NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139… confirms that the original NieR was both way ahead of its time and far behind it. The story is tremendously captivating and it’s only gotten better with newly added content. On the other side of the coin, the repetitive gameplay feels outdated even by 2010 standards. Those who press through the 30-hour adventure will be rewarded with a bold narrative odyssey. It may even outdo NieR Automata in retrospect, but it’s hard to blame anyone who’d rather watch it all on YouTube instead of playing it for themselves.
Returnal takes full advantage of the PS5's features to give players a fast and furious sci-fi spectacle.
New Pokemon Snap is a worthy follow up to a beloved classic that's loaded with charm and a surprising amount of content.
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.
Despite biting off more than it can chew, Biomutant is a creative labor of love with strong RPG hooks.
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart is a pure superhero spectacle that takes full advantage of the PS5's hardware.
Mario Golf: Super Rush features elegant golf systems, but is devoid of content that makes good use of it.
Monster Hunter Stories 2 is a much friendlier introduction to the complex franchise, anchored by excellent turn-based RPG combat,
Empathetic storytelling and mind-bending level design make Psychonauts 2 a worthy follow-up to one of gaming's great cult classics.
Deathloop is a tremendously stylish stealth-action game that builds on Arkane's strengths, even if some of its creative gambles fall flat.
WarioWare: Get It Together's character-swapping gimmick adds unnecessary confusion to a perfectly enjoyable microgame collection.
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.
Kena: Bridge of Spirits is as gorgeous and elegantly crafted as a big budget game, making it a statement debut for Ember Lab.
Metroid Dread sharpens everything that makes Metroid enjoyable, while more fully realizing its horror ambitions.
Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy has some rough edges, but its solo team play mechanics are a perfect match for the dysfunctional superhero family.
Mario Party Superstars is the best game in the series, bringing a better selection of minigames and fewer gameplay gimmicks.
Riders Republic is a consistently entertaining extreme sports game that avoids the compulsory trappings of most open-world games.
Forza Horizon 5 doubles down on the series' winning formula to give players another hit racing game superpowered by next-gen tech.
Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl play it safe, faithfully remaking two classic DS games -- at times to a fault.
Big Brain Academy: Brain vs. Brain is a shockingly addictive collection of brain teasers, but a slim package makes it a hard sell.