Even if you don’t care or know about Among Us, the Vampire Survivors Emergency Meeting DLC is an essential purchase. It is just wild and crazy in the funniest possible ways while delivering so much through the characters, weapons, stage, and adventure included. I can’t wait to see what poncle does next for collaboration DLC, and Vampire Survivors Emergency Meeting is something I’m going to play a ton over the coming weeks as I try and unlock everything on all platforms. If you’ve not played Vampire Survivors in a while, grab this DLC (and prior DLC) and get back. Vampire Survivors deserves it. Hats off to poncle for this one. Both figuratively and in-game.

GTA: Vice City – Definitive is worth buying, but I think this is the first actual killer app Netflix has to get people onboard its games initiative. Having the original GTA: Vice City would have been enough, but this release is actually better than the PC and console versions in almost every way. I don’t even think I’ll go back to those versions without the Classic Lighting option. The original game is a timeless classic, and my favorite GTA game, so I’m glad we now have a great version of the remake on mobile alongside the original which is still available.

A Highland Song is another winner from inkle, and despite being a complete genre shift from 80 Days it has a lot of the same things going for it. It’s a beautiful game to be sure, and the writing is both meaningful and a pleasure to parse. But the gameplay itself uses what are fairly basic mechanics to create a surprisingly complex journey, one that offers so many secrets and branching paths that you’ll almost certainly want to play through it again the minute you arrive at the conclusion for the first time. A real joy, in every sense of the word.

Unfortunately, I just found this game to get tiresome by a certain point. The story is one we’ve seen a million times before, the requests you have to fill for the NPCs just feel like an unending grind, and while the blacksmithing is fun it’s not really enough to carry the whole game on its back. Throw in a fair number of unpleasant bugs like randomly disappearing inventory items, and While the Iron’s Hot seems like it needed a bit more time in the fire.

SteamWorld Build is, like the other games in this series, a very friendly and well-paced game. I think that’s a double-edged blade, as veterans of the genre might find it all a bit too streamlined and deterministic. Still, the game is a really good time while it lasts, and I appreciate all the attempts to mix things up without losing the basic enjoyment this genre offers. The game plays really well on Switch, too. If you’re looking for a fun entry-level builder, you might want to give this a look.

Having now tested the netcode and multiplayer modes on Steam Deck, Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising is chock full of amazing gameplay, characters, music, and a robust online experience. This feels like the complete package right from the get go, and is a great new option for any newcomer to fighting games with its low barrier of entry. If you aren’t sure if Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising is for you, give the free version a shot. In its current state, I can see myself playing this for a long time on Steam Deck and PS5. Cygames and Arc System Worked nailed everything I had hoped for here, and delivered one of the best fighting game day one releases in years.

When you get the conditions just right, Make Way is a lot of fun. It’s not something you want to spend hours on at a time, and you’ll want to have some local players to play with because online is a bit of a ghost town at the moment. You’ll also want to play the game a bit on your own before you pull it out at a party so that you’ll at least have weapons, power-ups, and some of the more fun track pieces unlocked. But if you’re okay with all of that, Make Way makes for a pleasant choice to keep in the regular party night rotation.

In the end, I’ve decided to give this game a slightly stronger recommendation than I otherwise would have simply because of how good the remaster quality is. As a first-person shooter, Turok 3: Shadow of Oblivion has never been anything more than decent, and it lacks much of the character of the first two entries. But I respect that Nightdive gave it the royal treatment to finish out this rather unexpected yet welcome set of remasters, and I think if you found a lot to love in its previous efforts with Turok you’ll find enough to carry you through this one as well.

I think if you love Final Fantasy Tactics, Arcadian Atlas will give you something to chew on. It will also likely irritate you in a variety of ways. It’s every bit the game it’s trying to be, a passionate expression of adoration for one of the genre greats. It’s just a shame that it is content to only be that, since the sparks that do light up properly here show such promise. Perhaps we might see some of those become proper flames in the next game from this team, but for now this is really just one for those heavily thirsting for any tactical turn-based intrigue they can get.

