Time Recoil is an outstanding top-down strategy game that gives off the appearance of a top-down shooter. It has finely-tuned melee and gun-based combat that rewards fast reflexes. It’s tough and challenging, but can be conquered with patience, skill and learning the core mechanics on a deeper level. It isn’t casual, but will pay off for anyone willing to spend the time to learn its ways. It looks great — with a simple, but elegant art style that also fits its largely chiptune-inspired soundtrack. Time Recoil is a must-buy for anyone with a Switch and a love for a hearty challenge.

Devastation takes some of the best pieces of Bayonetta and throws them in a package you can feel unadulteratedly good about while also producing the best Transformers game yet.

Knockout City is easily one of the most pleasant surprises so far this year, managing to turn a game of dodgeball into an addictive and high-octane multiplayer brawl with a unique Zeerust twist in its aesthetics and silky smooth gameplay that anyone can get into. Hopefully it still ends up being a success after the current trial period, because it would be amazing to see just how massive and fun of a city Velan Studios can eventually make.

This is Claire and Moira’s most enjoyable adventure yet, focusing on puzzle oriented scenarios while throwing in combat when necessary.

Action Henk is easily one of the best speed-runners in years.

Anyone who is a fan of South Park needs to play SOUTH PARK: SNOW DAY!, especially if they really enjoyed Stick of Truth. The cooperative gameplay with the action/adventure combat element actually makes this more approachable to play with others compared to Stick of Truth, which was a turn-based RPG. If you are not a fan of South Park, some of the gameplay limitations may inhibit the experience as it seems the development team didn't want to over-complicate the gameplay while also focusing on the story being told. With post-game options and the ability to play with others, this adds replayability, but currently it's hard to tell if the longevity will be there unless there are plans for narrative DLC down the road. The horde mode option helps to add to this. The art and combat design here does work, but the main issue comes with the audio complaints with mixing and repetitive lines. The world of South Park is the driving force of SOUTH PARK: SNOW DAY!.

Tell a Demon is a haunting visual novel which makes readers yearn for more. With sixteen endings in all the short single-game length can be forgiven due to the high replayability factor. Still, it feels that we’ll need to wait for an entirely new game in the series to really grasp all the goings on in this one. There’s a lot to like about Tell a Demon due to the obvious care it received in regards to storytelling, editing, visuals and audio. Visual novel fans looking for something different will find it here.

The Falconeer is a resounding success in every major area. It’s a gorgeous game that plays like a dream and has more ambition than most games of its type. It has a nice, fair challenge to it and helps ease players into the action by wisely teaching you without going out of its way hold your hand beyond the early going. It’s got an intuitive design and is a must for anyone who loves games like Panzer Dragoon Orta or Crimson Skies. Anyone in the mood for a new dogfighting-style game will instantly fall in love with The Falconeer.

Injustice: Gods Among Us Ultimate Edition is the much-needed complete version of Injustice. With all the DLC included and all the costumes unlocked, Ultimate Edition is without question the version to play.

Vikings – Wolves of Midgard takes the formula made popular by the game named after the Spanish word for devil and makes it its own. I wouldn’t go as a far to say this is a Diablo killer, but this is one of the more impressive titles that follows that game’s template. The looting, crafting and killing formula is one that has been done many times over and it is no less addictive in this title. This interpretation of Ragnarok and Norse mythology creates an interesting campaign setting that’s not often used in games, and the visual and sound design make this an engrossing title once the player gets past the tutorials. For fans of action RPGs, Vikings – Wolves of Midgard is a must play.

Pokkén Tournament is a victory and hopefully the beginning of a new series within the franchise.

Instead of being content with slapping a new year on the box and updating rosters, SCE San Diego Studio continues to add numerous improvements that bring the series closer to feeling like the real thing. MLB 13: The Show is the most realistic baseball game to date and remains the sport’s premiere video game experience.

While the fluid and highly enjoyable combat remain intact, the restructuring of collectibles and scenarios such as the final boss tarnish the experience. That’s not to mention that the Definitive Edition doesn’t hold a candle to the two year old PC version from a visual standpoint as there’s a lack of anisotropic filtering and a shinier gloss to Dante’s skin.

There is a reason that Aksys website for this game doesn’t stress that this is an otome as the story is engaging for visual novel fans of all types. Collar X Malice is a well-crafted title that leans hard on its mystery and creates a sense of foreboding while keeping it from becoming too much. Idea Factory walked a fine line here and ended up with a cool, stylish experience for anyone that just wants to chill in an easy chair with a cool story.

