Maquette is an incredibly clever and absolutely gorgeous first-person puzzle game, even if it doesn’t really push the boundaries of its own recursive concept in any particularly surprising ways. That left me feeling like its straightforward story and puzzles were a missed opportunity to do something more, but playing through Maquette’s brief adventure was at least a lovely, mind-tickling evening well spent.
Bravely Default 2 is a long, familiar JRPG journey with excellent customizable combat and beautiful backdrops that pass the time as you work through its extended stretches of grinding.
Ghosts 'n Goblins Resurrection is a supremely spirited comeback for the old-school action platformer series.
Great action, smart strategy, and random curses carry Curse of the Dead Gods to top of the action roguelite genre.
Two solid platformers in one; neither of which approaches the franchise's most dizzying heights.
Adol Christin shows us a good time as he grapples, glides, and wall-runs while mowing down innumerable monsters in Ys IX: Monstrum Nox-all while wearing some damn fine threads.
Persona 5 Strikers' simple real-time combat is consistently engaging, and its summer vacation story (while slimmed down) is a sequel nearly worthy of the '2' it lacks at the end of its title.
Little Nightmares 2 delivers similar stealth and scares to the original, but leaves less of a lasting impact.
Destruction AllStars can provide fun bursts of frantic car combat action, but never adds up to much more than that.
Blue Fire's compelling approach to 3D platforming makes parkour a blast in both its challenge rooms and moody world.