If you've been praying for a good Metroidvania, then Blasphemous 2 has come to offer you salvation. Strange cutscenes aside, this is an exceptional game full of tight combat, satisfying secrets, and incredible bosses.

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre game does not just use the horror franchise as an aesthetic but builds its core mechanics around the film's essence. The cinematography, music, and tone have been studied with religious fervor to recreate the macabre world Tobe Hooper created almost 50 years ago. Moreover, the gameplay and character progression give it the "just one more" feeling that is severely missing from other asymmetrical horror titles. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre game transforms the iconic franchise into a terrifying experience that will haunt players for a long time.

Atlas Fallen may not have the most captivating storyline or impressive sound design, but it more than makes up for these shortcomings with its outstanding combat system, level design, and traversal mechanics. Fans of collect-a-thons will be pleased to know that Atlas Fallen offers plenty of hidden treasures to uncover, ensuring hours of gameplay. While it may be overlooked by some, Atlas Fallen is a true sleeper hit of the year that should not be missed by any gaming enthusiast. Overall, it's a must-play for those looking for a thrilling and action-packed gaming experience.

If you're searching for a game to play with friends, Remnant 2 can provide an entertaining experience, but you should consider other options if you want a game to play alone. Although the graphics and storyline may not be awe-inspiring, the dynamic generation feature turns Remnant 2 into a game you and your friends can enjoy for an extended period, resulting in one of the most replayable games of the year. Still, I was disappointed with the long-awaited sequel due to frustrating character mechanics, outdated visuals, and lack of a compelling story to connect with.

Lisa: Definitive Edition tells a story that's just as relevant now as it was in 2014. A prescient, necessary revival.

The exosuites and great customization mechanics stand out the most, you can truly make something your own. However that alone isn't enough to keep player coming back. Exoprimal needs to more to fill the large empty spaces.

Marvelous Inc. recreated a great remake of the 20-year-old Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life. While there are some things that make it feel outdated, there are also plenty of quality-of-life changes that make this a worthwhile farming game.

Diablo 4 may not be perfect, but it remains a rock-solid dungeon crawler with a lot of promise for the future.

Street Fighter 6 is the complete package and offers heaps of content, whether you're competitive or casual. World Tour is a surprisingly strong addition to the single-player experience, and the series has never been more approachable. If you ever wanted to 'get good' at a fighting game but never felt you had the tools, now is the time.

Darkest Dungeon 2 doubles down on what made the original so special, presenting a roguelike adventure where swings in mood carry just as much weight as swings of the sword.

This is a solid Star Wars game with excellent combat, great immersion for fans, and an engaging story. It looks great at most times, but runs poorly overall and needs patches for PC before it gets a solid buy recommendation.

Redfall is an initially compelling game, but once it bears its teeth the sheer lack of quality propped up by unfinished ideas is abundantly clear.

The warm drinks you brew are as warm and satisfying as the atmosphere this game induces. Coffee Talk Episode 2 continues to be a relaxing and enjoyable drink-making game, while also having intriguing stories and interesting characters.

Dead Island 2 delivers bone crunching combat alongside a generic experience that feels ripped straight from 2011.

Despite the palpable chill in the air throughout, there's a cosy fire burning at the heart of Wildfrost. Gather round for a tough-but-rewarding deckbuilding adventure.

Charming and adorable with a lot of potential for a unique Minecraft style Real Time Strategy, but falls very short of being a fulfilling experience.

Dredge delivers fish and fear in equal measure, providing an atmospheric escape, and a world you'll want to thoroughly rinse for all it's worth.

With a story that's as empty and meandering as its gameplay, The Last Worker is an ugly, tedious slog that I'm glad to be done with.

It's pretty and it plays well, but this is a short, underwhelming Metroidvania with no exploration and uninteresting level design.

Beautiful, complex, and captivating, Terra Nil is a delightful strategy game only held back by a smaller amount of content and some difficult-to-fulfill objectives.

Breezy and cute, Plantera 2 has more of what made the original so charming.

Lovely and captivating even if it's a bit lacking in substance overall. But you can fly around a gorgeous open word as a bird and freely play a ukulele, so this one's a win in my book.

