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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Like it or not, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora feels like the perfect companion piece to James Cameron’s movies: it’s big but often intimate. Savage but calm. Familiar but charming. Even without playing a single minute of it, you should know whether it’s something you want to play. If you decide to make the jump, I suggest letting go of cheap analogies and using Na’vi instincts first and gamer brain second.
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.
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.
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.
Dungeons 4 doesn't raise the bar for the dungeon-building subgenre, but it's a delightful fantasy romp that harkens back to less complicated times, and that's quite valuable on its own.
Cities: Skylines 2 doesn't rebuild the genre nor its identity, instead choosing to go bigger and deeper without losing sight of what made its predecessor work. With no better alternatives on sight, this will do.
Tomas Sala's second Falconeer game may come across as nicher at first glance, but it's far easier to approach and have a great time with despite some baffling inconsistencies.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Total War: Pharaoh will surely benefit from the shortage of AAA strategy games with real-time battles, but it may play things too safe for the most demanding fans of the series, and given it's a full-price release, the overall scope lands dangerously close to that of the Total War Saga entries.
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.
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.