All in all, I really had a good time playing Athena Crisis. It’s not only an incredibly competent tactical adventure inspired by Advance Wars, it’s even a tool to creature user generated content and share it with others. Throw in the ability to jump into the campaigns of other players and a lighthearted story of adventure, and you have a game that’s very easy to recommend.

Triangle Strategy does almost everything well. It looks great, sounds good, plays great, features an excellent story, and offers enough variance in its multiple paths to provide significant replay value. There’s no one element it gets wrong. Its biggest issue comes in how it puts these various elements together. If you’re okay with long story sequences with the combat taking a bit of a back seat, you’ll love Triangle Strategy. Despite the balance of these various elements feeling a bit off, each element is so well executed that this is still a must-play for fans of the genre.

Betrayal at Club Low is a masterclass in artful innovation. It gives the player a lot more interactivity and agency than its predecessor, Tales From Off Peak City, and in the process totally re-invents the entire point n’ click adventure genre. Trying out such a bold new gameplay style was a big gamble, but it’s a roll of the dice that’s won big.

PARANORMASIGHT: The Mermaid’s Curse may not be as consistently creepy as its predecessor, but it is just as enjoyable with an arguably more coherent storyline, singular goal between protagonists, and characters you want to invest in. The tricks we found novel in the first game are still surprising in the second game (despite our awareness of their existence), the writing still superb, and the aesthetics still engaging. If you’re looking for a visual novel to get utterly sucked into, PARANORMASIGHT: The Mermaid’s Curse beckons…

Starfield isn’t a perfect game. No game is. That said, for a game to have this much ambition and actually pull off almost everything it set out to accomplish is a remarkable achievement. I haven’t even talked about some of the game’s most interesting elements, such as how it approaches New Game+, which I can’t wait for more players to see. Starfield is a triumph that I’m confident players will be exploring for years to come, not only because it will remain incredibly compelling but because it will take that long to see anywhere near everything it has to offer.

A couple unfortunate issues aside, Cat Quest III is still a wonderfully fun, cheeky and utterly packed pirate adventure. Not only did it tell a compelling story with resonant themes, but it made me more of a fan of open-world games. Even though I haven’t played any other games in the series, you can bet I’m a fan of it now. I’d recommend you all join me on the hype train as well, because it looks like we haven’t even reached the midway point to this charming little series.

As someone who’s constantly striving for novelty in gaming, I really wanted to give LISA: Definitive Edition a higher score. But sadly, the game’s perplexing and unpredictable combat, combined with huge difficulty spikes, made that impossible. With that in mind, there’s still a really fascinating and darkly compelling story here and some unique gameplay elements. If you live for strange and unique experiences, you need to pick up LISA: Definitive Edition right now. Just prepare for the unexpected in this harrowing adventure.

POPUCOM is a beautiful and fun game that feels just right with the cooperative gameplay that adds to the charm of the colorful world with every turn. The first area’s puzzles teach you about what’s to come, while still adding just enough challenge to not frustrate the user early on, but prepare you for later. This was a wonderful surprise to play, and I can’t wait to spend some time with it to continue. The story is charming and cute, and the cooperative play gives me the same type of joy and puzzle-based challenge that I felt when playing the co-op mode in Portal 2. Hypergryph has a hit with this game, and I can’t wait to see what they have to come.

Despite having some real issues with it, though, Astral Ascent simply feels great to play, and that goes a long way in a genre that lives and dies based upon exactly that. If you’re going to ask players to make run after run through the same areas and repeat the same challenges, you need to feel good on a visceral level. Astral Ascent nails that and is the exact sort of game I want to keep running through. In some ways, it feels more like a great Early Access game that needs a bit more polish than a truly finished product, but what’s here today is still well worth a look for fans of the genre.

As far as roguelike dungeon crawlers go, UnderMine is firm but fair. There's no need to go into this game bracing yourself for a barrage of beatdowns like you would with others of its ilk, but you're also not going to get very far if you think that a slower approach to the roguelike experience means an objectively easier one. I know that my tastes are not representative of everyone else's. However, I'd still like to confidently state that UnderMine is a must-play for anyone who fancies themselves a roguelike fan.

Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp offers two excellent strategy titles which will keep players busy for a ton of hours. Whether you’re an old fan happy to be back in command or someone enlisting for the first time, there’s a lot to recommend here. A bit more work updating things, particularly the balance of the latter half of the first game and the multiplayer experience, would have been welcome but that shouldn’t stop those wanting an excellent strategy experience from picking this one up.

Effortlessly dodging mood whiplash despite the wide gap between its horrorcore and fluffy, cozy dating sim front helps set MiSide apart as a strong title in the indie horror scene.

Disc Room is another solid title by a winning dev and publishing team that is used to cranking out quality games. Despite dying more times than I can recall (don’t worry, Disc Room counts for you), I don’t feel frustrated or an increase in blood pressure — in fact, quite the opposite, as the chill music and constant flow provided a relaxing experience. Disc Room is a fantastic title for anyone interested in retro-style gameplay with a new and improved feel. If you’re up for a slice and dice kind of challenge, you’ll definitely want to take Disc Room for a spin.

