Kena: Bridge of Spirits is as gorgeous and elegantly crafted as a big budget game, making it a statement debut for Ember Lab.
Lost Judgment is a mechanically sound Yakuza spin-off, but its convoluted story makes it feel like a TV show that's gone on a few seasons too long.
WarioWare: Get It Together's character-swapping gimmick adds unnecessary confusion to a perfectly enjoyable microgame collection.
Deathloop is a tremendously stylish stealth-action game that builds on Arkane's strengths, even if some of its creative gambles fall flat.
Empathetic storytelling and mind-bending level design make Psychonauts 2 a worthy follow-up to one of gaming's great cult classics.
Monster Hunter Stories 2 is a much friendlier introduction to the complex franchise, anchored by excellent turn-based RPG combat,
Mario Golf: Super Rush features elegant golf systems, but is devoid of content that makes good use of it.
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart is a pure superhero spectacle that takes full advantage of the PS5's hardware.
Despite biting off more than it can chew, Biomutant is a creative labor of love with strong RPG hooks.
Resident Evil Village is an uneven anthology of horror movie send-ups. Sometimes it offers a truly exciting vision of the series’ future with imaginative world-building and rewarding exploration. Other times, it’s a fairly run-of-the-mill shooter that struggles to provide any real stakes or tension. Those two tones are often at odds with one another, highlighting all of the franchise’s best and worst instincts in one eclectic package. Chalk it up to a quarter-life crisis.