So, as of today, Bus Simulator 27 has all the goods on paper, and if developer Simteract manage to iterate on it via regular updates and tweaks, it has all the chances of becoming another hit, just like Bus Simulator 21 before it. Few games feature the depth and variety of the latest entry in the series, now it’s a matter of fixing a series of issues that currently limit its potential. I plan to revisit the game in the future, and hopefully it will live up to its incredible potential with time.
The excellent foundations of the Hot Wheels Unleashed games have been carried over into a very fun open world racer experience, one that manages to shine during its chill exploration moments and in the midst of high-octane races on plastic tracks suspended above the cities you can explore.
My early impression of Serious Sam: Shatterverse was not all that positive – felt like a “Serious Sam at home” that lost the uniqueness of the original games, while also simplifying the game formula, losing the wacky easter eggs and more. And yet, despite some repetition of the stages, a couple hours in the game truly shines, thanks to the vast array of stage modifiers, the depth of the loot game and class builds, and the intensity of the gameplay on higher difficulties, making for quite the exhilarating FPS roguelite experience – especially in co-op. While we wait for the next mainline Serious Sam, Shatterverse shall keep us busy with its intense and highly replayable roguelite scenarios.
If you’re looking for a different breed of survivors-like, do give Yet Another Zombie Survivors a chance. Its gory undead theme and squad-based gameplay make for a fun and unique twist on the genre, with more than enough content and gameplay variations to last quite some hours. It doesn’t have the obscene amount of content of Vampire Survivors, nor the extreme depth of Soulstone Survivors, and and form of co-op or multiplayer, local or online, is also missing. Still, this is one bullet heaven not to miss for fans of the genre!
that leaves us with a mechanically simple, yet fairly unique bullet heaven title, one carried by interesting cartoony visual humor and a few interesting twists on the genre. Ground Zero Hero doesn’t quite have the depth or variety of the genre’s bests, but for a handful of hours of radioactive fun I can absolutely recommend it to fans of survivors-like games.
Ultimately, Panzer Knights: Commander’s Edition is more than the sum of its parts. Disappointing presentation, limited depth and variety, noticeable jank, not much done with the anime style and a complete lack of co-op or multiplayer hamper the game’s potential immensely. Yet, I’ve found the campaign to be an enjoyable romp on these wildly hot summer evenings, and Panzer Knights does the one thing it aims to do well – deliver a fun and accessible war tank simulation. Personally, I’m alright with that.
This starting point for Mistfall Hunter is very strong. A satisfying and addictive gameplay loop, interesting combat and a visually striking dark fantasy world make this an exciting multipler/co-op experience already, and I’m curious to see how it evolves from here.
Whether you grew up on the classic King’s Field games, no matter how many hours you put into soulslike games, and even if you find these formulas incredibly difficult and punishing – Verho – Curse of Faces is worth your time and attention. A dark adventure full of secrets, well designed levels, with immaculate retro vibes and an interesting lore and campaign that doesn’t overstay its welcome and doesn’t overly punish newcomers either. It may be somewhat derivative when looking at the source material, and yet, I’ve found this a fascinating journey all in all that I would recommend to anyone looking for an RPG that’s very much unlike what modern gaming tends to be.
Truck-kun is Supporting Me from Another World?! is a short burst arcade insanity with a crazy premise, an addictive gameplay loop and an infectious humor. It may feel a little aimless after a while, and the game’s depth and variety are a little lacking, yet I’ve had a legitimate blast running through the just over 3 hours long campaign. Ever fantasized about isekai-ing a young marketing VP into a fantasy RPG world while doing deliveries in an acrobatic truck? No? Well, you still should give Truck-kun a go, especially if crazy arcade classics like Crazy Taxi are your jam.
It may lack the depth or variety of some of the bests out there, but Shard Squad is a fairly unique take on the crowded bullet heaven genre. Having to evolve and create synergies between creatures, and even being able to combine said abilities in co-op, makes for an addictive and fun experience, with more than enough content to enjoy over plenty of hours. Sure it’s a bit repetitive and grindy, but I’ve also found it to be an excellent timewaster and a perfectly enjoyable survivors-like if you, like me, can’t get enough of this formula.
