The Punished Backlog
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“Time Flies is a little adventure about our limited time in this world,” claims Playables, but Time Flies is much more than that. It is a mirror held up to our own experiences, about how the choices we make influence our time. While we can make lists and plans, sometimes we just run out of time due to factors outside our control. Sometimes it’s better just to learn a little, finish a little, and then spin on a record for a while. Enjoy the last little bits of time we have with each other while the seconds tick down. Or we can snort drugs in a museum and party for no reason other than to party. Whatever passes the seconds.
With a brisk seven- to eight-hour runtime, Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound doesn’t overstay its welcome. If anything, I wish it were longer. Some longtime fans may find the more balanced difficulty a bit tame, but for most, this will feel like the Goldilocks zone between old-school punishment and modern approachability. Whether you’re here for the tight mechanics, the sharp pixel art, or the emotional pull of a cursed ninja buddy-cop duo, Ragebound delivers. It’s the most I’ve enjoyed a Ninja Gaiden game in years, and serves as a reminder of why this series still matters.
Wuchang: Fallen Feathers is a must-play for fans of fast combat. The controls are smooth, the game doesn’t overstay its welcome (my playtime clocked in at about 45 hours), and the boss fights are well-designed but punishing in the way you’d expect from a Souls-like. Missing an attack can be the difference between death and a staggering combo, but this applies to both you and your enemies. The story may initially appear on the lighter side, but there’s subtle foreshadowing of something darker throughout, plus a great twist of an ending that really turns the narrative on its head. Couple this with the strong lore and interesting characters, and you have a formula ensuring you’ll want to see your adventure through.
Part Slay the Spire, part Paper Mario, Fretless - The Wrath of Riffson takes two genres and finds unique harmony between them. Sprinkle in a third inspiration — the music-rhythm gameplay of Guitar Hero — and you have all the makings of a really rad band. The final result has its issues: notably, a slew of bugs, some balancing issues, and an underwhelming ending. Still, Fretless - The Wrath of Riffson is a worthwhile play, and an admirable addition to the genres that inspired it.
Misc. A Tiny Tale was truly a delight to play. It made me feel warm and fuzzy inside in a way so few games do, thanks to a clever reimagining of some of my favorite games from the past. Some more inventive puzzle types, greater variety in tasks and achievements, and a hub world would have really set this apart as a true must-play. But as it stands, I’d easily recommend it to anyone looking for a low-stakes, cozy platformer with a story worth getting sucked into.
Ruffy and the Riverside is a challenging game to review. Its collectathon gameplay is a blast, and its mission variety deserves praise. Its audiovisual presentation is equally commendable, paying loving homage to the games that inspired it. However, the elements that surround the core experience — the story, the combat, the menus — chip away at the fun. Hopefully, Zockrates Laboratories UG can use Ruffy and the Riverside as a springboard to greater heights. What’s here is a welcome addition to the collectathon genre; just keep your expectations in check before you jump in.
Date Everything! explores some mature topics, but it is generally a game that many people will like. Fans of cozy games, visual novels, life/dating sims, and/or the author Chuck Tingle are likely to enjoy this interactive homebound adventure. Regardless of which platform you play on, you are sure to have a chuckle and a good time.
The Alters is a truly addicting management sim. It has the perfect amount of resources to monitor — enough to be a challenge, but not enough to be impossible. Players have to balance assigning Alters, managing resources to create critical items like radiation filters, talking to the Alters and the corporate overlords, exploring the planet’s surface, and trying to do the right thing. It's one of the best games I've played this year.
Zelda, Mega Man, and Metroid are just a few names to which Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo pays homage. And while living up to those greats is grueling work, somehow, Pipistrello makes it look easy. It’s wonderfully designed, perfectly paced, and filled with secrets and side attractions that are well worth its lengthy runtime.
WWE 2K25 is an excellent entry in the series and a great addition to the wrestling genre at large. It’s not merely an update, and definitely not a mere roster refresh. 2K has ensured that the formula has been revised and tweaked across the board from last year’s offering to provide a deeper experience that is a must-play if you are a WWE fan.
