Studio MDHR’s Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course provides players with a five-star meal. As I picked my teeth, let out a final sigh of relief and felt full from my experience, I can only hope that the DLC’s name was just a play on words — and that there’s still room left for dessert.

It doesn’t try to make grand statements about mankind’s hubris or shortsighted innovation. Instead, it walks you through a living, breathing city where robots have molded their own society from the ashes of another, and lets players make of humanity’s self-destruction what they will. And that impression will stick with you long after the game ends.

Dwarf Fortress is a storytelling engine as much as it is a game, spitting out associations and facts and details that you can shape into a coherent and specific narrative. This is also what we do to our own lives, personifying random events so that they feel significant rather than a matter of chance. Life isn’t usually a satisfying narrative. It isn’t so much that “Dwarf Fortress” is a perfect simulacrum of life, but that it shines a bright light on the human tendency to look for meaning in everything. I care about my dwarves because the stories I make up about their lives are also the ones I make up about my own.

This PlayStation 5 remake is a blessing for those of us who traveled through Boletaria 11 years ago.

Popular entertainment these days is obsessed with lore to a fault. Disney’s Marvel and Star Wars franchises have entire councils of people devoted to keeping lore straight across these stories. Even 2022′s biggest game, “Elden Ring,” was essentially a story all about lore. Despite tapping into well-mined Norse mythology, “Ragnarok” is focused squarely on seeing and hearing its characters. Like Kratos, you will actually like spending time with them. The memories of these people will stay with you long after the credits roll. By the end, you will believe that even a god of war can earn himself some peace.

Splatoon 3 doesn’t drastically change the formula because it really doesn’t need to. Its modes are varied and offer truly different experiences that would shine on their own. If you’re a newcomer looking to break into the series, you may be a little lost at first, but stick with it. It’s an inky mess well worth your time.

There’s little else to say besides “Streets of Rage 4,” as a now-complete package, has my highest possible recommendation.

Shredder’s Revenge achieves everything it set out to do, and will go down as an instant classic for its genre. No matter what era, whether it’s 1987, 1989 or 2022, it would be one of the finest, most exciting video game experiences of the year, honing an arcade formula as ageless as Turtles in time.

Modestly priced at $40, Nier: Automata offers dozens of hours of content in a port that sees sensible compromise (blurrier textures, a capped framerate) while retaining what makes the experience an opera of spectacle and mood. Its launch this week further strengthens the deep quality of the Nintendo Switch’s growing library, and it is immediately one of the best titles you could own on the platform.

The richness and cartoonish sincerity of Psychonauts’s world makes playing the game feel like switching on the TV for some well-written Saturday morning cartoons.

Playing “Chicory” feels like a kind act of self-care in a brutal time.

The game lets you live and relive the best moments of the Halo series whenever you want, whether it’s playing getaway driver for a botched base attack, a pilot abandoning ship after an impromptu dogfight, falling from the air to strike at enemies below with a hammer like Thor, or being the platoon leader of a ragtag group of soldiers cautiously navigating Zeta Halo’s vast, Pacific Northwest-inspired forests. ... Finally, a Halo experience once again remembers that the player is not meant to look into Master Chief’s eyes, purposely anonymous, hidden behind his visor helmet; we are meant to look through them.

Forza Horizon 5 [is] the first killer, can’t-miss game for the current generation Xbox Series X and S consoles as well as Microsoft’s Game Pass subscription service. It’s a game that I think anyone can immediately find appealing.

Nier Replicant is a must-play for anyone who loved “Automata,” a game some praise as one of the finest ever created.

Revisiting it now really is like watching an old favorite movie again. Its earnestness ensures a timelessness to the story that too many other games miss when they try to seize a moment in time. The written dialogue still shines, and the performances still sing.

In a way, it’s the FPS genre that grants players a kind of agency that rhythm games haven’t — the freedom and exhilaration of performance. You can execute kills to the beat of your internal pulse, with the act of shooting bodies and popping heads forming a pleasing rhythm. That’s why playing “Metal: Hellsinger” can almost feel like you’re holding the drumsticks yourself, as you blaze through demon hordes with a percussive flow of your own.

It leans into its own ridiculousness to deliver a multiplayer experience that feels unique to the series and a single-player experience that has plenty of fun reasons to return even after you beat Story Mode.

