Kazimir's journey handles topics like loss, and the frailty of humankind and nature, with such sincerity that makes Selfloss a journey worth shedding a tear or two for.
Age of Mythology may have been a risk some 20 years ago, but remaking it was a no-brainer. Retold feels familiar but fresh, and the changes made all feel like they only improve on one of the franchise's best entries.
Despite its limited appeal, there's plenty packed into Nintendo's speedrunning challenger - if you've got the patience for it.
For the most part, Crown Wars: The Black Knight is a disappointing addition for a genre crying out for quality entries.
Frontier brings their most in-depth building sim to consoles, wart(hog)s and all.
It might not reinvent the wheel, but as a successor to an already near-perfect Advance Wars-like, did it ever really need to?
Pikmin 4 is, to put it simply, Pikmin at its best.
Homeseek is a punishingly bleak post-apocalyptic city builder where every action feels consequential.
Company of Heroes 3 may not always hit the right notes, but as far as RTS console ports go, it doesn't get much better than this.
Stranded: Alien Dawn makes one small step for man and one giant leap for survivor sims-kind.
Difficulty spikes, no matter how steep, are fine in games of this ilk, but it's harder to forgive Have A Nice Death's approach to rewarding players. There is, however, so much joy in Have A Nice Death's gloriously grim setting that it's absolutely easy to recommend, but for roguelike players that prefer their rinse-and-repeat gaming a little more forgiving and, most importantly, rewarding, there are plenty of better options out there.
Perhaps my biggest takeaway from Wild Hearts is that I didn't once find myself lamenting for Monster Hunter. Wild Hearts was perhaps a risky endeavour, but it's one that's paid off with impressive results. While genre newcomers can treat the land of Azuma as a gateway to monster hunting, long-standing genre fans will find plenty here to keep them happy until the next Monster Hunter adventure arrives.
Starship Troopers - Terran Command Terran Command is impressively faithful to its classic '90s sci-fi source material and a solid space adventure in its own right.
A wonderfully difficult beat-'em-up that puts the player at the forefront of their very own martial arts epic.
Triangle Strategy is unique in its sprawling story, and its success is only solidified by an excellent combat system that makes battles as intense as they are intimidating. With deep lore and an overall mature approach to a genre too often dumbed down, Triangle Strategy is an RPG fans dream.
A fast-paced Doom-lite that doesn't overstay its welcome.
Oddworld's weirdest moment has never looked better.
A welcome return for one of Nintendo's best forgotten IPs.
There's still some way to go to make the JWE franchise a viable management sim, but this sequel goes a long way to right a lot of its predecessor's wrongs.
SkateBIRD is ultimately, incredibly charming, but incredibly flawed. It's fun, when it doesn't punish you for its own shortcomings, and the that doesn't mean it's a faultless experience