Expelled is a wicked good time, with each playthrough of the game building on the one before it. However, even though you will be replaying that fateful day repeatedly, it doesn’t feel tedious or exhausting. Inkle constantly builds upon events, opening up opportunities and new outcomes for Verity. It’s a delightful story that encourages you to experiment and be bad.

In short, Tales of Arise feels satisfying. It’s gorgeous to look at and the battles fun to experience.

Celestia: Chain of Fate is an okay enough otome game for those in search of a game with Harry Potter-like academy, magic, angels, and demons. However, it doesn’t really do much to stand out otherwise. The character designs aren’t as striking as those in its contemporaries, there is awkward phrasing in the script, the story involves some common situations and tropes, and there are certain absent quality of life features.

We haven’t had this much fun with a card battle RPG since the Pokemon TCG games on the Game Boy Color. If you at all have an affinity for the concept, it’s unlikely that you’re burned out on the idea these days. Give Shadowverse: Champion’s Battle a shot, and it’s unlikely that you’ll be disappointed.

Even though its more visually polished than some of the other shooters out there, the lack of innovation and the small number of seven stages makes Gradius V a must for fans of the series only. [JPN Import]

Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon 2 is a superb sequel. It has everything that made the first game a surprise hit, but expands and adds to it with a level of care that shines through the whole thing.

So rather than looking at what this collection could have been, it’s easier and simpler to see what’s here and decide if that’s enough for you. If one of these games is an all-time favorite, that even these marginal adjustments make them the best and most convenient versions could make a sale for you. There’s nothing here to “fix” them if you didn’t like them the first time. You get what you get, and Nintendo’s confidence in the core products isn’t unwarranted.

When it shines, Space Marine 2 can be really good but there’s just a few too many irritating flaws to recommend it as much as I want to.

All of these systems come together to make for the first Romancing SaGa game I ever finished and truly enjoyed. Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven is a great JRPG in a packed year of them well worth checking out. Whether you are new to the series or a familiar veteran, there is something to enjoy. Sure, the 3D visuals are colorful and pretty, but nothing too spectacular, and the title certainly lacks the dedicated characters and plot of other JRPGs. However, it makes up for this with the fantastic focus on player choice that is uniquely rewarding and memorable.

Though the story can sometimes verge on the uncomfortable—it delves into themes of child abuse, self-harm, and sexual violence—it still provided a fascinating read. The pencil crayon-like artwork of 100 Nen is also a treat, giving the whole game a unique and eye-catching aesthetic. Ichiko and Aria’s relationship developing from indifference to friendship to an obsessive love that bordered on hatred is the kind of content I always eat up, and man, did MAGES provide a feast.

Magical Delicacy offers a cozy and relaxing experience that you can play at a leisurely pace, which makes it inclusive to all players, regardless of skill level. The cooking aspects are done incredibly well, and it creates an enticing gameplay loop where you want to keep making new dishes. However, the game was not ambitious enough with its centralized theme about witches, which had ample opportunities to introduce some fascinating mechanics but failed to capitalize on this, ultimately holding back the experience.

With a snappy script and some genuinely unnerving jump scares, Paranormasight is a very approachable J-Horror game. The slow process of turning around using a mouse on the PC was a great way to amplify the tension in a lot of scenes. Because it leans heavier into the mystery aspect of the horror-mystery genre, even players who are nervous about horror games can enjoy it. It is a beautifully crafted game that makes imaginative use of its medium. Clocking in at under 10 hours—with some of that time spent lost, idling, or just reading through its impressively detailed files—Paranormasight is a wonderful game for a lazy weekend.

Final Fantasy V Pixel Remaster reminded me of just how fun the older Final Fantasy titles were. It will potentially be something of a hit-or-miss for die-hard fans of the original entry, with its poor user interface and reimagined pixel artwork. However, this is a great a time as ever for newcomers to check this classic entry in the Final Fantasy series out. As it offers a fair amount of quality of life improvements that will appeal to modern sensibilities and make the game easier to pick up and play.

Super Mario Party Jamboree is up there for the best in the series. It boasts the most amount of content from high-quality boards to characters to minigames. The variety is enough to carry this game on its own, but the quality of the core experience is exceptional as well with how each board works and the many different types of minigames. Though the additional modes, with the exception of Bowser Kaboom Squad, are all pretty much misses, they do nothing to take away from the top-tier solo and multiplayer party experience Super Mario Party Jamboree has.

It doesn’t have the depth of some similar simulations and I’m not sure it will have the staying power of an Animal Crossing game. It’s definitely a pleasant, simple simulation.

