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Bramble: The Mountain King offers an adventure that’s beautiful and horrifying in equal measure, so expect to be kept on the edge of your seat when playing. Don’t get me wrong, it can be guilty of keeping things simple and there’s not much here you wouldn’t have seen before from a gameplay perspective, but the way that it keeps players hooked in with its luscious world and terrifying encounters with enemies is simply enthralling. It’s rare that a game manages to shock me time and time again when playing, but man, Bramble: The Mountain King maintained that unnerving sense of fear right until the very end.
Another Fisherman’s Tale is another enjoyable puzzler that introduces plenty of new ideas to keep the experience fresh and unique. It feels completely different to the first game, and whilst I’d be lying if I said I preferred it over its predecessor, it certainly offers more variety and creativity across its larger adventure. It’s not a particularly challenging experience and the controls can be a little fiddly to get used to at first, but Another Fisherman’s Tale still shines as a captivating virtual reality puzzler that showcases Innerspace VR’s creative skills as a virtual reality developer.
Tin Hearts is a wonderfully crafted puzzler that’s unique, clever, and tells a heart-warming story to go along with its cute toy soldier escapade. It mixes together a variety of puzzling mechanics in a creative and whimsical way, whilst the way that everything ties into the use of toys always kept a smile on my face. And sure, the time manipulating mechanics mean that the stakes aren’t too high when leading your toy soldiers on their way, but they don’t stop the game from feeling super rewarding when you finally solve each tricky conundrum.
Mile High Taxi offers a cool and unique take on the Crazy Taxi formula, with the manic driving through the city’s sky making for a good time. It’s a bit of a shame that it’s lacking a more interesting city to speed through and there are quite a few technical issues that I came across, but they don’t stop the core gameplay loop from being a lot of fun. It definitely sets the perfect foundation for the developer to build upon and I’d love to see more from the game in the future.
Redfall is a bit of a technical mess right now, but there’s no doubting that behind the issues there’s a satisfying vampire-slaying romp for players to embark on. It won’t win points for originality with its gunplay and the missions can get repetitive, but between uncovering the sinister sights of the town, working with friends in rewarding co-op action, and utilising the wonderful abilities of your character, there is a good time to be had. As it stands, though? It really needs some work. I would recommend holding off on Redfall until it has a couple of patches to fix its issues, but when the game is finally in full working order, you might find yourself pleasantly surprised.
Death or Treat has a charming Halloween vibe, but its repetitive gameplay mechanics and awkward loot system do make it hard to recommend when compared to other roguelites. It’s not that anything is bad at all, but rather that it lacks to depth and creativity to keep players hooked in for long – especially with its tiring emphasis on gathering randomised loot. It just doesn’t do anything I haven’t seen done much better in other roguelite titles. The visuals are great and the whole ‘us versus the corporation’ vibe of HallowTown was fun to see unfold, but Death or Treat just lacked that special *something* to stand out in what is a very crowded genre.
TT Isle of Man: Ride on the Edge 3 can be tough as nails to play, but once you get used to it, the racing can be really thrilling. The core gameplay loop of racing, winning, and upgrading your bike is cool, whilst the open-world exploration lets you take a deep dive into the world of TT racing on the Isle of Man – even IF it doesn’t necessarily feel like it benefits the gameplay all that much. There’s no doubting that its core audience will be motorbike lovers and I’d find it hard to recommend to casual racing fans, but those who do give it a try are in for a fun time (when they learn how to stop crashing at every bend in a road).
Amanda the Adventurer is a unique and engrossing experience that isn’t necessarily scary, but will definitely keep players on edge as they uncover its dark secrets. It’s easy to think that it’s a simple and straightforward puzzler to begin with, but it doesn’t take long before the narrative takes unusual turns, the puzzles become more creative, and Amanda really starts to creep the player out with her sinister outbursts. It’s really, REALLY cool, and easily stands out as one of the more memorable horror experiences I’ve played through in some time.
Mr Sun’s Hatbox blends together a variety of platforming, action, and strategy ideas into one brilliantly creative experience, and believe me, it’s easy to lose HOURS on end absorbed in its charming yet violent world. I’ll admit, I wasn’t too sold on the game when I first checked out its Steam page, but after playing it? I was all in. It’s fun and zany in equal measure, with Mr Sun’s Hatbox easily standing out as one of the more unique action-platforming roguelites that I’ve had the joy of playing.
The Last Case of Benedict Fox isn’t perfect, but the excellent puzzle design and sinister yet beautiful world certainly help it shine. It’s just a shame that the combat mechanics let it down, and whilst they’re not necessarily bad, they did get a little repetitive and made for some frustrating moments. Still, they didn’t stop me from really enjoying my time playing the game, with the strong points certainly outweighing those that let it down. And sure, it could have done with a bit of sprucing up here and there, but The Last Case of Benedict Fox’s certainly kept me hooked into its twisted yet wonderful world.
