It's not a perfect collection. Still, I'll take a re-release that's doggedly old-school over the microtransaction alternative. DrillLand is exactly the kind of unique, satisfying, and cutesy puzzle-action game I want right now.

Trying to extend the story of The Last of Us in a meaningful way was always going to be an uphill battle. What’s so frustrating about Part 2 is that the game seems to have all the pieces necessary to do just that. But those pieces end up getting lost as the game also tries to tell an entirely new story, one that tries to expand the Last of Us world into a generalized setting for an anthology of loosely connected stories. The end result never comes together in a satisfying way.

Despite a few quality-of-life tweaks, the package is otherwise faithful to the originals—almost to a fault—while its compatibility with modern PCs is mostly good enough.

But even the "great for portable play" sales pitch suffers from a big issue: Obsidian has opted not to include any form of cloud-save support. You can't transfer your progress from the Switch version to any other console or PC version, or vice versa. (This pales in comparison to cloud-save support for the likes of Witcher 3 and Divinity: Original Sin 2.) And that makes the visual downgrades much tougher to suggest for anyone who owns other ways to play this game at home.

Where LEGO games run out of steam pretty quickly (even unlocking new hidden characters doesn't really change your tactics), Minecraft Dungeons does a wonderful job incentivizing experimentation without making it difficult to figure out. Get new item. Equip new item. See how new item makes you stronger, more explosive, or just plain weirder. Kill mobs. Repeat. [Ars Technica Approved]

I'm in love with my biggest gaming surprise so far in 2020. SoR4 is easy to share with friends and easy to get hooked on. Its levels are choreographed with tons of enemy types from across the series so that you don't land in the usual "ugh, same enemies again" fatigue that even the Genesis originals suffer from. And, heck, Lizardcube and Guard Crush were kind enough to bring back the cheesy two-player "battle" mode—and it's actually kind of legit, since it neatly implements the special attacks' new risk-and-reward proposition. If you're on board with the scant length and the game's urging that you replay it a few times for maximum value, I heartily encourage you to spend 10 satisfying hours with this beat-'em-up rebirth. [Ars Technica Approved]

What's not to guess is that I'm in. Square-Enix, I don't care what you call the next one: FFVII Remix, FFVII Reunion, FFVII 2.8 Enchanted Forest of Midgar Dreams, whatever. I'm sold. I'm buying in. I'm playing the next one. But since I have your attention following such a nice pledge, here's a request: do me a solid and hire a new translation team next time, won'tcha?

As of press time, Xbox One X is woefully behind compared to PS4 and PS4 Pro on performance. While we lack discrete pixel-counting gear, we can confirm that both PlayStation consoles do better at locking to a 60fps refresh, and XB1X noticeably stutters in the act of play. RE3 is one of the more action-oriented entries in the series, so frame rates count.

The finished product accomplished what it needed to: it proved that Valve still knows how to make a classic single-player adventure—one that will inspire a whole new generation of game fans. It left me hungry for more, which is saying something for a single-player game of this length and scope. The masses may not rush out to buy a VR set to play Half-Life: Alyx. But anyone who loves video games should look at this game as a next logical step in the possibilities of dramatic, interactive storytelling. Bravo, Valve. Bravo. [Ars Technica Approved]

Doom Eternal is a thrilling return to form and a high-water mark for fast-paced twitch shooting. Buy it.

People will talk about this game as an ideal escape during uncertain current events, but I'd like to emphasize how much I enjoyed AC:NH even when I had other viable social and outdoor entertainment options. Animal Crossing games have always delivered a compelling version of self-quarantine, and this one overflows with quantity, without sacrificing quality, to do so at a scale series fans have never seen. Consider this a very high recommendation for anyone who thinks shooting the breeze with neon-colored, gym-loving ponies and hot-pink, coffee-chugging kangaroos is a great idea for a video game. [Ars Technica Approved]

A beautiful, difficult, and masterful swan song for 2D platforming on the Xbox One. Buy it if you have any interest in the genre.