In a rare occasion Digital Devil Saga 2 trumps its predecessor in nearly every category. The Digital Devil Saga series is a must if you like story driven RPGs.

One of the best RPGs to come out in a long time. It's an amazing game that blends shades of grey with capable gameplay.

When I played The World Ends with You on my Nintendo DS back in 2008, I was struck by how vibrant and wonderfully unique the game is. I’d hoped for more for years, especially after teases found in the ports. Now we’re back in Shibuya for NEO TWEWY, and it is the sequel the original deserved. Yet, at the same time, it stands tall on its own merits and is a welcoming experience for people completely unfamiliar with the series.

If you don't mind searching the city for action, Need for Speed Underground 2 gives you a chance to become the best street racer out there.

How much you enjoy Raccoin: Coin Pusher Roguelike will depend on how you feel about luck determining the course of every run instead of skill. It is a roguelike, but the influence of RNG in so many ways can make it feel like it’s all up to chance instead. Because even though you are gradually unlocking new characters, coins, prizes, and such via hitting milestones, the very nature of it means that builds might end up feeling meaningless unless factors outside of your control align. It will still be fun, but it means accepting how little influence you can exert over each run.

Tetris Forever is, ultimately, a well-crafted educational documentary about the franchise that’s a joy to work your way through, at which point it becomes a vessel for Tetris Battle Gaiden. The rest of the game library doesn’t offer much to modern players who could instead play Tetris Effect, Tetris 99 or Puyo Puyo Tetris! But the preservation aspect of the release is nice for its own sake.

Suikoden 1 and 2 HD Remaster might not have earth-shattering additions, but the graphical updates and quality of life adjustments that are here make it a joy to return to these fantastic JRPGs. Both games are a delight to play on the Switch. There’s a charm here that I longed for when I played Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes, and I’m delighted to think how much joy they’ll bring others. These are fantastic games, and I hope for further preservation efforts for other entries from Konami.

Islanders: New Shores is, in every way, an improvement from the original Islanders. I found myself continually coming back to it due to the Boons, new array of buildings, and ability to select my “path” in each run. I would sometimes, instead of stepping away after a run, instead save and then immediately go into the free-play sandbox to add more to the island that tripped me up to make it look exactly how I wanted. It’s an incredibly pleasant strategy game.

While Octopath Traveler 0 scratches the JRPG itch in some satisfying ways, I found it often never feels as captivating as the first two games. Our protagonist doesn’t feel as connected to events as the companions for the campaign quests, even with what happened to Wishvale. The heroes from Octopath Traveler 1 and 2 get stronger stories. I miss being able to play around with character builds like I did in past games too. The town building element is fantastic, constant access to all Path Actions is handy, and the eight-character party in battles allows for some fun strategic options. But I do hope the next entry in the series is more like Octopath Traveler 1 and 2 than 0.

The thing about Gnosia is it is incredibly compelling. Perhaps even frustratingly so. It is a game where I wanted to know what was going on. Even when it became repetitive or I got tired of loops with no real progression, I couldn’t look away. I had to play one more round to level up a stat again. One more chance to see if that would unlock another missing profile detail for a character I liked. An extra run, because really it might only take fifteen minutes anyway. There are a few issues that keep it from being perfect, but I’ll keep coming back to search for answers.

Ace Attorney Investigations is a fantastic port that looks and plays beautifully on modern consoles. I’m so happy that people can finally experience the second game with an official localization! So happy that we can finally see that little wiener Eustace in HD glory! It strikes that perfect middle ground between the old Ace Attorney (the original trilogy and I argue even the fourth game) quality and the new Ace Attorney (Dual Destinies and Spirit of Justice) zaniness that most fans of the series can enjoy it, so long as they suspend their disbelief. Just pretend you’re watching something like Criminal Minds.

Even if you don’t count Oblivion among your favorite The Elder Scrolls games, Oblivion Remastered is a triumph and sets a high bar for what we should expect from a video game remaster. While the game will play exactly as you would expect, it looks, sounds, and perhaps even feels smoother than ever before. Given how different the world looks and quality of life adjustments and changes based on Skyrim, it still might feel like a whole new experience this time around.

All of Fuga: Melodies of Steel’s elements connect to make for an experience that gets its claws in you and won’t let go. You hang onto every decision, trying to improve your combat abilities and always make the right calls. You shift your crew and pray you’ve made the right decision regarding which weapons to use. You have them talk with friends, wondering if you should be diverting your attention elsewhere, always wondering if one of them will die from a single mistake. It’s an incredibly compelling experience in tactical combat.