Sentinel Digital Desk
10. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle (Xbox, PC)
The adventurous archaeologist whips around fascinating recreations of the Vatican City and the Pyramids of Giza in the 1940s.
9. UFO 50 (PC)
A compilation of 50 games from the long-defunct (fictional) 1980s game company, UFO Soft, encompassing a stunningly creative variety of themes and gameplay styles while remaining faithfully retro in look and feel.
8. Black Myth: Wukong (PS5, PC)
Black Myth: Wukong’s spectacular take on Journey to the West is as flashy as Devil May Cry and (almost) as rewardingly challenging as Dark Souls.
7. Helldivers 2 (PS5, PC)
This hit shooter’s premise is so simple and so well trodden: four players land on a planet full of insectoid aliens and blast it all to bits.
6. Neva (PS4/5, Xbox, PC, Nintendo Switch)
A warrior and her wolf pup fight to survive and repel an incursion of oil-black demons into their natural paradise.
5. Dragon’s Dogma 2 (PS5, Xbox, PC)
A highly unusual and unfailingly entertaining quasi-medieval fantasy role-playing game.
4. Balatro (PS4/5, Xbox, PC, Nintendo Switch, smartphones)
The year’s biggest breakout indie hit, this chillwave psychedelic take on poker can make hours disappear.
3. Metaphor: ReFantazio (PS4/5, Xbox, PC)
A role-playing game as intelligent as it is grandiose, pairing philosophical postulating with intense strangeness and outrageous style.
2. Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree (PS4/5, Xbox, PC)
Shadow of the Erdtree adds tens of hours, more creatively disturbing foes and yet more fascinatingly defiled locations to FromSoftware’s peerless realm.
1. Astro Bot (PS5)
A cute blue-and-white robot and his hundreds of little friends romp across a galaxy of fun-packed planets.