With witty writing, colorful presentation and smooth and varied gameplay, A Hat in Time is one of the best platform games released in recent years. While the game wears its influences right in the open, it's never bound to them, offering features that do manage to make it stand out from the best classic games. Yooka-Laylee was meant to bring a new golden era for the genre, far from the spotlight for too long, but it's a small spacefaring kid and her trusty hats that may finally be able to do so.

Assassin's Creed Shadows is one of the finest entries in the series, successfully bringing back stealth-oriented gameplay while retaining the RPG mechanics and refined combat mechanics seen in previous entries in the series, seamlessly integrating them with the dual protagonist setup and a well-paced story that doesn't overstay its welcome. While the game still features way more content and gameplay systems than necessary, its rendition of Feudal Japan is among the best ever seen in a video game, and it is well worth experiencing for the vast majority of players.

It makes me feel like I never left KOF behind, to begin with. I am ready to start my journey in fighting games once again and live to fight another day.

Dying Light: The Beast's parkour mechanics and crunchy melee combat are the two load-bearing pillars that make it a game worth leaping into, with support from a beautiful world to explore (minus the infected) and a tense day and night cycle that greatly raises the stakes on its survival elements. Beyond that, the mechanical and narrative pacing, inconsistent writing and narrative tone, and world design choices that feel antithetical to the series in the first place all bring it to a fairly uninteresting experience that is only worth it for however long you want to turn your brain off and enjoy watching digital infected brains go *splat.*

Hob is an action adventure with a stunning visual style, engrossing world and enjoyable combat. It is a standard bearer for what the genre can achieve at this level.

Metal: Hellsinger offers a great variety of metal songs that will make your journey through hell a very pleasant one. Combined with the relentless enemies and dynamic gameplay, this game is sure to give you hours of entertainment so long as you know how to stay on the beat.

Sackboy's first foray outside of the Media Moleculeverse without an editor to guide his way is not only a fantastic 3D platformer for all ages but also one of the best PlayStation 5 launch titles for younger audiences.

Giving Goro Majima his own game to do whatever the hell he wants and it turning into a pirate adventure on the high seas might sound like an amazing combination, but this is one boat ride that's trapped in the conventions of the Like a Dragon series and doesn't take enough risks to be a must-play standalone title.

It offers a lot of fun and a few shiny new toys (such as the buggy) to everyone else who greatly appreciated Dying Light, and it does so with great value thanks to a strong longevity for its price. Unless you really dislike zombies, The Following is a worthy purchase.

The Quarry is yet another impressive title by Supermassive Games. While it doesn't veer away from their previous titles, their ability to write an interesting story with compelling characters is only improving. Featuring several red herrings and twists, The Quarry will keep you guessing and gives you an ever-increasing impact on how the story turns out. There are still a few niggles here and there, such as the sloth-like character movement and a few facial animation and audio quirks, but this looks better than ever and features an excellent soundtrack. If you're a fan of Until Dawn or The Dark Pictures games, you'll like this; particularly as the larger budget comes with a much bigger cast and a much larger and more branching story.

As an online and local multiplayer game, PES 19 is definitely worth playing thanks to the excellent gameplay. However, the AI problems are so bad that you probably shouldn’t even consider purchasing the game until these issues have been addressed. Football fans will need to wait for a patch or just wait a few weeks until FIFA 19 comes out.

The Outer Worlds 2 is an improved, more refined version of The Outer Worlds and is an all-around better game than its predecessor, with a well-executed Flaw system to keep gameplay interesting, improved gunplay, stunning visuals, and excellent character writing, voice acting and animations. It's held back by a lacking plot that fizzles well before the end, progression pacing that's all over the place, and an abysmal menu system, but those elements don't make it a game you should skip, whether you were a fan of the first game or not.

It makes for a better fighter than J-Stars Victory VS.

Elden Ring: Nightreign is one of the most unique titles ever developed by FromSoftware, and arguably one of their best to date. Adapting the traditionally slow-paced Souls formula into a fast-paced, co-op-focused experience with roguelike elements was no easy feat, but the Japanese studio has fully delivered, once again proving why they remain masters of their craft.

