Assault Android Cactus+ is the baked potato of twin-stick shooters. A perfectly cooked center, loaded with all the extra goods, and a dollop of charm for good measure. It's a perfect fit on Switch with its drop-in multiplayer and bite-sized levels, especially for those with score-chasing in mind.
Katana Zero is a singular piece of art, with an earnest intensity rarely seen in gaming. Moving, exciting, and beautiful, it's something best left played rather than explained.
Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen arrives on Nintendo's portable console, warts and all. It's more than worth playing, if only for the combat alone, and it's one of the best mediocre games ever made. If you long for the feelings of adventure that often only come when imagining a good Dungeons and Dragons campaign, this should be up your alley.
Despite its humor, Duck Game is far from a joke of a game. Tightly designed and easy to jump into, it's a sure pick for anyone looking to entertain some company.
The combat of Rage 2 is its saving grace, and depending on how many gibs you're producing it can be a blast. Like a string of neon pink Christmas lights, there are fleeting moments of brilliance, but every moment in between feels dull.
Void Bastards is a pure, crystalline distillation of the immersive sim genre - all the feeling with none of the fluff. Full of variables, it invites the player to experiment and be experimented upon.
Gato Roboto is a refreshingly simple take on the Metroidvania formula. It's not going to impress everyone, but if you're just looking for solid side-scrolling action and a pretty cute cat, it won't disappoint.
For a game set in space, Rebel Galaxy Outlaw is rich in atmosphere. While some activities are a bit of a letdown, there's a lot of gratification in cashing in a hefty profit from a lengthy space-truckin' session.
Astral Chain combines all the best impulses of Platinum Games with a unique combat system and rich RPG mechanics. The world, story, and atmosphere are icing on the cake - this is one of the best overall packages from the studio and a remarkable directorial debut for Takahisa Taura.
Iceborne retroactively enhances Monster Hunter: World while adding so much content that you could safely call it a sequel. It's clear Capcom has perfected their winning formula.
Borderlands 3, besides being technically unsound, plays it a little too safe to stand out. While the gunplay is excellent and the weapons wild, cringeworthy writing weighs it down.
Like any genre-pushing work of art, Death Stranding is sure to be divisive. That said, the unflinching vision of its director is a breath of fresh air in an industry increasingly unwilling to swing for the fences.
Sparklite is a safe, stock-standard rogue-lite RPG that attempts to mimic The Legend of Zelda, but never manages to emulate it. An otherwise brief journey that requires some samey exploration to prepare for late-game hurdles leaves this adventure feeling a little stale.
The Star Wars spirit is strong with Fallen Order, and it came as close to making me feel the way I did when watching the original trilogy for the first time. However, unlike those movies, this one could use some post-release touch-ups.
Kunai knows grappling hooks are cool, so it gives you two of them. But beyond its best feature, it's an indie adventure that falls just a bit short of its excellent peers.
Dreams' unlimited potential for creativity is both a blessing and a curse, but putting the power of game development into the hands of just about anyone is Media Molecule's crowning achievement.
Doom Eternal's "play cool or die" philosophy shakes up retro shooter norms for the better. It's the confident sequel we all knew it would be, but it tries to be even more than that. In almost every way, it succeeds at both.
SnowRunner is the stay-inside game we need right now. Slow, rewarding, and providing just enough resistance to keep the player sharp, it's a singularly zen experience that's made for a particular kind of person -- even those who avoid more genre-standard titles.
The biggest downfall of Mind Control Delete is also its slogan: MORE. The gameplay is still great, but the focus on quantity over quality makes the experience feel shallow.
A revitalization of two classic games, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1+2 proves that even in an industry laden with battle passes and massively multiplayer offerings, gameplay is king. Two minutes have never gone by so fast.