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While the on-court gameplay improvements from last year are incremental and subtle, NBA 2K25 is still the high-water mark for sports games. A more newcomer-friendly MyCAREER, and the addition of worthwhile game modes to MyTEAM make this one of the best entries in the series, even despite it constantly trying to reach deeper into your pocket.
Yars: Rising is an ambitious spiritual sequel to Yars' Revenge, and will give you a challenge; Wayforward and Atari worked their magic all through this one. Not so much in enemy variation, but Emi keeps the combat exciting and fun, and the hacks are that old Atari 2600 difficulty. Samus and Megaman would be proud. You will be too.
Team ASOBI came out swinging for the fences, expanding on the existing games in the series in every direction. Astro Bot is a delight in every sense of the word. A magnificent tour through Sony PlayStation's history, the franchise – and the Astro Bot character – has enough charm and chops to now launch forward as PlayStation's premier mascot-driven series. Stellar platforming, a mountain of secrets, and a never-ending sense of discovery and adventure, Astro Bot is a new classic. So. Much. Fun.
There's nothing crazy about Peglin. The game is straightforward but still offers plenty of twists the further into your game session you manage to get. This is one of those no two rounds are the same games, a staple in roguelight titles I have come to enjoy. The better you become at playing Peglin the longer those sessions tend to become. I don't daydream about Peglin, which is to say the worst thing I can think about Peglin; it's there, it's fun, but I don't feel much of a sense of accomplishment once I move onto something else.
A roguelike for fans of city-builders, Roots of Yggdrasil deftly extends its branches to those who typically shy away from the live-die-repeat nature of the genre. It's not perfect, but speaking the city-builder language makes this an inviting roguelike experience that will challenge but not frustrate you.
For fans of Dead by Daylight, The Casting of Frank Stone is an incredible experience that expands the lore of the game in ways we have wanted to see for so long. For everyone else this will play as a great Supermassive movie based game. I do think that non DBD fans are gonna be missing out because lot of the big moments, reveals, lore and references are just gonna go over their heads, but if you are a fan of Dead by Daylight this is an experience you won't want to miss.
Some RTS remasters have been terrible, chock full of issues. Age of Mythology: Retold is not one of them. Some bumps, like the terrible, lifeless voice acting are hard to get over. I love the idea of being able to play with a controller, and the support is there, it still doesn't feel right. The campaign is great once you get into it, and there is plenty to keep a single player happy for some time. This one is hard not to recommend to fans of the RTS genre who like to relive a bit of their younger days, but might be a bit to much to chew off for the casual fan.
Concord may not be worth $40 to some, but that doesn't mean there isn't $40 worth of game here. With PlayStation levels of production value, and exceptional gameplay, fans of hero or team-based shooters should find Concord appealing – if they give it a chance.
Star Wars Outlaws is a good time, once you come to terms with it's stealth gameplay. While the visuals feel rough around the edges, the story and writing are fun and the gameplay can be surprisingly engaging. Things do wear thin after doing the same stealth missions over and over again, but this is still a trip to the outer rim well worth taking.
Cat Quest III serves as a fantastic introduction to this charming franchise. With surprisingly deep combat, intriguing exploration, and wild story turns, the game kept me up far later than I intended for several nights in a row. Appropriate for the kids, but good enough that Dad soon booted the kids off the controller and took over. If you can stand the endless puns, this is a great, breezy action RPG that will entertain the entire family for hours.
I've never been as emotionally affected by a video game as I was by Farewell North. It's a gorgeous bit of storytelling, flanked by music and art that is just as beautiful. You can see its emotional gut-punch coming, but good luck avoiding it.
Eleven years is a long time in between games, and the developers at EA Orlando largely did a good job. There's a lot of fun gameplay but there are some issues that will need fixing for the next version. Dynasty mode is the star of the show here with so much depth you might get overwhelmed. Here's hoping EA Orlando builds upon the success of this game and does even better next year.
Shoulders of Giants: Ultimate is not the roguelike that breaks the mold for those trying to get into the genre, and I can't say that roguelike veterans would find its gameplay loop compelling either. It's wide range of weaponry and abilities does create bursts of fun, but unfortunately it wears thin relatively quickly.
Sword of Convallaria: For this World of Peace is not a game made for me, a person who enjoys a good, story-rich tactical RPG. Not much story there, and I found it confusing, to say the least. There are a lot of moving parts to this one, some of them feel like old-school TRPG traits that I love, and some feel like it's wearing the mask of a TRPG. If this is not made for someone who, by all accounts should enjoy this, then I am unsure who this is made for. Have fun, but be cautious.
DROS is a fun game but it can be a bit too easy at times. That combined with there not being much reason outside of in-game lore to get all of the optional goals might turn some people off. However, the stages aren't incredibly long and the game is one that can be enjoyed in spurts, plus it can be a challenge to collect everything there is to find, allowing for some fair replay value.
Thrasher is something entirely new, both in video games and in the VR space. Not for the faint of heart, and you are going to have to practice. You don't just want to play Thrasher, you want to play Thrasher well. And Thrasher wants to pound on your eardrums and heart while you try. A digital geometric nightmare-scape, that is also one hell of a good arcade game. Video games don't get much more creative than this one.
Super Evil Mega Corp may have struck gold with their take on the TMNT franchise, but with an empty story, a myriad of audio problems, and the same difficulty as an actual turtle flipped over, a game that wants you to play it over and over makes it impossible to play it over and over. I guess everything that turtles, ain't gold. Splintered fate, indeed.
Dicefolk is an excellent game that takes full advantage of the Switch. It is challenging but balances that out with giving the player full control over every turn - both their and their opponent's actions. Progression can feel a little skewed towards the luck of what upgrades you get offered run to run; but there is so much you can control to help guide your fate. If the game boiled down to a roll of the die; well, you can even upgrade the faces of that as well.
A delightful creature-collecting zen 'em up, Flock's charming vibe and flowy movement is a perfect weekend game.
Spin Rhythm XD is a straight forward package. It knows it's humble origins, and isn't trying to reinvent the wheel. Better still, this is a game that shines a new light on several artists and songs you may never have heard. Challenging and unforgiving at times, in all the best ways. The only drawback is that there is zero multi-player. Still, while I am late to the party, I'm now within the spin cycle. Pick this up.