DeVuego

With my 100-percent playthrough clocking in at about five hours, Is This Seat Taken is a satisfying snack of a game. Complete with a chill soundtrack and a cute art style, it felt like a breath of fresh air. While I played it on PC, it would feel right at home on the go on its other platforms, Switch and mobile. It's an easy recommendation for anyone even slightly interested in puzzle games.

Ragebound is tough to complete and even harder to master, but it’s hardest to put down. It’s demanding with little frustration, engaging with few lulls, and ultimately, a reminder that while Ryu’s modern-day adventures can be great, there’s still Ki to be found in Ninja Gaiden’s original dimensions.

Neva’s immaculate presentation, enjoyable action, and moving narrative prop it up among 2024’s best indies. Despite boasting thrilling cinematic sequences and jaw-dropping visuals, Neva’s best moments are often its smallest: watching a relieved Alba call her furry friend after a brutal fight to share an affectionate and appreciative embrace.

When I rolled credits on Lords of the Fallen, I felt no joy aside from being happy I was done, which is a shame because its first half left me excited for what was yet to come. A beautiful world, distinctive two-realm mechanics, excellent voice acting, and combat that feels good when not over-encumbered by enemies and artificial challenge, create a solid bedrock. But Lords of the Fallen fails to impress beyond that, instead growing more and more frustrating the further into Mournstead adventurers travel.

At several points in my lengthy journey through the Gothic delight that is Blasphemous 2, I worried the monstrous foe in front of me would spell an end to my journey. But without these frequent frustrations, the triumphs wouldn’t be as great. Blasphemous 2 takes inspiration from those that came before it, but by intertwining a gorgeous art style, enticing exploration, and rewarding combat, it rises above the horde of Castlevania-inspired action titles.

After Us poses some well-tread but timely questions about our impact on the world and its living things. However, optional discoveries throughout the game suggest that Piccolo is trying to present a slightly more ambivalent take on the subject. Some of that is best left for the player to discover for themselves. I recommend After Us strongly as a piece of visual artistry. It’s less successful as an interactive experience, but none of its problems are so glaring that it should dissuade someone from discovering its striking and haunting world.

Temtem may look like a copycat on its surface, but its deviations from the Pokémon formula pay off considerably. With unique battling elements and an engaging MMO structure, Temtem evolves as its own experience and offers a vast, challenging adventure that even those without a Nintendo console can enjoy.

The good news is future updates can address most of my more minor gripes, but the game is an unbalanced mess at release. Developer Saber Interactive’s commitment to fan service is commendable, and die-hard Evil Dead fans will find this release enjoyable. However, it’s hard to see the lasting appeal for the rest of us. 

After 19 years, Nintendo finally delivers an official sequel to Metroid Fusion that concludes Samus Aran's lifelong battle with a race of deadly alien organisms.

Call of the Sea kept me hooked from beginning to end, making it a voyage worth embarking on. I could have gotten lost on that island and solved puzzles for double of its actual running time (about six hours), but the game spends as much time as it needs to spin its tale and test your noggin. This is one island worth getting marooned on.

Even with some stumbles, Arise is a game that knows what it wants to communicate, and does so with delicacy and sensitivity. I’ve found individual scenes coming back to mind frequently since I completed the game, most notably the moving sequence that closes the game. Accept the dilemma of a few bad jumping sequences, and push toward the emotional core, as this simple story has a lot of wisdom to share. 

With permadeath and razor-sharp margins for error, the title caters to RTS veterans and survivalists hungry for challenge

They Are Billions is an interesting mashup of classic RTS, tower defense, and survival that successfully conjures up that “one more game” feel, assuming you can persevere through countless defeats.

At the time of this writing, the PS4 and Xbox One versions lack the campaign mode you can find in the PC iteration. While this isn’t a huge detriment (the campaign is not the main draw), the control schemes are unwieldy on a console controller. You can alleviate this by using a mouse and keyboard on your console setup, but your goal should be to experience the title on PC.

While NPC characters ask you for specific hauls of food, you don’t really interact with other characters. You also don’t travel to any towns – it’s all about your farm and making it bigger. That alone is more than enough to satisfy. I am having a blast playing this game with my daughter, and it’s just nice to see a game that doesn’t make you stress in any way. Just sit back, relax, and watch the fields grow.

Gris’ story is open to a range of interpretations, and it’s not important that you arrive at a specific meaning. Instead, in creating a well-constructed game, developer Nomada Studio has laid the foundations by which you can find your own sight and voice.

