Other than the roguelite gameplay levers that are more punishing and artificially slow in gating variance for the player, ROBOBEAT is a fun rhythm mashup. I highly recommend it for those wanting to show off their FPS and parkour skills while shooting along to the beat of an incredible soundtrack.

s.p.l.i.t. from developer Mike Klubnika brings mind-bending logic problems delivered through a unique command-line backdrop. While the command-line adventure doesn’t last long, it does enough to warrant a hard look for gamers in search of a good challenge.

With only a few minor issues, Insomniac has produced not only the best Resistance game to date, but one of the best FPS games I have ever experienced.

One of the best gaming purchases you will make all year.

Bye-Bye Boxboy! is a succinct, value-packed title. It’s the bookend of a great puzzle series and it doesn’t try to be more than what it is — an addictive puzzler that’s accessible and not overly difficult. For only $5, it’s an excellent deal and can be enjoyed it short five minute spurts or for much longer at a time. No 3D support is included, so you can enjoy this just as well on a 2DS as a 3DS. If you’re into puzzlers, or this series already, this is probably the easiest recommendation I’ll make all year.

Stretchmo is a great free-to-play puzzle game. Intelligent Systems does a superb job with putting together a bevy of creative puzzles to run through with a not so painful price tag attached.

The peculiar art direction never grows old, and does well to amuse anyone contending with Winterbottom's resilient challenge. Not for the faint of heart, but a great game never the less.

Paranormasight: The Mermaid’s Curse is a more refined and fun journey than the previous entry in the series. It brings a spooky and entertaining narrative that works well with more focused gameplay elements that the series is improving upon.

Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance is really quite good on the PC, both in the presentation and gameplay departments, though a strange departure from the Metal Gear Solid series. In the end, it's a fun game that hopefully will carry some of its elements into future MGS titles.

For me, my bottomline is that Darksiders is a tremendous amount of fun because it's very well designed from top to bottom with just a handful of drawbacks. None of these drawbacks are critical enough to thwart an epic, and truly enjoyable experience.

Bluepoint has done a phenomenal job recreating the core principles and "feel" that make Titanfall a can't miss online title for the One...Of course some concessions had to be made, and they came in the looks department.

Cat Quest III from developer The Gentlebros is perfection. It’s a fun and fast game that has a complicated backend to keep the gameplay interesting. Its mixture of gameplay elements, from ships to dungeons, keeps it engaging and fun throughout the entire experience.

File this game under 'must have' for your PS3 library. Sucker Punch has done a great job building upon their first success in nearly every way.

Yakuza 5 is a response to the complacency of Western development. While previous Yakuza games dabbled through extraneous minigames, divergent player-controlled characters, and eccentric sidequests, none sewed its threads together with the consequence and commitment of Yakuza 5. Bloat is the inevitable negative, and Yakuza 5 shows some superfluous heft, but it's such a mountain of effort and arrangement that it's tough not to stand in awe of its accomplishments.

MLB The Show 25 from San Diego Studio is a good upgrade from last year’s game. The gameplay feels tighter and smoother on the offense and defense side of the field. Including the new feature Diamond Quest gives more depth to what a typical baseball game would be, bringing in new ideas on how you can compete in Diamond Dynasty. MLB leads the way again by bringing a solid experience and off-beat innovation that works more than it doesn’t.

Vicarious Visions sets a new bar for the Skylanders series with Swap Force. They give you more characters, better level design, improved looks and a larger library of Skylanders to play with. It's definitely the best game in the series so far.

In the moments that I played and experienced Gris I believed it was the most dazzling and elegant game I had ever seen. It was the most I’ve been in to a game in the current calendar year. Astonishment is temporary and hyperbole rationally fades into coherence, but I hope the strength and singularity of Gris stays with me forever.

SteamWorld Heist II from developer Thunderful Development is one of the deeper gaming experiences I have run across in 2024. It contains a hefty amount of strategy in its gameplay while offering up a bigger and richer variety in its exploration and gameplay options. It can be restrictive at times with its gameplay progression but not enough to run the experience.

Ape Out parades the alliance between thunderous jazz and an irritated bloodthirsty gorilla. Two unrelated objects defined by being out of control are both under your control in the form of a violent top-down brawler. Symbols crash when gorillas and humans clash and the performance is beautiful and preposterous.

An excellent fighter and another superb addition to the series, MKX kicks ass.

