Cass Barkman

“The Rogue Prince of Persia is both a fantastic Prince of Persia game and a brilliant roguelite. Evil Empire draws on the DNA of Dead Cells to make a game that offers a compelling combination of platforming and combat, robust roguelite systems, and an understanding of the underlying rhythms of action games. It's as enthralling to watch and listen to as it is to play.”

“While its spoofing of the management sim lacks bite and its cast of characters is a tad thin, Discounty is otherwise an interesting debut title. Rearranging and optimising the layout of its titular supermarket is simple but unnervingly satisfying, and its daily loop makes for an addictive trip down the pixelated produce aisle, even if I can't help but be disappointed by the ambition its story lost along the way.”

“The King is Watching is a satisfying, if slightly homogeneous, tetris-like roguelite base builder. While it struggles a bit with variety and uneven meta-progression, its gaze mechanic is a simple and clean hook that, alongside a creative setting and range of kings, makes for an almost comforting building manager run after run. The only problem is, that may not be enough to steal player's gaze away from the wealth of other roguelikes it's competing with this year.”

“Against the Storm's genre hybridity does jettison some of the base pleasures of the city builder, but otherwise, Eremite Games has crafted a compelling 'just one more settlement' roguelike gameplay loop. With the combination of a beautiful and familiar fantasy aesthetic, strong foundational mechanics with a lot of variety, and a remarkably intuitive adaptation from its PC roots to a controller, Against the Storm is an assured and accomplished console port.”

“Monster Train 2 is a roguelike deckbuilder par excellence. Its design makes it clear that developer Shiny Shoe has a deep understanding and love of what is so enthralling about this particular subgenre and doubles down. It's carriage after carriage of big numbers, satisfying combos, dizzying synergies and new tactical possibilities that have kept me tied to the tracks for dozens of hours already, and will likely haul away dozens more in my future.”

“Despelote beautifully captures the mundane but rich childhood experience of play and sport through its gentle slice-of-life narrative. Via its stellar first-person soccer mechanics, intimate scope, and outstanding hand-made visual stylings, it succeeds at capturing a personal autobiographical sense of Ecuador and the quietly affecting experiences of youth.”

“Warside is like an old family car (tank?). Familiar, sturdy, with a solid engine that will get you where you need to go, but with no frills and a rusty, barebones exterior. While its core tactical systems and pixel art aesthetics are entertaining and likely to satisfy subgenre fans, they remain underserved by a repetitive campaign, rough story and lack of supporting modes and features.”

“A touching fable of companionship, Koira is a strong debut title whose thoughtful design belies its simple presentation. Its charming use of music over dialogue, affection for small, quiet moments and simple but clever mechanics create an affecting journey through and with nature.”

“It feels unfair to be so punishing to a studio's debut game. Clearly, there is some affection for the genres Morkull Ragast's Rage is playing within here, and the hand-drawn art style is admirable and something I wish more games sought to emulate. But the sheer lack of polish and mediocrity of its game systems, metafictional elements and overall presentation left me raging at the Ragast, and not in the way I suspect the developers intended.”

“The Stone of Madness feels like an admirable gamble of a new direction for The Game Kitchen, and one that mostly pays off. Besides the frustrations with the stealth, sanity system and inconsistent tone, its core prison break loop remains a satisfying one, and the monastery's environmental design and artistic direction make it a compelling playground to explore.”