Reflecting on my time with Blades of Fire, I’m left feeling conflicted. Its forging and weapon degradation systems are engaging, improving upon the most annoying feature in recent Zelda games. The combat also makes a decent first impression, and only improves as you obtain new weapons. In theory, the game had everything going for it. In reality, though, it simply left me wanting to play other, better games instead. Its characters, world, and story are generic at best and uninteresting clones at worst. The more I played, the more disappointed I became.
Yasha: Legends of the Demon Blade is a visually striking and mechanically competent roguelike that doesn’t quite break new ground. The anime art is strong, the action is satisfying, and the parry system adds some welcome depth, but the lack of true weapon diversity and limited character interactions hold it back. If you’re looking for something to play after finishing Hades for the umpteenth time, Yasha is a fine distraction. But much like a forged copy of a legendary blade, it’s sharp, stylish — and ultimately a little hollow.
For those seeking a unique entry point into TTRPGs, The Horror at Highrook is a satisfying starting course. It has issues that derail the fun, ranging from poor inventory management and lackluster leveling mechanics to the lack of any real hint system. It’s also a fairly linear affair, with little replayability (something at odds with its tabletop roots). Still, if you can embrace the flaws, there’s a fun little adventure waiting for you.
I respect Subcult Joint’s ambition, and there’s definite heart and energy behind Cookie Cutter. But passion doesn’t always result in captivating gameplay, and at a time when great Metroidvanias are everywhere, the bar for quality is only getting higher. Next to the cream of the crop, Cookie Cutter feels like a rebellious copy more than a true breakout.
Bionic Bay is an often impressive, often frustrating experience. It nails the look and feel of grade-A games like Limbo and Inside, but fails to hold up once you start to scrutinize its puzzle-platformer label. There’s a worthwhile game to enjoy here—one with responsive controls, satisfying action, and a visual polish that puts other games to shame. Unfortunately, the puzzles are lackluster, with too many ideas that come and go with little development or follow-through. If you come into Bionic Bay expecting the next Portal, you’ll be sorely disappointed. Come in expecting a solid platformer with occasional frustrations, however, and you’ll fare far better.
South of Midnight’s plot never felt boring, holding my attention from start to finish. It’s a short experience that only took me eight hours to complete, yet one that I'll remember for much longer. If you have any interest at all in the game, please check it out, especially if you have a Game Pass subscription. It’s a tale unlike most action adventures, and it knows how to tug on your heartstrings.
In some ways, I feel like Rebirth of Souls was packaged neatly but ultimately rushed. The online PvP mode is cool, and it's fun to see how characters stack up against each other, but many people will clamor for a ranking mode, as all that’s here currently is casual play. I do find myself enjoying this fighting experience despite knowing it can evolve to higher combat heights. The cast is incredible for a first outing, and if Bandai Namco does greenlight a sequel, these characters will be more finely tuned and hopefully can duke it out in stage-destroying experiences. If you love Bleach, you’ll definitely find the right character for your enjoyment, and that is more reason to play it.
Scarlet Hollow is currently an incomplete masterpiece. I devoured the existing episodes twice, and I hope to play through them one more time with a different combination of traits before Episode 5’s release. The game told me early on that I can’t save everyone, but damn it if I didn't want to try. I truly cannot wait to play the fifth episode of Scarlet Hollow and return to this town.
In the end, what is The First Berserker: Khazan? It’s a deeply rewarding and engaging experience, if challenging a boss 50 times in a row sounds fun to you. The story is a huge miss, the characters are boring, and the setting is all of the drab of Dark Souls with none of the wonder, but the peaks here are incredible, and if you can endure the journey, Khazan is an awesome, awesome experience.
Finding Frankie is not a perfect package, with some genuine execution whiffs. The story is just sort of there, the implications are relatively shallow, and the gameplay loop is repetitive. Taken as just a horror game, Finding Frankie would probably rub folks the wrong way. But as an exhilarating parkour game, with genuine tension as your pursuer gets right behind you, it’s a blast.