Big Bang Pro Wrestling offers a fantastic portable wrestling game experience that feels right at home on the Switch. There aren’t many 8-bit-style wrestling games on the platform, with only Pro Wrestling available via the Switch Online service and no Tecmo World Wrestling as of this writing. The gameplay feel is like those two games, but with more depth and personality. Quality-wise, I’d put this above Pro Wrestling, but a notch below Tecmo World Wrestling as far as being an 8-bit-style wrestling game. If you have the other NGPC Selection games and want a pro wrestling game on the go with an SNK feel, this is a great one and works as a nice compliment to the Arcade Archives 3 Count Bout.

General Interactive deserve applause for their unique approach to detective work in adventure games, but the central mechanic in Chinatown Detective Agency feels like it deserves to be in a more substantial game. Still, what’s here features a fun story with a lot of memorable characters and nicely-challenging puzzles that test how well your online research skills are, so wannabe sleuths or adventure game fans will still want to take a trip out to this version of Chinatown, where an enjoyable adventure awaits.

Moss: Book II is an excellent title to close the book on the original PSVR with despite hardware limitations coming into play. If you loved the first title, you’ll undoubtedly enjoy the sequel.

Overall Chrono Cross is presented in a way where there are minimal alterations to experience, where it’s changed and updated just enough to be enjoyed on modern platforms without making changes to what made it so memorable originally.

If nothing else, NORCO will go down as the game this year that had the most unique world, but it also stands a huge chance of going down as the game with the best writing, story (or stories) and atmosphere. Who could have thought that Louisiana would be a perfect backdrop for a bizarre sci-fi mystery? Geography of Robots did, and it’s thanks to them that we got this memorable journey that folks should check out, even if it may be hard to describe what happened.

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.

Kirby and the Forgotten Land is a huge step in a new direction for the series. Many fans will say that despite enjoying recent titles, the formula had been growing stale and repetitive especially after Star Allies. Forgotten Land at its core is still Kirby, and feels like the traditional adventure, but adding this extra layer to levels, exploration and combat opens up a whole new way to experience the journey like never before. It’s not only utterly charming in that lovable Kirby way, it’s also a fantastic look at the kind of new creative ideas we’ll hopefully get to see from here on out. While the 2D-styled Kirby titles will still be around, it’d be wonderful if focusing on larger 3D adventures was the new plan moving forward as Kirby and the Forgotten Land hits the ground running with one of the franchise’s best titles to date.

Don’t be fooled by the somewhat goofy exterior of Tentacular, as what lies beneath its surface is a crafty and unique physics puzzler with a wicked sense of humor and a well-done story that cleverly has you work with the limitations of your massive kaiju body. While it would have been nice to have more ways to interact with the island, a nice variety of challenges and tools to experiment with ensure that you’re never going to be bored. It’s an odd VR experience, but one worth looking at (as long as you can handle some of the NPC behavior).

Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands is the best way to change the Borderlands formula and quite possibly the best Borderlands game to date. A lot of this is due to the change of setting and the unchained feeling tying directly into deeper customization.

There’s a lot to love in the gameplay loop, characters and endearing story, and that’s what ties it together for anyone who can sit through the choppy framerate. For those who have been waiting for another entry in the series, Rune Factory 5 delivers more of what fans love in the brand new fantastic world of farming, taming and romance.

Grand Theft Auto V is one the best games released in the last decade and holds up surprising well nine years later. Like any remaster, the HD makeover can’t hide all the signs of aging from a game that launched two console generations ago, but beyond that impresses. The PlayStation 5 iteration is every bit of the hilarious thrill ride it was back in 2013. Everything played through during the review was familiar territory, but it was just as captivating and entertaining as it was the first time. But by the same token, outside of technical improvements made possible by the more-powerful hardware, there isn’t much of anything new being brought to the party. This is the best way to experience Grand Theft Auto V, but faster loading times and high resolution and framerate might not be enough to necessitate upgrading to modern-gen consoles. It’s still a great port of one of the best games of all time, but it doesn’t drastically improve much over the PC and last-gen version.

The moments in-between -- especially those the game deems most critical to plot and progression -- may not have the same punch, but Ghostwire: Tokyo though briefly just about shines through where it matters. A journey you will actively and quickly decide against sprinting through.

