Stray does a great job at letting you act like a cat, turning a wide range of true-to-life feline behaviors into clever gameplay mechanics. But it’s much less successful at making you truly feel like a cat, as the game’s more conventional approach to its gameplay and story routinely shatters your immersion in odd ways. If you can suspend your disbelief and look past the missed opportunity of a more cohesive experience, however, there’s a lot to like in its moody cyberpunk world and varied challenges.

It’s taken me a long time to experience the Yakuza series, but Yakuza 6 makes me so thankful that I finally have. The insurmountable badass Kazuma Kiryu is surrounded by a fantastic cast of characters and some gripping drama—it’s just a shame that the “game” portion of this video game isn’t quite what it could be. Still, this is a superb adventure from beginning to end, and further proof of the magic that Japanese developers can weave when they put their minds to it.

NBA 2K19 had a real opportunity to learn from last year’s mistakes, and in some ways it did. The Neighborhood is more convenient, the Prelude is way more interesting, and the gameplay has seen some subtle but important improvements. Unfortunately, all this is marred yet again by the game’s predatory microtransaction system, which turns the MyCareer stuff into a grind-heavy, pay-to-skip farce.

New features may need a little more balancing to be effective online, but overall, Madden NFL 17 is the most polished and enjoyable Madden yet, magnificently avoiding a potential regression after the successes of the year prior.

The actual gameplay is leaps and bounds ahead of NHL 13's predecessors, but the GM AI has taken a couple steps backward in noticeable-and discouraging-ways.

The long-running Project Diva formula gets a welcome freshening up in Hatsune Miku: Project Diva X. While a good-but-not-great soundtrack and a few misguided decisions keep it from reaching its full potential, this is probably the best chapter gameplay-wise we’ve received in the West yet.

As the final chapter of the Zero Escape trilogy, Zero Time Dilemma is a dramatic journey through the strengths and weaknesses of the human spirit, one that longtime fans and newcomers can both enjoy and appreciate.

With an arresting art style and admirable commitment to minimalist game design, Gris manages to turn a straightforward, often derivative platformer into something that feels far more special and important.

The Show was clearly on its last legs on the PS3, and the revamped, more true-to-life ballparks infuse some much-needed atmosphere in the series’ PS4 debut. Meanwhile, Road to the Show includes several tweaks that help you create a more dominating prospect. Unfortunately, the player models don’t receive the same level of care, and the game’s online components aren’t on the level of most other sports franchises—issues that absolutely must be addressed going forward.

If Slightly Mad Studios wanted to prove they could build an engine to compete with the likes of Gran Turismo and Forza Motorsport, Project CARS is a definite success, with driving that feels as realistic as anything else out there. If they wanted to compete with the polish and robustness of those bigger titles, though, they’ve come up slightly short.

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.

NBA 2K15 delivers a solid core basketball experience, particularly with MyCareer mode, which features real-life NBA player voices. But the game ties too much of the experience to its shoddy online component, which sabotages the experience—and even makes the game literally unplayable at times.

A wide-sweeping game with an ambitious story, Xenoblade Chronicles 2 offers up an intriguing world to explore. Unfortunately, confusing map markers and a padded-out combat system make actually exploring more of a chore than is necessary.

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.

Gravity Rush isn't just the best game to grace the Vita-it's also one of the best games I've played in some time, no matter the system. In so many ways, it shines with a beauty that so many games can never achieve, and it's an experience you'll absolutely not want to miss.

New features like DexNav and the soar ability add just enough new gameplay elements to the classic Pokémon formula to help make this decade-old adventure feel new again.

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.

Rhythm Heaven Fever is fun, it's quirky, it's lovable, it's charming-and it's a perfect example of the care and consideration Nintendo puts into all of their gaming projects, big and small.

Superhot executes the ideas at its core without flaw, but doesn’t step very far outside of those bounds. If you’re looking for something to shake up your view of what can be done in a shooter, this is the game for you.

Sleeping Dogs represents a marked step forward for open-world action games, offering surprisingly deep gameplay and an almost meticulous attention to detail.

Hitman: Absolution features plenty of smart new features and tweaks that modernize the franchise without abandoning the essence of what made it great-but the new save system is awful enough to undo a lot of that good.

A refreshing experience, one that reminds us of why people make games-and why we, in turn, play them. Combining quaint, charming elements with highly executed gameplay, Dust would be an impressive adventure even without the fascinating story behind its development.

Spelunky is the roguelike equivalent of training wheels attached with only one turn of the screw. It’s a great way to ease into the genre and a worthwhile entry in its field, but immediately following that “I think I got it!” moment, you’ll quickly be left having to keep upright on your own.

A lot of people are probably going to sleep on, or not even know about, A Plague Tale: Innocence—and that’s a shame. It’s a gripping, touching, emotional, yet at times horrifying experience, one that feels quite unlike almost any other game out there.

FIFA 19 is one of the most satisfying games in the series yet. The addition of the UEFA Champions League adds some excitement to everything, even if it artificially bloats the overly long final chapter in The Journey. Subtle but meaningful tweaks to the gameplay make it both flashier and more physical than last year’s edition while still retaining that good ol’ fashioned FIFA feel, and the new modes and stat-tracking tools added to Kick Off are great, even if they’re relegated to local play.

Square Enix did exactly what they should have done when preparing a sequel to their RPG rhythm game Theatrhythm Final Fantasy—they made every one of its elements better. Curtain Call not only builds upon what made the original great and makes it even better, but also brings additions that take the series in an exciting new direction.

With stunning audio and visuals, combined with gameplay depth and variety, Tropical Freeze has easily cemented itself as one of the best platformers I’ve ever played.

Gears of War: Ultimate Edition does a fine job of remastering the original, but a new coat of paint and some minor upgrades can’t disguise the fact that the gameplay experience hasn’t aged particularly well.