Whether you're a serious student of game design, looking to kill a few minutes with your friends' creations, or an avid enthusiast of sadism through game design, you'll find something to love in Super Mario Maker.

Metal Gear Solid 5 overstays its welcome a bit in the back half of the story, and F.O.Bs aren't much more than a fun novelty, but otherwise it's a stunningly enjoyable game that almost perfectly integrates a sizable open world environment with solid stealth fundamentals and a huge arsenal.

Every Sega/M2 3D Classic collaboration to date has demonstrated incredible love and care, even for mediocre games like Altered Beast. That same devotion applied to a top-tier masterpiece makes for an essential addition to any 3DS. This is the 3D Classics game to get.

A very well designed, beautiful-looking puzzle game that, while occasionally fiendishly tricky, is thoroughly enjoyable to play. It hits just the right balance of being tough, but not so difficult that you'll want to throw down your iOS device in frustration: the solution is always staring at you in the face.

Madden NFL 16 takes another clear step forward this year, featuring some fantastic additions to the passing game and an excellent new mode. After being maligned for so many years, Madden now has a clear sense of momentum that should carry it through the rest of the generation.

By far the best and most impressive Mega Man compilation ever assembled, what Legacy Collection sacrifices in reach it more than makes up for with refinement.

Think of it like a Telltale adventure with a much better presentation. If you're looking for a deeper, more interactive title, this isn't it, but it does its best to make your choices feel meaningful. And once you've played Until Dawn, comparing your story with your friends' is pretty satisfying.

A right rollicking blast from the past brought bang up to date with a splendid, full 1080p makeover. Its campaign has a ton of macho meat to sink your teeth into, and once you're done, the multiplayer aspect provides plenty of long-term appeal. The fact that the game comes with three other Xbox 360 Gears of Wars titles makes it a veritable bargain.

In addition to flying, players get an all-new storyline, new Primals, a brand-new raid dungeon, and three new jobs to level up. FFXIV still retains a few annoying issues here and there, but Heavensward is one of the best MMO expansions I've played.

OlliOlli 2 will test you. The controls are simple and straightforward, but success requires precision. Across 50 levels and five worlds, you will trick, you will combo, you will fail, and finally... you will succeed. OlliOlli 2 is a wonderfully tight zen experience from beginning to end. It's worth the price of admission.

The latest, and greatest, refinement of Atlus' Etrian Odyssey series, Untold 2 really manages to weave a ridiculous number of options into and around the basics of the franchise.

World of Tanks is an entertaining and enjoyable tactical shooter with a surprising amount of depth. If you're not prepared to pony up some cash, it does become a grind eventually – but if you reach that point and you still want to play, spending some money is very likely a worthwhile investment.

After a brief emotional detour, Life is Strange gets back to its main plot. The beginning and end of this episode are strong, with a lot of tension and emotional payoff, but the middle feels like it's padding out the gameplay time instead of serving the story. Still, this is the best episode yet.

A smartly-designed, highly enjoyable shoot 'em up that does everything in its power to leverage its '80 mecha anime aesthetic. Frankly, there's not a lot like it on PSN these days. On that basis, it's easy enough to recommend it, but what really pushes it to the next level is the tremendous amount of detail put into the enemy design and the combat.

Is Everybody's Gone to the Rapture a game, an experimental piece of interactive fiction, or is it perhaps even art? Whatever it is, the experience it delivers is a memorable one. It's gorgeous to look at, fantastic to listen to, and spins an intelligent and somewhat esoteric sci-fi mystery that's truly gripping through to its very end.

A fantastic package that charts the history of one of Britain's most important developers. It works both as a historical archive, and as a top-tier package of classic games. There really is something for everyone in this wonderfully crafted anthology.

Velocibox is an ultra-minimal endless runner that offers a rock hard level of difficulty that'll test your reflexes to their limits. If you're up for this kind of challenge, it's addictive and fun. If not, you'll probably find it too frustrating to be worth persevering with.

great new direction for the series, and the best-playing digital version of Magic the Gathering yet. However, it's buggy, and you will need to invest a fair chunk of change to get the most out of it.

It's worthwhile just to get the trap sim action on PS4, but the asking price is a bit high for double-dipping if you've already played Blood Ties.

This kind of open-ended ambition may leave players feeling lost at times, but its exploration of the act of creation and collaboration will stick with you for years to come.

An exceptionally cute match-three puzzler whose completely off-the-wall (and comedically mis-translated) Story Mode packs a fun challenge that'll keep you entertained for a good few hours.

An engaging and quirky game that packs some intriguing puzzles... as well as some that are almost too easy to solve. The narration sometimes feels like it's trying just a little too hard for its own good, but the overall experience Pneuma: Breath of Life delivers is an enjoyable one.

Simply put, you've never played a detective game like this before.

If you pick up Devil May Cry 4 Special Edition, know that you're essentially getting a prettier version of a 2008 experience. That may sound extremely obvious, but, over the last seven years, character action games have changed greatly, making some of DMC4's choices feel absolutely dated.

Rocksteady absolutely nailed the feeling of being Batman and Arkham Knight only increases the scope of the original games. Yes, I got annoyed, but the moment-to-moment play of Batman: Arkham Knight is still amazing. If you've saved the Asylum and cleaned up the City, it's worth finishing the Knight off.

I'd be hard-pressed to think of a game that tackles class, race, politics, and Capitalism so effectively with a light touch. Unfortunately, their attempts to replicate the drudgery of blue-collar labor might have been a bit too effective—certain sections of Sunset had me feeling absolutely listless.

There's the foundation for a phenomenal strategy game here if Double Fine is willing to build on it. As it is, though, it makes for a diverting few hours, and a welcome change of pace from XCOM.

Life is Strange takes a hard turn with Episode 3 as Max's supporting cast gains a bit more nuance and depth. So far, each episode of Life is Strange has improved upon the foundation laid by the last one. With Episode 3, the developer makes the player really think about the scope of Max's powers and actions. Great stuff.