At the heart of Harvest Moon: One World is an interesting twist on farming sims, but its bland, soulless world kills all potential.
Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town is familiar comfort food for farming game lovers, and plenty of it.
New Pokémon Snap is a photography game with occasionally clunky progression, but which is eager to show off its delightful subjects and let them surprise you.
Chicory: A Colorful Tale is a pristine little adventure with fun puzzles, a surprisingly rich paint mechanic, and a story that's disarmingly real, difficult, and heartfelt.
NEO: The World Ends With You successfully captures much about what made its predecessor so special, but it does so at the expense of its newer characters and stories.
TOEM is a short but satisfying little photography adventure packed with witty writing and picturesque moments to capture.
Like the themes of its story, Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are solid and enduring – leaning on the past, with all of its triumphs and tripwires.
Pokémon Legends: Arceus is an ambitious revamp that successfully revolutionizes the defining Pokemon experiences of catching and battling, but is unfortunately set in a drab, empty, and at times tedious world.
Rune Factory 5 is entertainingly chewable fodder thanks to the soil fertilized by its predecessors, but its attempted leap to a 3D world leaves it struggling with lots of frustrating technical issues.
Live A Live is a fascinating JRPG time machine that's getting its dues at last thanks to a remake that brings out the best in its seven stories, strong combat, and unusual structure.
The open-world gameplay of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet is a brilliant direction for the future of the franchise, but this promising shift is sabotaged by the numerous ways in which Scarlet and Violet feel deeply unfinished.
The Indigo Disk is a blast to play alone and with friends, but it’s still held back by all the same technical issues that made Pokemon Scarlet and Violet a disaster.
Animal Well is a beautiful, multi-layered puzzle box that’s both fun to simply play around with, and an utter delight to slowly crack open, secret by secret.