While this is a game about a gang of sociopaths killing thousands of enemies and collecting a bunch of stupid blue things that give them magical powers, it’s secretly about a gang of puckish rogues that care deeply for one another. It’s admirable that Volition even attempted something like that. It’s astounding that it succeeded.

Injustice’s greatest strength is that it makes you feel powerful regardless of your skill level. Even when you are struggling to overcome a series of grueling attacks, breaking through that with a well-placed combo or ridiculous supermove brings out the wonder in controlling an iconic hero or villain.

It might have been madness for a small studio like Ninja Theory to take on such a herculean task, but I’m glad they made the trip.

Splatoon is clever, creative, and fun. The multiplayer is a fun twist on the team-based shooter. However, the single-player campaign is surprisingly the best thing in the game. It offers the kind of quality level design you’d expect from a Mario title, but with a healthy dose of shooter mechanics.

Although a bit slower paced than its predecessors, In Harm’s Way is probably the most violent entry of the series to date. It introduces intriguing new characters and gives old ones (very brief) screen time. But it’s the progression of Clementine’s character that will keep you invested throughout the short runtime.

It’s a semi-remake that fails to match all the charm of the original.

While Alex’s story didn’t have the most action in it, it was full of emotion and it was a story worth telling. I give this one five stars out of five when it comes to its narrative, but I drop it down a notch to four stars out of five because of the clunky movement and too-familiar gameplay. I’m looking forward to what Dontnod and Deck Nine can do with next-generation platforms and the future Unreal Engine. But for now, they fell just a little short of what I was hoping for.

The game's best narrative trick - again borrowed from Silent Hill - is its mystery, leaving itself open to interpretation and examination. Who was the Man Who Wears A Box? The Seated Figure? The White-faced Man? Who was the brown-haired girl I held hands with in my dreams? The answers aren't overtly clear, but I can't wait to play again to find out.

It delivers with its story, great acting, dialogue, the realistic facial animations, cool weapons of the future, and the welcome change in pacing from combat missions to stealth missions. I welcome the idea of using great actors like Spacey in a big-budget game, and I look forward to future versions of the game that marry Hollywood blockbuster actors with the blockbuster-style game play.

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is the ideal example of a Star Wars game in 2019. It's an expert blend of multiple genres.

It’s a must-play word game with an adorable visual style and plenty of incentive to keep you coming back because the quest for bears is noble and just, especially when they’re this cute.

While the newest Cut the Rope is one of the most creative and entertaining games you’ll download on the App Store this month, you may already be bored with Om Nom and the trouble you go through to give him sweets.

Virtua Fighter 5 is a very good game, and Final Showdown makes it better in many ways…but it could have been even better than that with just a few reasonable changes.

Chaos Theory can’t escape the shadow of its superior predecessor, but that’s not to say it’s a bad experience. Once you power through the dull fetch quests and irritating Chloe Time, it manages to provide some powerful moments and the best ending of any episode so far.

I love that this game exists. It checks the boxes that it absolutely needs to hit. 60 frames per second? Yes. Cool look and sound? Definitely. A sensation of speed that doesn’t seem possible? For sure.

Although Rock Band still has the bigger catalog, more instruments, and backward compatibility, Guitar Hero Live is progressive, nimble, and, well, lively. The new guitar and GHTV system get me truly excited about playing rhythm titles again.

Like Donkey Kong ’94, Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker is a fun experience distilled down into digestible chunks.

Life Is Strange’s conclusion is as effective and powerful an ending as we could hope for. It’s been an emotional, haunting, and often ridiculous time following Max and her friends on their timey-wimey quest, and I’m going to miss them.

This may be one of the most memorable handheld titles you’ll play this year. And what a special year it is.

Helldivers is a fun romp through a tedious space system...The rapid co-op action makes for a great way to kill a few hours with your friends, but continued travels expose repetitive maps.

An amazing conclusion to the beloved puzzle series. Its variety and clever storytelling make it the most interesting and well-executed installment of the franchise, and it’s nice to see that after six games, Level-5 can keep surprising players with intriguing, surprisingly moving plots and hundreds of clever puzzles.

While Episode 1 had the unenviable task of reintroducing people to the world of The Walking Dead — Episode 2: A House Divided takes off running with numerous action sequences and tension-filled scenarios that will keep you guessing until the end.

Dark Room doesn’t give you much room to complain, unless you hate things that make you have feelings. It’s the best-paced, most emotional entry yet, and it handles its super-serious subject matter with skill and maturity. This is the chapter we’ve been waiting to play since the beginning.

The look, feel, and sound won me over. Forgiving the mission structure and forgetting the tower-defense junk, this is pretty much what I would expect from an action shooter for this console generation.

Firewatch is special and rare...It tackles mature subjects, but it isn’t just telling a story. It is using the medium of gaming to say something to the player. Maybe that was especially effective for me because I’ve avoided asking myself the questions that Firewatch poses. But I think it’s important that a developer can wield this kind of power, and I want more of it.

Its colorful visuals and retro-symphonic soundtrack are easy on the eyes and ears, while its minimalistic design ensures gamers of all skill levels can immediately jump in and enjoy saving the galaxy.

Offers almost everything a Borderlands 2 fan might want in their DLC, but it all ends up being a little too expected to truly achieve ground-breaking status. Thankfully, some hilarious new characters and an impressive setting hoist the add-on content up to a level that makes it hard not to recommend to anyone looking for a little bit more of that sweet, sweet loot.

It’s a terrific sequel with its own personality that still leverages the fun, minimalistic mechanics.