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.
Split Fiction is hokey, muddled, and needlessly self-defeating. It’s also lively, inventive, and so earnest that it’s hard to be mad at it for long. These aren’t opposing forces that tear Hazelight’s latest apart; the clumsiness is inseparable from the delight. Both are born from the ambitious vision of artists who still believe in the magic of creativity and are willing to take big swings in its honor. Sometimes it absolutely whiffs. We all do. Fail again. Fail better. But it’s those moments where it connects, where simple ideas turn into unforgettable spectacle, that remind us why art can’t be automated. Even the most advanced machine can never dream bigger than a human with a heart.
Once it gets its claws in, it’s hard to escape Monster Hunter Wilds’ grasp. It balances high-octane spectacle with the kind of meditative RPG progression hooks that live service games dream of. It’s a successful evolution from Monster Hunter World, though one that still can’t quite find the best way to introduce new players to its intimidating world.
The beefy spinoff of last year’s Infinite Wealth is an act of cosplay. While most of the pieces that make the long-running series so beloved are there, Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio trades in strong writing for pirate pastiche with mixed results. Majima’s nautical adventure is at its best when flashes of memory break through its amnesia, reminding me that there’s more to Like a Dragon than its memeable moments.
Warriors: Abyss is a shallow Hades riff that doesn't put its creative squad building hook to good use.
Citizen Sleeper 2 isn’t about living in a perfect world free from oppressive systems, nor does it posit that such a thing is possible. Its comfort is in the belief that we can carve out a home in a world that’s built to box us out. That’s accomplished through the people we keep close, the communities we build, and what we do with our bodies. These should be the things that no one can take from us.
Rift of the Necrodancer captures the true essence of music by creatively visualizing rhythm.
Sniper Elite: Resistance offers more of the same action with virtually no surprises and a dull World War 2 story. That’s perfectly fine considering that the Rebellion team is still great at the one thing they’ve dedicated their career to doing: creating tightly designed murder playgrounds for those who want to vent their real world political frustrations in the safety of a virtual shooting gallery.
Dynasty Warriors: Origins is thrilling fun so long as you don't overthink its hollow story.
When Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is at its best, it’s a clever mix of Dishonored and Uncharted that rewards players for using their brains to get one step ahead of a fascist power grab. It does that while retaining the campy charm of Steven Spielberg’s original trilogy, even if its attempts at Hollywood spectacle can feel a little flat when compared to a medium full of adventure games that have long since beaten Indy to the finish line.
Infinity Nikki is the stylish open-world game that players have been begging for.
Lego Horizon Adventures isn't a perfect fit, but Sony's charmer snaps together where it counts.
The Rise of the Golden Idol makes a great mystery series even better.
Mario & Luigi: Brothership puts some creative new spins on an old formula to make for the duo’s biggest RPG to date. Though for all its inventive combat tweaks, Brothership finds the series getting even further away from the strengths that set the Mario & Luigi series apart from everything else in the Mushroom Kingdom. Even with some bright spots, it can’t escape a continued downslide for a series that can’t help but trade in clever writing for dull gimmicks.