The games of Texas hold'em poker All in Abyss: Judge the Fake are fun for a while but become tiresome thanks to a lack of innovation and a reliance on luck. The writing isn't doing much to pick up the slack either.
The Darkest Files is a satisfying courtroom game with a somber tone and serious subject matter. But even more than that, it's an important reminder of a dark time in history that is more relevant now than ever.
Karma: The Dark World rises above the crowd of psychological horror indie games thanks to outstanding imagery that showcases endless creativity and technical execution that punches way above its weight class.
Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector builds on the first game with multiple stations to explore and higher ambitions in its storytelling. But in widening its scope, it loses some of the intimate details of the first game.
The Thing: Remastered is a solid remaster of a decent game that isn't lacking in interesting ideas but doesn't seem to know what to meaningfully do with them.
The Spirit of the Samurai has more flaws than I could possibly list here and frustrated me for large parts of my time with it, but damn, does it have a vibe.
Vampire Survivors: Ode to Castlevania finally gives us probably the most wished-for collab possible for this game, and in doing so adds an insane amount of new content and an interesting new dynamic to its structure.
If you're interested in the history of the survival horror genre, this is an absolute must-play for you. If you're looking for a new survival horror game to play, then just be aware that this is an old game and feels accordingly. That doesn't have to be a bad thing, but I fear for many it will be.
The Lake House is a short but effective mood piece with some fascinating thematic layers about the importance of the creative's voice in art, all pulled off in a way only Remedy could.
While some of the writing hasn't aged the best, everything else about Shadows of the Damned still feels great. It's a game from a different time, and one that won't be for everybody, but it's a gem that I can only hope will be rediscovered by the right crowd.
RetroRealms: Halloween is not a bad game, but it's one where the potential for more is very apparent. Its RetroRealms: Ash vs. Evil Dead counterpart has delivered on more and is a fun adaptation of the movie franchise, as the 16-bit 2D platformer style of game is a surprisingly great fit and manages to fit all of the charm of the original movies inside of it.
Europa is one of the bigger disappointments for me this year. It’s a game that’s nice to look at but a chore to play. Even at its very short runtime of around 3 hours, I got bored of the lack of mechanics and frustrated with the lackluster execution of them.
I Am Your Beast is another major work from what I consider to be one of the interesting studios in the industry right now. Stylish, adrenaline-fueled action in a pulpy game that knows exactly what it is.
Warhammer 40.000: Space Marine 2 builds on everything the original had to offer, making you feel like an absolute badass and creating a power fantasy like few other games manage.
Creatures of Ava is a mostly mediocre experience with few things to keep you interested and, across the board, rather mediocre execution of its ideas.
Clickolding is a very short game that makes it difficult to hold onto any one individual idea it presents, but in totality creates a singular impression of something that won't let you go for long after you've clicked your final click.
Night Springs is a fantastic anthology that makes use of Remedy's eclectic collection of characters and locations to create some truly absurd Twilight Zone-esque stories that are good fun for any fan of the studio.
Still Wakes the Deep delivers a strong atmosphere and specific sense of place that make its unique mix of cosmic horror and grounded natural disaster survival thriller work beautifully.
Senua's Saga: Hellblade II showcases a level of visual prowess that blows anything we've seen so far out of the water and uses it to present a journey that, while short, excites from beginning to end.
While Umbraclaw has an interesting core mechanic revolving around the nine lives of a cat, it's lacking in execution with bland level design and lackluster combat.