Editorial
An argument worth your time. Perspective on the games we play.
Watch the tiger before opening Planet Zoo 2's welfare panel
A thirsty tiger slumps, thriving animals live longer, and guests notice when a habitat is failing.
Private Park is the soldier to watch in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4
Price is hunting a superweapon; Park and his conscripted squad must retake their own cities.
Hitman's disguises are a social puzzle
At a Paris gala, Agent 47 studies what each uniform lets him do; Corvo faces a different riddle inside Lady Boyle's party.
In Outer Wilds and The Forgotten City, knowledge is the upgrade
A clue, rather than a sword or skill point, opens the next path in two memorable time-loop adventures.
Tiny Glade and Townscaper turn rules into building toys
These building toys make an algorithm feel less like a shortcut and more like a willing collaborator.
LEGO Batman turns familiar scenes into a playground
The best Batman adaptations give a familiar moment something new to do with the player in it.
How Celeste and Super Meat Boy make failure worth another go
A brutal jump becomes easier to face when the game makes its failed version useful.
Well Dweller wants its movement upgrades to change the whole map
A developer's self-critique of Crypt Custodian makes Well Dweller's glowing matchstick much more interesting.
How Into the Breach and Slay the Spire put danger in plain sight
Two modern classics reveal just enough of the next turn to turn chaos into a decision.
Hela's magic backpack needs to make its co-op world worth sharing
Hela's backpack gives every mouse a movement language. The question is whether its open world makes that language social.
Black Ops Cold War's evidence board gave its campaign room to think
Its evidence board asked players to collect, compare and decide before the next mission started.