If you like highly challenging rogue-like games with unique role-playing elements, Soulblight may be a game that scratches that masochistic itch that few games do. Its Taints system is different than any other roleplaying system that I have seen used before.
Perhaps the greatest challenge of every Warhammer 40,000 game is to capture the scope of a massive universe with fidelity to its rich content which has influenced countless sci-fi titles while adapting to the high expectations of modern gamers. In this regard, Warhammer 40,000 Inquisitor - Martyr fights a bloody battle, emerging victorious, but not unscarred. It is flawed and imperfect, but I adore it for what it is: a solid Warhammer 40,000 game which draws game mechanics from its source material and brings the grim darkness of the 41st millennium into a different medium.
Youropa came out of Early Access on June 27th and is just as charming as ever before. At $24.99 USD, its gorgeous landscape and mind-bending puzzle will keep you busy for hours as you make your way across a gravitationally-challenged Paris. Its gentle pacing and ambient music would make this relaxing experience if it weren't for the mental gymnastics required to think dimensionally!
If you like games like Terraria and Starbound but are looking for something new, Dig or Die is definitely worth your time. At $12 USD, it provides an incredibly challenging and new twist on the genre. But be advised: they aren't kidding about the dying part. You're going to do that… a lot. Don't be too proud to start out on easy mode. If you take my advice, you might just live long enough to blow this popsicle stand and hustle some more of CRAFT & Co's automated fabricators!
Garage: Bad Trip is every 1980s action horror flick power fantasy wrapped up in a bloody retroware wrapper. It tries to balance it's graphic gore with classic tropes and it's suspense with moments of the ridiculous, but leans heavily into its Splatterpunk influences. While its controls are tight for a twin stick shooter, Garage: Bad Trip has some mechanical bugs which diminish the overall experience.
If you want to play a worthy successor to the long line of Metroidvania classics and are willing to experience rogue-like difficulty to get it, Dead Cells is an experience worth having over and over again.
If you are looking for a deep Metroidvania game that will challenge you with hours of gameplay, La-Mulana 2 is worth checking out. It is a faithful recreation of the classic genre while telling a fresh story. The characters within have a fun sense of humor that will keep you entertained in the midst of the action. Even though the controls are not perfect, after a few hours of play, I found them less frustrating over time.
If you like challenging strategy and don't mind learning the game's systems and unit counters, The Legend of Evil is a light-hearted spoof on classic hero versus evil tropes.
At its core, At Sundown is an entertaining indie game that is fast-paced and fun without requiring a hefty system to run it. Its main game mechanic of using light and shadows is interesting, but the lack of ability to see where your player is can stifle the enjoyment of the game itself.
If you like strategy games and are really into ancient Japanese legends, Haunted Dungeon: Hyakki Castle takes art and story from the Edo period to create a unique strategy game. While it was not entirely my speed (it does put the crawl in "dungeon crawl"), it is a break from the frantic pacing of many dungeon crawlers with a central mechanic adds creative possibilities to puzzle solving and combat.
Hipster Attack is an entertaining and addicting tower defense game. It has just enough call back to its inspiration while adding the right options to differentiate itself
Icey delivers a fantastic 2D brawler with satisfying combos and hard-hitting combat. It's multi-branching paths give you more story with the meta-narrative, but doesn't quite flesh out all of the parts into a cohesive whole. But, at the end of the day, we play beat'em ups to do just that.
Hours of Darkness explores the backstory to a minor character in the Far Cry 5 setting. While maintaining Far Cry's exceptional gun handling, Hours of Darkness gives players a truly different way to play, much more akin to classic titles in the series. It is story light and the allied AI still troublesome, it richly delivers a lush environment to survive within. If you are looking for a Far Cry experience to play in between major titles, Hours of Darkness is worth picking up.
You will be hard-pressed to find a puzzling game more beautifully crafted as Gorogoa. Everything from its music to the hand-drawn puzzle frames ignites the imagination to keep search and digging for more. Even with its short length, Gorogoa is a satisfying game. It is also an exercise in asking questions about our own devotion and the lengths that we might go to in order to connect with the divine.
At the end of the day, Baobabs Mausoleum is an odd trip down memory lane. It contains elements of classic titles presented in a way that makes sense within the genre
Quarantine Circular is, much like its predecessor a short playthrough but has multiple branches that the story can go down, so one playthrough is not enough
Jurassic World Evolution is a simply gorgeous and robust game. This multilayered gameplay experience takes place in a beautifully crafted world with lush terrain, changing weather patterns, and an incredible amount of control. Even the musical score awakens that sense of wonder and the gravity of what you are doing - you get to run Jurassic World! It is an outlier in the long line of movie-based video games, standing as a beacon of hope that it is possible for them to actually be good while staying true to their source material.
Without spoiling any more of the story, Inked will take you on an adventure of grief, loss, and healing. It does, as stated in the beginning, what good art should do: provoke thought and feeling. It is gorgeous in its presentation, but flawed in some of the execution of its gameplay features and controls. Even with its flaws, Inked is a satisfyingly paced game with a descent length of around 4 - 5 hours that throws new challenges at you as you play.
If you have been itching for a Metroidvania game with a good sense of humor and a new level of challenge, A Robot Named Fight is worth the investment of time. Your metal will be tested as you throw a lot of robots at a ton of meat, but the Megabeast must be vanquished and its secrets must be revealed - in at least one of its multiple endings!
Lucky is adorable and his world is full of wonder, but the lack of diverse controller options along with poor camera handling make this game less than excellent.