Collectively, it's less like you're playing a game with a great soundtrack and more like someone has turned a soundtrack into an interactive experiment. It had to be a game, and that's partly what makes it so much more affecting than if this were a movie, but still, the music leads. Mixtape is whatever it needs to be in each moment, and the studio makes a strong case for why it must be that way.

It might not be a direct sequel, but decisions like this and others elsewhere address every issue I had with Returnal. Housemarque's previous game is fantastic in its own way. Yet Saros elevates the studio's roguelite formula to another level. Its structure is surprisingly malleable, combat is deeper and more rewarding, and I couldn't resist being wrapped around the finger of its mysterious and foreboding narrative. I find roguelites hit-and-miss, but it didn't take long before I was utterly infatuated with Saros. It's an incredible game that does more than just refine what worked before. Even after rolling credits, I can't wait to dive back in.

Even with everything unlocked and nothing left to work toward, Vampire Crawlers still has its teeth in me, begging me to dive back in and decimate all who stand before me. Since I haven't come close to growing tired of mowing down baddies with the wackiest decks possible, I guess I'll give it just one more run. And then maybe just one more after that.

There aren't many other games that pull off the same distinct art style as Mouse: P.I. For Hire. Cuphead is the only one that comes to mind, which makes it easy to fall for the game's presentational charms. There's rarely a frame that isn't bursting with style and creativity, and it's none too shabby as a retro-style shooter either. Mouse: P.I. might not reinvent the wheel, but its arsenal of weapons is punchy and delightfully varied, while the fluidity of movement makes for some thrilling, high-speed shootouts. In this instance, you should have no qualms about handing over money to the mouse.

This all led to a thrilling conclusion that tested my skills, stirred my heart, and left me wanting more. Pragmata offers a robust post-game with plenty to do, but I hope that's not the last I see of Hugh and Diana. This combination of sharp combat mechanics, rich strategic depth, and lovely storytelling doesn't come along often. Pragmata shouldn't be missed.

I've now sunk nearly 90 hours into Marathon, and it has quickly eclipsed many of my other go-to multiplayer games. It's currently all I'm thinking about and all I want to play. I'm excited to see how else the game will change over time, whether that's with new Shells, new contracts, new story, new modes, or new enemies. And so far, Bungie has been highly attuned to player feedback, and that has already resulted in lots of tweaks and improvements to the experience...Even those frustrating losing streaks often just have me jumping back into another match, eager to replace the gear I've lost, and most battles are fun, tense, and tactical, pushing you to play smartly and work together with your teammates. How the developers support Marathon over the long term will determine whether it can sustain interest the way other successful live-service games have, but Bungie's fundamentals are incredibly strong, and Marathon is much richer and deeper than its 20-minute matches would suggest. Tau Ceti IV calls, and there are runs to complete.

Nostalgia is something that's often talked about when it comes to WoW Classic, not modern WoW. Nevertheless, nostalgia was what kept coming to mind while playing Midnight. Whether it was hearing old war tales from classic Warcraft characters in the Arcantina or revisiting familiar places and faces in Eversong Woods, Midnight honors the past while not being beholden to it, making for a memorable trip down memory lane. Despite its nostalgic underpinnings, Midnight never feels stuck in the past. Just like with the 20-year-later revamp of Eversong and Silvermoon City, Blizzard isn't simply updating WoW--it's continuing to move it forward, one change at a time.

There's a lot to love about Planet of Lana II: Children of the Leaf. It's set in a beautiful world that's filled with gorgeous color and fantastic music, and it teases you with mysteries that you want to unravel and feel excited about for doing so. A good-but-not-great first half holds it back though, as the best platforming puzzles and story revelations are saved for the dramatic finale. If the ending of the game is any indication, we should expect another game in this series. And if the latter half of Planet of Lana II is evidence of the direction of where the gameplay of this series is going, I cannot wait to see that third game.

I’ve always thought of the Stories subseries as a commendable yet modest spinoff series, but Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection is anything but modest. It takes Monster Hunter's core loop and successfully translates it into turn-based combat, evolves the monster-taming genre thanks to Habitat Restoration, and does all this while telling a thrilling story with a great presentation. Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection easily stands shoulder to shoulder with some of the best Monster Hunter games.

