Knoutout Home Fitness is one of the more enjoyable exercise games in existence. It doesn’t require much in terms of set up or prior training, just enter some user information and start punching those calories away. Realistically Knockout Home Fitness isn’t going to get any of its players ripped, but it’s a fun way to get in a cardio workout. It’s low impact enough where it can be used daily to get some exercise in, or for people who view cardio as a necessary evil it can be something used three times a week to meet that requirement.

Hot Wheels Unleashed is a fantastic arcade racer at its core, but the overall product is hurt by the gacha mechanics. Thankfully, the quality of the core game is good enough to largely overcome that handicap, but it would be a far better experience with rebalancing in that regard down the line. The racing action is fast-paced and thrilling, with strong sound design that helps make up for a lackluster soundtrack. Hot Wheels Unleashed is a fantastic pickup for anyone who grew up wanting a fleet of Hot Wheels cars — and that aspect will get better as time goes on with content packs.

The team left no stone unturned for FIFA 22 and went all out in making a supremely-improved football game. The gameplay is the best the series has ever offered and makes the game fun no matter what mode you choose. The managerial career is the stand-out mode here with the ability to create a club and manage every aspect of the team. The player career offers a ton of meaningful upgrades that actually make you feel like you’re accomplishing something. VOLTA has been simplified but made more fun. But it all starts with the gameplay thanks to HyperMotion and the machine learning technology that brings excellent realism to FIFA 22. Even if you’re not a soccer/football fan, the controls of this game make it worth a try to at least play with friends. FIFA 22 may just be the best sports game of this generation so far.

Cave built up a strong fan-base over its years of development and Espgaluda II is a perfect example as to why. It’s instantly accessible but surprisingly deep, with plenty of room to experiment with the gameplay mechanics to maximize score. The game options are excellent as well, and it’s especially nice to stick the Switch screen into the Flip Grip and play in sideways Tate mode. It also helps that this is basically the Xbox 360 edition of the game, as evidenced by the constant references to the 360 in the credits, and that was the definitive version with three of the four modes created specifically for the home port. While Cave isn’t producing much in the way of new shooters anymore, it left behind an incredible legacy, and Espgaluda II was the developer at the top of its game.

Active Life Outdoor Challenge is mildly entertaining from a game standpoint and features beginner level physical activity from an exercise one. It’s not a bad form of exertainment, just not a remarkably good one. In small doses it can be fun and could lead to enjoying more strenuous exercises, but ultimately it’s updating the Wii gimmick of using the floormat with a Switch gimmick of using a leg strap. There are better games out there that incorporate physical fitness into gaming. The main selling point is probably for people who have strong nostalgia for the Wii original, but that’s likely a niche market.

Cruis’n Blast is the most thrilling racing experience on Switch and the best arcade racer in years. It plays like a dream and offers up more control options than most arcade racers on the console. Its diverse lineup of vehicles, tracks and various track-related setpieces are tremendous and keep the player engaged from beginning to end. Other than the lack of online multiplayer, it’s hard to find something missing from the overall presentation given what the game is trying to be. The sound design is fantastic as well — with a fun soundtrack that’s breezy and easy on the ears.

There are moments when Tsugunohi succeeds as a horror game. The visuals and concepts for some of the chapters are incredibly disturbing. The understated, quiet moments of the game are the most effective. However, there was a push to make them more outwardly scary with continuous ghost sightings, monster jump scare tactics and these things ruin the mood. Atmosphere is everything in horror and it’s incredibly easy to lose its effectiveness. Tsugunohi is worth it for the curious horror fans out there, but others aren’t missing anything by passing on the experience.

The shining spot for this year’s game is the defensive gameplay and the ability to truly challenge shots and defenders, especially in the paint. It’s extremely satisfying. While a bit of the game remains, NBA 2K22 still offers the closest television experience in a sports video game to date. However, that shot meter is still frustrating as the game remains geared toward its hardcore community who prefer grinding.

