With the strong presentation, Noreya: The Gold Project might draw you in, but be aware of some of the clunkiness that gets delivered to you regardless of your taste on 2D side scroller and platformer games. Luckily, the current times allow you to reach out to developers and give your feedback too, so depending on some of the community requests, some problems we mentioned earlier can be reduced or completely wiped out in the future.
For what stands, it is just better to go back and play the original The Movies game as it provides more content and freedom over players’ choices. As for Blockbuster Inc., I’d say there is still time for it to be worked on before a full release. The mix of lacking options and ease of dominating the whole business might just throw off people right away. Since there are a very small amount of people who are working on pushing updates for Blockbuster Inc., it might take some time until it provides a worthy time to invest your time in, but for now, it is better to just stick to originals.
The Rogue Prince of Persia is far away from being done at this rate. It is currently in early access and the developer team, Evil Empire, pretty much listens to the feedback of the players. In fact, they are readying up some nice updates for a few issues, especially about slowdowns and getting the game optimized better. The game itself is fun if you are very much keen to playing 2D roguelike beat ‘em ups, but if you haven’t dived into the roguelike craze since it started, you might have problems getting used to how it plays and reacts to your choices.
With its endless possibilities of different runs and expansive lore, Heading Out is worthy of your try. The game might be just hard to grasp right out of the gate, but since it gives the player a lot of chances to redeem themselves, getting used to Heading Out takes a bit of time and that is completely fine. While it might not fulfill your needs for an action-packed roguelike game, the narrative aspects of it will surely deliver some quality time. Definitely worthy of a checkout if you are a fan of both roguelikes and driving games.
There is no need to get Mutant Ninja Turtles Arcade: Wrath of the Mutants unless you really like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles or you are one of the very small batch of people who enjoyed this game on the arcade and wanted to play in your own home for some reason.
Although Phantom Fury is lacking in some places, the overall presentation and gameplay feel right about home. With its high-quality delivery of gameplay, you can see that the developers have thought of every single detail while creating a better sequel, and Phantom Fury easily manages to be one of the better boomer shooter titles to grab the attention of many, well, boomers who love first-person shooter games.
Ereban: Shadow Legacy is a fun and well-crafted stealth game that would eventually draw non-stealth game enthusiasts. It’s not even that tactical and breakdowns between stealth sections give a breather to the player, making it a narrative action game rather than a serious stealth game where you have to save a president or something. Sure, some bugs did occur during my gameplay, such as falling through the map geometry or watching Ayana getting clipped while crouching on stairs.
Thanks to One Last Breath’s interest in reviving this sort-of-forgotten subgenre, it was a refresher, at least for me. That doesn’t totally mean One Last Breath was a bit tedious to go to due to the simple puzzles, but hey, it was at least trying to put out an important message.
Between Horizons ends up being a nice proof of the “It isn’t broken, don’t fix it.” mentality, where the developers expanded what they knew about the detective genre. The game does not punish you for skipping some of the important bits while researching and rewards you for being right about your suspicions, which creates an even ground for both experienced and inexperienced players. If you are looking for a detective game with lots of in-depth and happen to have a fair share of clues to follow, then you should definitely check out Between Horizons‘ detailed adventure.
Outcast – A New Beginning came as a surprise as one of the releases for 2024. Although Appeal hinted at the sequel at certain points, it never caught my attention until now, of course. The graphics, lore, and story are pretty much settled in the Adelpha universe, and fluent gameplay pushes you to learn more about the story of natives and Cutter himself.
Zoria: Age of Shattering follows the rules of the staple medieval RPGs in the market, which is absolutely fine. The charm of the overworld and replay value in the game are immensely high, but some quality control might have led to a polished release. In terms of gameplay, it feels close to home but then feels clunky at times to put you off, so it’s better to approach Zoria’s world with a bit of a pinch of salt into your inventory.
Expeditions: A MudRunner Game is ultimately what players have known the MudRunner series for. And it is very great to see them employ the “If it isn’t broken, don’t fix it.” mentality, where the game is already fun and engaging enough that it doesn’t require any changes to its core approach to off-roading. You can still find excitement and planning yourself ahead with the title and it’s ultimately one of the best simulators for the specific genre of automotive fans. It is highly recommended that give Expeditions: A MudRunner Game a shot if you like to play dirty- I mean, in the mud and rain of course.
With its short playtime filled with well-done gameplay, humor, and execution, Anomaly Agent is worthy of your time to go through, even if there are some lackluster moments you’d come across. I had to seriously sit down and play through whether it provides what it advertises, and I must say it is impressive for a newly established company. However, expectations should not be stretched to the moon as the gameplay does not bring anything new to that table unless you are below the said table, which means go ahead, absolutely try it.
BlazBlue Entropy Effect is quite a solid entry for the Roguelike genre. With a large number of characters to master, lots of skills to unlock, and properly generated runs every time, it plays like any other roguelike out there, but at least the quality you come across in this title is properly polished. I must remind you that the game is currently in Early Access, meaning the developers are still working on implementing new stuff and improving the game further, so you can expect it to become even more polished.
THE FINALS have brought some fresh vibes to the market, and people seem to like it for a good reason. It is dynamic, engaging, and is on the right path to provide players with content. Although some aspects do require focusing, like cheaters, the game itself already showcases great promise in upcoming years and has no way of being irrelevant soon.
House Flipper 2 clearly defines "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." The gameplay does not differentiate itself from the first game, yet people will find it more appealing as it uses the same formula as the first game. House Flipper 2 tends to be a facelift of the series' debut title, fancier graphics, and more up-to-date mechanics, and combined with a classic playstyle, it is still worth getting. But hey, if you are still having fun with the first game, that is acceptable; you are not missing much by getting House Flipper 2 late, but it would be nice to get it after you finish your adventures in the original game.
Born of Bread is clearly a game made with passion that includes many stories to unwrap and silly business along with it. The charm that the game gives is utterly important, and while trying to defeat the villains, you understand that characters aren’t just characters. They feel like important beings rather than just 2D images. Well, maybe, except for our protagonist, he’s just bread. Sorry for the lack of bread puns, but maybe playing Born of Bread will inspire you to come up with your own- and, yes, you will also have a great time experiencing it.
Orten Was The Case is a highly well-thought title with lots of never-seen artistic choices. It is undoubtedly one of the indie games of the year that leans to the better side with its visual representation, sound quality, impressive puzzles, and take on the time loop style of gameplay. If you consider yourself a veteran of ’90s story-ridden puzzle games, you could easily eat up Orten Was The Case, but if you are curious to check out the game, approach it with a pinch of salt.
Dreamworks All-Star Kart Racing is another go at the notorious kart genre, hoping to get things right. In some aspects, it does, but in some certain places, it fails the deliver to make it a worthwhile experience. The graphics, kart customization, and the interaction between characters are great.
Little Goody Two Shoes is a very cute RPG that holds quite a lot of secrets, and it will undoubtedly be worth your time to check out. It is uncommon to see a blend of different approach styles, but once in a blue moon, it appears and drops a unique experience. This title is undoubtedly one of them, and if you are looking for a JRPG that will invest your time in, I would say look no further than Little Goody Two Shoes.