Vampyr walks a fine line between narrative storytelling and action-oriented combat, trying to appeal to fans of both genres and mostly succeeding. Though the game lacks polish in many areas, it stars a clever morality system that entices players towards both good and evil deeds, a well-rounded web of background NPCs, and an intriguing overall narrative of an undead doctor investigating the spread of the Spanish Influenza, making Vampyr a treat for any vampire fan.

Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite looks ugly, feels kind of cheap at times, and suffers from a disappointing initial roster—but it’s also a frenetically fun fighting game that got almost all of the things it needed to get right right. With (hopefully) a bit more polish and DLC helping to flesh out its character choices, this is set to become a worthy—if still flawed—new chapter in Capcom’s beloved fighting franchise.

Harley Quinn's Revenge is limited in scope compared to the main campaign, but fans of Arkham City should still jump at the chance to play this DLC, which adds two to three hours of original gameplay in Rocksteady's gorgeously gothic world.

If the bulk of Borderlands 2 had you laughing till it hurt, then this DLC will certainly continue that trend. A couple of balancing issues with the new enemies introduced, however, will cause some headaches and encourage you to race through more daunting areas.

The perfect Assassin’s Creed swan song on last-gen, Rogue offers perhaps the best protagonist the series has ever seen—even if the gameplay will be too familiar for the liking of some.

Too many random problems arise and detract from the main issues of the story, leaving Amid the Ruins feeling like a weird valley right before the hopeful peak of the season finale.

A powerful, poignant story that utilizes a brilliantly crafted world and movement mechanic to help get its symbolism across. Its short length and lack of gameplay depth hold the experience as a whole back, however.

The multiplayer and replay ideas that Ubisoft implemented in Steep were great, and the game looks terrific. It’s held back as a whole, though, by listless controls, a directionless world, and an always-online requirement that brings everything crashing down like an avalanche when the servers decide to act up.

Just Cause 3 may not trump its predecessor in every way, but it does excel beyond Just Cause 2 in its sheer creative freedom. The new tools and tweaks to old ones work great, it’s just up to gamers to discover how best to use them. Having so many choices you lose track of them is one of the best things any game can offer, and Just Cause 3 does so in spades.

Mega Man fans will either love or hate returning to the later entries from the franchise found in Mega Man Legacy Collection 2, but the new Challenges will give any player a run for their money and should be worth checking out.

Too often the action becomes a total slog as you fight the same enemies over and over—while also fighting the camera and lock-on systems.

Unlike the last Tales sequel, 2008’s Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World, Xillia 2 is a worthy entry in the pantheon of Bandai Namco’s flagship RPG series. Unfortunately, the game’s ill-advised debt-payback system to unlock new areas and story chapters sabotages the overall enjoyment at times, and some other curious design decisions make Xillia 2 a less compelling adventure than it should’ve been.

Maneater constantly blurs the line between sadistic mass murder simulator and clever satire, while also managing to be as fun as any human-based open-world game. Chris Parnell’s narration can get a little repetitive, as can the missions, and the camera could use a little work, but it’s all a matter of context. It’s a wild reversal of ego, an experience that is both completely freeing and oppressive at the same time. Stare into the dead eyes of the shark, and the shark stares into you.

Some control improvements and fleshed out game play modes highlight the deepest WWE videogame experience yet.

Disney Infinity: Marvel Super Heroes (2.0 Edition) takes last year’s tested formula and adds new features like leveling characters, streamlined editing tools for the Toy Box, and a cast of characters straight from your favorite Marvel comics and movies. While the new Play Sets are only a modest improvement over the ones from last year, the Toy Box is even more amazing, making this the perfect place for those wanting to express their creativity.

Some hit detection problems can't hide the fact that Neon's an awesome tribute to a bygone era-and it'll bring a smile to the face of anyone who grew up playing beat-em-ups in the '80s and '90s.

Tomodachi Life is a trip into a world where your Miis live out a never-ending series of bizarre and amusing adventures. While I’m glad that Nintendo of America decided to take a chance in bringing it our way, those adventures are unfortunately tainted somewhat due to a few gameplay decisions that really should be rectified in a future sequel.

Fire may have rained from the skies and wiped out entire nations, but the action in Far Cry New Dawn is pretty much the same as it ever was, only less so. A few interesting new tweaks to the series' formula are overshadowed by a cut-rate campaign, a story that gets colossally dumb in the third act, and a resource system that feels both unbalanced and pointless.

Derivative and beset by astounding technical problems, Days Gone is a rare misfire among Sony’s first-party efforts. While the core fantasy of surviving in a world overrun with infected occasionally shines through, Bend Studio doesn’t deliver nearly enough compelling moments to justify the long slog it takes to see this mediocre story through to its end.

Take a haphazard trip through the Marvel Cinematic Universe with all of your favorite Avengers—as well as a whole host of B-level Marvel characters you may or may not have ever heard of. Gameplay is fun, and individual levels all play great, but LEGO Marvel’s Avengers fails to come together in as cohesive a fashion as the material deserves.

While certain elements will appeal to DC Comics fans, there simply isn’t enough substance here to make Scribblenauts Unmasked worth a purchase—the gimmick wears off way too quickly.

Farpoint is another perfect example of a VR game with solid ideas and spotty execution. There is a core of good gunplay and decent story, but the game quickly becomes one-dimensional in its approach, and finds a way to feel like a grind despite its short campaign.

While not fantastic in terms of gameplay, Corpse Party shines as a journey in surviving a world of disturbing horror.

Trek to Yomi is one of the most visually striking games to launch in a while, delivering on the promise that a samurai game can truly capture the look and feel of classic Japanese cinema. Unfortunately, good looks can only get you so far, as the gameplay and story don’t quite live up to the standards set by its art direction. But if you are in the mood for a samurai game, you could do worse than Trek to Yomi.

Driveclub’s social features help elevate an otherwise unexceptional racer, but the dearth of content and some curious design choices keep it from rising too high.

Easily as deep and addicting a MOBA as you'd find on the PC, Guardians of Middle-Earth should appeal to newcomers and veterans of the genre alike. Add in the Lord of the Rings flair and this should be money well spent for most gamers.

What it lacks in length and complexity, Pinstripe makes up for in narrative. It’s a compelling story set in a beautiful world full of interesting characters, and that alone should be worth a look for most—even if there’s really not much challenge to this puzzle-adventure game.

The Medium builds upon a lot of gameplay gimmicks and ideas that aren’t always used to their full potential, but when they do work, they work incredibly well. Controlling main character Marianne as she jumps between worlds is both engrossing and exciting in practice, and the game’s main location serves its job as a setting for horror masterfully most of the time. This is a game that definitely could have been better—but which is also better than a lot of other horror games that don’t take such daring risks.