As stunning as it is, Hyper Light Drifter's greatest triumph isn't in the story that it tells, but in the stories that it doesn't. I don't know this place's entire history, but its desolate elegance inspires me to fill in the gaps myself. Such is the power of artistry this rich and thoughtful.

Slain is easily one of the best-looking 2D side-scrollers I’ve ever seen, but the monotonous gameplay fails to match up. The combat system is too repetitive and, in some cases, broken, making boss battles a total drag. Slain’s stunning Gothic aesthetic is wasted on an otherwise mediocre game.

When Into the Stars hits its stride and you feel like Admiral Adama leading a desperate race to save humanity, it's a tense and rewarding thrill. Unfortunately, combat never matches the tension of survival, as the cruelty of the game's RNG system can bring your breakneck race to the finish line to a screeching halt.

There are several possible endings to Dark Souls III, and although most are anticlimactic, they drive home the loneliness of the paths we took. The old lords have abandoned their posts, and in the hunt to usurp them, we descend into those dark valleys, and climb those imposing peaks. This is the essence of Dark Souls III: periods of doubt, followed by great reward. The journey may be rocky, but there's a throne waiting at the end.

Much like From Software's earlier entries, Dark Souls III obscures its plot beneath its gameplay elements--the story is more concerned with tone than exposition. But what plot there is asks important questions: why do we place our idols in such high regard? How did they become our legends? The Lords of Cinder are imposing figures in Dark Souls III, and their power is attractive to pawns like us. But the end of their road is a lonely one--was that destination worth the sacrifice it took to get there?

This is the essence of Dark Souls III: periods of doubt, followed by great reward. The journey may be rocky, but there's a throne waiting at the end.

Black Desert Online will attain greatness when it can provide good answers to those and other questions. Yet even now, it's hard not to heed it's call, which it sounds out the moment you enter its robust, genre-best character creator. I imagine that it will be even harder to tear myself away when player-versus-player siege wars are in full swing.

Getting to the end of Quantum Break can be an interesting ride at times, but no matter how impressive the combat is, or how great the game looks, there's no getting around the fact that it's driven by a story with limited appeal and hindered by disappointing design decisions.

Lucky's Tale seems like it would be a good fit for someone who doesn't normally play games and has mild curiosity in VR. Experienced players will certainly appreciate the great controls, but that's it. It's hard to get upset about a game that's technically free, but it's worth acknowledging that Lucky's Tale is too basic to get excited about, and not inventive enough to communicate the potential of VR.

Despite a few issues, Dirt Rally is a triumphant return to form for Codemasters. The PS4 version arrives as a slightly more fleshed-out package at release and its technical performance is admirable. It's still mightily difficult, but if you're a rally enthusiast or even just have a passing interest in a challenging racing game, you can’t go wrong with Dirt Rally.

For racers who live for direct competition, the time trial focus of TM might be too off-putting. Otherwise, this is simply one of the most entertaining arcade racers on the market for both experienced and more casual gamers.

Trackmania Turbo really isn’t much different than the rest of the series. It looks better and offers console players a chance to get in on the action, something not seen since the Wii version, but is largely the same game it’s always been. For racers who live for direct competition, the time trial focus of TM might be too off-putting. Otherwise, this is simply one of the most entertaining arcade racers on the market for both experienced and more casual gamers.

The game constantly lets you know where you stand and frequently restarting the race entirely after a mishap is a common, and necessary, tactic to stay on top. The ghostly nature of multiplayer manages to alleviate any frustration from vehicle collisions while still maintaining a constant sense of competition.

Though I did eventually grow bored of its puzzles, I never tired of Samorost 3's world. Added mechanical depth and variety would have certainly made the game richer, but every subtle visual detail, every lingering musical note, every delightful interaction coalesces into a truly special world that makes Samorost 3 worthwhile nonetheless.

Adr1ft has an emotional story hiding below its surface. But that surface is coated in laborious movement, forced survival mechanics, and an obtrusive user interface.

While it's not a complete waste, Mercenaries is a disappointment, and it left me second-guessing my allies in war.

Despite its mobile game roots, the world of Republique is meant to immerse, to beckon the player's curiosity, and to involve them enough in the city-state's ins and outs enough to get Hope out of danger. In transitioning to consoles, the game remains largely successful at that.

Moon Hunters doesn't give you the time to truly nestle into its world in one sitting, relying instead on the idea that they’ll keep coming back to uncover more and more with each successive playthrough. I wish I could say that at some point it all started to come together for me, but it didn't. It never felt like I was getting enough out of those playthroughs to make them truly worthwhile.

