With a game like The Oregon Trail, there’s always the concern that it’s simply a cash-grab banking on nostalgia of Millennials and Gen Xers. I’m quite happy to report that isn’t the case here. While there’s clearly a lot of nostalgia to be found, this iteration of The Oregon Trail proudly stands on its own. With one foot in the past and one in the present, it brings together all the best aspects of the original, and adds modern flourishes to give us a near-perfect game. Add in infinite replayability, as well as several different play modes, and this game is an absolute must-have for anybody who grew up with the original.

Calling Melatonin a chillwave Rhythm Heaven is both accurate and not descriptive enough. Its structure is roughly the same, but its pastel palette, soothing soundtrack, and loose-yet-cohesive approach to storytelling give it its own unique flair. Melatonin may only be a 1 – 2 hour romp through dreamland, but if you really savor its playful art style, brain-melting music, and easily-mastered mechanics, it can quickly become a bedtime routine of its own. And, after popping some melatonin myself, a level or two of Melatonin before I snooze sounds lovely to me.

I’ve played a lot of retro-inspired games this year, and Chained Echoes easily stands out as one of the best – and it’s not even particularly close. With gorgeous artwork, addicting mechanics, and a world that blends steampunk with high fantasy seamlessly, Chained Echoes is a loving homage to old-school RPGs while still managing to proudly blaze its own path. If you’re looking for a challenging (but not punishing) RPG with an engaging story, enjoyable characters, and mechanics that will keep you coming back for hours at a time, Chained Echoes is an absolute must.

There are few things to complain about in Catacomb Kitties outside of what I’ve already iterated above. Really, the only other complaint I can think of is just a shortcoming of the genre itself: playthroughs are just a little too short and a little too repetitive to make you want to invest in more than a half-dozen playthroughs or so. Still, there’s a solid foundation for fun in Catacomb Kitties, with bite-sized runs that can be completed in a single sitting. The unique stats and abilities of each playable cat gives you at least enough replayability to spend more than just a couple hours on the game as well.

I had really high hopes for Lone Ruin. And while it’s not a horrible game by any stretch, I felt it was really underwhelming. Not only does it lack any replay value, but the core loop features nearly identical stage layouts and a frustrating lack of clear audio cues for enemy attacks. While some may find something to enjoy in the survival mode, I think fans of the rogue genre will be left wanting much more.

If you’re a fan of games like Shinobi, Hagane: The Final Conflict, or Ninja Gaiden, Vengeful Guardian: Moonrider is a must-play love letter to the ninja action games of the ’90s.

That’s really the case with the entire Breakers Collection, though. It’s bare bones because there’s not a lot to the Breakers games. They’re mostly fine-fighting games with some balance issues, which stood out on the Neo Geo in the 90s but struggle to do so in 2023 on modern platforms. The new content helps but isn’t enough to make a collection that is barely a collection appealing. I’m glad to see them get a home release because I’m for keeping all games accessible, but they’re not titles I expect to return to regularly, and I expect most fighting game fans will feel the same.

It’s been hard to hide my disappointment with The Callisto Protocol throughout this review. While the game has the same creative forces behind Dead Space, and many of the features are retconned into the game, it’s not quite lived up to my expectations. The game strikes me as a conglomerate of ideas, like a novel approach to dodging, a similar but different storyline, tough combat borrowed from challenging games like Dark Souls, packed into a beautifully presented game. But here’s the thing: all of these ideas sound great in isolation. But the execution here in The Callisto Protocol makes for an inferior gaming experience compared to other titles.

Despite a slow start and some persistent technical issues that are inexcusable, Syberia: The World Before is a fantastic narrative adventure that continues the series in spectacular fashion, and does Benoit Sokal’s legacy proud. It’s not clear where Syberia as a series goes from here now that the Sokal is sadly no longer around to steer the ship, but I have full faith after playing Syberia: The World Before that Microids is more than capable of continuing to deliver more incredible tales in this universe.

Despite presentation that leaves something to be desired, Marvel’s Midnight Suns packs a ton of interesting strategy into its adventure, and smart writing around the edges helps to offset a main story that feels quite generic. Midnight Suns might be a flawed game in some ways, but I also couldn’t put it down, and it’s the rare game that made me truly want to run around collecting everything. Anyone who loves strategy games or Marvel should absolutely check it out.

Perhaps it’s time I stopped rewarding 2K every year for simply putting out another game. While I still have fun with the same modes I’ve been playing for twenty years, I don’t need a new version of this game to do so, and neither do you. The core gameplay is still very good, albeit stuck several years in the past, but everything around it is awful. The modes I still enjoy feel like they’re buried further in the menus every year. It feels like the only way to enjoy NBA 2K23 in a nonexploitive way is to avoid all the parts of it that its creators want you to play. I don’t see this strange dynamic ending soon, so players will continue to have to decide if being the only basketball game around is enough reason to pick it up each year.

Even with flaws, and a few too many mechanics for me to truly get lost in, I had a surprising amount of fun with The Knight Witch. I wouldn’t have thought that a bullet hell SHMUP could fit so smoothly into a Metroidvania, but that aspect of the game worked for me. While its story and characters didn’t connect as strongly as I’d have liked, it has enough personality that players looking for an interesting take on the genre should consider it.

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.

