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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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?

As enjoyable as Modern Warfare II is — and it is certainly enjoyable on the whole — the moments when the story prompts uncomfortable real-world questions about the game’s intentions shatter its illusion of immersive entertainment. In those moments, I forget about whatever it is that Capt. Price and Co. are tasked with doing and just wonder what people were thinking when they made the decision to include whatever cringeworthy moment I just witnessed. As Infinity Ward plunges ahead with this story — teasing an upcoming Russian attack during a mid-credits cutscene that includes a nod to the airport massacre from the original Modern Warfare 2 — they’d do well to devote a little more scrutiny to such decisions. [Campaign Review]

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.

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.

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

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.

While brimming with gorgeous visuals and charm, for a game about time, “Cris Tales” doesn’t seem to value yours.

Eternal Threads almost seems aware that it’s not building a strong case for your emotional investment in whether these six people live or die. Throughout the game, mission control chimes in to remind you that these people’s lives definitely matter, that the average person has such and such number of descendants, so the fate of these six people and, more importantly, whoever comes after them could ultimately decide the fate of the world. And while that’s all technically true, I suppose, I can’t help but feel that “Eternal Threads” would have found infinitely more success laying the foundation for players to care about its existing characters instead of hinging your investment on theoretical stakes.

The systems felt too brittle to warrant a more considered approach. In this Western, it doesn’t pay to be a master of the quick draw so much as the quick save, stopping to back up every inch of progress, in case your next move pulls the chair from under you.

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

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.

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.

A few of its mini games (there are six in total) are terse and rulebook-driven. Some are mechanically straightforward to the point of profound dullness. Others still are primarily about wildly flailing the controller side to side. None are particularly athletically taxing, at least not in the same ways I remember “Wii Sports.” [Provisional Score = 70]

In play, it is smartly dressed but simple, like a child of wealthy parents who can afford to be a bit dim.