I can’t remember a game that sustains an awe-inspiring presentation for just about every second you play.

If you can look past the rotating control stick games, and if developer NDcube can offer new content and refine the game over time, you’re likely to enjoy this party for years to come.

Horizon Zero Dawn set a high bar in 2017. I can definitively say after rolling credits on Forbidden West that it not only meets that bar, it parkours over it and soars off on a robo-bird into the sunset.

I expected something scary, but the impeccable sound design, terrifying enemy encounters and clever puzzles make it worth revisiting, even after completion.

It is the point of convergence for all the stuff you might expect of “a game” in 2021, wrapped in a stylish, meticulously-constructed package.

This is probably the best Monster Hunter game to date, and an easy, early contender for 2021′s best game.

The grand fun of “Hitman” runs are just how it all goes wrong, and how 47 is able to make lemonade out of lemons and spilled blood.

Despite beating the game, I find myself returning to Astro’s Playroom for its pure joy.

The Ascent reminds me of the good old days of Xbox 360 and its robust indie offerings on the old Xbox Live Arcade service, where games like “Shadow Complex” or “Super Meat Boy” were not afraid of making small twists to classic formulas.

The game’s name refers to the reappearance of an element in a painting that an artist had painted over. As much as characters in “Pentiment” might fight to maintain the status quo or to turn away from history and heartbreak, they’re no match for the forces that send humanity hurtling forward. While I initially started “Pentiment” hoping for a riveting distraction, what I ended up with was a game about uncovering history and past trauma. In many ways, it is more admirable, brutal and perhaps healing to just face these problems head on.

[“Return to Monkey Island” is] a wonderful, heartfelt adventure game that made me laugh all the way through.

Through these mutually affecting connections between humans, nature and technology, “Norco” creates its own robotic story, disturbing, personal and fresh, an experience that should not be missed.

The Pokémon series has always been about more than its graphics, and this game exemplifies that.

Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands is the closest any game developer has come to recreating Dungeons & Dragons. There are plenty of games that share similar combat mechanics to D&D. But what “Wonderlands” focuses on — and nails — is the feeling of actually sitting around a table playing D&D: moments of chaos when a dungeon master has mere seconds to improvise a way forward for their players; times when teams throw a good plan out the window, but it all works out in the end; the fiery arguments that might overtake a group of friends just trying to have fun; the feeling of knowing what jokes will land with your dungeon master and which ones won’t.

Built like a Disneyland of horror tropes and gore, the eponymous village funnels you toward gory sights and sounds, with Ethan circling a drain of carnage.

Some writers have described “Immortality” as being about burnout or auteurism (the final few scenes can be read as evidence for that theory). But that’s not quite right, akin to saying Star Wars is about space. Artistry does not grant privileged access to decency or good nature. That is what the game is, not what it is about. It’s text, not subtext. For so long as “Immortality” uses that as a starting point to probe further, it is a high water mark for gaming in 2022. When the characters are allowed to be people — not vampires nor aliens nor angels but people who are tired, embarrassed, horny, funny, naive, voyeuristic, creepy and more — each frame’s richness is its own reward.

Sifu is a no-nonsense arcade brawler that can be played in short bursts or long sprints, depending on the commitment to perfect each level run.

Lost Judgment is the most captivating, dramatic and transfixing story of the year, and that should be no surprise to fans of RGG Studio’s output.

There’s something dedicated Sonic fans see in “Frontiers” that others simply don’t, and it’s not just nostalgia.

For anime lovers and anyone who enjoyed “Fire Emblem: Three Houses,” the game will be a hit.

This is no open-world Kirby game. Kirby and the Forgotten Land undeniably pushes the series to a new scale, but at its core, it’s more of the same. That’s not a complaint, though. If anything, it shows that the Kirby team knows its audience, as the franchise’s predictable formula is part of its appeal ... Think of it as comfort food.

New Tales from the Borderlands” takes a lot of what made Telltale’s gameplay unique and either keeps it the same or improves on it.

Need for Speed Unbound handily straddles the line between realism and fun, making it one of the best racing experiences of the year.

The Show remains the best baseball simulation out there … If, however, you already know, love and celebrate this game as an owner of “The Show 20” or “21," I can find no good reason you should feel compelled to purchase this year’s entry.

