Megaton Musashi W: Wired is much more enjoyable than I expected, and I’m genuinely surprised more people aren’t excited about it. The story is interesting and really goes some places. The execution is a bit sound, though it plays it easy at times with the difficulty. The remaining remnants from its free-to-play roots aren’t too pervasive or invasive. Plus the gameplay loop of going through the story, running and rerunning missions for parts, and taking on fights so you can learn and see more is fulfilling. It makes me hopeful for the future of Level-5 games.

While the horror in World of Horror wasn’t frightening to me, I really loved the vibes of this game. Everything from the visuals to the story to the music all come together to create this wonderfully crafted tale that intrigues you and makes you want to keep learning more about this doomed seaside town and the bizarre people who live in it. It is astounding that Panstasz hand drew the art of this game in MS Paint and made this game all on his own because it accomplishes so much through its simplistic design and presentation. World of Horror is absolutely an instant cult classic, making it perfect for people who love adventure games or have an appreciation for grotesque, Eldritch horrors.

Little Kitty, Big City makes me happy. It isn’t the most addictive game I played in 2024. (That’s Balatro.) It isn’t the one I spent the most time exploring. (FFVII Rebirthtakes that title.) What it did do is bring me a sense of solace and joy as I savored the antics of an extremely personable cat and their friends. So much so that my greatest wish is an expansion that opens up even more of the city to explore and additional animal encounters.

We really like the premise of Wilmot Works It Out, and don’t mind a shorter experience! But the game really only hits its stride in the final chapters, leaving us wishing it expanded its later offerings at least a bit. Still, it’s charming, and if you want to really dig into the Marathon post-game, it could be worth checking out.

Enough content for die hard gamers and an easy learning curve for casual gamers. [JPN Import]

Dark Deity 2 is far from perfect, and it could use a few rounds of post-launch polish. But it’s a strong step forward from the first game’s base, adding and refining smartly to make something within their means that’s still engaging to play. We hope they’re able to keep delivering games like this in the future.

It's a love letter to fans.

It’s not like there aren’t any genuinely emotional moments in Grandia 3, but they’re balanced out by all of the cornball cheesiness. Still, if you can forgive this, and are up to the challenge of the battle system, then Grandia 3’s sprawling worlds are well worth adventuring through. [JPN Import]

Despite quibbles, though, Relayer is a solid entry into the canon of mecha-based strategy titles. Kadokawa Games developed an original, endearing sci-fi RPG with a strong character focus. It may be held back by its rougher edges, but anyone with a love of sci-fi anime should give it a look.

If I wasn’t reviewing South of Midnight, I would probably just watch it on YouTube. The gameplay is fine, but nothing special. The linearity of the experience also holds it back at times. As such, the real star of the show is the writing, characters, and incredible art style. The cutscenes are some of the most elaborate and well-animated I have seen in a long time. South of Midnight begs to be an animated movie at some point, so I hope it happens.

With an oversaturated market for open-world games, Star Wars Outlaws keeps things varied, fast-paced, and constantly rewarding. Developers at Massive Entertainment focused on variety and quality over quantity, and didn’t skimp on visual spectacle. There is always something for Kay Vess and her Trailblazer crew to do, whether it be treasure to find, some gang territory to sneak into and rob, an Imperial space base to assault, or even some card games to play. For a true space scoundrel there is no limit in the galaxy.

MakeRoom is one of the better room decoration diorama options out there, offering more and looking better than something like My Cozy Room. The bargain price paired with the diversity of items is quite nice. I also appreciated that, for those who might draw a mental block for their next creation or want to get a grasp on things, there are levels with certain goals and restrictions. I do wish it was a bit more precise or offered more UI features. But if someone plays on a PC, then they might be okay since the mouse controls will be on their side.

Dogpile combines the Suika Game formula with deck-building, and I really like the results. It’s quite clever and incredibly cute. I loved playing around with certain builds and trying to capitalize on putting together decks that involved certain mechanics. Did I see myself getting near the endgame? Eliminate all smaller dogs to prioritize minimized versions of larger ones in the deck! Did I want to make things easier for myself and not worry about placements? Try and add friendly and pack traits to as many dogs as possible. I really loved challenging myself and working things out.

Zenless Zone Zero is a snappy action game that feels rewarding to master. Though the story can fall flat at times, the characters are so fun that it’s fun to see their reactions. The presentation of the plot—the comic book format and the colorful animations—keeps it entertaining and fresh. Instead of appealing to everyone, it feels like it’s striving to hit a particular audience and I personally am one of those people. Hopefully the dailies won’t be too hard to manage on top of everything else in the market.

