Alex Varankou
The Plucky Squire has a nice art style and some clever tricks with shifting between two different perspectives on the world, though ultimately this storybook will appeal to younger players the most.
As an entertaining, accessible, and polished 3D platformer, Astro Bot offers plenty of variety in both visuals and gameplay, delivering a lively space adventure with plenty of PlayStation references.
Dustborn grabs the generic modern day adventure game formula and adds a bunch of cliché and often annoying characters, a subpar story, some low-grade music, along with a heavy-handed dose of politics front and center, resulting in a middling and overlong road trip that's more concerned about its poorly delivered message than anything else.
World of Goo 2 picks up right where the original game left off, offering more levels and entertaining conundrums to construct your way out of. It's no longer the unique physics puzzler that it once was, but the mechanics have proven to be timeless.
Given its low price, Nobody Wants to Die may be worth checking out for the visual style and unique atmosphere, but the basic gameplay and underwhelming story make for a forgettable adventure.
More a cyberpunk city creation tool than a game in the traditional sense, Dystopika can offer a brief distraction - or awaken the urban architect within you. Either outcome seems fair for its low asking price.
Until Then has an interesting art style and some decent writing, but mundane pacing, limited interactivity and contrived, poorly delivered drama make for a forgettable adventure.
XDefiant is a solid multiplayer shooter that may not surpass the leaders of the genre anytime soon, but it proves to be a notably alluring, free alternative.
Duck Detective: The Secret Salami is a charming adventure, with a good art style and some fun but occasionally wily puzzling. It may be very brief, but it's also quite lowly priced.
Senua's Saga: Hellblade II keeps the basics intact, and while a strong lead character, great animations, and simple but enjoyable combat continue to deliver, the poor pacing and performance issues prevent this sequel from breaking free of its past.
More a brief collectathon than a worthwhile adventure, Little Kitty, Big City is a somewhat charming but ultimately forgettable feline trek to get back to taking a nap.
With dull gameplay, conflicting art styles, stiff dialogue and a weak ending, Indika is a philosophy-infused discussion of religion that's unable to carry its burdens.
Stellar Blade is a mostly enjoyable action game with solid combat, strong presentation, and good enemy designs. Its scantily clad heroine is not very interesting, and neither is the story, but there is enough here to warrant a peek.
Close quarters action games are already stressful enough - but piling on roguelike elements, and having to watch basic AI try to execute on your elaborate plans, makes for a tactical game that's often as frustrating as it is satisfying. There is plenty of content here, but only for a rather specific audience.
Children of the Sun is a dark and engaging puzzle that successfully transports familiar mechanics into a fresh setting at the speed of a flying bullet.
South Park: Snow Day is an authentic adaptation that has a couple of decent ideas, but the drab combat and a short runtime leave it stuck in a snowbank, to be rescued only by the faithful fans of the show.
Rise of the Ronin is a case where more isn't always better. It's got varied and challenging combat, a wealth of content, and a wide variety of mechanics in a story that spans over a decade. But while most of the individual components work, many feel unrefined, and their sheer volume doesn't elevate the experience.
Minami Lane is a nice-looking, bite-sized town management game that offers an engaging slice of gameplay for a very low price.
Skull and Bones may have survived the turbulent seas of its long voyage to release, but the end result is a game that's barely kept afloat by its solid sailing mechanics, while the uninspiring content, underwhelming presentation, and poor multiplayer design punch far too many holes in the hull.
Helldivers 2 offers some chaotic and entertaining moments in the early stages, as you hop between planets with friends, call in devastating strikes, and spreading democracy. But as the hours begin to accumulate, increasing difficulty levels unravel some of the annoying design decisions, and along with persistent connectivity problems, it seems that the game could have used more prep time.