Absolum blew me away with its mastery of the side-scrolling beat-’em-up and roguelike genres, seamlessly combining the two in a game that is exceptional on a technical level and a blast to play. Paired with the excellent combat and roguelike loop are phenomenal characters, great worldbuilding, and gorgeous art, making for a game that is an absolute steal at just $25.
BALL x PIT does everything I want a roguelike game to do, delivering fun mechanics in an infinitely replayable loop that also manages to be a unique departure from many games in the genre. Paired with gorgeous dark fantasy pixel art, incredible music, and a fun, unique setting, the game gives you many reasons to give it a try and few excuses to avoid it.
Dreams of Another is a beautiful experience, albeit one that is sure to be polarizing. If you’re looking for a relaxing, thought-provoking, linear experience that feels like a virtual art exhibit, you’ll likely enjoy this game. For those looking for more of a traditional “game,” however, Dreams of Another can feel slow, repetitive, and is probably something you’d want to skip.
Little Nightmares 3 upholds its franchise’s place at the top of the genre, being tense, engaging, and deeply immersive with its macabre worldbuilding. The addition of co-op is a great addition to the series, while remaining an excellent solo experience, should you choose to play it that way.
Bye Sweet Carole is an incredible work of art and animation, one worth experiencing on its artistic merits alone. As a game, however, it leaves much to be desired, failing to innovate with its shallowest of mechanics. It is a game that plays slow when it plays at all and likely would have done better as a film.
Lethal Honor: Order of the Apocalypse has a strong comic book identity, featuring amazing art, stylized graphics, and a well-paced story that will keep you interested to the end. While its roguelike and combat mechanics fall a bit short, they’re more than enough to keep you playing as you chase those awesome cutscenes and story arcs throughout.
The Lacerator is horror comedy that works because of how well it understands the source material it is parodying. Beneath absurdist humor that pokes fun at its genre is a horror game that could easily fit alongside the rest, earning some genuine moments of tension and intrigue, only to be constantly undercut by a well-executed and utterly stupid joke.
Perhaps not an improvement in every way, Castle of Heart: Retold presents a newer take on the original, fixing some clunky controls and difficulty problems at the cost of a bit of its charm. While a unique take on the platforming genre, this reviewer simply didn’t find himself all too impressed by what Castle of Heart: Retold had to offer, with its unique mechanics feeling more like a briefly interesting gimmick that isn’t upheld by the rest of the experience.
What could have been an excellent entry in the creature-collection genre is spoiled by a bizarre focus on story padding and content that feels like filler. While the fun of collecting, battling, and evolving the Digimon cast is there, it’s executed in a way that demands players really dig to get to it, with odd design choices that undercut the progression system and the overall fun that could have been.
Hades II is everything I wanted and more, expanding upon nearly everything in the original and making it bigger, better, and stronger. Supergiant delivers a title that will satisfy existing fans and capture new ones, creating a game that is far more than just a sequel.
Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds is the best arcade racer on the market, especially for PC players. However, the steep price feels too high, even with everything the game offers, and the choice to include characters from outside the franchise while beloved Sonic characters are still missing leaves this reviewer disappointed and a bit perplexed.
Towa and the Guardians of the Sacred Tree is gorgeous and creative, but ultimately held back by its core mechanics. Fun characters, great art, and a unique minigame fail to elevate this title beyond its stiff and below-average-for-the-genre gameplay.
No, I’m Not a Human is a game with a core premise of paranoia and survival compelling enough to make the first playthrough memorable. Unfortunately, its shallow mechanics, weak writing, and limited replay value keep the game from living up to its own hype.
Borderlands 4 elevates the franchise, showcasing the best the gameplay has ever been and greatly improving on the storytelling and writing of Borderlands 3. However, performance issues keep this game away from a perfect score, and I urge would-be buyers to keep an eye on fixes before paying the steep cost of entry for this otherwise incredible title.
Gloomy Eyes feels like a playable Burton short film with enough challenge and heart to stand tall as a great little puzzle-adventure game. It’s not perfect; some puzzles drag, and navigation can sometimes get muddled, but the art style, storytelling, and atmosphere make it a standout experience that’s hard not to fall in love with, especially for anyone with a love of the weird, the charmingly creepy, and the delightfully dark.
Katanaut is a stylish, bloody, and fast-paced roguelike with a strong identity and straightforward mechanics. While its visual and audio flair excites, the game can feel held back by readability issues and an adherence to the Metroidvania format, which emphasizes backtracking in a game that otherwise wants to feel fast.
Everybody’s Golf Hot Shots is a surprisingly enjoyable golf game with solid mechanics and a chill vibe, even if it doesn’t do much to win over people who aren’t already fans of the sport. It’s built for fans of the game looking for a nice digital way to enjoy the sport, but Steam Deck players may struggle with performance.
While its mechanical satisfaction and feeling of power could use some work, Jotunnslayer: Hordes of Hel still serves as a solid entry into the survivors-like genre, being especially visually excellent and showing remarkable growth from its Early Access run.
Though its markerless questing mechanics are not as revolutionary for the genre as the game says they are, Hell is Us still plays as a very good Soulslike. Its narrative may be weird in places, but its solid mechanics and incredible setting more than make up for it.
Though it fails as a horror game, Bad Cheese is still a narrative-driven title worth checking out for the strength of its premise, its interesting themes, and the merit of its art. This parody of classic cartoons and Americana might not scare you, but you’ll still find yourself intrigued by what it has to offer.