Pepper Grinder is simply one of the greatest 2D platformers I've ever played, thanks to movement that is absolute perfection and endless creativity that allows for constant reinvention in every single new level you enter.
Scorn is gross and disgusting in all the best ways. It's a remarkably unique experience that will alienate many, but will undoubtedly find an audience of people that cherish every part of it. How big that audience is remains to be seen.
Bramble: The Mountain King is a dark fairy tale done right. It pulls you in with all the whimsy and charm of an enchanted forest, before it disturbs you with the horrors of a wronged soul.
Planet of Lana is an exciting adventure with well built puzzles, breathtaking set pieces, a stunning art style, and a score that underlines it all perfectly.
El Paso, Elsewhere feels good to play and is beautiful to look at. But even more than that, it's simply an outstanding piece of southern gothic fiction, with a quality of writing that blew me away.
Phantom Liberty is a strong expansion to the base game, and a reminder that, despite the rough start, the Cyberpunk 2077 universe is one I'd love to see further expanded in the future.
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is one of the very best metroidvanias of modern times that revives a fan-favorite franchise with a new coat of paint. Let's hope this means there's a bright future awaiting.
I will play Granblue Fantasy: Relink for many more hours to come. It perfectly scratches that itch of slaying giant beasts to upgrade one of many individual characters to then slay even bigger beasts in this beautifully illustrated steampunk fantasy world.
To put it in terms as simple as the game itself, Balatro is the best deckbuilding roguelike I've played. And I've played as many as there are cards in a deck (almost).
Signalis harkens back to the classic survival horror experience, and it does so beautifully. With its stunning presentation, unique story, and an atmosphere that you draws you in from the get to. It manages to carve out its own little space in the canon of the survival horror genre, that can keep up with the classics.
Birth is a short, quaint, but most importantly effective, exploration of the loneliness and isolation one might encounter living in the big city.
DREDGE is a great fishing adventure game, with Lovecraftian horror influences. It's admittedly simple, but it absolutely works, and fortunately it ends before it could ever run out of steam.
Dordogne is an intimate adventure that reminds us how important the small moments in life can be.
Cocoon is another triumph by Jeppe Carlsen, with simple but effective puzzle design in beautifully realized worlds to explore.
World of Horror is an incredible horror RPG that functions as a love letter to Junji Ito and H.P. Lovecraft worthy of their names.
Laika: Aged Through Blood is a rather unique metroidvania experience that scores with very satisfying motorbike traversal, and a melancholic atmosphere that's supported by one of the best soundtracks of the year.
Robocop: Rogue City scores with some of the most fun gameplay I've come across this year, and sometimes that's all you need to be a great game.
The Winters' Expansion is a worthwhile distraction for fans of Resident Evil Village and will deliver a couple of fun hours, but if you feel satisfied with the main campaign of the game already you won't necessarily need to return for this one.
Blacktail lets you inhabit a beautifully realized fairy tale world, and while the gameplay can sometimes fall into the mediocre rather than the great, it still works as a whole package due to how the whole thing comes together, and an amount of charm that cannot be understated.
Bat Boy is a very competent 2D action platformer, and lots of fun can be had with it, even if it's a rather challenging game at times. Sadly, the repeated crashing in one part of it impacted my enjoyment quite a bit.