Pound for pound, Undisputed doesn’t yet have the chops to compete against the likes of Fight Night Round 3, but it’s pretty much the only game in town. This effort is far above other attempts at a realistic boxing game, and it mostly delivers on intense combat and solid animations. As it was with the game’s roadmap in Steam Early Access, Steel City Interactive is well-prepared and already committed to provide continual updates and improvements moving forward. Despite several weaknesses, Undisputed has a solid foundation for the developer to build upon. While it’s not a champion now, it is a contender worth watching out for.

Hats off to Bloober Team. I was nervous about what this Silent Hill 2 remake would finally be when it launched. I came prepared to be disappointed. I was floored instead. This wasn’t left like the old Silent Hill 2 with just a visual brush-up, and that feels like it was the right thing to do. At the same time, Bloober keeps the spirit of everything that made Silent Hill 2 a classic, but also accentuates it in smart and reasonable ways. It feels sickeningly intense to fight creatures, it feels menacing and foreboding to explore the town’s foggy streets, and the characters actually feel concerned and responsive to the things happening around them. I never thought we’d see the day when Silent Hill 2 would get such a shine, but here we are, and it is gloriously terrifying.

This review has certainly gone off the rails but, in my defense, it’s my eighth one and I’m shocked every year that I find a new way to say the same thing. Yes, everything that EA Vancouver added is cool or nice or awesome but, no, it’s not enough. I know it’s not the developer’s fault, and I genuinely feel bad for them. They seem like hockey nuts, like the rest of us, but it’s not my job to pat anyone on the back for delivering patch-sized video games at full price just because their boss sucks. It’s actually my job to call that out, but hopefully one of these years I get to gush over a fully updated, feature rich game that doesn’t pick one mode to care about each season.

I Am Your Beast is a straightforward action game that wastes absolutely no time in giving players what they want. The engaging combat mechanics and revenge-driven narrative craft a superb power fantasy that left a strong impression on me.

There's a lot about The Jackbox Naughty Pack that feels less like a full-blown annual release and more like an experiment. There are positives to be found here, especially when it comes to the presentation and committing to the adult theme. The art for all three games is inspired and moments like the Faker dropping trou got some good laughs. The number of games and the way the games are structured feel like Jackbox Games didn't have a lot of confidence in what it was putting forward. That's not to say this isn't fun because Fakin' It All Night Long was a good time, and Dirty Drawful had its moments. With that said, the rest of the package feels, to put a bow on the M-rated theme... flaccid.

At a glance, it’s clear that Silent Hill and Resident Evil were major influences on indie horror game Hollowbody. While its retro PS2-style visuals are what initially drew me toward the game, inside of that is a competent survival horror experience that, while not doing too many things different from its predecessors, establishes a world and setting that’s worth exploring. If you’re looking for a game to scratch the itch of those classic survival horror experiences, Hollowbody is definitely worth your time.

Street Rumble isn’t terrible, but it’s not good either. Sure, it looks good, but the music is boring, the gameplay is bog standard, it has serious design flaws, and in a lot of cases, it just isn’t interesting. Yeah, there’s an arcade mode, boss rush, and so on, but you need to beat the story mode to unlock them, and if I hadn’t been playing this for review, I would have stopped around thirty minutes in. Beat ‘em up fans deserve better. Licensed games deserve better. And The Karate Kid deserves better than to be resurrected as a coat of paint used to gussy up a mediocre beat ‘em up.

Long-time Zelda players will be smiling from ear to ear when they roll credits. The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is full of wonderful surprises, engaging gameplay, and tons of stuff to do in the biggest top-down iteration of Hyrule yet.

Like many sports franchises that release yearly iterations, EA Sports FC 25 is going to be much like the game you remember from last year. While FC IQ and roles do a good job of making tactics feel varied and exciting, there are many adjustments and improvements that need to be made to AI before things feel balanced. When slide comes to tackle, not too much has changed this year.

