The Centennial Case: A Shijima Story is surprisingly addictive, which comes down to the well crafted narrative and a great cast of characters.
Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising is a charming introduction to the Eiyuden Chronicle, with a wonderful narrative and a great set of opening characters.
Prinny Presents NIS Classics Volume 2 is a great bundle of classic titles that showcase some of Nippon Ichi Software’s strongest titles outside of the Disgaea series.
Trek to Yomi is a stunning homage filled with all the visceral pleasures that made us fall for directors like Kenji Mizoguchi and Akira Kurosawa.
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is a nostalgic trip for fans of the original who can now take the game on the go on the Nintendo Switch.
MotoGP 22 is probably one the most immersive racing simulators on the market, with the developers Milestone paying careful attention to detail throughout.
Ganryu 2: Hakuma Kojiro is a stunning looking sequel that excels in how a game in the genre should be designed in relation to enemies and levels.
Nobody Saves the World is an RPG that offers epic action and clever challenges during its fifteen-hour play through.
MLB The Show 22 is another great baseball simulation game from San Diego Studio, while there haven't been many dramatic changes, what has been upgraded really improves the overall experience.
13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim is a very different game from what Vanillaware has released in the past, but this is a great showcase of what they are capable of. The narrative is a fantastic piece of science fiction that can easily work as an anime or feature film.
Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition is a great remaster that retains all the glory from the original. The updated visuals are great, really elevating the entire experience.
Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is a fine return form for the Lego game series, the massive changes to gameplay are fully welcomed. The level of depth in the overall design and recreation of Star Wars lore is phenomenal. There’s so much content within this game, that the completionist will be busy for a while, let’s just hope there is additional DLC on top of what is coming, that will explore the upcoming series.
.Hack//G.U. Last Recode is a huge walk down memory lane that offers tons of content and replayability. The game does suffer from some repetitive features and a lack of strategic enemies. But overall .Hack//G.U. Last Recode is a great JRPG that feels perfectly suited to the Nintendo Switch.
Monster Energy Supercross: The Official Videogame 5 has certainly made the game the most accessible in the series allowing newcomers to not feel too overwhelmed. But the game still feels very much like its predecessor with most of the modes only featuring subtle tweaks.
It’s fair to say that there aren’t many emotionally driven games like Crystar on the market, and it excels in creating a heartfelt experience from start to finish. The battle mechanics and gameplay systems have been tailored well to keep in tune with the game's themes. For its relatively short duration, there is an admiral amount of content that will see the completionist looking to finish the memoirs of the dead. However, Crystar can feel really repetitive with its constant reuse of reskinned enemies and level designs which can be frustrating at times.
Kirby and the Forgotten Land is another great platforming epic from Nintendo that will constantly challenge the player. There’s a good balance between combat and platforming that keeps the game fresh and compelling throughout. There are tons of secrets and replay value that will keep players coming back for a long time.
Aside from the new additions to gameplay, I feel the title still played it too safe as there wasn’t too much to separate its overall experience from past titles. The familiarity and reuse of certain gaming mechanics may be fully welcomed by fans who have waited so long but I feel more is needed to differentiate the overall experience.
Persona 4 Arena Ultimax is a grand return for a fighter that has aged really well. Atlus has done a fantastic job at porting this game over even with the omission of the rollback netcode. The level of complexity within the combat and endless amount of content will ensure that Persona 4 Arena Ultimax's second spot in the limelight will last until the next Persona fighter is hopefully released.
In the midst of all the amazing fighters one the market Phantom Breaker: Omnia could be this year's hidden gem as its unique approach to creating an original experience is just fantastic.
Dawn of the Monsters is the Kaiju beat 'em up we’ve been waiting for with the developers doing a grand job to create a unique experience whilst celebrating the genre. I would love to see some new characters and levels in the form of DLC or even some online PVP worked in there to ensure its longevity.