Marvel’s Avengers squanders the potential of what might have been a fun superhero romp by grafting on an annoying, overly repetitive games-as-a-service component. Playing as the cast of heroes offers decent thrills, and the campaign tells an enjoyable enough story, but odds are good you’ll get bored long before you grind your way to the top.

Tell Me Why might be smaller in scope and less mechanically complex than Dontnod’s Life is Strange series, but it’s just as emotionally impactful. It’s a compelling story with relatable, complex characters, and yet another example of Dontnod’s unbeaten ability to make players feel something, anything, in a medium that’s increasingly more mind-numbing.

At least in my time with it, Wasteland 3 has been a fascinating experience. I’ve come to appreciate its depth of gameplay, character, building, and exploration, even if some of its pieces and parts still feel very foreign to me. I’ve still got a long way to go in the game—thanks to how slow-going my progress has been as I get used to this type of adventure—but I’m eager to see what awaits me next in the frozen wastes of Colorado. [Review-in-Progress]

Presently, what we have is a fantastic golf game, and that’s good enough for now.

Samurai Shodown NeoGeo Collection has most of what it takes to be a definitive collection of SNK’s legendary fight game series, but just misses the mark in the end. All of the games thankfully play and feel as they should, and there’s a tremendous wealth of quality bonus features included. Unfortunately, its basic approach to online versus means it’ll be harder to find matches among the smaller playerbase. Still, for both older franchise fans, and fighting game players looking to finally dig into the series, this is probably the best Samurai Shodown collection we’ve ever gotten.

Carrion doesn’t just flip the horror script—it’s the ultimate power fantasy, packed into a tight, uncompromising space. It might utilize some video game tropes, but it doesn’t seem too concerned with accepted video game values. It’s a 2D side-scroller without platforming, an action game where you dictate the action. The Doom Slayer might talk a big game about ripping and tearing, but Carrion’s meatball monster puts its money where its many mouths are.

Paper Mario: The Origami King once again takes the series in a completely different direction. Mushroom Kingdom is bigger and more alive than it’s ever been, but it comes packaged with a combat system that quickly becomes stagnant.

Ghost of Tsushima falls short of the kind of gameplay we expect from developer Sucker Punch at this point, but then exceeds all other expectations in its storytelling and world building. Protagonist Jin Sakai and the rest of the cast are all fantastic characters, and the tale they tell is one worth experiencing—even in those moments where the gameplay may falter.

Project Warlock is a first-person shooter created by a tiny indie team that punches way above its weight. While its reason for existence may initially seem to be for paying homage to its genre’s forefathers, Project Warlock quickly grows into a game all its own, providing an enthralling shooter experience all the way to the end.

Whether or not you consider The Last of Us Part II to be a worthwhile continuation of Joel and Ellie’s story, there’s no doubt that Naughty Dog has crafted a sequel that’s every bit as ambitious and well-considered as the original, with quite possibly the best stealth-action gameplay realized to date.

No matter if you want something to help pass the time, are looking for new ways to connect with family and friends, or simply wish you could finally learn how to play those classic card and board games you’ve yet to try, Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics is a stellar collection that provides an extensive selection of games without ever feeling overwhelming.

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.

On a superficial level, Predator: Hunting Grounds succeeds at translating elements of the original 1987 movie into a four-on-one multiplayer game, and the matchups are occasionally tense and thrilling. But shoddy game balance, sloppy design, frequent bugs, and significant technical shortcomings squander most of the potential.

Nitrome’s signature is designing increasingly complex levels out of the most basic gameplay mechanics, and Gunbrick: Reloaded shows how well that formula can work—even when that mechanic is as simple as counting. Add to that brilliant level designs and a quality retro art style, and you have another gem in the developer’s next stage of existence. While it’s a shame that the new content in this rerelease is locked behind challenges, that doesn’t take away from the quality of the new content.

Final Fantasy VII Remake manages to balance the introduction of new concepts with faithfully recreations of the original game’s most memorable aspects, but it also unnecessarily pads out this first installment in a larger story with too much downtime between its most striking moments.