Despite a few issues, I still think Ara: History Untold is some of the most fun I’ve had with a 4X historical nations game that wasn’t Civilization. Oxide Studios clearly knew the assignment and they aced on a number of fronts. It’s a little disappointing that for their experience, they weren’t able to avoid common issues like mid-to-late grind, but if you want a game that will offer plenty of variety in playstyles and an interesting and engaging crafting mechanic, Ara: History Untold is quite an extensive option for any fan of 4X strategy.

If you like Mickey Mouse and want to play a fun video game about him, you can do a lot worse than Epic Mickey: Rebrushed! You can also do a lot better, but that would require booting up some old emulators or expensive retro hardware, which is a different kind of thing from having something new(ish) on today’s platforms. Those decaying SNES carts in Mickeyjunk Mountain offer a good hint at what you should try next, though. I enjoyed it quite a bit, even if the way the story doesn't hold up in 2024 due to historical context made things kind of awkward.

When it comes to preserving history, this is about as good as it can get from an official source. Between backwards compatibility and being on a platform like Steam, there are fewer ways that even a licensing deal expiration can get in the way of playing this collection in the coming years. And in the meantime, having these games on current platforms makes them more playable than ever, although not having cross-platform play is a big bummer. And for even deeper diving and appreciation, the museum content is as top-notch as we’ve come to expect from Capcom’s recent slate of classic collections. “When’s Marvel?” finally has a suitable answer.

Over the past five years or so, Konami has become a standard-bearer in preserving and presenting video game history. There have been bumps along the road of course, but Castlevania Dominus Collection is not just a set of ROMs grouped together that benefits from comprising all-time greats. While those games are still obviously the main attraction, the amount of effort put into making these games look and play great, then supplementing them with absurdly high quality materials (including deep cuts even a degenerate like myself was shocked to see) is revitalizing. On top of that, giving M2 the resources to bring back its own long-lost remake series in such a surprising way pushes this collection straight to the top of my must-play list not just in 2024, but in gaming as a whole.

Every single decision you make in Frostpunk 2 is like taking a step out onto a frozen lake. You might shift your weight onto a foot, only to see a tiny crack race out ahead of you. Is this the decision that will lead to your downfall? Even something as benign as placing down buildings comes with the weight of resource management, societal impact, and just a little bit more strain on the delicate system you’ve tried to establish. It’s a brilliant sequel that will leave you frozen with indecision as the icy disposition of the factions rivals the chill from a whiteout.

One of the central focuses of The Plucky Squire's story is that it's a tale that inspires hope in all of the children who read it. I'm hopeful that this game will inspire any would-be developer who plays it, because it's a true expression of what's possible through gaming.

This game is as unforgiving at the start as it was in 2006, but if you want a solid zombie survival experience akin to Dawn of the Dead, you can’t do much better than the mall mayhem of Willamette in Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster.

Tiny Glade might be Quaint with a capital Q, but many hours of enjoyment can be had here if you just let it tickle your imagination. There’s just something so delightfully charming about creating an idyllic castle or village, surrounded by a field of flowers and butterflies. Pounce Light has taken this sprout of an idea and created the ultimate cozy diorama builder that makes you feel like you’re creating a work of art.

Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions is niche in the fact that Harry Potter fans, specifically those with fond memories of 2003’s Quidditch World Cup, will adore it. It knows exactly who its audience is, and makes sure to serve up Harry Potter references and nostalgia berries on a silver platter. The gameplay foundation is solid, but there just isn’t much done on top of it. The available modes grow generic and the lack of variety or unique challenge caused me to put the broom down and walk away much faster than I was expecting.

I know volleyball and dodgeball are totally different activities, but the inspiration is pretty obvious here. And if you want to play a sports game like this that’s wacky, over the top, and still has a competitive element, Mario Tennis or the Kunip-kun Dodgeball games are much more fulfilling in every way. And if you’re just a Fairy Tail fan looking for something fun to play with these characters, Fairy Tail: Dungeons or the GUST-developed RPG from a few years ago (with a sequel coming soon) are much more successful in nailing their own concepts. It’s a shame, but aside from some fun visuals and occasional on-screen wackiness, Fairy Tail: Beach Volleyball Havoc doesn’t deliver in either the volleyball or the havoc.

