Nathan Hermanson

“There's a reason a game like ILA: A Frosty Glide has been prominent at events like Wholesome Directs, and it's apparent from the moment you put your hands on it. It's an incredible ambassador for the cozy game movement, enveloping its players in the warm blanket of good movement, lo-fi music, and a self-empowering narrative. If you're looking for a game to get you right into that winter mood, look no further.”

“Undusted: Letters from the Past is a special little project that allows you to excavate someone else's memories through cleaning objects, and possibly dust off a few of your own throughout this tactile and patient process. Its satisfying and ASMR-inspired gameplay is addictive, and its emotional arc will speak to many. 5minlabs has a gem on its hands — one that's been patiently polished to a shine.”

“Eclipsium is a full-body gaming experience: a horror that overwhelms the senses, thrives in the incomprehensible and unexplained, and is built around innately tense situations. It's beautiful. It's nerve-wracking. It's the kind of work I can't wait to see more of.”

“Jenny, AP, Jie, Violet, and Ken provide a package so genuinely aligned in message, tone, and style that the experience hits in almost magical ways. Each of its crunchy-satisfying sound effects makes the minigames all the more enjoyable. The '90s vibey chiptune soundtrack from coda amplifies the chaos of our teenage try-hard's life up to 11. And Jenny and Jie's art is the sealing piece that makes the cutesy-chaotic charm of her complicated life so enjoyable to watch unfold. Consume Me is a stunning achievement in transporting the player into another's shoes. And in remembering how impossibly rude we are to ourselves when we're young. It'll make you laugh, cry, and cringe. It'll test your patience and force you to reflect on the same kinds of life choices you make/have made/and will still make. It is the kind of art piece that uses all the trappings of the medium to transcend into something else entirely.”

“Creepy Redneck Dinosaur Mansion 1 Re-Raptored is a stunning proof of concept for Strange Scaffold's Project Share initiative, showcasing how indies may be able to keep franchises alive and uplift smaller teams while going out to build new things. It's the kind of sequel that offers more of what you loved the first time — even if it's shorter than you'd hope and doesn't delve as deep. And it's a brilliant debut from a team I can't wait to see more from. If how quickly this game came about is any sign, we might just be playing Creepy Redneck Dinosaur Mansion 2 The Dinofinitive Edition in just a few weeks. So stay eatin' good, CRDM fans: a franchise is building.”

“Arctic Awakening is a stumper of a game, one that has a clear vision for what it wants to be but stumbles in its execution. I want to believe this game will reach its potential with time, and that this small team will keep making ambitious games. While Arctic Awakening sometimes left me feeling frosty, there's a definite spark that shines through.”

“By the end of my time with the game, I felt grateful tears welling up — for being able to experience what Henry had to offer and for how it helped me reflect on my own life. It is a simple little thing, not unlike Time Flies, another 2025 favorite which offers a similar runtime and mini puzzle box format. But Henry Halfhead made me feel more and smile more than many other games have this year. So I've got half a mind (get it?) to say you've got to give this game a try if you've still got whimsy in your heart — or if you're looking for a gateway to finding more of it.”

“The Drifter is part of a class of modern classics for point and clicks, joining 2025's other great adventure game, Old Skies, in both honoring and advancing the genre. With a compelling, tension-filled narrative and a cinematic presentation style, it becomes one of my easiest recommendations — not only as one of the best games this year but as an all-time point and click must-play.”

“Even as someone who finds video games to be an incredibly worthwhile way to spend my time, I find myself falling victim to the "Is it long enough? Is it too long?" ruminating that plagues the industry today. As I've gotten older, that conversation has shifted, though. If it was two hours or two hundred, I didn't care. It's more about how the time spent felt. We've only got so much of it, after all. And even as it brought a newly heightened sense of my own ever-ticking life clock, I found that Time Flies was time well spent.”

“Popucom is an absolute delight and one of the best co-op games we've played in years. It stands atop the mountain alongside experiences like Split Fiction and Portal 2. With equally enjoyable battles and puzzles, an incredible aesthetic design, and an affordable price point, Hypergryph has delivered one of the surprise hits of the year.”

“Over the years, I've played hundreds of dime-a-dozen deckbuilding roguelikes that try to achieve what the best in the genre have pulled off. Most of the time, they get a quick little nod out of me, an "oh that's neat," and then I move on. StarVaders is a unique game that not only captures that special energy that titans like Slay the Spire and Monster Train have, but even finds ways to take a few steps forward and chart its own place alongside them as a new standout of the genre.”

