By swapping the little plumber for the big ape, Donkey Kong Bananza delivers a potent blend of action, creative level design, and environmental destruction that boldly reinvents the blockbuster Nintendo platformer formula.

Alan Wake II: Night Springs is a terrifically twisted, episodic DLC collection for one of 2023’s best video games that recalls Rod Serling's Twilight Zone.

Astro Bot breaks from its tech demo roots to become a wildly entertaining, modern 3D platformer that stands out as a top PlayStation title.

Mario Kart World is a generational leap forward for the series, elevating familiar racing shenanigans with imaginative new modes and a huge map to explore as you see fit.

Mario Tennis Fever is a must-have arcade sports game that wowed me by blending traditional techniques, power-ups, and fantastic, fighting game-like movesets.

Gorgeous next-gen visuals and fresh takes on Tetris multiplayer make Tetris Effect: Connected an even more transcendent version of the near-perfect puzzle game.

With Forza Horizon 5, the racing series makes its first stop in Mexico. It delivers breathtaking vistas, fast action, and the hook: the new EventLab mode that lets the community create cool, custom challenges.

Requiem wonderfully combines everything I love about Resident Evil's recent remakes and new installments, shining as a new, explosive entry that honors the series' 30-year history.

Horizon Forbidden West takes everything that made Horizon Zero Dawn an excellent action-adventure title, and adds more environmental variety and quest verticality to create an even better game.

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth builds upon its predecessor for a brilliantly polished behemoth of an RPG that belongs in every PS5 owner's library.

At nearly 30 years old, Myst remains a remarkable experience, made all the more accessible and enthralling in this modern iteration. This is the best way to play Myst—especially in VR.

Hades II improves on nearly every aspect of its phenomenal predecessor with deeper combat and customization, a substantially larger world, and creative witchcraft abilities.

Monster Hunter Rise takes what World introduced and runs with it, delivering a game that streamlines the gameplay and beefs up your kit for maximized man-versus-monster action.

Monster Hunter Rise blends the best elements from earlier series entries, and delivers a streamlined, action-packed, monster-slaying experience.

Yakuza: Like a Dragon transforms the long-running beat'-em-up series into a Japanese role-playing game—and it's shockingly good. Though it retains some of the past games' clunky character animations, Like a Dragon's action-packed combat and engaging story make it a must-own RPG.

Halo Infinite pushes the franchise forward with a deep, open-world campaign, and includes multiplayer modes that recapture the classic games' satisfying game feel and matchmaking experience.

Featuring giant demon battles, massive destruction, and flexible combat that encourages creative fighting, the long-awaited Bayonetta 3 is the witch’s biggest action romp yet.

Unicorn Overlord is a rewarding, highly strategic RPG that highlights developer Vanillaware's gorgeous graphics style.

Disco Elysium’s dense, authored, yet player-driven storytelling uses the bones of RPG gameplay to deliver a truly modern piece of interactive political art.

Marathon is a thrilling extraction shooter with satisfying gunplay, beautiful art direction, and tough-as-nails difficulty. It's a breath of fresh air in a packed genre, and one of the best games of the year.

Marathon is a thrilling extraction shooter with satisfying gunplay, beautiful art direction, and tough-as-nails difficulty. It's a breath of fresh air in a packed genre, and one of the best games of the year.

Super Mario Bros. Wonder takes the 2D side-scroller in a fresh direction thanks to reality-bending Wonder Flowers that add fun gameplay-changing effects.

30XX recalls classic robot-blasting action of the Mega Man X series, but adds its own fun-filled spin on the formula via multiple play modes, custom stage creation, and randomly generated weapon drops.

Football Manager 2024's improvements make for a notably more realistic simulation with new front office options, set piece coaching, and a superior match engine.

Returnal arrives on PC two years after making a splash on PS5, packing many exclusive features that make this version the one to beat—if you've got the rig to handle it.

Shinobi: Art of Vengeance is a near-perfect reintroduction to the classic Sega series, complete with an incredible art style, fast and stylish swordplay, and excellent platforming.

Stellar Blade is an excellent PlayStation 5 action game that blends tight defense and stylish combat in an impressive post-apocalyptic package.

Now in its third iteration in six years, Super Mega Baseball has miraculously maintained its freshness by adding engaging new characters, features, and customization, and not becoming a spammy annualized franchise. More importantly, Super Mega Baseball 3 deftly represents what people love about the sport, with its larger-than-life characters, exhilarating moments, and agonizing defeats. We may not have Major League Baseball this year, but the game's spirit lives on.