The Outer Worlds is a Fallout game wearing a fake mustache.

It's a great combination of really well-done elements and worth checking out if you find yourself in need of a funa ction platformer.

A normal shooter game wouldn't really do John Wick justice. John Wick Hex captures the kind of tactical thinking that the Keanu Reeves action hero requires to be the deadly boogieman he's known to be, and also works as a fun and inventive puzzle/action game.

The remake of Link’s Awakening on the Nintendo Switch is so much better than the original.

Untitled Goose Game is inherently funny, but the comedy can be kind of subtle. Really, the entire game is a sandbox for causing mischief. There's no dialogue and minimal story, but the "try anything" sandbox factor means you end up creating your own little punchlines.

Nailing my simple sequence reminded me of something else: that feeling you get when you beat a difficult boss after trying and failing over and over. You know, like in action games like Dark Souls or the more recent Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice — games that require you to master their systems and controls in order to progress past their unrelenting enemies. Once you do master them, at least for the moment, that feeling of success is electric...That feeling was my main takeaway from my hour-and-a-half in the room with Session. That and the passion I felt from developers Houde and Da Silva. [Early Access Impressions]

At the end of Gears 4, Kait receives her grandmother's necklace from her dying mother. On that necklace is a Locust Horde symbol, and clearly there's some sort of strange connection between Kait and the Locust Horde. The way Gears 5 explores this is brilliant. It's inventive, it's surprising, and the method of delivery is wrapped up in a scary and enticing series of events that is delightfully gripping.

It's a bad sign when an indie movie made 20 years ago with a $60,000 budget remains endlessly more immersive than a video game made in 2019.

Man of Medan in particular is unique among horror games in giving you, the player, a ton of agency in shaping the story’s eventual outcome. You can’t dictate every single beat — where’s the thrill in that? — but you’re role-playing all of the potential victims. So when you sit down to play, find a way to live inside the story and just let the horror wash over you.

If you’re not into all the side cases, you can skip a lot of them and still have a good time, but you'll risk missing out on some nice upgrades and fun combat scenarios and puzzles.

Traditional definitions of "fun" don't apply, and so following some kind of guide to "win" is missing the whole point. Ancestors is constantly challenging you to mess around, and to derive pleasure from the thrill of fresh neurons snapping into existence. You're immersed in the chaos of a pre-human world from the very first moment, and the biggest wins to be had are those you create for yourself.

The mechanics are the straightforward stuff of third-person shooters with some bonus abilities thrown in. It's well-made and fun to play, no question. But that's not what tugs you to keep playing. Like the twisted and overlapping spaces of the Oldest House, Control's layered mystery and HOLY SH.T!! reveals are its biggest assets and its greatest successes.

The Church in the Darkness does a great job of delivering a sticky stealth and exploration experience that also gets your brain moving. It's not quite as replayable as it first seems, however. The seemingly large pool of possible endings isn't as diverse an assortment as it seems, and there's not a ton of variation in the evidence you gather.

Almost from the word go, it became painfully obvious that Wolfenstein Youngblood would not be the lady power fantasy I'd always dreamed of. And some design hitches with the open world and co-op make it difficult to see the new entry as anything more than a lukewarm experiment.

It takes a lot of brain power to keep these relationships going and win battles. But there's no way I'm stopping now.

Seeing what other people create on their blank Mario canvases is also a nice way to get inspired for your own creations, to see how different ideas can be implemented, and possibly most importantly, see what kinds of things don’t work at all.

Wizards Unite may evolve to become the biggest, best, and most spectacular AR game we Muggles have ever seen...But on the other hand, there are more problems to be tackled here than the Whomping Willow has branches, some of them more daunting than others.

My Friend Pedro is one of the most exciting and well-executed Switch indies released to date, and easily one of the strongest options in 2019 so far. It leaves the first impression of a fun game that doesn't require a whole lot of thought, but the deeper you go the more it establishes itself as a standout.

The pairing of The Legend of Zelda and Crypt of the Necrodancer was a mash-up I never expected, but it's a compelling experience that manages to succeed in every possible way.

Sony's VR headset has done much to help deliver this new kind of video gaming to a mainstream audience. But I'm sorry to report that Blood & Truth is a terrible fit for this platform. On the one hand, it's a brilliantly crafted VR excursion into Hollywood-style action that takes good advantage of the tech's capabilities. But PSVR hardware is the worst possible showcase for this kind of experience.

The playground is very real in this game. You're meant to have more toys to mess with than the story's length can realistically justify. That feels like the whole point. Rage 2 left me wanting in the best way, and I can't wait to see what's next.

BOXBOY! + BOXGIRL! is a delightful, unique puzzle game worth checking out. With the most lovable boxes in gaming history and the brainteasing powers of a New York Times Sunday crossword, only a square would miss out on this release.

Days Gone seems like an accurate reflection of how things would go after an actual, IRL zombie apocalypse: clumsy, violent, and filled with failure.

It's an absolute joy, and one you can share with up to three other friends online or at your side (though I sadly didn't get to try co-op yet). There are plenty of games that do ToeJam & Earl: Back in the Groove's basic schtick, but the charming world, outlandish characters, and weird-but-cool presents system deliver an amusing and surprisingly sticky twist. Just so long as you can get down with the funk.

The real issue is the lack of purpose. Why does this game exist? What kind of experience is it trying to deliver? It may not be Destiny, but Anthem is a similar breed of online game and it needs fans to hop on board. BioWare's never going to build up any kind of deeply invested community if it can't give that community something to reach for.

I thought I was good at Tetris, but Tetris 99 showed me my true self: just decent at Tetris.

Crackdown 3 is basically a can of Pringles in video game form: rapidly consumed, only vaguely satisfying, and completely forgotten within minutes.

In a departure from the last two games of the series, Metro Exodus sends players into the great outdoors of post-apocalyptic Russia where, unfortunately, the formula that worked for the last two games falls apart...If only Metro Exodus had a little more Metro and a little less Exodus.