Road to Empress, from developer New One Studio, is a high-quality FMV experience that might fall a bit short on bending the story through player choices, but is nonetheless entertaining from beginning to end with the amount of interactivity it does deliver within a high-quality production wrapper.

Professor Layton and the Last Specter continues to push the high production values of the cartoon mystery series while still providing a slew of enjoyable puzzles along the way.

Limbo is a classic, it’s definitely on the list of top indie games of all time, and you should 100% pick it up for the Switch. It may be a short run through but it will definitely be one that sticks with you.

Overall, the gameplay for Madden NFL 16 has been refined, simplified and improved. It feels like it’s going back to a time where playing a football game was less of a chore and more fun.

Dark Souls is one of the most important and powerful games ever made. Switch is the least pleasant place to play it. It works—this is still Dark Souls and Dark Souls is still very good—but sacrifices in presentation and control scream inferiority next to original and Remastered editions of the same game.

The core combat is probably the simplest in all of RPG-dom, and yet it remains an ideal system to deliver turn-based entertainment. If you're a Pokemon fan and you've yet to pick this one up (now a week after its release date), then I assume you've got a good reason to wait.

Frozen Wilds fits perfectly within the original content from Horizon Zero Dawn. The new weapons make for a better, more motivating experience. On top of this, the story expands upon the mythology that the original HZD built, making it a bigger world with more worthwhile content to live within. It’s quite remarkable how well Guerrilla built this game and how perfectly the DLC fits within it. I’m still at awe at the girth and life Horizon Zero Dawn brings with it during every storyline and every quest. This is still very much my GOTY, especially with the Frozen Wilds now a firm reminder of how great this gameplay experience can be and is from beginning to end.

I loved the game but it still didn't seem to reach the level of greatness that was the DS version (I felt that its predecessor had a few more enjoyable songs, better endless mini-games and a little more charm overall). Nonetheless, Rhythm Heaven Fever is still a gem of a game that shouldn't be missed for the avid Wii owner.

Detention featured cool, dark artwork, very creepy animation, and a spooky, well thought out soundtrack. For an independent game, I was quite impressed with the gameplay and the depth of the story. This game will make you jump a few times and could definitely lead to some nightmares. If you want to have some fun and get scared this fall season, definitely check out Detention.

Ultimately, there’s no denying the impressive history of Street Fighter. It’s a series that has continued to evolve, and this special release is a great and deserved tribute to the 2D titles from the first twenty-plus years.

While most collections are products of profit and/or preservation, Collection of Mana advances the Western Mana canon with its surprise inclusion of Trials of Mana. This feels like a minor miracle and, despite the collection's austere packaging, sparks hope that Square-Enix may disentomb more of their perceived gems that never made the voyage westward.

Overall, the gameplay design for World of Warships Legends is simplistic, though complicated underneath the hood. The game doesn’t do anything special to magnify its intentions, but it does keep the process smooth and uninterrupted by not overcomplicating how you play. It wants you to feel like you’re playing a moving version of Battleship, but insists on taking all the potential PC obstacles out of the way. It just simply wants you to have fun, and it achieves that in the most uncomplicated and uninterrupted way. While most people might be turned off by the pay part of the game, there is still fun to be had here.

Little nightmares is a very good game. The story of Six is a quick one, but you gather everything you need to know as you move along in the game. Think you can brave your childhood fears? If so pick up Little Nightmares and learn about Six’s story.

Hypnospace Outlaw presents a precise simulation of the apex of 90’s internet culture. Separating anarchic innocence from hubristic malice is the objective while soaking in the garish spectacle of a lost time is its gratuity. Twenty years removed, Hypnospace Outlaw exposes the dividing line between the internet as a digital frontier and its current status as a corporate hellscape.

In realm of creative game design, Stacking is a champion and the star of the show, Charlie Blackmore, is a video game folk hero. In the way that it fuses its charming atmosphere with its witty mechanics, Stacking is endlessly delightful.

I have no problem recommending Conviction to anyone who enjoys the Splinter Cell series or third person action/stealth games in general. I would have loved a much longer and more involved campaign, but the additional modes (including a separate co-op campaign) go a long way in making up for that.

Even with trial and error style gameplay falling out of style, Hitman: Absolution makes absorbing and learning every last detail attractive and engaging. This point of entry is technically more flawed, but it's potentially more interesting for skilled and patient players. You try, you fail, and in time you maniacally celebrate the payoff when it all finally falls into place. It's easy to forgive Absolution's flaws when that process works so well.