I struggle to recommend SC5VR to anybody who owns PlayStation VR. The worst part is that the game's solid core gameplay is a clear sign that its dev team could have made an excellent and unique VR rhythm game instead of rushing this scant disappointment out for $40.

The more I look at this week's launch of WarCraft III: Reforged, the more I shake my head. I've grown up playing Blizzard games for a majority of my life, and while I can think of Blizzard game launches with technical issues or critical shoulder-shrugs, I can't recall a retail launch for a product that, quite simply, wasn't finished. WC3:R changes that.

But there's enough solid stuff in how the game controls on a bulky home-joystick rig, plus how your campaign progress is rewarded with tons of mech-customization opportunities. Between that and the AI-squadmate stuff, MW5:M isn't a lost cause by any stretch. But it's firmly interested in appeasing a dedicated niche, not drawing in newbies. Which, based on my giddy HOTAS-fueled combat, is likely the point.

And since this is an older game being smashed into working shape on PC, that means we can rest (mostly) assured that Xbox Game Studios won't be bolting extra obnoxious systems on top, particularly microtransactions. Halo Reach now is like Halo Reach then. And that's arguably the greatest comfort of all this time around.

Despite its polish and best ideas, I wish I'd just reinstalled both Force Unleashed games, and I encourage anybody eager for a fun, Force-filled, third-person Star Wars experience this year to do the same.

I do think Sword and Shield are good entries for anyone who got into Pokémon through Go and Let’s Go and is looking for something a bit more difficult and larger in scale. Seasoned players can still enjoy the new monsters and appreciate the game’s story mode while it lasts (I cleared the main story in around 35 hours). It’s just too bad that, for longtime players, what’s missing is probably going to overshadow everything that’s here.

I do think Sword and Shield are good entries for anyone who got into Pokémon through Go and Let’s Go and is looking for something a bit more difficult and larger in scale. Seasoned players can still enjoy the new monsters and appreciate the game’s story mode while it lasts (I cleared the main story in around 35 hours). It’s just too bad that, for longtime players, what’s missing is probably going to overshadow everything that’s here.

First-time players should try Let's Go instead, but even without the full Pokédex this is a worthwhile entry for monster-catching veterans.

Pistol Whip could be great. Until then, it's mighty good and arguably the year's best new VR action game. After all, 2019 has mostly been the year where people finally bought headsets and discovered 2018's killer games. For the VR faithful starving for something fresh, this is it.

In good news, RDR2's PC port works as a pretty, settings-cranked-high alternative to last year's console release. Its most obvious upgrade comes in the form of an unlocked frame rate. In one morning of testing, I was already able to crank performance (after downgrading a bunch of settings) to an apparent 120fps-and-up threshold, although random performative spikes—usually triggered by sharp cuts in cinematic scenes—made me glad I had a variable refresh rate monitor...In bad news, RDR2's facial and body animations were never built for these kinds of high speeds.

Try it if you want all the Metal Gear ridiculousness and overwrought drama with none of the stealth-action thrills.

The most “Nintendo” game from Nintendo in years.

It's the best open-world adventure of the year. [Ars Technica Approved]

Overwatch remains one of the best multiplayer shooters I've played in years, and I'm impressed with how well it translates to the Switch—especially if you're open to the gyroscopic aiming. And with playing the game mobile and undocked now an option, maybe I can avoid making that OLED burn-in worse with my next thousand hours of Overwatch. [Hands-On Impressions]

I don't mean to say Witcher 3 is unplayable or ruined by the effort spent getting it into Switch-compatible shape. However, completely new players should be warned that CDPR's cinematic vision for the game is compromised just enough to take this port out of my running for a clear-cut recommendation. If you've already played Witcher 3 and want an excuse to burn through it anew on the go, complete with convenient "fast forward to the expansions" shortcuts, then yes, this port is a great reason to return to Nilfgaard. If you don't have any other consoles or a decent gaming PC, then "Switcher 3" is absolutely playable.