With the game finally completed and released to the world after nine long years, Disaster Report 4: Summer Memories marks the return of Granzella’s cult classic series about surviving natural disasters. This time around, the team has traded action set pieces in for a more personal look at the human toll of horrific events—but they’ve done so without injecting enough humanity into that new direction to make it truly work.

It was always a long shot that a new take on Resident Evil 3 was going to be able to live up to the expectations set by 2019’s Resident Evil 2 remake, and that’s exactly the case here. Still, beyond a few examples of missed potential, this is another stellar attempt by Capcom to bring its survival horror series into the modern era and retains a sense of individuality and personality that make it stand out from its peers.

As long as Doom Eternal didn’t stray too far from its predecessor, it was going to be a good game. But id Software comes surprisingly close to muddying everything with new mechanics. The flamethrower and rechargeable chainsaw give you more options during battle, but they can also feel like unnecessary additions. Still, a deeper lore, a banging soundtrack, and plenty of demons to gib leave Doom Eternal in a happy place—relatively speaking.

For now, Animal Crossing: New Horizons feels like a no-brainer for fans of the franchise, and a perfect place to start for newcomers—with the exception of ruining every other previous Animal Crossing game, should you ever want to go back to them.

Nioh 2 takes the ideas of its predecessor and greatly expands on them, bringing a greater sense of depth to everything from gameplay, to stage design, to your ability to have a main character customized to your particular play style (and visual preferences). Admittedly, some of the simpler elegance of the original Nioh has been lost in the progress, but the result is still a game that’ll terrorize and thrill those looking for a real challenge.

Ori and the Will of the Wisps does everything that a good sequel is supposed to do. It refines The Blind Forest’s mechanics, expands on the world, and throws in a whole bunch of new moves and concepts. But in an era that’s rich with “emotional platformers,” Will of the Wisps doesn’t do anything to make itself stand out. It’s a fine, if not forgettable, experience.

If not for its uninspired design and lack of effort in the storytelling, One Punch Man: A Hero Nobody Knows might have actually been a good game. Oddly for a fighting game, it focuses almost entirely on its single-player, often to its detriment. But if you can look past the repetitive structure and the uneven pacing, there’s actually some fun combat to be found, and its multiplayer meta is surprisingly addictive.

Journey to the Savage Planet’s greatest quality is that it respects its players. Perfectly paced, genuinely charming, and rewardingly explorable, developer Typhoon Studios’ debut is a love letter to thoughtful game design and the ancient art of fun over function. If you grew up loving 3D platformers and games with worlds that felt bigger than they actually were, Journey to the Savage Planet will make you feel like you’re coming home.

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order has its heart in the right place, delivering that Star Wars fantasy that is sure to please fans of the franchise. But putting aside the lightsabers and Wookiees, Fallen Order is too often unsuccessful in implementing ideas from better games, and ends up seeming like a pale imitation in comparison.

The first new-generation Pokémon game to release on a proper home console does not disappoint. New features like Dynamaxing and the Wild Area are fun additions that make the experience of becoming a Pokémon champion still feel fresh. It’s just a shame that Game Freak didn’t lean into the new features more than they did.

The first new-generation Pokémon game to release on a proper home console does not disappoint. New features like Dynamaxing and the Wild Area are fun additions that make the experience of becoming a Pokémon champion still feel fresh. It’s just a shame that Game Freak didn’t lean into the new features more than they did.

The first new-generation Pokémon game to release on a proper home console does not disappoint. New features like Dynamaxing and the Wild Area are fun additions that make the experience of becoming a Pokémon champion still feel fresh. It’s just a shame that Game Freak didn’t lean into the new features more than they did.

For all the technology and exceptional design this new Modern Warfare musters, the only message it can offer is woefully jejune: If governments might be mistaken in their judgments or actions, if the act of war itself might be inescapably evil, at least we can still rely on badass warriors who will do whatever it takes to hold back the evil forces that would come to hurt us in the night, to destroy us because they hate our freedom.