I was really torn on Rime until I got caught up in its emotional ending, capped off by a fantastic unexpected chapter select reveal. I really saw what Tequila Works was trying to do by the time the curtain closed and it ended up spurring another partial playthrough in the process. Even during its most underwhelming moments Rime got a response out of me, and I'll remember it for years to come.
Platinum didn't create a captivating narrative with Vanquish, but it serves as a showcase of some of their best pure action work. If you haven't had a chance to give it a shot yet you might as well with the definitive version on PC.
Meet the new Ultra Street Fighter II: The Final Challengers, mostly the same as the old Street Fighter II. Beyond the veil of some visual wizardry and a few rote fleeting fluff modes, this is the old school foundation that a lot of folks built their fighting game careers on. That's not a bad thing, especially with the Switch's on-the-go hook, but it could just as easily have been a downloadable release.
Guilty Gear Xrd is possibly the best fighter out right now. It took three tries to round up this cast (and you can bet your bottom dollar there will be DLC or a Rev 3), but the cycle is complete. With one of the best tutorials outside of Skullgirls it won't even be that hard to break in, either.
Zombies Chronicles gets the job done and hits most of the high notes the subseries has given us over the years.
Fire Emblem Echoes could have been held back by its need to usher the second iteration back into the fold, but it still feels like a fresh new entry. It is weaker than the last few games, but those bars were set so high that I won't hold that against it.
My enjoyment of Farpoint is inherently tethered to my experience with it in VR. As a shooter it's only slightly above average. But the team was able to incorporate various elements of sight, sound, and touch (by way of the Aim Controller) to elevate it. Here's hoping that more games actually make use of it.
On paper, it doesn't look particularly impressive, but you really need to strap in and feel the stress of solving one of its many puzzle boxes.
Years later De Blob feels like a worthwhile experiment. It hits the ground running with its likable tone and doesn't really let up with its no-strings-attached sandbox approach. Ironically after seeing the landscape so packed with open world busywork since its retirement, it's a welcome respite.
With just a handful of puzzles it'll also be over in no time, so it's best if you just take your time and take in all of the sights and sounds while you can.
With its jump-in-and-go world map setup, I find myself picking up Nioh and randomly running a few levels on the New Game+ difficulty more than I thought I would. If the next two DLCs after Dragon of the North can keep this up and pad an already packed game with more to do, I'll be returning to it for years to come.
A vehicular-based collection game, at least in theory, as no quality assurance of any kind was provided.
A quiz variant that does some interesting things, but doesn't provide enough content to keep the party going.
I was expecting some of the on-paper enhancements to impact me more, but Dragon Quest Heroes II isn't a stark improvement. It is better though, so if you wanted to get in on the first quest and missed out, you may as well skip it and jump in here -- you won't be missing a whole lot.
Puyo Puyo Tetris is one of the best puzzle games I've ever played, not just because it's based on two mechanically sound, battle-tested puzzle philosophies, but because it goes all out and doesn't leave any room for an "extended edition." Grab it, take it on the go, and preach the gospel of Puyo Puyo.
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War III takes a few steps back in time to make one step forward. It hearkens back to a lot of older design choices from the first game, and attempts to build upon other RTS conventions in the process. Not everything works (especially the strict adherence to the core conceit), but it's still very much both a Warhammer and a Dawn of War joint.
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is straight-up a better version of the game without compromise. It looks crisper, there's more to do, it's portable, and it might even outsell the Wii U version to ensure a healthier long-term community. With battle mode firmly in place, it's one of the best kart racers ever made.
Rick and Morty Simulator: Virtual Rick-ality's irreverence reminds me a lot of JazzPunk, but more grounded and less adventurous, with all of the good and bad a structure like that entails. It takes a little while for the comedy to ramp up (which, in a short game isn't ideal), but when it does, it hits all the right marks. Hopefully a follow-up will take us to more exotic locations and double down on a few of the tougher puzzles.
As an important piece of gaming preservation, I'd almost say that Disney Afternoon Collection is worth picking up just for the DuckTales and Chip 'n Dale sequels, but the truth is nearly every game deserves to be played at least once. For now I can only dream of Adventures in Magic Kingdom, Little Mermaid, and Mickey Mousecapade as DLC.
An original Xbox platformer that coasts by in some respects, but is mostly stuck in the past.