This is a game that can broaden an individual person’s horizons and that of the entire medium, as well. It’s definitely worth your time.

That knack of managing to evoke emotion with so many established storytelling conventions is what makes Granblue Fantasy Relink feel special. In a landscape full of attempts to rekindle nostalgia or capture the essence of yesteryear’s most memorable games, Cygames did one better. Relink isn’t interested in trying to recapture those feelings. It reminds me why they were special to begin with.

Lies of P isn’t as fine-tuned or as intricate as a Dark Souls, but Neowiz Games and Round8 Studio have gotten pretty damn close here. If you told me this was a FromSoft game, I’d totally believe you. It wears its inspirations on its robot arms with dignity, and although it isn’t wholly original, the game is still a work of impressive atmosphere and design. At the very least, it can fill that Bloodborne-shaped hole that grows with each passing day.

Though I thought I knew what it was all about, Scarlet Nexus has consistently surprised me at every turn. Even though I played the demo—which showcased some of the various powers you could activate in combat—I did not expect combat to be as deep and varied as it is. No spoilers, but I’ve even found myself caught completely off-guard by plot twists at points. If the game keeps up the surprises, I’d be confident defending it as one of the greats. If it doesn’t, well, it’s been fun. [Impressions]

I’m not sure why Nintendo feels that Paper Mario can’t be a role-playing game: What exactly was the issue with the original games, which were widely praised and sold very well? But the major issue for me was not that Nintendo removed the series’ RPG mechanics, but that what it replaced them with was not as good. Origami King might not be the successor to Thousand-Year Door for which fans have been clamoring, but this time the formula works, allowing the series’ great writing and worlds to shine through.

There’s another lesson in Everything, too. Even in the face of unimaginable grimness—of the hell that is difference, actual or perceived—there’s still room for wonderment at the miraculous gazillion-piece jigsaw puzzle that is the universe. It’s OK to believe that we’re all part of something, that no matter how fragmented things can become, there are still innumerable connections.

Despite my criticisms, Shadow of War’s purgatory is seductive. Technically, it is the only game doing the nemesis system these days, and so there’s nowhere else to get this stuff, even as grimly executed as it is, anywhere else. When the game informed me that there would be no turning back after the final mission, I took stock of the nemesis board. I stopped and dominated more even more orcs. I didn’t need them. By this point, I was drowning in orcs. But like a Ring of Power whispering in my ear, I just couldn’t let go.

Playing Judgment and Yakuza are like looking at the same photo—in this case the streets of Kamurocho—through two different filters. The presentation might be slightly different, and the tone a little off when you’re comparing them, but the underlying image is identical, from their geography to their face-kicking.

Keeper isn’t a mechanically deep game or a complicated thing to play. Instead, Double Fine wants you to just vibe out with it for like three hours. Enjoy all the pretty colors, the weird shit, and hopefully, by the end, feel something. And to Keeper’s credit, by the time credits rolled, I did indeed feel something. It’s wild to think that a story about a lighthouse and a bird with no dialogue could make me tear up a bit at the very end, but that’s exactly what happened. I didn’t expect it, but the conclusion was a wonderful way to end this epic journey.

After a dozen hours romping around the Skylands with Faemily, Seamusbot, Archer Rex, Bird Kirkilton and Dadcat Robot, it feels like I’ve made the game my own. This is my Skylanders.

Although Venba’s gameplay boils down to practice making perfect, its cooking puzzles and narrative also work together to perfectly illustrate the trials Venba’s family is facing. By pulling you into this process, it builds a bridge of empathy for players like myself, helping us relate to the loss that comes with growing apart from one’s family and the love that keeps you tethered to them while you forge your own path. Pairing that all too relatable human experience with the making of a bounty of delicious meals I’d like to try my hand at IRL is just the icing on the puttu.

That Fallen Order is a very straightforward and unremarkable, albeit pleasing, sci-fi adventure makes it feel slight after years of disappointing Battlefront revivals and tantalizing canceled projects. But the fact that it adopts, and mainstreams, one of the most idiosyncratic and influential schools of game design of the decade⁠—the third-person, exploration-based action of games like Dark Souls— feels radical. Taken as a whole, Jedi: Fallen Order brings a very familiar concept to the world of Star Wars video games: balance.

What can I say? I’m just a sucker for the big maps, checklists, and pretty islands of Far Cry. I had a blast taking down yet another dictator and his army of warriors. I also get why, for so many, this formula has started to wear thin, and why they are tired of repeating history over and over. Perhaps I’m just out of my mind, damned to keep playing Far Cry games for the rest of my life. As someone once said, “Insanity is doing the exact...same fucking thing...over and over again.”

There are so many small, engaging moments: meeting the cool girl who runs the record shop, dressing up like a hay bale, Demelza admitting she draws worms on her mother’s grave to keep her company, how high-fiving gives you health. These moments stuck with me, making Knights and Bikes unexpectedly captivating and memorable.

