A heartwarming story, a mysterious world, and a slowly-growing bond between two unlikely companions ensure that fans of Team Ico’s past work won’t be disappointed. Clunky controls and a handful of graphical issues, however, mean that The Last Guardian may not be an enjoyable game for everyone—though, either way, Trico is adorable.

For those who enjoy a simple hack-n-slash game, Ryse: Son of Rome fits the bill. This is no deep adventure, but rather a chance to burn your aggression by chopping your way through hundreds of barbarians, slowing only to enjoy the carnage during the brutal executions. Still, the stunning visuals and compelling setting will keep some gamers engaged throughout, making Ryse a flawed-but-interesting addition to the Xbox One launch lineup.

While the new content in The Frozen Wilds is on par with the rest of Horizon Zero Dawn, it's hardly a must-play expansion. The story tells us little we didn't already know, and the new weapons and quests feel like more of the same.

Final Fantasy XV is nowhere close to the game that we should have received after 10 years of waiting—but it also isn’t anywhere close to the trainwreck that it easily could have been. While the storytelling is a mess and the game feels incomplete far too often, there’s enough to love here—from combat, to exploration, to the four Japanese pretty boys that make up your main party—to make FFXV a road trip worth going on.

Can any game live up to a decade of hype? Kingdom Hearts III tries, and its meticulously-recreated Disney worlds, jam-packed combat system, and wealth of minigames offer a ton for players to explore. However, the game’s bizarre pacing, an abundance of cutscenes, and an unrewarding story may leave players more bewildered than satisfied by the end.

ShootMania breathes new life into a crowded genre by taking things back to basics. If you’re a fan of old-style twitch shooters, this is the game for you. However, a lack of progression—bar a leaderboard—and simple map designs may lead to many being turned off in the long run. If you’re after a pure shooter, however, it doesn’t get much better than this.

The in-game currency decision was a head scratcher, as it adds an unwelcome grinding element to much of the gameplay. If you can look past that, then there’s a decent campaign and the same addictive multiplayer Bomberman is known for sitting at this launch title’s explosive core.

When it comes to the gameplay, Mortal Kombat X is a solid fighting game, but a small roster and shoddy story hold it back from being a complete experience.

Another fun twin-stick-shooter romp for Lara Croft, Temple of Osiris finds a way to go bigger and better in most regards, but four-player co-op was just too much on my TV screen—this one would’ve been better off with only two main characters instead of four.

Though at times plagued by faults that might scare away some players, Silent Hill Downpour offers an absolutely engrossing experience-one that gives longtime fans true hope for the future of the franchise.

If you’ve been longing for a driving game with more destruction than you can keep up with, Onrush delivers. There are many things unique about this new arcade racer, the top being that the term “racer” is a misnomer.

New defensive-line play and more defining accuracy with QBs highlight some of the many changes this year’s Madden brings to the table. Unfortunately, not all the other tweaks are nearly as successful.

Final Fantasy Type-0 is a welcome release in the West, as we finally get the chance to experience one of the more experimental and enjoyable additions to the Final Fantasy franchise in years. It’s just a shame that some of the game’s concepts feel outdated or underdeveloped compared to its other parts—and that Type-0’s journey from the PSP to the new systems hasn’t done its visuals or environments a lot of favors.

A Lego game with an original story featuring a who’s who of DC villains (and a few heroes for good measure), a universe of great locations, and plenty of bricky humor. A few game killing bugs do hinder the overall experience (at least on Switch), but otherwise Lego DC Super-Villains is a blast to play, either alone or with another aspiring no-goodnick.

Forza Motorsport 7 is a really great racing game—it’s just a shame that changes to the game’s currency system undermine a fair amount of what it does right. It’s made racing feel more like a grind than in years past and no amount of new tracks or cars will change that.

XCOM 2 is a generally solid experience, but it is definitely one of those titles that may not be for everyone due to its punishing game style and occasional unpredictably of success.

While it never truly feels like it reaches its full potential or the promise Undead Lab’s ideas hold for the genre, State of Decay: Year-One Survival Edition is still a fun, fascinating take on the tradition of zombie-apocalypse games that’s worth playing for hardcore fans.

Quantum Break is a intriguing science-fiction tale told across two media platforms. While the action and exploration in the video game portions shine, the live-action episodes create a disconnect that is hard to recover from.

While it isn’t without some notable and completely unnecessary problems, the Switch version of Dark Souls Remastered is still a great way to experience one of the best games ever released. The ability to play the game wherever and whenever is wonderful, and it’s nice to have this improvement on the original PlayStation 3/Xbox 360 release to contrast the more drastic overhaul the other platforms received.

Get Even is better as an experience than as a game, but it’s an extremely evocative experience. Even still, what could have been a completely unique gaming experience is hampered by its desire to be a more action-oriented, generic thriller.

An interesting spin-off to the main Mass Effect universe, only the most hardcore of fans will look past the repetitive on-rails game play and iffy controls.

Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate is a more robust, refined version of Team Ninja’s work on Dead or Alive 5, providing a fighting-game package that’s a better starting point for players new to this iteration of the series. Current Dead or Alive 5 owners, however, will have to pony up the exact same amount of scratch to join in on the fun.

Xenoblade Chronicles X has a hard time providing a tale suitable for the massive world and complex systems that occupy it, but even the most fairweather RPG fans will need little convincing to pick up this Japanese addition to the open-world genre.

Unexpectedly, First Light’s story campaign ends up being its weakest link. Compared to the depth and replayability of the score-driven combat arenas, Fetch Walker’s origin story proves to be a bit of snoozefest, especially in the context of Second Son’s respectable storytelling and mission design.

Far Cry 5 had much to live up to coming in under the shadow of previous games in the series. While it doesn’t quite reach the same level, it stays true to enough of its series staples that fans and newcomers alike should expect a good time.

An interesting side-story twist on Deep Silver’s first-person horror franchise, Escape Dead Island takes the franchise’s mythos in some unique new directions, resulting in an entertaining adventure that can be enjoyed by both fans and newcomers alike.

Anthem is a beautiful car that is an absolute joy to drive, but so far, it only has enough gas to get you a couple miles. Also, the wheels will periodically fall off. Sold as a live-service game, fans of Anthem’s exhilarating gameplay have to hold out hope that things will improve, but there’s no denying the initial expedition was rough.

Shortcomings that haunt the entire series remain here, but more gameplay choices and a compelling narrative make Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: Russia the strongest of the three Chronicles titles.