Small issues aside, NeverAwake is still a transcendent and shockingly enjoyable adventure. Not only did I get invested in the story of the game, but the gameplay constantly kept me on my toes, and was a balanced challenge. While some may be irritated by the hardcore vibe of the game, I’d say this is a title that almost any gamer can appreciate. Add in the low price, and this is a must own adventure.

Sunderfolk’s attempt at bringing the tabletop RPG experience to the living room TV screen is difficult to find fault with. Its clever use of mobile devices does a great job at capturing the tactile nature of true tabletop gaming, resulting in a surprisingly faithful adaptation of the full game night experience. The story may be a little generic, and the standard difficulty option may be a little undertuned, relative to how successful Sunderfolk is in achieving its vision elsewhere. For anyone, like me, who struggles to find the time or motivation to unpack their favourite tabletop behemoth and endure the inevitable setup and breaking down phase, Sunderfolk is a truly wonderful alternative that works better than it has any right to.

Honestly, I had much more fun with Momodora: Moonlit Farewell than I expected. Not only is the game beautiful and full of wonderful art and music, but it’s well-balanced, challenging, and engaging. Though the experience isn’t overly long, and I managed to get about 60% of the Steam achievements in one playthrough, there are some reasons to return, such as an enhanced boss rush post-game and Arrange Mode. If you’re at all a fan of Metroidvanias and are looking for a new obsession, look no further—a truly outstanding final entry in a great indie series.

Even though This Way Madness Lies doesn’t break the mold of other titles by Zeboyd Games, I still very much enjoyed it. It’s a well-paced, classically-styled RPG with great music, attractive artwork, and hilarious storytelling. If you’re in the mood for a short but sweet RPG and don’t mind playing on PC, I’d absolutely check this out.

Honestly, the only negative I could level at Super Mega Zero is that it may be too difficult for some gamers. Otherwise, it’s nearly a perfect experience. If you’re a fan of puzzle platformers and enjoy the retro aesthetic, you absolutely need to pick this game up. Even with all the math present, this is a game I truly adore.

Whilst intimidating and unwelcoming, Hell Let Loose is an intoxicating experience for those who welcome a battlefield where death has consequences, and communication is key to survival. If you can round up a group of friends all willing to persevere with the steep learning curve, and who don’t mind dedicating entire evenings to a few matches, prepare to be engrossed for hours on end.

Prodeus is self-consciously an old-school shooter, and it does a good job in replicating the frenetic, explosive gunplay and oppressive atmosphere of classic 90’s FPS titles like Doom and Quake. Sadly, beyond some interesting aesthetics, it doesn’t really stake out much of an identity of its own. The lack of any real story, worldbuilding or unique gameplay mechanics stops Prodeus short of being something really special. Still, if you’d like a game where you can switch off your brain and just exercise your trigger finger, Prodeus provides a great world to blast your way through.

If you’re at all a fan of Metroidvanias and haven’t played most of these games, there’s no reason to wait. Not every game here is perfect, but they’re all at least good. Circle of the Moon provides the best mix between the old and new style of Castlevania, while Aria of Sorrow is an absolute triumph that holds up beautifully even after all these years. Harmony of Dissonance has more flaws but is still mostly an excellent play, and even Dracula X is a very solid title. I would have loved to see more work done to provide a total package here, but few collections have ever provided a better set of titles.

Games like I Was a Teenage Exocolonist are few and far between. The aesthetics are stunning, featuring eye-popping colors and gorgeous music. The story is intense, keeping you on the edge of your seat for hours on end. And the replayability factor is massive, with at least two playthroughs required for optimal understanding of the world and its inhabitants. I fell in love with every last character, their strengths and flaws often making them endearing — or, in the very least, human. If you want to live a multitude of lifetimes exploring a whole new world each and every time, I Was a Teenage Exocolonist invites you to become part of theirs.

With all around fantastic gameplay, graphics, design, and just overall fun, I’d argue that under different circumstances, this could have even been considered a game of the year contender. I never realized just how much the Sony PlayStation had influenced my life until I played this game.

