Clockwork Aquario is a fantastic action-platformer that blends quick-moving playable characters and enemies alongside an inventive attack strategy. There’s nothing else like it on the market today — despite so many games trying to replicate arcade-style fun. The big key here is that this is a legit arcade game that has been repurposed for modern hardware and that allows it to retain what made arcade gaming so fun, while having more modern quality-of-life improvements thrown in. It plays wonderfully, looks gorgeous and is a blast in multiplayer. The soundtrack is a lot of fun, but doesn’t reach the heights of classics in the genre. Still, for anyone seeking a fast-paced side-scrolling game, there’s a ton of variety offered up here and a lot of fun to be had with Clockwork Aquario.

While Asteroids: Recharged is a decent update of the classic game and is a welcome return for the series, it’s also not as effective at tugging on the nostalgia strings as the previous Recharged games. Asteroids as a formula is well-traveled ground, and it’s hard not to miss the long-gone Spheres of Chaos while playing. It’s a good update to the game with all the same features and pitfalls of the others in the Recharged series (three games in and the leaderboards still need a way to scan through them rather than be stuck seeing just your own score and those around it) but there’s a lot more “been there, done that better” going on here. Ignoring that for the sake of focusing on just Asteroids: Recharged, though, it’s great to see the series live again as a nice bite-sized snack of classic shooting action.

Wolfstride has its flaws, but if you’re willing to get past them, it ends up having a unique charm in its story, characters and combat that’s worth checking out. Sure, the giant anime mech battles may be a main draw, but you’ll stay for the clever bits of character development and glimpses into the history and personalities of these rascals as you get to know them. Wolfstride doesn’t always land with a huge mechanical blow, but it can still deliver a decent hit overall.

Monster Rancher 1&2 DX is a blast from the past, letting fans re-experience a classic while introducing new players to the franchise. The big take away is that these games have not aged particularly well. Mechanically, it’s rough around the edges, at least within the battle system. Raising a monster is one of the more compelling components as fans of micromanaging time and effort will have a blast. The disc system, or lack thereof now, is disappointing as it becomes a gaccha reroll machine that takes out the fun of picking up what you have around and using it. Granted, it’s hard to actually simulate a system that cannot be done today, but it’s just not the same. In the end, Monster Rancher 1 & 2 DX has done enough to justify the revisit of two of the most memorable monster games.

The amount of criticism dished out here may paint a negative picture, but White Shadows is by no means a terrible product and so evidently houses a clear visual style and competent-enough execution of puzzle-platforming. Yet for how little it attempts to break from tired conventions or do anything that doesn’t border on aggravating with its pacing, it’s what the game doesn’t do where most of one’s response will likely linger. Maybe the conclusion that it’s all too ordinary and forgettable is bizarrely what is most poignant. That little is offered in the other direction that’s in anyway damaging to the experience or worthy of ridicule, yet neither does anything warrant an expression any better than a figurative shrugging of the shoulders. In the end White Shadows, in all its many off-kilter interspersing of music pieces, plays things safe. A fine, if by-the-numbers entrant whose uninspired delivery we’ve all found ourselves tiredly accustomed to.

The longevity of Halo Infinite will rest with its multiplayer battles as this is the online shooter the world has been needing. Halo Infinite is the defining project from 343 Industries thus far.

There are valid criticisms to be leveled at Chorus, but most of them stem from improvements in game design across the industry as a whole. Were this released a decade or two ago, it would have received myriad accolades. Anyone starved for an arcade space shooter that doesn’t take place in the Star Wars universe should give Chorus a spin. The protagonist is an interesting mess of a person, the action is varied enough and well tuned., and you’ll feel powerful while still being challenged. Chorus isn’t a perfect game, but a wise person once said to never let perfect be the enemy of good. Chorus is great, especially for the lower launch price, and that’s enough.

Archvale focuses on intense fantasy-RPG shooting action and giving the player all the tools necessary to handle it their way, and the result is a game that’s next to impossible to put down until the last arch stone is collected and even then maybe not. There’s never a bad time to test out Hardcore mode’s bigger maps and denser bullet patterns, after all.

