Playing It Takes Two took me back to the era of couch co-op games that I would play with my friends and family. The shared laughs, frustrations, and triumphs are an aspect of co-op games that I had sorely missed. With inventive and creative gameplay puzzles coupled with some unique environments, It Takes Two is without a doubt the greatest couch co-op game I’ve played in recent memory.

Dead Space 2023 is a familiar, yet fresh return to the classic, visually and mechanically polishing the things that made the 2008 game amazing while reworking a number of key points to make it one of the most impressive and exciting modern horror experiences I have ever played.

Some of the most fun I’ve ever had with a game based on a popular franchise tailor-made for smartphones.

With the arrival of Donkey Kong: Bananza, Nintendo’s legendary gorilla is finally back in the spotlight for a new 3D platformer. This sprawling journey is rich with challenging platforming sequences, a plethora of unique enemies, and features that will alter the DNA of this franchise moving forward. Top it all off with a story full of heart, and you’ve got an excellent addition to the Switch 2’s young library.

Take a cornucopia of familiar Hyrule lands, add an absolutely fantastic soundtrack to each of them, and let a collection of amazing characters loose to tell a great story on the battlefield and off, and Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity is a game no Zelda or Musou fan should pass up.

To dismiss Tunic as a Zelda clone upon first glance would be doing it a huge disservice. Developer Finji has put together something special with this game, a game that lures players in with its adorable mascot character and delivers a deceptively difficult adventure. Tunic can be outright intimidating at points. However, the game does such a good job in helping bring players along, whether it's through stat upgrades or new pages of the instruction manual, that the difficulty never feels debilitating or inaccessible in any way.

If you can get past its tedious organization and swaths of overleveled monsters in your way, Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition is incredible. This was a game that eluded many fans back in 2015. Now, it has a fresh chance to shine and do so with a new coat of paint and some thoughtful QoL changes. It doesn’t always hit the bullseye, and some 2015 issues went unaddressed. That said, if you let yourself get lost in the wilds of Mira, it’s more than easy to overlook the few things that drag the fun down. Whether you missed Xenoblade Chronicles X the first time or are revisiting Mira, there’s a lot to love and appreciate for fans and newcomers alike.

It’s a fantastic game with a near flawless execution.The journey is enjoyable and the characters you help and hinder throughout the game make it an memorable experience. If you’re looking for a high quality, AAA single-player game, look no further than Shadow of War.

Those minor issues with the game aside, Dishonored 2 proves to be a return to a classic formula that worked so well in the orginal. Strong level design, open world exploration and the ability to play your own way with powers that can be adapted or modified how you want makes the game one of the top titles of the year.

Monster Hunter Rise was beyond anything I expected. The tried and true grind of Monster Hunter's giant beast battles is alive and performing exceedingly well for the Switch’s hardware. Its formula is also thoughtfully augmented with Palamutes, Wirebugs, and Wyvern Riding, all of which I’d love to see stay in the series after this game.

This is one of the best games to be released this year, without a doubt. While the campaign may have felt a bit short with its abrupt ending, it left me itching for a sequel.

It’s a little bogged down in video game chores in the open world. However, when you’re on the trail of the main quest or any given side story, Ghostwire: Tokyo is a compelling adventure worth seeing through to the final spiritual release.

Loop Hero succeeds as an adventure game by blending together elements of strategy and roguelikes in a way that feels clever and fresh. Giving players agency on the adversaries they encounter, and the frequency of said encounters, is an exciting spin on the genre, and one that forced me to strategize in a unique way. Couple the outstanding mechanics with a gorgeous and well-executed visual design, and you’ve got yourself one satisfying gameplay loop.

Half-Life: Alyx is a wonderful new addition to the franchise and sets a path forward for future games to take place in the same universe hopefully powered by this latest iteration of the Source Engine. Valve has showcased a clear way for developers to create a high quality AAA experience built for VR that still hits all the marks of a traditional PC game. While many players will be longing for the days of playing as the silent hero Gordon Freeman, it was an absolute delight to navigate this latest story. "I knew if you both stayed together you could get through anything,“ said G-Man once upon a time, but Alyx showed everyone just how powerful of a bad ass she is when tasked with her own adventure.

When I felt myself growing weary of the complication, I would march Maximillian into the mess hall and execute one of the stupider minions in front of his coworkers. This sent all the witnesses into a panic, resulting in improved productivity. I might be mentally damaged, but I’m having a great time and accomplishing my goals of world domination. Ultimately, Evil Genius 2 is a Dungeon Keeper clone in a different coat of paint. The surface has been well-prepped and the paint was applied with great expertise, though. If you consider yourself a fan of simulation-strategy games, this has to go on your must-play list for 2021.