Great if you like tough tactical games; a harder sell if you're merely a fan of the films.

You won't find more pure whimsy in a 2019 game...Puzzles strike a delightful balance between tricky and fair, all while letting players reset and retry in a "Super Meat Boy meets point-and-click puzzlers" way; we've really never seen anything like it. [Ars Technica Approved]

Nintendo took a safe chance with Link's Awakening, but it was a chance nonetheless. And in spite of graphical hitches and an adherence to the design of old, the full experience—however short and predictable it is in 2019—is absolutely worth diving into if you missed it the first time around... or deleted your old GameFAQs bookmark.

These may seem like nitpicks for a game whose core shoot-and-loot loop is just as fun and compelling as ever. But it's these kinds of little things that are thus far getting in the way of allowing me to completely be reabsorbed by the world of Borderlands. Here's hoping they end up feeling like niggling issues more than ever-present annoyances by the time my time with the game is complete.

If you seek exhilarating third-person action, buy this before year's end. If you own a PC GPU that supports DirectX 12 ray tracing, buy this immediately. [Ars Technica Approved]

A well-presented story told in a fresh way. Buy it if you have any interest in new storytelling forms.

Don't expect the intense theorycrafting of a more complex game here; there's no deep interplay between cards, trinkets, consumables, and other mechanics like you'd see in Slay the Spire. But Dicey Dungeons does what it sets out to do: provides an approachable roguelike strategy game—certainly a much smoother on-ramp than many of its genre compatriots...Most importantly, it's very fun.

I came out of Eliza with the sense that I'd been on a journey of juggling grief, hope, and joy through the existential dread that is living a modern, tech-filled life. And for that reason, I recommend this visual novel as a must-play experience. [Ars Technica Approved]

As arguably the biggest video game to ever star an American president as a city-stomping, butt-kicking, gun-toting hero, Metal Wolf Chaos XD straddles the most peculiar line—between thoughtful political considerations and painfully stupid, low-poly explosions—I've ever seen in a video game. I'm not sure a single Jerry Bruckheimer production comes close to that distinction, so I'd call that a point in video games' favor.

Buy it if you have an ideal co-op partner, want a simpler co-op alternative to MMO-like shooters, or just really, really like newer Wolfenstein games. Otherwise, proceed with caution.

Even in my limited pre-release testing period, with only a few creators' levels to pick through, Super Mario Maker 2 has already proven itself a wonderful package. Course creators can look forward to an amazing game-making tool set whose depth is matched by its accessibility, while players have a functionally endless set of Mario courses to dig through over the course of years. What’s not to like? [Ars Technica Approved]

MK11 is a mixed package. The presentation is great, but the animations can get a bit tiring, and the over-the-top violence can get numbing. The gameplay is really solid, but the grind to get the cosmetics and upgrades feels even more tiring and numbing. Hopefully the grindy parts are adjusted, and the long animations aren't a deal breaker, just an annoyance.

If you're hungry for a new weekend-filling zombie adventure on PS4, Days Gone is an easy rental recommendation. If you're already working your way through a big-game backlog, on the other hand, you should probably spend your days on other fare. [Impressions]

So long as you appreciate how much better VR can be, and that Nintendo has been soundly trounced in the good-VR-design department by the likes of Astro Bot, Tetris Effect, TiltBrush, Vacation Simulator, Superhot VR, Moss, SuperHyperCube, Space Pirate Trainer, and on and on and on... then, sure, give Labo VR a whirl. Just don't say I didn't warn ya.

All VR headset owners should own at least one Owlchemy Labs game, and this is the company's best yet.

In very good news, all of that time in the oven did nothing to stymie or complicate the basic, satisfying thrust of the original game. Instead, Back in the Groove is boosted by even more roguelike weirdness and multiplayer support.

After a disastrous demo launched weeks ago, we wondered whether we'd even get a playable game...The good news is that we did, and at its best, Anthem feels brilliant, beautiful, and thrilling. At its worst, though, this is a stuttering, confusing, heartfelt mess of an action game.

