Road 96: Mile 0 doesn't set out to expand the gameplay that made the original so unique. It instead seeks to flesh out the world through a smaller, more intimate story that tugs on your heartstrings. Pair this with some radical gameplay sections and awesome music, and you have yourself a fun, if a little short, experience.
Crime Boss: Rockay City's heist gameplay is squandered by a myriad of bugs, mindless, boring gameplay, and a severe lack of fun despite its best attempts to have the presence of GTA and the mechanics of Payday, both of which are much better games.
If you're looking for an engaging multiplayer spy game, Deceive Inc. is hiding in plain sight. It has some issues that mar an otherwise solid experience, but it's difficult to fault it for those since it will only run you $20.
With its masterful mixing of cozy fishing gameplay and horror elements, Dredge is pretty much a slam dunk of a debut for Black Salt Games. The style in its presentation and gameplay shows competence and confidence, and I hope they follow Dredge up with something great very soon.
Gamers looking for a hardcore crafting/survival game on consoles likely won't be able to find much better than Valheim, and its inclusion in Game Pass further makes it an easy choice despite a handful of issues.
Even at its relatively lower price, I don't think LEAP is worth your time. There are games with more personality and more fun that can be downloaded and played for free these days, which makes LEAP basically dead on arrival. Look elsewhere for your competitive FPS needs.
If you're new to Soulslikes, Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty might be the most fun and accessible one yet thanks to a number of features it implements.
Sons of the Forest is exciting, immersive, and beautiful. It is also extremely scary and absolutely packed with content. These are things you probably expect from a big game, but not a budget Early Access title. Sons of the Forest somehow manages to be all of these things simultaneously, and there is still more to come.
Scars Above is a fascinating mix of point-and-click narrative and Soulslike action games. I can't recall playing a game quite like it in the recent past, and for that alone, it deserves praise.
As a first major project from a largely new studio, Atomic Heart is astounding. It is a visual spectacle with great gameplay and an overarching story that is worth seeing to the end. But as a title that is aiming to take on the other major blockbuster games of the recent past, it's not quite there.
Wanted: Dead has a charm and sense of humor that is rarely found in modern games, and it backs that up with an amazing combat system that only gets better the more you play.
There's a lot to like about Death in the Water 2, and it's a very impressive game coming from a 2-person game studio. But the things it lacks hamper the experience quite a bit, especially if you stick with it to the end.
Even though it has flashes of games that came before, Hi-Fi Rush is a unique, masterful game that accomplishes everything it sets out to with plenty of style and charm to spare.
Overall, Risen is… fine. It’s a game that was influential and beloved in its time, but that time was long ago, and many other great games have taken its place since.
Lone Ruin is a hardcore, action-packed roguelike game to its core, and it absolutely shines on the Switch. If more content is added later on, this could be an early front-runner for the top indie game of 2023.
You don't need to be as strong as a Viking to enjoy Valheim. However, having that strength and a few friends by your side might help you survive and navigate this fascinating yet unforgiving world.
Hello Neighbor 2 is a gorgeous game with a solid concept, but unfortunately it is held back by some serious bugs and bad AI.
Gundam Evolution might have shamelessly lifted some of its presentation and mechanics from other games (and I think it did), but it's still a great game at the end of the day.