Goodbye World is an important game development story for gamers and developers alike. It has interesting characters, fantastic art design, and pacing that kept me engrossed in the narrative from start to finish. Unfortunately, its game within a game will polarize players, who will either love its retro-inspired platforming or loathe its stop-go positioning within the story. Goodbye World is a must-play experience for the story alone, so if you find yourself with an hour or two to kill and $12 to spare, Goodbye World says “hi!”

The Excavation of Hob’s Barrow was a pleasant surprise for me — a fantastic game in its own right, but one whose story doesn’t deserve to end here. I absolutely need a book, film, or TV adaptation of this story, and the great thing is you wouldn’t have to change much for it to be ready for consumption in other media. Although I did find myself struggling to make sense of the ending, I suspect a second playthrough is all I’d need to clear up any questions I still have. The Excavation of Hob’s Barrow is truly a pixel art masterpiece — one that definitely deserves a deep dig.

If you enjoyed Fatshark’s previous projects on Vermintide and its sequel, or you’re just an overall Warhammer 40K fan, then you will feel right at home with Darktide. As long as you can dig past the rough state the game is in right now with unfinished content and performance issues, then there’s truly an addictive and satisfying cooperative horde shooter lying underneath all those corpses.

The Forest Quartet will get you into the swing of things. While I do wish The Forest Quartet would’ve pushed itself just a bit farther in the gameplay department, and the whole experience winds up on the criminally short side, it doesn’t fail to impress with what is there. With likeable and interesting characters, a soft but smooth graphical design, and a superbly soulful soundtrack, this is a short but sweet tale well worth saving for that rainy afternoon when you need a little comfort game.

River City Girls 2 does a lot right. With fantastic presentation, an incredibly exciting soundtrack, and tons of creativity and variety, all of the elements are here for a classic beat ‘em up. Poor performance, though, really brings the experience down, being an almost constant thorn in your side. It’s by no means unplayable, and I still had a fair amount of fun along the way, but this feels like a game that wasn’t ready to release yet. Hopefully, after a few patches, we’ll be talking about it being the great game it could be, but for now, know what you’re getting yourself into.

Kukoos: Lost Pets may look simple, but its puzzle elements provide some perplexing moments that’ll satisfy veterans for a weekend and newcomers for much, much longer. If you’re looking for something that’s cute on the surface but a little more complex in its core, the island of Kukoos: Lost Pets beckons.

Front Mission 1st: Remake often feels old but that’s no huge surprise. It is after all an old game. It released nearly 28 years ago. That it still mostly holds up as an excellent strategy RPG with an excellent story, interesting customization, and strategic combat, is impressive. While it may fall a bit short of what we’d hope for in a true remake, it remains a strong game worth the time of fans of the genre.

Despite some strange choices around online play and a story that failed to grab my interest, however, I had a great time with The Rumble Fish 2. It’s easy to pick up and play with fast-paced fights that are exactly what I look for in a fighting game. With interesting mechanics and a varied cast of interesting fighters, fans of the genre should absolutely give this throwback a shot.

Square Enix and Tose have done a phenomenal job bringing Zack’s origin story to life again after being buried away for so long. Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion is everything fans want and expect it to be, with rehauled graphics, improved gameplay mechanics, a new arranged soundtrack, and fully voiced dialogue. If you somehow missed your chance to play this back on the PlayStation Portable back in 2007, then this is the definitive way to experience one of the best prequel stories. It feels like a nostalgic dream to be able to step into the shoes of Zack Fair once again, and I can’t wait to see what’s in store in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth.

At times the story of Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo can be interesting, but it never fully comes together. Succeeding neither as an homage to a great director’s work or on its own terms, it might be better served if it didn’t have the expectations its name provides, but that wouldn’t make it a great game. There are simply better adventure games more worth your time available this year.

Like the older but wiser cast of characters, the puzzling gameplay has matured, taxing your wits, but not your patience, never leaving you so bogged down with frustration that you can’t enjoy the comedy. Some gaming franchises age like milk, some age like wine, but Return to Monkey Island has aged like the finest bottle o’ rum.

While playing EDENGATE: The Edge of Life has plenty of issues, I still enjoyed my couple of hours with it. Mia is an interesting protagonist, the atmosphere is strong, and it doesn’t overstay its welcome. This is a case where a game being short plays to its advantage. Considering the game’s low price, I’d recommend anyone interested in it give it a try.

RWBY: Arrowfell is the definition of a mixed bag. Rewarding and fast-paced exploration does provide some satisfaction, but the combat, which makes up the majority of the game, fails to impress through the awkward way in which character progression has been implemented. If you’re willing to overlook that, then RWBY: Arrowfell serves as a perfectly fine distraction that I feel does just enough right with its narrative, presentation, and exploration to make it worth a look for action platformer fans.

Shadows Over Loathing may be part of the Loathing franchise and reflect that silly yet deep gameplay we’ve come to know and love, but there’s something deeper to this world that we’ve yet to uncover. Although there’s plenty of laughs to be had here, there’s a bit more of a serious vibe to the third installment with some Lovecraftian overtones; it’s best to go into this one with a sense of curiosity instead of just waiting to be entertained.

When it’s firing on all cylinders, the weird and wonderful world of Heidelberg 1693 provides an exhilarating challenge that evokes the glory days of the genre, all punctuated by fantastic and imaginative boss design. If you’re willing to look past the frustrations that present themselves at times in the form of uneven balancing, then Heidelberg 1693 will provide a few hours of horrendous fun that genre fans will lap up.