If you’ve played video games, you’ve encountered a handgun. In the right game, a handgun can be an object of menace or empowerment. But video games often treat them as a starter weapon to be replaced as soon as possible. What makes for a great video game handgun?

Dusk is a throwback first-person shooter that released earlier this year. Comparing it with another shooter, Strafe, shows that one of the most important factors in recapturing classic FPS magic is memorable level design.

In the 20+ years since the Fallout franchise was introduced to the world, all of the games have been met with praise—which means that ranking them isn’t easy. It’s especially difficult to pit the games against each other when you consider that the post-nuclear franchise underwent a genre change.

Destiny’s lore, famously, is housed in things like gun descriptions and collectibles. How does this affect the way we interact with and understand the game?

A big controversy within the Overwatch community this year revolved around the healer Mercy. Top players experienced hostility and harassment just for picking the character, and major Overwatch personalities derided the hero for supposedly having a low skill ceiling.

The crouch. One of humanity’s most basic movements. Humans have been crouching since they figured out that going to the bathroom standing up only worked half of the time, but in video games we sometimes need a little prompting.

Overwatch has technically only been out for a week, but it’s already a phenomenon. Even people who have never played Overwatch are getting sucked into its orbit through fan fiction, cosplay, memes and porn. That’s because Overwatch is not really a game as much as it’s an event.

Blizzard’s take on the class-based-shooter is so vibrant and full of personality, that each individual character has inspired its own army/fandom. And yet, some heroes are still better than others.

Most people can’t survive the hellish onslaught of Devil Daggers for more than 60 seconds. And if you watch this video, you’ll understand why.

Fallout 4 expects you to commit murder. While you can occasionally avoid killing others, the wasteland is ruthless and demands violence. That’s how Bethesda intended the game to be played, anyway—but clever players are finding ways around it.

I am in awe that anybody managed to figure this out.

It’s a harsh wasteland out there, fellow vault dwellers. Horrors can be found in every corner of the Commonwealth. Making it through Fallout 4 in one piece can be tough—especially at first. Thankfully, we’re here to help.

Watch as these players defy the laws of physics and turn jumping into an art form in Halo 5.

At face value, Far Cry Primal looks like an easy diversion for Ubisoft to take from its main line of militaristic shooters—a side project full of vicious animals instead of rifles and rocket launchers. I’d argue it’s something more than that. Primal is the apotheosis of the series’ post-Far Cry 2 design trends.

In the 100+ hours I’ve played Fallout 4, I’ve been a pretty heroic dude. Well...with one exception.

Two enemies lock eyes on the battlefield. One, a Rebel soldier. The other, an Imperial Stormtrooper. This can only end in one way.

Blink and you’ll miss one of the best easter eggs in Star Wars: Battlefront.

Overwatch’s giant hammer-wielding tank of a man Reinhardt has a powerful charge move that rockets him forward, catching any enemies caught in his path and dragging them along with him. Overwatch also has a lot maps with dangerous precipices to fall off of. You probably see where this is going.

A lot of gamers have been losing their shit recently because of Overwatch, which just went into closed beta and is already fantastic. You might be wondering: Hey, what does it look like to actually PLAY this game everyone’s so excited about? Wonder no more, my friend!