Mario vs. Donkey Kong keeps things very simple. It’s about jumping up, surviving obstacles, and rescuing cute toys. But most important of all, it’s fun.

The story of Granblue Fantasy: Relink certainly doesn’t rank among the RPG greats, but its combat is so phenomenal that I can’t stop playing it anyway.

Persona 3 Reload is one of the weakest video game remakes I’ve seen in the last few years.

Bandai Namco has never put together such a feature-rich version of Tekken before, and even as the latest chapter of the Mishima saga comes to a close, the legacy of the signature fighting game series will be celebrated for years to come...But what Tekken 8 proves more than anything is that the infamously complex franchise is still capable of evolving. The new game makes a serious investment in making its most intimidating features accessible to a wider audience, while also offering weird detours and an ambitious story mode that reveals the limitations of the Tekken brand.

I highly recommend playing Go Mecha Ball — just know that it’s more limited than it might seem on the surface. I’d probably feel better about the game if it were a short, linear experience with crafted levels instead of a roguelike, and in its current form, just a few small updates to add a bit of variety would be enough to pique my interest again. Even now, I’m certain that I’ll be dusting it back off in a few months when the experience isn’t so fresh in my mind. As a way to spend a few blissfully chaotic nights, it’s hard to do better than Go Mecha Ball, even if it falls a bit short of greatness.

It’s the longest game the series has ever seen, and the most “Yakuza” Yakuza game imaginable — in the best way possible.

he Apollo Justice trilogy does a phenomenal job of updating these three games for a modern audience, and making them more seamless and enjoyable to play than ever. Missteps with Dual Destinies aside, this is an essential collection for both fans and newcomers alike.

Another Code: Recollection is an acceptable game in its own right, if an unexciting one for the majority of its playtime. However, it serves as an excellent case study for the video game remake phenomenon at large and the purpose it serves, reminding the industry of the importance of memory.

Ultimately, The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered is functionally the same game with a few new features and some developer commentary. It feels like an attempt to capitalize on the success of the HBO series and to entice a new audience to jump into Part 2 before it's adapted into Season 2. But While the developer commentary is interesting and helps demystify the kind of work that goes into these extremely expensive video games, its new roguelike mode gets old fast. The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered feels like an inevitability in terms of what the greater market demands, but that doesn’t mean it’s worth your time.

In its combat and tricky platforming sections, The Lost Crown is mostly a blast. The problem is that it’s surrounded by dull exploration, frequently underwhelming bosses, and enough small frustrations to keep it from greatness. I’m baffled at how little it dives into its unique frozen-time premise, because the moments where it does are the best parts of the game. The Lost Crown’s high points are enough to recommend it to anyone looking for a good action platformer, but if you want a game that scratches the itch for satisfying exploration, you may walk away disappointed.

Moss: Book II is a perfect lesson in the power and limitations of VR. As a technology, VR is still clunky, but clearly its storytelling potential is only beginning to be realized. In terms of gameplay, Moss: Book II doesn’t always make the best of VR, but its unique perspective lets you form a genuine friendship with its loveable main character. In the end, my bond with Quill was far more satisfying than any flashy game mechanic.

I can take the journey to the lighthouse with Moira as many times as I want and, given enough time I will uncover every story within A Highland Song. But there is a cost. No magic would be left in those hills nor the memory of my first journey. There will be no more songs to hear. And that leaves me with a very empty feeling.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 doesn’t come close to the quality you’d expect from a franchise with this sort of reputation celebrating its 20th year. The campaign is too short (especially at $70), which undermines what could’ve been a great story, and lacks any standout moments or compelling reasons to revisit it. The new Zombies approach has potential but isn’t quite there yet. There’s still fun to be had, especially given how little we’ve seen elsewhere in the genre this year. A solid multiplayer foundation can’t support the weight of everything else that’s been piled on top in an attempt to legitimize what is, unfortunately, one of the worst entries we’ve seen.

Nintendo’s newly released remake is more of a 1:1 remaster than a true remake. There’s nothing inherently wrong with this new version of Super Mario RPG, but some of the game’s design flaws and problems are more apparent. While the brilliance of the original still shines through, I continuously found myself wishing more was changed and reimagined.

Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name goes back on much of this forward momentum and seeks to latch onto what fans loved about the previous era of the franchise. While it retains the wonderfully designed mini-games and impressively realized city streets of its fictionalized locales, the need to live in the past holds it back. Kazuma Kiryu’s presence is the most concerning, as the story fails to justify why it needs to keep bringing Kiryu out. Every time Kiryu gets out, will he get pulled back in? Maybe they’ll finally snuff him out for real in Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth.

