Supermassive Games does its best work when it embraces these kinds of callbacks, committing to the camp and cheesiness of the slasher films that inspired its games. Despite its stumbles, “The Quarry” is a testament to that, and while it doesn’t quite stack up to the original, it’s a compelling tribute that I’ll be playing again and again.

Eternal Threads almost seems aware that it’s not building a strong case for your emotional investment in whether these six people live or die. Throughout the game, mission control chimes in to remind you that these people’s lives definitely matter, that the average person has such and such number of descendants, so the fate of these six people and, more importantly, whoever comes after them could ultimately decide the fate of the world. And while that’s all technically true, I suppose, I can’t help but feel that “Eternal Threads” would have found infinitely more success laying the foundation for players to care about its existing characters instead of hinging your investment on theoretical stakes.

Trek to Yomi is a no-brainer download for anyone wanting a simple yet cinematic action game that harks back to classic PC adventures and 2D blade-action titles.

Through these mutually affecting connections between humans, nature and technology, “Norco” creates its own robotic story, disturbing, personal and fresh, an experience that should not be missed.

A few of its mini games (there are six in total) are terse and rulebook-driven. Some are mechanically straightforward to the point of profound dullness. Others still are primarily about wildly flailing the controller side to side. None are particularly athletically taxing, at least not in the same ways I remember “Wii Sports.” [Provisional Score = 70]

The Show remains the best baseball simulation out there … If, however, you already know, love and celebrate this game as an owner of “The Show 20” or “21," I can find no good reason you should feel compelled to purchase this year’s entry.

You’re able to explore every world from the Star Wars universe, but in that expansiveness, sometimes searching for largely meaningless in-game items and completing fetch quests, the greatest revelation is a question: Was this ambitious vision for “The Skywalker Saga” worth its cost?

The systems felt too brittle to warrant a more considered approach. In this Western, it doesn’t pay to be a master of the quick draw so much as the quick save, stopping to back up every inch of progress, in case your next move pulls the chair from under you.

Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands is the closest any game developer has come to recreating Dungeons & Dragons. There are plenty of games that share similar combat mechanics to D&D. But what “Wonderlands” focuses on — and nails — is the feeling of actually sitting around a table playing D&D: moments of chaos when a dungeon master has mere seconds to improvise a way forward for their players; times when teams throw a good plan out the window, but it all works out in the end; the fiery arguments that might overtake a group of friends just trying to have fun; the feeling of knowing what jokes will land with your dungeon master and which ones won’t.

This is no open-world Kirby game. Kirby and the Forgotten Land undeniably pushes the series to a new scale, but at its core, it’s more of the same. That’s not a complaint, though. If anything, it shows that the Kirby team knows its audience, as the franchise’s predictable formula is part of its appeal ... Think of it as comfort food.

After spending almost 30 hours on my first playthrough, I can confidently say that where Triangle Strategy truly shines is in its worldbuilding. When faced with tough decisions, I felt that I had agency; my choices impacted the events that unfolded throughout the game. [...] Better English voice acting would have been icing on the cake, though. The half-baked vocal delivery left me feeling a bit deflated.

Probably the easiest, most enticing way to describe the sheer scale of Elden Ring is to say it’s like receiving two to three new Dark Souls games in one.

Horizon Zero Dawn set a high bar in 2017. I can definitively say after rolling credits on Forbidden West that it not only meets that bar, it parkours over it and soars off on a robo-bird into the sunset.

Sifu is a no-nonsense arcade brawler that can be played in short bursts or long sprints, depending on the commitment to perfect each level run.

If only “Stay Human” could navigate its story of post-apocalyptic morality with the same deftness as its assured, acrobatic protagonist.

[W]ipe away the goo and there’s an impressive, thoughtful game underneath.

If you’ve never tried the series before, the remastered collection is a great excuse to jump in.

The Pokémon series has always been about more than its graphics, and this game exemplifies that.

Because of this game, I’m developing a connection with the [“League of Legends”] franchise. I just don’t find the game to be a must-play worthy of a ringing endorsement.

The game lets you live and relive the best moments of the Halo series whenever you want, whether it’s playing getaway driver for a botched base attack, a pilot abandoning ship after an impromptu dogfight, falling from the air to strike at enemies below with a hammer like Thor, or being the platoon leader of a ragtag group of soldiers cautiously navigating Zeta Halo’s vast, Pacific Northwest-inspired forests. ... Finally, a Halo experience once again remembers that the player is not meant to look into Master Chief’s eyes, purposely anonymous, hidden behind his visor helmet; we are meant to look through them.

The problem with Battlefield 2042 isn’t a short supply of [Battlefield] moments, it’s the flimsy and frustrating connective tissue between them.

The game crashed on the Xbox Series X semi-frequently, but I pressed on, knowing that right around the corner I was likely to find some new thing that would surprise and delight me.

In play, it is smartly dressed but simple, like a child of wealthy parents who can afford to be a bit dim.

Forza Horizon 5 [is] the first killer, can’t-miss game for the current generation Xbox Series X and S consoles as well as Microsoft’s Game Pass subscription service. It’s a game that I think anyone can immediately find appealing.

Age of Empires IV is a simple, pleasurable game that rewards developing high skill but does not require it to push and learn your way through.

House of Ashes comes close to “Until Dawn”-level quality, and for the first time after finishing a game in this series, it has me genuinely excited to see the next entry.

If you can look past the rotating control stick games, and if developer NDcube can offer new content and refine the game over time, you’re likely to enjoy this party for years to come.

Guardians of the Galaxy by Eidos Montreal ends up becoming an even better Guardians story than the two blockbuster films combined.