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Once Upon a Puppet excels in its ability to build a fantastical world cobbled together from the dilapidated remains of opulence. As a 2.5D platformer, the game’s attempts to use the genre’s foundations are often mixed. Clever puzzles and bursts of action go hand-in-hand with movement that can often not feel fluid and satisfying enough. But players open to the game’s charm should be able to ignore the blemishes and enjoy the moments that truly shine.
Rusty Rabbit from developer Nitro Plus is a fun, deep adventure led by fun characters, a good story, easy mechanics, and a strong RPG backbone. Repetitiveness does drag the experience down a bit, but this 2D platformer stands strong with its positives.
Draknek and Friends' The Electrifying Incident: A Monster Mini-Expedition lives up to its name as a bite-sized thinky game. While it strikes the sweet spot of puzzle solving without giving too much away, it may be seen as too difficult. Don't give up, though – it's worth it for the hour-or-so it'll take to reach the end.
SaGa Frontier 2 Remastered is another invaluable entry in Square Enix's increasing catalog of updated games. But this particular PlayStation 1 gem is distinct for its varying risks, impeccable style, and tendency to be different.
I, Robot from developer Llamasoft and publisher Atari reignites a forgotten Atari arcade classic from the 80s. While the visuals have been refined a little, the core gameplay from the original arcade title is still intact, which includes its chaotic style and psychedelic personality. It may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it’s a fun, nostalgia-driven arcade adventure nonetheless.
Bionic Bay from developer Psychoflow Studio is an outstanding atmospheric platformer that will keep players locked-in with its simplistic mechanics and complicated gameplay mixed within an intriguing story.
Lost in Random: The Eternal Die from developer Stormteller Games is a wonderful game on the Nintendo Switch 2, if you can get used to the Switch 2’s controls that come with it. Beyond that minor hiccup, the game still brings the same addictive gameplay experience and presentation as the bigger consoles. Having the game on the go is a huge plus as well.
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle from developer MachineGames and publisher Bethesda Softworks brings the Indiana Jones world to life with a great story and fantastically designed game.
Capcom's decision to delay Street Fighter 6 to the Nintendo Switch 2 should be celebrated, as they succeeded in packing a big punch despite the Switch 2's small package. It runs like a dream and lacks the graphical compromises that many Switch owners may be accustomed to seeing from AAA games. If you've been patiently waiting for a next-gen fighting title to take on the go, Street Fighter 6 is the breakout fighting game for the Nintendo Switch 2 launch.
INAYAH – Life After Gods from developer Exogenesis Studios is a fun and flawed metroidvania adventure. Its narrative is quite good and purposeful, the art is out of this world visually amazing, and the backend design is complicated, as it is motivating. The repetitiveness of enemies and level design drag the gameplay down a bit but for the most part the game still delivers a worthy adventure.
Blue Prince from developer Dogubomb and publisher Raw Fury is everything it is cracked up to be. It’s easy to pick up and play, thick with strategy and play-driven decisions, and simple to come back to repeatedly in the face of failure thanks to some amazing gameplay elements that were methodically built for its design.
Crashlands 2 has been worth the wait, especially for those who want a simple crafting and farming game that can be played on an iPhone or PC. Its tongue-in-cheek charm, dubstep silliness, and approachability make it worth playing for hours on end…so long as you get past its initial learning sluggishness.
The remastered game represents the old one nicely without going too far or destroying any of the original game’s essence. While some of the 90s gameplay concepts in Croc – Legend of the Gobbos Remastered are still stuck in the 90s, some elements are improved. This may not hit with new gamers but it’s undoubtedly going to please those raised during that 90s video game era.
Anyway, in its current form, The Last of Us Part II Remastered is a fantastic PC release. Tragedy and trauma wait for you on PC.
Despite an obtuse overarching narrative and minimal gameplay, Karma: The Dark World continually swings for the fences. Pollard Studio's debut heavily leans on artistic direction that will linger with the player long after the story fades from memory.
DOOM: The Dark Ages dials back the complexity of Eternal, hoping to capitalize on what made DOOM a household gore fest. Hordes of enemies are meat under the player's boot in yet another evolved take on the classic arena shooter.
Wanderstop often feels like a diversion from any traditional standards a player may expect from a game, even one so cozy or hinting at purported narrative subterfuge. But in abandoning expectations, it truly thrives.
The First Berserker: Khazan from developer Neople is a different and more accessible take on the action role-playing game Souls blueprint. It’s difficult most of the time but brings a good story, great enemies, and a hefty and well-executed backend system. While mostly a great game, its downside is that it is a linear journey that will test a gamer’s frustration limits.
Breakout Beyond from developer Choice Provisions and publisher Atari is a nice tip of the cap to the classic game. While its screen configuration and pacing might be a little jarring for new players, the power-ups and gameplay elements that present good challenges will certainly hook them. The game does a great job of balancing classic Breakout ideas with well-thought-through gameplay design.
Path of Fury – Episode I: Tetsuo’s Tower from developer Leonard Menchiari is a wonderful and beautifully brutal VR experience. It delivers accuracy, a good brawling environment, and makes use of Meta Quest’s tech well. The only hiccups are repetitive enemies and sometimes visuals. Both can be forgiven with its brawling gameplay that comes straight from the best 90s fighting games.