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.

Even as a short-and-sweet game, it's hard to say goodbye to Gorogoa's story so soon.

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 makes up in manic energy what it lacks in elegance. Its mountain of ideas don’t always work, but the core of the game justifies its experiments.

The PlayStation VR version has problems from top to bottom. Don't even bother.

This isn't Animal Crossing. This is a scam. Nintendo should be ashamed for attaching such predatory practices to one of its most family-friendly properties, and nothing short of a full-scale redesign will fix the FarmVille-level rot within this shiny-looking game.

If EA flattens the game's economy so that players start out on a more equal footing, then we may be on to something. Even then, there's still the issue of online combat that favors cheap BP gathering, lone-wolf slogs, and boring tactics over either satisfying tactics or down-and-dirty arcade fun. I will keep my eyes on the game for any major, tide-turning changes that could redeem the game's solid, glossy bits. Until then, EA's talk is cheap, and its product feels even cheaper. Avoid Star Wars: Battlefront II.

Anyone who skipped Sun and Moon has no excuse not to buy their Ultra successors. Returning players should know they're in for a slow start but should consider buying the new games anyway.

Anyone who skipped Sun and Moon has no excuse not to buy their Ultra successors. Returning players should know they're in for a slow start but should consider buying the new games anyway.

Need for Speed: Payback is a fruitless, grind-y, hard-to-control drive through a terrible story. Skip it.

It's not impossible to look at by any means (as you can see in the above gallery) and everything is still perfectly readable from a gameplay perspective. The fact that a small, relatively cheap portable system like the Switch is capable of running a passable version of a recent high-end release like Doom is an achievement in and of itself. Just don't go in expecting the Switch version to be competitive with larger, more-powerful hardware designed for the TV (or a PC monitor).

This is a step backward for the series—and not just chronologically. Skip it.