Super Mario Party Jamboree is easily the biggest game in the Mario Party series. It's brimming with charm and packed with characters, boards, oodles of minigames, and humour.
Ys X: Nordics showcases many outstanding elements the series excels at — combat, skills, music, and characters are on-point and some of the best we've seen in the nearly 40 years the series has existed.
While EA Sports FC 25 features welcome improvements to player movements, reactions, and overall pacing, staples like Career Mode continue to saddle the bench.
Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown isn't a modern racer filled with archaic systems and always-online requirements, further gatekeeping an otherwise fun racer.
Reynatis has heart but feels like a previous generation relic with sometimes archaic game design elements. However, it has some good ideas, fun combat, and good music working for it.
Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster is another excellent game from Capcom. With tons of quality-of-life improvements, smart changes, and overhauls, seeing Frank West again feels good.
The Plucky Squire is one of my favourite games this year. It's filled with charm, humour, and heart. All Possible Futures understands video games don't need to be complicated and bloated—the emphasis on puzzles, platforming, and combat is straightforward but done incredibly well.
Castlevania Dominus Collection is Castlevania at its best, with three great games to sink your teeth into.
Visions of Mana is the first new Mana game in nearly two decades, bringing the series into a new generation. While some overgrown roots need a trim in the future—the various improvements to the combat, the level design, and the world are better than ever.
BAKERU is an excellent adventure platformer plucked from a previous generation and made for a modern audience.
SteamWorld Heist 2 provides an excellent challenge to players but won't scratch any narrative itches.
Gestalt: Steam and Cinder is fun, engaging, and brimming with intricate details.
Despite having little interest in the reveal, having spent over a week on Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition, I am now a convert and feel more connected to the past of Nintendo than I have in years. With a crisp and vibrant package that is a blast from the past, Nintendo continues to produce and deliver the best way to engage with the publisher's history.
Bō: Path of the Teal Lotus excels at its goal of delivering a commendable and exciting title. It is a unique title, one that I found to be charming and breathtakingly beautiful. It also wears its inspirations on its sleeve as it looks to replicate that same emotion from the player. Using Japanese folklore as a basis is clever, with the excellent levels and exploration worth a look at despite a few stumbles. In a summer when droughts were constantly occurring, the shift to game releases happening at all times of the day and months, Bō: Path of the Teal Lotus launches at a great time.
Luigi's Mansion 2 is a delightful blend of spooky adventure, clever puzzles, and charming humour. Its engaging gameplay, atmospheric design, and lovable protagonist make this a classic from the get-go and, even a decade plus later, showcases Luigi as an excellent character who can lead out of the shadows of his more famous brother.
Monster Hunter Stories is a great addition to the series and a good place to start with Monster Hunter.
Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance adds a lot to an already packed title from Atlus.
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is a masterpiece that continues to enchant nearly two decades after its initial release.
Lorelei and the Laser Eyes' open, non-restrictive nature is its most compelling aspect and a stroke of genius.
Level-5's Megaton Musashi W: Wired is a great experience — it showcases the developer's talents and delivers something great.