ZombiU deserves your respect, if for no other reason than it rejects the current state of zombie-fueled horror games. While most games featuring the undead throw them at you nonstop and the human protagonists can survive a few bites here and there, ZombiU chooses to keep things truer to life (we think), making things far more difficult--and that’s both its blessing and its curse.

ZombiU celebrates survival horror’s past with one hit kills, tense inventory management, and constantly challenging players with much tougher zombies. Searching for supplies with the GamePad is often as frustrating (intentionally so) as it is thrilling, but ZombiU finds many interesting uses for the Wii U, and its creativity is enough to earn it a spot on our list.

Much like Wii Sports, Nintendo Land was created to be an inviting tech demo for Nintendo’s experimental new console. But that’s pretty much where the comparisons cease, because Nintendo Land is made to appeal to both the blue ocean of casual players as well as the millions of Nintendo junkies around the world. And though the 12 core minigames vary in quality, when Nintendo Land gets it right, it makes for great fun for up to five players.

Set in a virtual Nintendo theme park, each minigame is an attraction inspired by a different Nintendo franchise. The standouts of the bunch are intense versus battles like Animal Crossing: Sweet Day and Luigi’s Ghost Mansion, in addition to deeper co-op adventures like Metroid Blast and Pikmin Adventure. Even if some of the single-player challenges are too shallow, Nintendo Land is a great party game perfect for introducing your friends to your new console, and will keep you entertained long after they leave.

Little Inferno, at first, really looks like it's some sort of fireplace app, with light puzzle elements incentivizing you to toss specific things into the beautiful, inviting flames--but it's much more involving than that. Though the gameplay doesn’t really evolve much, there's something bubbling beneath the surface in Little Inferno, and… we're going to leave it at that. It's hard to explain what makes Little Inferno so good without spoiling the surprise, so you're just going to have to take our word on this one. But trust us when we say it’s more than tossing things in a fire.

Well, our word and the knowledge that it's developed by the people that made World of Goo and Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure--two of the most memorable puzzle games of the last generation. It's short, sweet, and absolutely whimsical. You're crazy if you don't give it a go.

The original Darksiders was a unique approach to the tried and true Zelda formula of dungeon exploration, but its sequel finally gave the Darksiders series its own identity. A massive action-adventure game with tons to explore and challenging enemies to battle, Darksiders II is about the journey of Death, a Horseman of the Apocalypse, and his attempt to prove the innocence of War, and along the way he collects a ton of loot.

Hitting the Wii U a few months after 360/PS3/PC, the port is remains one of the deeper adventures you’ll find on the console, particularly in the equipment department. The game uses the GamePad best when it comes to your loot inventory, mostly thanks to the touch screen streamlining the menus some. Other than that, the exclusive features are light, but that doesn’t detract from Death’s engrossing battles against angels, demons, and everything in-between.

We've heard you joking, saying, "someone should make Lego Grand Theft Auto!" whenever a new Lego game was announced. You never expected anyone to do it, did you? But then, all of a sudden, Traveller's Tales actually did it--and it was super good. Lego City: Undercover includes a massive city to explore and all the charm Lego games are known for, all without the M-rating open-world crime games usually get. Instead, it's a fun trip through a blocky city that anyone can enjoy, filled with things to build and people to save.

Exploring the world as Chase McCain is a ton of fun, and being able to change into eight different outfits to take on new jobs adds plenty of gameplay variety. Donning an astronaut costume will let you zoom around in a jetpack (because apparently astronauts have jetpacks), and dressing as a firefighter allows you to put out fires you find in the open-world. Though you'll likely miss co-op, which was oddly omitted from Lego City, there's a good chance you'll be distracted enough by the dozens of hours of content that you'll barely notice it's missing.

In case you were in a coma for the past 18 months, gamers around the world were treated to one of the greatest superhero games of all time in Batman: Arkham City. A sequel to the already ambitious Arkham Asylum, City carves out a big chunk of Gotham City for Batman to stalk, fighting crime and saving lives from the shadows. Everything we loved about the first game was expanded and improved, be it the combat, gadgets, enemies, and stealth navigation. This is a must play game whether you love Batman or not.

What makes Batman: Arkham City Armored Edition worth it? From a value standpoint, it’s appreciated that the game includes all the DLC that was available on other systems, and even if many uses of the GamePad are fairly shallow, you have to give the developers credit for adding more Wii U specific features than a majority of the launch ports. If you’ve missed the game until now, Armored Edition is a great way to finally experience it.

Scribblenauts Unlimited is easily the most ambitious game from developer 5th Cell to date, and the almost limitless options for creativity are grounded better than ever before. Despite the Scribblenauts series making a nice home for itself on pocket devices like the DS, 3DS, and iOS, transitioning to a console like the Wii U makes a ton of sense. In fact, Scribblenauts translates so well to the GamePad that you’ll have trouble settling for any of the portable iterations ever again.

Featuring clean and colorful HD visuals, Unlimited drops Maxwell and his magic notepad that can create anything into an open world full of people in need. Though you could treat it like one big playground, the real fun is in finding unnatural solutions to the residents’ problems, usually involving zombies, dinosaurs--or zombie dinosaurs if you prefer. Using the GamePad’s touch screen to control the game is the appealing, natural evolution for the series, and even though it’s aimed at kids, grown-ups will find much to enjoy in the best Scribblenauts game to date.

The Wii U’s launch lineup has been one of strongest in recent memory, thanks in no small part to launching with a brand new Mario game, which hasn’t happened since 1996. This time around Nintendo created a new entry in the well-loved retro franchise New Super Mario Bros. And believe us when we say it’s the best 2D Mario since the SNES days.

Inviting to new players while still being challenging, New Super Mario Bros. U has tons of interesting new enemies, clever stage design, and fresh approaches to classic Mario boss battles. NSMB U also offers a surprising amount of replay value thanks to engrossing minigames and levels packed with secrets. If you only have room in your budget for one game on the Wii U, it should be this one.