While MLB The Show 21 is another solid entry in the series, the pitch to Xbox newcomers and those looking for a next-gen experience isn’t as strong as it could have been. Pitching, fielding, and existing modes get some welcome adjustments, but truly significant additions are thin on the ground and the series’ presentation is stuck in its tracks. Hardcore hardball fans and Xbox owners who haven’t experienced MLB The Show before should have a good time, but this franchise may be in need of a rebuilding phase within the next year or two.

Taiko no Tatsujin: Drum 'N' Fun is aimed at a specific audience, those that feel comfortable smashing away to J-pop and flailing their arms. And it caters to that audience perfectly. With more than 70 songs and dozens of minigames, it's going to keep players tapping and drumming along for hours, and likely humming the songs for hours after playing too.

While Redout 2 is a fun experience for the single player, it definitely lacks in a lot of areas and can become overwhelming to a lot of players for a myriad of reasons. The game's AI is also very incompetently designed with incredibly slingshot-like rubberbanding that makes competitors look like absolute klutzes when you're falling behind them or like they have hyperspeed devices on the slightest advantage. Everything is locked behind stages while most of the unlockables are just cosmetics rather than any substantial upgrades.

Atelier Lulua: The Scion of Arland is one of the best entries in the Atelier series. While the story is not particularly exciting, the charming characters, enjoyable world and streamlined game mechanics can keep players engaged for a very long time. Highly recommended to fans of the series and to those looking for a nice JRPG that's not too demanding.

With the great amount of love for the setting that was poured into the game evident from every line of dialogue and every little detail, Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader is one of the best games based on the universe created by Games Workshop, and a solid tactical turn-based role-playing game that can provide hundreds of hours of fun. However, while the lack of innovation isn't a major setback thanks to its high-quality campaign, the presence of bugs and frustrating mechanics prevents it from being a must-have for all RPG enthusiasts, limiting its appeal beyond Warhammer 40,000 and Owlcat Games fans.

Blue Reflection: Second Light builds upon many of the positive aspects while updating its combat system to be accessible for a broader JRPG fan audience. This is a step in the right direction that, while it may have some painful lows, also has some incredible highs that make for an overall great experience.

While the lineup of maps and modes is a little on the thin side, RIGS Mechanized Combat League was a multiplayer experience I kept coming back to day after day. It's easily the best one available on PlayStation VR right now.

DiRT 4 is a very good game, that much is certain. Retaining the fantastic control of cars from DiRT Rally, albeit made somewhat simpler, it offers almost endless rallying with a procedurally generated track system and a number of changing online challenges. Not without its flaws, including an oversimplified gamer control scheme and anemic career mode, it's still a worthy entry of the core DiRT franchise.

Resident Evil Revelations on the Switch is a great campaign to run through, and a fun online mode to spend time with if you’re still hungry for more. It feels a little bit aged now, years on from its original release, but it plays better than ever on Nintendo Switch thanks to gyro aiming, high framerates, and a crisp, sharp resolution. Well worth jumping in for Resident Evil fans and anyone looking for a fun, handheld shooter campaign.

Under Night In-Birth Late[st] is the complete package for fighting game fans, with the visual novel-like story being the only potential let down for anyone that isn’t used to how Arc System Works do things. It’s even worth buying, despite the excellent recent fighting game releases, because the combo flexibility and accessibility for both experienced and inexperienced fighting game fans are fairly unique even among fighters.

Tropico 6 is the best entry in the series, though not without its flaws. The repetition of random requests with no real direct relation to how your city is developing is always an irritation to me. The economics of the city is especially well developed, though areas like the superpowers feel tacked on at best. Fortunately, new features like raids help the game stand out from its predecessors.

EA Sports UFC 5 doles out impressive blood-soaked Frostbite visuals and a double-dose of M-rated attitude, but don’t let the new swagger sway you. While the action remains satisfying enough, it hasn’t evolved in any significant way, and a lack of compelling content continues to be an issue for the series. UFC 5 may deliver the razzle dazzle, but it needs to work on its fundamentals.

While Breath of the Wild's first DLC pack contains some fantastic moments, on the whole it feels light and, frankly, not yet worth the cost.

