I always found it a funny, confusing answer, but this fifth entry in The Dark Pictures horror anthology, with its grating performances, rote stealth sequences, and signs of an aging formula, makes me realize I can relate; I like the idea of this anthology more than I actually like playing its games.

In Directive 8020, developer Supermassive Games takes us to outer space for the first time in the series. Following stories focused on a cursed shipwreck, New England witchcraft, monster-infested caves, and a modern slasher inspired by H.H. Holmes, the latest one-off title is heavily inspired by two giants of its genre: Alien and John Carpenter's The Thing. A crew of heroes-to-be surveys a potential new home planet for humanity, Tau Ceti f, before a disaster leaves them stranded on it with an alien organism that can steal organic likenesses, such as human faces and bodies.

Mixtape is the second effort from Beethoven & Dinosaur, a small Australian team that includes some former rockstars who pivoted to game dev and brought their love for music with them. In it, you play the music-obsessed Stacey Rockford, whose headphones may as well be an organic appendage. Inspired by movies like Superbad and the works of John Hughes, the driving force of the '90s-set story is Stacey's attempt to make it to a killer beach party with her best pals Slater and Cassandra in tow.

The morning after this party, Stacey is off to chase her dream as a music supervisor--basically a professional mixtape maker for Hollywood projects--so this is her and her friends' last hurrah together, whether they're ready for life to drag them into adulthood and see them go their separate ways or not. While relatively small, these stakes are deeply relatable, revealing a lot of big, honest emotions across the four-hour runtime.

Mixtape is the second effort from Beethoven & Dinosaur, a small Australian team that includes some former rockstars who pivoted to game dev and brought their love for music with them. In it, you play the music-obsessed Stacey Rockford, whose headphones may as well be an organic appendage. Inspired by movies like Superbad and the works of John Hughes, the driving force of the '90s-set story is Stacey's attempt to make it to a killer beach party with her best pals Slater and Cassandra in tow.

The morning after this party, Stacey is off to chase her dream as a music supervisor--basically a professional mixtape maker for Hollywood projects--so this is her and her friends' last hurrah together, whether they're ready for life to drag them into adulthood and see them go their separate ways or not. While relatively small, these stakes are deeply relatable, revealing a lot of big, honest emotions across the four-hour runtime.

In Tides of Tomorrow, you play as a Tidewalker, an individual who can see glimpses of the past. These visions always involve the actions of other Tidewalkers, creating a network of individuals who can all learn from each other. Fished from the ocean, you find yourself in a world that's been flooded, restricting civilization to makeshift island towns and repurposed oil rigs. A sickness is also worming its way through the population, slowly causing people to transform into plastic. You count yourself among the infected, quickly learning that only the regular consumption of a medicine known as ozen keeps you from turning completely into plastic and dying.

You play through the game in first-person as a largely silent individual who only speaks when prompted to with a dialogue option. Other than your supernatural sight, you move through the world simply--running, crouching, jumping. In certain locations, you can open your sight to see what a Tidewalker--who, like your Tidewalker, is also controlled by another human player--did there, allowing you to lean on the knowledge you glean to better move through the world. A bouncer who welcomed in a Tidewalker the previous day will allow you inside the club if you also offer up to them the same alias, for example, and seeing a Tidewalker hide some ozen in a grate lets you then nab it for yourself.

In Tides of Tomorrow, you play as a Tidewalker, an individual who can see glimpses of the past. These visions always involve the actions of other Tidewalkers, creating a network of individuals who can all learn from each other. Fished from the ocean, you find yourself in a world that's been flooded, restricting civilization to makeshift island towns and repurposed oil rigs. A sickness is also worming its way through the population, slowly causing people to transform into plastic. You count yourself among the infected, quickly learning that only the regular consumption of a medicine known as ozen keeps you from turning completely into plastic and dying.

You play through the game in first-person as a largely silent individual who only speaks when prompted to with a dialogue option. Other than your supernatural sight, you move through the world simply--running, crouching, jumping. In certain locations, you can open your sight to see what a Tidewalker--who, like your Tidewalker, is also controlled by another human player--did there, allowing you to lean on the knowledge you glean to better move through the world. A bouncer who welcomed in a Tidewalker the previous day will allow you inside the club if you also offer up to them the same alias, for example, and seeing a Tidewalker hide some ozen in a grate lets you then nab it for yourself.

You're given very little to go on as Saros begins. On the planet of Carcosa, communication with the colony ships Echelon I, II, and III has been lost. Echelon IV and its emergency crew are sent to investigate. In addition to a pilot, crew commander, and engineer, the team also includes four armed Enforcers for reconnaissance and security purposes. Protagonist Arjun Devraj is one of these Enforcers, though that number has dwindled to two by the time you take control. With thousands of colonists missing, members of the emergency crew losing their minds, and Arjun able to come back from the dead, you're just as lost as the characters are when it comes to figuring out just what the hell is going on.

