generations breaks the glass ceiling set by an already top-tier Sonic title.