If you jump into Atomfall, take it slow. There’s no reason to rush toward the ending here. Absorb the atmosphere, lose yourself in the ebb and flow of the game. Examine everything you possibly can, and just enjoy the ride. But as a word of advice, prepare yourself for frustrations along the way. If you think you’ve got what it takes, you’ll find a unique and intriguing world before you. But it’s not a world for everyone to enjoy. [Recommended]

Regardless of these little issues, Atelier Yumia is a great step forward for the roughly 30-year-old franchise. It proves that GUST still knows how to make the franchise feel new and exciting, all while keeping long-term fans happy. Yumia is a great protagonist, and the action-battle RPG feels great in action. Be ready to learn as you play, and prepare to sink plenty of time into this world. It’s a fantastic addition, and I’m already eager to see what Yumia’s next adventure is going to look like. [Strongly Recommended]

Even with its issues, I can still happily recommend giving Rise of the Ronin a try. It’s an incredibly dense and exciting action game, with plenty of care put into every facet of it. Seeing as Koei Tecmo and Team Ninja have launched PC games with issues in the past and worked through them, I do not doubt that this will be the same way. It’s a shame that it didn’t launch in better condition. But, Rise of the Ronin resonated with me enough to help me look past some of these woes. [Recommended]

WWE 2K25, I have to iterate, is a beautiful spectacle. Updated entrances, attires, and animations. Crowd-pleasing additions to celebrated modes. An “Eh” MyRise but a phenomenal Bloodline Showcase. The Is are dotted and the Ts are crossed. But in crafting the best version of itself, I wonder if its soul is still there.

That the story of Split Fiction could be looked at as a commentary on AI is not lost on me. AI can’t do what these people just did. You need humans to make the end of this game happen. You need people who care about what they do — who put themselves wholeheartedly into what they do — to make something this incredible. From a pure gameplay perspective, what I experienced shouldn’t be possible, and yet, they pulled it off seamlessly. Split Fiction is an outstanding commentary on friendship, opening up, and creativity that everyone must experience. [Strongly Recommended]

Knights in Tight Spaces is a necessity if you love deckbuilders. It blends the best of tactical strategy games with the best of frantic roguelike deckbuilding action. There are endless build variants to experiment with. Weapons, Archetypes, Quests — everything is tailor-made to craft an experience that’s yours alone. And, if you’re feeling fancy? You can try to do what I did and suffer by forcing yourself to do as many of the Bonus Objectives as possible. Who knows? Maybe you’ll kick three people into the abyss faster than I ever could! [Strongly Recommended]

If you’ve been looking for something to scratch the itch left behind by games like Undertale and even Earthbound? I would strongly suggest looking into Everhood 2. It’s one of the most interesting games I’ve experienced, in nearly every way. It still is stuck in my mind, and I’m not sure if it will ever leave. [Strongly Recommended]

While I do wish that there were, technically, offline modes available to play, we can only hope that 2K will add that option after launch. Local multiplayer feels great, and online multiplayer is just as solid as ever. If you’ve been searching for a reason to get back on the green, there’s never been a better time than now. [Strongly Recommended]

I truly, truly hope Lost Records gets the patience it deserves. Again, its slower pace means it’ll inevitably fall out of favor with some folks. But, if you stick around, Tape 1 of Lost Records will do anything but disappoint you. If you’re willing to engage with it, it’ll reward you with compelling storytelling, layered characters, stellar environmental design, and an always-relevant reminder that there’s beauty in imperfection. [Highly Recommended]

Regardless of some questionable graphical fidelity, Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii is a fantastic game. It’s one of those stories that can only be told via this particular medium, and I adored my time with it. Plus, it’s got New Game+ in the package instead of as a DLC bonus. Now that I’ve got my Sea Legs, I’ll be jumping back in for another go with Majima and the crew. [Highly Recommended]

Give Afterlove EP some of your time. You won’t regret it in the slightest. It’s a beautiful journey, filled with emotional moments, and will stick around in the corners of my mind and psyche for years to come. I’ll gladly revisit it whenever I know I’ll need it because it’s one of those experiences that transcends a singular playthrough. [Highly Recommended]

Obsidian rarely misses, but this is a tremendous accomplishment they should wear proudly on their sashes. Avowed is unique enough to stand out in a crowded genre and is a game that deserves its roses. [Highly Recommended]

A relatively short game, The Roottrees are Dead is compelling enough to keep your attention throughout its 6-ish hour playtime (or roughly 12 hours, including the Roottreemania mode). Its puzzles are challenging enough to keep you scratching your head but not enough to pull your hair out. And when you’re stuck, a convenient hint button is always available to nudge you in the right direction. For the stay-at-home types, it’s the perfect experience for an amateur gumshoe to get their hands dirty.

