Sea of Stars is a pitch-perfect homage to many of the classic turn-based RPGs from a bygone, beloved era. Rather than mere imitation, Sabotage Studio has crafted a loving tribute to genre hallmarks.
Baldur’s Gate 3 is a watershed moment for RPGs and gaming. It represents one of the closest approximations of true freedom, creativity, and player choice available, evolving concepts and mechanics that have been tinkered with for decades. Using Dungeons & Dragons as its catalyst, Larian has honored the past and forged a new future for a genre that has allowed increased agency for players to put their thoughts, feelings, hopes, and wants inside of a digital realm and live. Like every other player, my experience with Baldur’s Gate 3 is significantly anecdotal, ripe with unique stories about what happened to me that would take hours to share. But why listen to me when you can become lost in one of the most richly beautiful worlds ever created and make up your own tale?
Diablo 4 is the herald of your newest time sink. Blizzard's constantly captivating ARPG went to refine rather than redefine, resulting in a familiar dungeon crawler that gives players fountains of loot and endless possibilities to blitz through increasingly vicious foes.
SkateBIRD is capable enough to ensnare players looking for a game that encapsulates its simple, clever pun. Beyond that, however, is a passable skating experience that would have benefited from a touch more polish and a slightly more vibrant world.
Street Fighter 6 is a profoundly rich and diverse fighting game, living up to the series' legacy. Crafted for everyone, the game entices experimentation, fun, and mastery through online play and a unique campaign that can acclimate all to the genre's complexities.
As a remaster of a Wii game only released in Japan, Fatal Frame: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse struggles not to show its age and seemingly ancient mechanics. But beneath the grainy surface is a moderately chilling horror game with a unique way to tackle terror.
Powerwash Simulator forgoes any semblance of complexity to provide players with a game pure and unflinching in its quest to tickle a certain part of the brain that just wants to clean... or listen to some podcasts.
Life is Strange 2 on Nintendo Switch is a faithful port of a four-year-old game. The story of brotherly love leaves a lasting impact, even if this aging console continues to show its seams.
Yuppie Psycho: Extended Edition places players in a surreal corporate hellscape. A brisk horror adventure crosses grim visuals and dark humor while providing hours of new content and context.
SaGa Frontier 2 Remastered is another invaluable entry in Square Enix's increasing catalog of updated games. But this particular PlayStation 1 gem is distinct for its varying risks, impeccable style, and tendency to be different.
Few games are as compellingly unique as The Thaumaturge, a murder mystery set in 1905 Poland, brimming with magical realism, intricate writing, and enough clever ideas to cover up a few shortcomings.
An ambitious amalgamation of familiar formulas, Broken Pieces starts strong but a lack of direction and variety bog down the narrative, eventually causing the game to fracture and cloud the earlier hours of enjoyment with doubt.
The Last of Us Part 1 is a complex endeavor. Naughty Dog has overhauled one of gaming's touchstones, injecting more life into an intensely human experience while opening it up for new audiences and attempting to draw in veterans.
The Callisto Protocol aims its sights at being an uncompromising vision of terror, frequently succeeding through oscillating tension and stellar sound and lighting that toy with players' fears and expectations.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard crystallizes what made both the series and BioWare a force to be reckoned with over a decade ago. An emphasis on memorable characters and personalized combat allows this new entry to swell with magic, proving the developer still has stories to tell.
Much like last year's Exoprimal, Kunitsu-Gami: Path of The Goddess shows a Capcom willing to take risks. In this particular experiment, a tower defense/action strategy hybrid is bathed in Japanese culture with deliberate--sometimes slow--gameplay.
Despite an obtuse overarching narrative and minimal gameplay, Karma: The Dark World continually swings for the fences. Pollard Studio's debut heavily leans on artistic direction that will linger with the player long after the story fades from memory.
Despite veering into a number of dated tropes and choosing not to reinvent the wheel, Ghostwire: Tokyo thrives on its devotion to Japanese folklore, a cultural touchstone propelled by unique combat and a haunted city worth exploring.
Players not fond of a nostalgic challenge may bristle at Infernax's devotion to the past but beneath a few rough edges is a gory romp that hits a lot of classic notes.
Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 1 & 2 Remastered is a package that intends to preserve and update rather than reconstruct. While it remains a 20-year-old series, the improvements and bonus content only prove how forward-thinking Soul Reaver was.