ScourgeBringer is a beautiful game with intuitive combat and bucketloads of style. The difficulty curve is sharp, but if you can power through it you’ll find yourself ensconced in a tough but rewarding roguelike with punchy gameplay and a beautiful look to it.

Airborne Kingdom is a work of art and the developers have absolutely nailed the concept to perfection. It brings something completely new to the tycoon games genre with a rich and detailed story to accompany it. The game is surprisingly well polished and I had a gala of time playing and reviewing it. There were hardly any negatives to the game and the only area of concern was the less responsive camera system. But that is nothing a few patches can't fix! I am sure I will be playing this title for a long time and this will surely turn into an addiction!

Tales of Kenzera: ZAU is a beautiful game that navigates the difficult journey of grief. Abubaker Salim delivers a great story and performance that resonates with anyone going through that process. It’s backed up with stunning visuals and a score that supports this strong story. While this game doesn’t reinvent the Metroidvania, fans of the genre will still be impressed. Hopefully, they’ll fix the bug of having Zau frozen after exiting the menu. Despite that, Tales of Kenzera is an impressive debut from Surgent Studios.

Deliver Us The Moon is an incredible experience which I would recommend to anyone in its current form. Its story is short and sweet, delivering all the punches it needs to while rarely over-indulging in itself and wasting its players' time. While it suffers from a few minor drawbacks, they don't come anywhere close to bringing this rocket ship back down to Earth.

Brotato is a twin-stick shooter roguelite game where the player controls a potato character surviving on an alien planet. With simple but enjoyable gameplay, the focus is on movement, dodging bullets, and choosing the right power-ups. The game offers various characters, power-up combinations, and enemy types to unlock, providing a challenging and fun experience. Visually pleasing with clear graphics and adequate sound, Brotato delivers a satisfying and balanced gameplay loop.

Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore is a love letter to a pair of games that absolutely did not deserve it. It is also a difficult game to rate, considering its laser-focused vision. This is one of those schlock cases, where things that would normally be considered bad are instead good for being bad. That certainly works for the presentation, but I'm less sure when it comes to gameplay. Are things like the darkness and easy bosses legitimate flaws, or are they supposed to be bad because they were bad in the CD-i games? I'll certainly commend how faithful it is, masterfully recreating such a unique artstyle, and anyone who ever laughed at the myriad Youtube Poops those games spawned would get a kick out of this.

Skygard Arena is thoughtful, punishing, and rewarding once the systems click. Its status-driven tactics and persona/relic builds offer genuine depth, especially for players coming from tactics or MOBA backgrounds. For newcomers, early campaign spikes and limited sustain options make the first hours rougher than they need to be. With improved onboarding and a touch more access to healing/cleansing in story missions, Skygard Arena could be an easy recommendation across the board.

The remake of Mario vs. Donkey Kong breathes new life into the classic title, enriching what was achieved nearly 20 years ago. This format aligns seamlessly with the franchise's essence, where platforms and puzzles merge effortlessly to create an environment where Mario truly belongs. The enhancements in this new version serve as a welcoming invitation for newcomers and a compelling reason for veterans to revisit the world they once cherished. With gameplay and visuals elevated to new heights, it's evident that the experience has been refined for modern audiences. Of course, while some mechanics may show signs of age, they underscore the notion that a renewed, unreleased installment would seamlessly complement Nintendo's renowned catalog.

It's not the same in a large variety of ways, but it doesn't have to be. Axiom Verge 2 manages to cement itself as both a worthy sequel and a standalone title, embodying the love of the metroidvania genre almost without rival. Those keen on a more open, explorative design will find substantial worth here, though the story and combat may not entirely satisfy. While the appreciation I have for the original game still has me favor it ever-so-slightly, applause should be designated to the solo developer that managed to make two splendid experiences that complement each other as much as differentiate.

Weird West’s combination of the Wild West mythos with dark fantasy elements brings together an enjoyable RPG experience. Being able to forge your own path through the world with your actions and combat is a fun and enjoyable experience. While there are some noticeable flaws, Weird West does a great job of giving you the tools you make to create your own legend in the West.

In its best moments, Noita is a visual treat of interesting physics mechanics, status effects, and weapons that encourage experimentation, explosions, and just a damn good time. It offers hours of amusement and surprises wrapped inside a fairly traditional roguelite offering. What it lacks in actual progression systems, it makes up for with a bewildering amount of exploration and a high skill ceiling for those willing to master it. That difficulty is also its biggest shortcoming, as the ease with which players can die — often unfairly — means a lot of repeating familiar areas and weapons, and the user interface and RNG often get in the way of the better parts of the experience. Noita isn’t a game to sink 50 hours into, but it’s a blast to drop in and experience for its systems, and it 100% lives up the promise that “every pixel is simulated” — often to deadly and hilarious effect.

All in all, TENS! is a fun little puzzler. It’s a little light on story, but there’s a degree of structure and progression in its Adventure Mode, and the gameplay provides just enough variation on its central ideas to keep you on your toes. It takes a single puzzle concept and just trims all the fat from that one idea, and honestly, the result is very well-executed. Play it fast, play it slow, play it carefully or throw your dice around the board with wild abandon – just make sure you get those tens.

