Polygon

Pairing the tactical brilliance of the Total War series with the rich lore of the Warhammer universe is a natural fit, and Total War: Warhammer 2 fulfills the promise of that combination. It is a deep and challenging experience with an epic story to tell. It is also one of the most overwrought games of the year, a game where complexity seems to be piled on for complexity's sake.

Story has never been the pull of the Ys franchise for me, though, and if you’re not yet familiar with the series, it’s not why you should give this game a chance. And make no mistake: You should give Ys 8: Lacrimosa of Dana a chance. Developer Nihon Falcom has always been talented, but this project represents a new high for the studio, a game where each piece comes together and interlocks in a way that feels damn near perfect.

Of course, it’s no surprise that NBA 2K18 looks good; the series has looked the part since its advent on the Dreamcast, staying relevant visually and staking out its own part of basketball culture. NBA 2K18 continues the trend, capturing the feel of basketball’s urban centers in The Neighborhood.

Heat Signature is one of the tightest indie action games I've played, packing a maximum amount of excitement into a minimum amount of time and space. My first few hours with the game were genuinely wonderful, filled with rapid-fire moments of delight and triumph. But when I hit my personal skill ceiling, I could do no more than repeatedly bang my head against it.

As an overall product, Destiny 2 is an incredible feat. Bungie spent three years essentially beta-testing this game, and used the knowledge gained from its predecessor to improve and fine-tune just about every aspect of the experience. As with the original, there are still rough patches to pave over, but the astoundingly fun game here is beautiful, funny, varied and constantly rewarding to play.

Danganronpa V3 is one-of-a-kind. It got me attached to characters within minutes before ripping out my heart. It twisted and turned in every direction, and there was always something new and even more terrifying on the way, leaving me little time to mourn my fallen friends. This may be a game that’s mostly about reading text, but it still managed to make my heart race.

NBA Live 18 is best for a very personal brand of basketball, focusing on a created superstar and the moves that make him stand out in a game that skews more toward individual play than teamwork.

It’s hard to deny how much of a blemish Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite’s visuals are, but it would still be a mistake to skip this entry for that reason alone. The fast tagging system and the Infinity Stones change up the series’ standard mechanics and open up so many options for creative play, no matter your skill level. Infinite is expressive, exciting and fun to play, but the visuals inspire more eyerolls than the hype this series deserves.

Death of the Outsider offers a standard take on the Dishonored formula, tracking closely to its admirable ethos of freedom and choice in a world of subtleties and illusions. It's a decent finale with a solid central character. But it makes little attempt to try anything new, a sign that all the best ideas are likely going into whatever comes next.

Hiveswap: Act One is brief, but I already have a lot of hope for the world and cast introduced here. (And the music. Oh god, yes, the music.) There’s a lot to see, and anyone looking for a light-hearted adventure will have a great time. Despite its minor bugs and short length, both Homestuck devotees and those who never experienced the webcomic will find a fantastic, humorous introduction to this new pocket of an already-massive universe.