Tetris 99 is more than a classic game with a bunch of strangers piling on. It's a tantalizing (and surprising) taste of new game design potential, where the cloud is the limit.

When you're not dealing with combat-related annoyances, there is some fun to be had just running and jumping through Crackdown's brutally beautiful authoritarian world, looking for shiny orbs. It's too bad that this is only half of this half-baked game.

If you've ever posted on a comment thread about the good ol' days of offline first-person shooters, this is a must-buy. For anyone else, this mostly polished FPS will likely confirm your Eurojank bias—whichever way that bias goes.

Let's be clear: this is nowhere near the rushed mess that we got from 2018's Radical Heights. There's plenty of fun to be had here for the low, low price of free (or at least "free"). But it's also a really strange release from Respawn—as in, this is the first playable product they've released since Titanfall 2 in late 2016. (And it's apparently the only thing we'll see for a while, as the team has confirmed in interviews that there's no Titanfall 3 in the wings.) Just one map? Barely any new combat ideas? More originality and spark in its microtransaction store than its "TF2 but slower" gameplay? [Impressions]

The modern-aesthetic upgrade more than makes up for the game's lowest lows. Horror fans should immediately buy.

If the game's eight-hour runtime (which doesn't count returning to levels to find secrets) had been sliced in half, I'd be more likely to recommend any random passer-by flip through pages of text, confusedly laugh, and then enjoy a few sensational, memorable battles. Instead, I urge casual action fans to steel themselves for lousy pacing, disappointing co-op, and surprisingly fun text. If Suda51's singular sense of humor is your cup of tea (or, in this game's case, your bowl of ramen), you will likely forgive these lapses—and particularly appreciate some of TSA's crazier reveals.

Smash Ultimate earns its name not by piling on the content, but by understanding what an adjective like "ultimate" means in the context of a fighting game. Gamers want an essential, badass combat experience no matter which characters square off. Even this early, it's settled: Smash Ultimate nails this expectation. Thus, it is the best fighting-game package to ever land on a Nintendo console.

An expertly crafted, improvisational playspace for stealth mayhem. Buy it.

I call it a portable, comfort-food quest suited perfectly for my get-in, have-fun, get-out tastes (along with, honestly, my affinity for a range of colorful, oddball monsters). Anybody who's tired of the games' ancient Kanto region may struggle to feel the same jolt I did, and that's fair.

I call it a portable, comfort-food quest suited perfectly for my get-in, have-fun, get-out tastes (along with, honestly, my affinity for a range of colorful, oddball monsters). Anybody who's tired of the games' ancient Kanto region may struggle to feel the same jolt I did, and that's fair.

I know how silly this might sound, typing it outside the soothing VR cocoon that is Tetris Effect, but I stand by it. I have never felt so connected to a greater human truth, a cheesy feeling like the one in that quoted song, than in the act of clearing line, after line, after line within this beautiful video game. [Ars Technica Approved]

Red Dead Redemption II is a technical marvel, attempting to encapsulate one man’s story in the West. It succeeds in crafting an enrapturing world but not without some uncomfortable compromises. Buy it.

A competent, carefully crafted but ultimately safe iteration in a long, storied franchise that, frankly, has much better entries. Yet it's also one of the most distinct Call of Duty games, an obvious bid at turning the series into a one-stop-shop multiplayer extravaganza—the only game Call of Duty fans will ever need. Until next year, at least.

Starlink is a great outing for folks of all ages. The toys are costly but well-made and great fun both in and out of game. Buy it.

Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey offers a lot to do but very little to say. That’s a shame, since many of history’s greatest tales have leveraged an immense scale to weave equally impactful tales. That’s not quite the case here.

While Mega Man 11 doesn't completely eradicate the tried-and-true Mega Man formula, it isn't afraid to make changes big and small to the way a mainline franchise game looks, feels, and plays. Not all of these changes are for the better, but enough of them are worthwhile that the break from form seems worth the effort.