Mass Attack sports loads of innovative mechanics, masterful level design, and a breed of quality and polish that stands alongside Nintendo's best.

Finally, it's here, and I think it was well worth the wait. It's not perfection, but it's a solid effort and an excellent game that 360 owners should be proud to own.

Team M2 has done another masterful job with this Sega Ages release and it’s another must-have as far as I’m concerned. Sure, Sonic 2 has been released numerous times over the years on all kinds of platforms, and you may have had your fill, but if you’re like me and it’s been many years since you’ve played this old classic, there is simply no better way to play it than on the Switch.

I’m thrilled that Switch 2 owners get a chance to enjoy the OG Switch’s best games, but whether or not the Switch 2 update breathes life into Animal Crossing: New Horizons remains to be seen. The 12-player online play is nice in theory, but it’s far from enjoyable thanks to Nintendo’s archaic approach to online play. The Megaphone and mouse-capability are nice-to-have changes, taking some of the pain out from relying on Joy-Cons for minute adjustments. The biggest benefits of the Switch 2 upgrade are its pro-consumer pricing and its utilization of the console’s processing power.

Katana Zero’s blade isn’t sharp enough to cut through its self-indulgent idiosyncrasy. Inventive action sequences that neatly divide improvisation and orchestration and a novel time-rewinding mechanic both suffer under an overwrought style miserably impressed with its own posture. Katana Zero works best when it’s not auditioning to change its title to Edge Lords.

Violence has never looked as vivid, gorgeous, and wild as it is in Mortal Kombat 1. Its fighting mechanics remain just as approachable and appealing as prior entries, with one key difference: It’s the best-feeling Mortal Kombat I’ve played thus far. There’re some minor quirks that are still being ironed out at the time of writing, but I’m excited, legitimately excited, to see what Netherrealm chooses to add to this game.

Planet of Lana II: Children of the Leaf is a valuable sequel because it gently expands on what made the original impactful, avoiding bloated excess. A constant flood of evocative imagery and powerful emotion provides players with a gorgeous world to become lost in and care for its inhabitants. Never resting on the laurels of puzzle mechanics and instilling its characters with depth and gravitas, Children of the Leaf cements itself as one of the best cinematic platformers of its kind.

The Plucky Squire is absolutely a rewarding journey for players wanting a diverse, creative experience that celebrates the interactive medium. While its gameplay and puzzles never border on too difficult or complex, its implementation of so many unique elements are striking in both consistency and variety. Be drawn in by its stunning artistry and stay for the incredible adventure.

Neva is both touching meditation and thrilling adventure. Undoubtedly a work of art exemplified by the sheer artistry on display with its painterly world and brilliant use of color. While captivating and stunning purely from a visual perspective, Nomada uses elegant platforming to craft equally intriguing displays of puzzle solving and spectacle. Trapped in a picture frame, a tale of loss, growth, and rebirth such as this would be hard to parse yet remain poignant and interpretive but Neva captures this depth in stunning movement, a true masterpiece.

Regardless, it's a finely crafted game and an exceptional example of how to do the genre right.

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (Switch) is a faithful port of an already outstanding RPG. Barring small graphical artifacts, an oversized text box, and multiple loading screens, KOTOR is an easy recommendation for Switch owners that RPGs should strive to emulate: Your character’s stats matter, your character’s actions have consequences, and the worlds you visit are lively. Even more: If this port doesn’t make you excited for the upcoming KOTOR remaster, I don’t know what will. If you’re not the biggest Star Wars fan, I can assure you that you just might be after playing this game. If you’re currently a Star Wars fan and have yet to play this game…what are you doing? Drop what you’re doing and pick up KOTOR.

Underneath its charming exterior, WitchSpring R is a JRPG…it’s just not evident of that classification until the 20th hour. At that point, it doesn’t matter what genre it is, only that it keeps you fully engaged. From the lack of necessary grinding, hidden depth within its crafting system, and piecemeal sidequests, there’s quite a bit of unique things to do in WitchSpring R on Pieberry’s quest for pie. Thankfully, that charm persists until the very end.

Volume One of Tales From Off-Peak City is an escalating procession of existential crises staged through instances of gentrification, corporatism, and pizza delivery. It’s a kitschy nightmare laundered through eccentric characters and their bizarre conditions and the product is a surreal but eloquent presentation on preventable social decay. A single city block and a couple of hours is all Tales From Off-Peak City needs to tell a grotesque, distinctive story.

