Borderlands 4 is bloody chaotic and pure mayhem. Vault Hunters with dozens of perks across multiple skill trees. Guns raining from the sky with wildly unique perk combinations. Enhancements, Class Mods, set bonuses, and more dramatically feeding into your builds, making numbers go higher and enemy health bars go lower. Each system links arms with the other and grabs hold of you as you dash, grapple, sprint, and shoot your way through battlefields of screaming, rambling psychos that will test your build to its limits. Borderlands 4 is the best the series has been in decades and a testament to Gearbox’s ability to absolutely cook. Are you ready to taste the chaos?

This platformer is chaotic fun and one of the best (and simplest) multiplayer experiences on Wii U.

Moon Studios has a cinematic marvel on its hands, knowing exactly where to balance the light and the dark, both visually and narratively. It's a short game, coming in at about 7 hours for me, but it's worth every precious second.

Greatness in simplicity has been the best way to describe Nintendo for decades and there are few better examples than Super Mario 3D World. Bowser's Fury is the angry icing on the cake.

LOUD is a groovy rhythm game that has some excellent tunes to pair with a charming protagonist and a solid gameplay layout. There’s great incentive to replay, and I’ll surely be coming back to master those levels that I barely got past the first time around. It's a perfect pickup on Switch, and I’m sure it’ll also be quite enjoyable on PC.

I Am Your Beast is a straightforward action game that wastes absolutely no time in giving players what they want. The engaging combat mechanics and revenge-driven narrative craft a superb power fantasy that left a strong impression on me.

The Ascent succeeds at delivering an action-shooter with challenging enemies and a diverse set of levels to explore. This is bolstered by a rich universe that’s practically bursting with interesting lore at every seam. Despite some wonkiness with the in-game map layout, it’s a quite enjoyable experience, especially if you decide to go online and team up with friends. The Ascent is a vastly impressive first outing for Neon Giant, and one that sets the bar high for the studio’s future endeavors.

We’ve probably made life measurably worse for ourselves by building systems that feed on labor and thrive on diminishing returns. But while playing by the rules and struggling to get by is painful, there is still something innately precious about living and building what you can with the hand you’re dealt. That’s what I felt Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector was trying to communicate over the time I spent with it. It’s a conversation about selfness as much as it is a cool sci-fi video game about machines and dice. It challenges you with harsh conditions and constant dread while telling you a story about what work does to a body, practically forcing you to reflect on your own history. It doesn’t reward you with hope or simple optimism, but it does offer validation. In this case, that might be better.

If you're a fan of the Turtles, this is the collection for you. If you're a fan of arcade brawlers, this is the collection for you. If you're simply curious about this specific time in gaming history, the Cowabunga Collection is still worth owning. It's a phenomenal piece of work and a reminder of why the Turtles remain such a relevant franchise in video games to this day.

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is pure fun, and I couldn't be more pleased with the experience. Diving back into creator Koji Igarashi's iconic style of gameplay has been deeply nostalgic for me; I even found myself humming old Symphony of the Night tunes after playing the new release for a few hours.

Even though the game is a huge crossover event, by making everything make sense in its own world of Grymoire, the game doesn’t rely exclusively on nostalgia to hook players. Even though you’ll see Sephiroth, Squall, and other friends in your quest, even those who somehow don’t know these iconic characters can get enjoyment out of the great gameplay and light-hearted story of World of Final Fantasy.

Media Molecule made me feel like I opened Photoshop for the first time again, but this time I feel ready to learn all of its tricks and make something amazing, and I sincerely hope others will take the journey to do the same and make the Dreams network a vast universe of creativity.

Final Fantasy 7 Remake is a masterpiece, a love letter to FF7 fans, an homage to one of the greatest games of all time. At its best it does everything the original did in 1997, revolutionizing the way video game stories can be told and reimaged.

Reading about Koira doesn't convey just how well-designed it is. It's a rare case where every piece of it, from the visual direction to the smallest part of audio design, exists in exquisite harmony. Sure, it still relies heavily on a specific kind of emotional appeal to pull you in, but when everything beyond that is this good, it's easy to overlook.

It's pretty fantastic, thanks to the various additions to the game's multiplayer, the overhaul to the story mode structure, and the implementation of new ideas like the three-way Splatfest Turf War. While I wouldn't call Splatoon 2 old and busted by any means, there's no denying that Splatoon 3 does feel like the new hotness.

One of the central focuses of The Plucky Squire's story is that it's a tale that inspires hope in all of the children who read it. I'm hopeful that this game will inspire any would-be developer who plays it, because it's a true expression of what's possible through gaming.

Pacific Drive is a mystery that draws you in little by little and rewards you for staying dedicated with both a better vehicle and more ridiculous threats. Every excursion left me wondering just what I’d discover, both from survival and story standpoints, as well as what kind of crazy threats were going to try to make my life harder. Fun and interesting characters and a pretty great soundtrack help to keep things fun, but maintaining the station wagon is easily the most compelling part. It’s your best friend through thick and thin, even if it’s trying to eat your mind. That can be somewhat forgiven since it makes up the core of an ultimately great rogue-lite survival game.

