Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl is definitely more than just Nickelodeon Smash Bros., but you'll need to be willing to overlook some pretty substantial flaws to find the surprisingly nuanced fighter underneath the surface.
With its elegantly simple combat and beautiful world, Kena: Bridge of Spirits harkens back to the days of the N64/GameCube-era Zeldas, Okami, and Star Fox Adventures, while also adding modern sensibilities and a distinct personal touch.
The new content introduced in Sonic Colors: Ultimate is unremarkable, but the base game still remains one of the best examples of how a modern Sonic game should be, even nearly 11 years later.
Iki Island doesn't do much beyond just offering more Ghost of Tsushima, but the new content is extremely worthwhile, thanks to a story that dives deeper into Jin's past, a few new combat wrinkles, and plenty of secrets to discover.
Scarlet Nexus' combat is thrilling and its story surprisingly deep, and while it's let down by limited enemy and stage variety, the strength of its characters is enough to lift it high above your average anime inspired action RPG.
Intermission serves as a tantalizing tease of Yuffie's inevitable meeting with Final Fantasy 7's core cast, and an excellent reason to return to Midgar to experience her new exhilarating style of combat and entertaining side activities.
Guilty Gear Strive sets a new standard for anime-like fighting games with its visuals, stellar netcode, and flexible fighting system that encourages and rewards creativity.
Its roguelike runs are too long and it needs a way to save in the middle of them, but Returnal's third-person shooter action, clever story, and atmosphere are excellent.
Improved visuals and smoothed out combat go a long way in Nier's update, but it's the story that's the star of the show
Great action, smart strategy, and random curses carry Curse of the Dead Gods to top of the action roguelite genre.
Olija is a memorable 2D action platformer with great combat that is over all too soon with little reason to return.
Cyber Shadow's excellent gameplay, level design, variety, and music make it a great modernization of the classic Ninja Gaiden formula.
In Demon's Souls, a touch of smart quality of life changes and gorgeous visuals go a long way in modernizing this tough PS3 classic.
Ghostrunner's lightning-fast gameplay makes for a short-lived but memorable action game with some incredible moments.
Not all of the innovation in Steve's movelist translates to a fun time, but his uniqueness carries him far nonetheless.
WWE 2K Battlegrounds works as a shallow party game you play for an hour, then move on to something else, and that's it
Spelunky 2 is a masterpiece of procedurally generated platforming that stays true to the legendarily challenging original while also holding surprises around every corner.
EA Sports UFC 4 is great, with an improved career mode and clinch system, though its ground game still needs work
Fantasy Strike is a tightly designed 2D fighter with approachable mechanics and an entirely free-to-play roster.
Carrion nails the power fantasy of being a horror movie monster, but makes exploration a chore that pads the adventure.