Steel Seed from developer Storm in a Teacup is a gorgeous and stunning stealth-action game that does a lot of things right, but also stumbles at times with difficulty.

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered is a great remaster of the original Oblivion. Virtuos Games and Bethesda’s decisions to use Unreal Engine 5, add new aesthetic content, refine some of the original’s UI, and update core systems to today’s standards are great to see. While the classic bugginess, jank, and rough edges remain, they’re not enough to prevent me from investing another 80-or-so hours into replaying this classic Elder Scrolls game.

Fatal Fury: City of Wolves from SNK Corporation is a long-overdue fighting experience that does its best to throw variety and meaningful content into the mix. Most of what it tries to do is on point, though the experience, especially on the campaign side of the tracks (Episodes of South Town) could have been a bit longer.

Amerzone from developer Microids Studio Paris is a Myst-like experience that features a heavy narrative, great characters, and incredibly challenging puzzles. It may not be for everyone, but those who want this type of gaming experience will certainly be thrilled with the delivery.

Kemono Heroes from developer Mad Gear Games and publisher JanduSoft is a fun action beat ‘em up that keeps the gameplay simple, delivers creative enemies and levels, and throws some good boss fights into the experience. While the upgrades are a bit restrictive with their progression, the game offers far more fun than not.

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.

FragPunk from developer Bad Guitar Studio has a lot going on, most of which is positive. The game is easy to jump into, there are a variety of modes to play to keep the gameplay fresh, and the game just looks and feels cool. Not all of it is gold, but it’s certainly close.

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 feather in the cap for Square Enix’s efforts to preserve its massive catalog of RPGs in that delightful era of the PlayStation 1. And for a game so unique as this, it’s hard to imagine the undertaking of a complete remake could preserve the original’s imaginative spark. Instead, SaGa Frontier 2 Remastered serves as the ideal update to a game that shouldn’t be relegated to a time capsule, trapped on older hardware where a fresh audience has less of a chance to fall in love.

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.

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.

Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds Ultimate, like many beat ’em ups, is not rife with complexity or plot. But it possesses an undeniable spirit in its chaotic joy, begging to be played by a group of friends wanting to churn through groups of enemies and watch the screen shake with fury. It’s an homage not entirely to the past but to the simple thrill of fun.

Hitman: World of Assassination Part One – VR Edition from developer Io Interactive is an impressive and immersive VR experience that raises the bar for the Hitman series. It brings good content that will put you in the shoes of Agent 47 in an entirely different way. The only hiccups are some glitches that are wandering around the game, but the core gameplay is solid.

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.

FUBUKI ~zero in on Holoearth~ HOLOLIVE ALTERNATIVE is a short, but sweet, retro-action platformer. The beauty of its pixel art can be obfuscated by the visual business of what’s on-screen and the level design skews overly simplistic, but it’s still fun for a few hours. If you’re a Hololive fan, you’ll be pleased by its Easter Eggs.

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.

Croc – Legend of the Gobbos Remastered from developer Argonaut Games is a throwback to a simpler, more experimental 3D platformer time. 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.

The Last of Us Part II Remastered from developers Naughty Dog, Nixxes Software, and Iron Galaxy is a better PC translation than its console versions. It brings high-end graphics, superb sound, and all the story you could ever want to carry with you for a long time.

Karma: The Dark World is a rare game that offers stark familiarity but challenges the concept of normalization. Its mechanical trappings keep it grounded and mildly rote. But it is horror with minimal jump scares. Techno-thriller via existential dreams. Disparate elements made tenuously coherent. Beyond any critique, however, Pollard Studio, with their debut, have made a game with truly stunning visual direction that only the most seasoned directors have achieved.

Wanderstop admittedly won’t be for every player. Obtuse, experimental games rarely are. Even its “cozy” moniker belies a genuine lack of requirements Ivy Road imposes. But threaded through this simple game about making tea is a powerful, poignant narrative that dwells on a person’s ability to come to terms with the futility of constant forward momentum. Grace and warmth can be found in the doldrums of existence. And in this chaotic age, we often need a break not only from the noise but ourselves.

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.

MLB The Show 25 from San Diego Studio is a good upgrade from last year’s game. The gameplay feels tighter and smoother on the offense and defense side of the field. Including the new feature Diamond Quest gives more depth to what a typical baseball game would be, bringing in new ideas on how you can compete in Diamond Dynasty. MLB leads the way again by bringing a solid experience and off-beat innovation that works more than it doesn’t.

Overall, I had a blast and then some. This game is like if Cyberpunk 2077 and Doom (1994) had a baby and it was raised by Ultrakill. Mullet MadJack is an incredibly artistic spin on an already expansive boomer-shooter genre. The combat is lighting fast, the setting engaging, the visuals striking, and the violence plentiful. Mullet MadJack is exactly the type of game that your parents would worry about you getting your hands on as a kid. Or at least I assume so, I didn’t grow up in an era in which Congress was so bored it turned its sights on pixelated blood.