But as someone prone to bouts of climate doom every time I read anything about carbon levels and ice sheets, Terra Nil was the ultimate form of video game escapism. A little diversion, no matter how unrealistic it is, that rather than asking us to live through the planet’s destruction let us try and recover from one instead.

Coming in at an immensely satisfying runtime of about four hours, Pepper Grinder is ultimately a wonderful little platformer to spend an evening or afternoon on. Even now, I (who almost never revisits a game, let alone one I’m reviewing) have booted it back up to dive into one of its bite-sized levels because of how great it feels to just move in it. To dig. To drill. I’m not likely to tackle one of Pepper Grinder’s action-focused levels again, save for the grand finale maybe, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a lot it doesn’t get right. I just wish there was more of what worked to go around.

It’s better than its predecessor but also not quite as revolutionary, and I hope that if Parker and Stone decide to make a third game, they take a more radical approach. I also hope they keep throwing grenades, even if I wish they were more selective about the targets.

It’s an imaginative game that’s effortlessly pleasing, perfectly suited to family play or as a train-journey stress-reliever. I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating: nobody does cute like Nintendo.

But unlike Ultimate Edition, which was a massive improvement over the original back in 2015, Reloaded is just a minor upgrade. The improved performance in both campaign and multiplayer, which runs at 120FPS now, is a welcome improvement. Still, when comparing screenshots side-by-side, it’s pretty tricky to spot the differences between Ultimate Edition and Reloaded. And I’m the kind of guy who was excited for the PS5 Pro, which I played Reloaded on. Yet even I can’t find much beyond the improved framerate to praise in this reheated remaster.

New Pokémon Snap is pretty magical as well. It takes the unique formula of the 1999 original and expands on it just enough to feel like a completely new adventure, without diluting the simple joy of riding and snapping photos of impossible creatures.

There is very little new or novel about Pokémon Let’s Go! Eevee and Pikachu. Even the divisive new mechanics are cribbed from Pokémon Go. In the end, I don’t feel like that matters. It’s still Pokémon. It’s still a story about learning who you are and what you’re capable of, still a chance to become emotionally connected to the creatures who help you on that journey.

Were Hob a tightly-scripted action adventure that guided the player from point to point and told them exactly what was expected of them, it wouldn’t be nearly as magical an experience, and certainly not as personal. Making my own decisions (and my own mistakes) makes the impressive, world-changing moments feel like something I did. Good job, me.

For those with cleaner children than mine, Sackboy: A Big Adventure is exactly the sort of non-threatening video game that’s perfect for family game night. It’s charming, with a kid-friendly story and forgiving gameplay that won’t result in ugly tears. It might even inspire someone to one day work at a Michael’s or Joanne’s.

Given how effortlessly our imaginations float beyond the stern ramparts of Mr. Clancy’s literary world, it’s hard not to wish this finely honed contraption could be granted the lightness of spirit it needs to truly thrive. Given how expertly much of The Division has been assembled, it’s hard not to hope that such a wonder might still come to pass.

Routine was announced over a decade ago at this point. So was it worth the wait? Hard to say, as I wasn’t waiting for it, but I can confirm that a decade after it was first revealed, Routine is a damn fine horror game that stands toe to toe with other heavy hitters of the genre.

Resident Evil 3 is loud. It is a snarling dog too close to your face, spittle flying everywhere. For some players, the intensity will be a turn off. The original version is the link between the earlier games’ simmering spookiness and Resident Evil 4’s bold action. It marked the first step in a tonal shift that arguably went too far: As the series progressed, the action grew too excessive. The remake threads a spectacular needle. The explosive boss fights and ever-present cat and mouse chases never feel out of place. Windows shatters as the zombie horde bursts in, giant lizards swallow you whole, and the Nemesis slams down behind you at the worst moment. The terror doesn’t fade simply because you have an assault rifle or grenade launcher. Resident Evil 3 solidifies a new model for the remakes. It takes last year’s Resident Evil 2 remake and hones it into something meaner and more intense. Embracing the chaos leads to an intense and confidently executed Resident Evil experience.

Tactica examines the inherent dangers in fighting for a better world. But even as it paints a picture of the tortuous, insurmountable weight we all carry on our backs, Tactica believes it’s not only worth carrying, it is the responsibility of those who can drag that weight toward progress for those who can’t.

Kirby Air Riders is not deep. It’s not substantial. It’s never going to become the hearty dinner its curated clips or indulgent Nintendo Directs want you to believe it might be. Kirby, the godly creature that he is, can inhale an entire match and waddle straight into the next challenge without once wondering what he just ate. I can enjoy the rush, but I can’t live inside it like him. After an hour or two, the buzz wears off, the repetition settles in, and I’m left wanting something that lets skill accumulate or understanding compound instead of just teaching me to parse the screen more efficiently. After enough hours with it, I’ve learned to stop waiting for the game to transform into a meal and to simply enjoy the carbonated geyser it actually is.