The Fullbright Company's first indie effort is backed up by a touching narrative, one paced incredibly well, that effectively engages players through the bulk of the game's short three-hour runtime.

Forza Horizon 6 isn’t trying to revolutionize the series. The game modes, customization, and even UI have a close resemblance to the franchise’s recent entries. Instead, Playground Games finds freshness in its Japanese setting, which paves the way for stunning new regions, dope cars, and an overall slickness to everything you do.

Resident Evil was in dire need of fresh characters, ideas and mechanics to ensure we’d see additional numbered entries in the future, and this was one of the best ways to breathe new life into a franchise that’s been mistreated a bit in the past. From top to bottom it’s clear this was a project that was handled with great care, with excellent voice acting, gruesome surprises, and scenes you’ll be scratching your head about for days to come. To all Resident Evil fans out there, I say welcome home. You’re going to enjoy your stay with the Bakers.

Iron Galaxy has not only put forward one of the best games of 2022 so far, it's also created one of the best battle royales in a long time. It manages to be wildly different from its contemporaries while also being a game worth learning and mastering in its own right.

I have a handful of gripes about PowerWash Simulator 2, but they hardly bring down the experience. It feels like a love letter to all of the fans and the things they’ve asked for over the years, and we end up getting a really neat collection of structures to clean up beside it. If the first PowerWash Simulator was any indicator, we can likely look forward to loads of post-launch content as well. If you’re not into these games, I doubt PowerWash Simulator 2 is going to win you over. But if you hanker for more high-PSI water cleaning, this sequel provides a fantastic set of features and improvements to make it about as enjoyable as can be.

Kunitsu-Gami isn’t particularly deep. However, it makes the most of all its many concepts, and outside the few dull moments of downtime, it’s always pushing you to think carefully and take in every part of its richly realized world. There’s genuinely nothing else like it, and I hope there’s more to come in the future.

In Atsu, we have a haunted protagonist, someone trapped between two states of being. On one hand, the warrior who wishes only to feel the splash of blood upon her face as her blade finds its home in the heart of her enemies. On the other, the young girl who cannot help but wonder who she would get to be if the demons and the flames had never devoured her family on that faithful night. Perhaps, somewhere in the tale of the onryō, there is room for both.

A unique, satisfying experience that's a sheer joy to play. It may not be able to scratch the itch that a more traditional racing fan may be looking for, but it sets the bar for what online-connected worlds should be about. As you try to dominate the map, take down racers, and unlock the fastest cars, you'll always be mindful while playing online: anything can happen, and that's pretty awesome.

If you can’t tell by now, I’m deeply in love with this game. I just don’t want to give away too much yet. But I believe it tells an important story about the made-up, easily digestible realities behind the complicated, horrible events in our day-to-day lives. About social media white knight justice as a feel-good spectator sport and how we treat tragedies, culprits, and their victims in our always-online world. This game couldn’t have come out at a better time. In light of recent events, perpetrated by the convenient realities many of us love to escape into, it is important to remember that the convenient truths that most of us can live with always have innocent victims we're not aware of until looking for them. But I guess there’s no Urban Myth Dissolution Center for that.

When I saw that Coulombe was involved in the cult classic, Barkley, Shut Up and Jam: Gaiden, I knew I was in for a ride simply by association. But I wasn’t fully prepared for the depths of creative madness I was gazing into with Look Outside. Each step was full of dread and morbid glee, as I never knew what to expect, was terrified of what could happen, but absolutely refused to miss a thing. I would’ve liked a little more balance when it came to getting mauled by random enemy encounters, and controller support was a little weird, but any frustration I felt from a momentum-halting game over melted away when the next stop on this roller coaster of suffering came into view. Frankly, I was bummed to get off when the ride was over.

There's just something magical about how Choice Provisions approaches rhythmic platforming, and the team's latest formula is better than ever. Runner3 is a perfect example of the genre done right, offering up another welcome serving of the signature style, content, humor, and polish that series fans have come to expect.

LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is the definitive LEGO Star Wars experience. Although the game can feel a bit cluttered with its overload of collectibles and shiny things to look at, it’s an impressive collection of the full saga. With a staggering amount of characters to play as and worlds to explore, LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga puts a beautiful bow on LEGO’s premier franchise.

I have for years held the opinion that MLB The Show is the best of the annualized sport sim franchises. While it’s not without its faults, it’s pound-for-pound the best simulation of its real-life counterpart, while hosting a bevy of modes that feel thoroughly fleshed out and supported. It’s the most hours I’ve sunk into a new MLB The Show game in years, and it’ll probably be my go-to sports game for many months to come.

