zelda Archives -

Ranking Every Game I Finished in 2025

In 2025, I finally got my rumpus room sorted out, and I managed to finish plenty of video games. It’s been quite the eclectic mix of old and new, and I decided that it would be fun to rank them. That’s what people like, right? Rankings? Obviously this is just my opinion, and could quite easily change if I looked at it on a different day, but what follows is my attempt to wrangle every video game I completed for the first time in 2025 into some kind of order.

I’ll quickly mention Mario Kart World, RoadCraft, and Dorfromantik, because they’re not really the sort of games you can “complete” but all got a lot of play from me and were games that I played for the first time this year. RoadCraft is a MudRunner-type game where you find yourself in a big truck in the aftermath of a natural disaster and are tasked with repairing roads and pipelines and things, and Dorfromantik is a map-builder where you place tiles next to other tiles and gradually create an expansive landmass while trying not to run out of map pieces. I’m not going to describe Mario Kart World – you know what Mario Kart World is – but you could call these three my honourable mentions.

I’ll also mention Metaphor: ReFantazio and Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes. I enjoyed both, but bounced off both. Metaphor: ReFantazio became a bit of a slog (although I was suffering from excruciating back pain at the time and it hurt to even sit down, so that didn’t help) and Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes was just too much faff, as I discuss here. I did still like both games, though, and may well come back and knock them on the head in 2026.

Anyway, enough preamble, let’s get to the ranking! Watch out, here comes number 25!

25. Princess Peach: Showtime! – Switch

I get that I’m not exactly the target audience for this one, and I don’t really remember what possessed me to buy and play it, but honestly, it was still pretty good even though it’s all the way down here at the bottom. If it was bad, I wouldn’t have bothered finishing it, after all. You play as the second best princess from the Mario franchise and collect different outfits that unlock various powers on your quest to save the theatre or something, and the more action-coded stages were a lot of fun. Some nasty performance issues and some less-interesting sections let this one down.

24. Exo One – PC

A short and sweet Steam purchase that I’d had on my wishlist for some time, this one puts you in control of a technologically advanced space sphere/disc thing and uses momentum-based controls to take you on a ride through beautiful, alien worlds. I smashed the campaign in an afternoon but enjoyed it. There’s a story behind it about a missing astronaut and some mysterious space anomalies, and when the pace was high and the mysteries were mounting it was a thrill ride, but it loses some places for the moments when the controls worked against me and the pace was brought to a near-halt (and it felt a little tiny bit like playing crazy golf).

23. Arrow Flash – Mega Drive

A classic shoot-’em-up that I played to completion on my actual Mega Drive in my actual rumpus room. Reviewers of the early ’90s weren’t too impressed, saying that it was too easy and could be completed in an hour or so. I can confirm that this is true, but I still enjoyed it, switching between spaceship and mech forms, and experiencing some trippy visuals and cool tunes. I wouldn’t say it should be mentioned in the same breath as some of the legendary shooters from that era – it’s an early Mega Drive game and it feels like one – but I still enjoyed it.

22. Untitled Goose Game – Switch

I finished it this year but I started it last year and never quite got to the end for some reason. I played it with my daughter this time around, and we enjoyed unleashing our inner aggravating, surly goose personas. Charming and fun, but occasionally a little fiddly and frustrating, this is another game that you can finish in an afternoon. Any game with a dedicated “honk” button is okay in my book.

21. Orcs & Elves – DS

A random eBay pickup that got a few days of solid gameplay out of me. A traditional, first-person dungeon crawler with orcs, skeletons, dragons, zombies, and all that other Dungeons & Dragons-adjacent stuff that gives off cosy, fantasy vibes. It was developed by id Software and published by EA, which I only point out because it just feels quite unexpected. Archaic by design and occasionally esoteric, it’s still an enjoyable and atmospheric experience that I’m glad I picked up.

20. Donald Duck: Quack Attack – PS2

I’ve never really liked Crash Bandicoot. I find the games frustrating and find the character a little grating. I did, however, finish this random PS2 game that’s basically a Crash Bandicoot clone. In general I found it easier and more agreeable than Sony’s then flagship, and I’ll take the cantankerous waterfowl over the wacky marsupial any day of the week. Surprisingly good music, too. The game is known as Donald Duck: Goin’ Quackers in America.

