Pizza Tower is prob- scratch that, by far the most relentlessly stylish, adrenaline-pumping game I've had the pleasure of experiencing in recent memory. A palpable, unmistakable energy is proudly displayed throughout every inch of this tower, elevated further by consistently fantastic level design and the intensely lovable Peppino's inherently fun, genuinely meaningful set of core mechanics - not to mention the cavalcade of increasingly awesome level gimmicks. A mostly bangin' series of boss fights, the legendarily-executed Pizza Time mechanic, and a magnetic desire to master every stage rounds out an unforgettable game I'll no doubt be comin' back to constantly.

Quite possibly the strangest, most experimental game I've ever played, Sonic Frontiers is for me the definitive example of a wholly unique platformer. Damn near everything in Frontiers is bodged together and noticeably flawed (at least everything that isn't utter rubbish), but the benefits of this wonderfully loose design are nigh-impossible to count.

Breaking this game over my knee is more pure joy than almost anything else in this franchise, and what genuinely does work helps all that partially-successful weirdness to amount to a great experience. I could (and would happily) point out countless glaring problems with this game, but when I actually sit down and play the damn thing I'm usually having a lovely time. Sonic Frontiers is about as far from as perfect as is generally possible, but it's a beautiful mess.