Going way back to the days of playing games with friends on my Commodore 64 I’ve always enjoyed Olympic-style multi-event games. Back then it was the Summer/Winter/World Games series by Epyx at home complemented by arcade hits like Track & Field or HyperSports. The variety of play, the element of mastery to getting the timing and technique down for every event, and the outright competitive spirit when playing against friends or trying to beat high scores was always a blast. Now, when it comes to modern versions of these titles, even the Mario & Sonic series to date, things have been hit and miss. Sure, for the die hards these mini game collections are a staple for local multiplayer bragging rights, but for me there’s just been something lacking at times that sapped my enthusiasm. That all changes with this year’s incarnation inspired by the upcoming Tokyo 2020 games. Sega has come at this title with guns blazing and checks a ton of boxes successfully. Great and diverse Olympic events, a pretty lengthy and terrific single-player Story mode (which includes additional mini games), retro-styled 2D events that emulate the classics, sometimes off-the-wall Dream Events that demonstrate even more creativity… this is a maximum effort title that offers so much sheer variety that just about anyone should be able to have some fun. While there’s no doubt not all events will appeal to everyone, which any collection of mini games suffers from, the typical support for multiple control schemes and different approaches to how events work in general signify Sega’s commitment to doing everything they could to do right by its fans. In a category where over the years I’ve become pretty jaded this title has absolutely restored my enthusiasm for the genre, and I’m looking forward to the same team attacking the Winter Games in 2 years.