Baldur's Gate, The Legend of Zelda and Cocoon shine brightest in a stellar year for video games

It’s been a terrific year for video games. Developers hit their stride on the PlayStation 5 and Xbox X/S consoles, particularly with ambitious role-playing games like Baldur’s Gate III and Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty. Nintendo debuted two spectacular titles on its Switch, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and Super Mario Bros. Wonder. The Associated Press' Lou Kesten picks 10 of the year's best, including indie studios' offerings like the distinctive brain-teasers Cocoon and Chants of Sennaar. Marvel's Spider-Man romp provided the antidote to superhero fatigue. Rounding out the top 10 are the throwback fantasy Sea of Stars, the pirate adventure Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew and the science fiction epic Starfield.