Shovel Knight is delightful, amusing, and oftentimes challenging. It’s surprisingly deep, with enough secrets and charm to warrant at least one more run through on New Game+. The game controls like a dream, is simple enough to pick up immediately, and knows just when to up the ante to make you a more skillful player over the course of its six to eight hour campaign.

Street Fighter 6 is about as close as the series has been to ideal in a long time. Established fans will find plenty of mechanical depth to sink their teeth into, while newcomers will be greeted with a highly accessible entry flush with memorable characters and a striking style. It's the epitome of what a fighting game should be, and I can't wait to see how the series builds off of this return to form.

One of the best all-around games I’ve played all year. A crisp, consistent atmosphere, intuitive gameplay, and surprising depth create a fantastic experience.

Horizon Forbidden West is a spectacular sequel to one of the PS4's best exclusives. Its narrative is one of its strengths, with unforgettable characters and twists and turns that maintain a solid pace throughout, and it's combat has been expanded on, adding in new weapon and ammo types to make eliminating machines and humans an immensely satisfying experience. All of this is wrapped up in a world that feels more alive and meticulously crafted than its predecessor with visuals and animations that bring that special blockbuster feel Sony's exclusives are now renowned for to the PS5.

Civilization VI is still the supreme deity of historical turn-based strategy games. Sure, there are a few technical issues. Load times can be lengthy, and multiplayer could definitely be a lot more stable. However, none of those problems are big enough issue to put a dent in Civilization VI’s armor. If you love the series, history, politics, and/or turn-based games, Civilization VI is a must own.

Tchia is easily one of the most exciting games of the year. Its vast open world and spot-on physics-based gameplay are immediately immersive and utterly addictive. It reminds me of an approachable, family-friendly version of huge games like Skyrim and Assassin’s Creed.

It’s safe to say that F1 Manager 24 is by far the best motorsport management sim created to date. The realism, the abundance of features, and the infinite replayability are everything that any fan of this genre could ever ask for, and as expected, Frontier delivered them in spades.

All in all, SOMA is a fantastic game. From the detailed world in which it takes place, the engaging plot, and the perfect amount of creeping terror and suspense, there’s a lot to love if you’re into horror.

As the final game in the series, Dark Souls III delivers a fantastic, no holds barred, 30-hour experience that will satisfy longtime fans. Dark Souls III polishes its gameplay mechanics to a shine, and delivers the lore in droves to those who hunger for it – the perfect mix for an action RPG. Praise the Sun.

The game creates a compelling sense of dread, and packs just enough into a relatively small package that multiple plays are essentially required just to find everything that it has to offer. For anyone that’s a fan of a less action-oriented style of horror, the seething mysteries of Uncanny Valley are definitely worth looking into.

While the simple look and chiptune soundtrack may make players think that there’s not much to this title, that couldn’t be further from the truth. The sheer number of story quests, side missions, and loot, combined with a vast variety of character possibilities, establish far more than enough content to justify the $7.99 price.

I’m hard-pressed to think of a game that more exceeded my expectations than This is the Police. A fully-formed, engaging story that’s tied together underneath a solid and demanding simulator game is certainly something I’ve never seen before, and it’s all handled excellently.

Monster Hunter Wilds pulls off the ambitious foray into the open world genre with near perfection. The quality of life is better than ever before, and it's more of the same with improvements upon all existing systems. If you want to get your friends into the franchise, this is the game.

In its playful personality and incredibly inventive design, Astro Bot reminds me a lot of Mario Odyssey. It truly does sit alongside the best platformers of all time, providing some moments of pure magic and joy. Considering how smart and unexpected much of Astro Bot is, the possibilities for future adventures are endless.

Its magical world is a wonder to explore, it controls and looks exceptional, and the unique, modular build of its enemies ensures that combat never gets old. Yes, items could have been more accessible, and I was left with more questions than answers by the end, but these were mere speed bumps in the bigger picture. Horizon Zero Dawn is the PS4’s first major exclusive of 2017, and it couldn’t have gotten much better.

PopCap Games didn’t just recapture their old thunder, they magnified it to Zeus-like proportions. The quirky series from three years ago has managed to become a masterclass example in value.

It is not for the faint of heart, nor those who struggle with depictions of depression. For those who are up to the task, it is a brilliant and cold struggle that will challenge you both as a human and as a gamer, and I’d call it one of the best arguments I’ve seen for games as an art form.

Though the game does have its shortfalls, like a lackluster tutorial zone and some infuriating boss mechanics, Undertale is undoubtedly a real stroke of genius. The game plays around with conventions and tropes normally associated with RPGs and subverts them in clever ways, all while telling a deeply personal story that everyone can relate to at some point in their lives. Undertale is a game that makes the player feel and think. It’s a game that fills the player with determination, and is most certainly one that you should play.

Metroid Dread takes risks for the series, but it succeeds in doing so. The ending was completely grand, and the interpretations of the final scenes will leave me thinking about the game for a long time to come.

Pokemon Sun and Moon does more than just appeal to players’ nostalgia; it harnesses and combines it with new experiences to provide something that feels both familiar and fresh. The new experiences are bursting at the seams with new content and creatures, and it’s undoubtedly one of the best experiences available from the 3DS’ library, and the best Pokemon games to release since the beloved era of Gold and Silver.

Pokemon Sun and Moon does more than just appeal to players’ nostalgia; it harnesses and combines it with new experiences to provide something that feels both familiar and fresh. The new experiences are bursting at the seams with new content and creatures, and it’s undoubtedly one of the best experiences available from the 3DS’ library, and the best Pokemon games to release since the beloved era of Gold and Silver.

A must buy for any fan of RPGs, games to make you smile, or just a downright fun experience at a fraction of the cost [of] most AAA titles.

Taken as a whole, though, Motive Studio’s Dead Space remake is an unmitigated success that builds upon its predecessor’s story in small yet meaningful ways. It both looks and sounds phenomenal, and the Necromorphs at the heart of the horror-action still remain one of the medium’s most bone-chilling adversaries ever. It’s been a long time coming, but Dead Space is finally back… to make us whole again.

While XCOM 2 is definitely not for the faint of heart, people that do not give it a chance will be missing out one of the best strategy games of all time. The combat is unparalleled in its engagement.

Total War: Three Kingdoms sets a high watermark for the series and a new bar for the genre. Its attention to detail, high level of polish and differing faction mechanics means you can blissfully spend hundreds, even thousands of hours playing and still find something new and beautiful to engage with. It blends larger than life characters with historical authenticity, and technical polish with tactical finesse...I can see myself playing for years to come, and I can’t wait to see where the series goes next.

Breath of the Wild doesn’t feel like an experiment for the Zelda series, it feels like the realization of what Zelda always wanted to be. It easily stands toe-to-toe with the best open world games of the generation, and is a marvelous way to introduce a brand new system. Whether you’re a Zelda fan or not, this is certainly an experience you should not miss out on.

Automatron manages to take everything that made Fallout 4 great and magnify it. The customization afforded by the robot building, the interesting new weapons, the mysterious adversary, and the hordes of mechanical enemies make for an enjoyable experience throughout that will last well beyond the final quest. It captivates the best of science-fiction while never deserting the core of the franchise that fans love.

A fully realized open-world title with a moderately steep but extremely rewarding learning curve with an execution that ranks it up there with some of gaming's all-time greats.