One of my favorite moments is when Amicia spots another wildflower in a lone trek across the city, nestled among the decay of the rats’ revolting nests. Without her brother around, she picks it up, and places it gingerly in her own hair--a personal reminder to keep trudging on amidst the hardships, and a testament to her growing strength and tenacity. Despite flashes of predictability, moments like these will bring a lump to your throat, as it did mine.

There's a lot to love about Marvel's Midnight Suns. The combat offers a rewardingly tactical experience, with a deckbuilding card system ensuring that randomness challenges the player, not frustrates them. Plus, the mission variety and cast of diverse playable characters keep combat fresh across dozens of hours. But I most enjoyed the role-playing elements and giving The Hunter a chance to connect with the members of the Midnight Suns and Avengers, forging friendships that resulted in powerful abilities I could take back to the combat side of the game.

Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP is a beautiful and enthralling adventure that feels both archetypal and unique.

Grounded isn't the biggest game of its kind, and most of its moment-to-moment gameplay moments have been seen before in other games. Still, the fantastical setup makes for an immediately intriguing setup, and to further stylize it as a uniquely child-like adventure, polish it beyond most of its peers, and set it in a world full of familiar sights to see in startling new ways makes Grounded no small feat.

Colonization is a more focused and linear Civilization experience that nevertheless offers the depth and rewards of the classic strategy series.

Thanks to a new control system and good online play, Pro Evolution Soccer on the Wii is a unique and enjoyable experience.

Pinning down enemies with suppressing fire is a blast. So, too, is a well-executed offensive that cracks and divides enemy front lines. The adrenaline of pulling together a coordinated attack is priceless, and Steel Division is all about chaining these moments together, directed as they are by an aggressive tie to historical realism. If there's one failing here, it's that the game doesn't offer many chances to explore that rich field on your own before jumping into multiplayer matches. But when it all comes together in the perfect match, Steel Division's magic is undeniable.

For the dedicated, Hearts of Iron IV could end up being the best grand strategy game in some time. It’s many disparate pieces harmonize, and your decisions, and the responses of foes and allies, are different each and every time. While human drama might get lost in the spreadsheets and figures, there’s nothing quite like seeing the culmination of a strategy you’ve invested in since 1936 pay its dividends in 1945.

You'd have to have a cold heart indeed to not be charmed by the bright eyes and madly wagging tails of the wonderfully lifelike Nintendogs. The game's boisterous and affectionate young canines are impossibly endearing, making the tasks of caring for them, training them, and simply interacting with them a joy.

Crown of the Sunken King's standout exploratory design and abundance of engaging enemy encounters make it a terrific adventure, though a hair short of being essential. Equally significant is that it succeeds at raising the stakes for the next installment.

It's as deep and broad as you would expect from such a big strategy game, but Europa Universalis III's most notable achievement is how easy it is to get into--and how difficult it is to tear yourself away.

F1 2011 is a great sequel that faithfully represents the thrill and difficulty of driving the world's best racing cars.

Ultimately, Duskers is about allowing yourself to believe that you're really sitting on a rickety old space ship, with only drones for friends. You're alone, but not without hope. You may not conquer the universe, but you'll eventually learn how to survive it.

It's promising that EA is listening to its community. FIFA 19 is much more responsive on the pitch than last year, and the company continues to evolve FUT to keep it fresh. However, the lack of progress in Career Mode and Pro Clubs is sorely inadequate. Thankfully, The Journey's continued entertainment, FUT's long-lasting nature, and some inventive new Kick Off modes mean I'll likely still be playing FIFA 19 by the time next year's game rolls around.

While Warrior Within's combat and satisfyingly long campaign improve on last year's game, the now darker tone falls somewhat flat compared to the storybook atmosphere in "The Sands of Time."

Thrilling level design makes Ms. 'Splosion Man an explosively fun platformer.

The traditional CS modes are excellently balanced. Games are fast-paced without being unmanageable, skill is rewarded in both the planning and outfitting stages as well as in battle, and good teamwork typically beats individual skills.

As you might expect, PC offers the highest quality visual experience, with exceptionally believable lighting effects and extra detailed textures. The game runs smoothly even at 1440p with all the most demanding visual options selected.

A simple but challenging rhythm game with unique gameplay and one of the best game soundtracks ever.

All told, Call of Duty: World at War is a great first-person shooter and undoubtedly among the best that the Wii has to offer.

But when The Last Campfire captivates--which it does so often--it's difficult not to sink into its breezy pacing and satisfying puzzle-solving. It never overstays its welcome or stretches puzzle ideas beyond their limits, letting each one leave an impression despite their brevity. The Last Campfire's narrative contextualizes each of these with small anecdotes, letting your imagination fill in the blanks of its world between worlds to the backdrop of its colorful imagery. It's a consistently relaxing and pleasant experience.

Iconoclasts is a sincere and compelling adventure that anyone with respect for fantastic storytelling and 2D-action can enjoy.

Not a lot has changed since last year, but the new road-to-the-show mode is a fantastic addition and MLB 07: The Show is a great game.

It's hard to imagine fans of Final Fantasy not leaping at the chance to reconnect with their memories and some of the most beautiful music from the history of Final Fantasy, and playing Curtain Call is the perfect way to do so.

At its core, this is a first-rate action adventure game that features a good story, challenging puzzles, memorable battles, and some of the finest graphics and sound, to date, on the Game Boy Advance.

If you have the patience to get into it, Harvest Moon: Magical Melody offers a rewarding and fun experience.

Resident Evil 7 was an excellent return to the horror underpinnings of the franchise, but cunningly altered with new ideas and a new perspective. Similarly, Village is an intelligent reintroduction of the best action elements of Resident Evil. Though it captures some of the same things that made RE7 such a breath of fresh air (or maybe rancid, stale, mold-filled air, but in a good way), Village evolves to become its own unique creature. It makes you wonder what beautifully twisted fiend Resident Evil might mutate into in the future.

Although not exactly fresh, Pokemon Platinum's substantial fine-tuning and new features make it the best special edition yet.