Cyberpunk 2077 is an expansive and entertaining journey, but one that feels like it comes with a ton of caveats. Exploring Night City and seeing all it offers can be a blast but is usually accompanied by some glitches along the way. Combat, while not revolutionary, is still very satisfying and never gets old. There is a great game here, but sometimes it doesn’t feel like it lives up to its full potential with its performance issues. With some more patches, I’m sure most of my complaints can be solved, but as it stands, Cyberpunk 2077 feels like it could have used a lot more work.

Sol Cresta is a retro shmup for the modern gamer. It excels at everything it wants to provide to players and more, but sadly it doesn’t teach them how to access it. However, once I figured out how to actually play, I found it to be one of the best shmups in recent times. It forgoes the familiar aspect of the genre and instead aims to shake things up by introducing unique systems. I didn’t want to stop playing, but there’s plenty of room for improvement.

Utawarerumono ZAN 2 delivers a surprisingly respectful musou-style retelling of Mask of Truth, with improved pacing, stronger character moments, and a wealth of interconnected systems that reward dedicated play. While it remains a poor entry point for newcomers and never fully escapes the genre’s repetitive nature, it stands as a meaningful step up from its predecessor and a worthwhile side experience for fans invested in the series’ world and cast.

Dragon Marked for Death on PC is the best way to play this game since the online infrastructure is far more dependable than its Switch counterpart. However, I don’t think the developers took full advantage of the port and failed to really sell this version of the game. Sure, it has controller support, but I was hoping to find improved framerates and resolution options. So if you’re looking for an addictive 2D action game to play with friends, Dragon Marked for Death has got you covered for many hours.

WanNyan à la mode plays it incredibly safe with its character designs and narrative. The developer has done everything in there power to make this an easily digestible comedic romance without any roadblocks and nothing at stake. Where the game stands out is found in its quality presentation and transitions, which you don’t usually see in this genre.

Black Desert Mobile operates as a typical MMORPG, which unfortunately isn’t saying much. Yes, the battles are fun, leveling up my character and equipment is mindless entertainment as with many MMORPGs, and the visuals look great when not zoomed out, but I was hoping for a more engaging experience. If anything, I’m now more inclined to get the PS4 version of Black Desert Online to see all this game has to offer.

Ereban: Shadow Legacy is an ambitious entry into the tactical stealth genre, bringing a fresh perspective with its unique gameplay mechanics and visually striking design. The game introduces Ayana, a character navigating through a richly developed sci-fi world filled with complex challenges and emotional narratives. While it offers innovative gameplay and deep character development, the game is not without its flaws, including a confusing start, control issues, and uneven difficulty levels.

Aeruta delivers a satisfying mix of shop sim and light action RPG mechanics, with a charming core loop centered on baking, battling, and upgrading. Playing as Chaya, a fox girl balancing adventuring and bakery duties, players explore, fight bosses, and manage a growing village full of quirky NPCs. While the shopkeeping and progression systems are strong, the experience is occasionally held back by some repetition and minor pacing hiccups.

If you have casual experience with the mystery dungeon genre and desire more from it, I wholeheartedly recommend Shiren the Wanderer: The Tower of Fortune and the Dice of Fate. Once you let it in and embrace it, this adventure will pull you in with its endless replayability, stark gameplay depth, and charm. If you grow easily frustrated, however, and find yourself feeling disheartened by losing resources and progress quite significantly, a different mystery dungeon title will more than likely be your cup of tea.

Yars Rising revitalizes the classic Yars' Revenge with a fresh Metroidvania twist. WayForward has modernized the gameplay, introducing dynamic puzzle mechanics, engaging platforming sections, and charming character writing. While some elements like backtracking and combat variety could use improvement, the quirky protagonist Emi and the game’s clever integration of hacking puzzles make it a fun experience.

If the issues get fixed in a timely matter, I say Ori and the Will of the Wisp is a must-buy for platforming fanatics. The mechanics are smooth and intuitive without being repetitive. The well-made map layout, good soundtrack, and modern animated movie quality rivals what can be seen in high-budget titles. As the standard of mainstream gaming improves, Ori and the Will of the Wisps can be the game that raises the bar in quality, as long it’s playable.

Bandle Tale offers a refreshing, exploration-focused departure from the traditional League of Legends gameplay, emphasizing crafting, community building, and personalization with your own Yordle hero. Its unique approach, combining a serene gameplay experience with strategic elements like base placement and emotional well-being progression, makes it stand out. Despite some repetitiveness in quests, the game's charm, engaging narrative, and vibrant world-building ensure a captivating experience.

While WUCHANG: Fallen Feathers can be a fairly rugged souls-like suffering from mismanaged balancing and performance, its strengths in combat design and exploration truly excel once they hit their stride. Throw in intricate character customization with plenty of significant player choice, and you have an execution of the genre that will assuredly gel with souls-like enthusiasts. As it stands, WUCHANG can bite off a bit more than it can chew, though it shines more often than not.

