Emio - The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club, the third game in this series, tells a compelling and deep mystery that is far darker and more disturbing than anything we've seen from Nintendo before.
SaGa: Emerald Beyond fascinates (for better and for worse) from start to finish. The multiple protagonists, bizarre presentation, and straightforward mechanics make for a rather easy but wholly unique JRPG.
Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth shows Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio and the entire Yakuza: Like a Dragon series at its finest. The best game in the series offers shocking and unbelievable content for players to experience across game modes like Dondoko Island, the brilliant and gut-wrenching story, and the intriguing new characters. Though it has some pacing issues here and there, and I still wish for slightly faster battles, this is the biggest, greatest, and most compelling adventure for Ichiban and Kiryu yet.
Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising certainly looks like one of the most gorgeous fighting games out there and it plays well, even if the actual content feels a bit bland.
In the end, Modern Warfare 3 begs the question of whether this annual cycle should continue or not. Almost half the game feels shoehorned in, such as the forgettable campaign. Meanwhile, the other half has mixed results in the case of the multiplayer maps. But if players engage with the truly special parts of MW3, such as its exceptional improvements to gameplay and spectacular alternative modes like Zombies and Ground War, they’ll find there is a worthy experience in there somewhere.
RoboCop: Rogue City may not do anything extraordinary, but it doesn't have to. It takes the RoboCop license, makes me care about it, and provides a solid Deus Ex-like RPG take on Detroit.
Crymachina offers a cybernetic futuristic world with excellent action-based combat. Though it loses itself in the weeds with its plot, it delivers nonstop fun.
Front Mission 2 Remake delivers on both the gameplay and writing fronts. While it has some pacing issues in its story, the gameplay remains consistently fun and engaging.
Infinity Strash: Dragon Quest The Adventure of Dai offers frenetic and surprisingly action RPG gameplay that is weighed down by mobile-style progression and a pointless story format.
Assassin's Creed Mirage digs deep to return to its roots, but loses what made it so great in the process with messy climbing and an unnecessary story.
Eternights relies a bit too much on taking inspiration from other games like Persona 5 to carve out its own identity.
Rhapsody: Marl Kingdom Chronicles is a charming package of two remastered musical PS1 JRPGs.
WrestleQuest is a surprising blend of WWE-style wrestling and a JRPG, making for an impressively charming game.
Solid and definitely has an audience. There could be some hard-to-ignore faults, but the experience is fun.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails Into Reverie is a fascinating culmination of most main characters' stories while paving the way for the future.
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War brings the series back to the start in a much-needed way. Treyarch proves yet again that it is the king of multiplayer, providing exceptional, genre-defining gameplay along with a decent mix of new maps and modes that help with the lack of Zombies content. And Raven Software takes the single player campaign in a different direction that stumbles a bit in execution but lays the foundation for games to come.
If Assassin's Creed Valhalla is an indication of the direction the series is going in from here, I'm all in. Valhalla sheds light on the Viking era in a distinctly hopeful way with fantastically written characters and story arcs that feel like you're bingeing an excellent show. The gameplay is at its finest, too, brilliantly balancing stealth and combat in equal measure. If it weren't for an overwhelming number of frustrating bugs and the lack of quality side content, this could have been the best Assassin's Creed yet.
Hades is a shining example of what the roguelike genre can be. The combat is fast and frenetic with an unbelievable number of options to tailor Zagreus' fighting style to your liking. Though the story isn't remarkable, everything else is in this gorgeous must-play indie title on Nintendo Switch.
Longtime players won't find much to enjoy in this barely changed version of last year's entry.
I couldn't help but find myself feeling like a kid again while playing Ni no Kuni 2. The switch from turn-based to real-time action is a smart move, keeping gameplay consistently fresh and exciting.