What you do know is that the Echelon program was sent to Carcosa by the Soltari corporation due to the presence of Lucenite, a compound with vast energy potential. Soltari is essentially Alien's Weyland-Yutani in all but name, placing Lucenite extraction above all else in the chase for trillion-dollar profits. This creates friction between the crew and those loyal to the company, especially Arjun, who also has personal reasons for being there. He knows someone who was on board Echelon I, so there's an impassioned determination behind his words and actions, even as he struggles to piece together the mysterious circumstances he finds himself in.

You're given very little to go on as Saros begins. On the planet of Carcosa, communication with the colony ships Echelon I, II, and III has been lost. Echelon IV and its emergency crew are sent to investigate. In addition to a pilot, crew commander, and engineer, the team also includes four armed Enforcers for reconnaissance and security purposes. Protagonist Arjun Devraj is one of these Enforcers, though that number has dwindled to two by the time you take control. With thousands of colonists missing, members of the emergency crew losing their minds, and Arjun able to come back from the dead, you're just as lost as the characters are when it comes to figuring out just what the hell is going on.

What you do know is that the Echelon program was sent to Carcosa by the Soltari corporation due to the presence of Lucenite, a compound with vast energy potential. Soltari is essentially Alien's Weyland-Yutani in all but name, placing Lucenite extraction above all else in the chase for trillion-dollar profits. This creates friction between the crew and those loyal to the company, especially Arjun, who also has personal reasons for being there. He knows someone who was on board Echelon I, so there's an impassioned determination behind his words and actions, even as he struggles to piece together the mysterious circumstances he finds himself in.

You're given very little to go on as Saros begins. On the planet of Carcosa, communication with the colony ships Echelon I, II, and III has been lost. Echelon IV and its emergency crew are sent to investigate. In addition to a pilot, crew commander, and engineer, the team also includes four armed Enforcers for reconnaissance and security purposes. Protagonist Arjun Devraj is one of these Enforcers, though that number has dwindled to two by the time you take control. With thousands of colonists missing, members of the emergency crew losing their minds, and Arjun able to come back from the dead, you're just as lost as the characters are when it comes to figuring out just what the hell is going on.

What you do know is that the Echelon program was sent to Carcosa by the Soltari corporation due to the presence of Lucenite, a compound with vast energy potential. Soltari is essentially Alien's Weyland-Yutani in all but name, placing Lucenite extraction above all else in the chase for trillion-dollar profits. This creates friction between the crew and those loyal to the company, especially Arjun, who also has personal reasons for being there. He knows someone who was on board Echelon I, so there's an impassioned determination behind his words and actions, even as he struggles to piece together the mysterious circumstances he finds himself in.

Oftentimes, expectations and promises only pave the way for disappointment. Fortunately, that's not the case with Lord of Hatred. Diablo IV's latest expansion triumphs at maintaining the series' momentum while also delivering a powerful gut punch of a third act--one that weaves together years of events and lore to create the series' most-compelling narrative to date. Lord of Hatred offers both a spectacular conclusion to the Hatred Saga and plenty of changes that grant it greater longevity than ever before, including two powerhouse classes, plenty of improvements, and strong endgame content.

Lord of Hatred picks up not long after the events of Vessel of Hatred, which ultimately saw Mephisto take over the body of Akarat--a messiah-like figure in the Diablo universe. Through using Akarat's kindly visage, his own manipulative tactics, and performing "miracles," Mephisto has quickly managed to convince much of Sanctuary's population that he is a force for good--one who possesses the power to not only purify their lands, but their very souls as well. Even the most cunning of warriors find themselves in his thrall, their desperation for a better world ultimately contorting them into gullible disciples. As such, you, The Wanderer, and your faithful companions, Lorath and Neyrelle, come to be viewed as dissenting pariahs. And the fact that a demon's blood flows through your veins certainly doesn't help your case against the fraudulent prophet.

Oftentimes, expectations and promises only pave the way for disappointment. Fortunately, that's not the case with Lord of Hatred. Diablo IV's latest expansion triumphs at maintaining the series' momentum while also delivering a powerful gut punch of a third act--one that weaves together years of events and lore to create the series' most-compelling narrative to date. Lord of Hatred offers both a spectacular conclusion to the Hatred Saga and plenty of changes that grant it greater longevity than ever before, including two powerhouse classes, plenty of improvements, and strong endgame content.

Lord of Hatred picks up not long after the events of Vessel of Hatred, which ultimately saw Mephisto take over the body of Akarat--a messiah-like figure in the Diablo universe. Through using Akarat's kindly visage, his own manipulative tactics, and performing "miracles," Mephisto has quickly managed to convince much of Sanctuary's population that he is a force for good--one who possesses the power to not only purify their lands, but their very souls as well. Even the most cunning of warriors find themselves in his thrall, their desperation for a better world ultimately contorting them into gullible disciples. As such, you, The Wanderer, and your faithful companions, Lorath and Neyrelle, come to be viewed as dissenting pariahs. And the fact that a demon's blood flows through your veins certainly doesn't help your case against the fraudulent prophet.