Crossing Souls is a inventive thrill ride that embraces clever, varied gameplay and heartfelt storytelling to coalesce into a gem of a game. As someone rarely wooed by ‘80s nostalgia grabs, I found an enchanting world worth exploring in this great adventure.

Despite some poor controls for minigames, The Red Strings Club conceptually flourishes, with fascinating subject matter, well-written characters, and unique approaches to gameplay. I enjoyed feeling like a puppeteer as I made others do my bidding by exploiting their emotions or deceiving them through phone calls. However, these actions begged a bigger question: Was I just as bad as the mega corporation? Was I playing god? The Red Strings Club had me pondering these moral questions for days.

Samus’ last 2D adventure was in 2004 with the GBA release Metroid: Zero Mission, which was a remake of the original Metroid. Despite the lengthy hiatus between 2D entries, I was initially disappointed to hear that MercurySteam’s Metroid project was another remake. However, Samus Returns has enough unique content that it feels like a worthy sequel. MercurySteam’s first outing with the franchise is also different enough from the recent fan remake AM2R, so fans shouldn’t hesitate to pick up this rare gem. This might be Samus’ first 2D adventure in more than a dozen years, but it’s a great reminder of why we fell in love with the franchise in the first place.

Rime’s world and story are where it shines. It pulls the player through strange seemingly disconnected environments, slowly revealing its true meaning as you move deeper. In the end, everything is sharply pulled into focus with a simple, but dramatic final story revelation and level. It made me want to replay the game from my new perspective and even seek out the collectibles I had earlier written off as unnecessary. Many elements of Rime are familiar, but it is an effective use of the medium and expertly builds up to (and executes) its cathartic finale.

The Sexy Brutale’s repetitive nature bogs down what is otherwise a clever title. Tequila Works’ cast of characters are lovably eccentric and its puzzles are consistently rewarding. Unfortunately, The Sexy Brutale confirms one of the overlooked flaws of time travel: reliving the same day repeatedly can be tedious.

I’m sad that my enthusiasm for Rise & Shine dropped so thoroughly during my playthrough, because it’s not all bad. My favorite parts are the ones that lean heavily on puzzle-solving, like using your radio-controlled bullets to avoid incoming fire and hit switches. The art direction is also impressive, with colorful hand-drawn characters and landscapes that make the action pop. I even liked some of the nods to other games, including characters who are only as different from Mario, Link, and Marcus Fenix as law requires. However, even these references get stale as you realize that the world has no identity of its own; it’s just an amalgam of game industry winks and nudges. That kind of erosion sums up my feelings about Rise & Shine as a whole; it feels clever and promising at first, but doesn’t change its approach when the formula wears thin.

That’s ultimately the problem with Lords of Shadow 2. This shambling monstrosity is composed of chunks from other, better games. Rather than blend them together into something new like its predecessor attempted, this one just feels like a patchwork mess.

Mirror of Fate is a worthwhile endeavor for any 3DS owner, and should make Castlevania fans consider picking up the handheld if they don’t have one already. The impressive cutscenes flesh out the Lords of Shadow fiction with fun twists, and should be required reading before Lords of Shadow 2 arrives.

Creating a compelling zombie game in a generation with too many of them is a hard task. Tequila Works manages to do this while successfully merging it with the unlikely action-platforming genre. The lame narrative and lack of consistent challenge can’t overshadow the fun I had with Deadlight. I’m crossing my fingers for a sequel.

Castlevania takes a few hours to get rolling, but once it sinks its fangs in you'll be absorbed. Don't let the deluge of fall releases or the 3D Castlevania stigma keep you from this amazing quest.

The good news is that the game, as dull as it gets, doesn't last for more than five hours. It's quick and dirty. 

If I had more space I could detail the game's numerous flaws in control, design, and AI, but I don't. Thank God.

I really have a hard time deciding what I hate more about this game: Is it the horribly grating characters and voices, the lame setting, or the incredibly sticky flight controls? 

The rigs get hung up on everything from pylons to small picket fences, tip easily, and generally bounce all over the damn place like superballs.

Great characters, decently designed puzzles, and nifty graphics.

I realized that playing this game is a little like having a girlfriend: You experience brief periods of joy followed by extended intervals of utter confusion. 

If broken gameplay mechanics and community college acting didn’t weigh down the game, it might actually be worthwhile.