Charming presentation and interesting investigation mechanics can't make up for the underwhelming story of Duck Detective: The Secret Salami.

Survival: Fountain of Youth offers a blend of history and survival that makes for an impactful and challenging experience.

Fabledom provides hours of entertainment, but it suffers from the usual drawbacks of a city builder, such as the slow pace and drop in difficulty when you reach a stable point. Adding romance was an interesting choice, but I feel that aspect is held back by the design of city builders in general. That being said, I had fun running my city in the background and coming back to see how much progress was made. Given its design and visuals, Fabledom would be an amazing mobile game.

Little Kitty, Big City is a casual adventure and exploration game done right. Double Dagger’s love for its four-legged protagonist is evident throughout, blending classic platforming elements with an engrossing open world filled to the brim with colorful characters, quests to solve, and items to collect. To that end, the studio’s multi-platform project is bound to keep players charmed and entertained, if only for an afternoon gaming session.

Stunlock Studios has created a smash hit in V Rising. Not only is it a solid survival game, but it introduces creative mechanics to the genre that often depends on tried and true practices. The narrative is primed with areas the dev team can expand into, which I’m really looking forward to.

Indika is a creative, thoughtful narrative game with puzzle and platforming elements. However, it's not a title for the average gamer.

Manor Lords has a strong start, but can't shake off its Early Access feeling. [Early Access Provisional Score = 80]

A refreshing, light-hearted underwater Soulslike adventure with unique combat mechanics centered around different hermit crab shell abilities.

While it has downsides and requires various quality-of-life fixes, No Rest for the Wicked has great potential to be an excellent blend of ARPGs and Soulslikes in 1.0. [Early Access Provisional Score = 75]

Tales of Kenzera: Zau is an impressively built Metroidvania game that weaves enjoyable gameplay and deep emotional storytelling.

Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes has the nostalgic feel of a '90s JRPG but revitalizes the genre with lovable characters and epic strategy sequences.

Rusty’s Retirement was promised as a relaxing, idle farming sim that allows you to do other things simultaneously, and it proves to be all that. Despite being a straightforward game of steady progression and expansion, it’s an addicting process with satisfying results. As a gamer who multitasks quite often, I enjoyed every aspect of this little game and recommend it to anyone who likes to stay extra busy while completing other tasks.

All in all, I love all that Spirit City: Lofi Sessions represents. It gives you a quiet, aesthetic space to stay focused on your work and track your goals and feelings. I appreciated the interactive twist on productivity tools by giving you options for personalization and a challenge to collect all the Spirits. My only downside is — I want more. More background options, more soundscapes to choose from, and more activities to do with the Spirits. If the developers add more content like this, I think Spirit City: Lofi Sessions could be a 10/10 experience that I would use on a daily basis. Either way, I would recommend it to anyone who’s looking for a cozy productivity tool, Lofi music hub, and collection game all in one.

Overall, I found South Park: Snow Day to be an entertaining story with a fun twist on the usual D&D meets dungeon crawler experience. Not to mention, it’s a great option to play with friends. The gameplay was smooth and challenging all the way through, allowing me to change my style by trying different weapons and powers. With all its great features, it becomes instantly replayable. If you’re a South Park fan, it’s a must to try!

I loved Midnight Ghost Hunt, which isn’t surprising because I also liked Prop Hunt a lot in the past. As it is, MGH is a game that’s worth trying out, especially if you’re playing with friends. Since it’s a one-time purchase, I don’t have any issues with playing it, then taking a break and coming back when new content is added. A fair bit of content and patches were added during Early Access, so I expect Midnight Ghost Hunt to continue evolving and improving moving forward.

A sequel done right in the truest sense, improving on everything from epic monster hunting to slaying mechanics while delivering a vast fantasy world.

Alone in the Dark (2024) revisits the original 3D Survival Horror with respect for the 1992 game and the games inspired by it.

If the lack of story is a sticking point for you, you can always opt to play with friends. There is a co-op mode with a maximum of 4 players, and a crossplay option was announced to come with the release of the game as well. After the full release, you can bet your bottom dollar I’ll be pitching this to my friends as a weekend activity.

For me, Outcast: A New Beginning was really a tug-of-war between “it’s fun,” and “it’s driving me crazy.” While some features stood out to me, like the jetpack and weapon modules, they really couldn’t make up for the lackluster characters, a map that was just too big, and bugs that ruin the experience. Fans of the franchise may want to give it a try to compare to the classic experience as it’s undoubtedly a step up in terms of mechanics. However, it’s not necessarily something I would want to play again myself, which lowers my rating for the game overall, and honestly, restricts me from recommending it to others.

Last Epoch is an impressive aRPG that features a web of interconnected systems and activities. The game's time in Steam Early Access served its purpose and, rough launch and some rougher edges notwithstanding, it delivers a smooth and enjoyable experience. Not as simple as Diablo 4, and not as complex as Path of Exile, Last Epoch has something for everyone, from the casual dungeon divers to the minmax lovers ready to chase that elusive stat.

At it’s core, New Star GP is an arcade racer. If you revelled in the audacity of Hotshot Racing, then this doesn’t stray too far from that track. There aren’t any big boss bombs, but it does park up with an audacious swagger that invites players to simply jump in and go. The brash colors, silly moustaches, and easy action steering make this an entertaining option, especially when handheld. The magnitude of the Career Mode and the strategic decisions, such as pit stops are meaningful but not obtrusive. New Star GP is just fun! It’s a great mix of ideas, tuned to perfection.

I love Outlast and horror games in general. So, I enjoy The Outlast Trials well enough to recommend it as a solid experience. There’s a lot of room for it to grow yet, but Red Barrels delivers a terrifying game that you can complete the main section of in about four hours if you don’t fail any trials. It’s the kind of game that doesn’t force you to play it constantly, but you can always come back to it and have a good time with friends.

The Thaumaturge successfully delivers a weird and surprising RPG that is filled to the brim with narrative. Whether you’re chasing down demons, or manipulating the minds of the socially elite, you’ll feel the power of the Thaumaturge. With its complex turn-based combat and choice consequence system, there are plenty of opportunities for replayability.

Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth is a masterclass in modernizing one of the most important games ever made, even if its reach sometimes exceeds its grasp.

Ultimately, Banishers Ghosts of New Eden satisfied my Vampyr expectations, which is a compliment in and of itself.

This is an outstanding return for the King of Iron Fist Tournament. While I have my critiques, they come from someone whose fondest early gaming memories are button-mashing through Tekken 3. I want character customization to be at its best because that’s been one of my favorite features since it was added. I want the stories to hit harder because, as crazy as they are, the characters deserve it. At the end of the day though, none of those negatives are related to the core gameplay. Proper working rollback netcode, crossplay across all platforms, and aggressive Heat Mechanics are what will keep me playing whenever I can. Tekken 8 is pure fun — and that’s what’s most important to me.

While Enshrouded is a dingy, medieval survival game with endless fog, it has a bright future. From the sheer amount of things to do, to the creativity in building and the fun of surviving in single-player and multiplayer, it’s a game with something for just about everyone. Despite the hiccups I experienced and my reservations about certain elements, this is a strong start for Enshrouded‘s EA period.

Overall, Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is a refreshing take not just for the long-dormant franchise, but for the modern Metroidvania genre. After completing the campaign in roughly 16 hours (with a bit of side exploration thrown in for good measure), I found it’s approachable for newcomers and presents interesting and engaging challenges for hardcore fans. I can only hope that this leads to bigger sequels down the line.