EINHANDER What a feast for the eyes and ears. One of the most gorgeous PS1 games, with a rocking soundtrack to back it up. I love the design of the ship and the way it interacts with the weapon pickups, truly cool as hell. It feels like it would be impossible without save states, but I still love it

MOLDRISE Moldrise mixes the vibes and setting of Look Outside with the structure of Outer Wilds, but does it less than 2 hours. While I do wish there was bit more because of how much I was enjoying it, I did appreciate its brevity. Not everything needs to be a 20+ hour epic

APOCALYPSE This is one of the dumbest games I’ve played but god it rules. A very cinematic take on the twin stick shooter genre with the voice and likeness of Bruce Willis at a time when celebrities weren’t really in games like this. Feels like a lost 90s Image comic (complimentary)

THE INCIDENT AT GALLEY HOUSE Another clever mystery game from Evil Trout, this time with an excellent tactile machine that drives the action. If you like Obra Dinn-likes, this spooky gothic tale will be sure to draw you in and engage your notebook-game brain

DOOM: THE DARK AGES | REVELATIONS It’s a damn shame that they gutted id the way they did, because it’s a great follow up to Dark Ages that adds in more Eternal-like movement with a new Spear weapon. The cutscenes still feel oddly self serious, but the level and encounter design are still top notch

UNHINGED (NETFLIX) An interesting experiment in gaming though Netflix that has you using your phone to interact with the action, sometimes even using it as the character’s own phone. While the novelty is there, the experience overall is a bit thin and generic, but at 30 min it’s worth a shot!

SUPER METROID I am not very good at Metroidvanias, so I’m am trying to cure that by going back to the source. What a great game with a shocking amount of atmosphere. Love how well it brings together mechanics, sound, level design and narrative so effortlessly. I’m still not an expert, but I loved it

007 FIRST LIGHT One of the best "playable blockbusters" I've played in a long time. IOI took what worked in Hitman and put it into a more linear structure, while still giving you options to play your way. I was extremely surprised at how engrossed I was in the narrative and characters. Great stuff.

EARTHBOUND Wow, it's really hard to put up with a lot of very old JRPG mechanics 30 years later. If it has problems that were solved by Super Mario RPG, I have a lot of trouble pushing through. That said, it's a charming game with a great ending, even if it it's probably a third too long

SHADOW OF THE COLOSSUS While so many modern games do the cool thing in the cutscenes, this is the type of game that gives YOU the tools to do some exciting action with the game's mechanics. Obviously there are some frustration points, but when this game clicks, it's some of the best gaming out there

PRAGMATA It's not the most involved narrative, but the core relationship is so well done, with tons of personality. The combat is rock solid, creating a perfect twist on standard third person shooting that continues introducing new concepts until the end. A perfect summer blockbuster of a game.

THE BACKROOMS (PUPPET COMBO) It's always nice to see a Puppet Combo game released on consoles so a wider audience can get their hands on it, but this was a bit of a mixed bag. The atmosphere is really great, but it feels like it didn't really go anywhere with it, stopping just when it got good.

DIABLO IV: LORD OF HATRED This was my first foray into the franchise, and while I don't think this genre is for me, I do appreciate the extremely polished narrative and surprising spectacle of battles. I prefer games to be a little more execution focused than build focused, but I was happy to try it

SAROS As someone who thought Returnal's structure was too punishing, Saros fixes that without losing what made its predecessor great. The game feel is unmatched, moving at blistering speeds through bullet hell waves with some of the best third person shooting. Surreal, thrilling, AAA at its best

FORBIDDEN SOLITAIRE A clever mix of retro aesthetics and a twist on Solitaire. I feel like it runs out of gameplay ideas before the end of the six hour runtime, but it's still a charming little snack of a game that oozes with a style that I absolutely vibe with.

Was so happy that I finally got to see Chime, and bonus that the feature it was paired with, Serpent's Path, was also good.

VAMPIRE CRAWLERS Vampire Crawlers takes all the things that worked about Vampires Survivors and translates them into deckbuilder format, and it works great! Definitely going to be my go to Steam Deck roguelike for a while.

LEGACY OF KAIN: ASCENDANCE I was really into Soul Reavers back in the day, but this one was a big disappointment. The shift to 2D was a good idea, but it seemed like the execution was barebones. Every mechanic seemed underbaked, and the level design never found ways to add interesting complexity.

HALF-LIFE While it obviously shows its age and ends with its worst content, this is still a great experience, even playing it for the first time in 2026. There are so many great set pieces it creates, and the enemy AI is honestly still extremely impressive. Glad I finally got around to it!

JOHN CARPENTER'S TOXIC COMMANDO They do some cool stuff with open maps and vehicles, but other than that this is a pretty standard zombie co-op shooter. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but with only nine maps, it doesn't exactly do much to set itself apart from the crowd in a meaningful way.

No, Anarchy Rulz

CRABMEAT A short little narrative game that both didn't feel short enough and didn't feel narrative enough. There's some clever process going on here, but not enough subversion to keep it interesting throughout.

FATAL FRAME II REMAKE In attempting to add depth to the clever kill-ghosts-with-a-camera gimmick, they made the combat tedious and overly long, especially early on. Thankfully, a great atmosphere and creepy story elevate the rest of the game. Might have to give the original a try at some point.

GOD OF WAR (2018) A very good game in the Sony Cinematic House Style. The action is strong, even if the encounter design doesn't quite match up to it, but the boss fights that mix gameplay and cutscenes were a real standout. Definitely had some pacing issues, but I appreciated the more mature tone

RESIDENT EVIL REQUIEM Combines the best of third person action RE with the best of first person horror RE, creating a celebration of the series' history. While it does revel in nostalgia a bit too much at times, the twists to zombies and clever level design make this one another hit for the series

SCARLET HOLLOW (CHAPTER 1-5) It should be no surprise that that devs behind Slay the Princess have another banger visual novel. Scarlet Hollow not only has an incredible narrative filled with well rounded characters, but also has a staggering amount of branching paths based on meaningful choices