Erik Hodges

“I Hate This Place has an incredible setting and fun enough, if not all that impressive, survival and combat mechanics, but could do a better job of introducing players to its world and story. I think the game will certainly find an audience, and those players will likely find themselves drawn to the comic-book franchise the game is inspired by.”

“City Tales – Medieval Era is a fantastic city builder that takes its own relaxed approach. Its use of companions and its unique, satisfying building system allow you to create a massive, sprawling kingdom and appreciate some character-driven narrative along the way.”

“Confidential Killings didn’t always satisfy me with its exploration of its narrative or characters, but it still managed to be an excellent puzzle game, one that uses gritty noir storytelling and pulpy graphic novel visuals as presentation for its challenging brainteasers.”

“DuneCrawl is an exceptional open-world exploration game that allows players to indulge in the fantasy of piloting giant crab war machines. While lacking a bit in exciting progression mechanics and harder to engage with as a solo player, this game is otherwise solid all around and has an incredible fantasy world and visual aesthetic.”

“Terra Invicta puts the “grand” in grand strategy, offering experienced players a deeply involved strategy game that takes them from a shadow government to a space-faring superpower. That same depth creates a demanding learning curve, however, and the time commitment required may put some newcomers to the genre off.”

“Pioneers of Pagonia is a great city-building title, one which simplifies certain familiar aspects of the genre in order to better introduce its satisfyingly deep production chains and management aspects. Combining production, trade, exploration, and war, this charming city builder should provide the kind of depth genre veterans enjoy with enough accessibility for brand new players to feel just as welcome.”

“UNBEATABLE combines rhythm gaming with a heartfelt story and incredible characters. The title is punk throughout, both in its messaging and its nontraditional approach to storytelling, and at times feels more like an interactive music video than a video game. In the end, it truly is an “UNBEATABLE” experience.”

“She’s Leaving is a unique horror game with a strong premise, interesting narrative, atmospheric setting, and unique mechanics. However, said unique mechanics sort of lose their magic when you run into their limitations, something that can also be said about the game’s horror. While it feels like it could have been better with just a little more effort, She’s Leaving is still worth checking out for its story and setting alike.”

“Ayasa: Shadows of Silence is an artistic game with a dreamlike story that grows on you with its weirdness. However, the game lacks a certain level of polish expected in a launch title and needs more time.”

“While the game captures a certain sense of wonder, Of Ash and Steel is unreasonably unpolished and miserable to play. If the game were still in testing, I would call it ambitious, but changes still need to be made to the core experience and a lot of QA still needs to be done on what is being called a finished game.”

“A.I.L.A features an incredible first act filled with psychological horror and clever puzzles, making for one of the better horror games I’ve played. Everything after, however, is just a fine, bordering on boring and clanky action horror game that simply fails to be as good as what came before. Still worth a try if the game caught your interest, you just might find yourself disappointed after the first hour.”

“Mount and Blade II: Bannerlord – War Sails does everything a DLC for a game like this should. It doesn’t just add new mechanics to the game, but forever changes how the game is played, overhauling the entire experience into something fresh and exciting even for the most veteran of Bannerlord players.”

“Cross Blitz has only gotten better since I first played it in Early Access, improving upon its unique and fun-to-play core mechanics with over five hundred cards and even more ways to play. While the AI can seem to slow down during a match, creating a bit of a tedious drag, it was not enough to prevent my enjoyment of the game, which I easily recommend to anyone looking for a new Slay the Spire type deck builder with its own unique flavor.”

“News Tower is a rare kind of tycoon game, one that puts a lot of care and effort into simulating a very interesting and niche business. While the early game can feel slow and the loop might be repetitive for some, it’s otherwise a fun, detail-oriented simulation game with a decent amount of diversity in its progression systems and overall content, enough to keep you printing papers for hours.”

“The Sacred 2 Remaster is a half hearted attempt to update a game that felt kind of dated in its heyday. Beyond updated graphics and a new, buggy HUD, nothing has been done to actually remaster the title and improve upon its original flaws, with constant bugs, crashes, and problems persisting throughout. Simply put, it’s not worth your time, as a new player or a nostalgic returner.”

“Though its RNG inventory can be bloated and it doesn’t communicate information perfectly, Vivid World is a highly fun combination of several genres that stands out for its replayable, engaging gameplay loop and super unique identity.”

“Sanatorium – A Mental Asylum Simulator provides a unique coat of paint over a deckbuilding-style puzzle loop. That coat of paint is about as deep as the theme goes; however, the game unfortunately lacks a lot of immersive features or mechanics beyond color-matching cards. If you know what you’re getting into, it’s not a bad game, but the promise feels like more than what the title actually delivers, which also feels a bit like it should still be in Early Access.”

“Devil Jam has a great premise, fantastic art, and a fun mechanical twist on the survivors-like genre. However, it feels unfinished, providing not a whole lot of content and making players grind pretty hard to get what is there. Mechanically and narratively light, the game would be in a great spot for an Early Access release, but short of a full launch.”

“Farthest Frontier has its issues but still manages to be one of my new favorite city builders thanks to the sheer amount of depth in its economy and attention paid to gorgeous, expansive city building. Though it lacks some options in the logistics department and the UI is hard to look at, fans of the genre should find a title worth investing in with this deep colony builder.”

“Dreams of Another is a beautiful experience, albeit one that is sure to be polarizing. If you’re looking for a relaxing, thought-provoking, linear experience that feels like a virtual art exhibit, you’ll likely enjoy this game. For those looking for more of a traditional “game,” however, Dreams of Another can feel slow, repetitive, and is probably something you’d want to skip.”