Assessed solely as a Zelda game, Hyrule Warriors probably isn’t good enough to lure in non-Dynasty Warriors fans, but it is passable enough to offer Musou lovers something different to play between their usual battles for dynastic superiority.

With the addition of Snowfall on top of the After Dark expansion released last fall, Cities: Skylines is starting to take shape as an expansive city-building franchise that offers something for any wannabe mayor. One caveat here is that you don’t really get a tremendous amount of content, and that what's present is pretty much relegated in specific maps, leaving the impact of this expansion on the overall game fairly minimal. That said, the winter wonderland atmosphere does freshen up the visuals so even while this expansion is not essential, spending a little time in a virtual snow globe city remains awfully appealing.

Some issues drag everything down, particularly the lack of intuitive feedback, and the barebones tutorials, and a dry career mode, but EA Sports UFC 2 is a welcome improvement on its predecessor that shows this series is going in the right direction. It’s just not a number one contender quite yet.

Frequently magnificent to look at, delicately designed, and rewarding for players across all skill levels, it’s the Pokemon fighting game deserving of a 20-year wait.

Some of Shardlight’s ideas, like the eccentric and sinister Aristocrats, offer something original and enjoyable within a familiar context. With its refreshing take on an oligarchy and subtle religious commentary involving ravens, Shardlight has potential to be something a lot more profound and thrilling. Instead, it's a typical adventure game with an overly familiar premise.

There's no finesse here, no style, and all too few moments where it actually resembles the source material it's trying to represent. The sport of lacrosse may be growing in popularity by the year, but it still lacks a proper video game representative.

Grinding through side missions forces you to engage The Division as a multifaceted open world game rather than just a shooter.

The Division's haunting recreation of midtown Manhattan might be the most impressive urban world outside of a Rockstar game.

No matter how frustrated I grew with the game's semi-indestructible enemies or its repetitive leveling structure, I absolutely could not stop playing. The world was too engrossing, the loot was too enticing, and the campaign was too gripping for me to simply walk away. I stopped caring about the game's flaws after the first few hours and proceeded to lose myself in obsessive stat optimization and cooperative gun battles. The problems (and frustration) never disappeared, but I was more than happy to play through the pain.

The PC version of Darius Burst allows you to recreate the arcade experience by stretching the game across two monitors, creating an ultra-wide image. Otherwise, you have to accept the game's letter-boxed format, which squeezes the ultra-wide image to fit your display, leaving black bars on the bottom and top of the screen. The one exception to this rule is Chronicle Saviour mode, which is tailored for a standard 16:9 screen. Though four-player local coop is available, the lack of online multiplayer is a disappointment, especially given that there are some missions that can only be cleared with four players.

The visual design is excellent, the music is avant-garde and memorable, the boss encounters are thrilling, and it’s chock-full of challenges to keep you coming back and playing more.

Project X Zone 2 is at first promising, but not even its fan-service can save it from continually faltering in the face of its drudgery.

Hitman's a veritable playground that will delight you with its open-ended design, comical NPCs, and contract creation tools. These qualities, and the flexibility to be as hardcore or laid back as you want, are much appreciated, even if they don't disguise Hitman's lesser qualities.

A licensed game that feels as nicely made as this one is a rarity indeed, and any fan of Naruto, even the casual ones who don’t wear ninja headbands while shopping for groceries, would do well to give this a look.

Re-releasing Heavy Rain in the current landscape does much to sharply contrast everything good and bad about it. Its commendable presentation is amplified, as too are its grander faults in storytelling and voice acting. And yet even as there are games that succeed where Heavy Rain fails, it can still be said there’s almost nothing else like it.

Most of the time, though, Devil Daggers finds elegance in its simplicity. By stripping the pomp of many modern shooters, it reveals the complexity beneath, molding the fundamentals into something exhilarating, something always worth one more try.

Far Cry Primal's setting is its greatest strength, and in its newest form on PC, it's still worth the many hours it takes to explore.

Crafted during anxious times for Nintendo, developed for two consoles simultaneously, this was the GameCube's last hurrah, a Wii launch title, and a defining test for motion controls (which have been stripped out). Perhaps now, ten years later, it can finally be remembered how it ought to be; the dark and violent showpiece of a treasured series.

Challenging and sometimes frustrating though it may be, Klaus is a refreshing take on one of the most lasting genres around.

Fortified feels like a really good start, not a fully realized game.

Too much emphasis on battles and too tight a focus on the main story--as interesting as it can be at times, especially if you’re interested in the mythology of Eora--makes the game something of a forced march that removes the wonder of exploring an open world.