You don’t need to play the previous games to enjoy this side story of turn-based tactics in a fantastical WWII. You will need a lot of patience for character archetypes and massive difficulty spikes.

Destiny is fun again. Really fun. The end game is back, and there's a ton of stuff to do, with good reasons to do it. We can confidently say that Destiny 2 is now in a great spot, and it’s probably the best the franchise has ever been. If you can stomach dumping more money into the series and are in the mood for some grinding, it's a no-brainer purchase.

I’m not a huge fan of the tabletop version of Scythe, yet I found the app consistently enjoyable, even when I was still learning the game and getting my clock cleaned regularly by the easy opponents.

Shadow stands as near the best version of what it sets out to be. Luddington's finale is a grand one, and well worth it for fans of the series. Even if it can't quite manage to keep all its balls in the air.

Probably the best Dragon Quest, but if innovation and surprise are what you want, you'll need to look somewhere else.

Spider-Man is happy to confirm your superhero-gaming bias. If this adventure isn't ultimately your cup of tea, it won't be for a lack of effort, polish, and content on Insomniac's part. [Ars Technica Approved]

Even a remake of perhaps the weakest Yakuza game in the series is hands-down a fantastic trip worth taking. Only skip it if you haven’t finished Yakuza 0 and Kiwami yet.

As it stands, Donut County makes for a light, airy snack of a game—it's a tight circle of satisfying, empty calories. But like a real donut, finishing one often just means you want another.

If you're willing to exert energy forgiving Sega's ancient design decisions while wading through Suzuki's ridiculously dense approach to dialogue, task completion, and side hobbies, then this compilation is for you. Otherwise, if you're looking for Shenmue's spirit applied to more modern gaming ideas, finely position your tank-controlled body in the direction of Sega's newer Yakuza series (now available on Windows PC). [Impressions]

Worth buying, even if you have last year's game. It's really good. [Ars Technica Approved]

Gnog is an extremely relaxing game about fiddling with surreal puzzle boxes. Its short length is well worth the price of admission.

Online or off, Overcooked 2 is still some of the most accessible and over-the-top cooperative fun you can have gaming with a group of friends. The structured chaos is perfectly designed to generate the kind of laughing and screaming that makes for memorable moments.

After all these years, the game maintains a sense of humor that lands somewhere between Flaming Lips psychedelia and Ren & Stimpy gross-out humor. As such the 3DS then leaves not with a bang or a whimper... but a really loud fart.

The Crew 2 is going to need a lot of time and work to feel like a worthwhile purchase. I’m not sure Ubisoft, a company I’ve come to associate with that very post-launch polishing process, will manage it. I’m even less sure I should have to wonder. This is a barebones product without much of a foundation to flesh out in the first place. It’s not something I’d even consider giving the benefit of the doubt for $60. If anything, it’s enough to make me question giving the publisher the benefit of the doubt ever again.

Ultimately, SMP feels more like a goodie bag for anybody who's worn out Sonic Mania than a red-carpet, welcome-wagon package for anybody new to the series' 2D revival. If you still haven't played the game, ask yourself whether a physical copy is worth a few more bucks to you. And if you've already spent $20 on this fantastic game and like the idea of it getting a "master quest," don't hesitate to throw $5 more on the pile.

The series' best stuff returns at a fair price. Buy if single-player puzzle games are your jam.

Then there are the boss battles, which give a strict time limit to hit court-filling opponents with enough balls to reduce their energy to nill. These bosses are tedious and frustrating in equal measure, often requiring perfectly timed returns against eminently predictable and repetitive shots...But if you have other people to play against (or a willingness to find such people over the Internet) Mario Tennis Aces is an easy-to-pick-up but hard-to-master game of psychological trickery and reflexes.

While the game does eventually die to repetitive cuts, it’s a slow death. The game’s charm, visuals, and novelty hold up for a quite solid few hours of fun, and the premise isn’t completely wasted. But it’s also not utilized to its fullest potential. Maybe an expansion or two can bring this one back from extinction down the line.