19. The Precinct – PS5

I did a Game Diary on it here and it was a gift from my daughter for Father’s Day, which makes it super special to me. The Precinct has a great soundtrack and a cool, retro top-down view that brings to mind the original couple of GTA games. When it works, it’s all delightful chaos and ’80s vibes, but it had a few too many bugs and random odd NPC behaviours that took me out of the zone. Still, it produced plenty of hilarious emergent moments that make me smirk to look back on.

18. Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker – Switch

A game that I love the idea of slightly more than I love the execution of, but I did still really enjoy this sentient fungus-based puzzler. The compact worlds are cosy and visually interesting, and the brain-teasing gameplay is on point, with lots of additional content made available in the Switch version. I did occasionally find it a bit slow-going and wished my little mushroom pal could run a bit faster, and when played in cooperative mode with my daughter we found that the motion controls could be a pain in the arse. Still great, though.

17. Broken Sword – Shadow of the Templars: Reforged – Switch

I found it especially difficult to rank this one as Broken Sword is one of my all-time favourite game series’ and a go-to for YouTube lets plays when I can’t sleep, but re-playing this in its modern incarnation I couldn’t help but notice where the cracks are starting to show, and feel that if I didn’t have the nostalgia and the pre-knowledge of what to do going in, I would’ve got frustrated and given up. Still, impeccable atmosphere, and George Stobbart’s voice is one of the comfiest in gaming for my money.

16. Uncharted: Golden Abyss – PS Vita

Now for a more action-based take on the globe-trotting adventure genre, as Nathan Drake is responsible for uncountable murders while George Stobbart is still on a big fat zero. This handheld iteration manages to take everything that’s enjoyable about the Uncharted franchise – the spectacle, the atmosphere, the fast-flowing, ever-changing gameplay – and shrink it down to handheld size. I didn’t always want to be fiddling with the touch-screen and gyroscope, however, and the smaller screen took away from the “blockbuster” feel the series is known for.

15. Kena: Bridge of Spirits – PS5

I wrote about this one here, but to put it more succinctly; it’s a somewhat Zelda-adjacent adventure with a Dreamworks-inspired visual style, surprisingly deep and difficult combat, and adorable little critters to locate and manipulate (and put hats on). It was graphically stunning at times and enjoyable throughout, but I didn’t feel much of a connection with the protagonist and the side characters. Still, a great experience from beginning to end.

14. The Plucky Squire – Switch

The short and quirky tale of a young squire kicked out of his storybook, this game delighted with its writing, charm, and Zelda-like gameplay. I finished it right at the end of the year to take my number of games completed (for the first time) in 2025 up from a nondescript 24 to a thematically pleasing 25, and thanks to its imaginative design, clever puzzles, and some amusing dialogue and visual storytelling, I had a very good time doing so. A humble but entertaining slice of wholesome and colourful video game fun. I wrote about it here.

13. Drainus – Switch

Honestly, I didn’t spend anywhere near as many hours on this one as I did the likes of Kena: Bridge of Spirits and The Precinct, but I did thoroughly enjoy every moment, and it was so nice to play a mechanically near-perfect shooter with awesome graphics and music that I could actually get through. The best of the “short” games I played this year, Drainus definitely has a lot to offer for high-score chasers and self-challengers. I, however, just like the pew pew pew. I wrote about it in more depth here.

12. Super Princess Peach – DS

Probably my pleasant surprise of the year, I saw that a lot of contemporary reviewers were generally unimpressed with Peach’s first solo outing, but I found it to be a wonderful balance of accessible platforming, visual charm, neat music, and semi-sneakily hidden collectibles. Not too difficult but with some mildly challenging moments, this title kept me interested until the end and more than delivered on what I was expecting from it; a visually pleasing and well-crafted casual platformer experience.

11. Uncharted: The Lost Legacy – PS4

After having an agreeable time with Uncharted: Golden Abyss I decided to continue my Uncharted adventure by picking up this super-cheap and expertly-crafted thrill-ride and smashing the campaign over a few sessions. I enjoyed playing as Chloe for a change (and I always enjoy Claudia Black’s voice work), and found the set-pieces as exciting as always. I also appreciated the downtime, snooping around spectacular ruins and breathtaking vistas in search of treasures and trinkets. Short but very sweet, and with a nice ending where everyone enjoyed some pizza.

