Trackmania 2: Lagoon is another great entry to the series, and if you’re a fan of tropical paradises and racing at breakneck speeds to shave seconds off your scores, it’s a great title. It offers a ton of content and a seemingly endless supply of user content, so there’s a lot to get into.
Impact Winter does some great things with the survival formula, and its focus on cooperation really forces you to think twice about your actions, but its technical issues on PC mean you’ll have to wait for some patches to get things in working order
It’s obvious that Akiba’s Beat is inspired by hit titles like Persona and to a lesser extent Tales Of, but it misses the mark and doesn’t manage to deliver what made those titles great. The story has its moments, but its bogged down by a wordy script and clichéd characters. The repetitive combat doesn’t help, and Akiba’s Beat goes down as another forgettable JRPG.
After waiting for more than 6 years for a sequel, you'd expect Tekken 7 to come back with the might of an iron fist, and Bandai Namco absolutely nailed that. A bit more serious than its predecessor, Tekken 7 is also more technical, precise and demanding without being less entertaining, thanks to its varied roster of characters. While it might not be the prettiest fighting game around in comparison to the current competitions, the rest works perfectly, especially the online modes which are for me the best in the genre so far. In short, Tekken 7 is a great competitive game for friends and rivals!
Probably the best anime-style fighter out there and one of the greats in the fighting game genre, Guilty Gear XRD Rev 2 delivers a robust fighter that takes some time to master but rewards that patience with some remarkably fluid fighting action and a diverse cast with a unique range of moves and special attacks. It’s not quite like anything else out there right now, and I definitely recommend it for fans of the genre
A capable RPG sitting atop a lackluster shmup, Drifting Lands is much more focused on the looting and upgrading than it is on sidescrolling shmup action. Fans of ARPGs who enjoy the sidescrolling shooter format might enjoy this one, but it’s a tough sell for purists who want a more varied shooter.
While it’s lighter on the scares than its big brothers in the horror genre, Perception ends up being much more memorable due to its well-crafted story and unique way of creating danger. Its central mechanic forces you to be careful and quiet, and its final chapter delivers a wallop that more than makes up for a slower start.
Housemarque has delivered another superb shooter with Nex Machina. It’ll have you dashing about, trying to save the humans and mowing down hordes of mechanical monsters. It’s a must for any fan of the genre, and its variety of modes will accommodate casual as well as hardcore fans
While it’s by no means a bad shooter, Demon’s Crystals doesn’t have much to offer to help it stand out from the pack. Its lack of content and somewhat repetitive nature make it a more ideal recommendation for shooter fans looking for a nice arcade shooter on sale
SUPERHOT VR is a totally new VR experience for the SUPERHOT world, and it’s amazingly well crafted. While the controls on PSVR can be a bit wonky, you’ll surely feel like you’re an action hero pulling off elaborate combos frame by frame. It’s not that long, but it has enough content to make for a really fun VR experience.
Supergiant Games delivers another unique, memorable title with Pyre. It manages to work on two totally separate levels, presenting a beautifully drawn fantasy virtual novel and a surprisingly complex twist on the classic game of football. Its story can be a little slow and a little bizarre, but it ends up having a lot of charm, and its core game is likely to become a local multiplayer classic
While some difficulty spikes make it frustrating, Sundered is a capable action metroidvania that deserves a look simply based on its incredible world. Lots of indie games try and create a bleak, desolate world that you need to sift through the ruins of, but Sundered creates surreal and often disturbing sights with real talent, and it’s a world you won’t soon forget
Theseus has some interesting ideas, and it manages to create an immersive atmosphere, but it doesn’t flesh out its concepts enough to create a full-fledged VR adventure title. It feels like it has some great ideas but it doesn’t explore them as much as it could have
Orcs Must Die! Unchained cleverly mixes action and strategy gaming to create a fun and light-hearted horde defense game. Its F2P implementation is subtle and works well, and the game is a great way to whittle away a few hours where you feel like killing something.
Nidhogg 2 offers plenty of new content for fans of the original, and while its new art style isn’t for everyone, the game manages to build on the original’s level design and make for much more challenging melees that test your reflexes and friendships.
White Day: A Labyrinth Named School offers gamers an updated version of a Korean survival horror classic. The jumpscares can be a little hackneyed, and the plot a little clichéd, but the game offers a surprisingly deep and unsettling experience to those who are patient and willing to deal with the occasional bug.
Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice manages to immerse its players in a scary and dangerous world, and it manages to effectively put them in the shoes of its troubled protagonist. The game has some great action, but its story makes it a gripping adventure that has a surprisingly accurate take on mental illness
Lawbreakers has some rough edges and it’s had a bit of a bumpy launch, but under the issues is a really solid arena FPS that has wacky, chaotic, and fun moments. It could use more players and some tweaking, but it has the makings of an FPS classic.
The Escapists 2 offers gamers a chance to be creative in the way they approach challenges, and in the sequel you have a chance to tackle challenges with friends. It can feel a bit grindy, but that’s very much intentional considering it’s meant to reflect the life of a convict trying to slip out.
Observer manages to construct a truly disturbing Orwellian reality and put the player at the heart of a sinister plot that’ll definitely creep them out. It borrows a lot from cyberpunk classics, and while it feels derivative at times, it manages to create its own cyberpunk experience and deliver a fresh take on horror gameplay