NHL 18 bites off more than it can chew in terms of new gameplay moves, although the defensive skill stick is a welcome feature. The arcade game mode NHL Threes delivers fast and lasting fun, but the simulation modes — the series’ most important components — lacks personality in an age when most sports games ooze personality.

What’s included in Mario Tennis Aces makes the game a great choice for Mario and tennis fans alike, and we can see dedicated players competing in high-level player over the next few months, but we wish there was more meat. Unless you plan on becoming really good at online player, or constantly have visitors at your home, you’ll be limited to only a few modes, none of which are likely to keep you entertained for more than an hour or so at a time. For a commute, or something to play before work or bed, it does the job — but don’t expect it to keep your attention throughout the summer.

For every mission of dull gunplay, though, Saints Row IV offers up something freaky in response.

Visions of Mana isn't the most sophisticated RPG, but it's good comfort food for genre fans.

Homeworld 3 did keep me engaged for a time thanks to gorgeous visuals and exciting tactical combat in the vastness of space. Performance-wise, I didn’t notice too many hiccups. With an Nvidia RTX 3080, Intel i9-10900K, and 32GB of RAM, I was able to select high graphical settings without a hitch. Unfortunately, the campaign’s story is a huge step down from previous installments. Missions, whether in the campaign or in multiplayer modes, are plagued by innumerable issues related to unit pathing, controls, and commands. It’s a disappointment that was 20 years in the making.

Absolver’s is hyper-focused on its fighting system, and the work Sloclap did there pays off. Its combination of cool systems, like learning fighting moves from enemies and player mentors, creating your own combos, and carefully and strategically using them during fights, makes every battle feel intense and important, especially in multiplayer scenarios. While everything else surrounding that system feels a bit anemic by comparison, the mix of great ideas Absolver brings to its core concept carries the rest, and should inspire plenty of other fighting and action games.

Buy it if you want a competitive racer that’s willing to hold your hand while you take your time honing your skills. Don’t buy it if you’re more into building massive collections of your favorite cars, or if you only ever playing by yourself. If that’s your preferred style, grab Forza 7 instead.

Outside of its stunning visuals, Hot Wheels Unleashed is a toothless kart racer, relying too heavily on nostalgia goggles and the Hot Wheels brand to carry it instead of the solid ideas that end up hardly being implemented. What players get with Hot Wheels Unleashed is the same experience I had with many of my Hot Wheels as a child; I was entertained for a few hours, then grew bored and tossed it in a box. That’s not to say that I didn’t have fun with the game. Those few hours were full of spectacle, because it’s simply impossible to not get caught up in the game’s sights and sounds. Eventually, though, it’s going to take more than racing a hot dog car down a strip of vinyl track to keep me interested.

Fear the Spotlight is an imperfect, but sincere lo-fi horror debut for Blumhouse Games.

Song of Nunu is Riot Forge's best game yet, emphasizing gameplay variety and an emotional narrative about processing grief.

WarioWare: Move It! is a joyously fun return to the series motion-control era, though it doesn't evolve the formula too much.”

A Little to the Left might be this year's most plesant game thanks to its cathartic organization puzzles.

Ghostwire: Tokyo is at its best when it's reimagining Japanese folklore in visually astonishing ways and delivering moving visualizations of what it’s like to pass on. It’s less compelling as a checkbox-driven open-world game, with limited content stretched too thin across its apocalyptic version of Shibuya.

It’s a game that seemingly aims to bottle lighting a second time, and fails spectacularly.

Sniper Elite: Resistance offers more of the same action with virtually no surprises and a dull World War 2 story. That’s perfectly fine considering that the Rebellion team is still great at the one thing they’ve dedicated their career to doing: creating tightly designed murder playgrounds for those who want to vent their real world political frustrations in the safety of a virtual shooting gallery.

Revelations 2 is neither a particularly good game nor a particularly bad one. It has all the ingredients of a good Resident Evil game, but lacks substance.

No More Heroes 3 is one of the best action games of the year and offers some well-rounded fun. The writing, gameplay, performance, music, and virtually everything else come together to deliver a must-play game for the Nintendo Switch, just as the original did back in 2007 on the Nintendo Wii. Fans of Suda51, No More Heroes, action games, and a hilariously good time need to give this one a try. If you weren’t a fan of developer Grasshopper Manufacture and Suda before, you will be after this one.

The fun, snappy Sonic Dream Team might just hold the blueprints for the hedgehog's future.

Marvel Rivals is the most entertaining hero shooter since Overwatch.

An enjoyable real-time strategy game held back by a lack of polish and content.

Flock will bring out the inner birdwatcher in you, even if only for a few short hours.

In a sea of tactical shooters, Fragpunk is the one finally willing to challenge the status quo.

Ara: History Untold brings city-building to Civilization with strategic success.

The higher resolution leads to a sort of spatial uncanny valley, leaving the world feeling a little cold, a little off.

Emio — The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club is a refreshingly mature turn for Nintendo in more ways than one.

Penny's Big Breakaway isn't one of the genre's greats, but it's a very unique and fun 3D platformer.

Tron: Identity is a smart and respectful use of the classic series, turning it into a gripping sci-fi detective story.

Don’t let concerns with Techland’s previous Dead Island games stop you from taking on a chance on Dying Light. You have to slog through some really terrible story missions and some very janky combat, but there’s a detailed world to discover, and a lot of fun mechanics to take advantage of.