Every now and then, I like to break away from the games I typically gravitate to in the hopes of finding something new. While Townsmen: A Kingdom Rebuilt isn’t wholly original in what it offers as a town building sim, it does have a certain air of charm to it, despite its apparent rough edges.

This latest installment of the Darksiders series sees War and Strife, two of the Four Horsemen, tasked with tracking down Lucifer, as he plots against the Charred Council, who are mysterious beings that uphold the very balance of existence. While the whereabouts of the other two Horsemen are unknown, you’ll only take on the roles of War, the protagonist from the first Darksiders game, and Strife, who while appearing in previous entries, makes his playable debut here.

Journey to the Savage Planet was a game I purchased from word of mouth and from seeing a bit of it streamed on Twitch. Its colorful creatures, often humorous dialogue and brief moments of action accompanied me along the adventure of exploring this strange alien world. In many ways, this feels like the game I wanted from No Man’s Sky, but sadly, much of what Journey to the Savage Planet offers isn’t as well-executed as its premise and while it makes for an alright adventure, it’s not that particularly thrilling.

While Zombie Army: Trilogy, released back in 2015 was a very enjoyable co-op zombie shooter, it lacked a great deal of polish across the board, making the title extremely fun, but rarely impressive. Half a decade later, Zombie Army 4: Dead War makes good on that polish and executes on exactly what this series needed to be.

With the release of Zombieland 2 in theatres late last year, a twin-stick shooter called Zombieland: Double Tap - Road Trip was released alongside the film, acting as a prequel of sorts, a game that at its best, is still a disappointing experience that fails to deliver at every turn.

Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot is a celebration of the Dragon Ball Z Saga or at least a solid chunk of it. Where the Xenoverse series had you create a customized warrior to build up through its story, time-traveling to major events from the anime, Kakarot has you play out much of the entire DBZ anime series in a somewhat consistent narrative, sadly leaving some arcs, such as the Garlic Jr saga, in favor of more Goku-focused storylines.

At the tail end of 2017, we were introduced to Cat Quest on a variety of home consoles and PC. It was a game that I really enjoyed and was pretty excited when its sequel was not only announced but that it would have local co-op and feature dogs in its pun-filled world.

Layers of Fear 2 has you take on the role of an actor who has been invited onto a ship to get prepped and ready for the role they are about to take on. The story itself can often get a bit confusing as it jumps from the story of the actor to a young boy and girl playing pirates aboard the ship.

After hearing how great A Plague Tale: Innocence was, I finally got the chance to sit down and push through this title over the Christmas break. While the title may initially seem a bit thin on gameplay, its stunning narrative and linear stealth systems all combine into creating a very enjoyable experience that is only held back by its abundant reliance on trial and error.

Considering the popularity of the Nintendo Switch, it’s safe to say Luigi’s Mansion 3 might just be a lot of players first foray into the ghost busting series. You’ll follow Luigi through a multi-themed hotel in search of his friends as he attempts to suck up ghosts in his specialized Poltergust G-00 vacuum.

The Park is essentially a linear, slow-paced walking-sim that sees you in the shoes of Lorraine, a mother who braves the closed amusement park to retrieve her son, Callum, a young boy who had mysteriously run into the park after its closed, in search of his lost stuffed bear.

The Need for Speed franchise has had a recent history of being glanced at and forgotten due to several of the titles in the past decade being less than stellar. Its newest entry, Need for Speed: Heat was released just three months after it was officially announced to very little fanfare or marketing lead-up.

Ever since the game’s initial release back in September, I was largely just exposed to the meme culture built around the game. I had seen some footage here and there to grasp the concept of the game, but it wasn’t until the title saw its release on Game Pass that I was able to get hands on.

I was intrigued by Immortal Planet’s art design and combat; a Dark Souls influenced title framed with an isometric perspective. While there are aspects to Immortal Planet that I truly admire, the game itself is rarely rewarding and borders the line between being both challenging and cheap.

When My Friend Pedro was announced back at E3 2018, it was a title I was very eager to try, not mention curious about its controls and the fact that you’re led around dozens of violent set pieces by a banana. For as crazy as its premise is, its ballet of violent destruction is even more so, offering one of the best action titles of the year.

While these newest entries don’t revolutionize the established formula we’ve played over the course of twenty-some years, they do streamline the baggage from the earlier games. What they bring to the table is a more enjoyable gym battle experience, engaging co-op events, and a fun and enjoyable story that makes this my favorite Pokemon adventure to date.

To say EA has been kind to the Star Wars license is questionable, but with Jedi: Fallen Order, EA might have finally delivered as not only is it the best Star Wars game in years, it’s frankly, one of the best Star Wars games ever made, even with its slew of technical problems.

With the creation of Kojima Productions and assistance from Sony, Death Stranding was announced at E3 2016 with more questions than answers. Even after it was shown year after year until release, it was drastically unclear just exactly what it was. Regardless of the varied opinions of the game, Death Stranding is unquestionably interesting and something altogether unique.

Taking the name back and placing you within the confines of a whole new narrative, Modern Warfare feels familiar in many ways. The series once against takes up relevant topics that are part of the current political climate and while it attempts to border on the edge of pushing deeper into its controversial topics, it, unfortunately, doesn’t and does tend to play it relatively safe.

Regardless of your playstyle, The Outer Worlds will have you contemplating the vast choices given to you when approaching not just combat, but the various ways dialogue can have a huge effect on the outcome. Each of those choices are backed up by superb writing, a fairly endearing cast of characters, and engaging confrontations, where words can often be more powerful than laser fueled ammunition.