But any Valheim wishlist betrays the truth of the game's current, "unfinished" state: there's already so much adventuring, crafting, building, and discovery available-and in ways that can easily be shared amongst friends for only $20. (And if the screenshots I've chosen haven't made clear, this game can be very pretty, as its engine smothers its blocky characters with handsome effects and gorgeous vistas). We've put games in our year-end lists for less potential than what I've already enjoyed in Valheim thus far, and I don't see us getting out of 2021 without repeating praise for this killer multiplayer adventure option on PC.
Buy, unless you have responsibilities. This game could very well threaten them.
Returnal clearly heralds a new era for Housemarque, in terms of turning the focused arcade-blasting likes of Super Stardust HD into quest-worthy 3D action. Keep it coming, Sony and Housemarque.
If you loved RE7, you might like RE Village
Aliens fans with friends should buy, as should anyone hungry for a more focused take on online co-op combat (read: less sprawling than The Division). Solo, offline players should tread extremely cautiously. Destiny and Borderlands fans may be unmoved.
Psychonauts 2 is one of the best video games I have ever played, and if anything in this review sounds like you and your family's bag, don't hesitate to join me in loving the heck out of it.
A certain party-playing crowd will overcome the awkward bits and have a blast. Most won't. Rent, don't buy.
Cumbersome, sometimes shallow, but boy, what a free treat
Deathloop may ultimately go down as my biggest gaming disappointment of 2021
A must-rent if you own a Switch. A possible buy if shamelessly silly arcade-racing fun sounds up your alley.
Between those mechanical systems and cleverly arranged zones in and around the starting village, Ember Lab makes sure that players have stuff to look for and interesting systems to play with once they discover those puzzles. (And I haven't even mentioned the seriously cool, late-game magical ability that I'm not going to spoil.) By narrowing its magical abilities to only a few pickups, K:BoS emphasizes a simple, accessible path to adventurous treasure hunting. The result is the opposite of a standard "Metroidvania" in which new abilities often do a meager job unlocking new things in old zones. If you're hoping for a massive adventure with 19 different items that each expose new regions, K:BoS doesn't deliver. Personally, I enjoyed its tighter focus, which still opened previously explored regions for further investigation (complete with a handy in-game counter for secrets that have and haven't yet been found).
Keep an eye on Milestone's patch and update plans. If the company moves forward with customer-friendly moves, HWU may be a must-buy for arcade-racing fans. Until then, wait and see-unless the sales pitch of "Trackmania but prettier and more arcade-y" makes you want to immediately purchase. In which case, you'll have a good time.
If "classic 2D adventure on Switch" puts the same tingle in your spine as it does mine, Mercury Steam will not lead you astray with this impressive sequel. Buy.
FH5 is an easy recommendation as part of a paid Xbox Game Pass subscription, and it's a great excuse to flex your newest gaming hardware purchase. But if you're already happy with Forza Horizon 4 or were bored by that one, take your sweet time sitting behind this game's wheel.
Basically, 343 charts a few dozen encounters and terrain paths that would have been found in prior games' linear campaign levels, then spreads them over a series of floating, connected islands to make its open world. Additionally, 343 has a nifty tool in its toolbox: Halo's 20-year-long gimmick of warping enemies from outer space whenever needed. Infinite kicks serious butt in these moments. Follow your map to an icon or simply walk up to a weird-looking point of interest and the game will start inserting foes, all hunkered behind carefully crafted terrain that separates you from them. Surprise: it's a miniature level!
Don't wait for Tunic to land on our year-end list. Buy.
Tricky puzzle gamers and geometry savants should buy.
NSS bowling doesn't yet include its "challenge" lanes in online matchmaking, but I hope these come in a patch because they're the exact twist that the Wii Sports formula needs. As played in either local multiplayer or online friends-only matches, these include static and moving obstacles in lanes, and they randomly rotate in each frame. I like how they force players to shift their throwing position and wrist rotation to get different kinds of strikes, instead of doing the same wrist-waggle "cheese" moves repeatedly. The default bowling mode is fine, but the challenge mode is where it's at for consistently refreshing virtual bowling.
Last Course also includes a series of five optional battles that revolve around chess-themed bosses, though in these, all weapons and charm-based offensive abilities are disabled. You can only defeat these bosses by keeping track of flashing-pink parts of the bosses, then repeatedly colliding with those with your parry maneuver. Miss Chalice's updated parry ability makes her a great choice for this optional boss-rush sequence, but however you face it, Studio MDHR uses this parry-only restriction to execute some of the series' most memorable boss moments (even if they're a bit easier than the standard bosses).
One early moment appears to block players' progress with a gate, but with no other direction to go, players will likely walk toward the gate, only to realize its bars are wide enough to let a cat easily pass through. It's one of the many examples of the game reminding players that they are tiny and can get through small paths, and I really appreciated when Stray's puzzles rewarded proper "just walk right through" thinking.