Where the previous game is an over-the-top whirlwind, Rise of the Tomb Raider is better as a savored experience.

Tales from the Borderlands may also be the best-looking game Telltale has ever produced.

The Outer Worlds is everything you’d want from a modern RPG. There’s no “right” way to play, and there are no easy decisions. At least, the game doesn’t seem to think so. It provides a well-realized, organic universe to explore and allows you the freedom to choose your way through gorgeous environments and complex conflicts. I already want to tour the solar system as a different explorer and see what else the game is hiding beneath the surface. It marks a tremendous achievement from one of the most accomplished developers in the genre.

While I’m playing, I’m enthralled by the intricacies of every new mechanic folded into my progression. When I’m away from it, I’m imagining new experiments and combinations to toy with on a future run.

Destiny has always been better when played with friends, but this time doesn’t feel like it actively punishes solo players.

Just like a show, the second season has to contend with the apparent success of its predecessor, and it’s clear that the writers on Yakuza 2 may not have known how to extend that deeply personal tale for another 40 hours.

This feels like a case where a video game movie can afford to pay proper deference to the source material. If the Ratchet & Clank movie’s creative team chose to do so, we might have a rare entry into the very short list of video game movies that don’t suck.

Ultra Sun and Moon‘s new features are great, but nothing groundbreaking.

I can’t imagine anyone walking away from Gears 5 disappointed. This is a complete package, tied together with some of the most consistently engaging gameplay you could ask for. The storytelling on display proves that the franchise has yet to peak, and it lays the foundation to continue improving with whatever comes next.

Forsaken doesn’t fundamentally change Destiny. It adds the best story and mission structure in the franchise and makes core social features more compelling to engage with. Only time will tell how deep the enthusiasm for Forsaken will run, but after a week with the expansion, it’s hard not to be impressed with how Bungie has managed to push Destiny 2 forward.

I’d worry I was being too harsh on Halo 5’s story if I didn’t know so well that the Halo universe is capable of supporting some great storytelling. It’s impossible for me not to reflect on games like Halo: ODST and Halo: Reach when I play the Halo 5 campaign. It feels like pastiche of earlier days that I hope Halo eventually returns to.

Wargroove is challenging in all the right ways, but never rigid in obstinance. From all angles, this is an experience you can truly tailor to do just what you want it to. Chucklefish has packed this game so full with meaningful experiments—and things that are worth seeing.

X shines when it comes to combat, exploration, and vehicle systems, making this sequel more engrossing than its predecessor. It’s richness makes it easier to overlook the shortcomings from both the technical limitations of the Wii U and the inconsistent soundtrack.

Ultra Sun and Moon‘s new features are great, but nothing groundbreaking.

A lack of cohesion hurts Black Ops 4. Playing through every mode is rewarding in its own right, but it doesn’t feel like you’re working toward anything in the long run. Unlocking skins and parts in multiplayer has no effect on the other modes. Blackout only dishes out rewards to the most skilled players who can pull off a victory. And Zombies is full of so many extraneous options that only hardcore fans will get invested in.

General distaste for some of the game’s networking features has surrounded Splatoon 2 since launch, but none of these choices ruin the experience. Bizarre, dated design choices hold back online play, but with free updates and new content coming in the next few months, it will be interesting to see how this already great game can improve.

Having an easily accessible version of Killer Queen is incredibly exciting. Bumblebear Games’ surprise hit harkens back to a different era of gaming, built around real-life interaction and player coordination. But Killer Queen Black was never meant to fully replace the arcade cabinets, but rather recontextualize the excellent experience for a brand new audience. It does so wonderfully.

Watch Dogs 2 is such a fully realized mid-2010s time capsule that—even if the online features are unavailable down the line—it would make for an especially insightful playthrough a decade from now, personal San Francisco native bias notwithstanding.

Open-ended mechanics and a suite of customization options make Shadow of the Tomb Raider an absolute joy to play.

Every so often a game jam produces something special that is both interesting and commercially viable. A game like Superhot.

Despite these gripes, it’s clear that 4A Games has sacrificed none of Metro’s survivalist spirit. Amid all the ruin, murder, and mutation, there’s a humanity to this game that few other shooters ever reach. What started out as a cast of generic white guys (and a few POC) has become a family—people I’d reach out to, sit and drink with, make merry with until our throats became sore.

Suffice it to say, if all the stabbing, choking, and hippo-mauling is your kind of fun, Hitman 2 is the most Hitman there ever were, for better or worse. Its story, while plain, serves its purpose without getting in the way, and you’ll be able to stretch the murdering on for weeks to come, despite what few innovations there are being minor. There’s just nothing quite like Hitman, a series that defies everything we’ve learned about modern game business.

In its finished form, the game tells a story with uncompromising vision and engrossing emotional heft. The resulting experience comes off as delicately prepared, and the mythical nature of the game’s development only enhances the fantastical tale at its core. Imagining the missteps the game could have taken if released in an unpolished rush is easy, but bickering about the build-up to The Last Guardian’s release will be long outlived by its success as an emotionally evocative masterpiece in the annals of modern gaming.

It serves up exactly what the series is known for with a new twist, and it does so with awe-inspiring ease. One of my biggest takeaways was how completely I was transported to a space of childlike joy while I played it.

While this is a fantastic game on its own merits, it also stands as a towering achievement in Star Wars storytelling.

It’s this mix of chaotic misery and joy that makes Overcooked 2 a dish best served bold.

If skill challenge is your motivation, Guitar Hero Live will demand much more of you by default. If you’re looking for a party game consider the regulars on your guest list and their level of frustration tolerance.

Though its titular goose may present itself as the town’s true menace, every meddling grandma and gossiping baby boomer in that town deserves the honking that they get.