Basketball Classics from developer Namo Gamo and publisher Acclaim, Inc., is a fun 8-bit basketball experience that is simple in its design and execution. While not perfect, it still maintains the essence of some of the best and earliest times of video game basketball gameplay experiences.

Last Man Sitting from developer DoubleMoose Games and publisher Raw Fury is a fun and simple shooter with a ridiculous theme, as well as a bevy of customization and upgrade options. The gameplay is short and repetitive, but the price point helps justify it.

If you’ve ever wanted to feel satisfaction from a coin pushing machine, RACCOIN: Coin Pusher Roguelike will give you the hope, joy, and endless chaos that the real thing couldn’t. It’s a Balatro-fied coin pusher roguelike that’ll keep you chasing the highs of raining coins for hours on end.

Marathon is a game but it is also a statement piece. One that brazenly pushes against the player, creating friction where we usually would expect none. This is not a kind extraction shooter. It is violent, ruthless, and exacting. Players clash with each other in the promise of exponential, evolving power and, much like its AI counterparts, have no qualms about taking their pound of flesh. By design, Bungie has created something confident and singular. And by definition, those are the types of products that will ostracize and exclude. Only at those weakest moments is the player able to capitalize on their own survival instinct and take charge, using the provided tools to complete the cycle and escape into the heavens. You merely have to want it.

DAMON and Baby from developer Arc System Works contains a bevy of fun gameplay elements across different genres that work more than they don’t. The action can get a bit frustrating at times, but big multi-tiered maps, interesting weapons, and a cooking system help to push past that frustration. It’s a good game that has a lot to offer players.

Mega Man Star Force Legacy Collection is a near-complete collection of the Nintendo DS’ Mega Man titles. Featuring welcome quality of life benefits, new-and-improved (for the most part) audio/visuals, along with online play, it’s a must-have for a Mega Man fan wanting to replay some of the best titles in the series’ history.

Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O. World Stage is the same, already great 3D fighting experience that PC players got last year and fans of Virtua Fighter 5 Ultimate Showdown have been familiar with since 2021. It brings Nintendo Switch 2 owners to parity with crossplay and rollback netcode, meaning that it should be easier than ever to find an online opponent.

MLB The Show 26 from developer San Diego Studio and publisher Sony Interactive Entertainment is a solid improvement from last year’s game, with more data inclusion, smoother career decision-making, and better backend gameplay refinements. While not a huge leap from the previous year, it’s still a good release with enough reason to consider it, especially if you’re a new player who doesn’t have last year’s game.

Death Stranding 2: On the Beach on the PC brings the same epic story, fantastic gameplay, and unrivaled visuals. It’s quite an achievement for PC gaming.

The Coin Game from developer devotid and publisher Kwalee is a fun game, especially if you love those ticket arcade gaming experiences. The games are methodically created, fun, and addictive. The two main modes, Survival and Birthday, are just different enough to enjoy a variety of gameplay experiences depending on one’s mood. The game does have its faults, but it has more good than not.

Minishoot’ Adventures avoids being a shameless ripoff of classic Zelda by incorporating twin-stick shooter elements into its fluid gameplay. Tackling friendly bullet hell enemies is made more exciting through a colorful world packed with a flood of rewards and a constant feeling of discovery, making this brisk adventure enticingly unique.

For players who love cozy games and don’t mind a slightly more structured approach to exploration, Collector’s Cove offers a calm, colorful adventure on the open sea. It may not be the most groundbreaking entry in the genre, but it’s a relaxing voyage that’s easy to enjoy, especially for those of us who want nothing more than to pet all of the animal companions in the gaming world.

John Carpenter’s Toxic Commando obviously has echoes of titles like Left 4 Dead and Back 4 Blood in it. As a cooperative horde shooter it doesn’t stray from the pack in a way that is too experimental to prevent casual fun. Despite the gritty and realistic aesthetic, the open-ended maps offer numerous engaging objectives meant to challenge groups of players. By combining familiar elements of character classes and tangible upgrades, Saber Interactive has borrowed from its best titles to create a cohesive power climb that is best with friends biting back with enough fangs that challenges are fresh and fun.

Resident Evil Requiem is a return to old-school Resident Evil structure with new-school flavor. It’s a more compact and claustrophobic experience compared to the previous title, while bringing dual stories, intense action, and horror, and a proper number of puzzles into the mix.

