Redneck Rampage: Far Cry 5 (Ubisoft, Xbox One, PS4, PC)
— Aliens, terrorists, zombies, Nazis, and even Nazi zombies make for tame, uncontroversial targets in typical shooting games, but the latest installment in the Far Cry series doesn’t play it safe. Judge this game by its cover and you’d think you were declaring war on a Duck Dynasty-style family of libertarian gun nuts. That’s not far off the mark. Your hero — a small-town sheriff’s deputy — is swept into a backwoods revolt against a doomsday cult of fundamentalist Christians. Known as the Project at Eden’s Gate and led by a crazy-eyed preacher, the cult was inspired by real-life homegrown militias, bitter clingers who praise God and pass the ammunition. The choice of cult preacher as a villain has some players complaining this game is too preachy; one online petition demanded that publisher Ubisoft change the enemies to Muslims, or at least make them less straight, white, and male.

Eden’s Gate cultists believe the end is nigh, so it’s your mission to usher in their demise before they drag the residents of Hope County, Montana, to kingdom come. True to the Far Cry formula, this sequel delivers an open-world sandbox filled with play-your-way missions mixed with a trip to the zoo. Take a break from bashing Bible thumpers to hunt deer, go fly-fishing in rivers and streams, and just take advantage of the game’s stunning recreation of Big Sky Country.

Joining you in your anti-jingoist jihad is your mutt, Boomer. He sinks his fangs into the cultists and even fetches their weapons. You can also hire snipers, pilots, and other mercs from a colorful cast of locals, or just go about each mission alone or with a friend online. Hope County’s wilderness is the largest yet seen in the series and completely open from the outset. Explore this great outdoors with a fleet of made-in-America muscle cars, ATVs, big rigs, and even puddle-jumping planes equipped with napalm to baptize the doomsday cultists in fire.

Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire (Obsidian, PC)
— If you spent your adolescence tossing 20-sided dice or skulking through PC-game dungeons, this loving homage to the time-sapping Baldur’s Gate series might be the only game you need this year. Multiple players set sail on their customizable ship to battle the gods of a mythical world.

Dark Souls Remastered (Bandai Namco Entertainment, Switch)
— Death lurks around every corner in this unforgiving hack-and-slash fantasy that tested the mettle of gamers when it first released in 2011. This deluxe edition for the Nintendo Switch has even more dangerous cultist enemies (“Praise the sun!”) and new dark spaces to explore. 

Devil May Cry HD Collection (Capcom, Xbox One, PS4, PC)
— The Devil May Cry series wins a permanent spot in the action-game hall of fame for its tragically hip antihero, Dante, the platinum-blond lovechild of an angel and a demon. This collection spiffs up the graphics and control of the first three installments. 

God of War (Sony, PS4)
— Gaming’s angriest Greek god converts to Norse mythology and works out his anger issues on a new pantheon of vengeful deities in this reboot of the edgy action franchise. Badass baldy Kratos is joined by his son and must teach him Cobra Kai-style lessons in striking hard and showing no mercy.