Overall, there’s not a lot to dislike about Yoku’s Island Express. It’s deep, it’s fun, and while the main character may not be memorable as a Rayman or a Mario, the gameplay is so well-planned that you aren’t in need of a strong lead character to make it all work. Villa Gorilla did one helluva job with this release and it’s a game that shouldn’t be overlooked.

Rhythm Heaven Megamix proves that there’s still room in the market for a well-made minigame collection—provided they’re unique enough. The series is still just as fun as it was back in 2006, and honestly, this is the best implementation of the concept to date.

An awesome conglomerate of modes and playlists for local and Xbox LIVE play meet the regularly astute aesthetics in resplendent fashion. If this is an annual purchase for you, no reason not to spend the $60 yet again.

Lost in Random: The Eternal Die, developed by Stormteller Games, is a far deeper and richer action roguelite experience than expected. It has quick-moving action with a healthy amount of good progression to keep gamers coming back for more. The upgrade system helps enhance the experience and works more often than it doesn’t. Regardless, this game is fun to play and something gamers can get lost in for hours and hours.

Severed is a short adventure that has a lot of major gameplay elements packed into it. Its unique art style will keep your eyes engaged, while your brain will be firmly occupied with the puzzles and sword play. There’s not a lot more you could ask for from a $14.99 game.

Infernax truly doesn’t feel catered to anyone that hasn’t, at some point in their life, been broken by the unruly math of NES programming, quality control, and a sadistic developer. I can understand that frustrations will stem from an easy-to-spot point of inspiration but I can also understand that there will be players who have no tolerance for it. Thankfully, Infernax‘s wonderful mood and aesthetic are coupled with modern design choices. Upgrade paths, multiple spells, a brisk length, and tons of odes to the past push Infernax into a title worth remembering.

Ms. Splosion Man is frequently good with equal parts brilliance and frustration. Sometimes you might get the feeling that the folks at Twisted Pixel had so much fun making their game they sort of forgot we common folk would wind up playing it, but it's hard to fault ambition.

Fans of the Final Fantasy games (especially the soundtracks) will enjoy this game, fans of Rhythm games can enjoy this game, and fans of both may thoroughly enjoy this game, especially longtime fans who have played many of the games and have a fondness towards the soundtracks.

Assassin's Creed Odyssey is a celebration of the series' highlights, transforming the open world genre with its breathtaking scenery, meaningful choices, and exhausting amount of detail that rewards players every step of the way. Ubisoft Quebec's brave quest to make an RPG results in the best entry in Assassin's Creed's historic treks through time.

An excellent platforming title with tons of style and polish. While it’s true that it doesn’t explore a lot of new territory, iteration within a genre is only bad to the extent which creativity and permutation are not applied. In other words, if it’s fun and feels fresh enough, it was worth the effort—and Tropical Freeze is every bit as enjoyable as its Wii predecessor.

As a unique and engaging tactical RPG experience, Valkyria Chronicles II reminds us a little innovation, a little refinement, and a few good ideas can go a long way in unsouring a genre.

An extremely deep and refined 2D fighter from Japan that challenges and impresses.

Overall, VA-11 Hall-A is a unique experience that borrows some design elements from games in the past, such as Carmen Sandiego, that features solving problems through natural dialogue with ambiguous clues. The additional narrative to it is captivating at times, though some dialogue can get way too long in the tooth. The additional money-making motivation and customization options help to sell the experience a little further beyond its initial design.

Them’s Fightin’ Herds from Mane6 creates a beautiful and unique fighting experience through their fun characters, simplistic mechanics, and gorgeous environments. While the game does run slow in the scheme of fighting, the rest of it makes for a fun time.

All in all, DOOMBLADE excels as a Metroidvania and is worth your attention. I was incredibly addicted to its control scheme and its combat despite its few faults. By the time I reached the final boss, I felt challenged in all the right ways. Considering its disruptiveness, I highly recommend DOOMBLADE for Metroidvania fans who desire something new, especially those who’re playing with a controller.

You don’t need to be a BlazBlue diehard to appreciate BlazBlue Entropy Effect. Its roguelike gameplay features some of the most fun yet complex combinations of button mashing and attack chains. It is far more approachable than most roguelikes I’ve played recently thanks to how it presents complex information to players and gives them opportunities to test out mechanics without relying on trial and error.

