I don’t want to focus too much on the negative. Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves is already a deep and satisfying fighting game with a ton going for it. I never thought I’d see another Fatal Fury game, and while it hasn’t yet surpassed Mark of the Wolves in my heart, I definitely want to keep coming back for more. I just hope those server issues don’t continue to be an issue.

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle was a phenomenal video game when it was initially released on Xbox, and it’s only gotten better with this PS5 release. The same excellent foundations of stealth, exploration, and puzzle-solving remain as strong as they were the first time around, with the PS5 and PS5 Pro enhancing the experience further through the neat implementation of DualSense functionality and some additional visual enhancements that leave Indiana Jones and the Great Circle looking better than ever. Combat may still be a drag, but it’s not the main focus in any sense and is a minor blemish on an otherwise incredible experience. If this is what we can expect from Microsoft’s turn towards becoming a multiplatform behemoth, then the future looks very bright for Xbox games appearing on other platforms.

Despite only offering minor updates, I still wouldn’t hesitate to recommend the LUNAR Remastered Collection to any fan of RPGs who hasn’t played these great games. I still absolutely love both of these games. Even after all these years, they are well-paced adventures filled with a lot of heart and excellent characters who are highly memorable. It would have been great to see LUNAR once more get the red-carpet treatment, but just having these games easily accessible to modern audiences is a major win.

Newcomers will find a delightfully refreshing spin on puzzling and philosophy, while veterans will get to have their need for challenge satisfied with the tastefully sized expansion called In the Beginning. It’s unfortunate that the level editor isn’t in this version and that there are a few framerate kinks to work out, but neither of these issues hamper the experience much. Between much-needed QOL and delightful developer commentary, there’s hardly been a better time to dip your toes in The Talos Principle.

The First Berserker: Khazan is a brutal, beautiful delight. Its elegant parry system, demonic boss battles, and flexible yet approachable take on character development have come together to create a package that may pull directly from many sources in the genre but ultimately delivers a standout experience that easily stands amongst the stiffest competition the genre has to offer. Its early hours may suffer from linearity, and its parry-heavy combat system may not sit well with everyone, but if you’re up for the challenge and willing to adapt to how The First Berserker: Khazan requires you to play, then you’re in for an absolute treat.

Atomfall’s commitment to player freedom is baked into its design, and it works really well. I’d love to see the team at Rebellion, or other developers, for that matter, iterate on its structure and build more games designed around this level of freedom. Even most open-world games aren’t even close. Atomfall itself, though, is a tougher recommendation. It isn’t that it does anything terribly wrong, it’s just that little about it other than the structure stands out. Once you get used to the flow of things, there’s not much else I can point at and say this is why you should play Atomfall instead of any number of other survival games. Still, it’s always nice to see a developer try something outside of what has become the accepted right way to do things, and for the most part, Atomfall succeeds on that front.

The wait was well worth it for Assassin’s Creed Shadows. The fans have been asking for an AC game set in Japan, and Ubisoft has finally delivered, with a dual-protagonist experience that offers crisp combat mechanics, a bombastic musical score, and a beautiful visual presentation. Assassin’s Creed is so back.

Split Fiction is one of the most audacious games I’ve ever played, constantly reinventing itself in ways that somehow work when they simply shouldn’t. There were numerous moments that stunned me into wondering how this game just kept getting away with design decisions that seemed like a disaster waiting to happen but instead led to some of the most memorable stages I’ve ever played. Finding someone to play with may be a challenge for some, but if you can remotely do so, you won’t regret it.

Rogue Waters is a fantastic entry within the rogue-lite and tactical-turn-based strategy genres. Rewarding meta-progression is supported by zany combat that promotes experimentation due to the generous undo feature, allowing for low-stakes trial and error that perfectly suits the slapstick nature of the pirate action. While the naval combat doesn’t feel like it’s fleshed out to its fullest potential, it’s easy to overlook with it being a small part of a much bigger whole that’s generally hard to fault, and if you’re a fan of either genre that Rogue Waters taps into, or, most importantly, a fan of pirates, then Rogue Waters is all but certain to get its hooks into you.

I mentioned at the start of this review that the improvements found in PGA Tour 2K25 are mostly found in the margins. They’re more evolutionary than revolutionary. There are enough of those changes, though, that this release represents a giant step forward for this series and modern golf video games. It may be my favorite golf game ever made and is a must-play for anyone who enjoys the genre.

I mentioned at the start of this review that the improvements found in PGA Tour 2K25 are mostly found in the margins. They’re more evolutionary than revolutionary. There are enough of those changes, though, that this release represents a giant step forward for this series and modern golf video games. It may be my favorite golf game ever made and is a must-play for anyone who enjoys the genre.

Even with the many issues I encountered in the Switch version of the game, I still found it very compelling, and there’s plenty of reason to replay it to see different outcomes. Here’s hoping the next adventure from Party From Introverts has the same strong writing but much stronger quality control.

Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii is a swashbuckling adventure that longtime fans and newcomers alike can treasure. The spotlight on fan-favorite Goro Majima is sure to be a treat, even though the game can feel padded out at times. I’m a sucker for the Yakuza series, and even after numerous spin-offs, RGG Studio still has plenty of surprises up their sleeve.

Trails Through Daybreak II is a fantastic slice of JRPG action that sings when focusing on its combat, progression, and exploration that rewards due to the richness Calvard presents in its world-building.

Synduality: Echo of Ada had the potential to carve out its own niche by being an accessible extraction shooter available on console. It’s not completely without merit, with its snappy gunplay making for an exciting PvPvE experience and the novel Magus system initially showing a lot of promise. However, a laborious early game grind, and monetization so egregious that I don’t see anyone but the most hardcore of audiences sticking around severely sour the experience. Whether Game Studio can course correct remains to be seen, but early signs point towards yet another live service title that runs the risk of having its lifespan cut short due to excessive grind and greed.

Laika: Aged Through Blood can feel like a lot at times. There’s no one mechanic that on its own is an issue, but there’s so much to manage that this is a game with a very high learning curve. Still, this is a singular game that feels so unique that it’s hard to imagine players who it clicks for won’t fall in love with it.

The Roottrees Are Dead is a fascinating tale of a famous family with secrets in their closet. Exposing those secrets is some of the most fun I’ve had with a game in a long time, and anyone who has enjoyed similar investigative titles like Her Story, Return of the Obra Dinn, or The Case of the Golden Idol needs to look into the history of the Roottrees.

Despite my uncertainty, once I refreshed my memory of the first game, I concluded that Ender Magnolia, for any faults, is still just as good. It’s beautiful, challenging and truly expansive, featuring a huge world map to explore, as well as multiple endings. While I lament that the music wasn’t as evocative and the map was occasionally perplexing, this is still a most worthy adventure, if not one that fared better than the original.

I don’t want to leave you with the impression that Moons of Darsalon is a horrible game. It’s not, but I really wish the indie developer had put in more time streamlining the game mechanics instead of programming snarky one-liners for my crew. If you can absorb the complex controls and manage your finicky teammates, you’ll find an enjoyable puzzle-platformer here. But for those looking for a fast and smooth experience, you might want to look elsewhere.

Warhorse Studios have created a triumphant sequel that improves and expands on the classic original in every way. Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 is a game of staggering scope, depth and complexity, allowing you to be a smooth-talking diplomat, a cunning craftsman, a sneaky cutthroat, a chivalrous knight in shining armour, or any combination of the above. Whatever aspects of gaming you enjoy, there’s something for you here, and I can confidently say that Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 is a medieval masterpiece.

I normally don’t play all that many puzzle platformers, so it takes something really impressive to grab my attention. Telebbit is just that sort of game. It’s creative, colorful, and challenging and offers a unique vision. It also features an utterly twisted story I won’t ruin; suffice it to say it’s unclear who the good guy truly is by the end of the game. While the platforming requires utter precision and quick reflexes, I still maintain this is a game everybody should play.

If you are someone, like me, who adored Sniper Elite 5 and are simply after more of the engrossing, visceral, and malleable stealth and sniping action provided by it, then you can’t go wrong with Sniper Elite: Resistance. It delivers a robust, ultra-replayable campaign that still has me hooked and a bevy of multiplayer modes if you want to dabble further after you’ve shattered all the skulls the campaign has to offer.

Much as I was hoping Ninja 1987 would be some glittering holiday bauble, it turned out to be a very generic platformer. While it absolutely boasted great aesthetics and seemed inspired by classic NES games, the adventure itself is short and imprecise. Still, if you’re looking for something fun and easy this holiday season, it won’t set you back very much.

While FANTASIAN Neo Dimension may not end as well as it begins, this is still an excellent RPG featuring wonderful characters, an interesting story, and perhaps my favorite battle system of any RPG I played in 2024. This is the ultimate way to play it as well, with an easier difficulty and new soundtrack options inspired by this version of the game being published by Square Enix. Fans of the genre won’t want to miss this one.

Loco Motive is a fun enough point-and-click adventure with a strong cast that gets off to a great start. As it goes on, however, it loses a lot of momentum thanks to focusing on less interesting or well-developed characters. Thankfully, it comes together in a strong conclusion that ties its various elements into a satisfying ending. Those who long for the point-and-click adventures of the early 90s will find a lot to like, even if it feels like it doesn’t fully meet its potential.

I really wanted to enjoy The Legend of Cyber Cowboy, but after spending some time with it, I just feel it’s a super generic take on amazing games like The Binding of Isaac. It failed pretty spectacularly, not only in the balance arena but in being fun or engaging. Unless you’re a truly diehard fan of the twin-stick shooter genre, you won’t find anything to enjoy here.

Effortlessly dodging mood whiplash despite the wide gap between its horrorcore and fluffy, cozy dating sim front helps set MiSide apart as a strong title in the indie horror scene.

Ys Memoire: The Oath in Felghana may not have been an essential re-release, but it’s nice to see a beloved game available to new fans, and it is absolutely the best version of the game available.