Escape Academy is an endearing puzzle game that just wants to share the unique pleasure of escape rooms with everyone. Each well-designed level brings a set of clever logic puzzles that are always satisfying to solve, especially with a pal. It has a harder time bringing players a meaningful sense of failure, as the meaningless time limits suck the tension out of the room. Despite its struggles to nail down the energy of real-world escape rooms, it’s one of the most fun ways you can spend a Saturday gaming night this summer.

Respawn Entertainment has shown a game is definitely more than the sum of its parts, and this sampling of classic Star Wars tropes and modern gameplay trends makes for a flashy and frantic adventure. Put it on your must-play list for the holidays.

Whether you’re fighting, crafting, or gathering, your actions always serve a purpose in the Burning Crusade Classic campaign. Anyone can feel like they’re contributing either to their own guilds and groups or to the server as a whole. Leveling can feel sluggish at times, but talent points, meaningful gear upgrades, and a clear endgame goal create an RPG experience that still manages to make it a game worth experiencing if you have the time, even if it’s more demanding than we typically tolerate from games like this.

South Park: The Fractured But Whole isn’t an even experience. Some moments are fun and pretty funny, but others feel pretty uninspired. Exploring the town of South Park isn’t as novel this time out, and it largely isn’t as funny. RPG systems like combat, looting and crafting are just involved enough to make them interesting, but the firm emphasis is on the story and humor of the show. With the plot taking a while to develop and with so many jokes just feeling played out, loose on their landings or easy and obvious, it’s tough to really get excited to head back down to South Park.

"Potential" is the word I keep coming back to when playing through Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe. I'm smitten with every piece of the package on its own merits, but I'm also left excited about what it could signal for the future of the series. There's a lot of room for Hal Laboratories to take the combo-based platforming of Magolor Epilogue or the progression systems of Merry Magoland and use them to innovate its next original Kirby game, whether it's 2D or not. This may be a blast from the past, but it's even more exciting when viewed as a peek at what's to come.

Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail delivers an emotional gut punch, even if it takes some time to get there.

New Pokémon Snap is a delightful follow-up to a beloved classic, which is no small task. It avoids being a simple nostalgia act by giving players tons of photo ops to chase and way more control over their final shots. There’s more room for it to grow, whether that’s through DLC or a sequel, but it’s a wholesome photography game for fans who want to soak in the colorful glow of the Pokémon universe.

Dynasty Warriors: Origins is thrilling fun so long as you don't overthink its hollow story.

After seven years, with myriad studios steering the ship in different directions, LittleBigPlanet 3 feels torn between wanting to be a toolbox and a colorful little platformer. If it wants to just be a platformer, it needs to think bigger and expand what it lets you play with. And if it wants to just be a toolbox, it needs to either think of a better way to teach how to use those tools or stop breathing so hard down the player’s neck.

Pokémon: Let’s Go is a streamlined, marvelous reimagining of Pokémon Yellow with mostly welcome improvements.

Rift of the Necrodancer captures the true essence of music by creatively visualizing rhythm.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows almost feels like what it would be like if Ken Burns was tasked with making a video game. It’s exhaustive in how it depicts Japan’s feudal era even in fiction, crafting its world with the eye of a historical documentarian. It’s not quite the in-depth slice of life that Red Dead Redemption 2 goes for, but it approaches that same idea with fewer systems. Some of my favorite moments came when I just got bored of stabbing people and got on my horse instead. I didn't stop every few feet to complete a puzzle. I didn’t stop to open another chest. I just rode, breathing in nature and listening to my own exhale intertwine with the wind.

If Doom is a jam session that gives players space to improvise, Metal: Hellsinger is a high school recital. There’s only so far you can stray from the sheet music.

Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty lands in a happy medium for the Soulslike genre. It has enough mechanics to stand out from the typical FromSoftware disciple, but it's still familiar enough for veterans of the genre. It isn’t groundbreaking, but its difficulty and the satisfaction of overcoming obstacles still make for a fun (and frustrating) experience. Pair that with a thoughtful use of Chinese mythology that sets it apart from any other game on the market and you’ve got another strong Soulslike to bang your head against until FromSoftware unleashes its next epic.

The beefy spinoff of last year’s Infinite Wealth is an act of cosplay. While most of the pieces that make the long-running series so beloved are there, Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio trades in strong writing for pirate pastiche with mixed results. Majima’s nautical adventure is at its best when flashes of memory break through its amnesia, reminding me that there’s more to Like a Dragon than its memeable moments.

Call of Duty: Warzone is the definitive battle royale experience right now.

Skin Deep is a wacky slice of immersive slapstick that could have used a little more chaos.

Resident Evil 3 is uncomfortable but exhilarating. There’s a thrill in the danger, like roaming a haunted house or riding a roller coaster.

Persona 5 Tactica's strategic elements are its highlights, but don't expect it to take your heart.

Horizon Call of the Mountain works as an impressive PSVR2 tech showcase, but overambitious ideas make it less appealing as an action-adventure game.

Madden NFL 20 is a stellar football sim, especially for those who enjoy Franchise or Ultimate Team. The reworked player ratings system adds authenticity to the on-the-field gameplay, and Ultimate Team is easier to follow than ever before. It’s not without its faults, though. The running game feels like a cheat code, and Face of the Franchise is a boring, poorly written career mode.

Anger Foot's one-note action gimmick can't find a second leg to stand on.

Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name satisfyingly ties up many loose ends in Kiryu's story, but it's one of the franchise's most tedious adventures.

Ghostrunner 2's intense action is a fun as ever, but the ambitious sequel overthinks a lean concept with messy new features.

The Journey is sorely missed in FIFA 20, as the story we get instead simply isn’t up to the high standard of its predecessors. The visuals also lag behind other AAA sports titles. Despite this, FIFA 20 remains the best way to experience soccer in a game. It makes a few minor adjustments to the formula without breaking what’s worked for the series over the years.

Islands of Insight is the modern reinvention the puzzle genre needs.

Sid Meier's Civilization VII succeeds at making one of the most storied strategy game franchises still feel fresh.

Everyone insists the stakes are high, yet they never feel high, because nothing you care about is at risk.