Sumerian Six fills a very niche hole that few developers have capitalized on. Its six characters and complex maps give players a wealth of options to creatively take out power-hungry Nazis, where careful planning is the best reward.

Overall, the puzzles are clever, increasingly challenging, and packed with humor and personality. Yes, ChromaGun 2 Dye Hard takes a page out of the Portal handbook, but it does it respectfully well.

Planet of Lana II: Children of the Leaf is a valuable sequel because it gently expands on what made the original impactful, avoiding bloated excess. A constant flood of evocative imagery and powerful emotion provides players with a gorgeous world to become lost in and care for its inhabitants. Never resting on the laurels of puzzle mechanics and instilling its characters with depth and gravitas, Children of the Leaf cements itself as one of the best cinematic platformers of its kind.

Dead in Antares, from developer Ishtar Games and publisher Nacon, is an impressive game that is led by survival management, player choice, and paying attention to crew members’ attributes and stats. The gameplay lies within its details and depends on players making a logical decision on how best to keep the crashed crew alive in the game. It can be overwhelming for those uninitiated to the series, but it’s impressive nonetheless.

Death Howl is a ferocious meditation on using difficulty as a crucible for improvement. It takes the mechanics of deck building and twists them in enough clever configurations that players will stare death in the face and relish in triumph. More so, this is a exquisite looking game drenched in mysticism that ruminates on the struggle we all face with acceptance of loss, transforming a game about cards into a truly enjoyable work.

On the PlayStation 5, Tales of Berseria feels less like a traditional remaster and more like a simple port. While it remains an excellent game in its own right (and perhaps one of the best in the Tales series), the struggle is real in recommending it to those who can simply play the PS4 version and not feel like they’re missing out on anything novel.

Crisol: Theater of Idols, from developer Vermila Studios and publisher Blumhouse Games, is a good game that brings a gorgeous, yet horrifying world to life in a reimagined Spain. The game introduces some interesting mechanics that players will either love or have a tough time with, which may affect their gameplay experience. Still, it’s a solid game that, at the very least, tries to take a different FPS route.

Sons of Sparta‘s heart still beats true despite these issues. It embraces the retro aesthetic and even brings Bear McCreary back for a chiptune score. It uses the Greek backdrop to inspire nostalgia for the series’ roots, paying respect with a new visual style. For many it will be the combat and exploration that bring up the biggest points of contention, not the youthful take on Kratos. But Sons of Sparta proves that PlayStation franchises can be iterated on in experimental, exciting ways.

Rayman – 30th Anniversary Edition, from developer Digital Eclipse and publisher Ubisoft, shows off the original game on various platforms. While there is no doubt some repetitiveness with seeing the same game repeatedly on various systems, the collection still brings some good video game history and some fantastic gameplay.

Paranormasight: The Mermaid’s Curse is a more refined and fun journey than the previous entry in the series. It brings a spooky and entertaining narrative that works well with more focused gameplay elements that the series is improving upon.

Absolum has received an incredible shot in the arm with its new Threads of Fate update. While the core experience already proved that Dotemu, Guard Crush, and Supamonks have made one of the best beat ’em ups in recent years, providing players with new difficulty and run modifiers adds more life to an already healthy game. Just as fantastic as it was when it released in 2025, this newest patch provides an incredible reason for anyone to check out what Absolum has to offer.

Hungry Horrors, from developer Clumsy Bear Studio, is a card-based joy to play. It’s engaging, wonderfully circular in its design, and an easy game to revisit regularly. The difficulty might turn some gamers away, but once that hill is climbed, it’s a brilliantly built game that will be tough to put down.

Under the Island, from developer Slime King Games, gives a firm tip-of-the-hat with its design and execution to games like The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. Under the Island contains good action, sometimes difficult puzzles, and a hefty amount of exploration to keep one’s attention firmly locked into the gameplay. The difficulty of some of the puzzles might feel a bit unbalanced and heavy, in comparison to the action, but the payoff feels worth that trouble.

Gumball in Trick-or-Treat Land from developer Exquisite Laundry Pet LLC harkens back to a simpler RPG time while adding some worthwhile questing, good turn-based action, and some clever humor.