An endearing fantasy adventure driven by a more puzzle-led variation of Papers, Please's border checks. It may lack the moral greyness of its source material, but this is still a winsome tale about the rippling effect of everyday decisions.
There are a few lingering bugs here, but for the most part, Solium Infernum is a devilishly tricky backstab simulator that's rich with strategic possibility. Its handful of solo scenarios are meaty and challenging, but the long tail here is definitely in its multiplayer.
A clever roguelike card game about cheating your way to victory, Balatro is a generous and mesmeric take on poker with endless strategic possibilities.
Late-game fiddliness spoils what is otherwise a vibrant and always interesting Metroidvania, whose emphasis on growth, connection and (tripping out on mad monsters) make it one of the most sumptuous games of 2024 so far.
There are simple pleasures to be found in Palworld's enormous list of crafting tasks, but look beyond its base building and its world, monster taming and combat all feel quite stale and undercooked.
Definitely the lesser trilogy in Capcom's long-standing lawyer 'em up series, but among the gimmicks and gadgetry there are still plenty of highlights to be found here, and Spirit Of Justice is up there with Ace Attorney's best.
Fearless but intensely friendly, Prince Of Persia: The Lost Crown is a deep and challenging Metroid-like with some of the best platforming this side of Moon's Ori games.
A decent plot mired in game-breaking bugs and a tedious, repetitive time-loop, In Stars And Time is more frustrating than it is fun.
Its focus on balancing your economy's scales rather than turning a profit means the stakes are never that high in SteamWorld Build, but this is still a strong and distinctive twist on the upstairs/downstairs loop that made SteamWorld Dig so enticing a decade ago.
A short and sweet turn-based RPG that has a lot of bite to its story and whose music will have you harking back to the Final Fantasy glory days, but its battles are too much of a cakewalk to leave much an impression.
It won't challenge you in any shape or form, but Loddlenaut is a feel-good, low-stakes ocean clean-up adventure that scratches that PowerWash itch with charm and characterful precision.
The next great roguelike deckbuilder has arrived. Cobalt Core takes everything you love about FTL, Into The Breach and Slay The Spire and blends it all into a moreish, tactical puzzle loop that just keeps on giving. It's wonderful.
Reprising its engrossing mix of chewy puzzles and deep philosophising about the nature of human experience, The Talos Principle 2 raises the bar yet again with its playful approach to problem-solving, and asks how we fit into the wider machinations of the world at large.
Alan Wake 2 is a stylistic tour de force and one of the most unique and confident horror games in recent years. It might not hit every beat perfectly, but Remedy's daft and over the top sense of humour help bring much-needed levity to its genuine thrills and jump scares.
A heartfelt, winsome platformer that doesn't require any knowledge of League Of Legends to enjoy, Song Of Nunu is a simple, but pure kind of delight.
A charming mash-up of golf and pool that's stuffed with great ideas, but is a touch slow in revealing its best to keep you coming back for more.
A small but perfectly formed puzzle game about building tiny cities on even tinier boards that keeps you coming back for more.
A beautifully written tale about loss, friendship and the ties that bind us together, set in a sumptuous oceanic post-apocalypse. It might not quite stick the ending, but it's the many journeys you'll take getting there, not the final destination, that really make Saltsea Chronicles sing.
Tedious crafting, soulless resource gathering and one long spiderweb of dull, interlocking fetch quests make Mineko's Night Market even less fun than paying off your Tom Nook mortgage loan.
An intriguing blend of Persona, coffee brewing and reverse tower defence dungeons that doesn't quite cohere into a tasty whole.