Built upon the iconic and highly stylish tradition of racing anime, Screamer delivers high-octane, arcade-style racing with intuitive controls and an incredibly dramatic, colorfully cast story about a super-illegal, high-stakes super-race. Undoubtedly, my new favorite racing game of all time, I do not doubt that Screamer, like a shooting star, will fly out past the competition at high speeds and leave a long-lasting memory in the process
Collector’s Cove combines an interesting, if somewhat underdeveloped, exploration mechanic with a clever take on farming, fishing, and collection, creating a uniquely satisfying take on some of our favorite genre gameplay loops. Its special approach is sure to hook even the most veteran of farming sim players, especially those who like to focus on collecting and filling compendiums.
Timberborn is a colony simulator with a fantastic core identity and some genuinely unique systems driving it, particularly when it comes to water management. While I personally found that the challenge, urgency, and sense of direction began to fade as I became more familiar with the mechanics, there is still a lot here to enjoy for players who like slower-paced, methodical colony builders, or those who really want to build a series of intricately designed beaver dams.
Best enjoyed with friends, John Carpenter’s Toxic Commando has some solid, if not amazing or transformative gunplay, paired with some fun class abilities and a more open-world approach to the genre’s typical level design. The narrative can be gripping, making for an engaging first playthrough, but there isn’t too much to come back for after that.
Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection uses the incredible storytelling potential of the Monster Hunter universe to tell a unique, excitingly dark, and political narrative with great animation and gorgeous music. Its turn-based combat is excitingly cinematic, and if you can handle awkward flying mechanics and general JRPG pacing, you should definitely enjoy what this game has to offer.
Docked might not be what many fans of the genre were expecting it to be, as it presents more of a series of short construction-themed levels rather than a fully open and immersive job site simulation. However, its management mechanics are interesting, and the heavy equipment is still intricately designed, making for a fun game, even if it’s not the one you necessarily wanted it to be.
Though the pacing can feel like it is padding for time, and its smaller fights can be a little repetitive, Homura Hime really picks up in its exciting boss fights, serving as a parry-heavy hack-and-slash game with cinematic moments and bullet-hell elements that challenge your mastery of the mechanics. Though a bit short, Homura Hime is well worth its asking price and should especially appeal to fans of its anime aesthetic and score-chasing design.
While certain elements of the game challenge the traditional playstyle of city builder games, Laysara: Summit Kingdom stands out for its unique theme, challenge, and mechanics. A very different kind of city builder, and one that ventures into a territory never before seen in the genre.
While it could do a better job of explaining some of its mechanics, could be a little more complex in its combo-crafting, and doesn’t have the best keyboard controls, Scott Pilgrim EX is still an excellent beat-’em-up game set in the iconic comic book universe. Best enjoyed with friends, this game can still be played and appreciated solo, especially for die-hard fans of Scott Pilgrim.
Built on the foundation of a PlayStation 2-era classic, the work done on Legacy of Kain: Defiance Remastered is simply not as impressive as it was when we saw it in the remaster of 1999’s Soul Reaver. Even so, Legacy of Kain: Defiance Remastered is far from a terrible remaster of the original and is definitely the most modern way to experience the game until a full remake comes along.
Never Grave: The Witch and The Curse expertly combines Metroidvania gameplay with a roguelike loop, and presents it all with gorgeous art and beautiful music. While the game can bottleneck your runs by forcing you to return to the hub earlier than you might want to, it still features a fun progression system, solid combat, and good platforming mechanics.
Resident Evil Requiem has everything fans have come to love from the series, combining two very different styles of game into one experience to enjoy. The story is rich, the characters are excellent, and the scares are outstanding, making for what is now likely this Resident Evil devotee’s favorite game in the franchise.
SealChain: Call of Blood stands out for its unique approach to deckbuilding and its phenomenal art and aesthetic. To some, the game may feel menu-heavy and action-lite, with the poor localization making its mechanics harder to understand. Those who can look past these issues and really engage with the character-building mechanics will likely fall in love with the complexity of the mechanics, the narrative, and the world and characters within.
LOVE ETERNAL is strange, avant-garde, and downright hard, but it never feels cheap or unfair in its challenge. Its experimental storytelling is eerie and engaging, and the controls of the game are buttery-smooth and precise, making for platforming that’s as fun to play as it is challenging.
Demon Tides rocks, combining chill and unique expressive platforming mechanics with an absolutely magnetic cast of characters, some great art, and an overall sense of style all its own.
Disciples: Domination can feel slow, tedious, and grindy at times, but fun can still be had in its unique party recruitment mechanic and highly customizable player character. However, it doesn’t change enough from the game that came before to justify its existence as a sequel, and may even feel like a disappointing departure for returning fans.
Styx: Blades of Greed is a master of stealth gaming, with excellently designed levels, incredibly fun stealth and kill mechanics, and a rich and engaging fantasy world to host it all in. Fans of the franchise and newcomers alike are bound to enjoy this third installment in the Styx series, which knows what a stealth gamer wants and executes it flawlessly.
Mewgenics deserves all its praise and more, delivering a solid monster-rancher premise with strong roguelike gameplay and packaging it all with incredible humor that only the creative minds behind Super Meat Boy and The Binding of Isaac could pull off. You couldn’t swing a cat around in this game without smashing it into something awesome.
Clue: Murder by Death seems perfect for a niche audience, as it offers a mystery that requires player commitment and meaningful deduction skills to solve, with very few tools to make it easier. For a general audience, however, the game is likely to feel slow, awkward to play, and full of distracting load times, which come together to make a game that’s hard to engage with.
REANIMAL far exceeded my expectations, even outdoing the original Little Nightmares with its mature themes, twists on the formula, and genuinely tense and scary gameplay. The original creators of Little Nightmares prove they’ve still got it, and I can’t wait to see what they have in store for us next.