But Why Tho?
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Rainbow Billy is truly a great kids’ RPG game. For anybody looking to hook their kid up with a fun, unique adventure with great morals and a creative “combat” system that doesn’t throw any punches, this is absolutely it.
Whether you’re looking for a great adventure or a devastating one, Unsighted is absolutely both and then some.
Lemnis Gate feels like a bold breath of fresh air. The game is a dramatic new take on the genre that has been fully embraced to its bones. Lemnis Gate is a must for any fans of shooters and strategy titles, especially for players who have a friend to bring along for some 2v2 matches. The future looks pretty bright for Lemnis Gate, and it has more than earned it.
Nostalgia might have some fans of Super Monkey Ball trapped in the little ball with them, running their little feet, futile against the inevitability of gravity. But for those not already on the inside, Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania is skippable.
Dandy Ace is a great first roguelike and a fun take on the genre. Its very fun combat, not too sharp too fast difficulty, quick load times, and lack of central hub or anything to drag the time between runs on makes it extremely playable and very easy to get sucked into.
Hot Wheels Unleashed is a good addition to the world of racing games, with enough to make it totally unique but not too much to overcomplicate it. There are a few things I wish would make it feel more full, but for what it does deliver, it delivers it well.
If you are a turn-based RPG fan looking for a new experience that brings fresh twists on classic elements of the genre, I cannot recommend Astria Ascending enough, just so long as you don’t need an overly engaging plot to pull you along.
Throughout my time with Lost Judgement, I felt torn about how I ultimately felt about the game. There were moments that I really enjoyed, especially the combat, but the handling of sexual assault and some unimaginative mechanics left me frustrated at best. All in all, I would say Lost Judgement is a perfectly okay sequel that fans of the original Judgement are sure to enjoy. It may not be amazing, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t worth playing. If you can handle the negatives, some genuinely great moments in Lost Judgment are worth experiencing.
Kena: Bridge of Spirits is a strong game, it’s a contender for game of the year and it’s ultimately one well worth playing. It’s a stunningly astute and whimsical take on death, life, and where we fit in all of it. The game is about Kena finding her place and helping others find there’s too. Beautiful, immersive, and dynamic, I can’t recommend this game enough.
Death Stranding Director’s Cut is a game with a ton going on. It’s an easy recommendation for anyone looking for a creative and enjoyable experience. The only question for those who played the original version is whether or not they enjoyed their first trip through Kojima’s brilliant creation. If you did, or if this is your first time playing Death Stranding, you are absolutely going to love every second of the Death Stranding Director’s Cut.
Playing Sable very well may be as close as one can get to a meditative experience while playing a game. Few games feel as good to simply exist within as Sable. The game’s gorgeous visuals, warm and comforting music, and intuitive game design all come together to create a unique experience about trying to find one’s place in the world through an expression of an individual’s freedom.
Eastward is a great game. It’s beautiful, it’s a story well-told, and it’s very fun to play. But for me, the entire experience was tainted by what I quickly and inescapably perceived as racist and sexually exploitative depictions, which is just such a monumental shame of a thing to tarnish an otherwise incredible experience. I mean, this game has an entire virtual RPG video game built into it that you can play. But I simply can’t rate this experience highly with how tarnished my view of it all is. I love playing it, I recommend playing it, but I also insist you judge for yourself these character depictions and whether they meet the standards we should expect from games.
I thoroughly enjoyed my time with Flynn: Son of Crimson. It feels just different enough from its genre brethren with cool unlockable weapons and upgrades and a whole heckin’ dog to fight by your side. It’s nothing special, though, and despite a constant feeling of progression, the game’s basicness eventually wore on me. For fans of action platformers, though, it will be an enjoyable new addition.
Overall, Gamedec is an excellent attempt to do the impossible. Tabletop games are as popular as they are today because they can't be replicated anywhere else, but Gamedec comes as close as possible to making it a reality. I felt like my choices truly mattered, and that's not something that happens often in games. While some of the virtualias can feel a bit tedious, the overall narrative they serve makes the experience worth it.
Struggling is a very creative and endearing platformer that surprised me with both how much I enjoyed its grotesque universe and how tight its physics-based gameplay is.
While an older entry in the genre, Nuclear Throne is still creative and fun and feels totally fresh in the sea of bullet hells. It has just enough to it to keep you going, though, by comparison to more robust roguelikes, it has the potential to dry up after a while if you’re not mastering it fast enough. Nonetheless, it’s well worth a dive into, especially with its appearance on Xbox Game Pass.
Hindsight 20/20: Wrath of the Rakshasa sets out to deliver an engaging action story that forces the player to make important moral choices that will determine the shape of their world. And despite some moments where the combat struggles and some less than clear decisions the game presents players with, it largely succeeds. Given its short playtime and unique approach to both combat and choice-driven storytelling, I would say the game is certainly worth a look if what I have said about it intrigues you.
In Chapter 1, there is a line: “Survival isn’t a neat and tidy process but its better than the alternative.” This isn’t just a one-liner, but the thesis of the entire game. And with that, Life is Strange: True Colors lands itself as one of the most cathartic and resonate video game’s I’ve played in a long time.
Sonic Colors: Ultimate may not be truly ultimate, but it’s a well worthwhile return to an oft-missed game.
The Big Con provides some much-needed 90s nostalgia while also providing an outrageous tale smothered in wit, sarcasm, and Horm. It’s a short, casual game, with a whole lot of spunk and a whole lot of crime, and I really recommend it to anyone looking for a laugh.