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Behind the Frame presents itself as comfort food. For some, that's sorely needed right now. And for me, it's a welcome treat at any time.
Blasphemous was a brutally tough Metroidvania. The sequel hits just as hard in every way but with a smoother difficulty curve and an outstanding first act.
This game isn’t just fun to play, it is engaging. It is addicting. I've been struggling a bit with how I feel about Balatro, because that game is massively addicting but without a driving “reason to play” that makes me feel good about the time I spend with it. Children of the Sun is nearly as addictive but is designed in a way where I always feel like I’m walking away from a session with new stories. Sometimes that’s the actual plot progression, but just as often it is my own story of figuring out how to solve a level in the most efficient way possible.
I adore Minishoot' Adventures, y’all. It’s less puzzle-oriented than most Zelda games, but it nails the feeling of exploration I love in those stories and has a combat system all of its own that is delightful. If you grew up exploring Hyrule on the NES like I did, I cannot recommend this game enough.
Iron Meat is a fantastic Contra-like shooter. With sharp pixel art, a rocking soundtrack, and intense action, it's a worthy successor to the retro classics.
30XX is an immensely satisfying and easy-to-pick-up Megaman-like, but victory feels a bit too dependent on random ability upgrades.
Cosmic Collapse trades in Suika's fruit for celestial bodies and makes a few smart tweaks to the formula; it's a standout Suika-like puzzle game on PC and Steam Deck.
I really loved my time with this game, and it’s one I can see myself coming back to just to tool around with its unique combat abilities or to try to find those last secrets. I just wish that the late-game design was somehow tweaked to better keep up the fantastic pacing that had me hooked up to that point.
Yars Rising combines modern and retro sensibilities into a fun and quirky package. It's both a solid new Metroidvania and a great celebration of Atari classics.
Between its gorgeous presentation and sentimental script, Please Be Happy might just be the most uplifting and heartfelt story I've taken in all year, full stop.
Fans of Celeste will love the fast-paced platforming and clever level design in Garlic, as long as they can get past its weird sense of humor.
Don't let the adorable characters fool you, AK-xolotl is a tough Rogue-lite shmup that'll have you coming back for one run after another!
Raiden III x Mikado Maniax is a great excuse to revisit an entry in an iconic shmup series for veterans and a good place to start for newcomers.
With cards to collect and nodes to explore, Gordian Quest brings some of my favorite rogue-lite mechanics into a persistent world for an epic adventure.
This is a stunningly beautiful destruction simulator that tasks you with pulling off high-stake heists.
Even if you have no idea who Yohan The Parhelion is, Blaze in the Deepblue is still a fun Metroidvania with a great sense of style.
Backpack Hero is a rogue-lite, dungeon crawler, inventory management game that is so much deeper than it appears on its surface.
Fans of tactics games will have a blast with this one, especially if you are inclined towards WW2.
WWE 2K24 is a fantastically meaty package. The core gameplay feels really good, and there are so many different modes to frame that gameplay that you can easily spend an obscene amount of time on this release. At launch, the handheld gameplay experience was pretty horrible thanks to all sorts of weird graphical issues, but with those mostly ironed out the Steam Deck is now a perfectly reasonable place to play it.
I have no idea how Dread Delusion would strike newcomers, but retro throwbacks like these aren’t appealing to that audience first. This is a game built for people like me; people who loved being lost in Morrowind; people who still think Stilt Striders are the superior form of fast travel; and people who were addicted to Skooma before they were old enough to drink. If you grew up on Morrowind, I think you’ll love Dread Delusion just as much as I do.