A bundle of great ideas and characters, shackled by some abysmal mechanics.

Onrush, at its best, absolutely sings as a tight, responsive, bright, and beautiful love letter to the likes of Road Rash 2 and Burnout 3: Takedown. I'd settle for Steam Workshop's wildest dreamers finishing what Codemasters Evo started.

Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire is a broad, deep, and excellent RPG in the tradition of Baldur’s Gate. And it has pirates. Buy it.

Creating a coherent branching narrative of this scope would be exceedingly difficult for even the most experienced and accomplished Hollywood scriptwriter. It proves to be utterly impossible for the writer behind Detroit.

State of Decay 2 is a smart, messy idea without much of a game to go with it… again. Try it if you don’t mind bugs or repetition too much.

Destiny 2: Warmind is more of the same built on a shifting foundation. Try it if you’re curious about the direction the game is going.

Frostpunk might not be the open-ended city builder to revitalize that genre, but its linear focus on specific undertakings could be nearly perfect with a few tweaks. As it is, I’ll likely keep on coming back to the last city on Earth, convinced that this time I’ve got the perfect build order to keep its residents happy and fed. Tough choices be damned.

Yakuza 6 sums up its lead character succinctly and emotionally, while shaking up enough to make the return ride feel fresh.

I went into the new God of War expecting a cheesy, mindless action game with a lot of flash and pizzazz. Instead, I got one of the most thoughtful and well-constructed reboots since Tomb Raider, with plenty of story beats and images that will stick with me for a while. It's not a revolutionary standout in its genre, but the new God of War is still a solid example of how to reinvent a well-loved series for a new generation without ruining what came before.

It feels like a frustrating proof of concept, unworthy of its evocative title...a good idea poorly executed over and over again.

Far Cry 5 just isn’t very polished. When the supporting cast does speak, it’s often the same three lines repeated ad nauseum, sometimes layered over someone else’s words in an incomprehensible cacophony. But the most ridiculous moments come when AI allies scream and moan on the ground—dead-still in a messy rag doll pose—then jerkily jump straight into one of their oft-repeated lines after a two-second revival animation...Skip it.

The other, bigger problem with Sea of Thieves’ player-vs-player combat is more damning of the game in general: what’s the point? The islands are devoid of anything to discover, the quests are tremendously tedious, there’s no story to speak of, and it’s all in service of cosmetics that aren’t nearly as interesting as some of their item descriptions imply. The Lowly Souls Tankard says it’ll make you drinking buddies with spirits, but really it’s just... purple.

Into the Breach is just as charming for boiling down similar thrills found in FTL and making them work for pretty much any experience level of computer gamer. [ARS Approved]

By mixing some of the best features of comics, video games, and animation, Florence tells a sweet and memorable tale that isn't belabored with a lot of fluff or busywork. In a gaming world full of immense, sprawling epics, we could use more inventive short stories like this.

Firaxis still hasn't built a truly great Civilization to stand the test of time here, but it does feel like history is marching in the right direction. Remember Civilization V's first expansion didn't quite get it there either, but the second did. I remain hopeful that I'll still be diving into Civilization VI a few years from now.

It’s a great game to fill a contemplative afternoon.

Celeste does so many amazing things. It organically teaches players while cleverly inserting new game-changing powers into its worlds. It gives players breathing room so that they can play however they want, all while choreographing some of the most memorable platforming sequences I've ever played. It pays homage to classic, tough-as-nails platformers while climbing its own unique path...The first must-own single-player game of 2018.

The wonderfully well-tuned bosses alone might be worth your while. But in a currently crowded pantheon of exploration-heavy 2D platformers, Iconoclasts is one that doesn’t fire on every cylinder. That alone might be an excuse to check out your other options.

Life is Strange: Before the Storm doesn’t have that arc. Its strengths remain strong; its weaknesses stay weak. So, if the first episode doesn’t grab you, it’s safe enough to bail and jump into the more complete and energetic original.

Hello Neighbor is the worst game I’ve reviewed all year. Skip it with prejudice.