There's still plenty of room for improvement going forward, with the creation suite in need of an overhaul and far too many animations that have gotten stale after years of use. However, after a lackluster WWE 2K25 and no alternatives on the horizon, WWE 2K26 is the wrestling game we need right now--one where we can trigger fireworks while we walk to the ring, dump our opponent face-first onto a pile of thumbtacks, and then set them on fire in an Inferno match. It's still not a meaningful evolution of the series, but there are enough incremental updates stacked together to make it worthwhile. It works well, has a seemingly unlimited number of gameplay options, and with the various upgrades introduced, this is the most enjoyable a WWE game has been at release in years, even if it still feels largely familiar.

I cannot say enough good things about Esoteric Ebb, which is positively stuffed with them. Like a good mimic, it's got teeth. It is both familiar in its shape and size and astonishing in its surprising depth and riches. Do not let its appearance fool you: There is a lot more to love about this "Disco-like" than its vibrant surface and wit might initially convey.

Pokemon Pokopia is a combination of the design sensibilities of Animal Crossing and Dragon Quest Builders, but by melding those two structures and fusing them with Pokemon, it compensates for each one's weaknesses. Animal Crossing is so focused on building community that there isn't much to do once you finish your daily chores, while Dragon Quest Builders relies heavily on story quests without much incentive to build up your community and socialize. Pokemon Pokopia gives you a massive amount to do and a story that propels you forward, while also letting you enjoy the simple pleasure of living among your Pokemon friends and building your perfect community. I feel like I've barely scratched the surface, and I can't wait to keep exploring. I'll get Squirtle back yet.

For almost a decade, Capcom has been refining Resident Evil, finding ways to modernize the storied franchise and to maintain what has made it so beloved. With Requiem, Capcom has dialed in Resident Evil maybe as far as it can. The result is a game that leans too hard on past successes and nostalgia, and so doesn't show its fans any new ideas. But it knows its hits backward and forward, and it plays them near-perfectly.

Seeing Reanimal through in one sitting made me feel like I'd accompanied the siblings on their journey, holding their tiny, innocent hands as they uncovered horrors beyond comprehension. The conclusion of Reanimal leaves the door open for further explanation, so the incoming DLC for the game has me genuinely excited. Unfortunately, I am still left with a bunch of questions, and with no release date for the DLC, I'm in a state of purgatory. The imagery and implications linger in my mind much like the siblings' nightmares. While Reanimal is certainly unsettling, it's also quite beautiful. It shines a light on the importance of companionship--while you may face moments of uncertainty, and unsafety, you're not alone. And that's invaluable.

Mario's various dalliances into sports have been inconsistent, often because they feel so bare-bones and perfunctory. Mario Tennis Fever breaks this trend with a multitude of modes and a playful, flexible gimmick that makes it more wild and unpredictable while also testing your tennis skills in a new way. It's the best a Mario sports game has been in years, and hopefully charts a course going forward for the Mushroom Kingdom's other sporting events.

Mewgenics still manages to offer a captivating and fascinating experience. Whether you're trying to breed the best hybrid classes or hoping to unlock the next zone and legendary reward, or you're just humming catchy songs that are stuck on a loop in your head, this is a game that you can play nonstop for hours on end through trials and triumphs. What McMillen, Glaiel, and co. pulled off is simply paw-some. It's catnip for roguelites in all its glory, as you keep going through runs and coming back for more.

From quality-of-life enhancements like this, to excellent new additions and refinements to its core systems, Nioh 3 is absolutely superb across the board. It's an evolution of the Nioh formula where every single new idea lands. There might still be a couple of issues, but they're relatively minor in the grand scheme of things. Nioh 3 is Team Ninja at its very best, learning from its own development side quests to return with renewed vigor. The end result is the best game in the series so far, and one not to be missed.

Cairn may have fewer mechanics than some games, but it drills down on what's there so successfully, and regularly tests the players' resolve and accomplishment of these skills, that I was often itching for the next challenge it'd send my way.

Big Hops is a testament to how much fun can be had with simple ideas done well. Hop has a modest suite of moves, finely tuned, that string together in ways to make movement feel free-flowing and exuberant. On top of that strong foundation, it layers on flexibility making the worlds you explore feel like playgrounds for your creative thinking and platforming finesse. Altogether, the result is a delightful platformer, and the first great game of 2026.

