Lucas Sullivan
A potent cocktail of authentic 1930s aesthetics, jazzy tunes, ingenious boss designs, and gameplay founded on the fundamentals inherent to the best 2D shooters. Cuphead sure is swell.
An already amazing journey into synesthesia achieves its full potential with PS VR and Area X. A no-brainer buy for anyone who owns Sony's VR headset.
An amazing marriage of world-class storytelling and strategic card gaming, Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales is a fantastic RPG in its own right.
By turning your every death into the start of a personal vendetta, Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor makes you that much more invested in its open-world. The savage combat and satisfying stealth are just the means to exacting your ultimate revenge.
Warlords of Draenor may not fundamentally change the way you play WoW, but it does a fantastic job of rejuvenating it. If you've been wanting to come back, now's the time.
Same great Smash Bros. gameplay, amazing new presentation on the Wii U. Whether you're looking for technical depth or enjoyable chaos, you'll find it here.
If you crave a challenge, Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze will bring out the best of your platforming abilities. Those expecting a cakewalk will feel like they slammed headfirst into a brick wall of difficulty.
Heroes of the Storm is like a MOBA highlight reel, cutting right to the best moments and doing away with all the boring bits. It's a fast, lean, and relentlessly fun 5v5 experience.
There's certainly room for improvement, but Overwatch is already a superb team-based shooter full of memorable multiplayer moments.
It can't match its predecessor in terms of sheer originality, but Dishonored 2's setting, stealth, swordplay, and superpowers are all superb.
Inside's nightmarish journey is fascinating and frightening in equal measure. This puzzle platformer is easily consumed, but digesting its disturbing world will be a contemplative challenge.
Whether or not you dig its new look, KOF 14 offers everything you could want in a fighting game: refined gameplay, a bevy of appealing characters, and accessibility that gives way to complex depth.
Trials Fusion delivers more of what you want: addictively challenging obstacle courses, complete with precision controls and highly competitive leaderboards. The futuristic setting and subplot don't add much, but they (usually) don't detract from the fun either.
Though Reaper of Souls' story additions feel too open-ended, the new Crusader class and Adventure Mode go a long way towards revitalizing Diablo's inherently fun and addictive core gameplay.
Jazzpunk is uniquely ridiculous and undeniably hilarious. It's not afraid of making you work to find all the funny, which turns even the tiniest throwaway joke into something special.
If you can steel yourself for a challenge and come to grips with an unwieldy checkpoint system, Ori and the Blind Forest will mesmerize you with its lush world and incredible artistry.
Excellent mechanics and incredible playability make up for Killer Instinct's shortage of single-player content. Franchise fans and fighting game junkies will be most pleased.
You've never explored an open world quite like this. Sunset Overdrive's iffy gunplay and inconsistent missions are redeemed by absolutely amazing mobility and an infectious enthusiasm for mayhem.
Powerstar Golf blends time-tested mechanics with a unique style, rewarding your hard work with a pleasant sense of accomplishment. As long as you don't let the microtransactions ruin it for you, you're all but guaranteed to have a good time.
Despite some wonky tie-ins with the film, this is a gorgeous, thoroughly great platformer and a worthy reboot for Ratchet & Clank.