After its first update, Fashion Dreamer still needs work. While the performance is my biggest problem with it, some design decisions need to be addressed like letting any body type wear any clothes or accessories. I’m going to revisit it through each update, but right now this feels more like what we got in Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer rather than a true Animal Crossing experience as an example. There’s a lot I like, but this needed more time.

Snakebird was amazing on iOS, but Snakebird Complete feels perfect on Nintendo Switch. If you enjoy the likes of Baba is You and even A Monster’s Expedition, Snakebird Complete is essential. They nailed the touch controls and it looks so good on the OLED screen. If you still aren’t sold on it, try the demo. Snakebird Complete is the real deal.

I can’t help but wish there was a little more meat on the bones of The Pale Reach, especially with this being the first proper paid add-on for the game and all. I don’t mind its brevity this time, but if this is what we can expect from any future expansions, I’m not sure how many I’d be up for. just doesn’t feel essential or substantial, and I like to see at least one of those two in any expansion I pick up. Still, if you want to extend your enjoyment of DREDGE with another slice of well-made stuff, The Pale Reach will do that much for you.

Rogue Glitch Ultra is in a lot of ways as standard a roguelite platformer experience as you could imagine. That isn’t to say it doesn’t have distinct elements, but it scratches the same itch that most games of this sort do. I like how easy it is to get into, and the online mode certainly adds some extra spice if you can set it up. It can be frustrating when you take some hits that feel unavoidable due to the way things are generated, and it can sometimes be too chaotic for its own good, but I enjoyed Rogue Glitch Ultra well enough.

If you enjoyed doing time loops to help out all the people in Clock town in The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask, you’ll probably have some basic appreciation of how Orten Was The Case is set up. It’s certainly an interesting game, and it does a great job of investing you in its little neighborhood and the oddballs who reside there. Some awkward puzzles pull the experience down a little, but what hurts it the most is the unnecessary addition of action sequences that just fall flat. Those who can forgive a few serious rough edges might find this a decent evening’s entertainment.

The Switch port of Gothic II delivers the game more or less as-is, plus the Night of the Raven expansion. There are some new motion controls here but I wouldn’t really recommend them. For better or worse, this is the game. If you enjoyed the port of the first game, you’ll like this even more. If you didn’t, you might want to step cautiously. There are a lot of things you’ll have to deal with in this game to properly enjoy it, and only some of those are due to it being a game from the turn of the millennium. If you can get used to the quirks endemic to this series, however, the rewards are many.

While the asking price might seem high for some, TEVI is absolutely worth it. There are a few issues holding it back like some visual clarity ones for certain parts of levels or the slow opening hours, but this is a superb Metroidvania experience that I hope gets a physical release. I adored it on both Steam Deck and Nintendo Switch.

Despite my issues with the performance, and I’m more annoyed by technical issues than most, I ended up adoring Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince. It joins Monster Hunter Stories 2 as my two favorite monster collecting games. It has heart, charm, and one of the best gameplay loops in a monster collecting game. I hope we see some patches improving the performance though, because that’s the only thing holding this back.

Right now, Coral Island has a fantastic base to build on, but it feels lacking in ways that become obvious as you play more. I know it left Steam Early Access to hit 1.0 and launch on consoles, but it still feels like it needed a bit more of its roadmap before I can recommend it without caveats. The asking price is lower than I expected given everything it has right now, and if you’re ok chipping away at it slowly and taking your time, you will find a lot to love here. Despite the few technical issues, it is a joy to play on Steam Deck, but I feel like it left early access prematurely.

Right now, even as an early access game, Wizordum has tons for the player from its superb gameplay in the first main episode, level designer, and more. I love the aesthetic, music, gameplay, and premise. Wizordum is the real deal, and I can’t wait to keep revisiting it as it gets updates over time. It looks gorgeous on Steam Deck as well, and really makes me wish I had a Steam Deck OLED right now. I urge you to download the demo and see how good it is for yourself.

