Monster Hunter Rise is probably the most accessible and enjoyable entry of the long-running franchise to date. Streamlined, focused, and incredibly fun, Monster Hunter Rise is a must-have for fans and newcomers alike. One of the best action games on the Switch and easily one of its best console exclusives, it's everything a video game should be. Even if you've bounced off previous Monster Hunters, I recommend giving Rise's demo a shot, and if you're looking for a great way to hunt some monsters, there's no better option on the Switch.
Mass Effect: Legendary Edition is absolutely fantastic. The amount of effort put into Mass Effect 1 alone is more than I've seen from a lot of other remasters, and overall, it's an absurd amount of content for one bundle. The games have aged well enough that they're still a ton of fun to play both for newcomers and returning veterans alike. Even the sour points, like ME3's ending, sting less when you play the whole thing as a package. If you like epic space adventures, then there's no single better buy than Mass Effect: Legendary Edition. Now let's hope that Mass Effect 4 can live up to the high bar set by the originals….
Overall, Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade is a solid package. It's not quite worth buying at full price if you've already played the original, but the upgraded original game and the DLC combine to create an excellent experience. Remake still holds up as a really fun game a year later, and Yuffie's side story shows that the developers still have plenty of ideas on how to keep the combat fresh for a sequel. If this is your first time playing Final Fantasy VII Remake, then Intergrade is absolutely the version to get.
Overall, The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles is one of the better Ace Attorney games, period. If it had been released in its original form, I'd probably be more negative about it, but getting both parts of Dai Gyakuten Saiban in one nice package emphasizes its strong points and lessens its flaws. If you're a fan of the series, it's absolutely worth picking up, and I can imagine it jumping near the top of many people's favorite Ace Attorney title lists. It has its flaws and foibles, but it's some of the most fun I've had with the franchise to date.
Road 96 shows that it is possible to do a "roguelike," narrative-focused story and do it well. It's a shockingly engaging and well-written game with likeable characters. It's sometimes funny, sometimes terrifying, and sometimes thought-provoking, but no matter what, it never gets boring. Each setback or revelation made me eager to see the next, and my ending felt like a satisfying resolution to the plot that I'd been building. If there were ever a game that defined, "It's the journey, not the destination," it's Road 96, and if you're a fan of quirky, narrative-driven games, then this is well worth a shot.
In pretty much every possible way, Psychonauts 2 is a direct sequel to the first game. It's perhaps prettier and more polished than it would have been if it had come out a decade ago, but the feel and tone are spot-on. It probably won't change your mind if the original Psychonauts didn't capture your heart. If it did, though, Psychonauts 2 is a charming, funny and incredibly welcome visit with some old friends. The gameplay is sometimes too straightforward for its own good, but everything else more than makes up for it. If you're looking for a charming platformer with its own style and sense of humor, Psychonauts 2 delivers in spades. Here's hoping it won't be another decade before we see another entry in the series.
Just … don't use the Soul Cannon, please.
Metroid Dread is a fantastic return to form for the 2D Metroid titles. Building upon the lessons of Samus Returns, it captures the feel of Metroid nearly perfectly. It's incredibly fun to play, balances the story and gameplay in the way a Metroid game should, and in general, it's just excellent. Its few flaws stood out more in retrospect than while I was playing the game. It's easily one of the best 2D Metroid titles, and it's a fantastic way to close out the ongoing storyline.
Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy is an extremely fun little romp that is genuinely funny and heartfelt. It's fun to play, and combat maintains the feel of a team working together despite being technically only a single-player game. The only real downside is that it is a linear game, so the replay value depends on how much you enjoy seeing alternate outcomes to various cut scenes. If you're a fan of the franchise and don't mind that this doesn't matching the MCU version, then there's a whole lot to like in MGotG.
Shin Megami Tensei V is pretty much the sequel that fans have been waiting for. There are a few potentially controversial decisions, such as the emphasis on an open-world area instead of the franchise classic dungeons, but they ended up working out in the end. The gameplay was fun from start to finish, and the 40-hour runtime seemed to fly by thanks to excellent pacing. If you liked Nocturne but wished it were more modern, SMT5 is the game you've been waiting for.