While not for everyone due to its twin-stick controls, Screamer still delivers a memorable racing experience. It takes some getting used to and hurts the pick up and play nature of what would normally be an arcade-style racer, but the end result is a fantastic racing game that hits on all cylinders more often than not. Once getting in the groove with it, it's tough to put down outside of issues with rubberband AI hurting the more-important campaign races, and the inability to have single-stick controls does hurt the potential playerbase a bit. Still, Screamer has a killer soundtrack with a lot of effort put into its anime-infused storyline and voice work. There's a lot to enjoy for racing fans starving for some arcade-inspired action.

Astalon: Tears of the Earth is a tough, but fair NES-inspired Metroidvania that tests your mettle and makes it worthwhile. Each of the three playable characters is fun to use and the gradual difficulty curve makes it easy to learn from trial and error and succeed more with each new run. It controls wonderfully, looks great, and has impressive sound design too. Beyond just a killer chiptune soundtrack, there are subtle touches to the sound design that help put this above a lot of NES-inspired games on the market over the past decade. Astalon: Tears of the Earth is a must-play for anyone with a love for 8-bit gaming, or Metroidvanias.

Overall, Crysis Remastered Trilogy is a great set of remasters and those who skipped these games initially should strap on their nanosuits and give the franchise a shot.

The handheld mashup of "Bejeweled" and RPG has finally hit the TV screen. and it's just as addictive as ever. [Dec 2007, p.69]

The first Bayonetta is slowly showing its age, but its more robust sequel remains at the top of its game. It contains some of the best combat mechanics that are perfectly integrated in the most over-the-top, outlandish scenarios. It’s stylish, frantic and oddly addicting. Unfortunately, the story may as well be non-existent and the voice acting from characters such as the newly-introduced Loki will make you want to skip cutscenes. It doesn’t help when you hear the brat calling Bayonetta Love every second sentence and cussing every scene. Regardless, it’s all about the craziness that PlatinumGames usually brings to their games and they’ve hit it out of the park with Bayonetta 2. They refined the formula with the sequel, creating a top-tier action game that shouldn’t be overlooked. It may not be perfect, but this is a solid remaster that more players need to experience, and considering you get two games for the price of one, this ends up being an incredibly appealing package.

Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight is the ideal mix of old and new. The visuals and 2D platforming scream ’80s NES, but the detail that went into the pixel art and the attack combos mixed with fluid animation give this title just enough of a modern feel so it doesn’t feel dated. Fans of Metroidvanias and old adventure games owe it to themselves to check out Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight.

Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana doesn’t deviate far from what Ys games are known for, it just takes what they do and expands on them. The story isn’t Shakespearean, but it’s more developed and interesting than what was shown in previous titles, and while the characters are still trope-based, they have more depth than seen in previous entries and this is on top of improvements in graphics and music composition. Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana shows the series maturing a bit but without deviating too far from what made us fans in the first place.

The Elder Scrolls Online: Gold Road is a worthy addition to the ever-expanding game. The Scribing feature is a great addition for players who want to customize their character's abilities and the Mirrormoor Incursions help make the world feel alive. While these newly-added features help set Gold Road apart from the previous expansions, it does fall into the trap that many annual expansions are prone to where it does feel like the new features are marking off items on a checklist. Gold Road is a good addition to The Elder Scrolls Online, but after eight expansions in ten years, each expansion starts to feel like it is treading familiar ground, even with the well-done new features.

As the second game in what is now a series, The Forsaken Maiden maintains the core mechanics and overall feel of its predecessor while making some minor improvements and introducing a brand new story that can be enjoyed on its own. When the first Voice of Cards was announced, I was uncertain what to make of it, but after playing the second game, there’s hope that this won’t be the last one.

In essence, though nothing beats being in front of the actual machines and feeding in a quarter to square off with it, Pinball Hall of Fame – The Williams Collection is about as close as the video game medium allows for.

That same distortion and monstrous-like exaggeration of previous may be out in full force once again, but Little Nightmares II succeeds on its bolder and more refined continuation from the 2017 original. Stripped down to its most basic premise, the game still intrigues and invites through well-orchestrated puzzle segments and spots of subtlety that lend themselves to the creeping, anxious trek characters Six and Mono must make throughout the world.

When compared to GTAV, the game falls short in most places — notably in driving and side-missions. Falling short to one of the games of the generation, however, is still a huge accomplishment and Watch Dogs blazes its own trail by offering the ingenious addition of hacking. With tons of content and a surprising amount of humor, Ubisoft has laid an incredibly solid base with Watch Dogs. It might not be at the top of its class, but it’s a damn fine salutatorian.

Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion must not be overlooked; it may be marketed towards today's youth, but it's adult gamers who grew up in the '90s that will truly appreciate it.

It could have been a near masterpiece if not for the tonal shift halfway through and if Supermassive committed to either going in the over the top Cabin in the Woods direction or delivering a taught and intelligent slasher like the original Black Christmas. Still, Until Dawn is gripping through its nine-odd hour running time and never lets off the gas.