The Forgotten City rewards your inquisitive mind with equally satisfying rewards at every turn, making its time-travelling tale one not to miss out on.

Great, largely because it successfully captures the spirit of both Square and Disney in a single game.

Frostpunk 2 doesn't replace the first game. Instead, it elevates its rawest themes of human nature to towering heights. It offers a significantly different challenge in its city-building that allows both games to exist in separate sectors of the genre, and it's better for it.

Hotline Miami is a discotheque of death that's very hard to walk away from, and a fantastic twitch shooter with a confident sense of style.

Amnesia just might drive you insane, but in a very good way since this is one of the scariest horror games you're ever going to play.

The question, then, isn't whether or not you should play Soulcalibur IV, it's which version you should play.

Less a racing game than it is a Tony Hawk's Pro Skater with cars instead of skateboards...[It's] also notable for its generally impressive visuals, breadth of gameplay options, and sheer number of tracks and circuits.

A well-put-together but standard action adventure, primarily consisting of lots of basic combat and running from point to point. Mind you, this is a decidedly great game, all in all. Its most interesting, riskiest features may lie at the fringes rather than at the core--but they're there.

Horizon's occasional missteps may clash with the machinelike precision of the Motorsport games that preceded it, but its ambition and untethered road map more than make up for those faults. This is a game that understands the thrill of the open road, and in delivering that thrill it's an unqualified success.

Another year brings another assortment of subtle improvements to the latest edition of Out of the Park Baseball.

Assassin's Creed has undergone many changes in its long and storied history, and Origins feels like the first step in the start of a new journey. It has its fair share of problems, but the vision for its future is one worth pursuing.

The highs are high enough. Its story is a fun Batman romp that would work as a solid comic book arc, even if it can't touch Rocksteady's mainline saga. Moreover, it's by capturing the full spectrum of Arkham's still-exciting gameplay mechanics so effectively that Shadow becomes a must-play game for Batman fans, and a revealing measuring stick of how much virtual reality has advanced in just a few years. This isn't the first Batman Arkham game made for VR, but it's undoubtedly the first to feel like it belongs with the rest of the series.

If you have the computing speed to run it and the patience to endure its few pitfalls, you likely won't find a better, more believable non-NASCAR racer in today's market.

Even if you don't explore all the nooks and crannies, Shadow Hearts: Covenant is a great game that any fan of the role-playing genre would likely enjoy; its style, its humor, and its well-crafted battle system set it apart in a world of "Final Fantasy" clones.

It's not often that a game invades my thoughts the way Control has. I'm at the point where I want to consume every last thing it has to offer. And if I'm honest, it also makes me want to go back and replay Remedy's past games, too. Sure, it's a faulty metroidvania in some respects, but there are so many exceptional qualities afoot that Control handily deflects any momentary ire. I can't wait to take part in discussions about the game, to see what others have figured out, and to better understand where it all fits into Jesse's story.

From the structure of the single-player campaign and the enemies to the puzzles and the online multiplayer, Logan's Shadow follows in its predecessor's footsteps like a sneaking spy. While it isn't likely to catch you unawares, you'll still be happy to act surprised.

A revised training system and new features such as the set-piece creation suite make this the most well-rounded and complete version of Football Manager to date.

In a few fundamental ways, the game actually does manage to beat out the opposition, though ultimately it falls a bit short of being the best overall package. It's still a really great hockey game in its own right, though.

The best [PS2 football game] of the bunch. With its responsive control, completely realistic graphics, and the best AI around, NFL 2K2 is the game football fans should own.

But it's tough for us to say that the dunk mode really adds a lot of value to the franchise, and it's also likely to prove too difficult for most casual players to fully grasp anyway.

Does the phrase "anal beads" make you giggle? Have you daydreamed of tossing poop at the people you hate? Then you know where you can shove The Stick of Truth: right into your console's disc drive.

Capcom has been firing on all cylinders lately in regards to its tenured franchises, and now that success has manifested in an interesting new IP. Kunitsu-Gami begins on strong footing, and we may be witnessing the next great Capcom franchise carving a path right in front of our eyes.

Superb graphics, truly impressive sound effects, and fast-paced, enjoyable action sequences. The entire game is very atmospheric and a lot of fun to play.

Classic gameplay and vibrant new visuals mix with timeless humor and inventive puzzles in this revamped blast from the past.

The Wii U-specific additions put a few chinks in the Caped Crusader's costume, but Batman: Arkham City - Armored Edition is still a great action adventure game.

Offers a lengthy, rewarding, thought-provoking experience that truly makes you feel as though the decisions you make, waging one exciting battle after the next, carry serious consequences.

Inquisition's characters and world, on the other hand, recall the grand gestures of the original Dragon Age, even though the game as a whole is so structurally different to its predecessors. It offers the thrill of discovery and the passion of camaraderie.

It's in the uncompromising way it throws conventional wisdom to the wind, dropping you into its dangerous world without guidance, making you fend for yourself, and teaching you to shrug off defeat time and time again to finally earn victory. That this vast and unforgettable masterpiece is now only $40 makes the decision to play it even easier.