10. Super Mario Bros. Wonder – Switch

For my money, Sonic is the king of the 2D platformer. Having said that, I did find this endlessly inventive platform experience to be a fun and challenging ride. The Wonder Flower effects added such a surreal tone to the game that it always felt like anything could happen, and it let me play as Daisy, so that automatically puts it above the two Peach games I’ve already talked about. Daisy is the best princess, after all. A worthy way to kick off the top ten.

9. Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound – Switch

The first ninja-based game to appear on the list, this one stayed true to its NES roots while modernising the gameplay in a few key ways that resulted in a fun and challenging experience. I enjoyed the interplay between the two playable characters and found the bosses to be quite demanding, but wasn’t overly enamoured with the visuals and never felt too compelled to go back once I’d got the campaign in the bag. Still a top-quality, retro ninja adventure, though.

8. Ninja Gaiden 4 – PS5

This game should have been challenging for the number one spot but was honestly a little disappointing. The visuals are great, the combat is poised, tight, and brutal, and the violence is satisfying, but compared to Ninja Gaiden and Ninja Gaiden II it lacked variety and x-factor, and the new protagonist, Yakumo, came across as a socially-awkward emo-kid who all the female characters and some far-cooler male characters seem to have nothing but respect and adoration for despite his complete lack of charisma. It played brilliantly, but the game, like its hero, lacked personality.

7. Shinobi: Art of Vengeance – PS5

The triumvirate of ninja action games concludes with Shinobi: Art of Vengeance, which just won me over with its awesome presentation, animation, combat, and controls. The platforming was really solid too, and I enjoyed the Metroidvania-lite mechanics. An excellent return to the limelight for a classic Sega character that warmed the cockles, but some of the levels felt a bit underwhelming and some of the backgrounds felt a bit lacking in detail. I guess I’m still just a bit salty that the gross, body horror sections weren’t disgusting enough. I wrote about this game and Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound here.

6. The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom – Switch

With Tears of the Kingdom and the Link’s Awakening remake still in my unfinished pile, I wasn’t betting on myself to get through this one, but the quirky gameplay and charm carried me right through to the end. I had a great time summoning creatures and items to help with traversal, puzzles, and combat, and adored the atmosphere and visual style. I’m pretty sure I played the entire thing through in handheld mode, and it really worked beautifully as a handheld adventure that kept me occupied for hours. I didn’t even mind the menu interface thing that everyone was complaining about. Good stuff.

5. Prodeus – Switch

The first game I finished in 2025 was this gem of a “boomer shooter”. I wrote about it here, and while I haven’t played it since knocking the campaign on the head in January, it’s definitely one I can see myself blasting through again in the future. Feeling somewhere in between Doom and Quake with a few mod-cons strapped on, Prodeus was an extremely enjoyable romp through sinister enemies and grimy stages overflowing with ominous atmosphere. It was just a really visceral old-school FPS that I look back on with great fondness. Top five material.

4. Metal Slug Tactics – Switch

I’d read about this game (and watched a few videos) before it was released physically, and knew to expect an experience close to the excellent Into the Breach before sticking the cartridge in, so it had a lot to live up to. Thankfully, it turned out to be a very fun and finely balanced strategy roguelike with just the right amount of challenge. Full of personality, Metal Slug Tactics recreates the classic Metal Slug art-style admirably from an isometric perspective, and has some really cool music too. I often go back to Into the Breach, but now I have another option to sate that hankering for tactical grid-based goodness.

3. Metroid Prime 4: Beyond – Switch 2

My final anticipated release of the year, it lived up to my expectations and provided a beautiful and atmospheric space adventure that had far fewer frustrating moments compared to Metroid Prime Remastered. I wrote about it in more detail here, but I found that a lot of the problems people are talking about online – like the radio buddy and the green crystal hunt – didn’t bug me anywhere near as much as they seem to be offending other people, and I found Samus’ latest outing to be a top-quality experience from beginning to end.

2. Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown – PS5

My surprise of the year! When your biggest complaint about a game is that everyone seems really tall compared to the protagonist, then you know you’re onto a winner (everyone does seem so much taller than poor old Sargon though, and it does really bug me because seriously what is up with that?). I did a game diary on it here, and I look back on that time spent with the game very fondly. Great combat, satisfying puzzle solving and progression, and an awesomely charismatic protagonist all combine to form a brilliant Metroidvania experience. It’s super-cheap, too.

1. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 – PS5

Recent controversies from the Indie Game Awards aside, this has to be my GOTY, and I previously wrote about it here. A fascinating premise that was followed up on beautifully, gorgeous visuals, stunning music, and challenging gameplay that made the whole thing feel way more involved than your average turn-based RPG (not that there’s anything wrong with a traditional turn-based battle system). The passion of the developers is palpable throughout the game’s rollercoaster of a campaign, and I think it’ll live on as one of the true greats in years to come.

The Plucky Squire

A Real Page-Turner

I ended 2025 on a jaunty note, as far as video games go, at least. The Plucky Squire was added to my Christmas list on a whim and was purchased for me by my lovely wife, and over a few jaunty handheld gaming sessions undertaken in the time void known to some as the “Chrimbo limbo”, I saw the campaign to its jaunty conclusion.

If you haven’t heard of The Plucky Squire, it’s an indie game originally released in 2024 and developed by British studio, All Possible Futures, and concerns the titular squire being kicked out of the storybook he’s the main character in and attempting to save the day by exploring its pages and the outside world.

Many of the puzzles involve swapping words out from the book to have an effect on the environment. It’s a really neat idea that has loads of potential, but I don’t feel like it was explored to that potential.

The game is very “meta” in this way (in fact, the magic that the evil sorcerer, Humgrump, is using to cause trouble is referred to as “metamagic”), as the characters become aware very early on that they are part of a book, and many of the puzzles require players to think outside the box (or outside the book) to come up with creative solutions. Not that any of the puzzles were that hard. I never found myself stopping and scratching my chin thoughtfully for more than a few seconds, and I found all of the “glitchbird” collectibles in one play through.

The game will often stop to offer up some dialogue hinting at what the titular squire (who’s name is Jot, by the way) has to do to proceed, and there were times when I could’ve done without this, and would have rather the game let me figure things out for myself and hold back on stemming the flow. There’s also a recurring character that will give you more specific tips to progress, but you can ignore this fellow if you wish. He does have some fun dialogue, though, so sometimes I felt like I might’ve been missing out on an amusing quip or clever reference. You can’t have it all, I guess.

Sometimes Jot’s allies will fight alongside him, but sometimes they just follow passively.

The writing of The Plucky Squire is very pleasing on the whole. Generally, it’s presented as a kid’s storybook, but the writers definitely had some fun with the dialogue especially. The characters are all fairytale standards with some kind of unique twist, like a wizard who’s into EDM or a troll who’s a heavy metal drummer. The premise, writing, and dialogue combined to provide some legitimately fun and frivolous moments, and I actually chortled aloud a few times.

What about the gameplay, though? Well, I can best describe it as “Zelda-like”, in lots of different ways. When you’re exploring the book, The Plucky Squire feels like a SNES-style, top-down Zelda, and when you’re outside the book in the kid’s room, it’s reminiscent of the Link’s Awakening remake. Even Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks feel represented with some of the creative puzzle solutions. There are also a few moments throughout The Plucky Squire where the gameplay will change drastically for a boss encounter. I won’t spoil too much, but if you’re a fan of rhythm games, side-scrolling shooters, and Punch Out!!, you’re in for a treat.

I now realise that I didn’t take any screenshots of 3D Jot in the real world. Oh well, I’m not going back in to get one, sorry. Here’s a screenshot of him on a mug instead.

Early on, The Plucky Squire felt like it was going to be a quirky but somewhat average experience that I’d play through and forget about, but by the end the gameplay changes, the charm, and the writing elevated it beyond this. I also found the segments where Jot was exploring outside the book, snooping around a kid’s desk and navigating paint pots, rulers, and birthday cards, to be extremely cosy. It almost took me back to my Micro Machines: Turbo Tournament 96 days. Are there any more games where you play as a tiny guy in a full size world? I’d like to explore this idea further. Maybe I need to track down a copy of Chibi-Robo!.