A high-quality translation and port that builds on the wonderful work done by a passionate community. Trails to Azure's story is impactful, but issues with its pacing can make it feel longer than it needs to be. Even so, this is still a great JRPG that fans of the genre would be silly to pass on.

Capcom knows how to nail a remake, with Resident Evil 4 being a intricate mix of scares, humor, and fast-paced combat. Although I had a few complaints, I extensively enjoyed my time playing this third-person shooter.

Filled with solid level design, exciting combat, and challenging platforming, Vernal Edge is a worthwhile Metroid-like that very much has its own identity.

Octopath Traveler 2 is one of the best JRPGs ever made. It continues to deliver on what made the original so good while improving on its weaknesses. Its only true flaw is that the new Crossed Paths stories are treated as a side act rather than the main selling point. Despite this shortcoming, when all is said and done Octopath Traveler 2 will be remembered as an all-time great.

Creepy and compelling, the game is finally officially out of Japan and offering a good time for series fans. Even if the controls and movement speed still leave a lot to be desired.

Regardless of the strong art direction, voice acting, and dialogue, Romancelvania can't overcome its failings in most other aspects regarding gameplay.

Phantom Brigade is great fun, but not for the length of time you're expected to be playing it. Any long-term engagement is hampered by a lack of variety.

A notable drop in depth compared to the Nioh games, Wo-Long still has some engaging additions inspired by Sekiro. I often enjoyed myself but repetition and a horribly uneven difficulty curve certainly don't help.

Wild Hearts apes Capcom's monster-hunting series, and does so well while introducing new elements that enhance the genre.

A very enjoyable 3D platformer let down by a host of technical issues. Clive 'N' Wrench is well worth playing, but you may want to wait for some patches.

While the game is an excellent spiritual successor to the Castlevania series, it also does enough on its own to help it stand out from the crowd.

Company of Heroes 3 retains the gameplay of the predecessors while disappointing with the bizarre campaign decisions and lack of polish.

An ambitious and mostly fun shooter that delivers a satisfying BioShock-inspired story, but Atomic Heart falls short of greatness due to evident feature creep, frustrating platforming segments, and silly oversights in terms of its accessibility.

Like a Dragon: Ishin! is another strong Yakuza game that fans won't want to miss, finally localized for English speakers. The improved visuals often put the package in line with more recent fare, but the uneven results prevent it from finding the true greatness that was nearly within its grasp.

It lacks ambition and doesn't have much to differentiate it from its peers, but the design is so solid and the world is fun enough to explore that there's certainly a good time to be had in Elderand.

Violent, ridiculous, and occasionally fun, Wanted: Dead misses a lot of its marks but is still worth a look for the devoted.

Although the writing and characters aren't all great across the board, Ten Dates is a surprisingly engaging experience filled with lots of fantastic acting, plenty of content, and some tight editing.

Hogwarts Legacy sets a new benchmark for video game adaptations of novels and films. Although it has some notable flaws, it has numerous moments that leave you spellbound.

Deliver Us Mars is decent enough but lacks the focus and narrative strengths that made the last game such a joy.

Despite the occasional bug, Dead Space is a faithful, fantastic remake of a beloved game.

Hi-Fi Rush swings for the fences and hits a home run with its incredible rhythm-based gameplay and combat mechanics that are more complex than you might initially assume.

Forspoken isn't perfect, owing to a middling campaign and a need for more optimization. Still, its spell combat system and parkour mechanics are top-notch, with landscapes and abilities that can truly amaze.

Second Front is not literally a PC adaptation of ASL, but it is as much we could hope for under these socioeconomical conditions.

While fairly short and easy, SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake does a good job of bringing the cartoon world to life with good writing, fun platforming, and colorful, varied levels.

Season: A Letter to the Future might not last long, but it's a lovely experience for anyone who enjoys taking their time, piecing together lore, and photographing everything they see.

Warlander will cost you nothing to try out and see if its high-paced arcade-y combat overcomes the the tedious visuals and audio.

