Even with the hiccups, Star Wars: Outlaws is a fantastic story that effectively uses the heist genre and never keeps its characters in focus. That said, the side quests are vital to learning more about the world and the characters we have met.
Bo: Path of the Teal Lotus is the most beautiful game you will play. The hand-drawn art is ethereal and whimsical and captures the beautiful mythology in which the game is grounded.
The Dawntrail MSQ is salient and beautiful in the exact way that has made the Final Fantasy XIV narrative so beloved…I play MMOs to connect to others, invest in my communities, raid, and be a part of something larger than just me and a television screen. Dawntrail captures that, and that’s truly what matters.
Legends of Kenzera: ZAU is a triumph of storytelling. It's immersive and thoughtful in every element of Zau's journey. But the narrative, for all of its impact, doesn't stand alone. Instead, the difficulty and complexity of traversing Kenzera complement and add a tactile nature to the emotional endeavor of moving through grief.
It’s easy to say that Open Roads is cozy and simple. Truthfully, though, its simplicity is its strength… Everything you do feels personal, especially as a daughter who still has endless questions for her mother.
As a whole, Skull and Bones is a very fun game, one that I genuinely couldn’t put down once the battles began. But that fun is uneven at best. Despite its long development cycle, the live-service element that is felt deeply throughout the game isn’t microtransactions. It’s emptiness.
Jujutsu Kaisen: Cursed Clash isn’t bad, per se, but it is lacking. Maybe it’s hindered by the expectations associated with the IP, or maybe it’s just too much like every other arena fighter we’ve gotten. Either way, the lackluster take on the genre has a lot of jujutsu sorcery to learn.
In its sound, mechanics, visuals, and narrative, Howl captures a dark fairytale and creates a gorgeous folktale without losing its way.
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is a vibrant reimaging of ancient Persian myth. It’s a turning of the page for a traditionally Orientalist franchise, and it never sacrifices gameplay to do so. The Lost Crown is the right mix of difficult ingenuity and self-pacing that makes the Metroidvaia inspiration a perfect pairing.
Even with its faults, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is a stunning visual achievement, much like the films on which it's inspired. Only here, a rich narrative pulls you deep into the Na'vi and explores more tangible means of fighting back against a colonial power that offers a cathartic experience... Blow up a pipeline, save an animal, and explore the vast world of Pandora. That's a heck of a way to close out a year.
As an anime fan who hasn’t watched Naruto in almost a decade and has never seen beyond one arc of Boruto, this game made me excited for the franchise in a way I honestly hadn’t felt in a long time. But my view of Naruto x Boruto Ultimate Ninja Storm Connections as my own reentry is a subjective point that the game’s mechanics don’t necessarily do enough to overtake the nostalgia and stand on its own.
Whether it’s embedding yourself in Paell or running dungeon after dungeon, you won’t want to put Cuisineer down.
The developers at AstralShift clearly love anime, and it comes through by virtually creating their own. While there are elements that a well-versed shoujo fan will see, Little Goody Two Shoes is something entirely original.
Justant is a testament to letting environments speak for themselves instead of relying on dialogue. Don’t Nod trusts its ability as developers to create a game that relies on experience, not words and it trusts its players to understand narrative subtleties. Jusant may be simple, but its layered vision of a world is timeless.
Thrilling in all the right ways, The Lamplighters League is a love letter to the adventure genre in film. It’s a love letter to rogues and scoundrels that made those stories an essential part of our cultural history.
While some elements of the puppet aesthetics aren’t necessarily original, and those who have played Bloodborne will see similarities, Lies of P is a gorgeously grim experience that offers difficulty and magic through immersive and dynamic gameplay with enough content baked in to make replayability a must.
Cozy, dynamic, and fun, Fae Farm is well worth the many hours you’ll spend in Azoria.
…The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is a game that thrives on its dedication to not just replicating the Slaughter Family (which it does excellently) and planting easter eggs but on its goal to expand on it all. By using a unique storyline, the developers at GUN highlight the importance of honoring the source material and the necessity of making something unique from it.
Oxenfree II: Lost Signals' story is moving, moody, and meticulously crafted in line with your choices. Immersive in every way, the gameplay is deeply tied to the game's narrative, never feeling disjointed even as you move from chasing frequencies to traversing the land, and all of that succeeds because of how you, as Riley, fit into the story.
Decarnation’s story is thrilling and unsettling, and every point the game gets is because of how well-crafted the winding nightmares are in relation to the overall progression of Gloria’s life.