ChainStaff embraces the past to fuel its patently insane premise, execution, and creature design. This is one weird game that, through its minor annoyances, should delight retro fans seeking an 2D shooter that frequently surprises.
Despite Marathon being a punishing crucible that will throw players to the wolves, its uncompromising vision can't be denied. Bungie's peerless gunplay makes this extraction shooter shine in a bleak alien world where players hunt each other for personal gain.
In the transition to fully three-dimensional worlds, Super Meat Boy 3D does a phenomenal job at retaining the blistering challenge of the pioneering original. While nearly everything is retained in the dimensional shift, a few unique issues do hold it back.
Dying Light: The Beast Restored Land continues Techland's tradition of meaningful post-launch content and support for its games. Here, players can tackle Castor Woods with a new hardcore, solo survival mode along with a slew of updates for the base game.
Sumerian Six fills a very niche hole that few developers have capitalized on. Its six characters and complex maps give players a wealth of options to creatively take out power-hungry Nazis, where careful planning is the best reward.
Parsing through its varying harsh systems, Death Howl's difficulty becomes a true reward. Satisfying deck building is the player's primary weapon against evolving oppression in this haunting spirit world about death and living.
LOVE ETERNAL juggles the task of delivering a harrowing, razor-sharp platformer with a moody, haunting narrative. Its bite-sized length constantly makes an impact, striving to be one of the most unique games you will play.
Once players round the hurdle of its initial difficulty spikes, Nioh 3 becomes a festival of player choice in its deluge of loot-based combat. A focus on open zones and a second combat style give the formula renewed energy to carry players into the rich endgame.
BlazBlue Entropy Effect X brings the stellar roguelite by way of fighting game to a broader audience. Incorporating a massive roster with deep combat turns it into one of the genre's flashiest and most entertaining spectacles.
SLEEP AWAKE's psychedelic horror takes players on a delirious journey where the very world shifts and deceives. Mediocre stealth inflicts minimal damage on this mind-bending narrative that exists to confound with its captivating premise.
MARVEL Cosmic Invasion is an excellent excuse to play a satisfying beat 'em up with friends. Covering a wide variety of content and characters from the comics, there's an Easter Egg for everyone yet the gameplay can grow repetitive after awhile.
Sektori is an intense arcade classic that will leave players in a trance-like state. With a splash of modernity, this explosion of particles, color, and skill begs for constant replays once players master its finely-tuned difficulty curve.
A.I.L.A dabbles in the delicate space between the tricks developers can play on our minds and the complex places games can take us. Though made by obvious horror fans, it may be genre veterans who grow weary of its predictable paths and tropes.
Wielding incredible style, an emotional story, and layered action, Constance strives to be more than just another derivative Metroidvania in a sea of heavy-hitters. It may be overshadowed by some monoliths but this painterly tale has a few strokes of genius.
Minimalist yet poignant, The Berlin Apartment offers a handful of narrative vignettes allowing players to experience the tumultuous history of Germany across the decades. Though brief, its stories pack an emotional punch that won't be forgotten.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 presents a gargantuan amount of content meant to satisfy players of all stripes. While the story can't rival last year's roller coaster, Treyarch's masterclass gunplay stretches across numerous modes with unified progression.
ARC Raiders' ability to evoke an unprecedented amount of tension and exaltation is the stuff any live service game dreams of siphoning from its players. Time will only tell if Embark's extraction shooter is a flash in the pan but for now, it sets the precedent for the genre.
Equal parts original, absurd, goofy, clever, catchy, and sincere, Once Upon a Jester is a gem of creativity that uses hilarious writing and a wonderful soundtrack to punch well above its weight.
Godbreakers is packed with smooth, tight action and engaging boss fights that can be invigorating in co-op. But a lack of content outside of blistering difficulty modifiers may be disappointing for roguelike fans.
Ignoring its by-the-numbers single-player campaign, Battlefield 6 strikes an expected chord with its class-based, destructive multiplayer. Vehicular and infantry clashes shine across massive maps that are sure to keep players engaged.