IGN

This wave of paid DLC for Ghost of Yotei is a great reminder of just how graceful and deadly its combat can be, especially with how it's further emphasized in the new run-based Most Wanted mode. I didn't expect to get the itch for another run each time I was struck down, but that speaks to Yotei’s satisfying swordplay and the way these remixed challenges pushed me to think harder about every tool available. Echoes of Sekigahara isn't groundbreaking as an extension of the existing story, but Atsu gets a brief moment to shine again and show a more vulnerable, intimate side alongside a charming foil from her past. The battles within are familiar and the views are still impressive, but this one-two punch is a reminder of how fundamentally great Sucker Punch's ronin fantasy has been, and a layup for anyone looking for an excuse to return to Ghost of Yotei.

By going back to the beginning, Gears of War: E-Day returns to the heart of this series: Marcus Fenix, Dom Santiago, and a Locust horde that’s as terrifying as it is dangerous. E-Day pulls off the tightrope act of giving us a heartfelt prequel with strong characters even when we know how it ends. On a more mechanical level, it also evolves the enemies, weapons, and combat you’d expect to deliver a Gears of War campaign that stands toe-to-toe with any of the others. It wraps up with 10 years still left to go before Marcus gets tossed in prison ahead of the events of the first Gears of War, so here’s hoping the next one stays in the past for a while longer – and that we don’t have to wait another seven years for it to arrive. [Review in Progress; Campaign Score = 90]

End of Abyss has so much going for it as a metroidvania with touches of survival horror and twin-stick shooting. However, all of these pieces don't coalesce into something greater. Instead they make for an uneven experience that isn't quite up to the bar set by other juggernauts in the genre. While the atmosphere Section 9 Interactive created matches even the best moments of other horror games, it isn't enough to make up for the way it undermines its best ideas. End of Abyss has moments that shine through even the darkest depths of its abandoned facility, but not enough to flood the surface.

It's been a long wait for any new single-player RTS stories in the Warcraft universe. And while it's hard to say a drought that long was worth it, I'm not at all displeased with what we got in the end. I would have loved more RTS-style missions in Forsaken Kingdom, but the deeper RPG mechanics and a story that fits right into the Warcraft 3 era seamlessly kept me hooked to the end. Definitive Edition is now for sure my favorite graphical style of the ones available – if only it were available for the old campaigns, which I still love to replay every few years. And a new multiplayer hero has made the ladder feel dynamic and interesting again in a big, visible way. Garek… you did good, kid.

Minecraft Dungeons 2 is a shallow ARPG that provides a few evenings of mindless dungeon delving fun, but not a lot beyond that. Aside from the new Sift realm, which has a some cool new ideas and creatures to admire as you and your friends carve your way through it, there’s just not much to make this sequel stand out. It makes poor use of Minecraft’s iconic world, feeling like little more than a skin slapped onto a generic Diablo-like, with a barebones story and skin-deep hack-and-slash combat. This low-stakes action isn’t a bad way to pass the time, especially if you’re intimidated by the hilariously crunchy menus and buildcrafting of more serious ARPGs, but there also aren’t a ton of compelling reasons to play this one beyond that.

EA Sports FC 27 is a game caught between two competing directions. The revamped passing and crossing, deeper Career Mode systems, and greater emphasis on strategy give me more meaningful control and reflect the improvements I’ve hoped for to help build on the series’ strongest foundations. At the same time, those improvements are repeatedly undermined by inconsistent CPU behavior, lingering defensive issues, technical problems, slow menus, and an open-world hub that is disconnected from what I actually want from my virtual soccer experience. So while the soccer itself is enjoyable, the series is still searching for the right balance between innovation and making the core game work the way it should.

Unfortunately, as much as I’d love to, I can’t in good conscience slap a final score on this bad boy yet. While I have enjoyed what I played of Ace Combat 8’s multiplayer, particularly Deathmatch and the PvPvE mode Co-op Warfare (which pits two squadrons of four against one another while dotting the map with computer-controlled air and ground targets), I was only given a couple hours to try it pre-release, which just isn't enough. I haven’t been able to check out the special time-limited modes, spend enough free time running around the ambitious 100-player lobbies, or see how its progression systems unfold outside of a controlled environment, and I want to do all that before coming to a final conclusion. That said, I can easily recommend Wings of Theve based on the strength of the single-player campaign even if you’re not interested in the multiplayer. [Review in Progress: Provisional score = 90]

Garfield - Escape from Monday is a mediocre 3D platformer, dragged down by its relentless self-deprecating humor and sluggish platforming. The power-boosting costumes and wonderful, food-flavored set dressings do their best to capture some of the nostalgic joy of Garfield’s past comics and cartoons, but the cat himself is a bitter imitation of those depictions. Mix in some cute but largely pointless collectibles and a camera you occasionally have to fight, and Escape from Monday feels like a step backwards in an era with so many other original and experimental platformers to choose from.

Like the intravenous needle permanently jutting out of its hero’s wrist, Silent Hill: Townfall gives this long running series a welcome shot in the arm.

Halloween: The Game nails the atmosphere but not the execution (pardon the pun). It's undercut by bugs, good ideas not fully realized, and a lack of variety; not to mention the curious decision to force all players to remain in the lobby long after they're dead.