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I had a great, albeit frustrating time with Eldest Souls and thoroughly enjoyed the short experience. It is a brutally difficult game, but the music, art style, and overall challenge had me coming back for “one last try” each and every time. I will say that if you are not a fan of boss-rush or challenging games, then this will not change that. But if you are after a title with an old-school appeal that does not hold you by the hand and presents a truly captivating time, then I think you will find a lot to enjoy here.
Overall, NEO: The World Ends with You is a fantastic followup to 2007’s The World Ends with You, and both expands the universe and introduces different gameplay styles to keep even the most veteren of JRPG fans engaged. The exceptional visual style and musical flair work together to create a vibrant and stylish game that I just couldn’t get enough of. The narrative is satisfying and fits firmly in the hyper-stylised world of JRPGs, and will delight fans of Kingdom Hearts, Ni No Kuni, and Persona. Despite some minor critiques, NEO: The World Ends with You is a surprise hit, and has the potential to pave the way for another successful Square Enix franchise.
GRIME dishes up an intriguing universe with even more intriguing enemies and bosses. While its story is on the shallow side, its original visuals and combat mechanics steal the show. However, be warned: in true souls-like fashion, GRIME’s combat is brutal and unforgiving, which might not make it a game for everyone. That said, if you’re not afraid of jumping straight into the action, the game will be just as rewarding as it is challenging.
Omno is an enjoyable and visually beautiful experience. While there are some elements of the gameplay that feel lacking and where you’ll feel like you’re taking a backseat, it accomplishes what it sets out to do with its relaxed approach to puzzles and exploration. It will give you an atmospheric adventure to immerse yourself in for a few hours, and maybe as a bonus, leave you with a nice warm fuzzy feeling. And sometimes, that’s just what you’re looking for.
I’m absolutely taken by Arcsmith. It may lose some players with its abstract puzzle solutions and fiddly nature, but that same challenge will also reel plenty more in. With an enthralling sci-fi world and heaps of atmosphere and personality, this VR title stands out amongst the crowd. Serving as an Oculus Quest exclusive, it’ll hardly be a blip on many a gamer’s radars. However, if you’re into VR and you’re looking for a new puzzle game, Arcsmith is your best bet.
As far as time loop games go, The Forgotten City has the Midas touch. It’s easy to see just how much care has gone into the story of the game so that it not only pulls the player in, but dares them to test the possible realities. The characters all feel real and they drive the player to find the truth before the Golden Rule is broken and the loop must reset. The developers have been careful to create a narrative that, while repetitive in practice, still keeps the player engaged in the wider narrative of the world through exploration and discovery. Combat in the game remains questionable, but the gold bow is its saving grace. If you’re after a game that will keep you guessing as you move closer to the truth, then The Forgotten City is fittingly worthy of your gold.
Orcs Must Die! 3 is definitely a case of “another verse, same as the first”, but fortunately the formula still holds up. The changes to gameplay balance mostly work, as does the implementation of the new Scramble game mode. However, the War mode shows that throwing more orcs into a stage doesn’t necessarily make it more fun, and the level design generally doesn’t feel quite as fresh as it once did. All that said, the visceral pleasure of slicing through a group of orcs with a buzzsaw launcher is as present as ever, and ultimately the experience is still a fun time. For tower defence fans, Orcs Must Die! 3 is worth checking out, particularly if you’re planning on playing co-op.
The Ascent proves why the cyberpunk genre is so popular right now. There isn’t anything exactly different or unique about its story, but it perfects the atmosphere with terrific environment art and an otherworldly soundtrack. Combine that with outstanding twin-stick shooter gameplay and elements of wall cover, cool-down management, and role-playing to deepen the experience. Blasting through crews of Rojins with a rocket-firing gun, the Astrosmasher, being among my personal highlights. It may have accessibility and minor performance concerns, but it’s still sensational, action-packed, and so much fun. The Ascent may be the best cyberpunk game in the last year.
Even if it can feel like the deck-builder roguelike genre is getting a bit oversaturated, Banners of Ruin is definitely one to check out. With its generous and frequent unlocks, as well as its complex-yet-mostly-well-explained combat mechanics, it is easy to pick up and enjoyable to master. While it is not as challenging as some of its roguelike cousins, I personally found its user-friendliness a positive quality. If you are looking for another deck-builder roguelike to play, you should definitely add Banners of Ruin to your deck.
Have you ever played a game that has so many intriguing ideas that are begging to work but never quite reach that level? Chernobylite is that game for me. Never boring but never keeping me on the edge of my seat. Most of my investment here lies in the potential it shares. Donning your gear and risking your life for precious rarities may very well be worth it if you’re part of the hardcore survival fanbase and waiting on something new. If not, bunkering down and steering clear could undoubtedly do you good.