Solar Ash is another triumph from Heart Machine, a fast-paced burst of vibrant, surreal science fiction where players get to glide and jump around fascinating worlds with terrific bits of platforming and action spread out across a series of unique worlds with jaw-dropping visuals. Be it gliding across clouds, grinding on rails to jump between buildings, or sneaking up on and successfully slashing at the one wall-based creature that fires lasers at you, virtually everything here is an absolute joy to experience. This is easily one of the year’s most captivating games, and one to not miss out on.

As part of the collection for Danganronpa Decadence, Ultimate Summer Camp is a nice bonus in addition to three solid titles. On its own as a digital title it may not necessarily be worth picking up unless players don’t mind the long grind that awaits them along their journey. The biggest single addition this spin-off could have used would be adding some sort of multiplayer support so at least players wouldn’t feel burdened by going at it alone and could instead take it on with a few more friends. It’s still a fine enough experience, but it’s just a shame there’s not a lot here outside of the board and continual fights. The unique little story scenarios are kind of interesting at first, but it’s quickly apparent that they don’t have a ton of actual substance to them either. Danganronpa S: Ultimate Summer Camp has a lot of charm at first, but it falls flat when it comes to the actual lack of interesting gameplay it offers.

Danganronpa is bizarre in the best kind of way. It’s an engaging visual novel that never stops being excessive, but so many of the characters are charming it’s easy to want to learn about what happens and see if favorites will make it out alive or perish at the end. Visual novels as a genre crave more creativity like this and other detective-styled adventures, so it’s nice to see it now made available for more to try out on Nintendo Switch. Although it’s been some time since it released, Danganronpa is a delight and easy to see why it has such a strong following after all these years. Anyone who hasn’t tried it yet but even has the slightest amount of interest can’t go wrong with trying out Danganronpa Decadence.

It’s been a long time since players have gotten to revisit Sinnoh, and all things considered this may be the definitive way to enjoy it. While some changes may seem minor, they really do add to the overall enjoyment experience. Sinnoh was always fun but flawed, and while that’s still a teensy bit true here, it’s better than ever before. Although it’s easy to say it’s a shame that it’s missing the Platinum content, what’s here is still fantastic and will make it more fun to replay for years to come. Sinnoh fans will hopefully be excited to see their region well taken care of while they were gone, and new players can easily enjoy it without having to pick up old systems and cartridges that are now significantly more expensive. Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are the best remakes we’ve gotten since Heart Gold and Soul Silver and offer up a fantastic, faithful yet slightly re-imagined version of Sinnoh to enjoy before the next entry in the series makes its debut.

It’s been a long time since players have gotten to revisit Sinnoh, and all things considered this may be the definitive way to enjoy it. While some changes may seem minor, they really do add to the overall enjoyment experience. Sinnoh was always fun but flawed, and while that’s still a teensy bit true here, it’s better than ever before. Although it’s easy to say it’s a shame that it’s missing the Platinum content, what’s here is still fantastic and will make it more fun to replay for years to come. Sinnoh fans will hopefully be excited to see their region well taken care of while they were gone, and new players can easily enjoy it without having to pick up old systems and cartridges that are now significantly more expensive. Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are the best remakes we’ve gotten since Heart Gold and Soul Silver and offer up a fantastic, faithful yet slightly re-imagined version of Sinnoh to enjoy before the next entry in the series makes its debut.

Among Trees is a beautiful, peaceful, serene trip into a fantasy woodland, and if you can just enjoy being there without worrying about the game aspect too much, it’s a lovely escape from the stresses of civilization.

Short and sweet but in no way significantly dented by its own strict vision and run-time, Exo One‘s picturesque voyage through one far-flung planet to the next, though not without fault, is more engaging and novel than it is mildly indulgent.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – Anniversary Edition is one of those things that is simultaneously great and yet seems unnecessary. We can all agree Skyrim is a phenomenal game as it’s cited as a personal favorite of the past decade by a few members of our staff. The thing is with this update is nothing about it seems essential. Survival mode is a great challenge for people who enjoy that type of game. Fishing is boring, but ultimately inconsequential if ignored. The Creation Club content is a robust offering, but the questions is does the player feel Skyrim needs more houses, pets, equipment and quests? Anniversary Edition is currently the latest and greatest version of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and offers fun content for those still exploring Tamriel, but there isn’t enough to bring anyone back who feels like they’ve finished their time in Skyrim.