Played on Nintendo Switch 2.

Kena: Bridge of Spirits

Who’s Making All These Hats Anyway?

Kena: Bridge of Spirits is a visually resplendent action adventure game with a Dreamworks-style aesthetic and a melancholy atmosphere set in and around a village haunted by regret-filled spirits. It was developed and published by Ember Lab, and was the studio’s first (and at the time of writing, only) game, and was originally released back in 2021. Players take on the role of Kena, a spirit guide tasked with going to a beautiful but seemingly deserted mountainside community and putting its various spirits to rest, and cleaning up some nasty corruption along the way.

All I’d really heard about Kena: Bridge of Spirits prior to playing it was that it had some cute little fluff-balls in it, and that it had a PS2-era action/adventure vibe. It slipped under my radar until I found a copy slumming it among the kids’ karting games and Switch code-in-a-box trash in my local B&M, and decided I’d pick it up. It sat on my shelf for a month or so before it became chosen, and the seal was broken.

Kena: Bridge of Spirits is at its prettiest when you’re surrounded by lush greenery in some winding forest path.

What awaited me was a very pretty game with a vague Zelda-like gameplay style and combat that initially seems simplistic but ends up being surprisingly deep and really quite difficult when it wants to be. Kena attacks with her magical staff thing, and over the course of the game will unlock other abilities like using the staff as a mystical bow and dashing through enemy attacks. The combat is kind of slow but feels responsive and is balanced well. I never got on with the parrying as Kena’s shield ability always felt very static and I would instinctively dodge and roll instead, but never felt held back by basically forgetting the shield/parry system existed. By the end of the game I was using the upgraded bomb attack to give me an edge against the difficult late-game bosses, and got into an enjoyable loop of chucking a shiny, blue bomb on the floor and then shooting it so that it would send little homing bombs off to attach to enemies, clearing out crowds of weaker foes and circumventing a certain boss’ ability to deflect bombs and arrows back at me.

All of these abilities have uses outside of battle too, and are used in various ways to solve usually-simple puzzles to progress. It’s during these exploration sequences when Kena: Bridge of Spirits feels most like a Zelda game, but Link never had a horde of up to a hundred little chubby fellas running around after him, did he?

Some hats look like they were foraged from the forest floor, others look like they were specifically made by skilled tailors and artisans. This raises questions.

That’s where this game’s main selling point comes in, or at least its unique selling point. The Rot (which comes across as a weird name but I guess it’s derived from some real-world mythology in a way that would make it make sense) are small spirits that appear to live under rocks and in chests throughout the world, and when Kena sniffs one out, they open their big, dark eyes and smile an adorable little smile and tag along for the adventure. These guys will literally follow Kena around as well, dashing behind her along forest paths or swimming through crystalline waters in her wake. They’ll appear in pots or on ledges as well, and the “main” Rot – the first one that Kena finds and the one that is revealed to have extra-special story significance – will occasionally point out nearby secrets and puzzles solutions.

There are a hundred of these Rot to find, and all of them look and act like a cross between a Minion, a Kodama from Princess Mononoke, and some kind of forest Furby. You’ll often find yourself directing them around the game world, lifting blocks, tipping pots, and swarming around corrupted plants to help banish the “poison” from the world. They’re also useful in combat, distracting some enemies, damaging others, and occasionally being able to make use of nearby flowers to heal Kena.

Due to the fact that Kena exclusively wields a staff in melee, you’ll be dishing out a lot of firm bonks.

I’m not sure how much I like the Rot. They’re fine, and they’re cute, but they’re Dreamworks cute, and I think I’m kind of done with that vibe. Also, they all look exactly the same (although some are slightly larger than others) and I would always have a little pang of disappointment when I uncovered another identical Rot. Some part of me was always expecting them to be a different colour or something, I guess. At least you can put hats on them, and I did really enjoy finding hats and forcing the little guys to wear them. My wife and daughter were far more enamoured with the Rot than I was, and practically swooned when they saw the little guy in the dinosaur hat. I just thought they were mildly charming and an interesting way to interact with the puzzles and combat. I would like to tell you whether they’re implemented in a similar way to the minions in the likes of Pikmin or Overlord, but I haven’t played either of those games so I don’t know.

