A sandbox of extraordinary scope created with a masterful attention to detail. A patchy campaign doesn't spoil this wonderful, evocative city.

OOTP 2007 gets a once-great series back on the road to Cooperstown by balancing depth with a user-friendly interface. [July 2007, p.60]

Baldur's Gate 3 is an unrivalled RPG that will swallow your life whole.

Leave it to Valve to deliver the goods on such an ambitious game package...The Orange Box is one of the finest compilations of gaming content ever produced. [Nov 2007, p.58]

This is The Big One, and it's even better than we could've hoped. [Jan 1999, p.166]

Those niggling criticisms aside, Bioshock is one of the best 15-20 hours of gaming nirvana you'll spend this year or any other. [Nov 2007, p.66]

A bigger, prettier, better version of Baldur's Gate that's sure to satisfy. [Dec 2000, p.146]

Endlessly slick, the battles and story are a joy to play through. No turn-based JRPG feels as good as this.

A challenging, hilarious, and mind-expanding puzzle experience for one or two-treasure your first time through.

If you like strategy gaming, get Command & Conquer. [Nov 1995, p.108]

Despite some stumbles in its opening hours, Hades 2 blooms with flexible combat and unforgettable characters.

Delightful deckbuilding that uses starship travel to build upon the Slay the Spire formula instead of merely imitating it. Outstanding.

An extremely immersive and detailed game that builds on the celebrated strengths of its predecessor. [August 2003, p.58]

An immensely addictive and playable strategy game that's the rightful heir to the Civilization crown. [July 1996, p.82]

Quake isn't destined to revolutionize action games, but it's a very good first-person shooter from the guys who invented the genre. [October 1996, p.150]

Slightly muddled, but it’s a muddle of beautiful scenes and spectacular combat set in a breathtaking place.

The best compliment I can pay Oblivion is that it achieves far more than I'd even thought possible. It's a superlative RPG. [May 2006, p.80]

An open world action RPG from FromSoftware that reaches new heights, but spends too much time in the familiar.

A sure bet for the adventure crowd and anyone who appreciates a great story. [Jan 1999, p.186]

RPG fans have waited for this one for a long time, and they won't be disappointed. [March 1997, p.102]

One of the most compulsively playable strategy games of all time. [Jan 2005, p.72]

A big, beautiful, sprawling action RPG full of rich stories, and suffused with an oppressive darkness.

Company of Heroes should be on the must-play list of every RTS fanatic out there, even those tired of WWII settings. It's just that good. [Oct. 2006, p.70]

A worthy revision of the legendary settlement sim. Slightly less impenetrable, just as engrossing.

With old friends, new enemies, and an exciting story, revisiting City 17 in VR is a thrill in Half-Life: Alyx.

Divinity: Original Sin 2 is a sprawling, inventive adventure and one of the best RPGs ever made.

Eventually I had to venture online, and the first sounds I heard (no lie) were "Oh yeah, you f******, I am the mother-f******'s s***!" It turns out UT 2004 has built-in voice support, and as easy as it is to set up, it's mercifully easy to turn off. [June 2004, p.79]

A gloriously well crafted campaign welded to a near Olympic competitive experience. StarCraft II is practically essential.

The best game on PS4 is now one of the best games on PC.

Intuitively interesting and contagiously fun, with an unparalleled scope for creativity and memorable experiences.

Red Dead Redemption 2's stark, slow depiction of America's fading frontier is a monumental work straining against stubborn mission design and stability problems.

One of the very best things about this game is its almost total lack of any visible interface. [July 2002, p.56]

Engrossing RTS play matched to a vital and visually intense story make this a gaming experience like no other. [Dec 1999, p.122]

Action so intense it'll leave you jittery and hopped-up on adrenaline, and characters to come back for.

Its plot is arguably more satisfying than the ham-fisted narratives of the recent Star Wars films, and it certainly does a better job at conveying moral complexities. [Feb 2004, p.65]

By merging some of the genre's best ideas with the appealing Warcraft mythos, the game could well become the first "mainstream" MMO. [Feb 2005, p.44]

Easily the best game in the GTA series, and an all-time classic. [Aug 2005, p.52]

Call of Duty 4 is an exciting shooter package that represents the best of last-generation gameplay. [Jan 2008, p.70]

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.

