CLASSIC CHARACTERS

Sometimes you wanna play ace games stuffed with familiar faces. Meet up with your Mushroom Kingdom mates in Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury. Run into buds in Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart. Crash the party in Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time. Speed your way through Sonic Colours: Ultimate. Or catch up with Poké-pals in Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl.

DELICIOUS DLC

DLC elevates core games to even better-er levels by adding new stuff. Jump back into Super Smash Bros. Ultimate with key final fighter Sora (from Kingdom Hearts). Then turn up the heat with the Flames of the Nether DLC for Minecraft Dungeons. Want more Minecraft? Spin into Sonic the Hedgehog DLC! Or ride the two Bokoblin-stuffed DLC waves for Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity.

POLE POSITION

These top titles all raced past the finish line and into our faves list! Start small with tiny toy cars in Hot Wheels Unleashed. Then get bigger on two-wheelers in the knees-to-the-tarmac Ride 4. Pit stop and trade two wheels for four in the open-world awesomeness of Forza Horizon 5. Or get real in F1 2021.

MOVIE MAGIC

We love movies. We love games. What happens when you mash those together? Start with the Pixar-like wonders of Kena: Bridge of Spirits. Then jump into the superhero space with Marvel’s Avengers. Plus, dive deeper into space with Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy. Or farther, farther away in Star Wars: Republic Commando!

MARVELLOUS MULTI

Some faves are best played with mates. Grab a bud for the co-op coolness of It Takes Two. Start two-gether in WarioWare: Get It Together! before battling it out in awesome, foursome multi. Keen for more multi? Scratch the competitive itch with fun faraway fairways in Mario Golf: Super Rush. Or brawl your buds in Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl.

RADDEST REMAKES

A little bit of remastered old-school cool goes a long way! Go bananas with Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania. Soar into the sword-and-bow radness of The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD. Then add some ‘you’ into the chill RPGing of Miitopia. Or wonder at Wonder Boy: Asha in Monster World.

Let us know your fave game of 2021 in the comments!