When the surprise announcement came that Insomniac, developers of the Ratchet and Clank series was working on a brand new Spider-Man title, the hype was incredibly real and it became one of the most anticipated games in recent memory. Thankfully, all that hype was justified and not only is Spider-Man a true marvel, but it is also one of the best superhero games of all time.

Based around the board game, Super Dungeon Explore; Super Dungeon Tactics does a remarkable job at converting the experience of the table top genre into an enjoyable turned based strategy game, even if the inconsistent difficulty can get in the way of some of the fun.

Lara Croft has been a gaming icon for over twenty years, spanning numerous reboots and three major motion pictures. The character has been portrayed by several actresses, all doing their part to bring the character to life in one form or another. When Crystal Dynamics rebooted the franchise some five years ago, it reintroduced us to Lara Croft all over again.

The team behind Zombie Army Trilogy is back with another third-person co-op shooter. Now that I've spent a solid five days pushing through the campaign and each of the five maps available in horde mode, I can unquestionably state that Strange Brigade is an absolute riot!

While 2015's Helldivers did manage to be a fairly entertaining title, it failed to be memorable or leave a lasting impression like other titles of its ilk. Warhammer 40K - Inquisitor: Martyr is the latest sci-fi based hack and slash dungeon crawler to see a release and while it is certainly fun and action-packed, the title is certainly rough around the edges. 

From a visual standpoint, Dead Cells was a game that I had been intrigued by for a fairly long time. Dead Cells is a game that needs to be on people's radar, a game that truly needs to be celebrated. Dead Cells is one of the best games I've played in 2018 and a strong contender for my Game of the Year. 

Like many, I missed out on the original release of Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker on the WiiU and was looking forward to its inevitable release on the Nintendo Switch. My exposure to the title was minimal, but it looked like a charming puzzle game with all the trappings and polish of a typical Nintendo release.

Where Warhammer: Vermintide and its recent sequel at least looked to build upon the Left 4 Dead formula with their progression system and fantasy setting, Earthfall simply tries to exist by running around in the skin of Left 4 Dead, expecting different results with what can feel like a bare minimum effort. 

Blending Left 4 Dead with the Warhammer fantasy genre almost seems like a match made in heaven. The original Vermintide shamelessly borrowed from the Left 4 Dead formula while keeping the action consistently flowing and offering up a diverse cast that would banter back and forth as we chopped up the hundreds of enemies that came our way. 

If titles such as Yooka-Laylee and Bioshock are considered love letters to their respective gaming inspirations, then Octopath Traveler is the full-on romance novel of the JRPG. Steeped in combat mechanics and visuals of JRPG's from a long-passed era, SquareEnix's latest is a return to the greatness of classic role-playing adventure games.

The Nintendo Switch has proven to be one of the best platforms for engaging and lengthy JRPG's. We've just seen the release of Shining Resonance: Refrain and are days away from Octopath Traveler hitting the console and the system is currently packed with several more such as Xenoblade Chronicles 2 and Lost Sphear.

It's a rather weird thought that Mario Tennis would share any resemblance to that of Marvel's latest Avenger's movie, but when Mario is set on the path to recovering 5 colored 'Power Stones', I had to shake my head and let out a very loud sigh. In fact, I made that same sound at many of the design choices that Camelot chose to go with for this latest installment.

My experience with the NieR franchise is mostly limited to the release of NieR: Automata when it launched on the PlayStation 4 last year. I did play a few hours of the original NieR back on the Xbox 360 some 7 years ago, but I would be surprised if I played more than 4 or 5 hours of it.

Billed as a prequel to the forthcoming Life is Strange 2, The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit is a short two-hour experience where players will take on the role of Chris, a 10-year old with an incredible imagination.

We bolted for the van as fast as we could as an angry mob of the undead began to close in. We were low on ammo, one of us infected, and we needed to get back to home base to administer the plague virus cure. We were low on fuel as well but had at least enough to get back home.

Whether it's Marvel vs Capcom or Street Fighter and Tekken, seeing several massive franchises coming together is a truly spectacular event. While it has been years since I have played a BlazBlue title, I was eager to jump into this latest installment with the addition of Persona, Under Night In-Birth, and of course, RWBY. 

Vampyr is a vampire action-RPG that is as dark and morbid as it is fantastic and expansive. Now, while that praise is certainly earned, during my 25 or so hours with the title, the game is not without its many problems.

A few years ago, I attended Pax Prime and interviewed Monster Couch about their upcoming game, Die for Valhalla!. I was impressed by the art style, the fun pick-up and play nature of the game, and the variety that was shown off for each Viking class.

Hyrule Warriors, on the Nintendo Switch, is the third time that I have played the title, and frankly, the phrase "third time's the charm" is the perfect way to describe this latest and most definitive version.

I've been loosely following the game during its development, but mostly as a passerby, never once putting much stock into being excited about playing it. After completing my first playthrough, I can safely say that Detroit: Become Human is one of the best games I've played this year.