Steve Watts
Penny's Big Breakaway is a loving homage that accurately captures what was both fun and awkward about the early days of 3D platformers.
Mario Vs. Donkey Kong brings the puzzle-platformer spin-off back to its roots, with clever improvements and a beautifully toyetic facelift.
Prince of Persia boldly reinvents itself as a metroidvania, and it feels like it has found its new home.
WarioWare: Move It maintains the series' zany sense of humor and experimentation, but it often asks more than the Joy-Con motion controls can handle.
This is the rightful successor to Super Mario World, and hopefully, will serve as a touchstone for 2D Mario going forward.
Detective Pikachu Returns is a charming adventure game for kids new to the mystery genre, but it's so gentle that adults may get Drowzee.
Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew is a bountiful blend of stealth, strategy, and swashbuckling.
Pikmin 4 is a pleasant, relaxing game that serves as a nice entry point for newcomers, with occasionally odd high-pressure segments.
The licensed racer from 2K and Visual Concepts is a delightful combination of open-world and kart racers, with tons of Lego customization to boot.
Tears of the Kingdom is a triumph of open-ended game design that pays homage to the best parts of the Zelda franchise's own storied history--and sometimes exceeds them.
Aloy returns to explore the wreckage of Los Angeles, and it's just the right amount of Horizon to scratch that itch.
The newest expansion to Dead Cells is an action-packed homage that injects Castlevania flavor into Dead Cells' familiar roguelike structure.
Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe brings a cheerfully gentle Wii-era platformer to Nintendo Switch with smart additions and a big new epilogue.
Marvel Snap is an elegantly simple and inventive approach to digital CCGs that emphasizes adaptation and creativity.
Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope is an improvement over its predecessor in every way, and one of the best modern Mario spin-offs.
Lego Bricktales is a remarkable approximation of actually playing with Lego bricks, thanks to a variety of clever physics-based building challenges.
Shovel Knight Dig takes everything that was fantastic about the retro platformer and recontextualizes it into a roguelike that's hard to put down.
Splatoon 3 isn't quite as novel the third time around, but a great campaign, tons of multiplayer options, and a few new surprises make it much more of a good thing.
River City Saga: Three Kingdoms blends modern sensibilities into a decidedly old-school brawler style.
PowerWash Simulator is a novel and soothing chore-core game that only occasionally breaks up its own relaxing flow.