We often judge games for how intricate their systems are, marveling at how developers managed to cram everything into a package and make it all hum. There’s nothing wrong with that, but likewise there’s nothing wrong with celebrating a game that manages to deliver something that doesn’t feel the need to entertain every second of the experience. Fishing itself is relaxing, soothing, and at times exciting. It shouldn’t need to keep you engaged at all times like social media algorithms. Sometimes your line might sit in the water and nothing bites, and sometimes that’s the best part. Wombat Brawler gets this and delivers a thoughtful game where you Cast n Chill. That’s it, that’s the hook. Pun intended.

It's been a long time since I've lost myself in a game to the point that its jaunty tunes are running through my head throughout the work day. Super Mario Odyssey has done that and will continue to do that for a long time. There's plenty to see on this journey, so book a one-way ticket and enjoy the ride.

I had no idea what I was in for with Gori: Cuddly Carnage, and I certainly didn’t expect to enjoy it as much as I did. Its crassness is kind of a take-it-or-leave-it for me, but it fits a ridiculous world taken over by crazed toys that are in desperate need of murder by a sentient cat friend and his blade hoverboard. And that feels like a good way to look at most of Gori. It sets out do all sorts of things gameplay-wise and it does all of them pretty well to make a ridiculously graphic world and narrative pretty dang fun. Mind the tykes in the room when you’re playing this one.

I needed a single player game to remind me that quality storytelling is still worth years of developer resources. When loot boxes are falling from the skies in World War II, and everyone needs to sell you meaningless crap through microtransactions, Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus gave me an experience that was deep and entertaining. Personally, it’s probably in my top five games of all time.

Spelunky 2 is a treasure in every way, one you'll be glad you've discovered.

Another Crab’s Treasure is a shocker of a good time. The combat is mostly fair and interesting with all of the stuff you can do involving shells, level-ups, Stowaways, and other options. The world is also fun to explore, beautiful, if a little bittersweet, and full of secrets. Mix that with a good soundtrack and a funny story full of cute little crustacean characters, and Another Crab’s Treasure might be one of the most surprisingly sturdy Souls-likes I’ve seen in years.

While I can't rightly say they're everything that a die-hard Pokemon fan wants, they're very clearly games that rank among the most-polished and most-appealing titles available on the Nintendo 3DS hardware. The attention to detail is so thorough that it's easy to forget these are products designed by a team.

From gameplay and replay value, to the overhauled story and environments, Resident Evil 3 is a masterpiece.

Fire Emblem Fates exemplifies the best way to approach a sequel. It maintains and iterates on Awakening's best qualities, while also introducing new systems that have a profound impact alongside a richer and more poignant story. It's more than just a worthwhile successor to a recent hit. Taken as a whole, it's the best Fire Emblem to date.

Every single decision you make in Frostpunk 2 is like taking a step out onto a frozen lake. You might shift your weight onto a foot, only to see a tiny crack race out ahead of you. Is this the decision that will lead to your downfall? Even something as benign as placing down buildings comes with the weight of resource management, societal impact, and just a little bit more strain on the delicate system you’ve tried to establish. It’s a brilliant sequel that will leave you frozen with indecision as the icy disposition of the factions rivals the chill from a whiteout.

While I can't rightly say they're everything that a die-hard Pokemon fan wants, they're very clearly games that rank among the most-polished and most-appealing titles available on the Nintendo 3DS hardware. The attention to detail is so thorough that it's easy to forget these are products designed by a team.

Humorous dialogue and banter brings levity to the grim, heavy narrative and bleak setting of Gunbrella. The game turns an elegantly simple concept on its head, resulting in gameplay that is both responsive and rewarding. Gunbrella is an exhilarating romp with an intriguing story that doesn’t shy away from heavier themes. Though there is some room for improvement, Gunbrella’s heart-pumping boss fights and memorable characters will stick with me long after I’ve closed my parasol.

Tell Me Why stands out as one of Dontnod Entertainment's best efforts to date, which is high praise given their output to this point. It's a brilliant story about twins coming to terms with childhood trauma while exploring the mysteries of how they came to be where they are. The characters are memorable and the dialogue is some of the best to come out of a Dontnod game yet. And at three chapters that average roughly two hours each, the game doesn't overstay its welcome. Dontnod knows just what it wants to say and it says it beautifully.

Lone Ruin will test your patience, but let’s all be grateful the arcade action comes without the arcade cost. The “just one more try” gameplay benefits greatly from the snappy load screens and menus, even on the Nintendo Switch version, making it easier to recommend this brutally difficult and magical indie hit from Super Rare Games.

Halo 5: Guardians isn't 343's first Halo game, but it's the first that really makes the series its own. This isn't a reflection of Bungie's efforts, or a remaster, or stage-setting. The studio has put its own identity on this Halo game with smart moves like a more identifiable story and a wider array of multiplayer options, along with increased polish like Guardians' incredible visual punch and impeccable multiplayer balance.