Tinytopia is the sort of game that I'd have my children play if they were interested in architecture or UFOs. They'd have a great time, but it's not something that will hold my attention beyond the time spent together. The absurdities are the game's strength, but it's ultimately held back by dull scenarios and poorly handled interface mechanics. You'll have a super cute time playing, but I can't promise it will last very long.

In the medley of action-adventure games, Kena: Bridge of Spirits stands out with its soundtrack, unbeatable graphics, and creative storyline. It’s a fantastic first impression of Ember Lab’s game-developing skills. A few kinks need fixing, but that shouldn’t deter you from playing the game!

I knew nothing about Ninja JaJaMaru going in, but I came out pleasantly surprised. It's a simple and solidly built 8-bit throwback with a lot of content for retro fanatics to sink their teeth into. It might be a bit too simple for some people's tastes, but if you want dumb fun ninja action, than this is a strong recommendation. If JaJamaru ever makes another return, I will be interested to see it, whatever form that might take.

Although Land of the Vikings provides a relatively fresh setting in the city-building simulation genre, the lack of content after you pass through the first winter might prove to be unsettling, as with the frustrating Tree of Life system where some basic mechanics are locked behind, particularly the Auto Assign mechanic. Still, if you're looking to relax and throw down some hours into a city/village-building simulation game, Land of the Vikings is adequate to fulfill your spare time.

Overall, Call of the Elder Gods is a good time for any fans of cosmic Lovecraftian tales and Puzzle solving. The characters are entertaining and the environments you visit are pretty. Yes, outside of the puzzles the gameplay turns into a walking sim, but it doesn't hurt the game too much for it to be an enjoyable experience.

Revenge of the Savage Planet is a beautiful, bizarre, and bitingly satirical romp through corporate space colonization gone horribly wrong. Its gameplay loop is fun and rewarding, especially with a friend, and its world design is undeniably striking. But its relentless satire sometimes trips over itself, burying useful info under waves of chaotic, screechy FMV nonsense or worse, a screen blocking contract. If you can tolerate a bit of style-over-substance and like your sci-fi with a side of snark, this one’s worth jumping into—just don’t expect to always know what’s going on, and definitely don’t trust your boss.

Room to Grow is a game with a simple concept but an astonishing amount of depth. With over 100 levels, many of which really are wonderfully challenging, and a well-rounded collection of anti-frustration features, this is a puzzle game you can keep coming back to whenever you need to lose yourself in the moment for a little while.

Broken Lines is a solid squad tactics game with an intriguing narrative and fair, yet punishing permanent consequences for your actions. While the soundscape is unimpressive and the animation doesn’t hold up under closer scrutiny, the varied, colorful locations add an enjoyable visual flair to the experience. The Dead and the Drunk is an engaging spin-off that goes well beyond being a throwaway mode, and offers an additional challenge for veterans. The fully customizable difficulty settings allow players of all skill levels and preferences to find a way to play that’s a perfect fit for them.

Red Hook Studios have done it again and provided another great experience in a dark and punishing world. Darkest Dungeon II feel new but familiar, providing a fantastic remixed gameplay loop alongside updated visuals. It may provide a different experience from its highly rated predecessor, but it stands on its own as an alternative way of playing a Darkest Dungeon title. I only wish that they'd ventured towards newer content than playing it safe by keeping mostly familiar faces. Hopefully Red Hook have more in store for this Darkest Dungeon adventure.

Pumpkin Jack succeeds in capturing the essence of older action-platformers while adding its own new innovations in a way that keeps the overall experience fresh. With excellent cartoon visual style and a well-put-together soundtrack, my biggest gripe with the game is that it is not a few hours longer.

Before I Forget is not just a thoughtful narrative experience, but an educational one as well. As video games are an ever-evolving medium, their capacity for building empathy and understanding shines bright in titles like this one. Simple and straightforward, the title effectively communicates the harrowing and beautiful moments of real life.

Twelve Minutes has great potential as a high concept thriller with its stellar technical design, critically acclaimed cast and initially organic gameplay, but ultimately its narrative direction and pacing leaves a lot to be desired.

A Little to the Left is a clever and creative puzzle game which looks at the everyday in a unique way. Although to begin with solutions feel random, once you come to terms with the game's logic things soon slide into place. Easy controls and a relaxed approach to level progression make A Little to the Left perfect for a cosy blanket day, an atmosphere which is enhanced with the gentle audio and charming illustrations.

Penny's Big Breakaway is a masterful 3D platformer. The team at Evening Star manages to make the transition from 2D to 3D platforming mostly flawlessly, far different from the blue hedgehog that started their game development journey. Evening Star has proven that they're the studio that should handle 2D Sonic, and with Penny's Big Breakaway, they've proven that they could handle 3D Sonic as well. They can do it, but they want to continue pursuing their own independent IP, which is just as good. Penny's Big Breakaway is something that no platformer fan should miss.

Echoes of the Fallen is short but sweet, offering a final exciting dungeon with an increased, satisfying difficulty spike. For everyone who absolutely loved the regular combats of Final Fantasy XVI, this DLC is a must-have and just a little taste of what to expect from the next piece of additional content.

Hero-U: Rogue to Redemption is the perfect continuation of a genre. The same developers who helped bring classic adventure titles to life are the ones who brought this title to life, with the help of some Kickstarter backers. It's a nearly perfect game for those who played adventure titles in the past or players who enjoy exploring dense, witty, and mysterious worlds (with a splash of fantasy along the way).