When I began Horizon: Zero Dawn, I was anxious it wouldn't be able to maintain itself for thirty-plus hours. I'm thrilled that fear was unfounded. The play was constantly rich and rewarding, and the mysteries constantly unfolding. I'm left not just feeling satisfied the entire time, but wanting more. This one is something special.

Constance is a game about confronting your inner darkness. Its hand-drawn cartoony art style won me over initially. Its challenging platforming puzzles and boss fights that required me to fully utilize the plethora of techniques I’d learned throughout the journey kept me engaged and always felt satisfying to complete. This fluid and extremely rewarding gameplay loop alone solidifies Constance as a must-play platformer. The heartfelt story at the core of it all is a welcome added bonus.

I haven’t felt as challenged or as impressed by a puzzle game like Humanity since Portal 2 and The Talos Principle. Sony likely saw something special about it too (and this time at least, I agree), as it is one of the few games that will be available with a PS Extra or Premium subscription on day one. While Humanity does become less of a puzzler near the endgame, that’s a minor quibble in light of the risks it takes, its inventive range of content, its thought-provoking story, and its curiously peculiar presentation. (The dog is cute too.)

Was it worth it after eight long years of waiting? Yes, I think so. Hollow Knight: Silksong is beautiful and feels great to play. It’s filled with content and challenges that are fun to overcome. Its characters are delightfully expressive, and despite that charm, there’s a deeply complex and morbid air that compels one to want to save all these bugs from a terrible fate. I could have done without the numerous hours I spent on farming and other padded elements, but Silksong is still an enormously packed journey, and a tremendous payoff on a nearly decade-long wait. Just mind the challenge and don’t rush it. True endings won’t come easy, but that’s part of what makes victory feel beautiful in Hollow Knight: Silksong.

Super Mario 3D World is a tightly-designed platformer, raucously fun in multiplayer, and a master's class in level design. Don't pass it off as just another Mario game. This one is not to be missed.

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice stands tall among some of From Software’s most renowned titles. The challenge is clear and present, the story and mystery are equally intriguing, and the beautiful vistas and soundtrack work in perfect harmony. It might be entirely different to what came before it, but Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is a near-perfect experience and a natural progression of the Soulsborne series.

Supraland is simply one of the best sandbox games I’ve ever played. It perfectly embodies the term, letting players define their experience. The only shortcomings in this title are some generic and lackluster character and item designs, but that’s a nitpick when stacked against everything Supraland has to offer. The gameplay feels like a love letter to a laundry list of classic games, doing justice to all of them. Supraland is a must-play game for fans of the open world.

Coming into 2026, I knew that few games were a surer bet than Saros. Housemarque’s 2021 breakout is still one of the PS5’s best games, and Saros will now stand alongside it. I could see some players lamenting just how similar it feels to Returnal, but Saros was exactly what I needed from a spiritual successor.

Injustice 2 feels like a step up from Gods Among Us in every way imaginable. It's a far deeper experience, follows up wonderfully on the last game's story, and also gives reasons to keep coming back for repeat visits. The rich cast of fighters all have their own distinct styles, but they're all wrapped up in an easy-to-learn fighting system that's just plain fun to play. NetherRealm has a true grasp of what makes the DC Universe special and this game is as much of a love letter to that world as it gets.

LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight is a great experience overall, and will likely find a passionate audience among those who love this series, but it also won’t do much to convert people who simply don’t enjoy the silly simplicity of the genre. It is both a worthy exploration of Batman and a fantastically fun LEGO title that takes full advantage of how loaded that premise has become over the years.

Mixing stealth, weighty gunplay, supernatural powers, and play-your-way weapons and gadgets, Deathloop is a greatest-hits amalgam of Arkane style with a splash of grindhouse grittiness and a satisfying murder puzzle narrative to put it apart from anything that has come before.

Should you pick up Mario Tennis Aces? If the answer wasn't immediately obvious already, that's a resounding yes. It's the best the series has seen in years, and that's saying something for this tennis fan. If you're looking for one of the best sports games the Switch has to offer, look no further. You've found it.

One of the best Madden games I have ever played. It’s accessible to new players and offers brand new experiences for seasoned video game football vets. There are some years when Madden just doesn’t have the right feel, and I usually will be the first to tell folks to hold off on buying the game. But this is not one of those years. 2018 is coming, and Madden is ready to give you hours of awesome gameplay experiences.