Cthulhu Saves Christmas is a fun game with great dialogue, a combat system that’s more hit than miss, and an overall amount of content that’s way too short for its own good. If you’re hungry for some JRPG action, appreciate a well-written comedic story, and don’t mind something that’s a quick burn, this is definitely something that you’ll want to pick up this holiday season. Or, you know, sometime in November. Whatever works for you.

Is Metro Exodus: Enhanced Edition worth picking up? It absolutely is for the price it’s being sold at. It’s a little over 30 quid/dollars and with the DLC and took me about 20-25 hours to get through with a young puppy in the house. It obviously includes the base game, but also comes with the story DLC that came out with the expansion pass. Both add new narrative beats to the game. But where Metro Exodus: Enhanced Edition really lets itself down is the execution of the world it is based in. Sure, crafting an arsenal to butcher hundreds of faceless bandits is fun. But Metro Exodus’ complex post-apocalyptic world has such a deep lore, begging to explored properly.

Final Fantasy IV was a great game when it came out in 1991, and, 30 years later, Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster is just as great. The only thing, in my opinion, that could have made this game better would have been the inclusion of the Lunar Subterrain from Final Fantasy IV Advance. But, hey, “almost perfect” is still pretty good, too. Whether you’re a Final Fantasy veteran or are looking to get your feet wet, I can’t recommend Final Fantasy IV Pixel Remaster enough.

Despite some flaws, Rune Factory 4 Special is still a ton of fun for players wanting that mix of combat and farming. After nearly a decade, though, I hope this is the last we see of it being ported around, at least for now. Time has moved a bit past it, and other games in the genre offer smoother experiences. With Rune Factory 5 set to finally hit US shores early next year, hopefully, we’ll soon be enjoying the evolution of Rune Factory 4 we’ve needed for some time.

Red Dead Redemption on Switch is a mostly fine port of a great game. If you’ve been dying to replay it or haven’t checked it out before, you should absolutely do so, but those who have already fully explored the old west won’t find anything new here or much reason to buy it again outside of the handheld factor. For some, though, that will be all the incentive they need.

I Expect You To Die 2 is a fantastic VR escape room experience that plays up the thrilling spy movie genre in the best possible ways. With an incredible voice cast, a show-stopping 360° intro sequence, and exciting puzzles that will really make you feel like a big screen secret agent, I Expect You To Die 2 belongs in every VR library. So, what are you waiting for, Agent? Stop Zoraxis’ evil plan for world domination — we’re counting on you!

Triangle Strategy is another resounding success by Square Enix in its quest to bring turn-based pixel art masterpieces into the realm of modern gaming. Its bigger mechanics force players to make tactical decisions on and off the battlefield, while its more nuanced ones give players a sense of joy in discovery at even the smallest turn. Each of Triangle Strategy’s components are elegantly refined down to the smallest detail, but when blended, make for a slightly, yet strangely, imbalanced experience. If you don’t mind a tactics game that focuses more on story with battles largely used to further exposition, Triangle Strategy is an absolute must-play.

Loop Hero is a triumph on the Switch, full stop. Having the freedom to play an engrossingly addicting game either at home or on the go is an absolute joy, and that goes doubly so for those who wax nostalgic on their days of dutifully grinding away to dulcet 8-bit tones. Loop Hero is one of the best games to come out of 2021 — make the winning decision to add it to your Switch library.

There’s very little wrong with Splatoon 3. Almost everything it does is done well, and the few minor complaints I have are likely to be fixed or involve a card game that most players will likely ignore. Its plethora of quality-of-life changes means this will almost certainly be the best game in the series going forward and the place for new players to jump in. Right now, though, if I have to pick between those quality of life changes or the larger amount of content in Splatoon 2, that’s not as easy a choice as it should be because the gameplay hasn’t evolved in any major way, and little of the new content truly stands out. Which means that while I can easily recommend Splatoon 3 to series devotees desperate for new content and new players needing a good starting point, anyone who falls in between may want to wait for the game to be fleshed out before diving in.

