Though ENDER MAGNOLIA: Bloom in the Mist plays it safe by being too similar to its predecessor, it also surpasses it in every aspect. It's a challenging, beautiful and melancholic metroidvania, but also heartwarming in its emphatic narrative tone and quality of life upgrades — especially the excellent mapping —, along with the difficulty management.

Anno 117: Pax Romana proves to be an excellent simulator, worthy of the rich historical period that inspires it and also of the legacy of Ubisoft's long-running franchise. The fact that not even its technical flaws are enough to prevent a wider recommendation is a testament to the quality of its systems and all the fun involved in planning, building, and managing ancient cities.

Urban Myth Dissolution Center is a text adventure that's definitely worth playing, especially for fans of the genre. With a solid macabre atmosphere, great plot twists, and an excellent Portuguese translation, we have an immersive mystery solving experience in our hands.

NINJA GAIDEN: Ragebound is a solid revival of the series in a 2D style, featuring fast-paced combat, well-placed platforming challenges, and high-level pixel art visuals. The dynamic between Kenji and Kumori adds variety to the gameplay with both close-range and ranged attacks, strategic use of Overload, and alternate stages in the demon realm. Despite some repetitive moments and sections where mechanics feel forced, the game maintains a steady pace and offers pleasant surprises throughout the campaign. With customization options, extra challenges, and a good balance between action and exploration, Ragebound provides a memorable and accessible experience that respects and revitalizes the franchise's legacy.

Trails through Daybreak II is a good continuation and a consistent step up in Calvard's saga. Despite some slip ups and how it feels like the events are more limited when taking into account the general series setting, this is yet another quality work and an easy recommendation for RPG fans.

More than the meme-game it seems to be, MiSide convinces you with its waifus, but enchants you with the masterful execution of a surreally well-optimized product signed by a team that clearly knows what it is doing without aiming and getting lost in pretentious delusions, but still managing to achieve them with a lot of work, competence and passion.

Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector enhances and expands on the concepts of the first game, delivering an even more compelling experience for fans of interactive narratives and tabletop RPGs. With strategic mechanics well-integrated into the gameplay, a richly-detailed universe and an immersive soundtrack, the game stands out as a sequel that respects its roots and at the same time adds new elements to make the experience deeper.

Despelote is far from being a title that draws attention for its gameplay or challenge. It comes with a very different proposal for a very specific audience, but that does not diminish the credit of its experience. For those who enjoy curious excerpts from parallel realities to ours, which were previously only possible through television documentaries, you will be quite surprised by this game, even if it doesn't last long.

Once Upon A KATAMARI may have taken a while to arrive, but it made up for the fans' wait with a great title. It maintained the good things that the remakes of the first two titles brought to current generations and enhanced them with excellent narrative elements and a charming soundtrack. The King of All Cosmos may have tried to interfere, in more than one way, but the Prince managed to deliver his katamari in the way we all expected.

Afterlove EP is a text adventure that manages to present the drama of mourning in an impactful and honest manner and the difficulties of recomposing oneself after such a giant loss. Emotional and visceral, this is a great recommendation for those who enjoy works of this nature, though the rhythm side ends up under-explored.

Revenge of the Savage Planet is a sequel that takes what made the first game work and elevates it with visual improvements, greater freedom of exploration, and a welcome expansion of co-op. The shift to third-person, nonsensical humor, and irreverent sci-fi atmosphere maintain the franchise's charm, while new gameplay features make the experience more fluid and strategic.

More than simply revitalizing two games, Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake is a celebration of the origins of the JRPG. By enhancing combat with new mechanics and abilities, expanding the narrative with dialogues and arcs that strengthen the emotional bonds with the heroes, and making world exploration even more rewarding, Square Enix managed to modernize the core experience without abandoning the charming essence and simplicity that made them great classics of the genre.

Rift Riff reinvents the tower defense genre with its inventive approach. The ability to influence enemy paths creates multiple strategic options, and the wide variety of towers, monsters, and resources encourages creativity and experimentation. This freedom sometimes leads to trial-and-error situations, but fortunately, the fast-paced action minimizes the impact of this issue. These qualities, combined with the captivating setting and interesting content to explore, make Rift Riff an immersive and memorable experience.

Simple yet effective, the tower defense game Plants vs. Zombies: Replanted proves that a classic ages well. The remaster does a good job on adapting the visuals to modern screens, also bringing a wealth of additional content and, most importantly, the ability to play as a duo in both cooperative and competitive modes.

Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii is a bizarrely unique experience. Addressing many of the main concerns players had about the previous Gaiden, Ryu Ga Gotoku did an excellent job of creating a soulful adventure for what is certainly one of the most beloved characters in the fan community.

The Knightling, from Twirlbound, is a simple yet captivating game with an engaging story, fun combat, an epic soundtrack, and interesting exploration. Despite its minor flaws, its qualities outweigh the negatives. Portuguese subtitles would be a great addition in the future.

Regions of Ruin: Runegate delivers a solid premise by combining strategic combat with the satisfaction of watching a base grow. The game stands out for the freedom it grants players to explore at their own pace and the depth of its skill tree, which allows for interesting character customization. On the other hand, it requires patience to overcome technical and combat design flaws that often interfere with the experience. Overall, it is a competent RPG that rewards the effort of those who decide to master its mechanics.

Sid Meier's Civilization VII offers a fresh take on the franchise, introducing innovations that make the game more accessible while keeping gameplay dynamic for extended periods of time. While some elements, such as diplomatic relations, lack variation, the strategic depth that characterizes the series and the genre remains largely intact.

Rivals of Aether II presents a very solid foundation, with fast-paced combat, a variety of characters, and mechanics that work well in both casual matches and more technical levels of play. At the same time, its almost total focus on competitive play and the lack of solo content leave important gaps, especially for those who don’t intend to commit to online play. Even so, in local matches, the experience changes completely—it’s easy to get drawn in and have fun with the chaos of the fights. In its current state, it’s a game that already delivers good moments, but still feels like it’s in the process of growing. For those who enjoy learning, testing their limits, and gradually improving, there’s a lot of value here. For others, it might be worth keeping a closer eye on its development before fully diving in.

Yu-Gi-Oh! Early Days Collection is a historical recollection of the franchise's legacy in the Game Boy systems (original, Color and Advance). The game's quality can vary wildly and the first ones in the pack are very different from what the real life TCG would develop into. With such an ample history, the series has better games that also deserve such a "rescue", like the Tag Force line, and hopefully the team's efforts don't end with just this rerelease.

As a free update, Nikoderiko: The Magical World – Director’s Cut does an excellent job of both bringing back those who have already embarked on Niko and Luna’s adventure, and offering a better experience for newcomers. This type of platform game requires polished controls and physics to work well, and the touches given are very welcome. Although it is excessively similar to Donkey Kong Country and Crash Bandicoot in both level design and themes, it is a game that took the best of the gorilla games and created a new experience, even if it lacks a greater identity of its own.

Overall, though its slip-ups are easy to notice, we still have an interesting adventure worth checking out for fans of RPG who aren't afraid of diving into a musical world that's as eccentric as it's provocative.

No Sleep For Kaname Date - From AI: THE SOMNIUM FILES doesn’t fix all the mistakes the franchise has made along the years and keeps vehemently insisting upon some of them, but it marks an excellent step to reconquer the hearts of those who were let down by the prior entry. It’s worth playing for all longtime fans of the series: players will find plenty of pleasant surprises, wrapped in fun escape rooms and Kotaro Uchikoshi’s classic screwball comedy.

Under Defeat brings together all versions of the game and even includes a new one, even if with few differences in fact, creating an aura of a full-bodied version of a title that can be considered a modern classic of the genre. If you are a fan and enthusiast of shoot 'em ups, you definitely need to add this one to your library.

Even though the quality of life features could have gone further, Suikoden I&II HD Remaster Gate Rune and Dunan Unification Wars brings two classic RPGs in great style. For those who haven't played yet and want to check out the two, it's a great opportunity to dive into the universe conceived by the late Yoshitaka Murayama.

Wheel World is one of those experiences that embraces the player with its lighthearted atmosphere, friendly visuals, and welcoming soundtrack. While it's not a game that relies on major twists or complex challenges, it knows exactly what it wants to deliver: an uncomplicated, fun, and engaging adventure, with a healthy dose of exploration, customization, and naturally evolving racing mechanics.

Ninja Five-O does an unexpected and much-needed rescue of an excellent title from the early days of the Game Boy Advance, which ended up being overshadowed by other big names released around the same time. Fans of Joe Musashi and Ryu Hayabusa who give Joe Osugi a chance will definitely not be disappointed.

Century of Anticipation is another one of those simple projects that few will talk about, but that many will love within the context of Brazilian games. This one is not full of explosions or grand cathartic moments, and it is precisely in the absence of these that the free poetic creativity, which is so lacking in many forms of art today, flourishes.