IGN

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Hinokami Chronicles is a wonderful retelling of the already excellent Demon Slayer anime, even if its inconsistent story mode isn’t as much fun to play as its cutscenes are to watch. Still, it’s an impressive arena fighter where it counts, with combat that deftly balances depth and accessibility, but a disappointingly small roster also holds its multiplayer back from being truly great at launch.

It may look like a 20-year-old energy drink commercial crossed with the best-looking Dreamcast game never made, but Cruis’n Blast is an endearingly earnest arcade racing time capsule filled with goofy, crowd-pleasing vehicles and a small assortment of zany tracks. However, it’s also an extremely lean package that struggles to disguise its origins as a wafer-thin 2017 arcade cabinet. It’s fun, fast, and eye-catchingly daft but take care diving in, because it’s only ankle-deep.

Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl is a very respectable platform fighter that serves as a fun, though far less polished and less fully featured alternative to its competition. The characters and stages feel soulless without the iconic Nickelodeon voice acting and music of its source shows, but All-Star Brawl lands its hits where it matters the most: in the fights themselves. If you can look past its underwhelming audio and visuals to see the surprisingly nuanced fighter just beneath the fog of nostalgia, then you’ll find some real treasure in this pineapple under the sea.

A surprise sequel after nearly 20 years, Metroid Dread brings back the legendary exploration and progression and merges it with excellent modern combat and some of the best boss fights ever.

Far Cry 6 is some of the most fun I’ve had with this series in nearly a decade. Its cast delivers strong performances across an enjoyable story, even if it’s also a fairly predictable one that doesn’t always land the bigger swings it tries to take. And despite some faltering new inventory mechanics and a handful of bizarre design choices, its creative weaponry means taking down an outpost, ransacking a convoy, or even just taking a ride with a buddy has never felt better.

Playing Alan Wake Remastered is a bit like taking an old horror hardcover off the bookshelf and wrapping it in a glossy dust jacket; it looks brand new on the surface, but the experience of actually thumbing through it remains the same and some of the edges of of its well-loved pages are starting to look a bit dog-eared.

Astria Ascending’s incredible battle and job systems are perfectly complemented by its gorgeous art and animations, but the rest of this JRPG doesn’t shine nearly as bright. It’s hindered significantly by a bland story, one-note cast, and brutal difficulty spikes throughout. That brings down its otherwise rewarding combat, and makes the journey feel like a chore rather than the exciting start of something new it could have been.

FIFA 22 on Switch is the latest example of little to no respect being paid towards a fanbase asked to pay a premium price for a virtually unchanged product. It’s just not good enough.

When you're playing with your whole clan, Tribes of Midgard is an exciting, hectic, co-op rush to hold off enemies and the elements – It's just a bit too unforgiving if you want to go it alone. Slaying a mighty jotun and racing against the coming of Ragnarok makes for plenty of Norse-flavored fun, but I longed for the chance to explore and interact with its world and systems with less constant upkeep, and at my own pace.

Crowfall is a hardcore PvP MMORPG that doesn’t do much to draw in anybody beyond its most loyal and dedicated players.

Boomerang X is a wonderful twist on a single-player arena shooter with excellent environmental story-telling, an interesting weapon, and a buttery smooth combat system. Even though it's completely linear, it still has the strongest Metroid Prime vibes I've felt from a game in ages, and I loved battling through each area as I moved deeper into its mysterious island. I just wish it were longer, because I was having such a great time playing it.

Pokemon Unite is an entertaining introductory MOBA that checks all the genre’s boxes but has very little of its own to add to the conversation – and questionable free-to-play choices like being able to pay for power even detract from it. Its bite-sized battles and cute presentation can make it a genuinely enjoyable brawler, particularly with a team of friends.

Though it wears its overly obvious influences on its sleeve, Eldest Souls is an incredibly satisfying boss rush that still manages to set itself apart. Its brilliant combat is complimented by a smart skill system and some incredible pixel art. Designed with replayability in mind, it’s a little bit of a bummer that its impressive customization doesn’t really blossom until partway into your first playthrough.

Story isn’t its strong suit, but the rest of The Ascent delivers a wonderfully realized cyberpunk world mixed with satisfying twin-stick gunplay to create an enjoyable action-RPG.

Observer: System Redux uses familiar sci-fi themes to create a compelling murder mystery in a haunting dystopian future. Though it takes place entirely in a derelict apartment building, the setting never feels restrictive, thanks in part to the clever mind-hacking sequences that let you explore the victims’ memories.

The Forgotten City is an incredibly unique and self-aware adventure game that does a fabulous job of exploring complex ideas stemming from a basic question: “what is objectively good?” If you’re expecting a full-blown action RPG that spans dozens of hours, this 10-hour jaunt and its fairly simple combat may only whet your appetite, but it still sports an impressive ensemble cast of likeable but flawed characters who each have something interesting to say.

Samurai Warriors 5 won’t shock anyone who’s played one of Omega Force’s Warriors games before, but it does present a great new style and enough over-the-top action to keep you coming back.

NEO: The World Ends With You is a sequel that leans heavily on recapturing what made the original so special. That’s to its benefit in some ways, such as its vivacious depiction of Shibuya, its incredible soundtrack, and its stylish, flowing combat system, but to its detriment in others.

Cris Tales tells a charming JRPG tale in a gorgeous and weird world, but it's hobbled by incredibly monotonous combat. Its battles undoubtedly overstay their welcome, but this unique odyssey still manages to shine through them a bit thanks to its style, characters, and the inspired (non-combat) time travel mechanics that make it so memorable.

Last Stop spins three intriguing tales in an enjoyably vibrant vision of London, but the superficial depth of its dialogue options and redundant quick-time events made me feel like I was just passively pushing buttons to cue the next cutscene, as opposed to having any meaningful influence on the course of events that followed.

Death's Door expertly blends classic dungeon puzzle solving with fast-paced combat encounters to create a memorable adventure across a moody world brimming with secret paths and hidden rewards.

Warhammer 40,000: Battlesector beats the pants off of other recent 40K tactical games, making a run at skirmish wargame greatness. While it's limited in places and the interface can struggle, the tactical combat is well worth the time it takes to learn and the Momentum system rewards your strategic prowess with more capacity to dish out pain.

Indie RPG Wildermyth aims to combine the best of storytelling with the best of procedural generation and succeeds, thanks to great writing, solid tactics, and some very clever design decisions.

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD is a fantastic Zelda adventure that’s aged like wine, even if Wii-era motion controls still aren’t great.

Old World is a smaller-scale 4X game than its Civilization forbearers but its new ideas add both interesting depth and intimidating complexity.