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In the end, I think Harold Halibut ought to be experienced for its amazing technical achievement, if nothing else. While its gameplay doesn’t always engage, its narrative, characters, and themes are coherent in the manner of good speculative fiction. Both Harold the character and Harold Halibut the game are weird, wonderful, and quite unlike anything we’ve seen this year.
In the end, Withering Rooms’ somewhat clunky and graceless combat is not enough to seriously detract from what it does well. Withering Rooms looks unlike any recent game in the genre. Its setting is haunting and haunted and its blend of roguelike, puzzle, and action mechanics guarantees variety. It’s a compelling choice for fans of action games with more than a dash of horror.
Broken Roads delivers an engaging exploration of competing ethical systems in the guise of a CRPG. A respectful and authentic setting and characters sweeten the deal, making philosophy fun. The writing is mostly spot-on and entertaining. All that is good news for fans of the genre. Less successful: the game’s awkwardly blended or superficial combat and RPG mechanics. They’re not great, but they don’t seriously undermine the core of what makes Broken Roads unique.
Highwater understands its limitations. It’s not a game that tries to do too much and fails. Some aspects work well, like the world-building, premise, and combat. But I wanted to be told less, and discover more. Given a bigger budget and less restrictive, more open-ended gameplay, Highwater could be a standout in a crowded field. Highwater has good intentions, but it needs a team of writers who understand character and dialogue a little better, and that showing is better than telling.
This PC release is the definitive version of Horizon Forbidden West. It looks fantastic, runs brilliantly, and tells one of the more compelling action RPG stories I’ve yet played. Aloy and friends are great characters, and the Horizon world is enticing by design. It’s not smashing through genre barriers by any means, but the systems are expertly balanced and exciting to engage with. It stands toe to toe with the best open world games of all time, and Guerrilla’s trajectory suggests their next effort will be even better.
While I would have liked a little more focus on the interesting story that bubbles underneath, the intoxicating gameplay will sink its seedy hooks deep into your psyche, ensuring countless hours of adrenaline-fueled excitement.
Botany Manor is all in all an excellent choice for cozy gamers who enjoy gardening and puzzles. It offers a smooth and relaxing gameplay experience that is sure to appeal to both veterans and newcomers alike. It’s a cozy gamers dream and reprieve from a slew of farming simulators.
Overall, Pepper Grinder is a solid action platformer. It has a unique feature that helps set it apart from the rest, despite some points that still feel quite generic. Aside from some difficulty spikes, Pepper Grinder is relatively easy and short to get through. While sometimes games can feel a bit too short or too long, the game feels like it hits the right spot in terms of length. Sure, we’re starting to reach a point of saturation with indie 2D action platformers, but there is always room for innovative, fun experiences and Pepper Grinder fits that mould perfectly.
MLB The Show 24 doesn’t reinvent the wheel. Though, it never needed to. The Show has been an outstanding franchise for a long time. If anything, this year simply continues that tradition of excellence. The storylines are entertaining and insightful. Changes to the Diamond Dynasty mode ensure players won’t burn out in the early months of release. Most importantly, gameplay is once again a brilliant simulation of the actual sport. Kudos to San Diego Studio; it’s another homerun.
All in all, Saviorless is an intense experience that I recommend to fans of difficult platforming and metafiction. The controls are frustrating on purpose, the puzzles are merciless, and the atmosphere is designed to stress you out. But the narrative is fantastic, especially when it’s at war with itself.
There are quite a few zoo sims out there, ranging from pixel art constructions to Planet Zoo, which is definitely the ultimate game in the genre. For those without the requisite PC, the PS5 port does a generally outstanding job of translating the Planet Zoo experience to console. It’s genuinely educational, engaging, and addictive fun. I wish the new edition was just a bit more generous with content at launch, but there’s plenty there to work with. Animal and sim lovers should rejoice, Planet Zoo has arrived on consoles at last.
Nostalgia is a tricky business. Pixel art and chiptunes are all fine and good, but you need more than that to capture an era. You’ve gotta drill down, deep into the bedrock of bygone eras. Freedom Planet 2 is a perfect time capsule of Sega’s glory days, for better or for worse. The graphics are amazing and the soundtrack is incredible. But the dialogue is corny and the combat feels out of place. Maybe this is for the best. Perhaps you can’t properly emulate a lost era of gaming without preserving the flaws as well. Either way, this game feels like time travel. If you’re hungry for a high-speed platformer crammed with Sonic and Sega vibes, you can’t pass up Freedom Planet 2.
Bulwark: Falconeer Chronicles is an impressive solo achievement. Its disregard for traditional goals, victory conditions or game-limiting objectives makes Bulwark: Falconeer Chronicles stand out in a — pun intended — sea of builders. As a set of automated construction mechanics, the Freebuild Mode feels great. Sometimes the campaign scenarios sit uncomfortably in the middle, tasking players to discover how things work but not always giving them a clear, actionable goal. Fans of games like Townscapers will enjoy Bulwark very much, and players of more traditional RTS games will appreciate its fresh approach to the genre.
Though it packs plenty of nostalgia and a lovely art style, Open Roads lacks the most important part of a narrative adventure – at least for me – a memorable and impactful story. Genre regulars may want to take a chance as the time investment is low, but for my money I’d much rather replay What Remains of Edith Finch or even one of this team’s prior efforts like Tacoma.
I thought I was going to love Hi-Fi Rush, but I didn’t. There is the kernel of something interesting here. Maybe if they used house music and had the player blending tracks during attacks it might have been more musically engaging. It’s a game that would have worked much better for me in arcade-y, short bursts, because playing through the levels was a slog. The gameplay is so simple that it actually might work well as an intro action game for someone new to the genre. But there are way better rhythm games, and way better third person action games out there. I know a lot of people love Hi-Fi Rush, so if you’re curious I would still give it a chance, but my experience was underwhelming.
All of my complaints about the Grandia HD Collection are nitpicks. These are two great, classic JRPGs, with a lighthearted tone, and unique combat system that makes them stand out amongst their contemporaries. They’re both long JRPGs, and almost cost half the price of a new release. The Grandia HD Collection is an excellent value for anyone who’s a fan of the genre. And it’s a great entry point for anyone curious about retro JRPGs.
South Park: Snow Day by no means lives up to its predecessors. Still, it manages to be worthwhile for those invested in the franchise.
Snufkin Memories of Moominvalley is a wholesome adventure with a clear message of environmental protection. It gives us a fresh take on the tale of human greed as a disruptor of nature. A truly stunning homage to the work of Tove Jansson and the messages of friendship and respect in the story of Moominvalley.
The VR gaming landscape has changed a lot in the last couple of years. When Operations Serpens first came out, it probably made a bigger splash. Nowadays, VR vets expect more from their games, even retro ones like this. Operation Serpens has a certain charm to it and if you are looking for a mindless retro arcade style shooter, this one should fit the bill for you.
Maybe this comes off as unfocused or contradictory. I had fun, but Showtime failed to hook me somehow. The stage variety is both a weakness and a strength. I like switching between concepts so frequently. But this comes with a cost, namely a depth deficiency. You’ve got tons of mechanics that take no time to learn. Stages oscillate between easy and enraging. There’s a giant list of collectibles that come in exactly two varieties. Even so, the raw concept is still cool. Giving Peach a whole closet full of roles is a great idea, albeit one I wanted more out of. If you give Princess Peach: Showtime! a chance, who knows? You might have a pretty good time.