Strange Horticulture is the botany game of my dreams. It has that research-minded gameplay I’ve been seeking for years. And while its story has a lot of moving parts that makes it hard to shift gears between listening carefully to a few patrons and peeking through a microscope, poring over books, and braving the elements to find exotic flora, it pulls you in with its deeply intriguing mystery nonetheless. I can’t recommend Strange Horticulture enough, and for a multitude of different reasons that all boil down to a unique blend of elements entrenched in an unsettling mystique, I declare this to be the bar by which all other games released in 2022 shall be measured.

Battlefield 6 has an enjoyable, but brief single-player campaign that ends just as it is getting really good. The campaign feels like an extended tutorial for the diverse systems in multiplayer, which provides a potpourri of vehicles and tactical options to do battle with, but doesn't exactly break the mould. Battlefield 6 just can't quite reach the heights of Battlefield 1 or add much spice to the decades-old, oversaturated contemporary military FPS genre. Battlefield 6 is a return to form, but not an elevation of that form.

Horizon Chase 2 is, in its most distilled form, the perfect modern arcade racer. Its mechanics are scaled back but refined, the drop-in/drop-out multiplayer works well and never fails to excite, and the game has just enough customization to make every racer feel at home behind the wheel. While I’d love to see some more cheeky references thrown in to add to the fun and the game could certainly benefit from some DLC tracks down the road, it’s nevertheless filled to the brim with a charm and a love-letter to classic coin-op racers that’ll keep fans coming back for a long while. If arcades were still around and prevalent, Horizon Chase 2 would be my cabinet of choice any day of the week.

They say that if you come for the king, you best not miss. Which is why I’m so amazed to say that Cassette Beasts not only stood tall in its own right, but managed to knock Pokémon down a notch or two in the process. While it’s true it doesn’t do everything right, and I’m still a little annoyed by how open world it is and how vague the type interactions can be, there’s so much to enjoy here. Throw in a lengthy playthrough and postgame content, and you have a game that’s well worth your money. If you’re at all a fan of the monster collector genre, you need to play this. It’s just that simple.

Wayward Strand is less an active experience and more like sinking into a comfortable, worn couch. At first, you find the seat to be relaxing, but as time goes on, you find yourself sunken into its cozy depths, all desire to move from your resting place evaporated. The floating hospital becomes its own character, just like the colorful cast that resides within; soon, your goal to see the game through becomes less important than learning all you can about the airborne convalescent home. If you’re looking for a game that places more importance on the journey instead of the destination, Wayward Strand welcomes you aboard.

Danganronpa Decadence works well for several different reasons. Not only is it a great way for fans—both pre-existing and prospective alike—to dive into the three core titles that truly helped to sculpt the series into something spectacular, but the additional bonus title, Ultimate Summer Camp, is a neat, albeit very much noncanonical, way of celebrating the plethora of weird, wonderful, and wild characters that have graced our TV (or Switch) screens. Sure, three-fourths of the game, technically speaking, isn’t “new,” but that’s no reason for anyone to pretend that the decadent, 4-in-1 Danganronpa combo pack is nothing less than spectacular.

Unpacking was absolutely worth the wait. A delightful experience in every sense of the phrase, Unpacking will resonate with anyone who loves that feeling of fresh possibilities a new place offers. Even in its downturned moments, that unflappable optimism shines through, giving players a sense of excitement with each unpacked item. With its charming aesthetics, playful nature, and nuanced storytelling that will tug at your heartstrings, Unpacking unequivocally deserves a place in your game library.

Stray has charm to spare and a wonderful world well worth exploring. It would have been nice to have a bit more variety in your objectives and to have to spend a bit more time actually thinking about what to do, but it’s never less than fun to play.

Observer: System Redux is a very high-quality psychological horror title, and truly one-of-a-kind (not counting the original, of course). While it may not provide players with many of the normal horror tropes and mechanics—choosing instead to almost entirely submerge them in atmosphere alone—it still manages to create a consistently unnerving environment, happily coated in a gorgeous cyberpunk aesthetic. So long as you don’t mind a more hands-off approach to horror, System Redux will absolutely not let you down.