As it stands, Dreams is an interesting experiment. It’s encouraging to imagine the world in which this game revolutionized an industry and opens the doors to more freedom for creative expression. Until then, it is only that: a dream.
At the end of a tumultuous decade, it’s only natural to reflect on the years gone by. And here comes a great game to cap the previous decade—and signal the start of something new. If I hadn’t already spent the last several years being told that Kentucky Route Zero was a special game, I’d have known it immediately.
While this is a fantastic game on its own merits, it also stands as a towering achievement in Star Wars storytelling. I can’t wait to see what’s next for this spinoff and these characters. Fallen Order walks in to a crowded universe with big, unique goals and far surpasses the standard for Star Wars games.
Despite all the time I felt Death Stranding was actively wasting, as if confronting me to walk away in annoyance, I still respect its message.
Put simply: The Outer Worlds is everything you’d want from a modern RPG.
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.
I found playing through a modern imagining of this classic to be almost perfect. While it doesn’t reinvent the franchise or break convention, it never acts like it wants to. There’s something comforting about returning to a world like this: to know its every corner, to recognize its colorful cast, to feel truly lost in the experience.
Overall, 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.
The latest game to adapt Lovecraft’s fiction does so with a critical eye and some thrilling detective gameplay.
I stare at the game’s start menu, telling myself, “one more run.” Of course, this more than likely means one more death—but who can say what might come from the run after that?
The apocalypse has never been more aimless than in Days Gone
I found Jupiter and Mars to be a thrilling and thoughtful experience. It clearly communicates an important message and manages to be equally fun and charming.
This adventure marks a maturation in the formula that fans have come to love. Everything new in Sekiro is achieved with graceful triumph, demonstrating how willing From Software is to experiment with new ideas and proving it to be one of the greatest modern developers.
If BioWare can salvage the great gameplay ideas the game is built on and streamline some of the obtuse checklists, maybe Anthem will become the engrossing, living world I wanted it to be. But maybe I’m searching for something that was never there.
The most damning thing I can say is I felt like Crackdown 3 knew I didn’t care about what I was doing—and never went out its way to even try pulling me back in.
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.
This game belongs in the same breath as Undertale and Night in the Woods for the way it plays with its own video game-ness. Pikuniku bashes tropes, breaks the rules, and defies any possible expectations you could have.
Striking black-and-white visuals looks great on the Switch’s handheld screen, and the vibrant sound design often reveals hidden clues and cues. My Memory of Us stands out as an accessible throwback, and it commits fully to its message. This journey won’t take you very long to complete, but it’s one worth seeing through to the end.
It’s hard to imagine a better Super Smash Bros. game, but with more content already on the way, Ultimate will continue to top itself for the foreseeable future. For now, it’s impossible not to love what has been so carefully crafted as Nintendo’s finest multiplayer game ever.
As it stands, Darksiders III is sadly unremarkable.