Those worried about where the tradition of Yakuza would stand following last year’s change in direction for the series should rest easy in just how well executed Lost Judgment truly is, from terrifically-written story to masterful gameplay.

While there’s intrigue to discover amongst the structure and layout of locales in Aragami 2, the sequel’s turn away from the distilled charm of its one-man stealth prior leaves more perplexed questions than convincing answers.

BloodRayne Betrayal: Fresh Bites features great-looking animation and creative level designs, but is hindered less-than-stellar game mechanics. No matter how good the style might be, style over substance is generally not desirable. That’s not to say there isn’t fun to be had here as BloodRayne fanatics are bound to enjoy the remastered retelling of her most recent adventure. Fans of the genre are also likely to enjoy this though some of the control issues may hamper the fun. For players looking for a good challenge that offers platforming and beat ’em up combat, Fresh Bites can be a good title to sink your teeth into if you can forgive the technical shortcomings.

WarioWare: Get It Together! is exactly what fans of the series will be expecting. It’s a brand new mix on the familiar formula that allows players to try out brand new microgames in fully new ways in addition to teaming up with a friend if they so desire to challenge and compete with one another. WarioWare at its core is very much a title for people who love competition and getting the top score, and doesn’t have as much to do for those who don’t have a friend to play with or want to get a bigger number over the others, but it’s still fun to pick up and enjoy all it has to offer along the way. It would be nice if we’d seen a few old modes return from previous titles, but a great amount has been added that makes it feel like an entirely new experience mixed in with old concepts. There’s nothing quite like WarioWare, and it’s great to have Get It Together! on Switch as the latest entry in the crazy series that keeps on delivering.

Deathloop is another incredible title from Arkane, once again putting their skills in developing both quality stealth and first-person action to good use and blending it with time loops in order to create one of the year’s most memorable games. This is thanks in part to a clever twist that encourages exploration to its fullest in order to find Blackreef’s best mysteries and the most creative solutions to its puzzles.

The Artful Escape may not have particularly deep or challenging gameplay, but the main reason to attend this show is its incredible writing and Francis’ trippy, out-of-this-world journey in discovering his new persona, one which features a lot of nifty twists in various ways, alongside truly striking sci-fi visuals and an expertly-crafted soundtrack. The Artful Escape is an astonishing rock and roll epic that the likes of Ziggy Stardust would be proud of.

Final Fantasy IV is one of the best 16-bit RPGs with a strong story that holds up after all these years. Even though the turn-based combat and exploration with random encounters may seem simple compared to modern games, it’s still an enjoyable fourteen hour playthrough. This may not have been the remake everyone was hoping for, but Final Fantasy IV Pixel Remaster is a great version of a great game.

Life is Strange: True Colors may sadly dim towards the end, but it’s worth checking out alone just to experience Haven Springs, with its gorgeous scenery, terrific cast of characters both major and minor, and an intriguing mystery that requires quite a bit of fun gameplay.

Tales of Arise is the best Tales game in over a decade. It’s the advancement the series has needed for quite some time now, such as the far more explorative dungeon designs (as small as they are) and the switch to the Unreal Engine. On top of that, the majority of the cast of characters are compelling enough to keep your attention locked on the story, and the combat reinvigorates the tried and true formula into something special.

The game does occasionally muster some remnant of satisfaction with the way its world and aesthetic is structured. But a case of artistic vision overwhelming implementation leaves Recompile with a muddled, at times horribly-frustrating sense of progression.

F.I.S.T. Forged in Shadow Torch is a must-buy for Metroidvania fans looking for something that tries new things. It takes the well-worn staples of the sub-genre and blends them with a steampunk feel and a richer storyline than most.

There are too many aspects of Tormented Souls to appreciate for any fan of original survival horror titles to pass up.