Blightbound is emerging from a year in Steam Early Access, but it might be doing so too early. Lingering issues with visual elements overlapping each other, uneven party balance, repetitive loot with lacklustre stats, and a bare-bones levelling design suggest that this game could do with more fundamental development work before hitting the big stage. With its creative art and engaging voice talent, there is definite potential here for a fantastic dungeon crawler, but the elements have not come together yet.
Samurai Warriors 5 is an ambitious reboot, removing many features from previous games while emphasising what makes the series tick. There is very little to do outside combat, but the combat is delightful, and the variety between characters makes each one a joy to play. Despite some superfluous systems and clunky camera and AI issues, Samurai Warriors 5 offers fantastic action gameplay. If you’ve been intimidated by the Warriors series in the past, this is a great place to hop on.
It’s a crime that The Great Ace Attorney and its sequel took so long to come to the West. The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles bundles in two of the best games in the franchise to date, its improved graphical fidelity setting a new bar for the series. Chronicles doesn’t add much in the way of extra content, but it’s hard to improve on something that was already so good. The Great Ace Attorney 2: Resolve is the crowning Jewel in this particular bundle, but even Adventures is a must-play for any Ace Attorney fan.
Cris Tales isn’t going to blow anyone away, and probably won’t gain a huge following, but I still enjoyed most of my time with the game. There are enough positive points to balance out some of the glaring and more egregious issues present in the game. I particularly loved the art style, voice acting, and implementation of the time travel mechanics across combat, quests, and puzzles. Unfortunately, the constant presence of loading screens and the scripting issues make Cris Tales a flawed experience.
Warhammer 40,000: Battlesector is a solid strategy game and an excellent addition to the Warhammer catalogue. Although the game only comes with two playable factions, its variety of units for each faction and original combat mechanics keep the game’s core gameplay fast-paced, dynamic, and interesting. This, combined with beautiful visuals and an immersive story told in typical Warhammer fashion, makes for a fun strategy romp from beginning to end, no matter whether you’re a die-hard Warhammer fan or a total newcomer to the Warhammer world.
Though it may alienate some players due to its lack of gameplay, Last Stop has an action-packed narrative that doesn’t get stale. It beautifully juxtaposes the mundane day-to-day life of three characters against a bizarre science-fiction story. The fantastic voice talent brings a level of charisma and life that unfortunately isn’t matched by the rather stiff in-game animations, although that doesn’t stop the game from being a fun tube ride through an alien-infested London where weird stuff happens to pretty ordinary people.
Death’s Door crashes onto the scene stylistically with an amazingly detailed, interconnected world full to the brim with personality and secrets. The game introduces great characters that bring with them charisma and humanity as it lovingly juggles both the morbid and the beautiful sides of its narrative. With simply phenomenal sound design that lovingly accompanies and amplifies the visuals and atmosphere, Death’s Door presents one door absolutely worth knocking on.
Chicory: A Colorful tale is an adorable little adventure with clever puzzles, cute writing, characters and hardstyle. The painting mechanics are incredibly well utilized and keep the gameplay constantly fresh while the gripping story keeps you wanting to play more and more. It also has plenty of secrets and items to find that keep the game replayable if you want to continue exploring. These things alone would make a good game, but the intelligent and heartfelt story is what makes it amazing. You learn so much about the characters and yourself while playing Chicory and it teaches such wonderful lessons that are applicable to anyone of any age. The writing and the world work together so perfectly to create an experience that is both fun and cute, while also being deeply profound. It isn’t a grand, sweeping story. It is small, it is personal and it hits incredibly close to home.
Where The Heart Leads is a terrific narrative game that has you make hard, fascinating life choices on behalf of its characters to create a story that feels your own. It utilises its surreal elements sparingly, instead opting to focus on the realistic personal lives of its many richly nuanced characters. Despite some slight issues with dialogue, menus, and the camera, Where The Heart Leads is a great experience, and a fascinating exploration of issues rarely covered in games.
A faithful remake of the most polarising 3D Zelda title, Skyward Sword HD provides numerous quality of life improvements that help polish some of the original’s roughest edges. Its issues with pacing, repetitive gameplay elements, and a lacklustre narrative remain moderate detractions from what is an otherwise legendary Zelda experience, filled to the brim with the charisma, creativity, and satisfying dungeoneering the series is famous for. While it doesn’t bring any new content to the table, the addition of button controls and portability (courtesy of the Switch) means there’s never been a better way for newcomers and diehard fans to experience the strategic combat and innovative puzzle-solving of this lofty adventure.