Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden is another fascinating new universe from Don’t Nod Entertainment. The studio’s narrative and character design shine through several times throughout the story, but it wasn’t as consistent or compelling as I hoped. The combat was generic and harmless but eventually grew tiresome as it felt like a means to reach the next story beat. Still, Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden is a gorgeous game with plenty of meat on its bones, and I hope it’s not the last we see of this world.

Ultros is a kaleidoscope game. It takes a handful of ordinary things, shakes them up and sticks the pieces together, and then spins it all around. It's just a different version of what we've seen dozens of times before, sure. But it feels special, and it sure does look good.

The clever puzzles and vivid visuals can only do so much to quell the frustration caused by the unfortunate glitches and bugs I encountered throughout the game. However, if you can push through the myriad of technical hiccups, Airhead is a decent puzzle-platformer that simply needs a bit more tuning under the hood.

I feel sad more than anything, because buried underneath the live service slop, there's real potential for a good Suicide Squad game in here. The boss battles show the game's potential. Now imagine more varied missions, different enemy types, and a more interesting gameplay loop that makes the most of this license. Above all else, imagine a better Rocksteady game. Instead of being trendsetters, like with the Arkham series, this studio is now reduced to being trend followers. And I thought the DCEU was bad.

Under Night In-Birth 2 Sys:Celes is a great addition to what we had that improves upon previous games in pretty much all the right ways. The new characters are fun, the new attacks for existing characters make new gameplans fun to learn, and there is a nice variety of online and offline modes in which to explore them and hone your game. I wish the music, story, and online lobbies gave me more, but UNI2 hits the right notes where it counts and delivers as a fantastic bastion of 2D animated fighting game goodness.

I was surprised by how much I ended up enjoying Bulletstorm VR. With how fast the original moved, I thought I was in for a VR version of a town fair teacup ride. Instead, it was a rip-roaring gauntlet, and a refreshing twist on the terrible things I could do to my enemies with whatever weapons and environmental hazards I had at my disposal. The plot is still stuck at 2011, which might be grating for some, as are much of the visuals. However, if your goal is to kick a man into the air and then blow him to bits and pieces like a skeet shoot, Bulletstorm VR just might keep you entertained as an early VR offering in 2024.

Granblue Fantasy: Relink doesn’t have a particularly engrossing storyline, nor does it rewrite the book when it comes to anime-styled character-action games. But it doesn’t want, or even need, to do either. It doesn't even seem to care much if you don't know what Granblue is in the first place. What Cygames brings to the table is polish and energy; there’s a liveliness to this game that makes every minute you spend with it a joy. Rock-solid performance (on PS5/performance mode), unique character mechanics, a massive soundtrack, and even a great dub (Ferry baby-talking her poltergeist pooches sends me) are all a part of that feeling. If you've missed out on Granblue Fantasy so far because of regional barriers or not being into fighting games, here’s your chance to see what it’s all about in a way that couldn’t be friendlier.

Persona 3 Reload is a treat for not only fans of the 2000s classic, but newcomers as well. ATLUS does an excellent job at preserving everything that made the original game special while modernizing it for those that may be experiencing it for the first time. It’s JRPG excellence at every turn, and one I’ll be sinking many hours into between now and the release of the next mainline Persona game.

It feels like there were some very specific ideas the creators of Graven wanted to communicate. But while those ideas sometimes weave together with the game’s dark fantasy, old-school shooter style to form some immaculate vibes, that’s about as deep as it gets. The game seems confused about whether or not it wants to be an awesome action game, a thoughtful explorative puzzler, or some kind of mutant Soulslike gimmick. It sputters across the finish line not really achieving anything but a cool look, undermined constantly by boredom. It’s a shame, because Graven has a hell of a vibe. But there’s simply too much bonkin’ and not enough bangin’.

Despite this not being the traditional type of story we associate with Kiryu, Infinite Wealth is a fitting send-off to a legend of gaming. In the words of Kiryu, “Even if I’m not as strong as I once was, I’m still me. And I’m starting to think that’s not so bad.”

Whether you’re a newcomer to Tekken or an old hand, this is a ridiculously fun game to learn. You want the best the King of Iron Fists Tournament has to offer? Tekken 8 is it, and looks set to carry that torch for years to come.

The three latter Ace Attorney games are certainly uneven, and the first two never quite reach the level of narrative power, or even general coherence, of the original trilogy. However, they do challenge the idea of what an Ace Attorney game can be and introduce some memorable characters in the process. Dual Destinies might be the sour one of the bunch, but Capcom wins the case of Apollo Justice v. the test of time.

The transition to roguelite gameplay may seem somewhat off-putting for players who expected a more Zelda-like adventure akin to the first game. However, even with its shift in gameplay direction, the sequel remains faithful to the original with its humorous tone and cute aesthetic while offering a fresh experience for both new and returning players.

Between the middling voice acting undermining the story, the barely-there puzzles, and the sterility of the visuals, it feels like the magic of adventure games on Nintendo’s older, gimmicky hardware hasn’t been recaptured. But I still had a great time taking it all in. Weird, huh? That’s what being a history nerd feels like.

