Deckbuilding autobattler roguelite with some realtime combat elements - it’s such a genre-mash that it can be a bit hard to get your head around at first, and ultimately hard to decide if it works. Cool concept, art and atmosphere, but the core combat mechanic won’t be for everyone. The mix of autobattle with realtime interactivity sometimes means you spend more time waiting than calculating your next move. Interesting game though, and decently priced.

The studio behind Astroneer, System Era, are joining Devolver Digital as a first-party studio. The two share a history dating back nearly a decade. Astroneer will keep evolving with a roadmap spanning 2024 updates. Read System Era’s announcement here, and watch Devolver’s video here.

Really clever deduction point-n-click puzzler that has you deciphering languages across a pretty world for around seven hours. Not a new concept, but manages to strike a simple, satisfying balance between intuitive and challenging. Wish it didn’t give away so much sometimes, but still very cool.

Simple but charming & chaotic party game with warm, wonderful graphics and characters. Could have easily been a derivative Gang Beasts or Fall Guys clone, but its creative maps and modes quashes that immediately to forge a uniquely endearing identity of its own.

The fundamental mechanic is clever and jaw-droppingly pulled off. The visuals are lovely, puzzles mostly fun, never too challenging and satisfying to complete. It doesn’t matter much, but the characters & story aren’t particularly memorable (unless you count some pretty cringey dialog). Overall a pleasant and worthwhile experience.

Supergiant has provided an update on the much anticipated Hades II. Early Access is set for Q2 2024, and a limited technical test is planned. Much like the first one, major updates post-launch to expand content and story. Can’t wait.

Experimental food sandbox with ridiculous graphics and a focus on a e s t h e t i c s. The lack of significant objectives, and at times unintuitive controls certainly won’t be for everyone, but if you’re up for messing around, it’s a satisfying & delightful time.

New DLC for The Case of the Golden Idol has been released, which is a good opportunity to shout out what was one of the best, most slept on releases of 2022. It’s called The Lemurian Vampire and it I can’t wait to get stuck into it. And if you like detective games and haven’t played Golden Idol, what are you waiting for?

A bit buggy at launch, but an undoubtedly pretty and exceptionally satisfying Vampire Survivors-like. Think it will benefit hugely from updates, adding more build options - but very fun already.

Honestly surprising it took as long as it did for this game to happen. Third person, Foddian, Twitch-bait. Not my thing, but it fills a hole in the market and meets expectations. The (since replaced) asset-flip stuff was p bad.