Based on the current model of Monster Energy Supercross 5 that dates back to its inception, this may be the most complete version of the game despite its legacy issues. It still seems like the series is stuck in the past, but finally making it accessible with the Futures Academy and showing proper training with exercises should help the game garner new fans. When the racing works, it can be fun. The experience is still marred with other AI issues outside of the pacing and the collision detection still remains awful. This version still feels like a more competent racer than the others and while it retains its Career Mode, Compound and Track Editor with small new editions, nothing in the latest version makes it a must have as compared to previous versions. This also includes the outdated roster that I wish Milestone could figure out a way to add in a roster update as post-launch DLC. Players that do buy this title annually should find the improvements suitable and if you’ve wanted a Supercross game for the first time and had to choose one, Monster Energy Supercross 5 is be the best choice.

The races can be fun under the right circumstances, but it will get repetitive fast and the annoying menu music will never get any better. It’s likely that many things will be addressed such as the lack of variety in tracks as it seems possible more will be added down the line. Right now at release, however, Chocobo GP is utterly barebones and pales in comparison to so many other kart racers before it. It’s a disgrace to see this title even released how it has, especially when Mario Kart 8 is getting a DLC expansion that’s half the price in a little under a week. To give credit where credit is due, Ben the Behemoth is a cute character that would probably have an adorable plushie worth buying, but it’s not enough to make Chocobo GP worth picking up for anyone.

The Cruel King and the Great Hero is a pure charmer of an RPG. The playful storybook art and lovely soundtrack strike an adventurous tone, and all the characters from Yuu and the Dragon King down to the random monsters are adorably designed. The RPG action is easy overall so long as you don’t forget about the occasional healing potion, and the only real knock against it is the battles are too frequent for their own good. The Cruel King and the Great Hero is a perfect game to use as an introduction to the RPG genre for the younger crowd, and great for an adult who knows their way around and can enjoy themselves with a story of a kind hero and the Dragon King who loves his adopted daughter.

Visual Concepts and 2K made the right decision with taking last year off as WWE 2K22 is the best effort the team has released since taking over. The visuals are a sight to behold and the combat is fluid and fun. The simplification of combat and the modes makes this much more approachable for everyone without having to figure out a bunch of alternate moves and backwards ways of pulling off things that are seen on TV. MyGM will keep players occupied forever and Showcase Mode is the best version to date. MyRISE is a nice addition with a ton of variation to keep things fresh, but ultimately remains a grind. MyFACTION, while sounding good on paper, is just MyTEAM from NBA 2K and its filled with microtransactions. If you’re one of those players that pick up a WWE game every couple of years, 2K22 is the one to get.

Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origins re-imagines the earliest Final Fantasy in a manner befitting of a popcorn action film and for the most part succeeds. The story is an interesting re-interpretation of the Warriors of Light even if there are a few elements that seem nonsensical and shoehorned in. Like most things involving a timeloop, it’s just better for one’s sanity not to contemplate the finer points of the story too much. A lot of the story wants to be taken seriously, but Jack’s over-the-top obsession with killing Chaos brings the overall tone into comedic territory. The gameplay is frenetic action with several difficulty options to make it accessible to newcomers and challenging to veterans of the genre. Approaching Stranger of Paradise with any sort of expectations of what a Final Fantasy game should be will likely lead to disappointment. When viewed through the lens of a campy B-movie, however, killing Chaos can be a thrill.

Triangle Strategy is a unique tactical JRPG, excelling in delivering enjoyable tactical combat and developing an intricate world where the complexities weigh heavily on the choices players have to make. It isn’t without its issues as the execution of such rich world building and interpersonal relationships requires a lot of exposition which leads to pacing issues. Even if the player is interested in the developing narrative, some of the early cutscenes drag on for too long and simply end up being boring. The tradeoff is that those who can get through the slower-paced games are rewarded with a challenging battle system and choices that have a significant impact on the story. A New Game Plus feature allows players to carry over their progress to see how different decisions play out and unlock the multiple endings and the game is enjoyable enough where repeated playthroughs sound like an inviting prospect.

Given our memories of the first game, it would have been a miracle if Submerged: Hidden Depths had just been a merely fine distraction. So it’s a shocker to see a perfect example of what a sequel should be, making terrific use of the strengths its premise provides, allowing you to truly chill out and explore the drowned city, coming across something that feels fresh at every turn, backed up by breezy visuals and a nice soundtrack. While still linear at times, Submerged: Hidden Depths is a vastly-improved adventure that should easily stand a shot at being the year’s best sequel, and Uppercut should be proud of what they’ve done.