HuniePop 2: Double Date isn’t meant to be a serious story, but it is a serious match-three puzzle game. The gameplay systems are strategic and punishing as they force players to play multiple rounds to gain currency for items that will make the girls strong enough to reach the ever-increasing goal. Evidently, threesomes are a marathon and not a sprint, but at least you’re trying to save the world, right? Wait, I might have forgotten why I was even on this island in the first place.

Backbone dwells into the dark reality of a dystopian world full of corruption and injustice. Though the game has some gameplay issues and the story isn’t as long and well-paced as I had hoped, it brought a gorgeous cityscape with a comprehensive narrative. The dialogue is well-written, and the plot is greatly engaging, as it keeps you desiring to know what could happen next in the life of Howard Lotor.

Love Eternal is a punishing psychological horror platformer built around a single gravity reversal mechanic that pushes precision to its limits. Brika crafts a stark, unsettling world where every room feels like a trial of patience and mastery, rewarding persistence with genuine satisfaction. While its minimalist design and focused mechanics create intense, memorable platforming highs, limited quality of life features, occasional technical issues, and a steep difficulty curve may test even seasoned players.

The theme of debt isn’t powerful enough to make for a deep narrative adventure, but seeing Misty follow her dream is a sufficient reason to see the quest through until the end. The crafting system ends up becoming the most significant appeal of this adventure in the later hours, which worked out fine for me. If you’re a fan of the Atelier series and you’re looking for a unique take on the alchemy genre, then this could very well appeal to you.

Sympathy Kiss is a great otome game with its blend of romance and relatable experiences, with its office setting appealing especially to a more mature audience. While the faceless protagonist and rather compromised approach at some of the narrative beats are definitely its biggest gripes, it still manages to be a short and sweet story that both fans and newcomers to the genre can appreciate.

With a wave of retro-inspired games released, it seems only fitting that an actual retro game finally gets some needed attention after all these years. Ultracore is like a time capsule of what made this genre so fun and addicting, however, the platforming mechanics didn’t age as well as the shooting action. Still, it’s clear from the first moments that this release was a labor of love and I am glad to have finally had the opportunity to play it.

Nuclear Blaze is a brief, yet, almost therapeutic gameplay experience that doesn’t overstay its welcome, but it did have me wishing for more. Still, I’d much rather feel that than the opposing extreme. You could do much worse if you’re looking for a quaint lunch-long adventure with just a few spooks.

Eternights is a true labor of love from a small team of developers that set out to create something for themselves. It just so happens that it’s also one of my favorite games of 2023. If you can look past the juvenile character moments and flimsy early plot devices, you’re in for an awesome experience that delivers quality action combat, hilarious character skits, and a very strong final Act. It’s an experience I won’t soon forget and one that doesn’t demand too much from players to play till the credits. The wait for this release was genuinely worth it, and I’m happy to see this ambitious project come together so brilliantly.

Disaster Report 4: Summer Memories features many over-the-top dramatized survival scenarios that are incredibly enjoyable. The resource management and systems kept me playing regardless of the low framerate and aged graphics. Each scene is cleverly written and features some memorable characters who make surviving through these natural disasters so very worth it in the end.

Adventure of Samsara is a challenging 2D metroidvania from Ilex Games that reimagines Atari’s classic Adventure with a modern twist. Set in a mystic pixel-art multiverse, the game features demanding combat, strategic platforming, and a subtly philosophical story. While it succeeds in creating a distinctive atmosphere and tight gameplay loop, it’s held back by uneven level design and minor mechanical frustrations. A niche but rewarding experience for fans of old-school difficulty and stylized worldbuilding.

Lost Words: Beyond the Page feels less like a game and more like an interactive graphic novel. The narrative is engaging and fun to witness, but it can become dull as it suffers from a repetitive gameloop. There still something worth discovering here as the story beats and systems provide a decent experience overall, but this will likely only be magical for one playthrough.

Crysis Remastered is more of a capsule from a simpler time of the first-person shooting genre. Playing is undoubtedly fun because of the various things that players can do, with the inclusion of tight gunplay and engaging missions. However, I can’t help but wish for a complete remake because the age of this adventure holds it back from being anything more than a way for us to show our kids the terrible mechanics and AI that we used to put up with.

Loretta is a fun (and sometimes disturbing) story of what happens when you try to bury the truth. Choices matter, and each comes with its own set of consequences. And while the puzzles and active gameplay are limited, the game doesn’t overstay its welcome. Gritty locations, haunting sound effects, and a seriously messed up narrative make this an adventure I’d happily play again. And maybe next time, I won’t die quite as fast.

Even going into the experience, fully intending to meme my way through the game, I actually had a stupid amount of fun. Whether or not the physics work as intended, it scratches a racing itch I didn’t know I had. With a market as lifeless as the motocross video game market, Milestone has a pretty solid idea of what they are doing. I didn’t try the online racing, so Monster Energy Supercross 6 is a fun time unless there are server issues. But then, you just have to look past goofy character designs.

Record of Agarest War on Switch is the definitive way to experience this adventure. The portability allows you to take the level grinding and waifu relationship building on the go or to bed with you; I won’t judge. The nuanced battle system is unique and fun to experiment with as you face off against some truly tough encounters across several generations. Returning fans may not have it in them to see this war through until the end, but new players may enjoy the adventure.