All of Tails of Iron 2’s aspects ooze a keen understanding of fundamental design values, adding up to a triumphant, intensely satisfying result. It’s a top-tier experience not to be missed by any one who enjoys a challenging 2D soulslike — just watch out for those bats!

At its best, Priest Simulator: Vampire Show is an unapologetic, genre-mashing ride through the absurd. It didn’t hold my hand, and it definitely didn’t take itself seriously. On the other hand, the longer I played, the more the gameplay loop started to wear thin. The novelty of the premise carried me far, but the repetition and occasional mechanical hiccups chipped away at my enthusiasm. Even so, the sheer commitment to weirdness made it hard to walk away completely. For those who thrive on the bizarre, this one’s worth a trip to the confessional.

Casey Jones & The Junkyard Jam DLC isn’t a game-changer, but the asking price is low and the recent option to quickly join players online improves the entire package’s quality. As a result, those who might have given Splintered Fate a pass before might find themselves now intrigued by the possibility of slapping ninjas and robots around with three other players, at least for a few afternoons.

Technical foibles aside, Turbo Overkill more than earns its place in the pantheon, and frankly, the gimmick of a chainsaw leg alone was probably enough to win me over. That said, the thoughtfully crafted encounters coupled with the creative level layouts buoy Turbo Overkill beyond its simple appearance. Ultimately, the peculiar grace of navigating the violent streets of Paradise City just feels good, and every element of its design reinforces that rock solid core.

It’s the best version of a legendary fighting experience, and even if it doesn’t check all the expected boxes of a modern fighting game package, it still kicks ass.

Avowed is just comfort-food adventuring all ’round, and if there’s more of this universe to come in the future, I’ll signing up for the next journey in a heartbeat.

Dynasty Warriors Origins isn’t just a high point for the series, it has the potential be a whole new beginning for its relevance and popularity. While I’m a huge fan of the series, my favorites have never been the mainline entries set in Ancient China. I’ve always preferred the Sengoku Japan-set Samurai Warriors series, or their many licensed entries, like One Piece Pirate Warriors and Zelda Warriors. However, Omega Force has successfully reshaped their flagship title, and perfected the formula – I just hope they’re able to spread this accomplishment around, and elevate their other franchises that deserve the same attention.

Honestly, I’m glad The Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 1&2 Remastered exists. I know longtime fans will rejoice at playing on newer hardware and the story is still to be relished. I am truly hopeful that this reappearance will entice a new generation of fans and perhaps inspire the creation of a true finale for the series overall. As for me, I’ll be content with my memories of playing these games new, as I find them too frustrating on multiple levels to genuinely embrace them today.

Ballionaire earns its modest asking price many times over. It’s not earth shattering or genre-defining — it’s just amiable brain nourishment, on demand, any time, and as effortlessly enjoyable as a piece of chocolate or an ice cream cone. Thoroughly recommended!

Uncover the Smoking Gun pits the player as a free-roaming individual against those harnessing the power of AI for a distorted idea of humanity’s future. In our role as the detective, we are reminded of the necessarily human skills of connecting dots and interpreting our world, and of protecting what is sacred to humankind. The same should go for the games industry, which demands courage to refrain from the temptations of AI and should double down on the more appreciable fruits of actual human creative labor.

Mini Mini Golf Golf is the most experimental gaming experience I’ve played in the past decade – and its message made every level worth savoring. It’s also an open conversation to the player from its developers, and it’s a conversation worth listening to.

Such a wide range of inconsistencies results in an experience that never feels right — Snow Bros Wonderland is ultimately a game that’s on par with trying to squeeze a marshmallow through a keyhole. Even if one succeeds in doing so, it’s definitely not worth the trouble in the end.

Serpentcoil Island is easily, easily one of the best things I played 2024. In a just world, it would be on a lot of others’ lists as well.

I’m an Aliens super-fan. I think that’s clear at this point, so it’s worth saying that I’m going to be predisposed to love a game that goes to the lengths this one does to recreate the aesthetics of that film. The flipside of that fandom is that I’ll recoil from anything that gets the franchise wrong. So with that in mind, hear me when I say that this is the best Alien game ever made. In fact, it only has one flaw — despite ending on a fantastic climax, Incursion is only part one of the whole story. I knew this going into it, but I was still shattered to see To Be Continued come up at a particularly shocking moment. That continuation can’t come quickly enough, but until it does I’ll keep playing Alien Rogue Incursion over and over again.