If you enjoy touching stories and adventure games with a focus on characters and introspection, you will love Refind Self: The Personality Test Game. I think many folks will skip it thinking it is one of those throwaway test-style games, but I ended up enjoying my time with it a lot across iOS and Steam Deck. I can’t wait to see what Lizardry does next, and look forward to seeing results from more people when they play Refind Self: The Personality Test Game.

Sonic Dream Team gets a lot of things right, and I think anyone with an Apple Arcade subscription will have a really good time running through its various nooks and crannies. Even those who aren’t subscribed might want to pick up a month just to play through the game. The 3D Sonic pantheon definitely has far worse efforts than this. But that’s part of what makes it frustrating. It overcame a lot of the challenges 3D Sonic often struggles to get over, only to retire before the race is finished with a relatively short run-time. This could have been an amazing chapter in Sonic history, but instead it has to settle for being a good one.

I enjoyed Kickback Slug: Cosmic Courier, but despite its best attempts to keep mixing things up with new obstacles and themes, the moment-to-moment gameplay felt like it plateau’d a bit too early. I also wasn’t a fan of the boss battles, which drag on too long and feel ill-matched to the rest of the game. It looks and sounds good, with a nice cartoony vibe that really pops. Those who enjoy games with thrust mechanics or just want an action game that does things a little differently from the norm might want to check this one out.

If you enjoy tough puzzle platformers that will have you pulling your hair out for hours trying to solve a single stage, Time Master is for you. If you are easily frustrated, then Time Master really isn’t for you. It has a great presentation and the way it subtly ramps up the complexity in each stage despite mainly being built around one core mechanic is the mark of a game with great design. Some of the platforming is a bit more awkward than I would like, and you’re either going to love or hate the protagonist, but otherwise I can’t find much to knock on with this game.

The only thing keeping me from giving Alien Death Mob my highest recommendation is the lack of any sort of online leaderboards. When a game involves score-chasing, I like to have those in this day and age. For the price it’s asking, if you have any love whatsoever for classic arcade action then you’ll definitely want to pick this up. It’s packed to the brim with content and all of it is fun to play. It’s an excellent game that straddles the past and present perfectly.

I really enjoyed playing Alina of the Arena. It sticks to the recipe for the most part, but it does it well. The arena aspect gives it a slightly distinct flavor, one that I found compelling. It was a little tough early on, but once I unlocked a new class or two I found things clicked really nicely. I wish the UI was a little less awkward, and it’s a little light content-wise compared to some of its peers, but on the whole this is a battle worth fighting.

It has a distinct style that it strongly commits to, and while there are costs to that in terms of environment variety, I respect the choice. The game can be a bit slow until you hit a certain point that I won’t spoil, but stick with it and you’ll be rewarded. Not the best game of its kind around, but it might be the right medicine for those tired of the usual exploratory adventure.

Astlibra Revision is an outstanding game, and one I didn’t even see coming. It takes a little time to get going, but once it does this is a genuine ride that you won’t want to get off of. You can sometimes feel the game’s patchwork nature at times, but that doesn’t do much to hurt what is otherwise an amazingly fun experience. If you like action-RPGs or just are in the mood for a bonkers story, you have to play Astlibra Revision.

If you’re new to the world of Tales of Arise, the bundle of Tales of Arise with Beyond the Dawn is an essential. If you already have Tales of Arise and beat it back in 2021 or last year, this DLC is very good if you’re dying to spend more time in the world and with the characters. I like the cast a lot, and while this DLC feels a bit too disjointed as a part of the full package, it is still a good time. I wish the new costumes were included in the asking price though because the $30 for Beyond the Dawn was already a bit much. Having those additional paid DLC costumes included would make this an easier recommendation.