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown shows that this long-running franchise still has plenty of life left in it. The main narrative is sharp, with interesting twists and reveals about the universe at large. It’s only surpassed by the combat, which challenged me in all the right ways. The future of Prince of Persia may be uncertain, but Ubisoft just gave itself one hell of a blueprint with The Lost Crown.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom has lived up to the high expectations created by the success of Breath of the Wild with its exquisitely intertwined gameplay systems, outstanding music, and a legendary story culminating in a magnificent denouement. It's not every day that such a special video game like this comes around. Truly the stuff of legend.

The Internet is brimming with tons of new F-Zero fan content born out of the game's release with musicians covering and remixing sweet tunes, artists drawing their favorite characters and vehicles, and even speedrunners streaming and making videos. While the seeds of an F-Zero revival have been sowed by F-Zero 99, diehard fans know that this may just be the beginning of a new era for our beloved racing game franchise.

Nightdive’s Quake II remaster is one of the best values in a year overflowing with fantastic games. It appeals to veterans who played the original, and all the customization bells and whistles make it welcoming to players who want to experience it for the first time.

CS2 also proves that despite their reluctance to do so, Valve still has all the chops whenever they choose to put their game developer hat on. Nearly all of the changes in Counter-Strike 2 meaningfully enhance the experience without compromising what made the game special in the first place. With the foundation set for another multi-year run, I’m excited to see how Valve and the community evolve Counter-Strike 2.

How far it feels like the concept of Sniper Elite VR has come. I won’t say this game is perfect, but I will say it’s one of the most visceral and satisfying stealth-action shooters I’ve played in VR. The weapons handle nicely, the missions and locations are hugely varied, and the comfort options are abundant and easily understandable. I wish it catered better to left-handed shooting and that some weapons had better interactivity, and I’m just not crazy about head-on combat here. It’s also not exactly a looker. That said, what a step-up from what I know about Sniper Elite VR. When the dust settles, I’ll have a hard time thinking of a game that made it more satisfying to look down a scope and deliver distant absolution to virtual fascists.

The idea of going back to a sort of Version 1.0 experience of Cities is actually enticing to me. Fast Travel Games has already promised that Cities: VR is set to grow over time with content updates and more. As it is, it’s still a great jumping off point for the VR adaptation. I once again lost myself in its urban management often as long as my headset would allow me to play. The planning and reacting to various events around your town is still fun to handle and the VR controls are good for it. All-in-all, Cities: VR might be a little limited to those who want everything the PC version has come to offer in terms of features and visuals, but still, it might be one of the most relaxing VR titles around right now and feels like it’s bound to only get better from here.

In a lot of ways for someone like me, Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince is weirdly validating for a video game product you purchase. This series has been living in relative obscurity for decades, either going unlocalized entirely or simply being seen as a niche within a niche destined for handheld gamers looking for more Pokemon. But there’s so much meat, life, and ambition in this one. It’s a console game, it’s got a story it wants to tell, it has ideas beyond “catch slimes, win tournaments”. I hope this is the direction Dragon Quest Monsters keep moving in. It’s no Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth, but what is?

An expanded roster and rollback netcode for online fights are pretty much the only things Rising does differently from Versus. Sure, you’ve got Grand Bruise Legends, a cute, but short-lived battle royale that borrows from Fall Guys. There’s also a robust training mode, and it’s hard to overexaggerate just how much better online play is thanks to rollback netcode. Online matches have hardly any lag, even when I played on my Asus ROG Ally - which Rising is technically not optimized for. Battles play out much more smoothly than they did in Versus, and while that sounds like a simple idea, it’s hard to overstate how substantial the effect is for online play.

While the game could use a tiny bit more polish and perhaps some DLC, there is still plenty to enjoy in House Flipper 2. Fans of the original should have no trouble diving back into the house-flipping business, with an enhanced set of tools to help get the job done. Sandbox mode opens up new creative possibilities while adding a social element to the game that will only get better as more players get involved. Despite its shortcomings, House Flipper 2 keeps me coming back for more, and I can only hope there will be more to come back to in future updates.

At the end of the day, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora just feels like a game that’s been made a million times before. You run around and grab resources, craft items, fill out skill trees, shoot bad guys, and search for sets of similar landmarks as you explore a massive map. But it’s all Avatar-flavored, so it’s blue and there are giant cat people running around alongside the humans.

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.

It’ll take a specific kind of person to get the most out of Turok 3. Shadows of Oblivion is an impressive remaster of an interesting retro game, but even when it came out it wasn’t blowing any minds. Did you grow up on games like the Turok series, those chunky, 90s shooters made for consoles before Halo? Are you interested in fascinating, specific corners of gaming history, and what kinds of restorative efforts can be applied thereof? Players just looking for a new shooter to play probably won’t have a great time. For me, I feel like I just slingshot time-traveled inside my own brain. I don’t know what that means, either.

Larian Studios has tapped into the Weave and conjured up a near-impossible miracle, bringing the creativity of Dungeons & Dragons to life in Baldur’s Gate 3. Players are given real agency to pursue the narrative in a way that suits them and to dive into combat and experiment with a dizzying number of options. Baldur’s Gate 3 is a truly phenomenal game that has managed to sweep up the imaginations and dreams of players and developers alike. Baldur’s Gate 3 may just go down as one of the greatest games of all time.