Superhot is a clever game with deep, hidden elements that require committed and thorough examination.

The Flame in the Flood encourages you to put long-term goals aside and live in the moment, to make choices and overcome short-term problems with risky but satisfying spontaneity. Despite the awkward menu system, it’s an absorbing game that lets you experience a journey in the present, and fully appreciate the sights, sounds, and joys of floating down the river in its alluring world.

Chronicles ends not with a bang or a whimper, but a shrug.

Just playing one or two missions feels like you’re playing the equivalent of one episode. This emphasis on emulating its established story is its main strength and is also a bold move when compared to most other anime game adaptations. If Omega Force experimented with more noncanonical scenarios in its Free Mode, this could have ranked among the best Warriors spin-offs.

Where Telltale’s Walking Dead stories prior have typically hinged on the sanctity of humanity in those facing unspeakable trauma, Michonne’s humanity already hangs by a thread, and In Too Deep does comparatively little to rebuild or cut away at that thread. In light of having a kind of protagonist we’ve seen far too little of in gaming, Walking Dead: Michonne can and should go to narrative places we haven’t seen before.

The story in this first episode is captivating enough on its own terms, but in context of being yet another story of human nature in the face of a zombie menace, it’s territory that’s been tread far too many times before.

Street Fighter V has a long road ahead of it, and Capcom has to iron out the game's issues if it wants to keep casual players engaged. If it sticks to its projected update plans, that may very well happen; time will tell. Those willing to stick it out now will discover one of the best fighting engines around, with a great cast and intelligently balanced fighting styles making it both challenging and fun.

There's a fine balance between tension and fun that elevates the whole experience.

That focus on primitive times can become a hindrance at certain points, with limited tools and repetitive combat, but in the end, Far Cry Primal stays true to its callous setting, fleshing out every layer of the captivating world it creates.

When it comes to character diversity, Garden Warfare 2 outclasses other shooters in every way.

With more generous pacing and worthwhile single-player content, Garden Warfare 2 would have been a truly outstanding game, but even without those things, it's a robust shooter with an astounding level of mechanical diversity that all but guarantees you'll encounter something new every round you play.

Conquest is a great game, and I fell for its hardcore lean at times, but when I was backed into a corner after a series of hard fights with no resolution but to lower the difficulty, I wished I was playing Birthright instead.

Fire Emblem Fates: Birthright is an absolute delight to play, from the battlefield to the bedroom. If you loved its predecessor Awakening, you'll enjoy the heightened tension and intimacy imbued in every moment of Birthright.

Of all three Fire Emblem Fates titles, Revelation is the most rewarding. It marries the best parts of sister titles Birthright and Conquest, offering varying maps with complex and often interactive terrain, as well as ample opportunities to grind for experience and build relationships between members of its warrings kingdoms.

Those willing to stick it out now will discover one of the best fighting engines around, with a great cast and intelligently balanced fighting styles making it both challenging and fun. That said, for the moment, for anyone other than the most hardcore competitors, Street Fighter V is a delightful tease, hinting at something special down the road.

On the surface, this is a simplistic horror game with a claustrophobic atmosphere and plenty of creepy moments. The straightforward puzzles and unusual visuals give it wide appeal. Beneath that there are secrets to uncover and the subliminal pleasure of playing as the monster. For those that want to probe deeper there are angles of art and psychology to ponder. Stacked up like the rickety tiers of a gothic building, Layers of Fear proves aptly named.

The dirt buggies fit right in and provide both rewarding survivor strategy and moment to moment excitement. The amount of content is impressive for an expansion as well, with approximately 10 hours of missions and plenty more for completionists.

Darkest Dungeon plays the long game. It builds you up for a grand bout that will test everything you've learned, as well as your ability to plan several in-game weeks out. The pay-off for this constant offensive comes in short bursts--just enough to keep you going, just enough to keep you hopeful for the next excursion. It's an extraordinary cycle that bears a special teacher--rewarding your cleverness and punishing your foolishness. It transfixes and binds you to this grand journey, dotted with failures and successes. And because you endured, because you thought your way through it, the final victory against the unimaginable evil you face at the bottom of the Darkest Dungeon is personally valuable.

Firewatch suffers from minor yet persistent technical issues on PS4: Every time the game autosaves or quietly loads a new section of the world, the framerate noticeably stutters. That means every few minutes, there's a second or two of chugging, which hinders the immersion in a game that thrives on atmosphere. I also experienced two crashes--one while playing, and one while in a loading screen between story chapters.

