Aside from a few minor platforming quirks thanks to the introduction of the third dimension, this is still the Blue Bomber that you’ve come to know and love. But don’t let the gorgeous presentation fool you, because it will still mercilessly kick your dick in with remorseless gusto.

It’s ironic that a game all about breathing life into pictures can’t breathe life into its own core mechanic. Witnessing a flat picture expand into something tangible or using photography to reposition the existing stage is a technical marvel that hardly goes beyond being just a visual spectacle. These systems deserve much more than that, but, like film lacking contrast, it’s underdeveloped and only a faint outline of what it should be.

An exceptional effort. It’s easily one of the best sports games of the year.

Burnout Paradise holds up, and if nothing else, you can now experience one of the top arcade franchises in the business on your PlayStation 4.

LEGO Stars Wars: The Skywalker Saga does a great job of giving everyone the LEGO world they love, with some nice tweaks to the formula that’s been in place for a while. It’s not a perfect game of course, with some camera and AI issues, along with signature TT Games glitches that plague parts of the game. However it’s still a good game and one of the best LEGO games to date. Perfect for kids and adults alike, there is something here for everyone and enough to keep you around for a while, especially if you want to collect everything. LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is a great first build on the PlayStation 5.

An incredible eleventh-hour treat for fans who have invested their time and money into the handheld. If you enjoyed Guacamelee!, you’ll find a lot of what you loved in that game has returned. Vibrant colors with a unique “diorama” artstyle really pop off the screen, and its inventive gameplay successfully combines touch-twitch antics and old-fashioned role playing.

Orcs Must Die! Unchained is a shining example of how to balance a free-to-play game to be engaging without paying, yet rewarding if you do decide to drop some money into it.

My time with A Plague Tale: Innocence felt like stumbling across a low-budget, but well-made genre flick in a rental store that was placed in the horror section because it didn’t fit in anywhere else.

Blur is one robust package brimming with good times to be had. While the power ups are nothing new to racing fans, the way the cars react to being damaged by each adds a unique touch to the game.

Putting aside my harsh feelings for the inclusion of scenes from Re:coded while leaving Dream Drop Distance completely out of the picture, Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 ReMIX is money well spent to fans of the series.

With a wide range of difficulty settings and over 25 catchy songs, Fresh Tracks is the latest must-own PS5 rhythm game. Whether you’re a relative newbie to music-based games or look forward to mastering difficult runs, Buffalo Buffalo’s debut game is a triumphant success. Stylish and fun to replay, players will look forward to every restart rather than bemoaning a run coming to an end.

If only I could easily skip pre-game and halftime discussion. That’s my biggest minor gripe here. All of that stuff is skippable, but it doesn’t happen fast enough for my liking.

Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice is a complete experience for a bargain price. Struggling through life as a psychosis sufferer is an alarming experience, and Hellblade provides an illuminating glimpse into the lives of those afflicted by such terror.

Distinctive characters, detailed maps and a lively sense of chaos all add up to one of the finest family-friendly multiplayer experiences on PS4. There’s also solo play this time around, and while that suffers a bit from balancing issues, it’s nice to be able to squeeze in a little experience-building and item-collecting in between rounds of online action. Overall, though, it’s the childlike qualities at the center of GW2 that are the most important — a seemingly limitless energy, a fearlessly goofy aesthetic and a commitment to making playing fun above all else.

If you delight in the sense of drama and anticipation that arises from impossible situations, if you are engaged by a twisting mystery that is never quite what you expect, then the Danganronpa series is for you.

The story is cute yet predictable, the puzzle solving fun, and the rhythm challenging. You can finish the game, discover all of the secrets, and claim that platinum trophy in under six hours if you’re purely looking to add to your trophy count.

There’s certainly room for improvement when it comes to its presentation and performance, but it’s hard to deny that Assassin’s Creed Shadows does so much so well. From its wonderfully realized world to its wealth of engaging quests and distractions, there’s plenty to enjoy here, regardless of whether you’ve fallen off the franchise in recent years.

FUSER is all about player creativity and freedom. It’s less focused on technical recitation of precise button presses and more on how in the groove you can get yourself. For decades, Harmonix has been harnessing the power of music and delivering a feeling of super stardom to players. FUSER puts that directly into the players’ hands more than any game before it. Even with a PS5 and next-gen games in hand, I can’t turn the music off. If you yearn for the days of the plastic instrument revolution, just without all that junk taking up space, FUSER will put you as close to the stage as any music game possibly can.

What could have been a simple cash-in HD port of the handheld title was instead lovingly (paper)crafted by the developers into a vastly improved, dedicated PS4 platformer.

A timesink well worth your $30. If you love strategy/turn-based RPGs, deep customization for weapons and body mods, level grinding and a hilarious story, then do not hesitate to pick this game up.

The combination of aesthetic beauty and environmental manipulation make for a relaxing and pleasing game that also manages to keep you on your toes, thanks to the chain reactions that may be caused by subtle changes.

Diablo II: Resurrected is Diablo II in everything that matters. Its strict adherence to the tone, themes, and even gameplay of the original makes this an incredible time capsule, revisiting a classic restored, yet not iterated on. It’s the best of both worlds; a game that looks and plays wonderfully in 2021, but embodies the dark experience that was first brought to the world more than 20 years ago. They just don’t make games like this anymore.

ICEY is a biting commentary on the entire medium of games. Beneath a solid 2D action game lies one of the most interesting titles I’ve had the pleasure of playing. It’s a game that isn’t afraid to take risks, and managed to constantly surprise me despite pulling off the ridiculous several times prior. Everyone who considers themselves a “gamer,” should play ICEY, and then sit down to think about its message.

Hunt: Showdown is perfect for gamers who are in it for the long haul. Those that love the rush of endorphins that come with a long-sought-after victory, and who are okay with death after death after near-victory after dumb mistake/disconnection/other tragedy that hinders an otherwise flawless ascent towards the next bloodline level.

Despite having a rushed feel and under appreciating some pretty large issues, Life is Strange: Episode 3 is highly intriguing, entertaining, and surprising.

Gunslugs is very good. Controls are excellent, graphics are cute, and the action is fun. Beating a hard level feels rewarding. Levels are randomly generated and tend to have decent design, but sometimes an awkward set-up ruins the flow and forces a restart.

Cities: Skylines is an impressively-detailed simulation, to be sure, and it’s a lot of fun once you start to get things up and running, with the caveat that getting it up and running is a lot easier said than done. This is not a casual game by any stretch of the imagination, and given how complex many of the mechanics are, it’s pretty ridiculous that the game doesn’t offer a more robust tutorial system. That led to a boatload of frustration early on for me, but to be fair, it also made things that much more rewarding once I got the hang of them.

FutureGrind’s story and sounds may not be the most gripping, but the breadth of what’s offered in terms of bikes, courses, and challenges make up for its other shortcomings. In the end, the quick thinking and creativity it requires make it a ride you won’t want to miss.