Assassin's Creed Mirage is a short, sharp trip through the blood soaked streets of Baghdad. A welcome return to the series' roots, Mirage is a breath of fresh air in the endless sea of open world adventure games.
Marvel Spider-Man 2 is an incredibly confident sequel and one of 2023's best games. Incredibly fun to play, fast-paced and full of heart, it takes the best of the Spider-Man lore, and the best of Insomniac's penchant for excellent gameplay sequences, and combines them for arguably the best Marvel game ever.
Massively confident, often groundbreaking, and full of surprises, Alan Wake 2 is Remedy at its very best. The shooting isn't stellar, but Alan Wake 2 is otherwise a horror thriller that shouldn't be missed.
A Call of Duty game of this low quality released a decade ago would have been a scandal. Now, it's emblematic of an approach to a franchise that's in desperate need of a reality check.
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is a serviceable open world game elevated by a stunning presentation. While the visuals will utterly wow you, it's a shame it doesn't introduce more original ideas.
Prince of Persia was long in need of a resurrection, and in The Lost Crown, it's found it. Excellent platforming, clever puzzles and a huge map make one of the best Metroidvania's in years, and kicks off 2024 in style.
The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered is the best way to play one of the best games ever made. Excellent bonus content and visual bells and whistles make this $10 more than worth it, and the exact excuse you need to revisit this modern masterpiece.
Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth is one of the best RPGs we've played in years. Excellent combat, a wonderful cast of characters, and a willingness to be incredibly weird make it absolutely unmissable. Not only that, but it's so full to the brim with things to do, we could have probably spent another three weeks with it and not finished everything.
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is an excellent RPG with some of the best characters in the gaming canon. While some open-world content skirts the edges, and the game's main narrative is left somewhat deflated, the time spent with Aerith, Tifa, and the gang makes this a hugely enjoyable road trip you'll be playing for hundreds of hours.
Balatro is an astonishingly addictive take on Poker that's utterly impossible to put down. Occasional difficulty spikes aside; it's a piece of simplistic genius that we'll keep on our Steam Deck forever.
Rise of the Ronin is a fine open world adventure that never elevates itself to greatness. Fun Team Ninja combat will drag you through, but pointless open world fluff and questionable visuals sadly result in just another open world game.
Tales of Kenzera: ZAU feels like a studio stretching its legs for the first time. Visually inventive, and full of great platforming, average combat and exploration lets it down
XDefiant is a confident shooter that's far more than a Call of Duty knockoff. The Tom Clancyverse crossovers are somewhat cringey, but if Ubisoft doubles down on the great gameplay, and the weird faction warfare, we'll keep coming back for months to come.