Persona 5 Strikers is probably the most innovative Musou game in years, thanks to its closeness to the core “Persona” formula.

Aside from the perspiration provided by an initial landing at a crowded point of interest, or the jaw-clenching moments of the final circle, the pace of play is deliberate, allowing players to think, look around and take advantage of the battleground in clever and effective ways.

For some players, Signalis will summon to mind the halcyon days of playing the original PS1 version of “Resident Evil 2” in the late ’90s, or even its miraculously faithful replica on the Nintendo 64. Signalis is itself something of a faithful replica, an acolyte in thrall to an old — and supposedly antiquated — master. But the game finds the classic survival horror genre in fine health.

Puzzle games have to manage a delicate balancing act: If solutions are too simple, players lose interest; too difficult, and they feel cheated, like the answer was never decipherable to begin with. “Escape Academy” was opaque at times, but the answer always felt like it was within my grasp, if I just tried out this one idea, or thought about the puzzle from this other angle. Giving players that sense of empowerment is hard, and games don’t always get it right. But “Escape Academy” walks that tightrope with finesse, joining the pantheon of frantic-but-fun co-op greats.

Age of Empires IV is a simple, pleasurable game that rewards developing high skill but does not require it to push and learn your way through.

What Temtem has achieved is remarkable. After two years of being dubbed a copycat, its long-awaited launch may yet inspire copycats of its own.

You’re able to explore every world from the Star Wars universe, but in that expansiveness, sometimes searching for largely meaningless in-game items and completing fetch quests, the greatest revelation is a question: Was this ambitious vision for “The Skywalker Saga” worth its cost?

I think this is a really good step forward for the series and I love how much the series has been growing, how they’ve been incorporating more modern features and becoming more accessible for players. I still had a ton of fun playing. Really, the biggest knocks against it would be the repetitiveness of some challenges and the graphical issues.

The core mechanics and the gameplay loop are satisfying enough to keep you coming back. The Pokémon designs of the ones you can get in the Paldea region are great and varied...But the pacing and graphical disappointments keep “Scarlet” and “Violet” from being the best open-world games we know the series is capable of producing. One thing that Game Freak really needs to correct before they take another stab at the next major Pokémon game is this graphical stuff, like the frame rate issues and the draw distance and just basic things that you need for players to actively engage with the world you’ve created.

If a rollerskating John Wick in a 70s synth bar sounds like a good time, then I have just the game for you.

Learning to master “Mario Golf” is one of the game’s most compelling challenges.

Somerville reminded me of the qualities that I cherish in adventure games, particularly their ability to plunge one into the unexpected. I appreciated how its mechanics sidestep the usual weaponry that goes along with science-fiction games. (A gun-toting, super-soldier shows up at one point, but things don’t end well for them.) “Somerville” effortlessly pulled me in from moment to moment because I was eager to discover the next audiovisual flourish around the corner. There is a sequence toward the end where the man revisits places that is particularly captivating for the way in which it makes the familiar strange. That said, I was a little disappointed with the final scene in the game, which struck me as an overly familiar allusion to the ending of Tarkovsky’s film “Solaris.” But that aside, “Somerville” is the best adventure game I’ve played since “Little Nightmares 2.”

Forspoken doesn’t do anything new for the open-world genre of games, but it does offer just enough to distinguish itself, mostly thanks to Frey and her magic spells, and a story that’s able to stick the landing. Or to translate this to Whedonspeak, “Yep, she really did just do that!"

The game crashed on the Xbox Series X semi-frequently, but I pressed on, knowing that right around the corner I was likely to find some new thing that would surprise and delight me.

Scott, his girlfriend Ramona Flowers, his drummer and ex Kim, and lead singer Stephen Stills are back in all their retro brawler glory, and really, it’s like Ubisoft barely touched the old game. They didn’t need to.

[W]ipe away the goo and there’s an impressive, thoughtful game underneath.

Though pandemic fiction may seem like the last thing audiences need right now, the catharsis “Requiem” provides is a valuable salve. It reminds us that others, today and in the past, feel or have felt our same confusion, fear and grief. In this, it makes an argument not for hiding the toll of so much pain away in the shadows, secreting bodies in dark passageways, but of bringing everything out into the light of day so we can try to hear what notes of hope sing through the darkness.

