Ender Magnolia: Bloom in the Mist proudly carries its predecessor’s legacy into a new era of metroidvania, with enhanced gameplay, improved audiovisuals, and refined storytelling. It’s a near-perfect action platformer that captivates with its immersive world and engrossing tale.
Visual novels often rely purely on audio and narration to draw their readers into the game. S4U: CITYPUNK 2011 AND LOVE PUNCH, however, borrows from text-driven typing games to create a physically immersive experience. Its mechanics blur the lines between you and the game, letting you fully appreciate its story and audiovisuals despite the separation between you and the protagonist.
Strinova is a truly excellent shooter with innovative mechanics like stringification and diverse character designs, delivering a fresh and tactical experience. While its visuals and audio are top-notch, the game is held back slightly by its limited content and gameplay variety, reflective of its early stage. Generous monetization policies and free-to-play accessibility make it a standout value for players.
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl nails it with a gripping story, breathtaking visuals, and gameplay that keeps you thinking at every step—because if you don’t, you'll likely just keel over and die. Sure, it turns into a walking simulator now and then, but with audio so good it feels like the mutants are auditioning for your nightmares, who cares? At $59.99, it’s practically a steal.
Empire of the Ants offers a surprisingly fun and visually stunning journey into the daily struggles of an ant colony, from gathering resources to battling rival insects. While the story is simple, it fits the game’s purpose, and the gameplay takes creative liberties to keep things engaging, even if movement can be a bit frustrating. The visuals are breathtaking, immersing players in a larger-than-life world, while the audio adds an immersive (if sometimes repetitive) layer to the experience.
AWAKEN - Astral Blade is an excellent metroidvania that will surely turn heads upon its release. Not only does it look great, but it also plays incredibly well and has a very engaging story to boot. It’s the kind of game that’s hard to drop once you start playing, as it maintains its captivating pace consistently, leaving only very few moments to rest at very opportune moments.
Card-en-Ciel is a roguelite deckbuilder that teeters on the edge of feeling more like a rhythm game. Its audiovisuals are so peppy and animated that it’s hard to associate them with the dark tones roguelikes and roguelites usually embrace. In fact, the audio is so well-developed that there are 300 unique cards with voices that can interact with each other, as well as 50 distinct, mechanically important songs! Unfortunately, the story delivery leaves a lot to be desired, and the game can become repetitive rather quickly. It’s also rather expensive for what it offers.
Aside from decent audiovisuals, finding words beyond “average” to describe this game is almost as tough as 1cc’ing Perfect Cherry Blossom’s Phantasm stage—and trust me, I’ve done that. It’s no longer a roguelike or even a roguelite anymore, either. In many ways, it’s a direct downgrade from its predecessors, which were much better games with a lot more heart.
Diablo 4’s first major expansion, Vessel of Hatred, aims to breathe new life into the series’ latest installment. It’s packed with content, but… that’s really all there is to it. Essentially, it’s just more of the same Diablo 4, with a few tweaks arriving a couple of seasons too late. When you consider it as a DLC and weigh it against its $40 price tag, especially given that the base game already costs $70 and includes microtransactions, Vessel of Hatred falls short of providing enough value to justify its overly saturated monetization model.
Throne and Liberty is an attempt at a unique MMO that succeeds late in the game. That is, if you can get to that point. Unfortunately, the onboarding process, which the game calls its main story, takes just enough time to make you contemplate dropping it at certain points. It’s also lacking any compelling reasons to get you immersed in its lore. Then again, the game is very, very pretty, make no mistake.
Despite the name, there's nothing nano about NanoApostle—except for its pint-sized hero. This boss rush game packs a punch, delivering fast-paced action that'll have you feeling like a weapon of destruction. But it’s not all blood and guts flying around. The game stays grounded in its emotional core, crafting a heartfelt story of friendship and survival between two friends who will never be together—as well as a third. If you’re after a solid, no-nonsense action RPG that gets straight to the point, NanoApostle should definitely be on your radar.
I can’t imagine anyone giving Lollipop Chainsaw RePOP less than a solid 7/10. It’s an absolute blast—full of over-the-top violence and vulgar humor—and it doesn’t shy away from that label. The only real way to experience it is through Original Mode, where all the gore, crude language, and wild themes are fully intact. It’s a game that throws caution to the wind, ignoring the usual “appropriate” narrative structures common discourse seems to think are always required to fully embrace its campy, chaotic vibe.
EVOTINCTION is a solid stealth game with well-executed hacking mechanics and an intriguing plot. It really shines in its visual world-building, showcasing a highly-advanced setting through impressive stage design, sleek furniture, and futuristic tech that feels far beyond what we have in the 21st century. However, the story struggles with pacing issues, and while the gameplay is polished, it doesn’t do much to innovate beyond the typical stealth game formula. There’s definitely room for improvement; something this game sorely needs in order to stand out.
WHAT THE CAR? is a dynamic and entertaining racing(?) game featuring obstacles, jumping ropes, and cucumbers. It offers a wide variety of levels and themes that’s only rivaled by the number of different car designs and quirks available for each stage. However, its real claim to fame is the community levels, which are full of wacky custom stages for everyone to get their feet on. You can even design your own levels and compete on the leaderboards!
Date A Live: Ren Dystopia continues the Date A Live series with another veritable banger of a visual novel. It features artwork from Idea Factory’s legendary former illustrator and now freelance artist Tsunako, as well as amazing voice work from some of the industry’s finest talents. While the story certainly isn’t friendly to newcomers, despite the game’s claims, it does carry on the spirit of the series very well. In fact, there’s so many routes and endings to go for in this game that you could very well just learn as you go.
WitchSpring R’s evolution from its humble mobile origins is an impressive achievement worthy of high praise. Every aspect has been significantly upgraded from the original game. Not only does it feature improved audiovisuals, but the narrative and gameplay have also greatly benefited from the game's development for PC and console platforms. Additionally, due to the game's accessibility, it is highly recommended for anyone even remotely interested in RPGs.
GUNDAM BREAKER 4 is a shockingly acceptable and genuine sequel to the acclaimed Gundam Breaker 3. However, that does not mean it is exceptional by any measure. In fact, the entire product feels too risk-averse to warrant any special attention. The only aspects in its favor are the Gundam Breaker series’ Gunpla assembly feature and its commendable audio. Otherwise, it is an unremarkable mecha game that feels more suited to the past than as a modern sequel to one of the best Gundam games released in the past decade.
Tales of Toyotoki is a story about life, companionship, tribulations, and romance, conveyed through the experiences of a group of well-developed characters, centered around a pair with unusual circumstances. It is a hilarious, romantic, and genuine tale whose simplicity in design allows the characters to shine through the narrative. But although it’s slightly expensive for a barebones visual novel, the experience of reading its magical story alone makes it well worth every cent.
Mediocrity achieved through an imbalance of content and aesthetics. Castaway is at an unfortunate place where it’ll inevitably be drowned out and forgotten due to a lack of anything noteworthy to remember it aside from its exceedingly short gameplay. Yes, it’s cheap, but so are other much more satisfying and complete games. In a way, it almost feels like it’s a demo being marketed as a complete game.
CyberCorp is an above average game severely weighed down by its general lack of excitement, novelty, and polish.And unfortunately, it’s competing in a genre dominated by a lot of exciting finds. It would take far too much time to fix everything missing from the game, but considering its early access state, CyberCorp has plenty of time to spare.