Cat Quest does exactly what it says on the tin - this is a full RPG experience, condensed into a few hours of play, stuffed to the brim with adorable kitties and cat puns. If you want a short but sweet RPG with plenty of moments that will make you smile, Cat Quest can be a great choice, especially for kids.

Echo offers something that I don't think anything else has done. It's creepy and imaginative and despite some flaws that come with the limited budget, it offers a lot of engaging, memorable and unique moments.

Resident Evil 3 is the franchise’s best action-driven entry since the glory days of Resident Evil 4. A beautifully-balanced combination of white-knuckle mayhem and satisfying old-school tension, Resident Evil 3 is compulsively-munchable popcorn entertainment that, unfortunately, disappears all too quickly. If you’re looking for value, there are certainly meatier games out there, but few that will leave you licking your fingers as happily as this one.

DOOM on Nintendo Switch runs a fantastically fun, playable version of our favorite console shooter, but it can’t be denied that optimizations and the lower framerate make for a less pretty, slightly rougher version of the game. Despite that, if you want a handheld version of DOOM, I still can’t help but recommend it. It plays well for the most part and is still loads of fun and a refreshing experience, even a year and a half later.

Temtem is a fantastic game when you look at its story and gameplay mechanics alone. However, when you see the variety of activities it has to offer and the way its economy is structured, it will make you second-guess your stay after the main story campaign is done and over with.

Kirby Air Riders serves up a varied platter of quirky modes and features, but Sakurai’s buffet may not satisfy long-term unless you’re up for chasing down every last crumb. That said, while a bit lightweight, Kirby Air Riders' unconventional and surprisingly intense approach to racing certainly sticks out, even in a year with a lot of karting competition, which may be enough to blow folks looking for something different off their feet.

Nobody Saves the World is a lively, funny, and original take on the well-trodden Diablo-style action RPG that’s held back only slightly by a few sticky structural issues. Nobody Saves the World won’t completely change your world, but it should brighten it a bit.

NBA 2K21 makes a solid debut on next-gen consoles, but may fall short of some fans’ razzle dazzle expectations. The game looks impressive, if slightly uneven, and new animations make for silky-smooth on-court action, but a lack of unique, worthwhile content holds the overall package back. If you’ve been waiting for NBA 2K21 on PS5 and Xbox Series X, or bought the Mamba Forever Edition that comes with a free upgrade, this is certainly the best version to play. That said, if you don’t have access to the upgrade (or a PS5 or XSX for that matter) you don’t need to feel too bad about sticking to the G League this year.

The first three Final Fantasy Pixel Remasters are a somewhat solid remastering effort that could have been so much better with a few tweaks. While the amazing rearranged soundtracks sound great and the balancing tweaks make the three games still feel great to play, the divisive overhauled visuals reminiscent of the 16-bit entries, technical issues like the lack of a V-Sync toggle and display settings not saving and lack of additional content found in prior remakes make these remasters a truly worthy purchase only for those who live and breathe Final Fantasy.

The King of Fighters XIV is a solid entry that’s sure to be played in tournaments for the next couple of years and establishes a foundation for newcomers to pick up a controller and learn what the hype is about.

Star Wars: Squadrons is a mostly-successful throwback offering impressive sights, intense action, and the opportunity for fun multiplayer throwdowns. Some mechanical quirks, a couple irritating missions, and a lack of depth holds Squadrons back from being a true bullseye, but those who have missed blasting TIE Fighters should find the game worth the ride.

For those willing to put their life on the line and set foot in the mysterious dungeons, Shiren the Wanderer marks one of the finest entries to date.

One of Akitoshi Kawazu's most experimental titles from the Super Famicom, Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven shows that a classic JRPG can be given a complete overhaul to turn into something brand new while still retaining its unique quirks and charm.

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment does a lot to address the story and technical shortcomings that held back its predecessors while making some modest yet welcome tweaks to the series’ combat. Age of Imprisonment remains relatively shallow compared to core Zelda games, but that’s largely inherent to the Musou genre, and those happy to bliss out while bashing Bokoblins will find a well-told tale worth tussling with long term.