Endling isn’t the sort of game you might settle down to play after a long day of doomscrolling through social media; it’s the sort that forces you to confront the monstrous scale and toll of human activity on the ecosystem and the planet. And yet, even as a deeply apocalyptic look at what feels like the imminent end of our world, the game’s profound pessimism doesn’t stray too far from the truth. Scientists have already warned that we are in danger of losing 20 to 50 percent of all species by the end of this century; the bulk of this is due to human activity.

True Colors is worth exploring in its entirety, but it glosses over the rougher parts of life, painting them in a romantic light.

Wild Rift’s approach to mobile gaming feels more like a premium, paid product, such as a $4 app in the store, but without the paywall.

If you’ve never tried the series before, the remastered collection is a great excuse to jump in.

After spending almost 30 hours on my first playthrough, I can confidently say that where Triangle Strategy truly shines is in its worldbuilding. When faced with tough decisions, I felt that I had agency; my choices impacted the events that unfolded throughout the game. [...] Better English voice acting would have been icing on the cake, though. The half-baked vocal delivery left me feeling a bit deflated.

The races themselves are a blast. I found the majority of the races to be completely absorbing and, to my surprise, even more exciting than most actual racing games. But the massive scope of the game is both a blessing and a curse: Hardcore Formula 1 fans will lose themselves in the seemingly limitless options of team management, while newcomers to the sport may be turned off by the steep learning curve.

Even with the Bowser’s Fury miss, the content is worth it. If you want one of the best and most versatile multiplayer experiences to date for the Nintendo Switch, online or offline, go with Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury. [3D World = 90; Bowser’s Fury = 60]

Perhaps it’s a good sign that Boyfriend Dungeon leaves players wanting more — it means that it’s compelling, even if only for a short time.

Engage continues the series trend of mashing up tactics and RPG elements, but while the latter falls flat and feels out of place, it excels in the former. And if my biggest qualms are with the game’s least Fire Emblem-y parts, I consider that a solid entry in the series.

Kena isn’t especially inventive, but the game is an entertaining hodgepodge of tried-and-true ideas.

Maquette is an excellent look at how these two characters grow — I just wish the puzzles could have evolved in the same way.

The result is a beautiful game with a lot of heart but no clear, coherent storyline and a few disappointing characters.

Supermassive Games does its best work when it embraces these kinds of callbacks, committing to the camp and cheesiness of the slasher films that inspired its games. Despite its stumbles, “The Quarry” is a testament to that, and while it doesn’t quite stack up to the original, it’s a compelling tribute that I’ll be playing again and again.

In theory, that sounds fun. In practice, it feels like heading back to basic computer science class and learning how to program with a new language that will never be applicable on other platforms.

There’s a lot to like about Soul Hackers 2. Ringo’s upbeat personality makes her a phenomenal protagonist, along with both the engaging combat and fun characters keeping players absorbed within the minute-to-minute gameplay loop. Sure, Soul Hackers 2 will be unfairly compared to Atlus’s crown jewel, Persona, but the game definitely stands on its own two feet.

MLB The Show 21’ isn’t perfect, but it remains the best baseball simulation game out there. And it’s not particularly close.

House of Ashes comes close to “Until Dawn”-level quality, and for the first time after finishing a game in this series, it has me genuinely excited to see the next entry.

Metroid Dread is a good Metroid-style game, but does little more.

From a narrative standpoint, it’s tough to tie up all of a story’s threads when any one of them can end at any time, and “The Devil in Me” exhibits the usual flaws of that approach. Characters tend to be awkwardly sidelined, and motivations don’t quite coalesce. Even the hulking murderer who can kill every character begins to feel a little inept when we spend so much time dodging his killing blows.

Variable State may still not have found the perfect interactive formula for its cinematic talents, but until it does “Last Stop” remains a moderate success.

Guardians of the Galaxy by Eidos Montreal ends up becoming an even better Guardians story than the two blockbuster films combined.

Overwatch 2’s launch issues are still awful. Like most of you, dear readers, I didn’t get an advance copy of the game or any special connection privileges. I was with all of you in the trenches, dealing with the constant error messages and inexhaustible queues. The game’s new battle pass system remains questionable and concerning...But I am very pleased with the core gameplay changes and where the game is headed. Game development is a group effort, and although Kaplan is deeply missed, I see these changes as evidence that Team 4 is still capable of magic, and eager to prove it.

