Although short on content, Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is a dependable entry in the franchise with fast action and a variety of solid modes. The great zombies level and the nostalgic campaign are definitely the highlight, and the competitive multiplayer should become strong once it gets more maps and tweaks.
Back 4 Blood is an immensely fun multiplayer shooter, with an astonishingly replayable cooperative campaign full of intense periods and challenges that encourage teamwork. The competitive Swarm mode may not have the refined suspense of Left 4 Dead's Versus mode, but it does have a few satisfying moments.
Weird West is a brilliant Action-RPG sandbox with an alluring supernatural undertone. The story finds a regular beat as it jumps through five intriguing characters. Both stealth and combat work decently from the isometric perspective, with good interactions, and only some camera issues and AI navigation quirks prevent it from striking a deep vein of gold.
The tiny backyard world in Grounded is a joy to explore, full of danger and wonder. It offers great value, despite a slow progression system and a drawn-out main quest line.
Deep and tantalizing combat, enticing exploration, smooth platforming, and strong narrative moments lead the way in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. This sequel improves nearly everything and only the suboptimal framerate leaves a sour taste.
With a great underwater setting and an interesting story featuring lots to uncover, Stasis: Bone Totem's mix of horror and puzzles mean it is a veritable sunken treasure.
DiRT Rally carefully simulates the endurance of rally and offers a brutal driving experience that builds satisfaction through vehicle and track mastery.
With an amazing space campaign and a frenetic Zombies mode, Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare is worth the fuel needed to reach orbit.
Middle-earth: Shadow of War's extensive orc variety and improved nemesis system blends extremely well with its hectic combat. While the story is better than the original, the implementation of quests is poor. Attacking and defending forts is great, although overused in the already lengthy campaign.
The tactical combat in BattleTech is excellent. Building a roster of gigantic killing machines and managing sundries offers a long-lasting gameplay loop. With a sharper narrative and more polish around the edges, the turn-based 'Mech-killing experience would have been unstoppable.
Vampyr is a smart action game that poses regular moral dilemmas as you decide to either heal or kill characters in a wonderfully dark city. With decent melee combat and an interesting story, there are not many vampire games that taste as sweet.
Chernobylite combines a multifaceted narrative with stunning, atmospheric levels that repopulate with fantastic points of interest. Players can sneak or shoot their way around the faithfully recreated Zone and see the modest ripple effects of story choices they can alter following each death.
The Lost Crown is a good modern template for an old franchise, taking the essence of Prince of Persia into a familiar metroidvania format. With fun combat, good boss battles, and smooth platforming mechanics, only the convoluted levels and overlong platforming keep it from being timeless.
Bests the original with sensible improvements to combat and world design. Tower defense missions are packed with great action and other additional features improve replay value.
Nostalgia is prominent throughout Doom's intense and repeating action encounters against glorious and tormenting foes.
Like the original, Q.U.B.E. 2 keeps the emphasis on smart puzzle design and maintains a core group of mechanics that fit together like a glove.
Call of the Sea is a new take on Lovecraft's lore with a vivid introduction that enhances the moments when the game transitions into darker waters. With an interesting story and solid puzzles, it is an adventure game worth playing.
The dark and creepy world from Tarsier is still as excellent in Little Nightmares II as it was in the original. With decent puzzle-platforming, and a few new mechanics to keep things fresh, the sequel revels in all things big, small, and grotesque.
Lost in Random is a pleasant action-adventure with a clever use of numbers, great visual design, and a unique combat system that allows players to roll with the punches.
Aliens: Dark Descent brilliantly translates the 1986 movie into a fun strategy game with good combat, an interesting story, and rewarding squad management, marred by some minor stealth and tech issues.