NBA 2K20 is the series’ best showing in several seasons. The action is more refined than ever, MyCareer serves up a fun story with less grind, and MyGM mode is back on track. Microtransactions continue to be a concern, but the most egregious stuff is restricted to MyTeam mode, with MyCareer actually feeling less exploitative this year. Hopefully we’ll see a more substantial refresh in the next year or two, but, for now, the NBA 2K dynasty remains strong.

Oxenfree is whole heartedly one of the best experiences you can have playing games. It is a cornerstone example of how stories can be told in an interactive media, and how to build a supernatural tone around 'average' characters without exaggerating everything.

Hell is Us is an amazing accomplishment, and will easily remain one of 2025's best games, though it falls short of amazing, and reaching the status of some of its influences. With a rich atmosphere, stunning visuals, deep lore, wonderfully realized characters and a fairly solid combat experience, it's not a game to be missed.

After such a long and troubled development, many feared that RiME would be a failure, but Tequila Works proved that there can be light at the end of the tunnel. With peculiar storytelling, varied puzzles, well-crafted platforming elements and gorgeous presentation, RiME can rival with the unique beauty of Team ICO's games.

Call of the Sea is a gripping, interesting, and creative take on the Lovecraftian formula. It moves away from the oft-trodden horror roots and creates an imaginative and immersive puzzle adventure with none of the lingering racism you might expect.

SNK 40th Anniversary Collection is an interesting package, but even with the upcoming titles to be added, I have to question its value. Luckily, this is not a full price package, but even then many gamers will doubt the value proposition, quite rightly. I'm not saying don't buy the SNK 40th Anniversary Collection, but whether you'll keep playing the game after a few multiplayer sessions with friends is questionable indeed.

While Johanka's story is interesting, albeit with plenty of boring sections scattered throughout, Theresa's 'ordinary life' is so dull it made me want to do my own chores more than play a video game.

I didn't expect to enjoy going back to Hyrule Warriors as much as I did. The included DLC content, local multiplayer and better performance make this one of my personal all-time favorite Warriors games. There are still some frustrating aspects, and I'm not sure I'm willing to invest the required time to grind out 100%, but Warriors fans and those who haven't played Hyrule Warriors yet will find their money's worth in Hyrule Warriors Definitive Edition.

Chernobylite's graphical detail is one of the greatest aspects behind it. Additionally, the game's nail-biting story, the memorable characters, and the freedom to explore the areas of the Exclusion Zone provide a great sense of dread and loneliness that's both fun to play and make for an excellent Action RPG with team management mechanics.

EA Sports UFC 4 is obviously made by people with a true love and respect for MMA, but it’s also pretty clear they didn’t have a ton of resources to work with. The action is better than ever, but the flash and depth you expect from an EA Sports title is MIA. This year’s UFC game comes out of its corner hot and provides a few exciting moments, but doesn’t quite have what it takes to go the distance.

For those looking for a narrative journey that’s unlike anything else on the Playstation 4, Abzû offers plenty to experience.

Before the Storm is a glimpse into a struggling mind. It is a not a blank canvas to create your own character, but the story of one person meeting another. Beautiful and flawed.

WWE 2K26 offers a more well-balanced card than last year, including some welcome tweaks to core gameplay, fun new match types, and solid additions to most modes. As with most annualized sports franchises, a lot of the improvements feel rather piecemeal, and the addition of a grindy new Ringside Pass nearly pushes the game into the realm of NBA-2K-style over monetization, but this veteran franchise can still deliver thrills, for a price.

Everspace: Stellar Edition isn’t the best 3D space shooter or roguelike available, but it’s a relatively unique and successful fusion of the two genres. Repetitiveness aside, you may just find yourself hooked by the game’s tight combat controls and satisfying progression loop. Unfortunately, the Switch isn’t the best way to play the game, unless portability is your top concern. Everspace for Switch isn’t for everybody, but if you fall into the game’s relatively narrow niche, a galaxy of die and retry fun awaits.

Pokémon Legends: Z-A is the most cohesive, thoughtfully-constructed Pokémon RPG of the HD era. Some may miss the more expansive world of something like Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, but this game's top-notch new combat mechanics, solid gameplay loop, and refreshing level of polish makes it fairly easy to overlook its compact map. Pokémon Legends: Z-A feels like a great new foundation to build on and I'm excited to see how the series evolves next.