There are funnier games out there, from the refined comedic diction of “Untitled Goose Game” to the sardonic humor of “Portal.” But it’s the thrill of discovering ludicrous scenes, and the delight of digging into every crook and cranny in search of more absurd secrets to unearth, that elevates “Goat Simulator 3” above the one-note joke of the original game. Take a long walk along a quiet street, or hitch a ride on a moving van toward the next city. Perhaps you’ll spot the sigil of Baphomet, or meet a clandestine group of occult worshipers, hidden behind the dense foliage of bushes and low-hanging trees. Drag a scarecrow into a satanic circle or two, and see what unfolds; it’s usually an unexpected treat.

At its core, PGA Tour 2K23 remains a good, solid golf game that has benefited greatly from a lack of competition. I’m not too bothered by not being able to play St. Andrews at the moment because I simply don’t have that option unless I want to dig out “Rory McIlroy PGA Tour” on PS4. But when EA returns to the field, will the most enjoyable parts of “2K23” still hold up? Or will the appeal of those courses I badly miss pull me back to EA?

I still haven’t made up my mind if I’m going to be returning to “World of Warcraft” any time soon, whether it is to see how “Dragonflight” evolves from here or to try out future expansions. But after all these years, I’m glad I returned to witness the start of a new journey for a group that spent decades in stasis. Seeing the Dracthyr regaining control of their fate gave me hope that the next time I visit Azeroth, the people behind this world might have freed themselves from their historic shackles.

An exciting story and detailed world are overshadowed by an abundance of bugs, misogynistic writing and all-too-familiar game mechanics.

It’s a new intellectual property, albeit set in the “played out” world of Greek mythology, and built from the foundations of the “Assassin’s Creed” series. And like most Ubisoft games, the writing and character work leaves a lot to be desired.

What feature, or lack thereof, would compel a Call of Duty fan to buy or skip a new entry at this point? It plays fine, and it’s the most recent one. That’s usually enough.

Because of this game, I’m developing a connection with the [“League of Legends”] franchise. I just don’t find the game to be a must-play worthy of a ringing endorsement.

None of that keeps MultiVersus from being a blast. It’s got something for everyone. If you’re a hardcore player looking for an alternate to Super Smash Bros., MultiVersus studio First Player Games have repeatedly committed to fostering a healthy competitive scene.

The Medium is uninspired, from puzzles to characters. If you’re looking for an interesting world to explore, it delivers with stunning art direction, but for those looking for a richer experience, The Medium feels skin deep.

It gives the player just enough story and intrigue to press on through a grindy midgame focused on revisiting maps.

Despite some repetition, then, the full game doesn’t feel miserly, and can easily last 15-20 hours — comparable at least to other character action games such as “Devil May Cry.” Also, in the wake of the gargantuan “Elden Ring” this year, it’s quite comforting to see this kind of challenge return to more finite space. Ultimately, you may have walked grimy paths like these many times, but if the Soulslike virus remains lodged in your core as it does in Thymesia’s, you should easily become absorbed into its diseased world, never once hoping to be cured.

No More Heroes 3 is a love letter to gaming culture that lacks underlying mischief, opting instead for cozy familiarity.

Trek to Yomi is a no-brainer download for anyone wanting a simple yet cinematic action game that harks back to classic PC adventures and 2D blade-action titles.

If only “Stay Human” could navigate its story of post-apocalyptic morality with the same deftness as its assured, acrobatic protagonist.

After stuffing new features into Madden over the 34 years since its debut, there’s now a ton of junk crammed in that is nowhere to be found in football and, as such, has no place in a football sim. Once you carve away most of the fat, Madden 23 is a better incarnation of the game than those of the recent past. But what EA — and Madden fans — would truly benefit from is a leaner, cleaner finished product.

If you have a dark sense of humor, Cult of the Lamb might scratch that itch. But once you get over the shock factor of all the horrific things you can do in the name of growing your flock, there’s not much meat left on the bone.

There are so many borrowed ideas that you’re bound to find something you like about this game.

It’s all squeeze, very little juice. Maddening.