A brilliant game in every facet of its design and execution, with not a single dull moment in the lot. [August 2002, p.62]

A cross-over wargame that has depth, beauty, smarts, and replayability. [Jan 1998, p.218]

A sublime piece of interactive art, The Sioms is teh first serious contender for Y2K's game of the year. [Apr 2000, p.82]

Minor technical issues and questionable monetisation scuff what is otherwise one of the best fighting games we've seen in the last decade.

I love Blue Prince so much I'm going to spend the next 1,500 words or so telling you as little about it as possible. Unraveling its many mysteries and solving its multitude of puzzles—several of which I'm still working on even after finishing the game—is best done if you go in with nearly no information. Don't watch videos. Don't Google solutions. Don't even finish reading this review. Just go play it.

One of the most immersive, emotive, addictive, and just plain fun computer games we've ever played. [Oct 1999, p.122]

To say that Chaos Theory is a tension-packed ride would be a vast understatement. This is easily one of my favorite franchises, and I'm already hungry for the next installment. [May 2005, p.74]

A masterfully designed expansion to one of the best action RPGs of the last decade that not only complements the base game but expands its thematic and systemic scope even further.

To say I loved every minute of Rome: Total War is a tremendous understatement. For my money, it's the ultimate strategy game. Not only does it effortlessly combine turn-based strategy with raucous real-time warmongering, but it delivers them in a package that is accessibe and easy to play. [Nov 2004, p.76]

Occasionally languid to the point of lethargy, Okami is a gorgeous and unforgettable adventure all the same.

The fact that this is basically a one-person project only makes it more impressive, from the excellent use of simple graphics to convey emotion, to the fantastic lo-fi soundtrack. It may or may not be the best RPG you play this year, but it’s certainly going to be one of the most worthwhile—as memorable as anything in, say, The Witcher 3, and every bit as worthy.

A completely original, utterly captivating riff on the first-person action game. [Apr 1999, p.114]

The Age of Kings is a work of art, and one of the best RTS games ever.

One of the most enjoyable single-player and multiplayer action games ever. [Feb 2000, p.92]

An incredible strategy game, Alpha Centauri is destined to go down as one of the best ever made. [April 1999, p.92]

Old school still rules. [Aug 2008, p.67]

It's impressive that the team is still able to take FF14's trappings and crystalise them into new forms even so many years on, from the way jobs and dungeons feel like the best they've ever been, to their confidence when it comes to experimenting with the relationship between gameplay and storytelling. But while there are some stunning vistas and lighting effects, and the detailing on new armour designs are enchanting, the age of the core game can't help but show, smooth as it is to play. This is a great final chapter to a story that'll stick with me, and I'm excited to see the team tell a new one—but I'm eager for some bigger changes to shake up Eorzea when they do.

Still the best baseball management sim ever, and predictably so given its similarity to last year's great game.

A beautiful, 100-hour-long journey from beginning to end, Metaphor: ReFantazio takes the best elements of Persona 5 and somehow improves on them.

The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine is an accomplished piece of genre fiction with some characters I'll come to miss. Pour a goblet of the red stuff and join them, you won't be disappointed.

Almost every bit as much fun as its Microsoft rival, and at a cheaper price. [Jan 2003, p.122]

A superb retro-style smorgasbord in real danger of drowning out its own consistently good work.

Against the Storm is a well-designed, charming, enthralling roguelike city builder.

Actually playing the [D-Day amphibious-assault] mission was one of the most gripping experiences I've had on the PC in a long time...it's damn fun. [Feb 2002, p.58]

Myth is a melee of a good time. [Feb 1998, p.180]

A gorgeous, complex and slick assassination sim, with fascinating systems to play with and huge open levels to explore.

An incredible exploration portal with even greater potential once its tech issues have been addressed.

Easily delivers the most entertaining and authentic Formula One PC racing experience ever. [Sept 2003, p.90]

This is the best roleplaying game you can buy. Period. [Apr. 1999, p.94]

In most games, frustration and annoyance are solid indicators that something isn't working. Here, they're part and parcel of competition. If I'm annoyed, someone else is having a good time. If I'm elated, someone else is raging. That can be difficult to put a score to, because it removes emotion as the guiding light of a subjective process. Here's what I can say for certain: Overwatch is a great, occasionally fantastic shooter, and filled with fresh, clever design decisions.

