Note to video game developers: Video games do not need to be 40 hours long. I'd much prefer a finely crafted and curated, bug-free experience that's 8-12 hours long than a 40-80 hour game filled with copy-paste content and so many bugs it probably only got certified thanks to some palms getting greased.
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As a now long-time fan of Yakuza, I wasn't sure the change in both main character and overall gameplay type of Like a Dragon was going to work. It's true that I feel Yakuza 7 loses a little bit of the super macho, "that was awesome" energy in the switch from brawler, action-RPG to traditional JRPG, but the JRPG mechanics are so solid the game is truly a simple joy to play that keeps that dopemine release of leveling up well-paced throughout the game. The game isn't without flaw - even JRPG fans might find the story pacing challengingly slow, there is some over-world jank, and at least two now-legendary difficulty spikes - but a well-written story with plenty of heart and memorable characters combines with very solid job-based JRPG mechanics to create a 75 hour experience that is somehow greater that the sum of its individual components.
Hades is the greatest rogue-lite in years. It's a masterclass example of a game that is just so tightly designed it's difficult to find fault in. I typically don't like rogue-lites because they are balanced exclusively around the run grind. While Hades doesn't quite break free from that, it does so much extra to embrace dying over and over again. It's truly this year's "just one more run" game.
It's a bombastic sequel to the 2016 soft reboot. While it took the story in a direction I didn't think it needed to go in, the game itself is a challenging, engaging, truly different shooter that focuses just as much on movement and management as it does on blowing holes through bad guys. Add in extras like cheat collectibles to make the game either more or less challenging as you see fit, it's a game that will likely keep you coming back to vanquish even more demons. Just don't play the multiplayer.
Animal Crossing was the game the entire world needed around the end of March. It's a simple, charming experience, with carrot-on-a-stick, metered gameplay that will probably keep you hooked for at least a month. It could be accused of feeling like work from time to time, but you'll likely want to visit your new virtual friends every day anyways.
It's the return of classic beat-em-up action. I don't really know what else to say about it. If you're a fan of the genre, you'll how just how rare a solid beat-em-up is these days, so SoR4 needs to be celebrated. It's cool to have such a large roster of characters that actually function differently.
Copy-paste most of what I said about Valhalla. A solid open world action game with kinda crap stealth, but a lot of goodies to collect. A technical marvel with the mood and style of old-school samurai movies. Absolutely beautifully running game, even on my stock PS4.
I have a love-hate with Valhalla. It's another example of Ubisoft's "everything and the kitchen sink" mode of operation in regards of content, which can be both a good thing and a bad thing. There is a lizard-brain satisfaction involved in clearing all of those little marks on your map, but when that's the bulk of what you have to offer for 120 hours, you need to consider hiring a content editor. The stealth is terrible, controls feel sloppy, story is dull and uninteresting, and it still doesn't go far enough into the mythology of these settings. Ubisoft: You're making discount Witcher games that take place in a computer simulation generated from a dead person's DNA. It's ok to go full-gonzo.
Over-long, over-wrought, overly grim with a sloppy story, but well-crafted just enough to get on this list. It looks and runs great. You can tell passion went into this game, and that's probably the best thing the game has going for it.