Neptunia: Sisters VS Sisters is nothing more than a decent but unspectacular JRPG. However, for Neptunia fans, it's a blessing. Idea Factory has finally gotten back to continuing the main story and has delivered a product worth talking about. It isn't the mainline entry that fans really want, but it's still leagues ahead of the other Neptunia spin-off games that it succeeds.

This isn't the definitive version of Persona 3 that it could have been, but it's hard to deny that the game is still highly enjoyable all the same.

Aquatico is a city builder that barely tries to innovate anything, and anything new is immediately overshadowed by how bland and mediocre the rest of it is.

Vengeful Guardian: Moonrider has a lot of heart and very strong level design, but its weakened by a low level of challenge.

As far as games in the series go, One Piece Odyssey is one of the best if you don't mind the narrative issues. I wasn't expecting it, but it ticks all the boxes that a solid JRPG needs.

Unity of Command II: Desert Fox DLC gives the glory and the grime of Western Desert campaign as well as plenty of what-if scenarios.

Amazing visuals and stellar atmosphere notwithstanding, The Callisto Protocol is held back by a cumbersome combat system, technical woes, and other odd design decisions.

Wavetale is only four hours long and can be too one-note for its own good, but a captivating world and resonant story make it worth playing all the same.

High On Life is a hilarious piece of comedy that also makes for an enjoyable first-person shooter, especially if you're into Justin Roiland's brand of humor.

Choo-Choo Charles is undoubtedly an amusing concept. But it feels more like a semi-polished tech demo than a retail experience, which isn't helped by the awful enemy logic.

Marvel's Midnight Suns offers a surprisingly complete experience, going above and beyond what you're used to in XCOM-esque tactics games. From the dynamic card combat system, robust customization options, and hilarious banter with teammates to the fact that you've got a fully explorable hub with secrets, it's got everything you could ever want and then some.

Need for Speed Unbound has the racing and the world down pat, but the game is marred by too many roadblocks and a heaping helping of tedium.

Crisis Core is still a favorite of mine after all these years and it's even better with greatly improved combat. The character models aren't necessarily an improvement and the price is too high, but this is a reunion that's well worth attending.

Knights of Honor II: Sovereign does quite a few things right, though it could use more polish for many aspects of the game, starting with the voice lines that generals get.

Enjoyably frantic, and gory, Darktide is gratifying to play, but the experience is softened by performance issues and dreadful load times.

Gungrave GORE is one of the worst of 2022. It's functional, but supremely awful the whole way through.

An excellent action game with terrific combat and spot-on controls. The campaign is at a decent length, but there should have been more to do after clearing it.

With an unsettling atmosphere, gripping tension, and new actions for characters, The Devil in Me is a major improvement for the franchise. It just needs a way to skip scenes during replays to avoid the tedium.

I really wanted to like Floodland. The colony management/city-building sim from Vile Monarch and Ravenscourt seemed right up my alley. With post-apocalyptic themes centered on climate change and humanity’s struggle to survive on a harsh world, it was too good to pass up. Then, I played it, and part of me started wondering if this was still an Early Access game. True, there were interesting mechanics and familiar concepts. However, there were also confusing moments, unclear information, and an odd lack of a pure sandbox mode.

Gorgeous, creative, and tense, Somerville can make for a fairly gripping adventure, but difficulty seeing what you're doing, a fair amount of frustration, and an underwhelming conclusion make the experience less than it could have been.

Sonic Frontiers succeeds in finally making Sonic truly work in 3D without many of the problems that plagued past titles. While it's far from perfect and could have used more polish, it's a fairly impressive game that offers up most everything fans could want.

With a subtle art style and in-depth narrative, Flat Eye manages to tell a dystopian story without feeling preachy. While it is a management sim, you won’t find this game as mechanically full or complicated as others in the genre.

Yomawari: Lost in the Dark's core gameplay loop is one that's not exactly brimming with mechanical complexity. But thanks to the impeccable atmosphere, extensive enemy variety, and memorable moments, the game doesn't really need it.

Harvestella may have unsightly character models and rote combat, but it offers a satisfying blend of farming sim and action RPG that scratches the itches it's supposed to.

