Laika: Aged Through Blood mixes motorbikes and gunplay to create an incredibly unique metroidvania experience. Bolstered by a beautiful soundtrack and brutal story, its unapologetic approach to mastering both bike and bullet rewards learning from frequents death with some seriously slick and satisfying combat.
Separate Ways is a worthy counterpart to Resident Evil 4's fantastic story, providing an excellent remix of both new and familiar locations, and its breakneck pace of pitting you against excellent adversaries never leaves room for a dull moment.
Fire Emblem Engage proves itself worthy enough to be counted alongside the legacy it honors so well.
Splatoon 3 has done a great job anticipating the needs of returning players.
Splatoon 3’s campaign features a fresh take on an open hub world design, mixing in short but satisfying missions to let you experiment with different weapons and abilities.
Death's Door expertly blends classic dungeon puzzle solving with fast-paced combat encounters to create a memorable adventure across a moody world brimming with secret paths and hidden rewards.
Blue Fire's compelling approach to 3D platforming makes parkour a blast in both its challenge rooms and moody world.
This expansion pass offers new unlockables that can go a long way, but its side story connects in an odd way.
Byleth may be lacking complexity, but the easy-to-pick-up nature of their moves is still worth checking out.
Fire Emblem: Three Houses offers an incredible amount of choice, and a story that deserves to be viewed from more than one angle.
The Joker Challenger Pack is a great addition both for Persona fans and those looking to add another unique fighter to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate's already diverse roster.
We Happy Few's focus on story over survival is a good choice, and at its best when dropping bombshells of truth that the drugged people of Wellington Wells have tried so hard to ignore. In its Early Access, I felt like wandering between procedurally-generated islands to stay alive wasted the intriguing setting and premise of its opening act. Now, exploring segments designed to reveal We Happy Few's secrets are both fun and rewarding. Although survival and crafting are fairly manageable, running through randomly generated towns, streets, or abandoned fields unfortunately shows that We Happy Few can't hide from the ghost of its own past, no matter how much Joy you take.
Octo Expansion throws plenty of both fun and serious challenges at you, between its expansive amount of levels and a multi-tiered finale that doesn't disappoint. These trials provide worthy so many challenges for those who wish to hone their mechanical skills for upcoming multiplayer matches, that I wish this had been Splatoon 2's base campaign all along.
Baranor's new toys and helpful mercenaries give Middle-earth: Shadow of War - The Desolation of Mordor a fresh take that does its best to shine despite the lack of a complete Nemesis system. Without a gripping story or interesting protagonist, it settles on being a fun but short challenge mode.
The name Kirby Star Allies isn't just for show. Whether you're adventuring through Dream Land with up to three friends or playing with competent AI teammates, Kirby's ever-rotating group of uniquely powered pals are the real stars of the show here. The creative ways you can combine abilities never gets old, which means there's great potential for replayability especially with friends. I just wish the final boss battle hadn't come just as the puzzles were starting to give me a challenge.
There's a lot to love in Nintendo's second iteration of its quirky shooter, especially the way Splatoon 2 emphasizes splatting the ground just as much as it does inking your opponents.
It's no easy task, but Ever Oasis has managed to make me care as much about preserving my town as I do about saving the world. Despite the few odd design choices, there's a wonderful blend of adventure and town-building where every task you tackle finds multiple ways to reward you.
Arms' clever take on boxing provides a simple premise with a startling amount of depth for those who would seek to master the stretching appendages. Its rapidly evolving lobby system had me sticking around for “just one more match.” There may not be a lot worth unlocking right now, but planned free updates may just give Arms some additional legs.
The Painted World of Ariandel presents a land that’s both enticing and dangerous, and there’s plenty of challenges to face even if you won’t have to face them too many times. However, unless you really love dueling in PvP arenas and can find sustained interest there, this adventure may serve as more of an appetizer than a full course meal.
Kirby: Planet Robobot may not be the most challenging platformer around, but its clever use of robotic destruction combined with gorgeous environmental puzzles and unique bosses make for an entertaining ride. I only wish Kirby’s monstrous mech suit could make proper use of the huge amount of collectibles.