Snufkin: Melody of Moominvalley from developer Hyper Games is an adorable adventure led by a driven main character who is trying to protect his friend while keeping the environment around him free from nefarious control. While the gameplay only lasts about five hours total, the game is an easy treat to fall into and garnish a healthy amount of positivity from. It isn’t for everyone but younger gamers will enjoy the experience.

Lynked: Banner of the Spark from developer FuzzyBot is a cornucopia of different types of gameplay experiences rolled into one title and balanced in ways that work well together. The story is good, the action is easy and fun, and the crafting/building helps to bring a juxtaposition to the game’s action component. While not all of it works, the game still brings what it needs to create a big, unique, and entertaining experience.

The best RPGs impart lasting emotions on the player over the duration of the playthrough. In between its turn-based battles, light character building, and dark symbolism, OFF imprints guilt, horror, and confusion on the player in ways few games successfully pull off. OFF is an RPG that everyone should experience blindly, especially those who appreciate a haunting journey with blips of the bizarre. This remaster is not just a should-play of 2025, but a must-play of the decade. If you want OFF’s rainbow, you must have the rain.

Using the simple, lighthearted game approach from WarioWare titles and pairing that with an actual use for the design tools in Mario Paint, Nintendo has brought us a great new tool for creating our own Microgames.

One heck of a buy for $10. For anyone who has yet to venture into the Tower Defense genre of gaming, it provides a uniquely appealing style of RTS/puzzle gameplay that is sure to addict most everyone who gives it a go.

Paired with Crown of the Sunken King and Crown of the Old Iron King, it's enough to wish From Software could extend Dark Souls II's life with interminable rounds of additional content.

If anyone reading this has a One but hasn't experienced Gears first hand, this is a must buy right before the rush of the holiday releases really gets going in a month or so. For long time Gear heads, I still think this is a worthy hard drive partition, and makes retiring the 360 from your HDMI ports that much easier.

Ghostwire: Tokyo is a good game, if only for how thick and unnerving the story and world might be. While the gameplay does come up a bit empty, the story helps to pick up the slack and make the adventure worthwhile.

Minor AI and control gripes aside, all of which are simply a testament to the times and absolutely manageable to work with, this Remaster is a gem and I really hope it’s just a sign of things to come as more C&C games get remastered with this level of passion, community involvement, skill, and heart.

Overall, Freedom Finger is an edgy side-scroller that has heart. It is led by raw rock music and visual design while toting a typical side-scrolling shooter underneath. It’s a good game that will definitely keep you challenged and amused.

Helldivers II from developer Arrowhead Game Studios is a team-driven experience that is goal-driven fun wrapped in a goofy Starship Troopers tip of the hat. While the gameplay can get repetitive, the reward system helps to balance it out.

A series as ritually re-imagined as Ys should have exhausted its creative energy several iterations ago, but Memories of Celceta corrects any suspicion of dilution or degradation. Falcom's commanding role in its production has lead to an aggressive and intuitive combat system and, along with an exploration-focused narrative, an adventure that simultaneously embraces and improves its namesake's legacy.

There’s a reason (err, several) why It Takes Two earned its Game of the Year accolades in 2021, and Switch owners now have the opportunity to play one of the best co-op games of late. The story remains meaningful, the puzzles innovative. The title continues to succeed in navigating interpersonal strife long after its release and the title’s ending being freely available to find online. Even though I knew of some of the events that occurred before reviewing, I was often surprised by its powerful storytelling. It runs incredibly well on the Switch, to boot. Some of the typical Switch-based quirks may be coming with, but it still delivers on a compelling and emotional experience without the compromises that usually accompany a Switch port. With Friend Pass baked into the game, Switch owners are able to play with those in the same room as well as afar. I would personally recommend using a voice comms platform should you play remotely, though.

SFVCE is by no means an entirely new game, it’s just a culmination of where SFV has come so far. In the last four years, the game certainly has come a long way. If you’ve waited until now to jump in, this is obviously the best version to get.

Overall, Sayonara Wild Hearts is a perfect experience. It may not last long, but it will certainly draw you in with its story, keep you there with its variety of gameplay, and then bring the entire experience together with its amazing visuals and music.