The minigames get even better in Party Mode, which is essentially a Mario Party clone within WarioWare: Move It! Players appear on a game board on which they roll dice to move, stopping every so often to compete in minigames. While I knew one person attempting to wiggle their body was funny enough, seeing up to four people do the task in tandem is nothing short of laugh-out-loud hysterical. As far as party games on the Switch go, WarioWare: Move It! makes a great case for being high on that list.

This remake is clearly a labor of love made by developers who were influenced by the classic game. Gemdrops managed to enhance everything great about Star Ocean 2 while still retaining the aesthetic and feel that was so essential to the original experience. The main narrative still feels a bit slow and underdeveloped at times, but so much has been improved that it hardly matters. Star Ocean The Second Story R truly sets a high new benchmark for how to remake classic RPGs.

What I was asking for was a way to control the world, but Jusant just wanted me to enjoy moving through it. Jusant did give me most of what I wanted in the end, but the real turning was just learning to accept what the game is. It’s about moving through a society that’s had to change or disappear, enjoying the bits of the past left for you and lamenting what was lost. When I learned to appreciate the poignancy of cracked tiles on the bottom of a fountain with no water running its carved mouth, I started to love Jusant.

In what was either a glitch or a very strange design choice, Cities: Skylines II sometimes insisted new businesses and residences were open even though construction cranes still occupied their footprints. At one point, I had an entire neighborhood of cranes supposedly occupied by productive citizens. Some combination of reloading, graphical tweaks, and waiting solved the issue, but it was a jarring oddity. So were my attempts to build farms that vanished into thin air upon being placed, forcing me to reload and try again.

In many ways, Wonder’s success is built upon the numerous iterations of past 2D Mario titles. The core idea of tight platforming across stages has been nailed down for so long that each new entry is able to iterate in more granular ways, even if it doesn’t innovate on a larger scale. Wonder doesn’t reinvent the wheel that is the Mario game, but it gives it a heck of a tune-up...Super Mario Bros. Wonder is a dazzling return to the 2D platformer for Nintendo’s star plumber and his band of friends. My only hope in the aftermath of Wonder is that it doesn’t take another decade to see more 2D Mario games.

The first half of Spider-Man 2’s narrative can feel a bit slow, but the superb open world and emotional second half more than make up for it. This is a compact and tight experience that feels laser-focused on delivering an experience that always feels varied and exciting. It universally succeeds in that vision and takes the crown for the best superhero game ever made.

Forza Motorsport is one of the best accessible surprises in 2023. Turn 10 Studios’ dedication to disabled players is tangible as soon as one starts the game. It’s beyond refreshing to finally have a racing title that physically disabled individuals can confidently purchase knowing they will be able to successfully complete every race. And as the industry continues to acquire new accessibility knowledge and improve upon itself, Forza Motorsport should be viewed as the beginning of a new accessibility era.

Detective Pikachu Returns ends up feeling much like its predecessor, a fun story and charming world that could have benefitted from more gameplay variety. The antics of its titular character are the beating heart of the experience. And while it would have been nice to see more ambition on the gameplay front, there’s an infectious charm about Detective Pikachu Returns that’s undeniable.

The smoothed-down experience of Assassin’s Creed Mirage is not even a video game as a toy, it is a video game as a fidget spinner. A mindless activity that washes over the player. Assassin’s Creed Mirage wants to return to its roots without understanding that giving developers creative freedom to do something new is what made the franchise great in the first place. They deserve the same chance to make something new that the developers of the first game had. The only way to make the next Assassin’s Creed is to not make Assassin’s Creed at all.

Mortal Kombat 1 is a love letter to everyone that’s grown up with the series, while still inviting newcomers to join the fight. Its a ‘best of MK’ compilation — that brings a few of the series’ missteps along for the ride. But it wouldn’t be Mortal Kombat without a bit of jank, right?

Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty is one of the best uses of the spy thriller I’ve ever seen in video games, and the difference between this expansion and the base game circa 2020 is staggering. I certainly didn’t expect to be saying Cyberpunk 2077 is now one of the must-play experiences of 2023, a year already packed with dozens of incredible games.

Maybe I’m missing the whole point here, but I just can’t see Samba de Amigo: Party Central fitting into my Switch rotation. If I want to master a rhythm game, Theatrhythm or Taiko no Tatsujin are far more satisfying. If I want a party game, there’s already Mario Kart and Super Smash Bros. If I just want to jump around while waving Joy-Cons, I’d rather pick up Ring Fit Adventure. Samba de Amigo: Party Central might suffice to keep a children’s birthday party entertained, but even then I don’t think it would be my first pick.

Bethesda’s latest is bursting with “just one last thing” attention-grabbers that will keep you up well past your bedtime, night after night. Its imperfections are vexing, but its allure is undeniable.