Brian Shea

“Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds offers some exciting twists on the tried-and-true kart-racing formula, making for a streamlined experience that wastes no time getting you into the action. Though there’s substantially less content and replayability than its primary contemporary, Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds is concise and effective in its mission, offering the most well-rounded kart racer of the year.”

“It’s simultaneously a poster child for excess and restraint, which sounds paradoxical, but for a series named for existing on the border of seemingly opposed concepts, it feels right at home.”

“This is Lizardcube’s finest work to date, and it further excites me for the rest of the dormant-franchise revivals Sega has planned. Shinobi: Art of Vengeance should serve as a blueprint for delivering a retro-facing experience of an absentee franchise while still leveraging modern technology and game design conventions.”

“Despite a disappointing launch, Madden NFL 26 isn’t unsalvageable. I would imagine many of these problems will be fixed through post-launch patches, but that doesn’t change the fact that despite how strong its fundamentals appeared to be prior to stepping onto the field, much like a nervous rookie, this entry just wasn’t quite ready for primetime.”

“Once you accomplish the feat of completing every list item in one run, you unlock the next level. I enjoyed repeating the process of interpreting each abstract checklist item across Time Flies' four levels, but since it took me around just 30 runs to complete the entire game, the experience was over just as I started feeling at home with the mechanics and puzzle conventions.”

“College Football 26 didn’t throw out the playbook from its first year back, but it didn’t need to. Instead, iterative improvements and quality-of-life adjustments build upon an already strong foundation.”

“Though it's almost expected that MLB The Show will have another solid outing, I still can't help but smile when, after my first few games, I realize that baseball is back and we once again have a terrific representation of that in video game form.”

“Despite the overly drawn-out final act and the poorly tuned final boss, Metaphor: ReFantazio’s journey is well worth embarking upon.”

“Despite the persistent pressure to spend on microtransactions, NBA 2K25 shows the long-reigning dynasty might still have some gas left in the tank. Each mode delivers a different experience, truly delivering a targeted mode for nearly every basketball fan. Though some modes are bogged down and bloated, once the team steps on the court, you’d be hard pressed to find anyone that does it better.”

“Madden NFL 25 is a consistently good entry in the annualized franchise, but it does little to push for the highlight reels.”

“The potent combination of Sonic and Shadow Generations makes a strong case for being the best package of 3D Sonic content we’ve ever seen. It’s simultaneously a celebration of the series’ past while hinting at the exciting future on the horizon.”

“Super Monkey Ball Banana Rumble aptly demonstrates that the franchise still has something to offer in 2024 beyond nostalgia. With an eclectic mix of platforming levels and party games, Banana Rumble holds little back, offering a robust package that effectively announces the series’ true return.”

“Thanks to its excellent utilization of well-worn Zelda-inspired conventions and enough unique twists to differentiate it from the pack, Minishoot' Adventures delivers an outstanding bullet-hell experience with less frustration than most entries in the genre. I didn't set out to 100 percent Minishoot' Adventures, but by the time I reached the end of the the story, I had experienced everything the game has to offer, a testament to how enamored I am with this fun, twin-stick title. Minishoot' Adventures bridges the gaps between disparate genres with outstanding gameplay and thoughtful level design to deliver one of the best games I've played all year.”

“Though the gimmick eventually wears thin and the complexity sometimes outpaces the simple concept by the time you reach the puzzles in the triple digits, Please Fix The Road shows that creativity and clever puzzle design are more important than a robust toolset or wide-ranging player freedom. It delivers a tight, curated puzzle-solving experience that hooks you from the very first puzzle and, through steadily evolving mechanics, delivers satisfaction around every turn.”

“Beating the entire game takes less than two hours, but it still somehow manages to drag. You can return to the game’s six stages to try and get higher scores, but I had zero interest in doing so. The arcade games of yesteryear sometimes lacked depth, but they at least had a hook that stuck with you and kept you itching to return to pump more quarters into the cabinet. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Arcade: Wrath of the Mutants strives for the greatness of the influential arcade hits of the past but falls well short. Thanks to uninteresting and annoying gameplay, repetitive enemy and boss encounters, and grating audio design, Wrath of the Mutants is little more than a shell of the series’ glory years.”

“TopSpin 2K25 aptly brings the beloved franchise back to center court, showing that not only does the series still have legs, but so does the sim-tennis genre as a whole. Though its modes are somewhat repetitive and it’s missing several high-profile pros at launch, TopSpin 2K25 serves up a compelling package for tennis fans.”

“Though the stages are much longer than their original forms, sometimes clocking in at around 15 minutes, playing through Story Mode only takes a couple of hours. Still, Contra: Operation Galuga packs a whole lot of action into those hours. When you add the more flexible Arcade Mode and difficult Challenge Mode, Operation Galuga is an admirable modernized reimagining of one of the most influential games of the late '80s.”

“It’s a shame so many problems weigh on this otherwise enjoyable adventure. Even with the screen-crowding, bugs, and depth-perception troubles, I still look back fondly on the superb level design and movement mechanics. But because of those important detractors, Penny’s Big Breakaway lands as a solid 3D platformer unable to swing to the great heights it felt destined for.”

“Even after nearly 100 hours, I was sad to part ways with my team, feeling as though I had formed bonds with them that transcend any kind of in-game Social Link metric. Even with some outdated and repetitive elements inherited through the 18-year-old structure of the original, Persona 3 Reload is one of the best entries in one of the most acclaimed modern role-playing franchises in video games.”

“Following Get It Together and Game & Wario, Move It is the WarioWare game I’ve been waiting for over the last 15 years, and it mostly delivers. The motion-controlled madness gives you plenty of fun and novel experiences, even if a few stinkers are in the mix. Regardless of those, WarioWare: Move It’s catalog is full of microgames I look forward to revisiting for months to come.”