Until Dawn is everything that Quantic Dream games have tried to be – unsuccessfully – for the past decade. It emulates horror movies while demonstrating a clear understanding of what makes those movies work, its focus on consequence is nervewracking and intricate, and its story is silly but strongly delivered. It’s the best David Cage game not made by David Cage, and it’s the best interactive horror flick you’ll play.

Lil Gator Game is charm incarnate. Deftly, exceptionally charming. With its sincere, sweet little story and perfectly dorky humor, it provides a wonderfully enchanting adventure that kept me grinning and tittering all the way through. More importantly than anything else, Lil Gator Game made me happy. I’m damn happy this adorable goofiness exists, and while I’m sad I ran out of things to do, I’m delighted by everything I did.

It was already a steal before the extras, but the Snapshot mode and the videos, not to mention the classy production values overall, make this a must-have for those both old and new to Rare’s extensive library. If you’ve got an Xbox One, this is a shoo-in.

Every bit was wonderful as it was the first time around. Bright, cheerful, packed with things to do, and rocking some classic brawler action, it looks as beautiful as ever and there’s no excuse not to give it a look. It’s just as fresh as it was back in the day, and a 100% discount for prior players is friggin’ perfect.

Hyrule Warriors Legends is every bit as good as the original, with more meat to chew through and a colorful cast of extra playable characters. While some of the original game’s problems are still present, improvements made to the fluidity of battles and player freedom more than make up for it. In fact, I’d go as far as to say this is easily one of the best 3DS games ever released, at least if you have a New 3DS in your pocket.

With its sledgehammer humor and clever blend of stealth and action, Helldivers is a lot smarter than a passing glance might have you believe. It’s a game in which life is cheap but the deaths aren’t, where carelessness gets you turned into kibble, and sustained battle will leave you with an empty gun and a horde of pissed off monsters.

Karmazoo is a wonderful cooperative puzzler that encourages wordless teamwork in a way that should lead to chaos but instead results in elegant simplicity - most of the time. With its cute sense of humor and even cuter character designs, there’s a huge amount of appeal in simply unlocking and trying new characters, of which there are many. A game about being polite to strangers is as twee as it sounds, and it’s a tweeness I’m absolutely here for...Plus you can be a duck.

While it didn’t bring literal tears to my eyes, there are moments that certainly feel like a kick to the soul thanks to impeccable writing and direction.

Enter the Gungeon is a fast paced dungeon shooter that punishes and rewards in equal measure. Easy to get into, and tough as nails when it wants to be, Dodge Roll’s energetic and hilarious loot ’em up is sometimes frustrating, but more often a joy to experience.

It uses the limitations and opportunities of touchscreen controls almost perfectly, it’s easy to get into but increasingly challenging, and its genius in-game economy keeps one coming back for more.

A beautifully polished, impeccably tight game. While I’d have liked more 3DS integration, and the much-touted Amiibo inclusion isn’t anything to go crazy over, the game remains an absolutely stellar fighting game that I’m finding very difficult to tear myself away from.

Moppin’s work easily deserves to stand alongside the likes of Nuclear Throne, Spelunky, and The Binding of Isaac as a tough but rewarding game where no two runs are the same and the temptation to return is overwhelming...It’s also proof positive that reviewers don’t give games low scores because they “suck at the game” – I have no shame in admitting I’m absolutely awful at the bloody thing, but I adore it nonetheless.

Cronos: The New Dawn is far and away the best work Bloober Team’s put out and a splendid survival horror game in its own right. What starts as a post-pandemic Dead Space cover version becomes its own brand of scary that conditions paranoia into its players with undeniable expertise. There's a great script to go with the A-grade psychological puppeteering, and the whole package deserves to be seen as a genre classic...I am truly impressed.

You’ll be dropped into a blighted world and be left to figure out your own path, making fatal mistakes and incurring tragic losses before coming to the conclusion that precious few videogames have ever had the nerve to draw… War is hell.

