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Eriksholm: The Stolen Dream is a brilliant testament to what a small team of dedicated individuals can accomplish, with River End Games releasing one of the best narrative-driven stealth adventures in a long while. Eriksholm features a moving, tragic, and ultimately hopeful story, mixed with fun stealth gameplay, and increasingly difficult scenarios to navigate. From its humble beginnings to its epic end, Eriksholm delivers in spades.
Donkey Kong Bananza takes everything you expect from a Donkey Kong game and polishes it with such a fine coat that almost any type of player can find something to have fun with. If it’s collecting every Banana, mastering the Bananza’s, completing side quests, or just playing through a fun story, there is something fun for all ages. With plenty of easter eggs for players familiar with the franchise, Bonanza doesn’t rely purely on nostalgia to make it enjoyable. If you’ve missed collectathons or just want to experience a DK game with your kids, Bananza is a great time!
Despelote was a bit of a personal one for me, and I can see why some players may not love it due to it being a walking simulator where you kick a ball around. But for anyone willing to give it a chance, you’ll find a snippet of pure sentiment to engage with as you put on the shoes of its developer. You see Ecuador for its authentic self as a child and witness a moment that you probably never batted an eye at before. But you leave with a fuzzy feeling, wanting to reminisce about your own memories you had as a child.
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4 lands somewhere between remake and reimagining. It doesn’t land either perfectly, but it's still a ton of fun. There’s a lot to see and do, but I’ll always come back to just skating around, pulling off tricks just for the fun of it.
Lies of P: Overture is a fantastic, albeit slightly short, addition to the already incredible Lies of P base game. Clocking in somewhere between six to eight hours, Overture is an incredibly well-made expansion which does an impressive job of fleshing out the lore of Krat while providing impressive new set pieces to explore, weapons to master, Legion Arms to forge, and challenging bosses to defeat.
A bold leap forward, but doesn’t stick the landing
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach is one of those rare moments where a game takes itself seriously as a work of art. It’s beautiful, touching, joyful, and tragic all at once. While you’ll be spending most of its runtime just driving trucks around instead of contending with the terrain, it’s still incredibly fun to play and witness its very human story unfold.
Old Skies is an incredible adventure game story that will have you laughing, crying, and in awe - sometimes all at the same time. Its puzzles are pretty easy to solve, but the story and characters will have you glued to your seat until the final moments.
Elden Ring Nightreign is a daring experiment that succeeds in delivering a fast-paced, replayable multiplayer experience, but only for genre veterans seeking a fresh take on the traditional FromSoftware formula.
The Midnight Walk sits on the precipice of greatness but tragically falls short when it comes to gameplay and, too often, the presentation of its story. Despite its many problems, the game’s magnificent high points make this brief journey worthwhile.
This time around the setting and story caught my attention a lot more, with a great variety of characters and puzzles to solve. Don’t go in expecting a complete revision of its predecessor making the ultimate experience, it is pretty much the same game but with a new coat of paint, but for me that’s all I really needed. I’ll always come back for more with Duck Detectives shenanigans!
Sea of Stars: Throes of the Watchmaker is an attempt to make the stars of the base game actual characters, and while it fails at that the effort is appreciated. Still, the game itself is a ton of fun, with great combat, gorgeous visuals, fantastic music, and fun puzzles.
Blue Prince does what Slay the Spire did: invents a new subgenre and perfects it at the same time. Its more obtuse puzzles and fair share of bugs can’t hold it back from being a monumental achievement in the fine art of game design.
It’s hard to put into words how impressive Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is. From the breathtaking world, to the emotional and sincere story, to the deep and sensational turn-based combat, to the award-worthy soundtrack, every aspect of Expedition 33 hits the perfect note. This grandiose adventure is a monumental debut for a new studio, a true masterpiece from Sandfall Interactive.
The best thing I can say about a game of this nature is that it accomplishes what it sets out to do. It creates puzzles to be solved, gives players the tools to succeed, and then makes you feel like a dextrous genius when you execute successfully. Couple that fantastic visual design and a solid soundtrack and you have something special fans will come back to time and again. Don’t sleep on this wild ride.
Even if some of Urban Myth Dissolution Center's mysteries are rather straightforward to solve, the overall experience is still reasonably enjoyable to amble through. If you're looking for a more laid-back occult mystery, it's here, but don't expect the myths to be too legendary.
After all that gushing about what makes Wanderstop great, I’m now kind of lost for words. This game takes the conventions of the much-loved cozy genre and turns it into an emotional experience that touches on some very real issues.
South of Midnight is a masterclass in picking a theme and sticking to it all the way through. The usage of music as a character world/lore enhancement is one of the best examples out there of what TO do. From the character models, to the music, and beyond; South of Midnight shows how to build a game around a style and committing fully.
If you’re a fan of more esoteric storytelling and indie point-and-clicks, I think Centum would be really up your alley. While there are slow points in the narrative and rather simplistic gameplay, the game as a whole is still positive, even if I was left with more questions than I had answers to.
MainFrames is a short and sweet platformer that manages to pack plenty of challenge and fun into every stage, all while remaining visually striking, engaging, and memorable.