Ultimately, if you're looking for a quick, pick up and play platformer, Ninjatown: Trees of Doom! is worth a look, especially at the $.99 price point.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is the best Call of Duty in years. It doesn’t feel particularly brave or shocking to admit that fact. Each year the franchise excels in masterful gunplay and it is up to the individual developer to present something new for players to gobble up. Expect omnimovement to be incorporated into future installments to come, spread across all modes. But if Black Ops 6 is any indication of the heights Call of Duty can achieve when true work and creativity are injected into the campaign, then this is a bright future for the long-running behemoth.

Even if you do the minimum amount of side content and just stick with the main story as much as possible, you’re in for a long, interesting, and fun game. The story matter is heavy, though, and might tax some players into taking breaks more often than they might typically. To balance that, there is a lot of good humor and zaniness that you would expect from this studio, but also some endearing missions in the School Stories section where you do everything from lead a dance team, help engineer robots, box, join a motorcycle gang, and partake in a Virtua Fighter 5 tournament. Additionally, the changes that LJ has compared to the original are all positive, too — big new areas to explore, new gameplay elements in both the action and adventure portions of the experience, and yet the best parts of the original are carried over. Ultimately, this is an excellent game that I readily recommend.

Cave Story shouldn't be missed no matter what platform you play it on, but Cave Story 3D offers the most unique perspective on this independent gem.

Marvel Super Heroes is the latest, possibly greatest, in the revered LEGO games franchise. The Wii U's exclusive benefit of each player having their own screen is a big deal, but this is a fun game regardless of the platform you play it on.

I had a fun time with Hatsune Miku Project DIVA Mega Mix+ from SEGA. It was colorful, musical, and a real treat without much effort. The replayability might be an issue when you reach expert status, but the desire to achieve a better score with more accuracy, while unlocking more songs might overcome the bore that comes with less challenging difficulty. Regardless, it’s a heckuva game.

It feels like an integral piece in the burgeoning Dead Space mythos, and it does for the light gun genre what the original did for its survival/horror brethren; while it's not particularly original, it remains wonderfully engaging, masterfully executed, and, despite its brevity, a great deal of fun.

Reroll presents Katamari Damacy with all of the strange power and dazed prestige it originally showcased in 2004. This no-frills reissue is adapted from its 2018 trip to the Switch, favoring preservation over amplification, but such is the curse of being born perfect. Katamari Damacy is on another modern platform and all is right with the cosmos.

Overall, it's one of the best portable survival horror titles I've played in a while-even if it's not all survival horror.

This is an easy release to recommend to anyone that loves a great adventure game that has been revamped for modern play, but maintains all of the timeless quality and charm it had originally.

Plenty of shooters (and plenty of games) have played with bullet time, stopping time, or some otherworldly manipulation of time, but none have married its passage to movement quite like Superhot. It not only adopts and plays with this idea; it pushes and refines it to its logical extremes by discarding anything that might get in the way.

Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate makes for a very solid gaming experience. The game offers up so much to do and see through a massive amount of quests, crafting elements, customizations and a compelling online mode. Prepare your day-to-day schedules accordingly for this one, but please be mindful of the control issues the game tends to have.

Remastered versions of Borderlands 2 and Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel are gems on their own that offer deep, fun and different experiences. Having them together in one package for a reasonable price point is something you can't pass up, if you don't own them on PC.

If this was at the $15 price point, I'd say go for it with no hesitation whatsoever. For $20, I caution those looking for truckloads of new content to be leery of the abbreviated collection of Championships and Gauntlets. Still, this is a very solid offering for Horizon 2 owners looking for a reason to put the virtual pedal down during the holidays.

In The Division 2 your time is always rewarded. You are welcomed back with open arms to try new things and take on harder challenges. This is a game that will continue to grow but currently stands on its own two feet not just out of sheer competency but because of thoughtful, intelligent decisions made by a team that understands what players want from a game they prefer not to put down. The Division 2 is more than a sequel, it is a new, high bar of quality in a genre where those things should be commonplace.

EA Tiburon continues to find new ways to improve their Madden series and so far, at least in the last few years, they’re doing a good job of bringing worthwhile experiences to gamers.

Mind Control Delete reforms Superhot’s signature slow motion power fantasy into the shape of a procedurally generated roguelike. It retains the shiny spartan aesthetic, the bellicose narrative, and the most satisfying first-person shooter gimmick of the last decade, but the twists and tweaks behind its operation don’t alter its basic complexion. Superhot felt euphoric when it was new. Mind Control Delete can only reheat that sensation of extravagance.