Teslagrad 2 is a wonderful sequel that continues the legacy of the original with its creative puzzle-platforming and excellent world design. Using Lumina’s abilities to speed through the world and deal with its hazards was constantly satisfying, whilst the sights you encounter along the way are mesmerising thanks to the fantastic hand-drawn visuals. The only downside is it is a bit too short for my liking, whilst there were some clumsy moments here and there that could cause some frustrations. Thankfully, these issues don’t stop Teslagrad 2 from being a great experience and one that long-time fans will love being a part of.
OTXO is a brutal roguelite that NEVER slows the pace down with its frantic gunplay and satisfyingly chaotic action. I had a ton of fun blasting through its levels and spilling pints of enemy blood, whilst the time-bending focus ability and varied approach you can take in each level adds a surprising amount of strategy to each playthrough. Just expect to die… a lot. There were a few little issues I encountered when playing and the formula might get a little repetitive for some players, but I’ve found myself completely hooked into OTXO. If you loved the likes of Hotline Miami and want to play something that takes a slightly different approach, you won’t want to miss out on it.
Arto is a simply mesmerising game to look at, but the combat and narrative lack the excitement to make it an easy game to recommend. It’s not that anything is bad at all, but rather that it’s all a bit… well… boring. Some of the technical issues didn’t help either, with it clear the game could have done with a little bit more work to fix some of its more obvious problems. I don’t want to slate the game too much because, as I said, it’s clear it has a lot of heart, and I really loved seeing its explosions of colour as I uncovered the world. It’s just a shame that I didn’t enjoy playing it all that much. With a few updates and patches, it could definitely be a better experience, but as it stands? There are too many better games out there that deserve your attention more.
Cassette Beasts is a captivating monster-collecting adventure that has a clear inspiration, but thrives thanks to its own unique and charming ideas. Combat is strategic and deep, the world offers a satisfying sense of discovery, the narrative is quirky and mysterious, whilst the monster design is top notch… what more could you want? It does have a few little technical bugs that I ran into playing on the Steam Deck, but they didn’t stop me from having a brilliant time as I embarked on Cassette Beasts’ remarkable adventure.
Disney Speedstorm isn’t only a ton of fun to play, but offers brilliant fan service with the love and care it has put into embracing the Disney magic. Everything is oozing with charm, whether it’s with the robust roster of fan favourites, the whimsical tracks you race across, or the wonderful melodies of familiar tunes that play as you race. Oh, and of course, the racing itself is a real treat too, with the game embracing typical karting-gameplay whilst introducing a few cool ideas of its own.
Hunt the Night has a few flaws, but they didn’t stop me from enjoying this dark and challenging action-packed romp. The combat is exciting and strategic, the world design is gorgeous and offers plenty to discover, whilst the clear Bloodborne-inspired vibe ticked plenty of the right boxes for me. Hunt the Night really has a lot going for it, and whilst the difficulty can be a little brutal at times, it never stopped me from enjoying my journey across the dangerous land of Melhram.
Moviehouse certainly nails the vibe of running your own movie studio, but the gameplay loop can get repetitive quite quickly. It’s not that anything is bad at all, but rather you do a lot of the same things over and over again with not much extra to do in between. Sure, some new ideas are introduced to spice things up as you play, but they don’t really make the process any more exciting. I don’t think the game is bad at all and those early hours playing were a lot of fun as I slowly figured out what worked (and nothing beat getting that massive blockbuster success). Moviehouse just didn’t do enough to keep me invested for long, with the management gameplay lacking the depth and creativity for my movie making career to be an ongoing one.
Infinite Guitars has some really cool ideas and an intriguing world to explore, but the repetitive gameplay loop might not be for everyone. It’s not that anything in the game is bad at all, but rather that doing the same things for hours on end might leave players a little bored after a while – even if the rhythm-based action can be a lot of fun. It’s a shame there are some technical issues and it won’t be for everyone, but those who like to play RPGs with a bit of a twist ought to give Infinite Guitars a look. It won’t be the best game you ever play (and I’d probably recommend giving it some time for all the bugs to be fixed), but it has some really neat ideas on show as well as one hell of a soundtrack.
Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores is a fantastic expansion that offers plenty of thrills and genuinely pushes the overall story forward. This isn’t just some minor side endeavour for Aloy, but a meaningful quest that doesn’t only highlight the threat that the world faces but also strengthens her resolve to defeat it. Add to that the exciting missions to complete, the vicious new enemies to face off against, a cool new ally in Seyka, and the wonderful LA setting to explore, and it’ll become clear that this is an unmissable piece of content for Horizon fans (even if it doesn’t try to expand upon the core gameplay formula too much).
Road 96: Mile 0 is a cool experience that returning players will enjoy, though it does lack the impact and intrigue of its predecessor. It’s not that there’s anything bad at all, but rather that the story feels more predictable and linear than the adventure you embark on in the previous game. It does deserve praise for the exciting psychedelic ride sequences whilst the world itself is a treat to explore, but I’d be lying if I said that Road 96: Mile 0 lived up to the high standards of the first game.