There's room in my heart for both styles of Paper Mario. The old games still exist and this newer, sometimes thinner formula is fine too. That said, it's possible Nintendo and Intelligent Systems have folded this subseries every which way they can at this point. I hope the next one is a little more fresh.
With Ghost of Tsushima under its belt, Sucker Punch deserves to be in the same conversation as Insomniac, Naughty Dog, and Sony Santa Monica. If this generation is to wrap up soon, it's fitting that it'll end with Tsushima: one of its most beautiful games thus far.
Orcs Must Die 3, like its predecessors, will withstand the test of time for folks looking for a lighthearted strategic affair in the sadly-now-underrepresented trap genre.
It's a weird game to review because so many people are going to expect drastically different things. How many games force you to shave and send your clothes up for dry cleaning? How many times can you say that you hexed an old widow so that you could go bowling in the past...oh say decade or so? Deadly Premonition 2: A Blessing in Disguise is another trip. You've been warned.
For every few moments in Iron Man VR that gave me an absolute rush, there were several that felt comfortably sterile. That's not the best ratio, but I'd definitely play more and I hope that Camouflaj gets their hands on Iron Man again: if only to see how they can top themselves and mend their mistakes.
But it's not enough. Borderlands 3: Bounty of Blood just tries to do so many things that it ends up becoming a cacophony of concepts. It's still Borderlands 3 though; which is always a plus.
I can just imagine some kid saving up their allowance to buy this pricey meatball and crying afterward: if you're reading this, don't do it, Timmy! If you want your Goosebumps game fix, stick with the slick, lovingly-crafted 2015 adventure game that's $10 or less on more platforms.
Surprise: Isle of Armor does not completely shake up the Pokemon formula. You're getting a very small narrative and another big interconnected Wild Area: that's pretty much the gist of it. With those expectations in check, you'll have a blast if you've been looking for an excuse to get back into the swing of chilling out with Sword and Shield.
Like the original Last of Us, some people are going to come away underwhelmed, but the story beats and the characters driving them are the main draw. Part II doesn't reinvent the wheel, but it gives us a lasting glimpse of a unique broken world full of broken people that's worth visiting time and time again.
Disintegration is highly ambitious, and I think that over time a combination of free and paid DLC could shore up some of its weaknesses. Either way, I'm already looking forward to a potential Disintegration 2: this world is worth lingering in.
As a hardcore shooter fan since the '90s, Valorant feels very well designed, and provides me with a rush I haven't gotten out of so many other big genre games in the past five years. But Valorant feels like it was meticulously designed in a laboratory to fault. It's fitting given that Riot has over a decade of data and esports experience, but the sterile feel of it does impact my decision to play it more regularly.
Even if it didn't have an extra chapter to conquer, Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition deserves a third release. The Switch version has united this modern classic with the TV mode of the Wii original and the fully portable nature of the New 3DS edition. It's truly definitive.
Although Minecraft Dungeons might not have the depth that a lot of hardcore dungeon crawler fans are looking for, it's an easy game to pick up and play at pretty much any point: solo or otherwise. Minecraft has proven itself to be quite the enduring and endearing IP over the past decade, and Dungeons is now partially responsible for that legacy.
Maneater squanders some of its potential, but it's perfect for a rainy weekend when you're craving something original. With some tweaks and patches, it'll have an even brighter legacy; or at the very least, become a cult classic alongside more out-there projects in gaming history like Stubbs the Zombie.
Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA Mega Mix isn't as fully featured as some previous games (Future Tone on PS4 had over 200 songs a few years back), but the DNA is still decidedly Miku.
The Wonderful 101 deserves this new Remastered lease on life after the way it was treated on the Wii U. For nearly seven years we've clamored for a re-release, and now we have it. Go play it this time.
Phantasy Star Online 2 is a difficult game to assess and a hard sell for a lot of people. It can get repetitive and the anime aesthetics aren't for everyone. But like many expansive online projects, the opportunity is there to really get sucked into a new and exciting world. Plus, it's on a console, making it more accessible; true to the original spirit of PSO.
While not all of the wild departures fire on all cylinders, XCOM: Chimera Squad's open-ended difficulty settings allow everyone to bend the strong combat groundwork to their will. Chimera Squad embraces the strange, and is predominately better for it.
I kind of agonized over rating Final Fantasy VII Remake. It's going to garner a lot of discussion from people who are both blown away by the new treatment and disappointed by it, and those feelings are not mutually exclusive. In the end — after thinking on it for some time and removing nostalgia from the equation entirely — I came to the conclusion that this world is full of powerful characters and a setting that's worth remembering: remake or not.
The remake of Resident Evil 3 is going to be divisive, just as the original was.