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Cultic is a fantastic shooter that encourages experimentation with how you approach combat. Its vast arsenal and movement mechanics allow for various viable options against many enemy types and bosses. With top-notch presentation and horror aesthetics, Cultic does enough to stand out in the heap of excellent retro-style shooters.
Splatoon 3 is easily the best title in the series now. With a brand new array of weapons, a dedicated and bigger hub world for multiplayer, and a lively community. It’s a game where you will feel the 3-minute matches feel like full-length matches in other games. This is easily one of the best games you can play with friends or even by yourself. Splatoon 3 takes the series to a new high and shows us that Nintendo still has the magic of making lightning in a bottle.
Serial Cleaners is a fun stealth action game that pairs varied gameplay with excellent art direction. It doesn’t have the best enemy AI in the world but makes up for it with its smart level design, great pacing, and engaging narrative. It manages to do a lot with its premise and makes cleaning crime scenes a cleansing experience.
If you are a fan of hack and slash games, this is just the game for you until we hear about the next Devil May Cry entry. The story is a bit of a slow burn at the start, and while you have a good journey getting there, it is still a game that throws a lot for you to learn along the way. Soulstice is a near complete package of a game, but at times it can be overwhelming when you are controlling nearly 2 characters in some very heated moments of combat.
Sunday Gold is a game that definitely deserves a playthrough if you enjoy turn-based RPG games and don’t mind a sprinkle of point-and-click adventure games along the way. The puzzles are also procedurally generated, which can be a blessing and a curse, depending on the level you are on, but this is also what makes the game even more enjoyable. With a great visual presentation, excellent voice cast, gripping combat, and point-and-click integrated parts, this great all-around package delivers a great game.
Destroy All Humans 2 is a fun game you can play with no trouble and immediately feel like an endgame character of other open-world games. A forgettable story, but fun mechanics warrant a visit to a strange new world.
The Chenso Club ticks the right boxes for an action roguelike 2D platformer. The game is challenging, which is a must for roguelike games. The game will babysit you for the first few chapters, but you are on your own for the rest of the game. The controls have a bit of a hiccup and could have been better, but it is not bad. The gameplay, visuals, audio, and story outweigh the problems I encountered.
If you are a fan of games with thoroughly deep stories, a brilliant cast of characters, and a video game that will undoubtedly spawn a wide array of essays on YouTube, look no further than Immortality. This is a game that, in the beginning, may frustrate and annoy you with the non-linear direction of storytelling. Still, by the end, you will awaken to an experimental medium that truly elevated your thinking.
Saints Row is a return to form, and some of the most fun I’ve had in an open world in a while. It manages to strike a good balance between the wackiness of previous entries with grounded combat mechanics, and tone. The Boss is hilarious as ever, and a true murder machine completely loyal to their friends through thick and thin. It’s bogged down by a number of bugs that take you out of the experience and uneven presentation with dated elements and plenty of pop-in. Despite these issues, it manages to remain true to its roots with smart additions to the series’ open-world formula.
Thymesia is a mixed bag and simply doesn’t do enough to stand out. There are some neat ideas when it comes to how you approach combat encounters with plague weapons, but a lack of polish remains a constant obstacle in almost every facet of it. When it works, and all the systems line up, you can have a lot of fun, but that rarely happens. Despite its excellent visuals, the world feels shallow because of its linearity, and the use of annoying enemies to compensate for a lack of intricate level design makes an already difficult experience, exhausting.
Lost in Play has a strong visual and audio presentation, is a simple game that may or may not take us all back to a simpler and less complicated time in our lives, and is an enjoyable title overall. If you’re looking for a fun and easy game to pick up that is very deep in puzzle solving, this game is definitely right up your alley. It’s worth the experience and every pixel show the developers dedication and love for the craft in great detail.
Hindsight tells a deeply personal story and explores the relationship between a woman, and her mother with brutal honesty. Its strong storytelling is brought down by bland gameplay, and an uneven presentation, but largely feels well executed. It’s certainly worth going through, and the level of self-reflection serves as one of the better narrative-driven games out there.
Gigabash is a game that I can recommend to anyone, but also to a specific niche of people. If you are a fan of Rampage or giant monsters overall, you are in for a blast. This is a fun casual brawler that has taken a lot of creative liberties to make a unique game that stands out, but if you are looking for a serious game to dedicate or commit time to, this is something that you won’t get far with.
Frogun is an amazing throwback to the golden era of 3D platformers that made this genre of games earn its iconic status. It’s fun, exciting, and charming in all aspects and excels especially with its beautifully designed world. The level design has a unique and modern blend of everything including a variety of enemies and certain sections that will test your quick thinking ability. The challenges it offers, though not that difficult, are surely entertaining. The Frogun itself felt a bit underutilized though but overall, it’s a lighthearted experience that is perfect for unwinding on the weekends.
Retreat To Enen is a relaxing take on the survival genre with an immersive atmosphere and captivating level design. In fact, this game looks more suited for VR rather than for normal PC gaming alone. If you’re a seasoned gamer who’s immersed in the Survival genre then it might take time for you to appreciate what Retreat to Enen has to offer but if you’re a casual gamer then this might be your cup of tea.
Bright Memory: Infinite Platinum Edition is a great game. I loved the time I spent in the combat, but the story was flat, there was no reason for me to get invested in the world as you’re just thrown into sheer chaos with no build-up or any reason to care. However, the game has some very solid combat mechanics that utilizes the 3 things gamers love – guns, swords, and a robotic arm. Adding in a few advanced elements to the game like a dash attack to dodge attacks and a parry system, the game is able to hold its own ground with great admiration.
Stray is a unique game that takes you on a brief yet memorable adventure through a multitude of settings, and characters, and most importantly, helps you appreciate the effort put in by the developers. I can safely say that Stray lived up to the hype, and delivered on one of the most definitive experiences in games that many gamers may dismiss in the paltry 10 or so hours to 100% the game, but you walk away with memories and something you will definitely cherish.
Legends of Kingdom Rush is a nice break from the usual turn-based games. The RNG narrative and fun dialogue make it more engaging compared to other games. The combat and action feel repetitive at times but that is expected since there is only much you can do in a turn-based title. What’s great though is the strategy and tactics aspect of it. It adds flair to the game instead of the usual “my turn-I’ll attack, your turn-you attack” approach.
I wanna root for this game so that it’ll have more content in the future but at the state of this build, I can’t really see any longevity when it comes to replayability. You can get bored once you’ve collected the weapons and cleared all the bosses. It’s probably a good top-down shooter game if you want to get introduced to a less stressful version of bullet hell. There are plenty of better ones in the market and this game may still have a long way to go.
Starship Troopers: Terran Command is an engaging RTS game with a sprinkle of nostalgia. It mimics the Starship universe perfectly while capturing the vibes of early 2000s games. The game has striking visuals that are distinct compared to its competitors. It is a little bit challenging for those who are unfamiliar with the RTS genre though. Microing is an essential skill but it is easy to get used to after an hour or two of playing.