Botany Manor is a blissful, smart, and creatively conceived puzzle adventure. It’s just challenging enough to be engaging without veering into stressful territory, and its whimsical elements add fun, fantastical touches. I don’t think it made me better at gardening, but unearthing its appeal was satisfying.
With a brief runtime of a couple of hours, Open Roads is a respectable tale that sometimes feels ready to hit that higher narrative gear before easing off the gas again. Although visually pleasing and well-acted, the emotional impact is muted. While I didn’t mind sitting shotgun as Opal and Tess had lighthearted debates over the semantics of trailer vs. mobile homes and reminisced about old flames, it’s not a road trip that will stick with me for the long haul.
2K24 sees Visual Concepts layer on quality new bricks to WWE 2K’s strong foundation while sanding away some rough edges. The series has settled into an exceptional, if very familiar, blueprint, and I would love to see a bigger shake-up in the future, but the result offers the best package since the franchise returned in 2022. If you’re a curious fan who’s held off on jumping back into the digital ring, 2K24 is as good an argument as any to shake off the ring rust. For diehard enthusiasts, this year’s entry won’t bowl you over in the broad sense, but its incremental updates and continued polish make it a worthy contender for another year.
Balatro is an ingenious and entertaining roguelike and one of my favorite games of the year. Playing it has become a near-obsession; everything feels perfectly designed to encourage you to keep trying because that next run could be the run of your life. Even after hours of play, I still can’t overcome Balatro’s biggest challenge: putting it down.
As a complete package, Tekken 8 doesn’t reach the heights of recent rivals like Street Fighter 6 and Mortal Kombat 1. But when the match begins, and you’re exploiting openings to unleash flashy combo strings and air juggles, it remains a thrilling, if very familiar, one-on-one experience.
The Talos Principle II is a long game, perhaps to a fault. I clocked in around 34 hours, and despite my generally consistent enthusiasm, I was ready to see the end before it hit me with another round of puzzles or a story-focused exploration segment. It’s an ambitious and ultimately well-made package with many social, artistic, and scientific ideas that I’ll be thinking about for the foreseeable future, long after the solution to its final riddle has faded from memory. That enlightenment makes The Talos Principle II’s challenges worth the effort.
Hopefully, updates will stamp out these issues because RoboCop: Rogue City provides a respectable adventure that feels like a long-lost shooter of the early 2010s in mostly good ways. Admittedly, the license carries the game through its rougher patches; if you’re not a RoboCop fan, the adventure may feel dated or buggy compared to other shooters. But as a B-tier love letter to the tin man in blue, Rogue City is a nice return to the limelight for Alex Murphy.
Jusant is my favorite Don’t Nod title since the original Life is Strange and is one of the year’s best gems. The climbing mechanics are so smart and well-executed that I hope other games take notes. Add an inviting presentation, a pleasant soundtrack, and an alluring air of mystery and isolation reminiscent of Team Ico’s best works, and Jusant is a rewarding expedition.
Despite some big caveats, I mostly enjoyed Sonic Superstars as a solo trip down memory lane. The platforming feels good, the levels are mostly fun, and the presentation looks great. Ripping through robots while hitting loop-de-loops and bounce pads still brings a smile to my face. But the game’s new additions either feel inconsequential or ill-advised, watering down an otherwise respectable package. Sonic Superstars offers a solid return to form for the series’ oldest and most ardent followers, with some hedgehog-sized potholes along the way.
The game has cool ideas; it just needs more refinement and a serious reexamination of certain systems before it’s ready for the big time
Capcom is trying to have its cake and eat it, too, with Exoprimal by using its story to lure more general fans while hoping the loop keeps hardcore multiplayer fans for the long haul. I’m not sure that will work; I have little motivation to return now that I’ve seen credits. But I had a fun time while it lasted. Exoprimal’s creative subversion of expectations impressed me in more ways than one, and its approach to telling a robust narrative within a multiplayer framework is an example I hope other titles study. I just hope it’s enough to keep the game from going extinct.
Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons has some aggravating design choices that prevent it from reaching the heights of similar comebacks like TMNT or newcomers like Young Souls, but this is a respectable return for the Lee brothers. If you’re hankering to punch goons in the face, a good time can be had as long as you bring a measure of patience.
If nothing else, AEW: Fight Forever has potential. I’m happy to have a more arcade-style wrestling game, especially one based on a major promotion. The gameplay has a strong foundation, and when it's firing on all cylinders, the action channels the simple fun of the ‘90s and early 2000s. The rest of the package just needs to catch up. Until it does, even the most passionate AEW fans may have a hard time sticking around for this main event.
As someone who derives real pleasure in admiring beautiful paintings, Dordogne ups the ante by letting me creatively interact with its gorgeous art. Even better, it layers a largely enjoyable tale on top of it. Like Mimi and Nora’s relationship, there are some bumps to overcome, but good times await those willing to work through them.
Diablo IV continually seduces me with its promises of power and riches and regularly follows through. I’ve had a tough time putting it down even after starting fresh numerous times, and I get excited thinking about how I’ll be foiling Lilith’s plans in the months ahead as seasonal updates begin rolling out. Until then, I’m happy to continue relieving Sanctuary of its treasures – and demons of their lives – in this devilishly impressive epic.
While I would have liked gameplay to have more bite and variety, Planet of Lana is still an enjoyable and beautiful romp. The art direction and main jingle are likely the only things that will stick with me in the long run, but Lana and Mui’s journey is a competent rescue mission that doesn’t always soar as high as the machines pursuing them.
Burning Shores is an entertaining epilogue for Aloy’s sophomore outing. It’s more Forbidden West with a few cool wrinkles, meaning it’s a good reminder of the things that the game did right while retaining a few old headaches (like the hand-holding during puzzles). More than anything, Aloy’s trip to Hollywood justifies its existence by meaningfully building upon the base game’s story, paving a solid runway for the next title to take off.
WWE 2K23’s more incremental bells and whistles means it’s technically an overall stronger package than 2K22. However, unlike last year, it doesn’t benefit from the rose-colored excitement of getting to play a big wrestling sim again after a years-long absence. The similarities to its predecessor means 2K23 feels more formulaic than special, but it still continues the series’ overall positive trajectory. Like watching a returning legend perform their greatest hits night after night, the novelty has faded, but I’m still pleased to have them back – for now.
Much like Cereza herself, Bayonetta Origins doesn’t look like much on the surface, but I smiled more and more as its potential bubbled up to the surface. This is an exceptional and refreshing change of pace for the franchise, and you don’t even need to be a fan of the series or the action genre to enjoy it. Don’t underestimate what this pint-sized spellcaster and her demonic partner have to offer.
Deliver Us Mars’ protagonists quickly cobble together a space shuttle that barely manages to get them to their destination. A similar story feels true of this game. A gripping narrative fuels gameplay that otherwise feels functional but underbaked, making my time on the planet a mixed bag. Deliver Us Mars shines best when it lets you absorb its story, but expect to stumble over several design craters along the way.