Pokémon Legends: Arceus nails the core of what could easily become the core of the series moving forward. Its world doesn’t look great, but it’s a ton of fun to explore and play around in. There’s definitely room for improvement in a next installment. A core quest for players to really sink their teeth into, improved graphics at least around the edges, and slightly rebalanced battles would be a great start. Still, for players who have spent the last twenty six years waiting for Pokémon to try something new, you’ll definitely want to take a trip to Hisui.

Green Hell VR is the kind of game that will remind you why you bought a VR headset in the first place. It has so much to offer players who enjoy survival games, and the PCVR version is the closer of the existing two VR ports to the PC original for those who care about that sort of thing. If you’re looking to delve into an Amazonian rain forest and see if you can come out of it alive — or just want to stand in awe of the beauty virtual nature has to offer, transfixed by the gentle lighting and distinctive atmosphere — Green Hell VR will put your survival skills to the ultimate test.

Look Outside is a wonderfully eerie adventure with some of the most unique scenarios and sights I’ve seen in a horror game in years. While it makes a strong first impression, though, as time went on, I sometimes wondered if I’d be better off just looking outside. However, there are still enough strong moments to make it worth checking out for those who love horror games and RPGs.

I really enjoyed playing TR-49, but it’s too wrapped up in its characters for me to totally forgive the fact that I came away from it not caring about any of them. Still, the formula at the center of this one is a winner, and if you’ve already played some of the genre’s very best, TR-49 is absolutely still worth a look.

Dragon Quest VII Reimagined is a shining example of why this iconic series endures. Its development team understands that you don’t need overly complex progression or to reinvent the wheel in the storytelling department, and the result is one of the purest, most endearing JRPGs I’ve played in recent memory that both fans of the original and newcomers will enjoy in equal measures.

They say you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but it can be hard not to when the cover is as pretty as this one is. Still, once you get past the wonderful style of The Plucky Squire, you’ll find a game that has a lot of creativity, at least when it comes to its puzzles and exploration. Other aspects of the game are less successful, but they aren’t poorly executed; they just tend to feel a bit generic. It would have been fantastic if the developers had brought the same creativity to all aspects of this game, but anyone who enjoys thinking their way through their adventure should absolutely check it out.

I have my issues with some of the pacing choices in MIO: Memories in Orbit, particularly in the game’s early hours, and I think some of its systems don’t add much to the overall experience, but that doesn’t change the fact that this is a beautifully made Metroidvania which always feels excellent in your hands and which makes a lot of smart design choices. Fans who have finished Silksong and are craving their next fix should absolutely give it a look.

Ys X: Proud Nordics may not feel essential as an update, but don’t let that distract you from the fact that this is still a very good game. While Ys X may be my least favorite of the three most recent Ysgames, those are fantastic RPGs, and Ys X isn’t far from the high bar they set. Fans of the series who missed this one the first time around will do well to jump in and sail these dangerous seas.

HoloVista was an incredible experience for so many different reasons, but I think my favorite was how it handled Vaporwave’s chaotic elements.

If you’ve ever been curious about Gleylancer, there’s not a better way to play it than this new update. It plays great, looks great, sounds great, and offers a variety of excellent new options. To see such a fully-featured update released for such a great price is rare, and it’s worth supporting. If you’re at all interested in shmups, I’d highly recommend checking Gleylancer out.

While it’s true Floppy Knights isn’t quite a perfect experience, it came damned close. Sure, I’d love a reason to play the game longer, such as DLC levels or even something like a level creator, but that doesn’t change the quality of what’s already here. Floppy Knights is a fun game with a well-balanced challenge, good variety, and lovable characters. Even better, the whole thing plays remarkably well with just a mouse, though there are other controller options as well. So if you enjoy tactical mayhem and are looking for the next best thing, be sure and add this one to your Steam library.

If you long for a true drop-in, drop-out FPS game and don’t mind the wavey corridors and searing color palette, there’s so much fun to be had with just a semi-procedurally generated corridor maze, some wickedly warped baddies to kill as fast as you can, and a few RNG buffs here and there. POST VOID definitely won’t be a feasible trip for everyone, but if you can stomach the demanding gameplay and get a grip on the PS4 controls, you’ll probably wind up pretty hooked on this digital drug.

I really hate dunking on a cute, creative Metroidvania like DOOMBLADE, but I feel it just fails to make the game approachable and enjoyable. Much as I wanted to get lost in this dark, humorous world, the core mechanics never got more intuitive or fun, making the entire experience a slog. That said, there’s definitely a great game in here somewhere for those willing to push through the pain to find it.

Despite failing to live up to its name, however, what is here is largely excellent. Llamasoft: The Jeff Minter Story does a solid job of telling the story of the first half of Jeff Minter’s career and features a ton of cool games that weren’t easily available previously. I’m glad this collection is out there, and for players interested in Minter’s career, this is a must-buy.

I admit I wasn’t sure what to make of OFF at first. It’s a perplexing and weird little game full of charming characters and peppered with quirky humor. Ultimately, though, I feel this is still a must-play RPG. It’s not only memorable, but it features some robust new content I won’t spoil, but which is worth experiencing for yourself. So if you don’t mind putting up with brain-crushing puzzles and occasionally unoptimized combat, you’ll find a lot to enjoy here.