While not the most innovative in its genre, Diplomacy is Not An Option takes a solid focus on traditional tower defense and wave-survival city building, challenging you to manage resources and build a mighty castle to survive against huge, statistically varied hordes of enemies.
KILL KNIGHT is an exciting bullet hell romp that challenges you to master its mechanics and descend through the circles of hell, prompting you with greater difficulties and higher scores to beat as you go.
Ravenswatch is my new favorite roguelike game, and a title I’m going to be spending a lot of time with in the future. Absolutely packed with cool ideas, from the game’s setting to the philosophy behind its mechanics, Ravenswatch is sure to become one of your favorites, too, if you give it a chance.
Mouthwashing is a masterclass in psychological horror, featuring phenomenal writing and striking imagery that is sure to leave you awed, inspired, and utterly terrified.
Bloomtown: A Different Story is an excellent combination of creature capture and JRPG. Though the writing moves fast and can leave you wanting more dedicated character development, the game features fun mechanics, excellent art, a phenomenal soundtrack, and a super interesting setting that will make the game a new cult classic.
The Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster is a remarkably faithful, graphically impressive remaster of an original classic. The phenomenal RE engine brings the game to life, and QoL improvements make the game much more fun to play, though unnecessary censorship of original content and the missed opportunity of including combo weapons holds the game back just a bit for me.
Though Final Fantasy XVI departs from the franchise formula, it still maintains so much of what makes Final Fantasy such a beloved franchise. It has easily become one of my new favorite entries in the series. The game does its own thing, and while I do miss some classic Final Fantasy RPG elements, I certainly enjoy the cinematic action Final Fantasy XVI has to offer.
Frostpunk 2 does exactly what a sequel should do. It excels in all the ways the original game did while increasing the scale and adding even more. It is an excellent expansion on everything we loved about Frostpunk and delivers a new, utterly unique experience and story, and one that fans of the original, as well as newcomers to the franchise, are sure to love.
The Plucky Squire is a brilliantly creative little game that will hook you with its unique presentation and phenomenally full-of-life art and reel you in with nostalgic gameplay and great characters. It is fun for all ages. I struggle to think of anyone who won’t find at least one thing they enjoy about The Plucky Squire, making it a game that is definitely worth checking out if it’s on your radar.
Copycat is a uniquely cat-perspective narrative game that tells a heartwarming and, at times, heart-wrenching story that cat lovers and owners should resonate with. However, it is a bit weak on the gameplay side and will often hold your hand and guide you through the story it wants you to experience.
Hollowbody is the best horror game of the year, standing out with its remarkably good use of tension and incredible atmosphere. Clocking in at about three hours, your short time with this game will surely be memorable, tense, and terrifying.
Caravan SandWitch is a relaxing game about exploring, discovering old ruins and vibrant landscapes, and helping the planet’s communities A road trip across a long-forgotten yet strangely cheerful sci-fi planet, it’s hard to think of a better game to play to shut your brain off and relax after a long day.
Age of Mythology: Retold is a faithful remaster of a classic RTS game, featuring improved graphics, UI, and great quality of life changes. Whether you’re new to the franchise or a returning fan, this buffed-up classic is worth checking out.
Though weak in some places, The Casting of Frank Stone is still a good story set in the Dead By Daylight universe and left me excited for the possibility of more games and stories coming out in this setting.
Spectre Divide stands out from other games in the genre, making it a solid competitor for the crown of Tactical Shooter King, at least to someone like me who doesn’t know much about the genre itself.
Warhammer 40k: Space Marine 2 is a game for fans of the franchise and newcomers alike, providing great cinematic action gameplay and genuine fun that can be experienced alone or with a group. It’s my favorite game of the year so far, and try as I might, I can’t find anything to complain about. It’s just plain good.
Crypt Custodian takes a relatively dark plot and makes it whimsical, showing an at-times scary yet mostly wholesome version of the afterlife. With solid, familiar Metroidvania mechanics, great art, and fun characters, Crypt Custodian is sure to win you over.
Though I have criticisms about the game’s writing and mechanics, Star Wars Outlaws does an incredible job of immersing you in the Star Wars universe and will keep you at least somewhat invested in its storytelling. If you’re a fan of the Star Wars formula and want an open-world game set in the Outer Rim, Star Wars Outlaws is the game for you.
Farewell North is a heartwarming game that shows, in a literal sense, how a beloved pet can bring the light back in our darkest moments.
Tactical Breach Wizards uses great writing, genuinely well-executed humor, and subversive takes on genre gameplay and pairs it with a super unique setting to make what is one of my favorite new titles.