Treating the game on its own merits, the re-release of Persona 4 Arena Ultimax comes highly recommended. It has fun characters embarking on a fresh adventure in a new genre. The story can be padded, but it still scratches that itch. The most fantastic part is that this old game has systems and gameplay that still holds up favorably to modern fighting releases. There are few fighters that can boast that.

1P2P have delivered a stylish and superb adventure with Young Souls, a dazzling hybrid of brawlers and crawlers (dungeon, that is) that’s perfectly suited for all players while delivering an amazing and challenging experience, one that will have you searching every path and going over every weapon, with every trip into a level leading to some form of satisfaction in one one way or another. Whether you enjoy hack-and-slash or punch-and-kick, or just any game in general, Jenn and Tristan’s journey is one more than worth taking.

Dawn of Ragnarok is the most ambitious Valhalla DLC and arguably the most ambitious DLC out of the three new Assassin’s Creed games. This is the biggest thing it has going for it, but it may also be too ambitious for its own good. The new additions offered in this content breathe fresh air into the game, but despite these additions it’s still even more Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, a game that can last over 100 hours without any of the additional content. On one hand if someone were to only play one piece of expansion for Valhalla, this is the one to be prioritized, but after playing through the main game and previous expansions, it’s hard to find the motivation to return to Ravensthorpe.

Destiny 2: The Witch Queen is a good expansion, combining an excellent campaign and raid with a decent content offering, even though not much of it feels exactly new. Destiny 2: The Witch Queen may not be the best overall expansion in Destiny history, but this queen sure does put on a good show while it lasts.

From the technical production to its desired visual direction alike, you needn’t take one step into any of its lackluster dungeons to find something both unpleasant and unappealing to invest in. And once you do, you’ll find a core loop unashamedly insistent on dragging its heels all in the name of a loot grind that itself isn’t all that exciting. To say the dismal failings on its loot aspect — and perhaps, even its live-service ecosystem on top — isn’t even the lowest moment should give you a clearer picture on how badly PlatinumGames and Square Enix together have missed the mark here. It might then end up strangely poetic come year’s end. That after seeing what might arguably be the year’s best offering release in recent weeks, Babylon’s Fall by contrast, could very well stand as its worst.

Gran Turismo 7 is the quintessential Gran Turismo and the best of what the series has accrued over its 25 years of existence. The game is beautiful, detailed and fresh, powered by a detailed handling model that’s yet to be seen in racing games.

Elex II is a uniquely ambitious game made by a developer that already focuses on ambitious games, and Piranha Bytes almost stuck the landing. As a title that focuses on the role-playing part of RPGs, it’s rather smartly put together. Magalan isn’t a generic world and the plot builds on familiar concepts to something intriguing. There’s plenty of enjoyment to be found in the package, as it’s completely packed with unique and compelling content. The missteps found on the journey do a ton to hold it back, but it’s nothing a patch or two can’t fix up. Should these get resolved, then this is a title that’s dense and uninviting at first. Those who push past that gruff exterior will find, well, more gruffness, as well as a world that’s interesting to explore and make a true mark upon.

For some, what you make of Shadow Warrior 3 may well be influenced by the comparisons one draws from the prior 2016 entrant. While all parties will unilaterally agree Flying Wild Hog’s third outing in the series feels more stripped back and “to the point” than its predecessors — least on the surface — feelings thereafter will no doubt be split. Some will deduce this year’s offering lacks what made 2016’s title a novel but compelling shooter to play in repeated session. For others, myself included, that notion of being stripped back by no means signals a negative. But few will disagree that developer Flying Wild Hog have gone about this in as unapologetic and as indulgently-confident a manner as one can get. That attitude may only get you so far in admiration, so it’s thanks to a mixture of smart strategic additions to its combat formula, as well as a welcome care to its artistic design, where the series’ third entrant will garner a majority favor. It may not be reinventing the wheel in any drastic means, but Shadow Warrior 3‘s warranted excess and lovably chaotic flow is one you’ll easily get lost in and perhaps never want to get out of.

Codemasters has put a good amount of thought into reinventing the GRID experience. GRID Legends is no doubt the best GRID to date with the amount of new options and the power of the PlayStation 5 and added tech included. I simply had a lot of fun playing this as the racing model is as addictive as ever. The story mode deserves recognition due to its design and a solid enough story, but feels more like a tutorial to get players acclimated with the series. The visuals have highlights and lowlights, but the weather effects and the reflections are where it shines the best without having to implement ray tracing. The game needs to be experienced with a headset on this console and it also gives a possible idea of what a game that launches in a week might have in store. GRID Legends pushes the series forward with new additions while the core game remains intact.