These games are all masterpieces and as such deserve a better collection than this. In spite of the flaws it can still be a fun nostalgia trip for old fans or a good way for newer fans to discover the games before Grand Theft Auto V, but between the dated mechanics and inconsistent visual performance, Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – Definitive Edition is far from perfect.

Final Fantasy V is one of the more overlooked titles in the franchise, but skipping this title would be a mistake. Its story may not reach some of the highs as other entries in the franchise, but it’s still compelling enough to keep players interested. While it might not have the best Final Fantasy story, however, it has one of the best job systems. There’s grinding involved to get some of the exceptional abilities, but the freedom to customize a party however the player wants offers many opportunities for creative party configurations and encourages multiple playthroughs. Final Fantasy V Pixel Remaster updates a great classic JRPG in a way that respects the original 16-bit title, bringing enough changes to make it feel updated but keeping it familiar enough to appeal to long-time fans.

The fact that Jurassic World Evolution 2 is a worthwhile game isn’t surprising. Frontier Developments has a fantastic track record with this kind of game, as proven in Planet Zoo or the first edition of this title. What works in this game’s favor is the expanded roster of dinosaurs, the new challenges and the fantastic animations and behaviors of the exhibits. Being a licensed game, the temptation towards being simple had to have been strong. Some would argue the first game swung to hard in the accessible direction. With this newest iteration, the game walks the line of easy to understand but deep enough to remain engaging. Despite frustrations, Frontier Developments, much like life, found a way.

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic remains one of the best games ever made and arguably the best Star Wars game. Aside from shorter loading times and higher resolution, nothing is drastically changed on Switch, which is perfectly fine as this is one of those games that doesn’t need much tinkering.

Battlefield 2042 should have been a triumphant return of the franchise and developer. In some respects, Battlefield 2042 delivers on its promises thanks to fantastic gameplay, a suite of new features and improvements, and a presentation that looks as good as it plays. Unfortunately, the game falls short just as much, if not more.

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.

Sledgehammer Games clearly had high ambitions when approaching their third solo Call of Duty project. Doubling down on World War II was a smart idea to help the studio carve out its own identity separate from Infinity Ward and Treyarch. While Call of Duty: Vanguard doesn’t break the mold, it does succeed on most fronts, delivering one of the better multiplayer experiences in years for the franchise and a simplified Zombies mode that lowers the barrier of entry for those intimidated by past iterations.

Despite its missed opportunities and ideas that don’t gel with the core gameplay, developer Fabraz’s foray into three-dimensional platforming remains a fun-if-flawed hearkening to the genre’s glory days. By far the studio’s best trait in Demon Turf is in its relentless distilling of what made those original 3D platformers not just a joy to play, but a joy to finally see beaten.

Shin Megami Tensei V is one of the best RPGs of 2021. It has an immensely-enjoyable combat system, some of the best and most varied battle music we’ve heard in a long time, and all the demonic creatures we’ve come to love from the series.

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.

Mario Party Superstars is a worthy compilation of all of the series’ greatest hits. It has a great selection of minigames with plenty of different ways to enjoy them. The core board game works well for the most part, albeit somewhat hampered by Nintendo’s online infrastructure and some imbalanced design decisions. Online itself is functional enough, but expect to experience lag and the occasional dropped player. Rounding out the whole experience are the various unlockables on offer; all of which enhance the player experience in some way and give fans reasons to keep playing beyond just enjoying the occasional round with their friends. Indeed, Superstars is every bit the game Mario Party fans were hoping it would be, even if it does suffer from minor issues.

Voice of Cards: The Isle Dragon Roars isn’t truly a card game, but a traditional RPG that uses cards for everything. The aesthetic choice doesn’t effect too much outside of the visuals but does give the title a unique identity. The gameplay of Voice of Cards is among the simplest and most straightforward to be seen in RPGs. It may be too simple, as battles end up feeling more like time -consuming chores due to the high encounter rate and lack of challenge or required strategy. But while the simple gameplay may not offer any challenge to RPG vets, the story and fantastic soundtrack help keep the game an enjoyable experience. The relatively short completion time is an asset in this case, making Voice of Cards a great choice when looking for a relaxing game to spend a weekend playing.