Revenge of the Savage Planet is a self-assured sequel that successfully builds on what was started in the original game, making smart adjustments to structure and game feel while honing in on the satire. Not all of it is a success, but it's a great little romp that doesn't ask for too much of your time or brainpower to make its point.
Promise Mascot Agency excels in precisely the areas you'd expect from the folks behind Paradise Killer – it's a phenomenal aesthetic piece and a genuinely gripping, off-kilter crime drama. The management gameplay at its core proves to be a bit surface level, sometimes even intrusive, but there's an undercurrent of beautiful weirdness here that makes even the iffiest contracts worth signing.
Two Point Museum is the culmination of years of learnings along with a ton of care and polish, beating out Two Point Studios' previous efforts in just about every conceivable way. The stellar campaign holds more variety than expected, the systems are as approachable as they are moreish, and it plays beautifully on a controller.
The underdog in Monolith Soft's Xenoblade Chronicles series has never looked or played better, giving new life to a game that could have been destined to rot in the ill-fated WiiU's library. By boldly refitting its systems and gently touching up the already-beautiful art, along with adding some welcome chunks of all-new content, this Definitive Edition of Xenoblade Chronicles X is essential playing for fans new and old.
Ubisoft's big, bold swing with Assassin's Creed Shadows mostly connects, proving that it was right to hold off on the Hail Mary Feudal Japan setting until it had honed the series' RPG trappings. Shadows' attempts at new ideas don't all land the same, but it excels in the areas that matter most in these games with a gorgeous, rich and well-researched world to explore, compelling stealth gameplay and a story full of intrigue and fresh takes on historical figures.
Starward Vector is a confident, brilliantly written sequel that builds on its predecessor's deft ability to weave thematic and story threads through direct-feed role playing. Gameplay tweaks and the new Contracts system turn what could've been an overly familiar double dip into a follow-up that stands confidently on its own.
Yakuza Pirates in Hawaii is as irreverent and over-the-top as the title might imply, putting its leading man to good use to tell a piratical tale that does just enough to stand on its own. Ship combat never quite reaches the highs it aspires to, and the series still has some growing to do, but it's hard not to be charmed by this mix of classical Like a Dragon and sea-faring action.
Terry's bite-sized, open world adventure is absurdly hilarious and hilariously absurd in equal measure, providing a few, thrilling hours of goofy fun with some of the best video game comedy in recent memory. If you missed this on PC last year, now's your chance on PS5 and Switch.
Afterlove EP pulls from a deep emotional well to weave threads of grief, love, hope, resentment, forgiveness, identity and more through a mostly-good mix of choice-driven visual novel and rhythm game. It has some issues with flow, and the rhythm stuff isn't amazing, but stick with it and you'll fall in love with this little slice of Jakarta.
Despite it feeling really late in the game to drop this HD re-release, the simple fact is that Donkey Kong Country Returns is a masterclass in tough-yet-exhilarating platforming, and the Switch is now the best place to play it all over again – or for the first time.
This definitive version of a charming, inventive throwback to peak Sakaguchi might still feel like a game best suited to an iPad, but it works well enough that it's absolutely worth a look-in for PS1-era Final Fantasy fans who've been unable to play it thus far.
Although the formula is bordering over-familiar at this point, it's been long enough between entries that this return to the Mario & Luigi series is incredibly welcome. It manages to feel fresh enough with interesting new wrinkles that play on this new world and story's overall themes, and its obsession with fraternal bonds results in probably my favourite take on the Bros. to date.
Whether or not you think it needed to happen, Nixxes and Guerrilla Games' effort to refresh Horizon Zero Dawn in its sequel's image is an incredibly successful one. It makes the original version look like a first draft by comparison, and while it won't convince anyone who disliked Zero Dawn on a fundamental level, $15 for the upgrade should be an easy sell for diehards.
Although the new coat of paint and quality of life updates probably won't change the minds of anyone who didn't click with this oddity of a 3D platformer the first time, Disney Epic Mickey: Rebrushed successfully recaptures the magic of the original, making it well worth a look-in, both for fans and those that missed it on the Wii.
Funko Fusion's biggest success is how well it matches the vibe of Funko's uber-popular line of vinyl figures as a whole – joyless, soulless representations of beloved franchises that capture almost none of the charm of the source material. The most culturally-relevant thing here might be the collectible KFC buckets.
Astro Bot is an easy pick for one of the year's best, if not the PS5's as a whole. The first fully-spec'd adventure might not move the needle forward for 3D platformers, but it's a triumphant effort from Team Asobi that stands toe-to-toe with some of the best in the genre. It's full of joy and surprise, and presented with an astonishing level of detail and tactility and packed to the rafters with reverence for PlayStation history.
Visions of Mana feels like the RPG equivalent of being young and visiting a park in the summer. It's picturesque, warm and full of hope, inviting you to set out and explore and maybe come home with a couple scratches or bruises but always rewarding the effort with a new adventure or discovery. There's a fantastic balance of old and new ideas here, enough to satisfy patient series fans and newcomers alike, a hugely-enjoyable main story, stunning environments and satisfying combat going a long way to make up for some annoying technical and mechanical foibles.
Cat Quest III is a succinct, super-adorable action RPG that builds on its predecessors with even more variety, accomplished visuals, fun twists and an absurd dictionary of puns. If you're after an adventure that offers everything you'd want from a modern RPG in a bite-sized format and less than 10-hour runtime, this is fur you.
Tombi! Special Edition is a great example of how something like LRG's Carbon Engine can be used to help preserve a game accurately and respectfully while also modernising the experience enough to make it compatible and palatable for future audiences. The bonus materials could be better-presented, and the game's original blemishes remain by virtue of its preservation, but it's a great way to re-live an underappreciated classic in the genre.
Thank Goodness You're Here is a succinct, spectacularly funny adventure through an absolutely atrocious fictional Northern England town, packing an obscene number of gags into a three-hour runtime and pulling off some incredible feats of no-frills game design. It's wonderfully-presented, unabashedly weird and extremely Yorkshire.