As someone who grew up playing the everliving life out of Castle Crashers, don’t overlook this one. It’s different enough not to fully replace the love of your life, but it’s an excellent addition to the “adorable knights beating the crap out of everything they encounter” genre titles like Castle Crashers popularized. It works fantastic in this 2.5D style, and I’m surprised nobody has really tried this before. [Highly Recommended]

What could have been a lazy cash-in title turned out to be one of the most feature-packed, content-rich, and genuinely best-feeling cozy games I’ve ever played. No matter what type of player you are, there’s something to love about the cozy vibes on display here. [Highly Recommended]

It’s such a beautiful world to explore, and its characters all feel so alive. As long as Yellow Brick Games can follow through with updates to fix the core complaints? Eternal Strands has everything required to be a winner. It just needs that extra coat of polish to really bring out its true potential. [Recommended]

The cohesive stealth elements, combined with great stories and hammy B-Movie voice acting, make them feel right at home in my library. [Strongly Recommended]

Orcs Must Die! Deathtrap is chaotic fun, just like the previous entries into the franchise. However, by taking plenty of new risks and offering plenty of rewards for players willing to stick it out through the difficulty spikes, there’s an extremely rewarding and satisfying game here. Visually great, extremely chaotic, and well-optimized, Orcs Must Die: Deathtrap is a great evolution for the franchise and gives us a better picture of how future games may play out. Honestly? This may be the best one yet. [Strongly recommmended]

For those about to play Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth for the first time, enjoy the ride. You’ll find out why it’s one of the highest-rated games of 2024. Those who played the initial PlayStation 5 release last year, well, some games truly are worth buying twice. [Highly Recommended]

It offers plenty to love for those invested in the series since the start. I didn’t know what to expect when I jumped in for the first time. But I know I didn’t expect a game that was going to grip me so tightly and not let go. When I’m not playing Dynasty Warriors: Origins, I’m thinking about playing Dynasty Warriors: Origins. And that’s a claim I did not expect to make in 2025. [Highly Recommended]

Alien: Rogue Incursion took me by surprise. I was expecting a shoddy half-baked experience that tried to profit off of the Alien license. Instead, I was treated to one of the best VR experiences I’ve had since jumping into the medium. Some games just benefit from the use of VR in ways that you can’t experience by playing on a flat screen. Alien: Rogue Incursion is one of them. Combining the tense horror that Alien is known for with incredible visuals and interactivity, it’s a must-play for fans of the franchise. And even for those who may not be as tuned into it as they’d like to be. [Recommended]

It’s got an interesting narrative that goes off into some unknown territory. While I’m sad I didn’t get to pilot the ship at any point, it doesn’t make Flint: Treasure of Oblivion any less of a great addition to an already fantastic genre. If you’ve been looking for a fun new pirate game to play after a year of disappointing entries, be sure to check this one out. [Recommended]

I like how funny the writing is, especially for the battle droids, who are filled with seemingly endless one-liners mulling over their cursed existence. I like how naturalistic the platforming is, as the game makes a genuine attempt to hide its exploration tells in the environment, rather than spilling yellow paint everywhere. And I always like parrying an enemy four times in a row, breaking their stamina, and going to town with a goddamn glowing energy sword.

'Otxo' is a twin-stick shooter about revenge and expertly choreographed, improvisational violence.

Everspace 2 manages to meld two radically different modes of combat, becoming one of the best space shooters in years.

The Great War: Western Front is a small game about a big topic that uses clever abstractions to keep things simple to understand and quick to play. It achieves a lot with a couple good ideas, but as the game goes on and it attempts to show how the war evolved even as its stalemate persisted, it needs more ideas and better execution than it brings to the table. Implying more evolution and development than it truly depicts, The Great War: Western Front ends up being a pleasant and convenient wargame but falls short of being a great one.

It’s a beautifully weird system, one I’m not entirely convinced Nintendo and Retro Studios will have the confidence to adopt with the upcoming Metroid Prime 4. It’s one thing to ask players to marinate in the tension of a video game whose design is from several decades ago, will they have the courage to do so today? I hope so. What is Metroid, if not asking the player to take a leap of faith on themselves? The future is unknown, but the past is present here. And it’s a reminder that not all change is good when it comes to re-releases. Metroid Prime feels awkward—and it’s better for it.

This remake is a celebration of the past, and does not view it, and what hindsight often does to it, with contempt. It stands on the shoulders of a gaming masterpiece, and tries to climb a little higher.