Brothership’s problems will look familiar to anyone who found themselves disappointed by games like Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam or Paper Mario: Sticker Star. Nintendo has seemingly convinced itself that every Mario RPG needs to have bespoke gimmicks. It’s not enough to give players a well-written story and iterate on a solid combat foundation; there always has to be a twist, or two, or three. Those layers drag Brothership down the longer the adventure goes on, making even its intriguing climax feel exhausting by the end.

Brothership’s problems will look familiar to anyone who found themselves disappointed by games like Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam or Paper Mario: Sticker Star. Nintendo has seemingly convinced itself that every Mario RPG needs to have bespoke gimmicks. It’s not enough to give players a well-written story and iterate on a solid combat foundation; there always has to be a twist, or two, or three. Those layers drag Brothership down the longer the adventure goes on, making even its intriguing climax feel exhausting by the end.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 offers story thrills, wacky movement, and a whole lot of microtransactions.

Dragon Age: The Veilguard is a return to form for this once-lauded RPG studio that should satiate Dragon Age fans quite well after a decade-long wait. But returning to form and perfecting form are not the same thing. BioWare has plenty of room to regrow as it gets back on track making the kinds of games RPG fans want them to create.

Taken as a complete package, Sonic X Shadow Generations paints a full picture of the series’ long, hard journey. I started by dragging my way through a fun but shallow game that never quite felt right and arrived at a revelatory thrill that feels like the genuine future of the series. The takeaway from all this shouldn’t be to make a third Generations game, put Shadow in the starring role more often, or to even bow down to anyone with a complaint — lord knows that last one is a recipe for disaster these days. Rather, the most positive possible outcome is that it will inspire a moment of self-reflection. We do not grow by plugging our ears, running away from the past, and ignoring anyone who doesn’t say exactly what we want to hear. Growing up is about recognizing our imperfections, and knowing which are worth embracing and which are actually worth working on.

Batman: Arkham Shadow isn't just a great VR game; it's one of the best Batman games ever.

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

MechWarrior 5: Clans delivers 100 tons of BattleMech joy with outstanding missions and superb storytelling.

Super Mario Party Jamboree’s core board game is still as fun as ever, and made even better thanks to some clever new maps. Its signature minigames, though, are a little more inconsistent as some of Nintendo’s best ideas are almost exclusively saved for hit-and-miss side modes. It’s a multiplayer package that spreads itself thin, but there’s enough fun content here to keep the dice rolling for another turn.

Neva may not be the most complex 2D platformer, but it still might make you cry.

Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero delivers thrilling fights, but its disjointed story mode doesn't hold up its end of the bargain.

In many ways, Metaphor: ReFantazio feels like the next mainline entry in the Persona series in all but name. In others, it carves out an identity all its own. The strategic turn-based combat system is just as satisfying as ever, while Archetypes and globe-trotting put a new perspective on an otherwise familiar experience. I could see the plot twists coming a mile away, but the endearing cast of characters made the journey worthwhile. It’s not perfect, but Atlus has earned my vote of confidence. Consider me a follower.

While it may be an unnecessary project, Silent Hill 2’s remake keeps the original’s haunting essence intact by staying true to its unsettling atmosphere, off-kilter tone, and uncomfortable moments. It’s a respectful revisit that only veers off course when it tries a little too hard to add pounds onto a sleek horror game. Even with some extra weight, the tortured story told here is every bit as harrowing as it was in 2001.

Echoes of Wisdom’s best parts are the ones that break away from what’s expected. My favorite moments largely happen in Still World rifts, where I need to carve my own path through twisted snippets of Hyrule’s world using echoes. I’m attuned with Zelda most when I find a large gap I can’t pass, but realize I can get to the other side by grabbing hold of a flying tile with my bind ability and following its path. In clever puzzle platform moments like that, I feel like I'm tapping into her third of the Triforce; I’m using her wisdom to meet any challenge that arises. And I’m doing that by drawing on her connection to all things within her kingdom and communicating her eternal royalty through tangible play.

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

Frostpunk 2 scales up the drama with a bigger, more strategic sequel that's easy to get lost in.

Once the story finally starts delivering on its themes in the back half of the adventure and Jot obtains all of his storybook-manipulating abilities, The Plucky Squire is a joy. We’re entering a postmodern era for the video game industry where the art itself can start discussing what came before, who made it, and why it was made. The Plucky Squire finds itself standing tall in the middle of that trend. It's a must-play if you want to understand why game developers, artists, or any kind of creator makes things in spite of so many forces trying to blot their work out.

Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster is a delight to play through all these years later. It's faithful to the original, features a narrative that feels more relevant than ever, and still dishes out tense emergent moments through its timer system. When it does make a tweak, it often feels intentional and never hurts the game. If you haven't played a Dead Rising game before, this is the place to start.

UFO 50 will remind you why you fell in love with video games in the first place.

Yars Rising boldly takes an Atari 2600 classic into the future with ingenious results.

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine delivers non-stop co-op action in all its gory glory.

Four years ago, Sony introduced the tagline “play has no limits” to advertise the PS5. Astro Bot is the first PlayStation exclusive since then that truly believes in that mission statement.

The Casting of Frank Stone is more invested in Dead by Daylight than itself at times.

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

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

Concord has the bones of a fun multiplayer game, but it's missing the meat.

Black Myth: Wukong is only a Soulslike in the way Stellar Blade is, and that's to its credit. It lightly borrows elements from the subgenre but carves out a niche for themselves by focusing on its key differences. Despite some performance issues and frustrating difficulty spikes, Black Myth: Wukong’s frenetic combat and emphasis on fluid movement make it feel unlike any of its other contemporaries.

The Crush House turns reality TV into the funniest puzzle game you'll ever play.