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Here’s what it felt like at Tekken 8’s best: relatively smooth online play dissolved the bicoastal time difference and immersed me in a flashy and silly fighting sandbox. Boxers and martial artists clashed in fast-paced, bombastic matchups. My collected knowledge and frantic improvisation sent me into a flow state, laughing at each win or loss. Ultimately that feeling, not shareholder-induced rot, keeps me coming back. Tekken 8 can be tough to love, but for better or worse, I do anyway.
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is a cookie-cutter live service that feels like a chore to play thanks to bloated and repetitive missions, half-baked objectives, and an uninspired story that stops trying halfway through. Outside of solid animations and voice acting, there’s little to enjoy in this forgettable title from WB. It’s a bland experience that’s mediocre at best and a grueling slog at its worst. With so little soul here, I doubt people will remember it well enough to put it on their ‘Worst Games of 2024’ lists.
Tamarak Trail‘s compelling art style and battle system are ultimately weighed down by poor design choices. If you can push past the thicket of mild annoyances, the well-honed dice-rolling mechanics shine through. Despite my hesitations, I kept rolling through tough bosses, mystifying character traits, and other less-polished moments. Hopefully, a little additional work bring Tamarak Trail a devoted audience. While frustrating, the journey through the woods is worth saving.
While Home Safety Hotline does fumble with its gameplay somewhat, the journey from beginning to end is intriguing and fun. This accessible analog horror has an addicting gameplay loop that never gets tedious, excellent worldbuilding and writing, and a great atmosphere. Fans who love analog or supernatural horror should definitely pick up this game.
Born of Bread’s narrative and mechanics soar despite some perplexing quality-of-life choices—and a slew of minor bugs that will hopefully be fixed soon. Although I’m always happy to see a tag-team turn-based RPG, the game sometimes hews too closely to structural and mechanical tropes better left in the distant past. Born of Bread overcomes these setbacks through sheer force of will. The game isn’t afraid to take some wild swings, either. It’s more than a simple Mario and Luigi homage and absolutely the funniest game I’ve played all year. Consider this a weighted Taylor-based average; I’m scoring Born of Bread based on how highly I recommend it, warts and all.
SUPER 56 invokes the best and worst of its microgame lineage with short, bizarre snippets, a narrative framework as joyful as it is inessential, and a central control gimmick that occasionally outstays its welcome. Small accessibility issues aside, Onion Soup Interactive avoids the major pitfalls of its contemporaries by limiting the experience entirely to single-player with online leaderboards, tapering what could have been an overwhelming sprawl into a smart, snappy collection.
Jusant's reach never exceeds its grasp. Smart use of player tools, generous checkpointing options, and a full spectrum of sound take a simple premise to its absolute peak. The deceptively simple climbing and exploration constantly reminds you that you are a single point in a larger ecosystem.
Slay the Princess is a prime example of why visual novels are one of the most powerful and hard-hitting offerings in gaming today. It’s an astounding tale where nearly every aspect elevates its narrative to new heights. If you’re looking for a horror game that’ll stay with you or need a title to nudge you into visual novels, look no further than Slay the Princess.
Pikmin 4 is a delightful continuation of Nintendo’s adorable strategy franchise. An expansive set of maps to explore with well-thought-out puzzles above and below ground make for an incredible adventure with your little pluckable allies. Apart from a few monotonous dungeons and a lack of boss variety, Pikmin 4 substantially improves upon the standards set by previous entries and sets a new standard for the series.
Robodunk is a scrappy, lively take on side-scrolling basketball hijinks, but refinements to control defaults and campaign unlocks could send it soaring to even greater heights. For now, it plays best with friends, but nothing a few post-launch tweaks couldn’t fix.
Final Fantasy XVI is a monumental step forward for the franchise. Its grim and grounded narrative boasting some of the franchise’s best characters, music, and voice acting, is only outclassed by the masterful boss battles and addictive action combat system. The latest entry in the Final Fantasy series is one of the best comprehensive offerings Square Enix has released in the last decade and a must-buy title for RPG fans.
While Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is a fantastic title, I can't recommend it in its current state. Game-breaking bugs, plentiful performance problems, and immersion-crushing glitches are rampant here. You'll likely see significant issues no matter what system you play on. This is an unacceptable release from EA and Respawn that falls far below what we've come to expect from these talented developers. You're better off waiting out the game's rough launch window and picking it up on sale a year later.
While the game is similar to Animal Crossing (AC), I would say that the story development is far more intricate than AC. The need to craft specific items requires you to fish, mine, dig, garden, forage, and ultimately collect to further progress in the game, and story quests give this game more of an RPG feel. . . With the constant updates, it’s clear that Gameloft plans to continue the game for a long time. If you’re a Disney fan and love cozy games such as Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Genshin Impact, or Stardew Valley, I would recommend getting Disney Dreamlight Valley.
Though a lack of character integration in core narratives does keep this title from masterpiece status, Octopath Traveler 2 is better than the original in every possible way. Improved combat, unforgettable characters, excellent narrative structure, gorgeous visuals, and a legendary soundtrack make this one of the best Square Enix titles in years. For fans of JRPGs, Octopath Traveler 2 is worth the price of admission and then some.
Despite a disinteresting narrative and lack of focus on the supporting cast, Fire Emblem Engage is another stellar entry in the franchise, improving on nearly every other aspect. Intuitive strategic gameplay, a loveable main cast, and the fascinating Engage system, which pays homage to previous mainline entries, make this a Fire Emblem any strategy game fan won't want to miss.
Despite a few minor hiccups, Video Game Fables is a joy. While it covers familiar territory, the narrative and systemic liberties Matt Sharp applies to well-worn RPG systems transform them into something more forgiving and freewheeling.
The streamlined mechanics of Potion Permit have simplified some genre staples to the point where they can feel like a grind. However, this game should still be fun for people motivated to learn more about Moonbury’s inhabitants — the town is a lively place where more than 30 individuals pursue daily routines. They interact with each other and the player in ways that suggest an established community, making it more rewarding when you earn that community’s trust.
Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration. . . shows us what digital archival in gaming could look like. Many of these documents were fished from dumpsters when Atari went bust. These slivers of history could have been lost forever. Instead, Digital Eclipse found them, polished them up, and put them into a museum where they belong.
Sonic Frontiers is a wonderful addition to the Sonic series. It offers exciting exploration and high-octane gameplay that will keep players engaged. While there are minor issues with collision and controls, these do not greatly impact the overall enjoyment of the game. It is a must-play for anyone interested in Sonic.
Bayonetta 3 is a case study of why a game that swings big and misses is often more worthy of your time than a 10/10 game that plays it safe. I just wish it could have stuck the landing story-wise.