NBA 2K25 is in the same place as most modern sports franchises. There are iterative changes and refinements that improve existing modes, but so many of the game’s issues—several of which have existed for multiple games now—remain unchanged. The hardcore base knows what they’re getting and will appreciate the incremental changes, but if you’re still having fun on 2K24, there’s no pressing reason to upgrade.

Wild Bastards has a lot of charm and style, and that’s enough of a hook to want to dive in and see what the game has to offer. Using a sizable roster of characters who are the major differentiators for gameplay as the main motivator to keep going is effective as well. But once you’ve got the Bastards roster filled out and you have combat figured out well enough, that’s about where the buck stops in this sci-fi western. It’s a chaotic and challenging experience, but promises a lot of complexity and nuance that seems bountiful at first, but fizzles a bit given time. Some balancing issues hold it back the most from being truly fulfilling, but there’s a little bit of genre fatigue talking on my part as well. On its own merits, Wild Bastards is ambitious and kinetic, and will definitely put FPS fans’ skills to the test.

Those looking for a different kind of Ace Attorney experience that still delivers that same sense of justice can find a pair of gems with Miles Edgeworth's games. Even if the setting is slightly different, few should have any objections to more of these captivating tales of justice.

Spectre Divide’s main selling point, the Spectre mechanic, is admittedly rather cool. It’s great to get a second chance at a tactical shooter mid-round. Unfortunately, it doesn’t feel like a strong enough hook to draw players across from the other games that have solidified themselves as the leaders in the genre. Add to this the problems with match pacing, bland weapons, and laughable microtransaction prices and you’ve got a game that is unlikely to convince hardcore fans to dive in, let alone keep players around for the long run.

It’s surreal to see a game I played in my first year of work at Shacknews finally find its way to that Version 1.0. I couldn’t be happier for Coffee Stain after its lengthy journey, but it helps that this is a really dang good sim, and a true creative sandbox. I think the freeform nature of Satisfactory is both its greatest power and its most intimidating offering, simply because the sheer lack of guidance can leave players directionless and overwhelmed, especially as you wait and stew on it while resources bake in the early game. However, the sheer beauty of Satisfactory as you slowly expand a little base into a highly programmed and automated industrial machine is a neat and rewarding process, and if you have a friend or two to bring along, all the more fun.

I’ve gone on too long at this point, but I kind of want to just keep gushing! Yars Rising looks like a bunch of wacky stuff that shouldn’t work. Yet when it comes together it’s a blast for nearly its entire runtime. It’s WayForward at its most self-indulgent, but that turns out to be a great gaming experience that extends into a sweet, clever, little love letter to Atari’s classic library in a way that feels fresh and unique. The way Yars' Revenge, as the core of this concept, is woven throughout what from the outside seems like a totally unrelated kind of game is a constant source of dopamine. And while the stealth is kind of a dud, the action and exploration on the Metroidvania side is top notch, especially with all the neat and unusual powers you get to play with. Yars Rising is a big surprise, and one of the most memorable games I’ve played in 2024.

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 is a love letter to 40k fans. The minor gripes I have with PvP cross play and cutscenes pale in comparison to the overall package that’s bursting with content and hours of fun times with friends. The insane dedicated attention to detail is everywhere, even in the smallest corner of the game. Saber really took their time, cared about the IP, and it shows. I highly suggest grabbing a copy, getting your friends together and killing some Xenos scum.

What the Car? was a nice, little moment of silliness in a packed summer, full of games that have demanded a lot of time and energy. It made my hardened critic's face crack a smile multiple times, even if it had just annoyed me moments before. I’m not ready to turn all the way around and start banging the “wiggly game” drums just yet, but it was nice to know there’s still hope out there for this particular brand of video game foolishness.

Astro Bot is a charming and cheeky nod to a lot of PlayStation history and a powerful demonstration of PS5 hardware, but more than anything, it's just a ridiculously good game.