Cultic is deliberately not as fast-paced and chaotic as some of the most beloved 90’s classics, and it plays into that angle with an excellent horror aesthetic, marvelous level designs, interesting puzzles and a combat that requires some reasoning, not just fast fingers on the trigger. It’s probably not for everyone, but if it scratches the right itch for you, it can be a stellar shooter.
Monopoly: Star Wars Heroes vs. Villains is a fun twist on the good old Monopoly formula, trading some of the depth of its property-system for interesting class-based team fights, with a nice Star Wars presentation to boot. It’s quite feature-complete and only features a handful of shortcomings, though I would say that the game’s focus on triggering ‘GO!‘ events can make matches even more lop-sided than normal if someone gets particularly high dice rolls on the regular. Still, for fans like me of the iconic board game and Star Wars enthusiasts, there’s a couple of fun hours to be had here – in local and online play alike.
In a vacuum, Dead or Alive 6 Last Round is a perfectly playable version of a perfectly fine fighter, but it’s still a somewhat underwhelming package all in all. Not quite enough improvements to reignite the interest around the base game, and also plenty of baffling limitations end up weighing a ton on the overall experience – one that only hardcore Dead or Alive fans might bother with.
All in all, I had a good time with Luna Abyss. It doesn’t quite reinvent the wheel, but its fast-paced yet relatively accessible bullet hell shooting makes for an interesting gameplay loop, coupled with various fun gameplay twists and great visuals. It could have been a bit more unique or daring, with some padding and replayability issues here and there, but especially as a Game Pass day one title, it’s easy to recommend shooting through the many mysteries of Luna.
Like a long Family Guy skit or an Asylum movie, it’s not even the quality of the humor itself – it’s the sheer audacity of coming up with this stuff and committing to it in a finished product. Priest Simulator: Vampire Show is not a balanced, polished or ambitious videogame, but the sheer absurdity of the humor and player freedom make it a fun experience – even though the actual gameplay is pretty damn janky and repetitive.
Bus Bound, to me, is the kind of game that proves that a bus driving simulation game can be fun, rewarding, and enjoyable, even if the act of slowly maneuvering such a vehicle is not something that excites you in the slightest. But a satisfying yet relaxing driving model, precise yet somewhat forgiving rules of the road, and a very lively and great-looking town to explore and evolve to your liking turn the game into a very enjoyable experience. Not a massive amount of content as of today, but with a lot of player agency and even a 4-player online co-op mode, it’s definitely one of the finest vehicle simulation games I’ve ever played.
A fun driving model, a deep and incredibly rewarding vehicle-building system, with plenty of challenging content to play for dozens of hours. It has a few balance issues, and it may lack the ludicrous depths of some of the best bullet-hell games, but its unique gameplay loop and deep build variety make TerraTech Legion pretty much a must-play for fans of the genre.
While not as groundbreaking of an evolution as last year’s game, MotoGP 26 pretty much does everything right. It tweaks both the simulation and arcade riding styles, it adds more options to career and multiplayer modes alike, and offers plenty of content and customization options. It has a few technical issues that are atypical for this series, and it may still lack the incredible depth and variety of the licensed F1 games. Yet, MotoGP 26 is a fine step forward for an already excellent racer, even if its iterative nature makes it a less essential upgrade than last year’s game.
Vampire Crawlers is one of the best roguelike deck-builders on the market right now. It’s fast, charming, addictive and tremendously well-crafted. Poncle has done it again.
The golden era of track-based arcade racers may be behind us, but that didn’t stop Milestone from developing a marvellous one in this day and age. This reboot of Screamer has all the core elements of a modern classic: a meaty single player campaign with a rich story, a fantastic sense of style, a snappy arcade-style driving model with a high skill ceiling, and plenty of content to enjoy in both local and online play. Screamer is bold, exciting, but most importantly, incredibly fun, and it may just be one of the finest arcade racers in years. If you miss the good old days of fantastic arcade racers with personality, do yourself a favour and buy Screamer.