Kena: Bridge of Spirits often delighted me with its visuals. There are some truly stunning environments, especially early on when exploring lovely forest paths with dappled sunlight coming through the trees. This is an exceptionally pretty game that uses influences from a melting pot of Eastern cultures to create a fairly enchanting whole. I will say, though, that I didn’t really like the characters looking like they were lifted from a modern Pixar or Dreamworks movie with a somewhat lower budget. I may be wrong, but I felt like the animation, especially the lip-syncing and general mouth animations, weren’t of a high enough quality to sit comfortably with the visual style the game was going for, and thus I left a little put off when the characters were speaking.

That red flower in the background is bad and must be smushed.

I do wish there was a bit more variety in the locations as well. The village and its surrounding woodlands look amazing, but the game only really offers up a significantly different biome towards the end, and it would have been nice to have seen a bit more variety. During certain parts of the game the weather changes, and the woods might become dark and rainy or the village might have an ominous red sky overhead. These moments are awesomely atmospheric, but are reserved for a few short, cinematic sections and then you’re back to fine weather again. Maybe a weather cycle would have been nice, but I feel like I’m nit-picking at this point. Kena: Bridge of Spirits is a fantastic looking game but if you’re not big on woods and idyllic mountainside cabins, you’re not going to find much else to get excited about.

There were a few glitchy moments, but nothing to hurt the overall experience. Sometimes the Rot would glitch into the floor or flicker in and out of existence, but given that they’re tiny magical beings who appear wherever they like, these moments were acceptable (I could tell when they were being glitchy rather than being magical, though, before you start). Kena also does the thing where if you jump onto a rock or bush that she can’t stand on she’ll kind of float around awkwardly against invisible walls and floors until she eventually lands somewhere she’s supposed to be. There are also plenty of areas where, if you pay attention, you’ll notice that she’s not standing on the ground but levitating a few inches above it. In such a lavish looking game, these little moments can take you out of the world.

Masks play an important part in the symbolism and gameplay of Kena: Bridge of Spirits. Did I mention the masks?

But what a world it is, and I had a great time exploring it. The game is fairly short and the world is fairly compact, but the whole thing is wonderfully designed, and the combat and exploration are both of a high enough quality that you should be entertained throughout. The story is fine but the atmosphere is occasionally enchanting, and the soundtrack accompanies the whole thing perfectly. The game can be difficult and the boss fights can feel epic, and there are plenty of collectibles (and lots of hats) to find to keep you busy. Also, there are optional combat and platforming trials if you like that sort of thing, as well as an unlockable New Game+ and multiple difficulty levels.

Kena: Bridge of Spirits is a great experience that doesn’t outstay its welcome and offers up a vibrant world and some cute critters to explore it with. If the idea of strolling through gorgeous woodland, digging up big-eyed little Troll-looking things, fighting baddies made out of gnarled wood and placating some non-spooky ghosts sounds interesting to you, get down to your local B&M and buy yourself a copy. Pick up some sweets or some Jammie Dodgers while you’re there maybe.

Played on PS5.

Video Game Covers

Wanna Talk Box Art? I’ve Got You Covered

One of the many reasons I fear the day when digital distribution replaces the physical game entirely, is that we’ll lose the establishment that is video game box art. I’ve been thinking a lot about video game cover art lately, and have indeed been looking at a lot of video game cover art, too. I’m looking at the cover of Fantasy World Dizzy right now, in fact. This timeless piece of artwork shows an egg in boxing gloves, wearing a safari hat and holding a telescope, while dragons and dinosaurs loom threateningly in the background. It’s a completely normal cover for a completely normal game, and it’s just the tip of the box art iceberg. From Wipeout to Alan Wake to Gravity Rush to Double Dragon, there’s a huge variety of great cover art out there, and I’m going to put on my world-renowned art critic shoes and talk about some now.

I’m also going to highlight a few that I really dislike. Then I’ll probably get called out on it and feel bad about it, but that’s just the kind of thing that us world-renowned art critics have to deal with every day. Let’s just look at some covers, shall we?

