Even when its faith is shaken, like an overloaded porter tripping down a rocky mountain, Death Stranding 2 still stands firm in its belief that we’re all better off together. No matter what comes next.
Though the idea of FBC: Firebreak has some potential that may reveal itself with later updates, shallow teamwork and repetitive missions fail to impress in its probationary period. It’s a gig built on incentives, promising players that things will get better the harder they work. Maybe they will for the most dedicated company men, but I imagine many workers will hand in their two weeks before getting to that point.
MindsEye is a baffling, busted shooter that squanders a campy sci-fi premise.
Mario Kart World delivers fine-tuned racing, strong multiplayer potential, and a bevy of unlockables that keep every session rewarding. But its tacked on exploration component, one that tries too hard to force long-term success, is a reminder that even a driver with a tremendous lead on the competition still isn’t safe from a dreaded blue shell.
Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour should have been a charming pack-in game.
It’s all a little Sesame Street in its approach, boiling everything down to a thin “we’re all just a little different” conclusion that feels insufficient. As clumsy as it may be, though, I can’t fault To a T for trying to craft an inclusive story that’s delivered with sincerity. It’s heartening to see a video game story that centers disability and encourages players to connect with one another’s experiences through play. It’s not perfect, but nothing is. To a T challenges us to reject the status quo, both in the way it experiments with a well-trodden genre and in its story about embracing our differences. The view out your window is bound to get boring when you see the same thing every day.
Built as a way to capitalize on the success of 2022’s Elden Ring without committing to a full sequel, Nightreign puts a clever co-op spin on the open-world game by turning it into a roguelike. It’s a smart remix that gets more use out of existing assets while inventing a replayable multiplayer game with unexpected strategic depth despite its RPG hooks being much more streamlined than a standard Soulslike. Fully finding that hook takes a lot of effort, but it pays off for those patient enough to push through its most obvious flaws.
Fast-paced strategy makes Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tactical Takedown’s turn-based action feel as active as an arcade brawler. Each level offers a jolt of arcade excitement that gives each turtle their chance to shine rather than treating them as interchangeable heroes. Its small scope leaves it vulnerable to bugs and repetition, but Tactical Takedown’s best quality is how much it’s willing to break the mold and offer a new spin on a familiar TMNT power fantasy.
In an attempt to one up the already hellacious shooter series, one that reached new adrenaline highs in 2020’s Doom: Eternal, developer Id Software turns every dial up to 11 from right Chapter 1. The battles are faster and more ferocious. Hidden lore becomes glitzy cutscenes. Our hero rides a mechadragon, for God’s sake. Every single piece of it is an exercise in maximalist escalation, trying to find a ceiling to a timeless shooter hyper violent glory. It reaches that height, but comes up against a hard truth: There’s nothing left to climb once you’ve reached the top.
Though its story ultimately feels unfocused and its one-note action leaves it lacking in identity, Revenge of the Savage Planet succeeds as a sci-fi romp. It lets players loose into a series of interplanetary playgrounds designed to be sucked dry by a corporate drone tasked with becoming a bully. It’s a charming slice of dark comedy that’s perhaps not mean enough to totally land its point.
Skin Deep is a wacky slice of immersive slapstick that could have used a little more chaos.
Lost Records: Bloom and Rage pays tribute to 90s angst and the riot grrrl rock in a deeply moving coming of age story.
Rusty Rabbit needed a tune-up, but there's still some treasure to find in its scraps.
Blue Prince is the kind of engrossing puzzle game that will change your brain chemistry.
Promise Mascot Agency is a positively zany yakuza adventure that's an unpredictable delight.
South of Midnight is a weighty adventure that pays tribute to the deep South with astonishing art, impeccable sound design, and the best music you’ll hear in a video game this year. It’s an emphatic journey about connecting with our most vulnerable neighbors when they need it most rather than leaving them to suffer alone. The artistic craft on display is unimpeachable, though the full package is weighed down by the demands of a big genre game that Compulsion isn’t fully able to keep up with.
In its latest action-adventure game, Sniper Elite developer Rebellion lays out a solid plan to thrive in a wasteland of nuclear apocalypse games. Rather than aping Fallout or Stalker’s action RPG formula, the more streamlined Atomfall scavenges together some original ideas in its deconstructed quests and an emphasis on bartering. That could have made for a compelling survival story built around open-ended exploration, but it’s those pesky details that will get you killed during a nuclear disaster.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows almost feels like what it would be like if Ken Burns was tasked with making a video game. It’s exhaustive in how it depicts Japan’s feudal era even in fiction, crafting its world with the eye of a historical documentarian. It’s not quite the in-depth slice of life that Red Dead Redemption 2 goes for, but it approaches that same idea with fewer systems. Some of my favorite moments came when I just got bored of stabbing people and got on my horse instead. I didn’t stop every few feet to complete a puzzle. I didn’t stop to open another chest. I just rode, breathing in nature and listening to my own exhale intertwine with the wind.
WWE 2K25 could be the series' last babyface moment before a heel turn in 2026.
In its own way, Wanderstop is the perfect mission statement for a bright-eyed studio starting its path to self-discovery. It is a sincere celebration of our struggles and imperfections. They are not problems to run away from, but stones to sharpen our blades upon so we may win the next fight.