While it isn’t winning any graphics awards (not that it's terrible), Eclipse: Edge of Light still manages to achieve VR greatness. With a few simple mechanics, Eclipse allows the player to experience its eerie, lonely world in ways that feel tactile and rewarding. Highly recommended for fans of trippy sci-fi, Eclipse stands out from the crowd in all the right ways.

Atelier Rorona Plus may not reinvent the role-playing genre, but it does add new life to the poorly-received 2010 game. By fixing many of the original game's problems (including combat, crafting, exploring, visuals, etc.), the developers have turned an otherwise middling RPG into one of this year's most surprising releases.

Pushmo Worlds makes a solid if subtle landing on the WiiU platform, and offers a ton of fun in a small little package.

While not as flashy as Final Fantasy or as original as Skies of Arcadia, this updated re-release is a testament to how much fun a well-crafted turn-based role-playing game can be. Grandia II: Anniversary Edition improves the visuals, adds a new difficulty and offers Japanese voice acting, but fails to put the 15 year old role-playing game into context.

Little Nightmares II is a must-play for any fans of indie sensations Limbo and Inside. If you've yet to play the first game, it's not necessary, per se, but is wholly recommended. Having played the first game, one can appreciate how much Little Nightmares II builds upon its predecessor. It's gloomy, gruesome, ghastly, but downright intoxicating.

Hammerwatch II gets into the meat of its gameplay right away. I loved looking for better gear and never felt like I wasn’t progressing toward something the entire time I played. I also loved the freedom to do side-quests when I wanted, no longer beholden to the linear story of the first Hammerwatch. Is it hard? You better believe it, but with multiple difficulty settings to choose from, anyone who is interested in Hammerwatch II won’t have a problem getting into the game. With so many new RPG games this year, it’s easy to see how Hammerwatch II could go unnoticed. While it might not look different, I challange anyone who is into the genre to spend two hours playing and not want to play more. If the developer can fix a couple of minor issues, like group loot in multiplayer games, this will hopefully find some legs to go the distance I feel it can.

Bridge Constructor Portal is a fantastically challenging puzzle game that is dressed in $10 looks. You will not be awestruck by anything the game does, but the challenge will have you wanting more, the humor will keep you smiling, and the silly horn at the end of the level will be enough to know you did it.

Lynked: Banner of the Spark is a great game for fans of dungeon crawlers and roguelikes. The combat can be a little tricky to get the hang of as you’ll have to learn how to time your attacks and dodge when necessary to avoid taking huge chunks of damage. The town building aspects provide a lot of ways to customize your home base between missions and show them off to your friends in co-op. If you’re looking for a dungeon crawler where you can customize your town between missions, Lynked: Banner of the Spark is well worth the price.

Moody, suspenseful and elegant, Revelations does away with the extraneous complexity of other recent Resident Evil games and gets back to the basics of survival horror.

The gameplay and spellcrafting mechanics are easy to understand, and between of the sheer number of spells, races, and classes you can combine, you aren't going to run out of stuff to discover any time soon.

A visual treat, City of Brass never feels unfair, and learning to overcome its many challenges can be vastly satisfying.

With its improved combat system, fantastic graphics, cool levels and fun crime scene instigation, Condemned 2: Bloodshot is easy to recommend to anybody that enjoyed the original.

An open world racing game that doesn't leave players wandering around lost, The Crew Motorfest has landed on a slightly derivative but much more propulsive structure with it's new playlists. With a ton of interesting events, a fun setting, and a wide swath of vehicles to earn, there is a wealth of content here, and most of it feels curated and fun.

If for whatever reason you skipped out on the initial Meta Quest 2 release of The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners - Chapter 2: Retribution, then the PS VR2 version is definitely the way to go. While Chapter 2 doesn’t reinvent the wheel or present a full-fledged sequel, Skydance Interactive has still provided enough polish and content to the experience to warrant a revisit to post-apocalyptic New Orleans.

WWE 2K22 set the foundation and WWE 2K23 pushes the series forward with another great wrestling game. My Rise is fantastic, War Games is a ton of fun, GM Mode has been updated, and created wrestlers look better than ever. If 2K keeps up this momentum, WWE 2K24 could be up there along side Here Comes the Pain and No Mercy as one of the all time greats.

The Last Friend is going to keep you busy. You'll say "aww" a LOT, because the dogs are so cute. If you have an itch for a fantastic tower defense game, and a beat 'em up, rolled into one cool adventure, this is the game for you. At 14.99, you don't have much to lose. It gets a little "ruff" at times, but not enough to turn it off. Well worth it.

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown strikes a harmonious balance between combat, puzzles, and exploration, providing a satisfying blend for players. The shadow of the deluxe edition looms, introducing cosmetic items and early access at a questionable price point. Despite this, the core game experience remains untarnished, making the deluxe edition an optional, albeit somewhat disappointing, add-on. Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is a delightful journey, offering a well-paced adventure that managed to keep me engaged from start to finish.

Far more than just an Unreal Engine 5 tech demo, Empire of the Ants is a brilliant RTS game. Smart, confident gameplay design keeps things simple while challenging your tactical abilities at a near-perfect pace. It’s one of the best surprises of 2024.

While I did enjoy Brain Age: Concentration Training and still train every day with it, there are some aspects I didn’t enjoy. Some of the Devilish Trainings can be just downright tedious and off-putting at times while the game’s handwriting recognition could use a bit of work. However, if you can train enough days to unlock some of the other types of training, it can still be a fun experience.

The clothing and furniture in The Sims 3 70s, 80s, and 90s Stuff pack are great additions to any Sims household as they successfully combine retro and modern visual styles. Ultimately, the stuff pack is lacking in content and is better recommended as a purchase when it's included in a sale.

Sega manages to pack just about every great Genesis game into one UMD. With games like Shinobi III, Ecco the Dolphin, Vectorman, Comix Zone, Sonic the Hedgehog and the three 16-bit Phantasy Star games, the Sega Genesis Collection is a must own no matter what type of gamer you are!

One of the most visually and auditorily exciting games I have ever played, Aaero provides such an exciting sensory experience that I would recommend it to everyone, despite occasional frustrations and hiccups along the way.

Guns'n'Stories: Bulletproof VR is a strong entry in the VR wave shooter genre. It's easy to play at lower difficulty levels, but challenging enough at the higher levels to support continuing replayability. Even in early access, it's one you ought to pick up.

Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound is great. I don't know how they got the controls so tight, but it's magic. Bonus points for tying up a story for a game I still loathe to this day. And more Kumori please.

If you can imagine Asteroids meets Frogger in Space, you have a fairly good idea of what to expect from LOST ORBIT: Terminal Velocity. The game play is entertaining and the difficulty levels ramp up at a reasonable slope. The storyline doesn't bring much to the table, but the game mechanics stand on their own just fine.

Thunder Wolves is a great shoot 'em up with a hint of tactical finesse required now and then. It certainly packs quite a bit of bang for your bucks. Grab another controller and a good friend to have even more fun in the co-op multiplayer mode.

On the PlayStation 3, Hotline Miami delivers an unforgettable adventure starring an obedient serial killer. Unfortunately, this home console port feels too loose and pulling off certain moves can be painful. It's occasionally infuriating, but that doesn't keep Hotline Miami from being one of the most exciting games to hit the PlayStation 3 in a long time!

As far as deckbuilding games go, Ascension is great.