Vesper Codex

Tonight’s chapter

Hades II

Supergiant Games · 2025

A night garden of witchcraft, quick feet, and one more run that somehow still has something new to say.

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Epic

Roguelike action

Five traits. One editorial score.

9.1

Choose your game

Open the codex

The Codex

Hall of Legends

See the hall
  1. 1Baldur’s Gate 3Tactical RPG9.5
  2. 2Elden RingAction RPG9.1
  3. 3Hades IIRoguelike action9.1
  4. 4Sekiro: Shadows Die TwiceAction adventure9.1
  5. 5Clair Obscur: Expedition 33Turn-based RPG8.9
  6. 6Hollow Knight: SilksongMetroidvania8.8
  7. 7The Witcher 3: Wild HuntOpen-world RPG8.8
  8. 8Persona 5 RoyalTurn-based RPG8.7

November quest board

  • Evening

    Lies of P

    A focused night of practised encounters rather than a huge map.

  • Marathon

    Baldur’s Gate 3

    A weekend with friends who like talking as much as fighting.

  • Evening

    The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

    A misty evening of riding between villages and reading the fine print.

  • Evening

    Monster Hunter Wilds

    A group that wants a ritual, not a plot.

Grimoire

Rest at the campfire. Even a good chapter is better if you save and stop.

Verdicts in one line

Baldur’s Gate 3 — Bring a party, and leave time to argue about the next door. · 9.5 · Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice — Stand still long enough to hear the rhythm, then answer it. · 9.1 · Elden Ring — Leave the stubborn gate. The map is the mercy. · 9.1 · Hades II — Momentum first. The story arrives between the breaths. · 9.1 · Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 — Give it a quiet room. The picture does half the talking. · 8.9 · Persona 5 Royal — Make time for the people. The heist can wait an afternoon. · 8.7 · The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt — Follow the notice on the board. Stay for the person who posted it. · 8.8 · Hollow Knight: Silksong — Nimble, proud, and unwilling to explain itself twice. · 8.8 · Final Fantasy VII Rebirth — Say yes to the side road. The main plot will still be there. · 8.5 · Lies of P — Learn the duel. The street will make more sense afterwards. · 8.5 · Black Myth: Wukong — Come for the staff. Stay if you like learning a boss by heart. · 8.3 · Crimson Desert — Treat the horizon as the quest, not the marker. · 8.2 · Grim Dawn — The apocalypse is the setting. The character sheet is the hobby. · 8.1 · Monster Hunter Wilds — Read the creature before you commit the weapon. · 8.1 · Dishonored 2 — Look up. The door you were shown is rarely the only door. · 8.2 · Diablo IV — Excellent for a season. Less convincing as a forever habit. · 7.6 · Dragon’s Dogma 2 — Accept the rough edge. The pawn’s bad idea is sometimes the memory. · 7.5 · Marvel Rivals — Spectacular with a party. Ordinary if everyone queues alone. · 7.0

Elden Ring

9.1

A wide, quiet country where the next landmark is usually a better plan than the fight in front of you.

Players who like to wander until a build suggests itself.

or

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice

9.1

A duel that teaches you the beat, then trusts you to keep it when the swords get longer.

An evening when you want one hard conversation, repeated until it clicks.

Codex plates

Painted plates for the shelf. Original pictures, not publisher screenshots.

Hidden gems

04 / Choose

Surprise me

One game from the shelf, chosen when you ask. It stays until you ask again.

How we scored

18 editorial reviews. Each column counts the games in that band.

  • 4

    9.0+

  • 6

    8.5–8.9

  • 5

    8.0–8.4

  • 3

    Below 8.0

Read the method

Letter from the desk · November 2026

Choose the kind of attention you actually have

November on this shelf is about repetition with a point. Some games ask you to learn a duel. Others ask you to keep a promise to a companion. The useful first question is which of those you can offer tonight.

If you want a misty ride between human problems, The Witcher 3 still earns the evening. If you want the repetition to be the pleasure, Sekiro makes the lesson obvious: hear the beat, then answer it. Baldur’s Gate 3 is the one to open with other people, provided you agree when to stop.

The score can narrow the shelf. It cannot choose your mood. Watch the publisher’s trailer, read one field guide, then pick the game whose demand fits the hours you have. Leave room to save.

— The Vesper Codex desk

FAQ

  • Who writes the scores?

    Vesper Codex is an independent editorial shelf. The score is our judgement of a game as an evening’s company, not a player poll and not a store ranking.

  • What are the five traits?

    Combat, world, story, craft, and replay. Combat is a quarter of the score. World, story, and craft are a fifth each. Replay is the remaining slice. The same weights are used for every game.

  • What do the card tiers mean?

    Legendary is 9.2 or higher. Epic starts at 8.5. Rare starts at 8.0. Anything below that is Standard. The tier is a shelf label, not a prize.

All questions