GOOD – Deus Ex

The box art of Deus Ex pleases me. There are a few aspects that come together to give an unmistakable dystopian, cyberpunk feel, but it’s that ambiguous beam of light that really peaks my interest. Has JC Denton been picked out by a spotlight? Or is he ascending into some higher state of cybernetically-enhanced existence? The grid and stream of numbers overlaying the sky could be a representation of the all-encompassing grasp of technology, or could hint that this whole world is a simulation. Either way, with its black helicopter, bleak cityscape, shades-at-night-time vibe, this box art has all the ingredients needed to get you into the conspiracy mindset. Corporate subterfuge, government cover-ups and dehumanising body modification are surely just around the corner.

GOOD – Sonic & Knuckles

Before Sonic’s video game world was filled with superfluous bats, cats, bees, and miscellaneous additional residuary hedgehogs, a new character was a big deal that people looked forward to. Tails’ introduction in Sonic the Hedgehog 2 was a serious event, as was Sonic the Hedgehog 3’s unveiling of the mysterious, antagonistic echidna, Knuckles. When Sonic & Knuckles hit the shelves, and people knew that they were finally going to be able to play as the prickly, pink anti-hero, this minimal box art did all it needed to do. An elegant logo on a black background, depicting Sonic and his new frenemy. It’s simple, it’s pretty, and it works. This is graphic design, people. I’m surprised I never see it on hoodies.

BAD – Days Gone

Days Gone has a stupid box art. This thing was designed by a committee, or some kind of cover-designing computer program. The “cover-o-matic”, if you will. Someone typed “zombie horde, brooding protagonist, 42% Sons of Anarchy, 58% The Walking Dead” into the algorithm and this is what came out. No one noticed that the computer didn’t understand that the lead wouldn’t be sitting and brooding handsomely next to his bike while a horde of infected looms only a few metres away. It’s a dumb and meaningless cover that just ticks all the triple-A, cinematic, gritty Netflix series-inspired boxes of its era. Don’t blame the cover-o-matic, though. It just does what it’s told.

BAD – Eternal Ring

Look, I don’t want to knock a developing artist, but I also think that a certain level of refinement should be required when producing the cover art for an officially-released video game. Eternal Ring is FromSoftware’s original ring-based action RPG that a lot of people don’t know about, and honestly, I don’t think I’d know anything about it either if its cover art hadn’t stuck with me for all the wrong reasons. There’s nothing wrong with the image choice of a guy contemplating a ring for a game that presumably features a ring that’s worth contemplating, but why the hell wasn’t I producing covers for worldwide video game releases in the year 2000? I possessed a similar level of anatomical drawing understanding, and I’m pretty sure I was better at hands.

GOOD – The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (NA Cover)

Historically, the Zelda franchise has gone for a prominent logo on a plain or minimal background for its box art, and I’ve seen folks online identifying these as both the best and worst things ever. I like them, but I like this one more. The logo is right there, looking lovely as ever, but it’s backed up by an image that embodies impending adventure. Link, wearing a brand new, blue tunic, stands on a rocky outcrop like someone’s expertly-painted Warhammer miniature, and a world of opportunity awaits before him. This cover represents an exciting new era for one of the world’s premier video game franchises, and invites you along for the ride.

BAD – Planescape: Torment

I love Planescape: Torment. I do. It’s got the greatest story ever told in gaming and I’ll die on that hill all day. Not many people experienced said yarn, however, and while its status as a cult classic PC RPG that sits in the shadow of the likes of Baldur’s Gate and Fallout 2 definitely had something to do with this, this super-weird front cover surely contributed to its obscurity. I mean, what were players supposed to expect when they laid eyes on it? It looks like an alien from a voodoo magic-inspired episode of some obscure, ’90s sci-fi, which I guess would have its charm if that’s the kind of vibe Planescape: Torment was going for, but it really isn’t. The ’90s sci-fi makeup job, the blue scaling, the picked-out gold on the dreadlock beads, it’s all so weird and off-putting. Great game, though. Honestly.

