What makes Blades of Greed disappointing isn’t that it lacks ideas. The ambition is visible everywhere, in its scale, its expanded systems, and its attempt to modernise traversal. But ambition without refinement magnifies flaws. Where previous entries felt lean and focused, this one feels bloated and less confident in its own fundamentals.

NORSE: Oath of Blood has a good game underneath all the bugs. The combat works, the storyline is good, and the presentation is excellent. These things combined helped me power through the many bugs (and sometimes crashes) that I experienced. Hopefully, a few patches down the line, we will have a very solid tactical RPG on our hands.

PARANORAMSIGHT: The Mermaid's Curse is exactly what I wanted it to be. It doesn't change up much from the previous game, which is great. It keeps the fantastic structure and gameplay mechanics, while bringing in a new, exciting story and an intriguing cast of characters. It can sometimes feel like an information overload, and there's a lot of information, but the tale is so engaging that it never bothered me enough to stop playing.

Big Hops did something interesting today: it charmed a player who is terrible at platformers into liking it. The gameplay offers plenty of variety with its different mechanics, and I’ve found the story and characters charming. It isn’t perfect, of course, with some irritating camera bugs, a general lack of customization for game settings, and some very frustrating moments at times. None of these are dealbreakers, however, and I can heartily recommend Big Hops as a solid game in its genre.

The Legend of Heroes: Trails beyond the Horizon is a great next game in the JRPG series and sets the bar high for future entries in the series. The implications of the finale are worth playing through, with an exciting buildup filled with twists and turns I didn't expect.

MIO: Memories in Orbit is a gorgeous, fluid, and intriguing metroidvania that succeeds on almost all fronts. The intriguing story hooked me in, while the fantastic traversal and platforming mixed well with the simplistic combat to create an engaging experience. The fast travel and respawns could be a little unforgiving, and I wish there were more parts to further upgrade MIO to continue experimenting, but it was still fun nonetheless.

In the end, Arknights: Endfield feels like a game made with quiet confidence. It’s dense, occasionally stubborn, and absolutely uninterested in chasing mass appeal. That won’t work for everyone, and it doesn’t try to. But for players willing to meet it on its own terms, Endfield offers a richly atmospheric, mechanically engaging experience that feels rare in the free-to-play space.

Cairn combines strategy and survival to create a unique experience that I want to keep coming back to. The combination of strategy and survival in climbing a treacherous mountain is well-balanced, keeping gameplay engaging and fun throughout. It can be brutal and unforgiving with how quickly you can fall, and save points are a little too scattered in some areas, but it was hard to find any moment that didn’t make me want to try climbing again.

It is early days yet for MENACE, but I’m already impressed by what's on offer. I’ve probably played better turn-based tactics games in my time, such as Cyber Knights: Flashpoint, and I’ve also played games with better management systems. However, it’s the combination of the two that blends into something truly captivating. The game still needs work, and I would prefer to wait for some interface optimization before I’m comfortable playing it on the Steam Deck long term, but fans of Battle Brothers can expect Overhype Studios to be in this for the long haul. [Early Access Score = 80]

Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined is a fantastic remake of the original that addresses many of its problems. The story has been streamlined with some great additions to make the other characters stand out more, while the combat has the accessibility settings and adjustments that the most recent games benefit from. It does feel a little too easy at times, which makes the strategic elements of battle feel less necessary, but it never fully detracts from the experience enough to regret playing.

My Hero Academia: All's Justice is filled with original content and new ideas that work quite well. I enjoyed the amount of single-player content we have, along with the enjoyable stories with Team Up mode and little bits here and there with Hero's Diary. The vast amount of characters and a great amount of customizability keep me coming back to play more, even after I finished the stories.

Nioh 3 is my favorite game so far this year, hands down. The combat is exquisite with new mechanics that complement the refinements from the previous two games, while the open-world levels fit right in with the series. The story may not be the most memorable, but the action makes up for it completely. This is now my all-time favorite soulslike, and if you have a computer powerful enough to run it, I can happily recommend it with ease.

Sometimes, even good games fall through the cracks due to the sheer number of titles that exist, especially in the indie gaming scene. After playing Clawpunk, I hope more people discover this. It might not do anything wholly new or unique, but it does a great job with almost everything that matters.

Despite the issues here and there, Romeo is a Dead Man feels like a SUDA51 game through and through, which is a compliment. There aren't many games that challenge status quos when it comes to their mechanics and style, but SUDA51 does. Does it work? Not all of the time. Can it be frustrating? Sometimes. However, there aren't many games that embrace this style and structure that direct correlates what the norms are.

REANIMAL is a fantastic horror game from the Little Nightmare veterans. The atmosphere and world are wonderfully crafted with a disturbing story and creepy characters. The gameplay differences help it stand out, though it still feels a little too close to home in some cases, but that doesn't detract from how great an experience the game is as a whole.