It's a shame Firewatch fails as a mystery because it succeeds in so many other ways. Its world is captivating, its design is clever, and its characters are among the most well-written in gaming. Though it might sound counterintuitive, the plot is in many ways secondary to the relationship you build between Henry and Delilah, and that portion of the game is truly inspired.

Assessed purely on gameplay, it’s everything I tend to fear about indie projects; Beautiful, heartfelt, but like Yarny himself, not robust enough.

As long as you know what you're in for, Devilian's an enjoyable way to pass the time, and a well-balanced F2P game that never feels like it's begging you for money.

When there are much better multiplayer shooters on the market, a lot of which are completely free to play, it's impossible to recommend The Mean Greens - Plastic Warfare. If you want to play with army men badly enough, I recommend looking for the ones you had as a kid or making a trip to the dollar store.

Despite the strong foundation, I was struggling to stay interested in Blade & Soul at the end of my journey. It does wonders with the blade, yes. But where's the soul?

After the inventiveness of Lego Dimensions, it's tough to go back to a game that follows the old Lego formula. But Marvel's Avengers mostly staves off franchise fatigue thanks to its fast-paced, cheery nature. If you've played a Lego game in recent years then you'll know what to expect: another familiar and fun adventure that you can enjoy with your kids.

While the stylistic appeal of science fiction schlock may be niche, The Deadly Tower of Monsters has silly sights that effectively recall the iconic parts of the works that inspired it, if not much else.

It's mathematical, emotional, and thoughtful all at once. It's exhilarating, even in the face of failure. It's compelling, even though we often lose. Victory is the goal, but that's just an afterthought here--it's the complex journey that counts.

Satan and six-guns make a great partnership in Hard West. While the game mechanics and scenario design are somewhat predictable, the aura of high strangeness on the lonesome prairie does a lot to freshen up what could have otherwise been a little dated and formulaic. Tactical combat fans and horror buffs alike will find a lot to like here in both the spooky surroundings and the shoot-em-up scenarios.

As Mario & Luigi: Dream Team and Paper Mario: Sticker Star proved, Nintendo has a knack for showcasing new and inventive ideas in both series. Paper Jam effectively relies (and often coasts) on its novel crossover appeal.

War is still hell in The Little Ones, but there’s something deflating about having the ability to tell a depressed survivor, “It’s all going to be OK,” and mean it not because of the human need for hope or self-delusion, but because you can go into a menu and adjust the "intensity" of the war that's supposed to have stripped you of control in the first place.

I don’t like being disrespected -- and I doubt you do, either. And yet it’s reasonable to feel that way when playing a buggy, bland game with some of the worst writing you’re likely to hear in some time.

Tharsis feels like a sadistic game of chance that makes all my decisions feel completely meaningless.

Despite its problems, Gravity Rush is an adventure worth taking not just because there's hardly anything like it, but because it leverages its distinct gameplay to great effect, freeing you from the hold of gravity in a world worth exploring.

The sheer number of quests and the complexity of customization will keep you busy for hours. If you like that sort of thing, that is. Even though its economy leaves a bit to be desired, it's not clunky enough to dissuade you from working hard to earn items and craft your ultimate armor.

The Witness is one of the most challenging games I've ever played. During my playthrough, I experienced confusion, uncertainty, and mental exhaustion as I tried to understand this game's intricacies. At times, I considered giving up. The Witness makes few attempts at handholding, opting instead to convey its mechanics in subtle, cryptic ways as you struggle to make sense of it all.

SteamWorld Heist is an absorbing tactical experience with well-crafted mechanics and systems that in spite of its story and repetitive missions, is worth recommending. As a package, it has a sense of quality in its content that'll keep you engaged well after completing it. Heist is an accessible strategy game with nuanced mechanics and systems that make its ever-shifting challenges a joy to play.

Homeworld was always about loneliness. It was always about clarity and focus. Kharak isn't new in that regard, but it is special. It shows us that when you get things right -- and excel -- that formula isn't easy to exhaust. Kharak does its part to add to that, though. Its use of voice acting and efficient visuals is a brilliant addition that's far from superficial. It helps narrow the scope of what you need to manage, so that it can load you up with as much as your brain can handle. It’s a fast, daunting experience that's tough to shake, making Kharak as intoxicating as Homeworld has ever been.

While Rubble Without a Cause echoes many positive aspects of its predecessor, the gloomy story and unimaginative quests turn what should have been another fun fairy tale into something of a death march. Yet even with these significant flaws, the overall charm of the visuals and voice acting kept me playing and left me optimistic that the series will redeem itself in the next chapter.

This is as authentic a portrayal of rally as you’re likely to find, and proves to be not just a return to form for Codemasters, but its best game to date. Just don’t expect it to treat you with any courtesy.