Despite a few qualms here and there, The Other Worlds 2 provides another solid sci-fi RPG experience from Obsidian Entertainment. It probably won’t win over folks who are tired of its corporate comedy act, but those who enjoyed the first will find that most of what they liked is improved in the second. The factional tug-of-war in The Outer Worlds 2 is fun to explore, and the companions you bring with you on the way make the adventure that much more engaging. More than that, this is an exciting adventure you can’t possible explore all of in one go, and whether you make the first one count or go back for another run down an untaken path, The Outer Worlds 2 will provide you with plenty of rewarding experiences for your trouble.

Monster Hunter Wilds moves the franchise forward from previous games, yet it tends to step into some of the same traps that both World and Rise did. Those issues, however, are dwarfed by an addictive gameplay loop that will keep players engaged for hundreds of hours. When you factor in the game-changing Seikret, and the ease of which players can launch into hunts, Monster Hunter Wilds is a must-play for series fans.

The Outer Worlds demands players put in the time and effort if they want the best it has to offer. It’s a fine game under any circumstances, but it’s a top-notch RPG with heavy consequences at almost every turn for those that are willing to immerse themselves. The Outer Worlds doesn’t tell you a story, it gives you a world full of interesting characters and asks you to tell your own.

When it comes down to it, Gundam Breaker 4 is all about the bits and pieces. Literally. If you’ve ever put a Gunpla kit together you understand how long it takes, how it feels to put the parts together, and how awesome it is to pose and admire the finished kit. A video game version of that is obviously different, and this game takes full advantage of those differences. When the laws of reality and resource scarcity don’t apply, Gunpla can be something completely different, exciting, and fun in its own ways. Drop some fun combat and multiplayer capacity on top and you have a formidable time sink. You get out what you put in, and there’s an admirable amount of space to let that mean different things to different players, and it all feels rewarding.

I’m sad CiNG isn’t around anymore, but I’m glad Arc System Works makes more than just fighting games, and is willing to take risks and greenlight projects like this. The spirit of visual novels that find beauty in the mundane CiNG captured in titles like Hotel Dusk is very much alive in Dear Me, I Was… and I’m grateful for that. In many ways, this experience has made me feel kind of uncomfortable, but I don’t think that’s a bad thing. A lot happens during a life, and when it’s my turn to look back like this, I hope the colors are just as vibrant.

PAC-MAN 99 is another hit for Arika, this time with one of the most iconic arcade games of all time. It’s a bit surprising just how well Pac-Man fits into the 99-player battle royale format, but that’s just a testament to the work done by the developers. PAC-MAN 99 has me excited for whatever the developer’s put out next.

As I closed in on the final endings for Nier: Automata, I found myself looking back on my time with it and wondering how I'd encapsulate all that into a review. Like its predecessor, this is something that must be experienced to be properly understood. At the time, I was sure I could see where it was going, and that fact left me wondering if this entry lacked that extra something that made the first Nier so memorable. As I worked my way through the final dungeon, Automata had something to prove in my mind. Would it simply stay the course, or would it save something special for the end? If you know Yoko Taro's work, you've probably guessed the answer to that question. Never before have the very credits held such sway over my opinion of a game. I leave Nier: Automata behind, not just pleased with it, but enraptured by it. Hopefully you will too.

Orcs Must Die! 3 is an excellent outing from Robot Entertainment, as it delivers exciting tower defense action along with some truly challenging sequences. The two new protagonists serve to usher the story in a new direction, while adding some flavor to gameplay. Playing with a friend is best, as it allows the two stars of the game to shine the brightest. Now free from the shackles of Google Stadia exclusivity, Orcs Must Die! 3 is the best entry in the series.

Remnant 2’s action, loot, and bosses are cranked up to 11. It’s a marked improvement over the first game, with the fat trimmed and all the good parts ready for devouring right from the start. There’s a lot to love here, with more surprises and reasons to play even after multiple playthroughs. Though I do have a few gripes, they fade into the background as there’s just so much to enjoy here in the minute-to-minute gameplay.

If there was ever a AAA gaming franchise begging for a VR installment, it was Assassin’s Creed. What’s really special about Nexus VR is that it isn’t just a tech demo with an Assassin’s Creed flavoring—it’s a full fledged Assassin’s Creed game in VR. One that makes excellent use of the franchise’s unique sci-fi elements and properly translates the best gameplay elements.

Despite its brevity, Botany Manor is a wholesome puzzle game that turns academic research into an engaging endeavor. The central theme focuses on finding the conditions to allow a living entity to flourish, a concept that is elegantly reflected in both Arabella’s personal journey as well as in gameplay. The game thematically underscores the overall interconnectedness of nature and highlights the influence that one's environment can have on well-being. Botany Manor left me yearning for more botanical discoveries and I can only hope that the developers sow the seeds of a sequel someday.