Ultimately, The Thing: Remastered is mostly successful in recapturing the essence of the film, but it just didn’t give me good reasons to care about the characters, nor did it offer gameplay that was engaging enough for me to want to spend more time in such a dreary world without Kurt Russell there to fire things up. Even after being remastered, The Thing may have been better off left in the ice.

Overall, HeistGeist is an engaging romp through cyberpunk Central Europe. I wish it did a bit more with its card mechanics and strategies, but it’s interesting enough to see through to the end. It doesn’t quite live up to the potential of its concepts, but it remains a recommendation nonetheless.

Overall, the core mechanics were engaging and the world was enchanting enough to keep me coming back night after night. Even when it suffers from subpar writing or when the boss fights are a little too breezy, the dynamic, well-balanced combat, effective worldbuilding and ability to immerse the player in their role as the leader of a diverse group of adventurers who make choices that matter will appeal to a wide variety of gamers. There is much to do, much to say and much to discover around every corner in the world of Thedas.

Overall, Tetris Forever is both for fans of Tetris and also those who deeply care about videogame history. Not only is it collecting an amazing set of entries in a franchise that is both prolific and excellent, but it’s also a much-needed encapsulation that preserves its important legacy.

Symphonia is an audiovisual masterpiece. It’s short, sweet, and just challenging enough to keep even the most seasoned players on their toes. I look forward to returning to Symphonia’s magical soundscape when I need to feel inspired, and I am excited to see what Sunny Peak has in store for the future.

For players looking for something a little outside the usual fare, Sorry We’re Closed is the offbeat survival horror genre-blend they didn’t know they’d been waiting for — and as one of that number myself, I can say that it was an experience unlike any other.

Ultimately, I found that Karate Survivor scratched the right itch for me, even if it took a while to get there. I wish some of the mechanics were unlocked sooner so the first runs didn’t feel so bland, but it definitely remains a recommendation for those who don’t mind putting in a couple of hours to get to the good stuff.

I was immediately hooked by Great God Grove because the mechanics of taking someone’s dialogue and using it on other characters is something I’ve never seen before, and so it fueled my curiosity. I went out of my way to see as many interactions as I could, and I’m glad I did. Everything in Great God Grove comes together to make a great (albeit short) experience that is well worth getting into.

The biggest obstacle facing would-be Phasmophobia players is finding enough people willing to join in the shared roleplay that it requires. But, anyone able to put together a quartet of ghost investigators who are free for couple of hours on a particularly dark night will find themselves in one of the most effective co-op horror games ever made.

Maybe it’s a slow burn and I need more time with it, but Uncle Chop’s Rocket Shop is so unrelenting in its first act, it left me hanging my head in defeat. It’s a title with a lot of potential, but ultimately, the punishing, repetitive foundation it sits on isn’t enough for me to support continued playthroughs.

So what we have with Flowstone is a big, shaggy, messy game — it’s something that stumbles from time to time, but is also crafted with obvious joy that succeeds in its suite of core mechanics, and that’s where it matters most. It’s one of the more uneven titles I’ve played this year and this is not an unqualified recommendation, but it’s memorable, charming, and worth supporting.

If every element of Metro Awakening were on par with the reloading, it’d be one of the best VR games of the year. Instead, I struggle to imagine who this experience is for. I’m a longtime fan, and after spending time with it, all I have is a list of complaints about how the previous Metro style has been sanded down to nothing. I can only imagine new players being lost on its lore while finding gameplay that comes off like a blander version of every other shooter on the market. It’s not even a technical or graphical showcase. Instead, it feels like a product. The Metro series is an incredible, harrowing journey with moving ruminations on the human condition. Metro Awakening is… not.

Ultimately, I see a lot of unrealized potential here. Blending cozy gameplay with dark subject matter, Mirthwood offers an experience that is pleasantly familiar, yet distinct enough to stand out from other games of its ilk. That said, it’s not an experience that appeals to me in its current state. Once some changes are made to the combat mechanics and NPC dialogue, perhaps I’ll want to return to the Free Lands and finally see my crops bear fruit.

By discarding all of their attempts at being the ‘serious, mature’ version of EDF while maintaining their passion for storytelling, Yuke’s has created something truly special in World Brothers 2. It’s a game that embraces the absurdly over-the-top nature of the franchise while offering a story that increases the player’s emotional investment — something that the main series, with its apocalyptic stakes and angry space gods, has never managed to accomplish. Does that necessarily make it the best in the series? I don’t know if I’d go that far – but I can say that it’s the most player-friendly by far, and a perfect jumping-on point for anyone curious about gaming’s most epic action.