With a wide assortment of characters to consider and a brilliantly-integrated soundtrack to match, though some tasks can feel like unwanted busywork, for those patient and willing enough to invest the time and effort, Vampyr is undoubtedly another rewarding and impressive feat of gameplay and narrative fusion that Dontnod have treated us to.

With its charming and unique pinball mechanics that get subtly, cleverly more complex and elaborate the further you progress — as well as a charming art-style present in its environments and characters alike — what it lacks in some grandiose narrative or punctuating tone, Villa Gorilla more than make up for with a gameplay loop that excels on its originality — garnering a wide smile to one’s face in the process.

A must-buy fighting game compilation. For anyone who has enjoyed the franchise before, it puts a large percentage of the franchise’s highest-quality games in one collection and it’s a great way to catch up and see what all the fuss was about for newcomers. As great as it is, the collection could have easily been better simply by including more versions of franchise-favorites like Alpha 2 to provide a more all-encompassing experience.

Dillon’s Dead-Heat Breakers is easily the finest the series has yet to offer players. It does away with the clumsy touch controls while offering more variety in gameplay and streamlined battles that perfectly fits the new approach.

PixelJunk Monsters 2 is straightforward enough to be enjoyed by casual gamers, but trying to perfect it on the highest difficulty will provide a worthwhile challenge to the hardcore gamers.

Not just a cult-classic, but a classic full-stop.

This may not be a necessary purchase for somebody who still has their Sega Genesis collection from the last console generation, but this is a great assortment of Sega Genesis games and at least one of these collections should be in a every retro game fan’s library.

Dark Souls Remastered is a good reminder how far we’ve come in the last seven years. This is almost all nostalgia, with the potential to grab newer players and show them where the series more or less started. It’s beginning to feel a little dated, with adjustments to combat and movement from newer games not being implemented, but there’s still the sense of overwhelming gratification when playing, not to mention intense strategy.

Though it comes off as heavy-handed at times, Detroit tells an endearing story that verges on the profound, diving deep into the nature of humanity itself. It proves that interactivity and focused storytelling aren’t mutually exclusive and that the two can enhance each other given a proper degree of talent behind the scenes.

Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition is just that, the very best edition of the title that has been released. It offers the most content, and a wonderful quality of life changes that make it easily accessible for new or returning players.

Runner3 isn’t reinventing itself on its third outing, but its frantic, split-second gameplay remains just as addictive to [eventually] get right, as it’s always been. While its transition to 3D-styled environments do little to exude the silliness it initially boasts, the smaller additions to its core gameplay as well as a few neat twists to the in-level perspective, prevent one’s play-time from feeling stagnant along the way.

When all is said and done, Omensight ends up being a dazzling piece of work, a terrific action RPG game with fast and fun combat that works perfectly alongside a well-crafted and impressive mystery that’s guaranteed to keep you addicted until you’ve figured everything out. From the eye-popping art to the enjoyable characters with a surprising amount of depth, there’s more than a lot here to love, so it becomes easy to recommend. After all, we’ve seen the path where a title such as this doesn’t exist, and it’s a sad one indeed, so don’t miss out on it.

The combat is mediocre and in some ways this still feels like it needs more time in the oven, but those who forgive these shortcomings can have a lot of fun in Conan Exiles.

Momoiro Closet is a strange game to recommend because the all-ages version lacks so much content due to sexuality clearly being the focus. Even with scenes cut, the game still focuses heavily on a story of dating a nymphomaniac which is hardly family-friendly material. As such, anyone who is of age and interested should opt to download the patch. Those looking for a wholesome high school romance must instead look elsewhere because this visual novel isn’t a good fit.

With some modifications and continuous work, State of Decay 2 could be a great and meaningful experience, but in its current state, it’s far from the best zombie game out there.

MachiaVillain is a provides a terribly fun concept for a management simulation game. It’s a bit rough around the edges, but momentary bits of frustration aren’t enough to turn players off from the enjoyable core mechanics. This is the sort of game that can easily be played for hours on end and feel like only minutes have passed.

The core platforming and action-oriented combat work well, as does the seasonal shifting mechanic. There’s a natural flow to the levels and exploration is rewarded — resulting in stages that are usually fun to play through again. The RPG mechanics are a bit too girnd-heavy for a platformer, but allow you to extend your skills beyond most games in the genre while the rich graphics and robust sound deliver a satisfying experience for the eyes and ears.

While not without some criticism, Little Witch Academia: Chamber of Time is an enjoyable experience. The time spent running to random points of the academy in order to advance the story could have benefited by being more streamlined to feel less monotonous and the map system could use some tweaking, but the game is entertaining past those shortcomings.

Combining the same kind of fast-paced fun that worked so well years ago with a picture-perfect progression model, Horizon Chase Turbo is exactly the kind of arcade-inspired racing game the industry has needed.

It’s not all bad for Hide and Seek, though, as it truly puts on an exciting, engrossing experience that The Mad Ones did before it. But for The Council to put itself back on course, it needs — and must — hammer out the technical issues holding back this unique episodic gaming title from flourishing.

With the heavy emphasis on story and a campaign where fifty hours is considered a fast completion, this is not a casual game, but it’s well worth a look for anyone who enjoys story-rich JRPGs they can sink close to a hundred hours into it.

Null Vector successfully takes two distinct genres and blends them together in such a way that they feel like perfect compliments to one another. More musical tracks would be nice, but its overall presentation does a great job of calling back to the vector graphics of old without succumbing to their visual drawbacks. Its core loop of shooting, looting, upgrading and strategizing is genuinely fun, and its short run time makes it easy to keep coming back for more.

While it may not be adding tricks at every turn to the platformer genre or making a name for itself with its minimal puzzles, Forgotton Anne will surely win many over with its gorgeous, animated visuals and more importantly, its sense of wonder.

And for a game that will take thirty to forty hours for non-completionists with three scheduled DLC expansions, keeping the game interesting is extremely important, which thankfully Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire has no problem doing.

As good as Dragon’s Crown Pro may be, there are no significant additions and with only the soundtrack and visuals receiving polish there’s no point to upgrade to this version if you still have an original copy of Dragon’s Crown. But if you missed out on Dragon’s Crown five years ago, Pro is a perfect excuse to experience it.

Trailblazers is a fantastic game that blends racing and a team-based dynamic to craft a memorable experience. It plays like a dream and offers up a surprisingly high amount of strategy to excel. By offering up enough twists on a traditional racing game, it finds ways to create excitement that haven’t been done before in the genre and is a must for anyone looking for an arcade-style futuristic racing experience. If you like F-Zero and/or Splatoon, you will find a lot to like here.

Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze for Switch remains a stellar platformer, both in its presentation and more importantly, its finely-tuned challenge. Grueling in its difficulty, yet cunning in its delivery more so, the necessity on getting every split-second move or decision right may put off some, but those keen to stick with it — even replay a level a few more times thereafter — will quickly discover Tropical Freeze’s loop isn’t so easy to put down.

Frostpunk is a unique strategy game that offers both an engaging and addicting element. Hours will go by as you are consumed into the doom-and-gloom of your city while trying to make sure people don’t die. The game is fairly linear in its premise, but offers unique situations that haven’t been seen in other city-building titles.