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I truly wanted to love Krut: The Mythic Wings, but ultimately, it’s a title that is extremely difficult to recommend. With its bare-bones combat, imprecise platforming, and an over-reliance on grinding, it completely squanders the potential of its narrative and setting. Whilst there is some fun to be had with the boss fights, the fleeting moments of joy provided by these encounters are completely overshadowed by what a drag the rest of the experience is.
Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak is, quite honestly, everything that I could have asked for. Between the new and returning monsters, wonderful new hunting locales, and a delightful bevy of tweaks and additions, you really can’t consider Rise to be a complete game anymore without Sunbreak. It truly is an already great game’s even better half.
If you’re looking for more brilliantly brutal gunplay and satisfying supernatural shootouts, Outriders: Worldslayer delivers the goods. But there’s a good chance your mileage will vary depending on what you hope to get out of the DLC. If you love fine-tuning your builds and tackling the highest World Tiers, Worldslayer will keep you glued to your controller for the foreseeable future. However, if you’re the type of player who’s strictly in it for the campaign and quest lines, you’ll probably want to wait for it to go on sale before pulling the trigger.
Green Hell VR is the kind of game that will remind you why you bought a VR headset in the first place. It has so much to offer players who enjoy survival games, and the PCVR version is the closer of the existing two VR ports to the PC original for those who care about that sort of thing. If you’re looking to delve into an Amazonian rain forest and see if you can come out of it alive — or just want to stand in awe of the beauty virtual nature has to offer, transfixed by the gentle lighting and distinctive atmosphere — Green Hell VR will put your survival skills to the ultimate test.
While the story never fully grabbed me, Neon White is an absolute joy to play, keeping me hooked and repeatedly making me ask myself if I had one more run in me. Even if you’re not the sort of player who usually gets into chasing high scores and leaderboards, Neon White might surprise you.
MX vs ATV Legends is the very definition of a “mixed-bag.” On one hand, it can be a genuinely thrilling racer, especially when you’re throwing an MX bike over insane jumps and barreling around corners at breakneck speed. It’s a pity that level of fun doesn’t carry over to the other disciplines, though, and it’s this discrepancy between the enjoyment on offer in each career track that makes MX vs. ATV Legends a bit of a hard sell at the moment. That’s not to say it should be avoided at all costs, but it may be worth waiting to see what’s down the road in terms of optimization and balance, as with a few tweaks to the physics and performance, this could turn out to be a much more well-rounded package.
Gordian Quest draws inspiration from old-school RPGs, Dungeons & Dragons, and deck-builders like Slay the Spire, yet it proudly stands on its own. With deep, addictive gameplay and endless replayability with multiple play modes, Gordian Quest boldly blazes its own trail. It’s rare that a game can draw from so many sources and have the end product feel so refined, yet this game delivers in spades. I can’t recommend this game enough to fellow deck-builder and RPG lovers.
Spacewing War is a straightforward shmup in a crowded genre. Its Game Boy aesthetic is pleasant, it controls well, and it provides a decent challenge. It just doesn’t have that spark to set it apart from its brethren. It needs a shot of adrenaline and a confidence boost. Still, it’s not a bad way to spend an afternoon if you need to scratch that shmup itch.
It’s a real shame that I couldn’t find much to enjoy here, since there’s a good amount of potential here, but you’d think with such a fun theme and the mechanics at play, there’d be so much more life in this game. Maybe I went in with too high of expectations, maybe I wasn’t the target audience, but between the monotonous music that I eventually muted and the gameplay loop that tires itself out long before the cake’s done cooking, I really want to like this game more, but, to be honest, I can’t say I’m thrilled about playing this anymore. If you’ve played Super Mario and Donkey Kong, you’ve been here before. If you don’t mind that and just want some solid platforming to kill five or so hours, it’s harmless enough that I’d say go for it if it’s on sale. But otherwise, it’s reshades of the same thing, and this game doesn’t dare to tread much farther than those before it.
There are some cool ideas in Eternal Threads and a series of characters that I mostly liked spending time with. The mechanics work well, even If I’d have liked to see a little more puzzle-solving and interaction. When your whole game is built around its narrative, though, it’s an issue when so little of it comes together and leaves you with a satisfying conclusion. I wish I could recommend Eternal Threads as the actual process of playing through it is mostly entertaining enough, but, in the end, I was left wanting so much more.
