The game screams of style and has the gameplay to back it up. With the recent announcement of a co-op DLC campaign I am stoked to return to this twisted locale.

Despite falling a bit short in the story and characters department compared to its predecessors, Bravely Default 2’s satisfying combat encounters, deep job customization and stellar soundtrack makes it a worthy comeback for this fan favorite series.

Worms 2: Armageddon is still a really fun game. If you have some friends or family to play with you, it can be a blast playing locally.

As for the game itself, it lives and dies with the multiplayer for me. I loved the new Hunter mode, and I still enjoy the core online game more than most other shooters. The campaign on the other hand just felt like a mess. The enemy AI is atrocious, and the sheer execution is just boring at times. Despite its brevity, I found myself wanting it to end long before it actually did.

New Super Lucky’s Tale is an extremely polished director’s cut of a solid 3D platformer. I loved seeing its final incarnation finally see the light of day. I am glad more people can experience it now, but I do wish Playful would update the other versions, and perhaps even bring it to PS4 to complete the circle. Still, Switch owners looking for a solid, albeit simple platformer have yet another title worth checking out.

While it’s not my favorite bundle they have released, it most certainly has some fun times in it. RPG and Kingdom Hearts fans should not shy away from this one. Still, seeing as how 2.5 HD had both Kingdom Hearts 2 and Birth by Sleep in it and this package only has a full game and a 2 hour episode, I would say at least wait for a slight price drop.

Destiny is a new direction for Bungie in many ways, yet familiar ground in others. The similar storytelling is only accented by the phenomenal gunplay. The boring mission structure is forgivable due to the cooperative nature of the game. It seems for everything the game does wrong, it makes up for it with something else.

Mechanic Master is easily one of the most thought-provoking and inventive puzzle games I have played all year.

Bullet Soul is a little on the short side, even by shmup standards, with only five stages available to take on. However, the Steam version is priced competitively, and like all decent shmups, Bullet Soul provides some decent replay value incentives with multiple characters to experiment with, additional gameplay modes and the never-ending high score chase. While this isn’t the most overwhelming amount of additional content ever seen in a shmup, Bullet Soul’s overall package and price point is fair. It should entertain newcomers and enthusiasts alike.

Call of the Elder Gods is a worthy successor to Call of the Sea in almost every way. Combining exploration with some stellar puzzles and gameplay the game manages to tell a wonderful story with a Lovecraftian twist. The fantastic soundtrack mixed with the wonderful job the voice actors have done really help to make Call of the Elder Gods stand out. This one is sure to be on my Game of the Year list for 2026.

Transformers: The War for Cybertron is definitely a love-letter to fans of the G1 cartoon series. All of your favorite characters are here and somehow mixed in with a genuinely fun and competent shooter.

The freedom present means that no two missions will play out the same and the tense difficulty will challenge you to constantly improve your tactics. Just make sure you come in with the right expectations, because run and gunners need not apply.

A fighting game featuring characters from multiple beloved series I’ve come to adore through over a decade of fierce competition should have been nothing short of a dream come true. However, reality has a bad habit of encroaching on all precious dreams, and while the final product plays well enough, it stands not as the glorious celebration of Arcsys fighters history but instead as bittersweet reminder of what could have been.

Dragon Quest Heroes II is a solid sequel to a refreshing take on the musou genre. I love that Omega Force has been expanding on the style for a while now. These themed entries are often much more interesting than the standard ‘Warriors’ games. Still, some of the changes feel not for the best, and the combat started to drag on the longer I played.

While the Gamecube version is lacking some of the bonuses of the PS2 and Xbox versions, it is still very solid.

Persona 4: Dancing All Night proves yet another success in branching out to another genre for the folks at Atlus. If not for the relatively short list of songs and lack of multiplayer, this could’ve easily been the premier rhythm game on the Vita.

NCAA Football 13 gets so many things right that it is impossible to fault it too much. The problem is that most of the things it fixes and addresses are not things a lot of people will notice. This leaves you feeling like you are paying essentially $60 for last year's game.

Spec Ops: The Line may seem like a standard third-person military shooter on the surface, but once you dig a little more, you discover its dark side. War is hell, and no game has delivered that point better than The Line. The decisions you are forced to make and the outcomes they deliver are incredibly gritty and representative of the things soldiers likely deal with in battle. The mind is a powerful tool, and having never served, I have massive respect for people who have had to deal with things like this. If you are looking for an emotionally charged military shooter, Spec Ops: The Line is a must-play.

With Bandle City the developer Lazy Bear Games has done an excellent job of bringing the world of the Yordles to life. As I said the graphics are all bright and colorful with a whimsical vibe throughout and a soundtrack that’s among the greatest for the genre. I had no idea what to expect from this game when I started it but I ended up loving every moment.

The Legacy of Kain series deserves to come back, and this collection is a nice first step. These games are dated, but still excellent. The price tag is decent at $30, but I do wish it had a little more meat to it. Still, I can highly recommend these games. Just be prepared to deal with the quirkiness of the beginning of 3D gaming. It will take some time, but the investment is worth it.

Candle: The Power of the Flame is a beautiful game with a charming and emotionally resonant story. That may not be enough for players who don’t want to spend a good deal of time on challenging puzzles and helplessly wandering the play area for a long time, searching every nook and cranny. The overall design is good most of the time, but at times when it doesn’t translate to the player, it quickly crosses into frustration.

R.U.S.E. is a breath of fresh air in a genre that consoles have seemingly not been able to perfect. The inclusion of Move controls in the PS3 version really make a difference and even with a standard controller, the game plays great.

Sure it may have some small setbacks, but the gamble Two Tribes took with Toki Tori 2 really paid off. The clever design and simplistic mechanics really click, and when that discovery of how it all worked hit me, I was in love. The Wii U may not have a plethora of must-own titles, but if you own the console, this game is definitely one to pick up. The eShop could continue to be a spawning pool for brilliance like this; let’s just hope developers continue to bring their great vision to the platform.

The main game is a little bit on the short side, but there are collectables to find and target times to hit for the puzzle rooms, so there is plenty to do once you finish the core game.

For gamers anxious for a great puzzler that they can hit the road with, Dokuro is a great choice. Fans of the genre will love the art style, characters, and cleverly designed traps. Casual fans of this particular style of game though may find themselves boxed in by some random spikes in difficulty and some occasional glitches in the touch controls. In the end, those of you looking for a fun and unique experience will certainly be satisfied here.

Saints Row: The Third Remastered is an impressive return to this title. The developer went out of their way to bring this title back with plenty of upgrades and overhauls to make it feel like we remember. I do wish the game remained locked at 60fps on the newer consoles, even if it sacrificed some of the resolution though. As it stands this is the best version of the game to date and a perfect excuse for me to overrun Steelport once again.

Droplitz is a simple and addictive puzzle game that will keep even the most avid puzzle gamer occupied for some time. The online leaderboards are a welcome addition, but a lack of head-to-head challenges really hurts some of the replay value.

Suda's crazy story actually works, and the jokes are downright funny at times.