Neon White is an absolute delight of a speed-running game. It's easy to pick up and play, and it has enough bite that you need to master how to shave off a few seconds from your time to proceed. More importantly, it feels really good to do so. The plot is fun, if not groundbreaking, and the likeable characters keep you invested. Aside from some backtracking that I wasn't fond of, Neon White hits all the marks and hits them well. Just be prepared to start playing and discover that eight hours have flown by.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge is exactly the game it promised to be: a heartfelt, funny, clever and incredibly fun tribute to a classic beat-'em-up and the cartoon on which it was based. The old-fashioned version of the Turtles might seem a bit odd to kids who are used to the more modern versions, but even they should have a ton of fun beating the heck out of the Foot Clan with their favorite of the timeless terrapins. If you feel nostalgia for Turtles in Time, then Shredder's Revenge is made for you, and I'm darn glad it is.
Live A Live is the ideal way to experience a cult classic game. It maintains or improves on everything that made the original game distinct while polishing it enough that some of the more dated design elements don't detract from the whole. It's a weird, quirky, and distinct JRPG that to this day is unlike anything else on the market. It won't be for everyone, but if you're a fan of JRPGs, then you owe it to yourself to give it a shot. What other game can you have a cowboy team up with a caveman and the pilot of a giant robot?
That leads to The Last of Us Part I being both the best version of the game and also extremely difficult to recommend unless money is not a concern. The Last of Us has aged well enough that you don't lose a ton playing the Remastered version, unlike the similar remake Demon's Souls, which took a cult PS3 game that many people had never played and gave it a modern updated release. If you're willing to wait for a price drop or sale, Part I becomes far more appealing because it is a wonderful improvement to an already impressive game. Aside from cost, there's no reason to go back to the older versions, and The Last of Us remains one of the best games in the Sony library.
Overall, Persona 5 Royal is effectively the same game it was on the PS3/PS4, but now it's portable. The colorful and simple graphics age extremely well, and while the frame rate and resolution won't match the new HD versions, they are more than adequate for the sort of game that Persona 5 is. The title remains an absolute masterclass in how style and strong art design can create a more distinctive and memorable experience than the most realistic graphics on the market, and that carries through on the Switch, even if it sometimes appears less sharp.
Overall, Bayonetta 3 is an incredibly fun game. I like the new mechanics, the new enemies are fun to fight, and it has a lot of laugh-out-loud moments. I just wish all of it wasn't surrounded by a dreary tale of multiversal failure leading into a rather bittersweet ending. If you don't care about the story, the game has few flaws that I can think of. It plays great, is full of amazing absurdity, and was absolutely worth the wait for any fan of the franchise. In the long run, I think Bayonetta 2 is my favorite of the franchise, but Bayonetta 3 is still a remarkably good entry in Platinum's best series.
Tactics Ogre: Reborn is an incredibly well put together remaster of one of the cult classics from the SNES era. It's an improvement over the well-done PSP remaster and improves upon it in almost every way. The story and translation remain excellent, and the core gameplay is more fun than ever. The only downside is that it didn't get any visual touch-ups, so you'll need to be willing to accept cute, pudgy little sprites acting out the serious tense political drama. If you're a fan of strategy RPGs and haven't played Tactics Ogre yet, then Reborn is well worth a shot.
Marvel's Midnight Suns is probably my top shocker for the year. I'm surprised at how well everything comes together. It almost seems like a bit too much on paper, but it feels amazing once you get your hands on the game. The combat is addictive and incredibly fun, and the story is pure comic book schlock in the best sort of ways. If you are looking for Marvel XCOM, you'll be disappointed, but that's the most significant "flaw" I can think of. Marvel fans of all types will be delighted with Midnight Suns, which is a love letter to the spooky side of the universe. It's a game that I easily see myself coming back to time and time again.
In some ways, it can be difficult to be objective about Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth. It's one of my favorite games, and barring a terrible port, there's no way I'd really dislike it. Getting the chance to play it again after a few years really drives home that as weird and strange as it is, it's still an absolute classic. You need some tolerance for the oddities of a PS1 title, but if you have that patience, Lenneth is easily one of Tri-Ace's best games and one of the best RPGs out there.
Persona 4: Golden is probably the ideal place to start your Persona experience if you haven't yet. It's probably the most consistent of the three games, and it nails the atmosphere, characterization and tone while keeping the gameplay fresh and exciting enough. It fun even if you are coming directly from Persona 3 Portable. If you have the current PC release, not a ton has changed with the latest patch, and you might consider whether you want to start this all over again. If you're looking for an excuse to pick it up, there's no better time.