Pentiment's vivid art style, tight narrative, and choice-driven gameplay are a treat to experience. However, the restrictive save system and constant clicking to finish dialogue conversations can be detrimental to your enjoyment.

The arena combat features in Dying Light 2: Bloody Ties are refreshing for a time. Unfortunately, the clunkiness and tediousness from the base game remains. Worse, there's a litany of crashes, and a game-breaking bug that can cause issues with your save.

Star Ocean: The Divine Force has exciting combat mechanics and a fun traversal system, but it's hampered by poor performance, bland cutscenes, and questionable pacing.

How to Say Goodbye explores the afterlife from a more personal point of view, with a focus on healing at your own pace. If you can ignore the sometimes clunky puzzle solving, this is an easy day-length game to play when you want a lighter approach to death.

Decent gameplay and decent level design can't save The Chant from its poor story and total lack of scares.

The Entropy Centre is far and away one of the best first-person puzzlers you can play. If the genre does anything for you, you should come away satisfied with what the game has in store.

Honey, I Joined a Cult has multiple components, and they all work well together. Its customization options add a layer of replayability that isn't often found in management sims. However, it the well will run dry for some.

Light on challenge but heavy on atmosphere and exploration, Ghost Song is a welcome addition to the library of any Metroid-like fan.

Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord comes back with improvements to everything we liked about the previous games and some new systems as well. However, it's not a perfectly polished game, so you'll have to navigate a few edges on your path to restore/destroy the Empire.

While fun at first, the simplistic, bland combat and boring navigation makes the game less than it could have been.

Signalis borrows concepts that made survival-horror games successful. However, the unique twists, quirky style, and abundance of puzzles make it a mesmerizing romp.

There is a good game hiding underneath Overwatch 2's predatory shell, one that is soon to evolve into an even more massive headache for players as the game evolves.

While Train Sim World 3 brings some enhancements to the franchise's formula, they do little to truly amplify the experience. Yet this remains one of the strongest train sims on the market, and it still has room to grow.

Victoria 3 is, without a doubt, grand in scale and scope, and it's downright gorgeous, too. Sadly, the countless mechanics mean that there are too many moving parts, which lead to more questions than answers. The automation and streamlining of battle is, likewise, a baffling change. Even as a veteran of Paradox Interactive's games, this is still one series that I can't get behind.

Resident Evil Village Winters' Expansion adds some more content to the game. But it's mostly all rehashed and overpriced.

Fleeing from Cell, Frieza, or Majin Buu's sadistic assaults has its moments of brilliance. But the often tedious exploration, subpar combat system, and intrusive gacha mechanics keep the game from being anything more than a curiosity.

It's hard not to respect and get swept up in the ambition of Lost Eidolons, where even the flaws and mediocre presentation is made worthwhile with some competent, classic SRPG gameplay.

Jackbox Party Pack 9 delivers the most powerful single entry since... I don't even know when! With one updated classic and four new games, it's a blast through and through.

Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection doesn't quite hit as hard if you've played the others, but it's still well worth the trip if you're new or aching for a revisit. Just watch out for that lightning.

Between the charming pixel artwork, hilarious satirical story, and insane destruction, Terror of Hemasaurus is a winner.

Scorn really brings the art that inspired to 3D life, meshes it with good music, and presents it on a stable platform. But the mundane puzzles and poor combat drag it down.

With gorgeous visuals, well-written characters, stunning atmosphere, and an amazing Photo Mode function, A Plague Tale: Requiem surpasses its predecessor. However, the gameplay and puzzles tend to remain fairly easy and straightforward.

Persona 5 Royal is one of the greatest games of all time. With it on PC, we now have the definitive version of it ready to take our hearts all over again.

Nickelodeon Kart Racers 3: Slime Speedway won't wow the pants off of anyone, but it's an enjoyable kart racer all the same.

Potionomics combines genres to produce a deck-building game that never get old. It sometimes feels overwhelming, but the end product is satisfying enough to keep you hooked.

Trifox is colorful and humorous with a minimal story but a surprisingly full gameplay experience. While I had some issues with the mechanics, the game still manages to be a solid 3D platformer and twin-stick shooter.