The Daily Dot

The game’s neo-noir, Blade Runner-esque setting perfectly marries with its gritty but heartfelt tone. Despite the slightly off-putting differences in the character design, the aesthetic of the game is superb. Match the exquisite level design with seamless mechanics, addicting gameplay and rousing battles, and you have a recipe for perhaps one of the best games of the year.

At the end of a tumultuous decade, it’s only natural to reflect on the years gone by. And here comes a great game to cap the previous decade—and signal the start of something new. If I hadn’t already spent the last several years being told that Kentucky Route Zero was a special game, I’d have known it immediately.

While this is a fantastic game on its own merits, it also stands as a towering achievement in Star Wars storytelling.

Though the campaign doesn’t perfectly stick the landing, it finds strength in a multitude of moments that keep things intimate yet thrilling, making it almost certainly one of the series’ strongest entries.

The Outer Worlds is everything you’d want from a modern RPG. There’s no “right” way to play, and there are no easy decisions. At least, the game doesn’t seem to think so. It provides a well-realized, organic universe to explore and allows you the freedom to choose your way through gorgeous environments and complex conflicts. I already want to tour the solar system as a different explorer and see what else the game is hiding beneath the surface. It marks a tremendous achievement from one of the most accomplished developers in the genre.

Having an easily accessible version of Killer Queen is incredibly exciting. Bumblebear Games’ surprise hit harkens back to a different era of gaming, built around real-life interaction and player coordination. But Killer Queen Black was never meant to fully replace the arcade cabinets, but rather recontextualize the excellent experience for a brand new audience. It does so wonderfully.

This game could suck a lot of your time—and battery life—if you try to max out every conceivable level and configuration for every tour.

Though its titular goose may present itself as the town’s true menace, every meddling grandma and gossiping baby boomer in that town deserves the honking that they get.

I found playing through a modern imagining of this classic to be almost perfect. While it doesn’t reinvent the franchise or break convention, it never acts like it wants to. There’s something comforting about returning to a world like this: to know its every corner, to recognize its colorful cast, to feel truly lost in the experience.

I can’t imagine anyone walking away from Gears 5 disappointed. This is a complete package, tied together with some of the most consistently engaging gameplay you could ask for. The storytelling on display proves that the franchise has yet to peak, and it lays the foundation to continue improving with whatever comes next.