At the end of the day though for myself, Guacamelee! 2 has reminded me of what games are supposed to be in the first place — fun. I haven't had as thoroughly as joyful of an experience with any other game this year and I expect I'll be hard pressed to find another like it any time soon.
Donut County is a charming and straightforward example of how video games don't need to be overly complex or contain multiple mechanics and systems to make for a good time. While your enjoyment of the game will likely depend on how satisfying you find its overall loop of dropping stuff into a hole, if this does click with you, then there's a lot that you'll love. For the low price of entry, Donut County is worth picking up and spending an evening with just to have a good chuckle.
There's still a ton to love within Shadow of the Tomb Raider and if you enjoyed the previous two games in this new era of Lara Croft, then I absolutely expect that you'll dig what's found here. While I find this to be Lara's weakest adventure of the bunch, I'm still excited to see what lies in store next time around for one of gaming's most prominent characters.
Purchasing NBA 2K19 for yourself just depends on what you plan to play within its larger package. If you were already put off by MyCareer last year, then not much has changed to win you over this season. If you're looking for the best basketball sim on the market though to just play with friends or play by yourself in some of the more team-based game modes, you cannot do better than NBA 2K19. Despite there being so many fundamental changes that I want to see from this series moving forward in regards to many of its abrasive practices, at least the actual basketball has continued to be phenomenal without skipping a beat.
Assassin's Creed Odyssey isn't just one of the best Assassin's Creed games there has ever been, it's one of the most exceptional action RPGs that I've played this console generation. While only a few years ago I was left wondering what this franchise's future would be, now I'm more excited than I have been in quite some time to see where Ubisoft continues to take Assassin's Creed from here.
League of Legends is the most popular game in the world, and for good reason, but it's absolutely not without its fair share of annoyances.
I trust DICE, I think they're a great developer, and I have no doubt that six months from now when all of the promised content for Battlefield 5 has finally made its way into the game that this will be one of the best multiplayer shooters on the market. But at this moment, it simply feels like more of what we've already seen before with some slight tweaks that only series veterans will truly appreciate.
In short, Darksiders III is not the game that I hoped it would be when it was first revealed. While I have long loved this series, the third entry is an underwhelming, buggy mess that doesn’t stand anywhere close to the greatness that was found in the first two installments. Deep down, I still want Gunfire Games and THQ Nordic to give this franchise one more shot, but if a subsequent entry were to once again turn out as Darksiders III has, I’d just prefer if this now just be the series’ final breath.
Just Cause 4 has some cool ideas and nifty gameplay mechanics that are completely undercut but its own poor mission structure and game design.
Despite being a bit bland on the gameplay front, Travis Strikes Again is more often than not an enjoyable jaunt back in the shoes of the titular Travis Touchdown.
Resident Evil 2 stands as not just one of the best installments in the long-running horror franchise, but it might just be the greatest remake ever made.
Crackdown 3 has finally arrived and instead of being a next-gen iteration of the franchise, it feels like a lost relic of the Xbox 360 era.
BioWare's Anthem is as disappointing as it is boring, with the game's biggest fault being that it just gets in the way of its own self.
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice isn't just another phenomenal action title by FromSoftware, it's a game that I really needed over these past few weeks.
My Friend Pedro is an enjoyable score-focused shooter that is sometimes undermined by its level design.
Judgment is another winner for Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio and provides dozens of hours of mysteries, hijinks, and flying fists to keep you entertained.
Wolfenstein Youngblood is hit and miss in a lot of ways, but at the very least, MachineGames has been able to capitalize on the promise of making a fun co-op shooter.
Remedy Entertainment's latest game, Control, continues to embrace the weirdness that has permeated in the studio's past titles but fails to excel in any one area.
Gears 5 is perhaps the best entry in the long-running shooter series and stands as one of the best games of the Xbox One era.
NBA 2K20 feels like the smallest leap that the series has made in years, even if the core gameplay still remains enjoyable.