Street Fighter 6 feels like the most significant revelation for the fighting game genre since Street Fighter 2. No matter the skill level, all types of players will find something to enjoy here -- and even feel represented in some way. And for the most part, it does all of those things well while looking incredibly stylish.

The Lord of the Rings: Gollum is a disaster in a way that I sincerely thought wasn’t possible anymore. With so much money on the line, I thought we’d long passed the days where a game as transparently bad as Superman 64 could exist. Popular IPs are like gold in 2023, and companies carefully guard them like protective dragons. And yet, Gollum seems to have slipped by the watchful eye of so many stakeholders undetected. It’s a rare sight in the modern gaming landscape, and one that almost makes me nostalgic for the bad games of my childhood.

Planet of Lana makes up for some repetitive 2D puzzling with a gorgeous art style and a good-natured tone.

Though I’m still unsure of how it’ll come together, I still have plenty of reasons to be excited about Final Fantasy XVI. Its combat alone is enough to draw me back in and its spectacular Eikon battles truly seem special. If the rest of the game can keep up with that and deliver a meaty fantasy tale in the process, it should make for a worthy entry to the long-running series. I just hope that the big-budget spectacle of its most cinematic moments spreads out a little further than it does in the introduction. [3-Hour Impressions]

If you steer clear of the shop and online modes, there’s so much to enjoy in Lego 2K Drive. The colorful story mode alone is worth the price of admission, creating a version of Forza Horizon that’s much more welcoming to younger audiences and casual racing fans. It makes me feel like a kid again, playing with Legos in my bedroom. But every time I exit back to the main menu and see the shop, I snap back to being a world-weary adult who can’t help but be critical of unsettling business practices.

So long as you’re willing to meticulously survey Hyrule like an archaeologist digging for fossils, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is an engrossing sequel full of mysteries to solve and experiments to conduct. It’s a digital laboratory that I imagine will still be producing unbelievable discoveries 10 years from now.

Redfall makes concessions to work as a middling multiplayer game at the expense of a promising single-player experience.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor doesn’t reinvent the formula of Fallen Order and still suffers from some pacing and technical issues like that game did. Still, it’s one of the best single-player Star Wars experiences that I've ever played. The Empire may not be defeated by the end of Survivor, but I enjoyed exploring this beautiful galaxy and watching Cal open up along the way.

Teslagrad 2's momentum-based platforming makes for speedy fun, even if it doesn't quite have the same spark as its predecessor.

Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores is a light, but crowd-pleasing DLC chapter that sets the stage for Aloy's next adventure.

Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp doesn’t drastically change the core gameplay from the original, but it didn’t need to. Back in 2001, Advance Wars played beautifully. A simple concept paired with deep systems allowed the series to withstand the test of time -- something that’s even clearer with a modern Switch version. Playing Re-Boot Camp feels like revisiting an old friend and finding out their best qualities remained intact over the years. For those visiting for the first time on Switch, prepare for a new lifelong friendship.

I had as much fun here as I would have had watching a schlocky B-movie, but Dead Island 2 doesn’t do much to push the crowded (and dated) zombie genre forward. An underwhelming narrative and a general lack of creativity in mission design left me hungry for a more substantial meal. There’s a sharp-witted takedown of American privilege somewhere in Dead Island’s arsenal, an edge that was perhaps dulled down with age. For the series to survive another decade, it might need to hit the grindstone and craft a point that can actually pierce skin.

The Mageseeker: A League of Legends Story is an exhilarating action title that you don't need to be a League fan to enjoy.

Minecraft Legends does a great job at making the real-time strategy genre more approachable, even if its campaign gets repetitive.

Tron: Identity is a smart and respectful use of the classic series, turning it into a gripping sci-fi detective story.

Tchia pays tribute to New Caledonia with a gorgeous open-world game that takes the right notes from Breath of the Wild.

I’m thankful for the cosmic coincidence that put a Dead Space and Resident Evil 4 remake just months apart from one another. Both projects show two valid, but completely different paths forward for game remakes. Dead Space just preserves the original, faithfully communicating what it was like playing it in 2008. As a counterpoint, Resident Evil 4 shows the value of careful reimagination. It isn’t just in conversation with the 2005 version, but with the two decades worth of games that sprung from it. It’s the past, present, and future of action-horror rolled up into an instant classic that stands side by side with its predecessor.

WWE 2K23 is another successful chapter in the wrestling series' comeback story, but the red flags of annualization are starting to appear already.

Bayonetta Origins tells a cute coming-of-age story about an initially powerless girl discovering herself. The game itself almost mirrors that, beginning with some simplistic, repetitive play but slowly evolving into something complex with its own distinct identity. It’s not just an origin story for Cereza, but for a new spinoff series with promising potential. The little witch we see in the game’s final moments isn’t the fully formed angel of death we meet in Bayonetta; there’s still some growing she needs to do to fully get there. Bayonetta Origins ends in the same place, leaving me excited to see where the adventure goes from here.

Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty lands in a happy medium for the Soulslike genre. It has enough mechanics to stand out from the typical FromSoftware disciple, but it's still familiar enough for veterans of the genre. It isn’t groundbreaking, but its difficulty and the satisfaction of overcoming obstacles still make for a fun (and frustrating) experience. Pair that with a thoughtful use of Chinese mythology that sets it apart from any other game on the market and you’ve got another strong Soulslike to bang your head against until FromSoftware unleashes its next epic.

"Potential" is the word I keep coming back to when playing through Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe. I'm smitten with every piece of the package on its own merits, but I'm also left excited about what it could signal for the future of the series. There's a lot of room for Hal Laboratories to take the combo-based platforming of Magolor Epilogue or the progression systems of Merry Magoland and use them to innovate its next original Kirby game, whether it's 2D or not. This may be a blast from the past, but it's even more exciting when viewed as a peek at what's to come.

Horizon Call of the Mountain works as an impressive PSVR2 tech showcase, but overambitious ideas make it less appealing as an action-adventure game.

Like a Dragon: Ishin's timeless story and accessibility options make up for some of its outdated gameplay.

Octopath Traveler 2 builds on its predecessor's strengths to create another charming retro RPG.

Hogwarts Legacy delivers a perfectly competent adventure, but its most unforgivable curse is its lack of imagination. Despite having access to an entire universe of possibilities, its sole trick is using magic to cover up tired video game clichés that feel entirely disconnected from the vibrant source material it’s adapting. The only unique aspect it brings to the open-world genre is franchise branding, making for a shallow experience that doesn’t offer much more than wish fulfillment for fans unable to let go of a dream.

Whether you're a SpongeBob fan or just looking to get a new game for your kid, The Cosmic Shake is a solid choice.

Hi-Fi Rush cracks the rhythm-action genre wide open to deliver Tango Gameworks' most confident, stylish, and surprising project to date.

For anyone who’s yet to play one of gaming’s horror greats, the new take on Dead Space is a fairly definitive version of the experience. Its limb-carving combat and claustrophobic atmosphere still outclass its peers 15 years later, and that fact is only emphasized with some smart adjustments. If you’ve played the 2008 version to death, though, nothing here is likely to deepen your relationship with it. It’s a remake for remake’s sake.