Street Fighter 6 has made me the happiest I’ve been with a game in quite some time. As somebody who always wanted to play fighting games but whose neurodivergence prevented them, the new Modern controls and consistent approachability is simply joyous. Brimming with personality, immensely gratifying, and packed with a shocking amount of content, I’m still rather shocked by exactly how hooked I’ve become. It’s just a shame Capcom’s insistence on pernicious monetization lets the welcoming effort down, because besides that I have no notes. Street Fighter 6 is the fighting game I needed.

Darkest Dungeon is an unrelenting adventure as well as an intricately designed puzzle. Swiftly punishing foolhardy players while rewarding the ruthlessly pragmatic, it hammers home the message that risk is not always worth the reward. Knowing when to fold them is the key to triumph, even if doing so means abandoning your loyal followers and slipping further into amorality...Being a heartless scumbag isn’t particularly pleasant, but if Darkest Dungeon‘s taught me anything, it can be one hell of an amazing ride.

God of War Ragnarök is truly excellent. Quality seeps out of the thing, with so much effort put into even its less consequential elements. Richly detailed, terrifically written, all with a massively entertaining blend of combat and puzzles. The overwhelming amount of content can most certainly grow tiring at points and there are moments of disruptive meandering. Nevertheless, for a game to offer so much and retain such a high caliber is worthy of applause.

There are moments that make me scratch my head, infuriate me, and even make me cringe, but when I consider the layered mass that is Xenoblade Chronicles X, all I can think of how damn arresting it is.

Most importantly, Watch Dogs 2 offers a sense of humor running through it that the series badly needed. You don’t need miserable family death stories in a ludicrous game about “smart cities” and cartoony hackers. You need writing that leans into the silliness, that has a laugh at its own expense, which is exactly what this game gets.

It’s the Watership Down of videogames, and I can only mean that as twisted compliment.

Clash: Artifacts of Chaos is a truly beautiful production, far more so than one boasting a cast of animalistic amalgamates and sentient polyps ought to be.

When it comes down what truly matters, I can be a dingus mushroom and wear an eggshell for a hat. That alone makes Kirby Air Riders one of the best spin-off games a platformer’s ever had.

It’s reverent without being mawkish, exciting without being tacky, and robust with content despite all the usual trappings of a big-budget EA product. War is hell… but Battlefield 1 is pretty damn lovely.

Pac-Man Championship Edition 2 is a different beast than its prequel, and some may find its gimmicks a little too gimmicky this time around, but I find it hard to pick a favorite between the two offerings. There’s no doubt in my mind that this is the cleverer of the two titles, boasting an inventive central mechanic that informs some thoroughly brilliant level design. Regardless of which may be the superior Pac-Man, this second round of Championship remains a bloody terrific time.

At its very worst, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided is just as good as Human Revolution, which is really not a problem if you think Human Revolution was absolutely bloody marvelous.

Dark Souls III is, in many ways, a balancing of past accomplishments. The detailed yet obfuscating narrative of Dark Souls, the convenient travel system of Dark Souls II, a dash of the speed found in Bloodborne, and the rock solid backbone of strenuous, fulfilling challenge that runs throughout the entire series...Any player who’s been through this mill is prepared to die, but once more, that fantastic beacon of hope urging players to press forward and overcome each obstacle is shining as bright as ever. Because that’s what Dark Souls is all about – perishing, persevering, and prevailing. No game series comes close to doing what Dark Souls does, and Dark Souls III has done it again. It’s an undead favorite.

Tales From The Borderlands Episode Three is easily the best installment so far in Telltale’s trip to Pandora, and it’s cemented the entire series as my favorite Telltale production to date.

Rebirth is totally bananas and I’ve surrendered to the ride. While its obsessive drive to always be different can prove exhausting, it so often does different with such style...My opinion doesn’t matter. For better or worse, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is going to be whatever it wants to be, and what it wants to be is anything it damn well pleases. Against all common sense, that audacity absolutely works, and I can’t wait to see how the next game gloriously screws things up.