Dishonored: Death of the Outsider frees itself from the franchise's usual restrictions, while putting its usual tools to satisfying use. Buy it.
Rise of the Necromancer offers a new angle of attack on a great, well-supported game, but it's only worth the investment for dedicated players. Try it.
Total War: Warhammer 2 shakes up the wonderful strategy of its predecessor with new factions and locales. Although the DLC X-factor could shake up the campaigns even further. Buy it.
Randomness keeps Darkest Dungeon's signature grind in a holding pattern, but new content breathes life into the whole experience. Buy it.
Agents of Mayhem has spirit, but not as much as its Saints Row predecessors and not enough to completely outshine the paint-by-numbers design. Try it.
This is a step backward for the series—and not just chronologically. Skip it.
The Evil Within 2 is a mechanical step up from the first game in nearly every way, even if the narrative is just as disposable as ever. Buy it if that balance doesn't bother you.
Before the Storm is at its best when it focuses on the untold elements of Life Is Strange. So far, those moments capture the spirit of the original, but I'm anxious to see if it can hold up as the timelines converge. Buy it.
War of the Chosen is the definitive way to play XCOM 2. Even if you weren't impressed with the original package, this feels like a whole new game. Buy it.
There are plenty of better games to spend your time and money on right now. If you absolutely, specifically need an inoffensive couch co-op brawler right now, try it.
Absolver trades in tutorials for mystique, but if you think you can climb the learning curve, you should try it.
Far Cry 5 could have been the next step forward for the series after the extra time bought by Primal. Instead, it mostly feels like a step back. Skip it.
There's a good game to be built on the bones of Valkyria Revolution, but the game itself is too one-note and ill-considered to get anywhere near it. Skip it.
FFXII: The Zodiac Age offers some fundamental changes to make a great game even better—even if it could have used one or two more minor improvements. Buy it.
Fire Emblem Echoes is a sparkling remake without much variety or strategy to scratch beneath the surface. Try it.
Try before you buy. Thimbleweed Park is an unabashed adventure game throwback with all the good and bad that brings. When it parlays that love of a bygone era into interesting challenges, it borders on great. When it simply emulates the past, it's a real slog.
At its best, Dawn of War 3 is a fast-paced mutation of some of the series' best ideas. At its worst, it can't seem to decide what kind of game it wants you to be playing. Try it.
Torment's uneven gameplay is pulled to the finish line by its engrossing world and story. Assuming you can get over the introductory hump (and all that text), it's absolutely a story worth reading, if not always playing. Buy it.
Injustice 2 continues NetherRealm's tradition of best-in-class story modes with solid, complex fighting to back it up. Learning the ropes could just be a little more convenient. Buy it.
Nioh makes no bones about standing in the shadows of giants, but it extends and polishes the Dark Souls formula so much that it manages to shine just as brightly. Buy it.