Our 10 Favorite Moments Of The Generation

Lady Dimitrescu headlined Resident Evil Village up to launch but exploring the terrifying dollhouse of Donna Beneviento stole the show. Navigating the creepy dwelling is terrifying and evokes games like Resident Evil 7 and P.T. Alone and unarmed, you must unravel a series of puzzles in a deceptively mundane home surrounded by unsettling dolls and mannequin parts, constantly checking over your shoulder at every creak or groan convinced you’re not alone. When your worst fears are proven correct, it leads to one of the most disturbing and frightening hide-and-seek sequences in recent memory. 

Episode 3 of Life is Strange: True Colors features a surprising and entertaining change of pace. Alex agrees to partake in a townwide LARP (Live Action Role-Play for the unfamiliar), serving as the bard companion to her imaginative young friend, Ethan. The game takes this as seriously as its characters, shifting its entire gameplay style to that of a turn-based RPG. It’s incredibly charming and novel to cast fake spells, manage potions and mana, and watch your friends role-play as quest-givers and monsters. It’s also a heartwarming romp, given that the entire campaign is designed to help the struggling Ethan cope with the death of his father figure and Alex’s brother, Gabe. The adventure concludes with a bang thanks to an over-the-top final boss battle. 

Hitman III outdoes itself during its second mission at the lavish Dartmoor Manor. Agent 47 must assassinate Partners of Providence member Alexa Carlisle, who happens to be busy trying to solve the murder of her younger brother on the same day she planned to hold a funeral for her own, faked death. With several family members and staff on the scene, everyone’s a suspect, and players can hijack the identity of a hired detective to solve this Knives Out-style murder. 

Not only is the mystery intriguing, but solving it is fun and requires genuine detective work as you talk to suspects, cross-reference evidence, and hunt for clues throughout the brilliantly designed mansion until you nail the culprit. It’s wild to think that IO Interactive poured so much love into a totally optional quest. You can eliminate Alexa in various ways without engaging with the murder story at all. We recommended putting your detective hat on, though, as it’s arguably the best part of Hitman III. 

Returnal stars Selene, an astronaut trapped in the time-looping alien world of Atropos. Each time she dies, she’s reset to the moment she crash-lands on the planet and even encounters the corpses of her past lives. Given Returnal’s difficulty, reaching and conquering the third zone is often a long and brutal endeavor. But doing so allows Selene to contact Earth, where she is finally rescued. The game then treats players to a montage of Selene peacefully living out the remainder of her life back home until she dies of old age … and then reawakens on Atropos. The revelation that Selene remained bound to the loop even after all of that was shocking, and it kicks off an entire second act that has other major surprises in store.