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Winter Burrow is positively blanketed in charm and whimsy, but looking below the surface reveals survival gameplay at its most basic. Interesting characters and the aesthetic appeal can’t fully compensate for the repetitive gameplay and oddly lacking mechanics. Dressing up mice in little outfits is fun, but ultimately can’t save a game so torn between two core concepts.
Kirby Air Riders is a surprise contender for kart racer of the year. Excelling well beyond its cult predecessor, the pink blob’s latest adventure is filled with some excellent and surprisingly deep racing where your skill, expertise and management are what put you ahead of the pack. Its courses are gorgeous and intricate, City Trial is aptly chaotic, and the brand new Road Trip mode is a thoroughly enjoyable adventure filled with strategy and risk vs reward events. With a lot to see, tick off and do, along with accessibility options to refine your experience, Kirby Air Riders is crafted to be the kart racing event of the year. Eat its dust, Mario Kart World.
The Berlin Apartment is certainly a nice tribute to the history of the titular city. With gorgeous scenery evolving through time that tells the tales of its residents, the apartment is a delight to explore. However, a more intriguing main narrative or engaging gameplay mechanics would’ve been a massive boon for the game. A gorgeous art style and heartwarming sentimentality make The Berlin Apartment an enjoyable experience, albeit one that struggles to stand against the genre’s best.
Possessor(s) is hauntingly beautiful. It’s a stunning world that begs to be delved into with curiosity. Luca and Rhem’s dynamic is an absolute standout, with an excellent balance of snark and heart between the two. It’s almost to the game’s detriment, as every other NPC (besides the antagonist and one of the eye holders) falls flat in comparison. Movement feels great, as does combat, for the most part. Some unfair enemy design and stun issues drag the experience down, alongside moments where progression stalls, especially if you miss the unclear whip skill interaction. Despite this, though, Possessor(s) still manages to shine with genuine merit and contains a beautiful story well worth seeing through to the end.
As an action game and a roguelike, Forestrike is a satisfying, if challenging, experience. By allowing the player to foresee fights and predict their foes’ next moves, it turns what would be a by-the-numbers 2D fighting game into a more thoughtful experience built around memorisation, timing and strategy. While it drags anytime you have to claw yourself back following a game over, Forestrike makes up for it with its varied combat system and appealing aesthetics. If you’re a roguelike fan or an action fan, there’s a lot to like about Forestrike, and it’s certainly worth jumping into.
Goodnight Universe is an incredibly immersive, masterfully told, and cathartic game that left me bawling my eyes out on multiple occasions. Accompanied by a soundtrack that beautifully expresses each emotional moment, a vivid animated art style, and a mechanic that directly ties the player’s actions to what is an undeniably moving, human story about love and family, it is perhaps one of the most truly evocative experiences I’ve had playing games this year.
Lumines Arise takes a now-iconic formula and revamps it in a way that truly stimulates the senses. When you’re in a flow-state, headphones in, matching blocks, vibing with the gorgeous soundtrack and being mesmerised by the dazzling visuals, time simply melts away. It’s the most diverse and interesting the series has ever been, punctuated by a killer tracklist from its talented composers. Sure to be a regular puzzler to pick up in anybody’s library, there’s simply nothing else quite like Lumines Arise.
The journey is often more important than the destination, but Dead Static Drive fails to live up to its premise across the board. From unbearable driving and combat mechanics to a wasted chance to build a truly unique world, there isn’t anything to propel you to journey across this iteration of 1980s Americana. A disappointing end to years of promising development updates, Dead Static Drive feels like an early access release 11 years in the making. I looked forward to finally getting in the driver’s seat, but looks can be deceiving.
The Lonesome Guild is one of those games that completely sneaks up on you. It’s a heartfelt journey wrapped in charming art and great writing. Even when combat drags and abilities feel underdeveloped, its sincere core shines through, doing well to make up for its shortcomings.
Whether intentionally or not, Keeper feels like a quiet rebuke to the current games industry and its devaluing of human craft. A towering testament to the joyous, creative and novel search for meaning that games can elicit with a subtle focus on the hands that craft such worlds. Keeper’s surreal journey through abstraction and connection is a wondrous trip through a lighthouse’s looking glass.
