The gorgeous open world and excellent skiing and snowboarding of Steep outweigh some problematic design elements and less enjoyable air-based activities.
Bridge Constructor Portal successfully melds bridge-building with classic Portal gameplay elements, though it fails to emulate the excellent humor of that series. Good value and creative levels with more than one solution make it a slick package for anyone looking to relax while using their brains a bit.
Despite some frustrating missions and problematic Goo faction, this is one of the strongest traditional RTS games to have released in some time and will surely satisfy those looking for a nostalgic CnC-like experience.
Though mechanically The Fractured but Whole can feel rather flat, it remains a genuine South Park production with all of the humor, farting and ridiculousness you would expect, and that should be enough to satisfy fans - even if it doesn't wow them.
Even though For Honor's core combat is essentially an elaborate quick-time event sequence in disguise, the production values and novelty factor are high enough that there is still a good deal of fun to be had here.
Thrones of Britannia is a thoroughly competent entry into the Total War series, though underwhelming battles and a lack of fresh ideas mean it will satisfy your craving for historical conflict, but without much excitement or many surprises.
A fantastic sense of speed and exciting night-time racing help make Need for Speed Heat the best entry into the series in a while, even though the online component is mostly dead-on-arrival and progression can feel like a grind at times due to a stingy economy.
Fallout 76 retains the same captivating immersion, atmosphere and organic exploration that made Fallout 4 so enjoyable thanks to an excellent open world, though you'll have to contend with a poorly implemented online component and the typical Bethesda technical hiccups and rough edges.
Sea of Thieves has provided some of my favorite gaming moments this year, but the repetitive voyages and reliance on currently infrequent player encounters to keep things interesting mean the seas are a bit shallower than you might expect in a full-price game.
Dawn of War III is a surprisingly inconsistent RTS with a disappointing campaign, coming from one of the most consistent development teams in the genre. The steep initial learning curve, muscle memory and furious multitasking required to fully enjoy the game's multiplayer will likely alienate many series fans, but there are enough good ideas here that you can at least see what Relic were going for with this flawed but occasionally exciting sequel.
Company of Heroes 2: Ardennes Assault has some good ideas and atmospheric levels but the ludicrous asking price, lack of difficulty balancing and problematic AI leave this expansion out in the cold.
Though Mafia III has a strong story, great setting and some satisfying mechanics, the mind-numbing repetition and technical issues make it a letdown compared to its predecessors.
TrackMania Turbo is missing some crucial features from the past PC iterations, however the core formula of racing for times on crazy tracks is intact enough to still provide some basic fun.
Though Frozen Synapse 2 struggles to effectively convey its new ideas, especially in the ambitious but ultimately disappointing offline campaign, the multiplayer remains a unique and engaging challenge for aspiring tacticians.
Kyn is a well-conceived, albeit slightly broken, party-based Action RPG that succeeds in creating interesting mission scenarios but struggles at character building and consistently enjoyable combat.
Mirage: Arcane Warfare has some of the most fun and exciting melee combat around, but squanders the unique mechanics on dull game modes with low player counts in a transparent effort to ape Blizzard's recent smash hit, and this ultimately works against the strengths of the gameplay to the point of bringing down the entire experience.
Though GRIP offers up some exciting racing and vehicular combat on a really wild and creative set of tracks, a frustrating singleplayer campaign and serious technical issues with the online multiplayer make it difficult to recommend in its current state.
Only saved by its incredible style and often intriguing storylines, Hotline Miami 2 is riddled with poor design choices, gameplay issues and various bugs and glitches.
Severe performance problems and a misguided implementation of Souls mechanics in Darksiders 3 tarnish an otherwise perfunctory, but at least occasionally enjoyable return to one of last generation's better action series.
The twist at the core of Minit, that you play it sixty seconds at a time, is initially intriguing and engaging, but ends up clashing with the puzzle and exploration-heavy gameplay in a way that left me feeling agitated rather than charmed by this nostalgia-driven indie title.