“Creepy Redneck Dinosaur Mansion 3 is a personification of both the joy and the frustration of game development in an industry that seems happy to toss developers aside with regularity. When that happens, games like CRDM3 can end up forgotten, their characters left to wander empty halls. But when passionate folks like the teams at Strange Scaffold and Frosty Pop fight for the marvelously strange ideas, for the oddball characters, and for match-3 games, a clever little project just might make it to your PC against the odds. P.S. Justice for Dog Huncan.”

“Dead Letter Dept. is an indisputable hit for the indie horror scene, and it succeeds by trying something new. By turning the familiar frightening, Belief Engine has a game that I'd recommend to anyone. Not everyone can handle the rigorous inventory management of a survival horror game. Not everyone can stomach the jump scares that the genre usually employs. ... But everyone types.”

“Spirit Swap: Lo-fi Beats to Match-3 To is everything I could have asked for in a return to Panel de Pon match-3 gaming — and then some. It reminded me how purely enjoyable this style of puzzle gaming can be and how powerful an intentional and purposefully joyful narrative can be, especially spearheaded by a BIPOC, trans/nonbinary, and queer team. If you're a fan of Tetris Attack, Panel de Pon, or match-3 in general, Spirit Swap is a must-try. If you're unsure but find the narrative and the hotties compelling, give it a shot anyway and maybe discover love in a genre you never expected. What a way to kick off 2025. See you on the swappin' battlefields.”

“Uncle Chop's Rocket Shop is a especially satisfying routine game that emulates the best bits of furniture building and tech troubleshooting to provide a roguelike you'll feel is worth mastering. It's silly but narratively dense. It's randomized but always feels intentional in its design. And I just can't stop thinking about Wilbur and his weird batch of rocket ship pals. If you're the type to greedily clap your hands together at the sight of a hefty manual, then a gig at Uncle Chop's is for you.”

“Apartment Story builds tension stronger than many other games, but the downtime sometimes leads to it fizzling out. It tells a story about topics worth exploring deeper, but barely skims the surface. I felt that it had only begun to explore its potential in the end. Still, it doesn't overstay its welcome and is good for a single-sitting playthrough, which I always appreciate. If you're keen to explore the more experimental side of indie gaming, give Apartment Story a go. I think Blue Rider Interactive has something and I am fascinated to see where they go next.”

“The Bookwalker: Thief of Tales is a complicated read. It's got a fascinating story set in a series of engaging worlds, but actually interacting with it all is a little simpler than imagined. Its story focus is regularly undermined by unnecessary combat sequences that are functionally fine but a drag on the game's pace. But on the other hand, the story's surprising emotional resonance and relationship-driven experience are worth seeing through to the end. Like some of your favorite books from your youth, The Bookwalker: Thief of Tales has some nagging parts that hold it back from wholehearted recommendation, but the effect it had on me is strong enough that I'll fight for it anyway. DO MY BEST did their best — and came out the other end with a special kind of narrative experience that I think most people will find a lot to love in.”

“The Jackbox Survey Scramble, despite technically being one game and one main concept, feels just as full and engaging as a proper Party Pack, and that's thanks to the simplicity of its ideas. There's a reason Family Feud persists. Trivia that asks you to make observations about the world around you is always enjoyable, because it makes you feel connected, it enlightens you to things you might not have considered (people really like their bosses these days), and feels like the kind of thing anybody can hop into and enjoy. We missed the personality of other Jackbox games at times, but keeping the data up front and center was the right choice in the end. But don't worry, Survey Scramble has a banger of an outro song still! As long as content is added (we did run into a few repeat questions) and those continued modes and data refreshes keep it interesting, we're ready to loop this into party nights from here on out.”

“Été clearly has something special inside of it. Despite a few technical hiccups and limitations, its bones are loaded with some genuine creativity. It can spark inspiration and joy in the process of slowing down, taking in the details, exploring a community, and expressing yourself with an approachable (but imperfect) creative tool. But a few strange decisions hold it back from ever achieving the brilliance it desires. What's there is good, but it could have been great. For those willing to embrace its imperfections, there's plenty of beauty to discover, so consider dabbling in Été's watercolors and witnessing the stunning artwork of Impossible's take on Montreal.”

“The Jackbox Naughty Pack is a fascinating experiment that, while we had a lot of fun with it, we couldn't help but feel was missing something. The lightness of the pack certainly had a lot to do with it. Three games in a Jackbox pack is way more noticeable than you'd expect. And the single note theming lost its appeal for us quicker than we expected. That said, Jackbox Naughty Pack is a pack best suited for very specific scenarios. When the vibes are just right and the company you keep is just as unhinged as you, break out the Naughty Pack and debate the preferred sexual positions of various type of nuts (THE FOOD) with your friends and have a good time. Just don't invite Uncle Ed over to play this version of "the game with the phones." You'll be much happier, I promise.”