BALL x PIT is a fun blend of old-school brick breaker and shoot ’em up games. Its creative ball fusions and frantic gameplay will sell you, but the variety will keep you engaged. It’s still a roguelite with some occasionally exhausting moments and very challenging bosses, but it’s ultimately inventive and full of personality.
Despite this, these are fairly minor bumps in the road that I just wish had played out a little differently. Digimon Story: Time Stranger is a “more than the sum of its parts” RPG if I’ve ever seen one. Its rough parts are worth it if only for the butterfly effect it’ll have on future games in the series. It’s damn good eating for Digimon fans.
There is a lot to love in Consume Me; ironically, the game’s main issue is that it doesn’t have enough bite. Even still, the narrative is deeply relatable, the art style engrossing, and the minigames are more than enough fun to keep you entertained throughout the entire runtime.
CloverPit does what it does well. It’s very clear how much inspiration Panik Arcade has taken from Balatro and Buckshot Roulette, but it’s taken bits and pieces and created its own unique identity. The low-poly art style lends itself very well to creating an eerie atmosphere, and taking the time to put together charm combinations is fun and incredibly satisfying when it pays off. Though the rougelike element and pure RNG might be frustrating at times, and the simple gameplay loop can feel repetitive, taking what you’ve learned from a previous run and seeing it pay off in another feels very rewarding.
Ghost of Yotei is a confident sequel that grows from its predecessor in smart ways, with a bigger, bolder, more beautiful world to explore every nook and cranny of. Atsu is a strong lead, and her journey of vengeance takes some compelling twists and turns, while Edo Japan provides a true bounty of interesting side quests, charming characters, neat distractions, and wonderful secrets across what feels like a truly epic adventure. With entertaining combat and visuals that are among the best seen, Ghost of Yotei balances its violence and beauty delicately, offering a strong experience from the team at Sucker Punch Productions: an entirely memorable journey, and an action-packed, stunning adventure.
Atelier Resleriana: The Red Alchemist & the White Guardian never once feels like it was developed beyond the boardroom meeting of its conception. It fails to venture beyond the foundations that the series has set for itself or delve into the world of innovation and experimentation that the series is known for. Superfans of the series may find something to love here, but for those who don’t care to dig that deep, they will find a mish-mash of boring dungeons, a bland story, mind-numbing levels of repetition, and a plethora of design shortcomings in a setting that requires prior knowledge of the world.
Hades II is hard to put down, and is the most fun I’ve had with a roguelike in years. Supergiant Games’ trademark dedication to beautiful art direction, compelling writing and memorable music has come to the forefront in their latest game, combined with engaging gameplay that expands on its predecessor in exactly the ways that a good sequel should. Whether you’ve played the original Hades or not, Hades II is a truly amazing experience and sets the new standard for roguelike narrative storytelling and gameplay.
Baby Steps surpassed all my expectations and even small grievances to become a thrilling, trying and memorable journey about being better and learning to ask for help. It’s certainly one of the harder ‘one of those’ types of ragebait climbing games, but each step it makes in tackling this niche is as deliberate as the ones you’re making as the clumsy Nate. What’s within is a refinement of the subgenre, providing a layered and surprisingly poignant world and story to explore. Bennett Foddy and co. have made their opus here, and even with every plummet and misstep I made, I had the best experience in the space I’ve ever had, uniquely hating, loving, loathing and delighting in it. If the devs are reading this, I hate you guys. But also, I bloody love you.
Parkour feels more fluid than before, with sprinting through the city and rooftop traversal feeling super smooth (as long as you don’t get grabbed by an infected). Roger Craig Smith does a stellar job once again as Crane, and it was a blast getting to see his story continue. Unfortunately, a few performance issues and audio bugs lessened the experience, but overall, this is a great new entry to the franchise, and one Dying Light fans will be glad to have waited for.
Wander Stars is an incredibly cute love letter to the classic anime series. It takes the extreme style of Dragon Ball’s bombastic combat and playfully turns it into a turn-based RPG, fully embracing the camp hyper-stylised nature of its inspirations. It also tells an unexpectedly emotional tale with diversity in its cast of characters. A delightful treat for the Cheez TV kids (and the furries).