Directive 8020 is everything you could want from a sci-fi horror game: Body horror aliens, the unwavering dread that all of us are insignificant when set against the great expanse of the universe, and fun QTEs.

A slick, accomplished shooter that’s more than just an eye-grabbing art style.

Pragmata's confidence in its punchy shootouts and old-school cool pays off, and the two leads roved their way into my heart despite a predictable plot.

While the learning curve might be steep at first, Xenonauts 2 offers incredibly rewarding tactical action for those willing to ascend it.

Despite occasional stalls, this combination of tactics and talking has plush-leather depths worth sinking into.

Some of Blizzard's best work in years wrestles with bugs and design issues, but still comes out on top.

Marathon is a brilliant distillation of what makes extraction shooters great, and a glimpse at where they could go next.

Prizing immersion and effort above all, this is a demanding, but very rewarding, RPG.

By turns sentimental and ridiculous, Death Stranding 2 nonetheless offers best marriage of mechanics and meaning in Hideo Kojima's storied career.

Vast and obtuse in a way that is going to frustrate some and exhilarate others, Crimson Desert is a fascinating journey, even when the destination isn't all that.

If you like RPGs, you owe it to yourself to play Esoteric Ebb.

A high-concept, fascinating strategy RPG that can start to buckle under its own ambitions.

Scott Pilgrim EX is a palatable fresh helping of retro beatdown goodness, but it's too brief and easygoing to deliver more fun than its inspirations or its best contemporaries.

Resident Evil Requiem sets itself out with a hard task: wrapping all the best elements of previous Resident Evil games into one. Miraculously it succeeds, with very few moments which left me wanting more.

Nine years in the making, Cyanide has expanded Styx's scope in all the right ways without sacrificing its steadfast focus on stealth.

Squanch's FPS sequel has more creativity in its left shoe than most entire games, but High on Life 2 falls short of excellence.

A sprawling, ridiculous, and endlessly surprising roguelike that will drag you body and soul into its chaotic world.

Nioh 3 is everything I wanted from a sequel to Nioh 2, and yet, somehow so much more. One of the best soulslikes yet.

A mind-boggling grand strategy game that tries to do way too many things, but ends up doing some of them extremely well.

A brilliant climbing adventure that siphons the rage out of navigation puzzlers like Death Stranding and Baby Steps, resulting in something prickly, but warmly approachable.

Intentionally and unintentionally thorny, but still one of the most compelling mystery adventures since Disco Elysium.

Inkle builds a weirdo computer for the ages, then let you use it to solve a beautifully-written mystery. Outstanding.

A delightful visual novel and a great deckbuilder combined. What more could you want?

Heaps of fun and plenty chaotic, Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds is the closest we've ever gotten to Mario Kart on PC… for better and worse.

This 3D take on the Vampire Survivors’ formula is brilliant dumb fun that’ll have you bonking monsters for hours. Eww.

One button used to its fullest potential and heaps of visual experimentation pay off in droves to make Rhythm Doctor one of the coolest and most distinctive rhythm games I've ever played.

Speedy, stylish, and effortlessly flexible, Tokyo Xtreme Racer captures the raw spirit of street racing.

The deckbuilder and the soulslike accommodate each other well, even if Death Howl is initially too busy killing you to show its best hand.