This is how it feels to play Octopath Traveler 0: a seemingly endless pattern of ever-deeper combat challenges and strategic wrinkles, slowly revealing themselves to you over and over through dozens of hours. I've seen credits, in a sense, but there's still so much more to do and explore. It feels like a game that could go on forever. I just might let it.

Metroid Prime 4: Beyond sometimes feels like a product of its notoriously long and troubled development. At moments it serves as a time capsule for gaming trends that have come and gone over the last decade, like a sparse open world and a squad shooter with AI teammates. Those elements are decently made, but not as expertly crafted as the more traditional Metroid Prime exploration and storytelling. Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is uneven and messy in some respects, but at its best it meets or exceeds the best moments the series has to offer.

Kirby Air Riders is an impressive package that makes the most of its deceivingly simple mechanics. Air Ride delivers a solid kart racing experience; Top Ride is a fun--albeit a bit straightforward--distraction; City Trial is chaotic in the best way possible; and Road Trip ties it all together with its creative encounters and satisfying progression. In the second Kirby Air Riders Direct, Masahiro Sakurai said he had no plans to continue the franchise or add any DLC. When I first heard this, I was a little disappointed, but now that I've spent countless hours exploring each mode, there's not really anything else I could want. This feels like that initial concept from 2003 taken as far as it could possibly go, and I couldn't be happier with the result.

While the rest of the team doesn't get the same treatment as Invisigal, they're all enjoyable to interact with, regardless of whether you choose to make choices or not. While the lack of branches in the narrative keeps most choices from feeling substantial enough to warrant careful consideration, the arc of Invisigal's potential redemption, incredible writing, and stellar voice acting make this one of the best superhero dramas I've watched. Plus, the act of dispatching heroes and growing as a leader is a fun interlude between all the choice-making, especially when you can see your improvement reflected in Robert's growth throughout the story. I have my qualms with parts of it, but Dispatch is more than worthy of getting a second season. The writing and world-building behind its story are too good for this to be a one-and-done entry.

If you've ever enjoyed the zen-like sensation of cleaning grime from skate parks, Mars rovers, and Shrek's swamp, you'll find plenty of satisfaction aboard Ambrosia Sky's agricultural colony. There are some aspects--such as trifling progression and limited use cases--where it feels like it's just getting its feet wet, but you'll still discover that cleaning its fungus-filled hallways is a serene experience, offering fulfillment that's both familiar and unique. Marrying this with human stories that inspire hope within the somber context of death is oddly comforting. I'm eager to see where Dalia's journey takes her from here. It's already a gripping tale, possessing a warmth and relatability that will resonate with most. Hopefully, future acts can build on these solid foundations.

Regardless of the context in which I experience each stage in Lumines Arise--whether that is competing against another player on a stage they selected, or curating a playlist and taking my time with it at my own pace--revisiting them is never arduous. Sure, it's a testament to the conceit of the series and how well-designed Lumines is. But it also speaks to the main attraction, which is simply to experience--and then re-experience--each setpiece, with its visual gimmicks and stimulating sounds coming together to create a singular ambiance. It doesn't matter that the apples will always turn into peppers, or that the dancers will always be caught in the rain--Arise puts on a show with each stage, revitalizing the series by grabbing a familiar foundation and playing a dozen different concerts with it.

Life is far from perfect. Everyone would agree, yet it's in exploring that obvious fact that this team has achieved something so memorable once again. Nice Dream Games' Goodnight Universe is both mechanically simple and emotionally complex. Presented as a story about a baby, it's more accurate to say it's about the time we spend on Earth, with whom we spend it, and what we leave behind when our time is up.

Arc Raiders is an extraction shooter unlike any other, playing out like a totally unpredictable, immersive, thrilling story generator directed by the community.

The Outer Worlds 2 feels like the series coming into its own, carried by flexible combat options and great role-playing progression. The first Outer Worlds felt like Obsidian trying to recapture the magic of Fallout's apocalyptic future in a new spacefaring context. The Outer Worlds 2 cements this setting as its own identity that can exist alongside its sci-fi contemporaries to deliver something that is familiar, but also distinctly its own.