You may tire of the formula by the end of the game, but with Wesker at your fingertips, don't be surprised if you find yourself eager to sprint through zombies and decapitate them with energy blasts. It's just crazy enough to work.

Oxenfree is more than a ghost story with a Freaks and Geeks-like coating. It's a tale of coping with loss, broken relationships, and the inflexibility with which teenagers deal with sudden change, all layered under an alarming paranormal encounter. I left Oxenfree feeling hollow and strained, emotionally spent yet excited to play again and uncover more of the mystery. It doesn't hammer you with platitudes about friendship and loss, but hands you a knot to untangle that rewards you at every success with an emotional gut punch. It doesn't ask you any big questions, and certainly isn't easy in relenting its answers; Oxenfree just is what it is, a big little game about the all-too-human inability to let go of what hurts us.

Fat Princess Adventures' impactless combat, boring side quests, and confusing user interface all add up into something that isn't exciting or satisfying to play.

Crucially, every emotional breakthrough, every new revelation, every gut-stab of a memory in That Cancer, Dragon must be discovered, confronted, and processed, as it undoubtedly had to be in the minds of its creators as it happened.

Like Arbaaz himself, these great moments have a bad habit of vanishing into thin air when you least want them to, bit there is still a lot of fun to be had in this Indian adventure.

Ultimately, Amplitude fails to recapture the magic that elevated the original to cult status, but it does deliver an impressive and enjoyable slice of quick-hit rhythm gaming fun.

Beyond remains a unique experience, even as the tools implemented in its creation have become commonplace. It's filled with concepts that are immediately odd and illogical, but if you accept them on their own terms, they add up to a fascinating if unconventional tale. Beyond remains an imperfect experience but is still compelling for what it accomplishes.

Yakuza 5 makes up for its modest shortcomings with enthralling diversions and eye-popping settings that compel one to look at travel deals to Japan.

Few modern shooters can match the heart-pounding exhilaration and immense strategic depth Siege achieves with its asymmetrical PvP.

Everything from the strength of your internet connection to the makeup of your team can impact your enjoyment of Siege, but importantly, Siege itself does everything it can to ensure you're able to enjoy the game in spite of these variables.

My experiences weren't always perfect, but when Siege works, there's nothing else like it. It's not designed to appeal to all players, and that's exactly what allows it to be something special. With so much strategic depth, those periods between firefights actually become some of the most rewarding, while firefights themselves are made all the more intense by the knowledge that you're fighting for your life, not just your kill/death ratio.

When Just Cause 3 is consistent, however, it's a stunning display of cause and effect, as watchtowers topple into fuel tanks, which blow up nearby helicopters, which sail into oncoming vehicles. I often spent hours setting up outlandish chain reactions, or trying new gear mods, knowing full well I wasn't making any progress in the traditional sense. I was content to just sit back and marvel as it all happened.

X is a grand adventure that satiates your appetite for exploration and combat in ways that few games ever do, but because getting started is half the battle, it’s an experience reserved for dedicated players who have the patience and energy to unearth its greatest treasures.

The UI is still an unintuitive mess, the story is still laughably bad and impossible for new players to avoid, and finding players to join my Crew frequently took far too long. And while the driving mechanics and general visuals have undoubtedly improved, they still haven't caught up to other, better racing games like Forza and Need For Speed. As a result, The Crew as a whole remains a lackluster experience, even with its monster truck half-pipes.

Combat feels good enough, but there's not much to it, and little to strive for.

This is another short episode (my first playthrough clocked in at less than 90 minutes), which makes Story Mode a little on the brief side compared to recent Telltale offerings. But that brevity is my biggest complaint, which, if you look at it from the most charitable view, means the game never outstayed its welcome. Story Mode remains a great experience--especially if you're playing with younger fans of Minecraft--and my anticipation for the next episode remains high.

Minecraft Story Mode's third episode is the best so far, weaving action and story in a tight, focused package.

It's a shame that Anno 2205 takes the game so far into the future and does so little of substance with that premise. Not much has changed from Anno 2070, and what has is almost always worse. Anno 2205 still has a sturdy core of satisfying city planning and construction, but so much has been cut out as to make the game barely worth playing at all.

The Old Hunters is Bloodborne from another time and place, and with more difficult bosses and confounding stories to unravel, it's a fitting complement to the original, gruesome adventure.

Without spoiling the many ways it will screw with your expectations, it isn't possible to truly capture how wonderful Undertale is. You wouldn't know it with a passing glance, but it's one of the most progressive and innovative RPGs to come in a long time, breaking down tradition for the sake of invention, with great success.