GOOD – The NewZealand Story

My pick of the bunch when it comes to cutesy platformer box art is the adorable and mysterious The NewZealand Story. Let’s have a look at some of the characters arrayed on this cover, shall we? You’ve got Tiki the kiwi himself, looking adorably heroic in his trainers, then there’s a whole host of critters standing in opposition. There’s a thing in a floating UFO tank, there’s a kind of sinister-looking, fire-breathing tortoise, there’s a cat-like creature with bat wings, and there’s an absolutely beautiful little bat-mouse thing in the bottom corner, standing there looking like some kind of proto-Gengar. It’s a cuddly yet action-packed composition, and thankfully, that creepy, pink whale boss is nowhere to be seen.

GOOD – Streets of Rage

I love a side-scrolling beat-’em-up, and the genre has provided some epic cover art over the years, from the various ports of 1986’s Renegade, right up to the recent Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge. The original Streets of Rage has to be the pinnacle, though. A perfect example of ’90s action movie-style, illustrated box art, this expertly-composed picture has it all. It’s not entirely representational of the game, though. I don’t know why Blaze and Axel have changed their outfits, and no bad guys carry Uzis, wear hockey masks, snipe from windows or emerge from beneath sewer covers (not until the second game, anyway), but who cares when the image is so awesome? I own a cushion with this artwork on it. No word of a lie. I’m leaning on it now, in fact.

BAD – The Last of Us Part II

Sony’s big exclusives really do run the gamut of cover quality. Horizon Zero Dawn is great, God of War is alright, Days Gone can get in the bin, and then you have this. “Close up of grumpy face”. I don’t know what else to say, really, it’s just another meaningless cover that ticks market research boxes but in an even less interesting way. I totally get it, The Last of Us Part II cover designer, your game is gritty and violent and harsh. It’s basically misery porn and I understand that some people like that, but I really don’t want “close up of grumpy face” on my gaming shelf. Take your blood-soaked, angry teenagers and ludonarrative dissonance elsewhere, please. Can I look at something else now?

GOOD – Cisco Heat

Now, this is more like it! I used to pick up Commodore 64 magazines when I was younger, and I always loved seeing the cover art and advertisements for Cisco Heat in said periodicals. It embodies my childhood idea of what America was like; sun and skyscrapers and cool police chases. When I look at this image, I think of summer, I think of rolling my Micro Machines around my bedroom floor, I think of watching Police Academy on video. Look at that subtitle – “All American Police Car Race”. That’s the stuff that my young, Beverly Hills Cop-inspired dreams were made of. And yes, I do also like the photo of the cop leaning on the cop car arcade machine. Who wouldn’t like that? Criminals, that’s who.

GOOD – Halo 3

You could say, if you were so inclined, that the Halo 3 cover represents everything that’s wrong with big budget game covers from its era and beyond. It’s just the main character kind of standing there with a gun, it’s got that whole orange and teal, generic movie poster thing going on, but none of that matters, this is a masterpiece. Every subtle nuance combines to form a piece of box art that’s so inspiring it should be made into a 100 foot stained glass window and installed into a magnificent cathedral so that the morning sun can shine through it, reminding us of the trials and sacrifices of our saviour, Master Chief. The light, the shadows, the perfectly-poised, pre-action pose. This cover isn’t just epic, it’s transcendent. It depicts the precise moment that the ultimate hero of mankind steps into the light, ready to save us all.

GOOD – Secret of Mana

Hiro Isono was an incredible artist. His illustrations of otherworldly groves and mystical glades capture the complexity and detail of nature as well as its mysterious, sweeping majesty. When the lads at SquareSoft hit him up for a bit of cover art back in the early ’90s, it was an inspired move. After all, the driving force behind the lore of Secret of Mana is a giant, magical tree, and Isono is giant, magical trees. The result is a beautiful, somehow eerie, contemplative piece of art that details an event later in the game in a way that doesn’t spoil the story. It has the three leads, it has the roots of an enormous tree, it has some cool birds, and it’s so much more affecting than a picture of the protagonist posing with a sword (or an extreme close up of their grumpy face). The PS4 remake has more room on the cover to feature more of the illustration, so I should probably have displayed that one, but the SNES box presses all my nostalgia buttons. It’s my favourite box art, and I can’t see it being uprooted any time soon.