There’s really no getting around it, dood—Prinny Presents NIS Classics Volume 2 is another smash-hit. Er… I guess it’s more like two smash hits? I don’t know. I’m not here to talk about semantics. Basically, what I’m saying is that they did a good job with picking out these games. Both ZHP and Makai Kingdom were most definitely worthy of receiving another chance in the spotlight, and I’m very happy that that happened. Keep ’em coming, NIS!
Despite some strange design choices, Pocky & Rocky Reshrined captures the charm of the original game and still feels great to play all these years later. Added variety makes this the best version of Pocky & Rocky and makes me long for this dynamic duo to be given a truly original title now that they’ve fought their way out of obscurity.
Hero’s Hour may look like a simple game, and truthfully it can be if that’s what you want, but dig a little deeper and you’ll discover some surprising details. And while it definitely deserves the comparisons it receives to Heroes of Might and Magic, Hero’s Hour unfolds into something all on its own if you let it speak for itself. Whether you want a casual or complex experience, Hero’s Hour provides both — wrapped up in a glorious pixel art turn-based strategy RPG.
Ultimately, how much enjoyment you get out of Fobia depends on what you’re looking for. If you’re just dying for gripping gunplay with myriad monsters to encounter, there’s no denying that you’ll probably be pretty disappointed with what this title has to offer. But if you can look beyond its rougher edges, Fobia – St. Dinfna Hotel offers tantalizingly terrifying accommodations for survival horror fans.
I wanted Kapital: Sparks of Revolution to continue running with the city-survival genre that Frostpunk put into place, and while it is definitely the relaxing, low-stress city-builder of my dreams, it is not the difficult experience it markets itself as. You may struggle for the first hour or two before really settling into a utopian paradise, but you will get to that point of smooth sailing sooner or later. For a game about revolution, the only thing revolutionary here is how chill it is; Kapital: Sparks of Revolution is fun and addicting, but it’s hardly the stressful city-survival simulator it tries to be. I’m more than okay with that, but are you?
AI: The Somnium Files – nirvanA Initiative isn’t a perfect game, but it offers one of the best mysteries I’ve ever seen in a game. Combine that with a wonderful cast and somnium sequences that blow away the original game, and you have a visual novel that is a must-play for anyone interested in the genre. AI: The Somnium Files was minor Uchikosi, but nirvanA Initiative stands among his best work.
Despite -- or maybe because of -- the intense moral choices the game forces on you, it’s hard to stop playing My Lovely Wife. I didn’t get up for at least an hour after starting my first session, and reached my first ending a couple of hours later. While the subject material found herein is heavy and dark, the story and setting are nevertheless compelling and downright addictive. Even though I’ve never played the previous game, My Lovely Daughter, I’m sold on My Lovely Wife. If you’re a fan of dark and fascinating Visual Novels, this is your game.
I really enjoyed my time with We Were Here Forever. Sure, I played it during finals at school and after long, long days at work, so my brain frequently was already overworked, and sure, I had to laugh at myself very, very frequently for overlooking obvious things and overthinking puzzles. But there’s something to be said for the sense of accomplishment for figuring out some genuinely wild puzzles. We Were Here Forever is one long, brilliantly designed escape room puzzle that requires constant communication between players, making for a truly unique experience that will be hard to replicate. I definitely recommend grabbing a good friend and diving in. You won’t regret it.
Card Shark is absolutely the most thrilling card game out there, made even more impressive by the fact that you don’t actually do much by way of playing cards. This scintillating sleight of hand title has inadvertently taught me a lot about card tricks, all set to gorgeous Baroque music and stunningly illustrated scenes. The mechanics may feel a little difficult at times due to an onslaught of varied controls, but once you master them, you’ll feel like a card comte(ss) yourself. If you want something enthralling with high production value and even higher stakes, Card Shark can deal you in.
Words fail me when it comes to Behind the Frame: The Finest Scenery. A stunning tribute to a love borne of all the things that should have been said but were kept within, Behind the Frame: The Finest Scenery made me full on sob after witnessing its incredible beauty. Fans of Miyazaki films will come for the art style but stay for the tear-jerking story that will paint their hearts with the colors of every raw and real emotion portrayed. If you’re ready to cry — and then, after that, cry some more — Behind the Frame: The Finest Scenery awaits your brush.