Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has something common to all great games: the ability to make us forget the world around us, even if it's for just a few minutes, to fully absorb its ideas, and deliver a cathartic conclusion.

With a few hiccups, Donkey Kong Bananza succeeds in bringing back the character to the spotlight. The game’s ambition charges its price with technical difficulties, but still checks all the boxes and shows that there’s still space to subvert the most essential genre in gaming – and it makes all sense that this new approach comes from Nintendo.

There is not a world in which Silksong would reach its expectations. After 7 years of waiting, the game is still an amazing adventure, but it's hard to not think that some moments are overthought. Team Cherry have a hard time figuring out what's frustrating and what's challengingly engaging.

Pokémon Pokopia succeeds by shifting the focus from battles to belonging. Instead of chasing badges, the player helps rebuild and coexist within a living ecosystem, creating a more intimate and emotional connection to the Pokémon world. It’s a reinvention that honors the franchise’s roots while proving it can still evolve in meaningful ways.

Undeniably better than its predecessor, Death Stranding 2 polishes core mechanics and solves the combat issues of the first game. Still, it still tries to be way more accessible: it’s easier to traverse, and easier to understand what is happening with the story, diminishing the impact of finally reaching your destination and making the next plot-twist way too easy to predict.

Resident Evil Requiem is, in many ways, the definitive Resident Evil game. Building upon what the franchise achieved in the past 10 years, Capcom strikes an excellent balance of action and horror. Though it leans a little too heavily on fanservice here and there, Requiem more than accomplishes its mission as a celebration of all things Resident Evil.

In an industry where remasters are just a way of using nostalgia to make more money, The Ivalice Chronicles goes beyond the standard “make it HD” pattern and bring great improvements to the original game.

Saros finds a perfect balance amidst its chaos. The same game that makes your heart race will also take advantage of the slow-paced segments to tell a surprisingly deep and sensible story.

2025 was already an incredible year for video game fans, and Dispatch manages to close out this great year for games with an extremely sensitive, well-constructed story, showcasing the power of narrative-focused adventures and how they can be as potent an art form as a AAA title or, in the case of Dispatch, a series or film production.

Without leaning towards one genre or the other, Absolum shines with its perfect balance between fast combat coming from Beat Em’ Up games, and the complexity and difficulty from the roguelite genre. With an amazing artwork and a solid story, the game it’s a culmination of years of work from Dotemu, and it pays off with their first original IP.

Despite being a great game, Mario Kart World is not a mandatory title for the Nintendo Switch 2. It may reach that level, given the structure for new content, tracks and characters, but right now, it’s not there yet.

If Sucker Punch's mission was to build a portal to 1603 and paint it with the tones of great Japanese artists — from the feudal era to the last century in pop culture —, Ghost of Yotei definitely delivers. Is it enough to make it a great game? That will depend on the players.

The new Silent Hill is extremely smart while using horror, blood and guts to tell a story about some of the most trivial problems we all go through during our teenage years. There are a few sequences that can feel a bit too action-based, but it's still a great Survival Horror in its essence.

There's a few missed strokes to be found in Art of Vengeance if you're looking really close, but Lizardcube still paints an amazing canvas. Using a smart segmentation and exploring its features to shed light above the beautiful graphics, the game sits beside Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound as another great ninja-themed side-scroller released in 2025.

With gorgeous graphics, solid performance, and an enjoyable story to follow, Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection is a treat for fans of the franchise. Many mysteries enrich the series' lore, and fun never stops being the priority during gameplay. Despite having many repetitive moments, the new Monster Hunter is a feast for the eyes, once again showing a lot of love for its world.

It's only natural that an idea so unique comes out imperfect. Still, the industry could use a few more rupturing concepts like this one.

Master Lemon takes a leap of faith when telling the end of its story right at the start. The risk pays off once the player realizes that the game is actually a lesson on the time we have left, and what to do with it.

Doom: The Dark Ages proves that there’s still space to reinvent the franchise, even after ten years since its reboot. Don’t be fooled by the allegedly slower gameplay: this symphony of destruction still plays in the same rhythm as Eternal and Doom (2016), but with lower notes.

Of course, Yuzu Koshiro's soundtrack is stellar and perfectly designed for this challenging, nostalgic game. Still, Earthion could use a few modern features: measuring your progress with passwords that you have to write down is definitely a downside. Because of that, the game still delivers a genuine arcade experience — if you're looking to relive that period, you should try this one.

In the end, despite some technical performance issues, Nioh 3 manages to deliver a punishing adventure, while remaining extremely rewarding when you finally manage to defeat the game's bosses, or simply get through a difficult region of the map, or find a cool item after spending hours trying to find it. Even though at times it may seem that managing your build is more important than learning the bosses' attack patterns, the adventure and challenge more than compensate for what some might consider negative points.

Games are not always about beating bosses and levels. Skating is not always about landing your tricks. Skate Story teaches you that and much more.

The Alters requires time, flexibility and some moments of contemplation to really appreciate all it has to offer. The beauty is in the details, such as the nuances in dialogues, the subtle differences between each personality of the same person, and also the way that the narrative grips you and takes you with it to a place where time is as precious as scarce.

Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound is as crisp as it gets. The game combines precision and timing to build the perfect balance: the challenges are hard enough to get in your nerves, but you still find yourself repeating them over and over again, always sure that the next try will be the one.

Battlefield 6 is exactly what it needed to be. Peacefully antagonizing its biggest rival with a more gritty, slow-paced gameplay, the game will certainly find an audience among players that are looking for a down to Earth experience.

As a faithful remake of a classic PS2 action game, Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater is proof that Metal Gear Solid 3 can, indeed, survive one of popular culture's most relentless challenges: the test of time.

Cairn arrives as a challenging and contemplative experience, mixing the intensity of sportive climbing with a mysterious and captivating narrative. In the game, each movement is like a true puzzle, and patience is a virtue that needs to be put into practice.

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3+4 delivers exactly what it was supposed to. After years of uncertainty and fumbles around the franchise, the series found its footing with THPS 1+2. With this new chapter, it shows that there’s still a lot to learn from the past, and a lot to be excited for in the present.

Aether & Iron is great in executing its premise, even with technical flaws or limitations. Challenging combat, a rich plot and a lot of great ideas come together in an excellent narrative RPG.