Big Rumble Boxing: Creed Champions is a fantastic arcade-style boxing game that showcases a lot of fast action while still paying tribute to the long-running Rocky franchise. It’s lacking in terms of mode variety and it would be nice to have a more in-depth story mode that either recreated key parts of the lore or that allowed for alternate history versions of scenarios to play out. As it stands, the arcade ladder system offers up a tiny bit of story, but not enough to get invested into. Thankfully, the core gameplay is so fun that it keeps you hooked and having an unlocking system in place that rewards just playing the game instead of a pay-to-unlock setup is nice to see. It looks impressive as well, with crisp graphics and steady framerates allowing for the fast action to shine.

Sonic Colors’ vibrant colors, inventive level design and fast gameplay made it a hit back in 2010. Sonic Colors: Ultimate recaptures the magic, making refinements and upgrades to the gameplay and visuals to bring them more in line with today’s standards.

Maneater: Truth Quest is an enjoyable but unessential expansion for Maneater. Westhaven is an entertaining narrator but his over the top conspiracy theories just aren’t as entertaining as his documentary narration in the base game. The new missions end up falling into the same type of repetition the other missions. The new atomic shark powers are actually one of the better parts of the expansion and having a green nuclear energy ball fly from a tail whip attack was a great addition. While taking on the new sea life monstrosities provided an enjoyable challenge, Truth Quest is a necessary reason to return to the water for only the most devoted Maneater fans.

Even in its most tepid of opportune changes, WRC 10 still finds ways to vex and test in ways that are both punishing but enjoyable to see through. Perhaps the biggest complaint you can utter about this year’s release is its surprising lack of indulging in the time periods it’s aiming to evoke, through its call-backs and roster inclusions alike.

The Big Con succeeds when, as its title suggests, you’re working on elaborate con jobs that provide clever puzzle ideas with a lot of open and fun gameplay. While the rest of it is fine, it never feels like the sort of epic cross-country adventure it should be, despite what its stakes would suggest. It still makes for a good adventure with well-done challenges, and that alone may be worth it, but don’t expect a grand score by the end.

There have been a slew of movie franchises that have gone with cooperative multiplayer experience in recent years. Aliens: Fireteam Elite goes deeper and offers a lot for those that like grinding. The game just lacks a hook to keep players engaged as missions are long and redundant. The weapon unlocks and adding perks helps to keep things going, but the means of the game is separately leveling up each of the five classes across twelve long missions. Hardcore Aliens fans that liked the action-focused movies that differ from the original may find this right up their alley. The audio aspect could be amazing if there was a way to mute the comms narrative that ruins the atmosphere of the game. Ultimately, Aliens: Fireteam Elite is a functional cooperative third-person shooter that’s an improvement to Colonial Marines, but doesn’t supersede Isolation.

RiMS Racing is the most immersive motorcycle gaming experience to date, with the DualSense pushing this even further. With a solid and lengthy Career Mode, you’ll have plenty of chances to maximize your bike’s performance and play around with different setups. While there are only eight bikes, with the amount of depth for upgrading and testing, it’ll make you forget about variety. The bike audio is ridiculously immersive and every race feels different just based on wear and tear from the bike and new part installation. The game can also be a tool on what would be needed to replace parts on these actual bikes. What’s lacking is multiplayer due to a lack of a community and anything outside of the Career Mode. This is a pure single player experience, which is perfectly fine, and any gamer who loves motorcycles will enjoy RiMS Racing. It also only retails for $39.99 and is worth the price of admission just to experience how well DualSense is implemented into the game.

An excellent collection for tactical RPG fans. The genre can often be pigeon-holed into being full of FFT clones, but both included games here manage to nicely stand out both from that series and NIS America’s own Disgaea. With a variety of tones offered up in each game, they each help scratch the itch for SRPG fans while also working for those wanting a more serious experience in Soul Nomad or who want to kick back with a light-hearted tale with Phantom Brave. Both games are fun to play, but it’s a shame more wasn’t done to help the visuals out as both do suffer from blurry character sprites that clash against the backgrounds that actually did get more work done for modern-day displays.