Elden Ring Nightreign won’t be the most elegant or polished multiplayer game of 2025, and FromSoftware purists may not be on board. Still, its unique brand of hard-hitting and uncomplicated adventuring is a brilliant distillation of the studio’s most significant wins.
The mystery of the disappearance of the Fremen is also a solid enough hook to keep me going through the main quest instead of getting sidetracked, and every excursion I make to collect resources doesn’t feel like a chore. Arrakis was made for a game like this, and small creative liberties aside, I think Funcom might have nailed what it needed to nail here.
Doom: The Dark Ages is a notable new entry in the long-running FPS series with a flavor and gameplay ideas of its own, but it can feel oddly unfocused at times, plus not every change is for the better.
Tempest Rising wears its C&C influence proudly, and while this overreliance on tradition limits its full potential, Slipgate Ironworks' overall effort is remarkable and must be celebrated.
While a bit too rigid and buggy at times, Commandos: Origins is a worthy enough return to nerve-wracking tactical WWII scenarios that are a blast to figure out.
South of Midnight's strong story and presentation make the most of its overlooked mythology and oft-forgotten setting, but don't embark on this journey looking for top-tier action-adventure game design.
Black Ops 6 isn't just a strong new entry in a massive franchise that feels like going to Burger King and getting exactly what you ordered. It's the most confident Call of Duty has been in years, with both Raven and Treyarch taking a few well-calculated chances where they could afford to do so, and trimming the fat off the core 'Twitch FPS' experience that regular customers come for year after year.
There's a great 'town defense' RTS at the center of Age of Darkness, but the lack of polish even after its 1.0 launch is disappointing and the campaign lacks punch.
Civilization 7 is a focused and compelling refresh of the decades-old formula that will keep most players coming back for more, yet parts of its condensation don't work as well as the whole.
Avowed nails its priorities and delivers a fun adventure full of charm, intrigue, and weighty decisions, but its RPG muscles could've used more work.
Idun's gameplay loop, progression systems, and moment-to-moment thrills mostly compensate for its padded main quest, rough edges, and disappointing AI-generated voice acting.
Warcraft 1 & 2 remain RTS classics that any fan of the genre should try at least once, but Blizzard's remastering efforts feel as barebones and often ill-advised as Warcraft 3: Reforged's 2020 launch.
Warcraft 1 & 2 remain RTS classics that any fan of the genre should try at least once, but Blizzard's remastering efforts feel as barebones and often ill-advised as Warcraft 3: Reforged's 2020 launch.
Indiana Jones' triumphant return to video games is a memorable adventure that gives fans everything they wanted while concocting a delightful mix of systems and design philosophies that no one had anticipated.
Stalker 2 is unlike anything else in the FPS market right now, but design flaws that only become more baffling the more you play and an embarrassingly long list of minor bugs, performance hiccups, and game-breaking issues undo nearly all the good done in other areas of the game. An engrossing experience lies beneath all the clutter, but it will take time to unearth it.
Planet Coaster 2 offers a genre-best box of creative tools and community-driven features and expands on its predecessor on almost every level, but chances are you won't be as enchanted by its management systems, which continue to be a thorn in Frontier's side.
Space Marine 2 is an old-fashioned triumph that eschews modern trends and vapid bloat in exchange for relentless, gory action and a fully-featured Warhammer 40K package that's presented in gorgeous fashion.
Sure, Concord’s premium model over a nightmare FPS full of passes and paid skins sounded great on paper, but the package has to be enticing enough to warrant the purchase, and simply put, the juice isn’t there. A part of me wants it to find its audience and improve, but this is looking like another Suicide Squad situation.
Star Wars Outlaws fully commits to realizing the open-world scoundrel experience many fans had been dreaming of and walks away unscathed, which is no small feat and reinforces the idea that Massive Entertainment is one of Ubisoft's best studios at the moment. However, it needed an extra push and bolder swings to leave a big mark on the genre.
Dragon's Dogma 2 is as much of an odd RPG as its predecessor and makes little to no concessions, leveraging its many strengths and unique traits to make up for the half-baked bits.