The best Tekken game in years, let down only by its struggling netcode and aged customisation.

This is quite simply the best World War II flight sim this pilot has experienced in years, and it’s an instant classic for the genre. [Feb 2002, p.66]

Breathtaking action, atmosphere, story, and graphics come together to create a truly compelling combat experience. [Jan 2000, p.172]

A generous stealth sandbox masterpiece that will delight both new and existing fans of the long-running series. [Dec 2015, p.50]

It's not all stealth. Ubi Soft's Montreal studio did a terrific job sprinkling the missions with spasms of frenetic action and tech-savvy stunts. [Mar 2003, p.84]

The most comprehensive sports sim going, and one that delivers fresh twists on old school, text-based systems.

Playground's singular series gets a lush new setting, but otherwise remains committed to tuning an already winning formula. But even a marginal improvement on the best racing series around is worth celebrating.

Destined to be a classic, Crysis is a creative and technological marvel that eclipses every other shooter released this year. [Holiday 2007, p.60]

However, if you've been level 60 for a while and let your account lapse, The Burning Crusade is reason enough to reactivate your account. [Apr 2007, p.46]

Great for anyone with good reflexes and an appreciation for air-sailing stunts. [Jan 2001, p.167]

The pinnacle of classic, point-and-click adventure gaming. [Feb 2001, p.97]

All-round, the best 3D action game to date, and LucasArts' best game since the excellent TIE Fighter. [Dec 1997, p.174]

With eight new courses and three returning ones (plus the option to import courses from "Tigers 2002-2004"), this is simply a beautiful day at the links. [Dec 2004, p.88]

Be prepared for a long journey either way because, as compelling as "Dread Lords" was, Dark Avatar will suck strategy game fans into its marvelously intricate and textured universe like light into a black hole. [May 2007, p.64]

An amazingly polished, finely crafted piece of action gaming excellence that's worthy of the name Batman. [Dec 2009, p.70]

A very fresh action romp with tons of cheekiness - maybe too much. [Jan 2001, p.129]

Crusader Kings 3 is incredible. It's an irrepressible story engine that spits out a constant stream of compelling alt-histories, delightfully infuriating characters and social puzzles that I've become obsessed with unravelling. I can't imagine being done with it. I just subsist on digital drama now. Will Alfred finally leave the torture chamber and make a friend? What's Bjorn going to do now that he knows his wife is in love with his chancellor? And who's going to be committing patricide next? I need to spend less time writing reviews and more time with my dynasties.

It's finely tuned maps and balanced gameplay prove that you CAN improve on perfection. [Sept 2005, p.56]

But Fallout 3 has fidelity to its predecessors in more important ways, such as offering an incredible depth of role-playing opportunities. [Holiday 2008, p.54]

Bat-brawling shows wear, and Batman's a charisma void, but the freedom and depth of the open world are mesmerising. [Feb 2012, p.62]

One of the most inventive, entertaining RPGs ever created. [Mar 2000, p.82]

Central to its pull is a storyline as persuasive as any I've encountered in a fantasy roleplaying game. [Sept 2002, p.60]

Resident Evil 4 remake is a great game in its own right, but can't hold a candle to the original.

Polishing off the brilliance that is NOLF 2 are the game's stunning graphics, powered by the LithTech Jupiter engine. [Holiday 2002, p.78]

An outstanding story-driven RPG with fantastic writing, RPG depth and tough tactical combat. It's BioWare's best RPG since Baldur's Gate 2. [Holiday 2009, p.38]

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's gorgeously realized world is let down by its emphasis on combat, marred by a few fatal stumbles.

A stealth game that turns you into a predator rather than prey. Mark of the Ninja is an engaging sandbox of stealth.

The thing about Disco Elysium is that my experience of it is completely unique to me, such is the dizzying variety of skills, stats, thoughts, and conversation options on offer. You could play through it five times and still not see everything, so there's no one experience to assess. But I can say with certainty that it's one of the finest RPGs on PC if you value depth, freedom, customisation, and storytelling.

More accessible, challenging, and rewarding than its predecessor, this is the Dark Souls sequel PC gamers deserve.