KarmaZoo has a noble goal, but the situational nature of things means the stars essentially need to align for things to work perfectly. You need to either get a good group of friends who all own the game together or hope your random session is filled with people who both are serious about working together and unlocked helpful characters. It’s too easy for things to not be exactly ideal, and I’d say about two thirds of all my gameplay sessions were fine as a result.

Baby Steps is yet another example of a Bennett Foddy game that can test you, frustrate you, and make you laugh at the silliest situations.. The controls are fantastic, so it feels like they never fail you. The types of terrain and situations can be goofy and challenging. At the same time, there’s a message about growth and development that comes through that made me feel like I wasn’t just having an absolute ball flailing my way through strange spaces, but learning more about Nate and rooting for him in the process.

Monster Hunter Stories remains a vibrant anime romp through a world that fuses Monster Hunter elements with Pokemon-esque creature collection and training. It can feel a bit dated compared to the sequel, and the direction may make it more welcome to younger gamers. However, it’s a colorful, entertaining romp and this iteration feels like the definitive release.

There’s a lot to like about Final Fantasy II Pixel Remaster. It was an entry that dared to be different. Even now, when you look at the series as a whole, it stands out. And with this version, it looks good, runs rather well, and is pretty widely accessible. The as-is font situation isn’t great, but the rest of the game is quite pretty and fun to play.

Tales of Kenzera: Zau is a beautiful little game. Fun platforming and a setting we rarely see in games both support a genuinely moving story of grief. While it is a game about the acceptance of death, it’s also about the joys of life. And just like life, it’s a little rough around the edges and can be frustrating, but ultimately worth it.

I like the change of pace Spirittea brings, as it offers a Stardew Valley and Story of Seasons sort of experience, but manages to be its own unique game. It might not be as relaxing when you’re actually at work in the bathhouse, due to the number of tasks available, but I found I got accustomed to my new schedule. It’s just delightful to see a different take on a life sim that still feels inviting and hits familiar cues.

There are elements I don’t like, but I’m now officially a big Grapple Dog fan. Granted, more because I love the characters, music, and world, rather than find it to offer revolutionary platforming. It’s a good time. Just know going in that it might often demand your best, but not always help you execute things exactly.

Demonschool is definitely going to be a “your mileage may vary” kind of game, and I suspect fans of classic Persona games or Necrosoft titles may end up appreciating it most. The art direction and design looks gorgeous. The concept is good, and handling demons each week leading up to a possible apocalypse is interesting. But it does feel more like the script takes more cues from sitcoms than dramas with occasional comedic moments, which may not appeal to everyone. This take on a tactical combat system also involves some design choices that might be off-putting and not appeal to everyone. It’s an interesting concept for a game, but also quite niche.

While I’m a bit disappointed in the Adventure campaign, Mario Tennis Fever feels generally strong thanks to its Fever Rackets and range of modes. There are a lot of different ways to play tennis packed into this Super Mario sports game spin-off, and they often play with the idea of using special abilities to make things more exciting. Which can mean things like Mix It Up and Trial Towers modes can feel a little extra entertaining. I appreciate what Camelot and Nintendo did here and how it built on Mario Tennis Aces.

Going into Gundam Breaker 4, you need to accept that it’s the type of game that will involve grinding missions for experience and parts. I felt like the ensuing Gunpla I’d create and opportunities to collect even more customization elements was worth it! Especially since the combat system is tight and it all looks really good. If you’re not up for replaying a lot of assignments and dealing with occasional hurdles in fights that might feel better balanced for multiplayer, it might be wise to look at an older entry. But it can be a really good time, especially if you love the Gundam and this spin-off series or have a crew you’ll be playing it with.

I will say the RPG mechanics of leveling up RoboCop and enhancing his various skills felt a bit like an afterthought. Some of them are quite necessary, such as providing more dialogue options, but others centered around his strength feel unnecessary due to his existing power. Regardless, this added a nice bit of depth and customization to this otherwise swift RPG experience that you can beat in under 20 hours.

While I adore the mood, vibes, and look of Assassin’s Creed Mirage, it is also one of my least favorite games in the series in recent memory. It is a step backwards in pretty much every sense of the word, for better and for worse. I admire the idea of going back to the roots with inspiration from games I enjoyed more than a decade ago, but it creates mixed results because of this.

In truth, it makes me wonder if the fate of Riot Forge would have been different if we had seen more titles like Bandle Tale that were so approachable and required so little investment in League of Legends and its characters. It’s an ideal sort of introduction to an element of that world, as well as a fairly strong cozy game for people willing to be patient with it and take their time.

It's a charming game, to be certain.