DeVuego

Neva is love, Neva is life, and also a fun-if-brief visual splendour to boot.

You won’t forget the Catholic gothic imagery from the twisted minds of The Game Kitchen once you’re done with 14 hours of this lovingly-crafted title. Believe me, I still have that image of a woman’s arm slowly being mutilated by tiny cherubs bit by bit as the story progresses with a grotesque final form seared in my mind. And also that one giant bearded guy breastfeeding his baby. That’s a sight that will haunt me in my sleep.

Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound is one the best 2D action game throwbacks that's long overdue, given the last Ninja Gaiden game was back in 2014, a 3D action title, and utter dogs***. It's beautiful, plays great and has spot-on controls, it's accommodating yet challenging, has a Hard mode that will test your mettle; there's a lot to love for old-school ninja fans out there. In short, the whole 2D pixel-savvy action-heavy package that utterly delights. Even with some odd bugs here and there, Sega's ninja efforts may have their work cut out for them thanks to this pseudo-indie effort.

[E]xpect the wild and wacky with this nod to Earthbound and Guitar Hero, mashed up for one surreal 2D-and-3D mesh indie experience you won't forget anytime soon. Just don't expect a straight answer out of it.

The Knight Witch can join the ranks of indie Soulslike & search action titles as one of this year’s more challenging offerings. You’ll die countless times getting the hang of the game’s bullet hell patterns, but at the same time find joy and satisfaction in defeating the opposition with your correct choice of Spell Cards and playstyle. If the developers can iron out its difficulty curve and some of its technical kinks like the load times when starting the game and also some weird controller bugs, then we may have another dark horse of 2022’s indie offerings to go alongside Souldiers. 

MercurySteam has a lot going for with Blades of Fire despite its drawn-out story and path that does wear out its welcome over time. While not exactly the most engrossing of all action RPGs with Dark Souls DNA, Blades of Fire is still worthy of your time due to its approach to weapons-crafting and nuances to its combat system.