In a world where the latest half-baked Pokémon has taken up most of the bandwidth for a creature-catching game in people’s lives, Cassette Beasts is a feast. Players are bound to spend countless hours in the game as they come to understand what a fresh perspective using current-gen tech is able to accomplish in a genre that has been more or less stagnant for decades.
While Tears of the Kingdom suffers from noticeably more visual bugs and dropped framerate than its predecessor, this can largely be attributed to the sheer size of the world. As with BOTW, players will be comparing every game to this for the next five years, at least. It’s one of those things that you can’t understand unless you play for yourself and it’s wise to go in as fresh as possible.
Diablo IV is the monumentally fun game that such an iconic series deserves while still being approachable for new players to enjoy. The gameplay relies a lot on the grind, but you’re almost always rewarded with something of equal quality to the effort you put in. The story would get stale if you had to play through it each time, admittedly, but you can skip it for any additional characters once you beat it once.
From start to finish Oxenfree II is able to evolve in every aspect from the original. Night School Studio has created another exceptionally spooky story that ends with an even stronger emotional gut punch than the original. The puzzles are fun, if not challenging, and the way the game reacts to players' choices is not only a boon to the story but also seems as if it could encourage several playthroughs without getting stale.
PowerWash Simulator is a fun experience, due to its addicting mechanics and progression system while acknowledging it is still in development. However, it will likely improve as development progresses, and we look forward to seeing what FuturLab has in store.
Cosmonius High is Owlchemy Labs’ best game to date, bar none. The developer took everything that made its past games special and fit it together with master precision to create this one. The sound design, physics, and characters go far to make the player feel like they’re in a real intergalactic high school.
Rogue Legacy 2 is a leap above its predecessor, which was already great fun. The music, characters, and world blend to create one of the most enjoyable Rogue-likes of this decade. The sheer level of content will allow players to engage with this world for hours and hours, and the House Rules enable the player to make it more challenging after that. Rogue Legacy 2 is a must-have for fans of the genre.
Overall, Kayak VR: Mirage is a beautiful game that manages to create a kayaking simulator that feels like you’re actually paddling through scenic locations. Not only is it a peaceful way to relax, but your arms will certainly get a workout the longer you play. While the game might be a little light on content at the moment, that is sure to improve as the devs continue to support it post-launch.
Dwarf Fortress is one of the most incredibly complex games to ever be released, with Bay 12 Games showing no sign of slowing down in the coming years. While the complicated menus and steep learning curve might be too much for some people, this game will be exactly what most colony management fans have always been looking for.
Fictiorama Studios has managed to do it again with Do Not Feed the Monkeys 2099, an addicting big brother desktop simulator where players will decide the fate of their Primates. While it might not be a perfect sequel, there’s enough evolution and interesting new content that fans or new players alike will find it plenty enjoyable.
While it does try its best to pull your attention away, the core gameplay and added depth in Pikmin 4 will leave it remembered as the best in the series to date. It takes any repetitive gameplay and throws it out the window with new Pikmin, dungeons, mini-games, Oatchi, and more. There always seems like there is something new to discover in Pikmin 4 until the very end. However, Nintendo has made a game that is so engaging that players will take as long as they can to get there.
Hotel Renovator is more than just another addition to the simulator genre, elevating what it means to create a property renovation game. No matter how you play, there’s a lot of satisfaction that will come as a result of seeing a room you created fully come together. While it has occasional issues with textures and NPCs, anyone who enjoys a good home makeover will have a lot of fun in this game.
While slightly too short for its own good, Venba is an exciting cooking narrative game exploring Tamil food. It tells an important, yet heart-wrenching story of a family as they struggle to fit in a new country.
Tunic provides a lot of promise for fans of the old-school Zelda games, but you have to find your way to get there. However, for players who don’t mind the difficulty, the journey is worth the treasure that awaits you at the end.
Teardown is a beautiful game set in a world that’s more destructible than anything in games before, allowing players complete control over a voxel sandbox. The detail of the world and physics is nothing short of amazing and will be studied by developers for years to come. With the extensive possibilities of content already in the game and modding, players will never run out of things to destroy.
Dorfromantik is a peaceful puzzle game that doesn’t ask a lot from its players. Those who enjoy simple puzzles will likely find a lot of fun matching up the different hexagons. Spending time just trying to put your village together is rewarding when you see the final product. However, this puzzle game isn’t for perfectionists or those looking for more complicated city builders.
Little Cities is a great city builder that provides players with tools and the opportunity to use them. There is a lot of freedom in how you get your city to level up, but not much else outside of that. Whereas some city-builders encourage the constant evolution of a city, Little Cities is much more about solving the puzzle of how to level your town based on different challenges the game puts in your way.
Escape Academy is an exciting puzzle game that invites the player to experience around a dozen unique escape rooms. While the world doesn’t evolve into much beyond that, it’s still a lot of fun to progress through the different challenges. Add in that players can experience these puzzles with friends and Escape Academy becomes a proper re-creation of real-life escape rooms.
River City Saga: Three Kingdoms is one of the most unique brawlers to come out this year, managing to create something more than its side-scrolling relatives. The art and music help evolve this game into a charming experience that keeps the player interested through the tough battles. While there is a learning curve and the game’s controls are a bit strange, Three Kingdoms is a thrilling fight to be a part of.
The Wandering Village is a great management game that has an important message it doesn’t try to jam down your throat. The mechanics will tell your story, whether it is parasitic or mutualistic. Stray Fawn Studio has done a wonderful job of creating a game that teaches the player the importance of being kind to nature before nature leaves us.