It's been a while since Crash and his friends got behind a wheel, but Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled proves that they clearly haven't lost their touch.
Simultaneously fresh and familiar, Judgment is an excellent first step forward for the Yakuza universe after the conclusion of Kazuma Kiryu's story.
Cricket 19 is rough around the edges, but it makes some notable improvements in key areas. Fans of the sport will find plenty of enjoyment here.
RAGE 2 is an accomplished first person shooter, but a bland and disappointing open world experience.
A Plague Tale: Innocence isn't the largest, most expansive game you'll ever play, nor does it accomplish new things in the areas where it does place its ambitions, but it's stronger for it. It's a focused story-driven experience completely free of bloat or unnecessary attempts at lengthening its runtime, and knows exactly what it wants to do. It delivers an emotional and effective tale, while also implementing simple mechanics in constantly engaging ways to make sure that it's not always all about the story.
Phoenix Wright's courtroom sojourns pack every bit the punch now that they did almost two decades ago. Any opinion to the contrary merits a very loud and emphatic objection.
This is a brutally unforgiving game that demands constant attention from its players, but it's the kind of attention that I have been all too happy to devote. Thanks to its stellar combat and memorable boss fights, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is a proud reminder of the fact that FromSoftware doesn't require the crutch of an established formula to deliver an arresting experience.
The Division 2 is by far the easiest recommendation at launch this genre has had in many, many years, and is very well positioned to become the definitive looter shooter experience out there.
Legacy of the First Blade stumbles with attempts at some large story beats and squanders the potential of others.
DiRT Rally 2.0 is a big win for the largely overlooked rally racing simulator genre.
Metro Exodus is an ambitious sequel that retains the best parts of its predecessors, while also expanding upon their ideas in significant ways. A general lack of polish hurts those ambitions somewhat, but in the end, this is a game that is well worth the price of entry.
Chucklefish could have easily won the adoration of many by simply trying to make a game that panders to the nostalgic Advance Wars crowd, but they've gone above and beyond to deliver a product that is surprisingly full-featured and absolutely brimming with content. Not only is Wargroove an accomplished turn based strategy title, its suite of creation tools also makes it an infinitely replayable one.
Resident Evil 2 is not only an accomplished remake that should serve as the blueprint for how to re-imagine beloved classics, but is an incredible game in its own right- so much so, that it might even stand as one of the very best games this venerated and decorated franchise has delivered to date.
Revisiting Onimusha: Warlords with this remastered release should be a treat for all fans of the original, while if you've never played it before, it's also an excellent opportunity to experience a classic action title that has aged surprisingly well.
The City That Never Sleeps feels surprisingly essential to the larger story Insomniac are telling in their own Spider-Man universe, and should be played by anyone who enjoyed the base game.
Ashen wears its influences unabashedly, but immaculate execution helps it rise above unoriginality.
RIDE 3 may not have the panache and the multiple coatings of polish of some of the other racing sims out there, but thanks to its attention to detail in terms of the bikes themselves, and how well those bikes control, it's a ride worth taking regardless.
Fallout 76 is not a completely broken game. It's not absolutely devoid of enjoyment, and every once in a while, it can live up to the franchise name it bears. The problem is that that enjoyment is buried under a mountainous pile of long stretches of boredom and emptiness, tedious and mind-numbing quests, baffling design choices, unbelievably bad technical issues, and a host of other problems that turn this into an experience that, frankly, has no business being out on shelves as a full-priced AAA game in its current state. What's concerning is that even if the issues that can be fixed through patches and updates are ironed out, the core fundamentals of the game are deeply flawed.
Battlefield V is yet another excellent addition in this admirably consistent franchise.
Football Manager 2019 is probably the best this series has been in years, if not ever.