#6: Helldivers 2

Some games are overwhelming in their scope and intricacy; others, like Helldivers 2, are pretty straightforward but manage to get a ton of mileage out of doing a few things extremely well. Arrowhead Game Studios managed to take a very simple idea—shooting tons of aliens in open fields—and turn it into one of the most tense, funny, and memorable experiences of the year. Other multiplayer games might get in their own way, clogging up the gameplay-to-fun pipeline with all sorts of unnecessary and overcomplicated junk. Not Helldivers 2

While it’s stayed fresh for almost a full year now thanks to a scary cadence of new updates, patches, and immersive in-game storytelling and content drops, the core appeal is the same as it was on day one: drop down onto a planet, meet some randos, and run, laugh, die together. No other game in recent memory has made scraping through hell and high water feel quite so exhilarating, earned, and enduringly surprising no matter how many times you keep doing it. Helldivers 2 is precise, punchy, and endlessly entertaining. It’s a masterclass in modern live-service gaming, but with all of the heart, artistry, and joy of an old-school arcade classic. — Ethan Gach