David Wildgoose
Aragami 2 is a stylish, aggressive stealth game that's a little too lean at times.
Lost in Random tells a sweet tale with surprisingly deep combat to brighten an otherwise dreary world.
Humankind is a flawed but fascinating attempt to reinvent the Civilization-style 4X strategy game.
Grime is a highly accomplished Souls-like action-RPG that delivers a hefty challenge without being punitive.
Stonefly is too weighed down by unwieldy combat and grind to get off the ground.
As a remaster, Nier Replicant ver.1.22474487139… represents another kind of second chance, this time for a cult game to find an audience that eluded it the first time around.
Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion is a fleeting but delicious Zelda-inspired romp.
Disco Elysium is a detective RPG that sets a new standard for storytelling.
Balan Wonderworld is an occasionally inspired, often unimaginative platformer lost to time.
Nuts is a short hike through mostly uninspiring terrain.
Pendragon is a fascinating but flawed experiment in procedural narrative.
Crusader Kings 3 is an intricate story-telling device weaving countless threads as long as you have the will to keep it spinning.
A meaty, engrossing strategy spin-off with an attention to detail that is both a blessing and a curse.
At heart it's a checklist of chores. But it's such a wonderfully warm, endlessly charming checklist of chores that when they're all done, I'm not going to want to leave.
Rock of Ages 3: Make & Break won't always rock your world, but eventually the good times will roll.
Desperados 3 is an elegant stealth tactics game that encourages experimentation.
Cloudpunk is a neon-doused celebration of cyberpunk style that occasionally obscures the story it wants to tell.
XCOM: Chimera Squad refines the series' core tactical strengths to show that sometimes less is more.
In Other Waters tells a tense, absorbing mystery through exquisitely minimalist means.
Corruption 2029 is a mechanically proficient but disappointingly hollow take on the XCOM genre.