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Gravity’s Edge was a nice little surprise for me. Prior to this last week, it had not been on my radar whatsoever. I had not seen it on any release lists, nor did I come across any discussion of the title on any message boards or subreddits. Such is the life of an indie game in the bustling Steam release schedule. Over 21,000 games were put out on Steam last year—a number that is growing in each consecutive trip around the sun. How is a small studio like Kassle Games LLC meant to find an audience? I’m not sure I could ever hope to answer that, but when the team behind the game reached out, the comic book-esque artstyle and interesting premise piqued my interest. But what is Gravity’s Edge? Yes, it is an upcoming indie 2D action-adventure game, certainly, but what about the team behind it? What is Gravity’s Edge to them? To find out, I spoke with developer Kamau Vassall ahead of the game's release. Game: Gravity's Edge Publisher: Kassle Games LLC Developer: Kassle Games LLC Availability: Released May 6, 2026 for Steam. Like most people, Kamau got his start in games early, finding inspiration and purpose in the medium as a child. “...I've been obsessed with videogames ever since I was a little kid,” he told us “I have fond memories of playing Mario upside down as an 8-year-old.” I’m sure many can relate to playing games, but not many have epiphanies this early on as Kamau did. “When I was 11 or so, after playing Command & Conquer, I decided that this was the medium that was going to change everything.” Something about Command & Conquer spoke to him, inspired him. It made him feel like there could be more to games than running and jumping. “It changed my perspective on what a game was. I had never played an RTS (Real Time Strategy) beforehand, nor had I seen a game with real actors, nor had I ever played a game with two factions on separate CDs, nor one with multiple branching paths of story. To be honest, I was absolutely mind-blown by even reading the game manual!” Of course, 11 is a little early to get into game development, especially alone, but the seed was planted—one day, he would make games of his own. Perhaps surprisingly, games weren’t Kamau’s first love—science was. “I’ve always had [a love of science]. It could be the science museum as a kid. It could be that I watched way too much Star Trek with my Dad. But let's just say I’ve listened to every episode of Star Talk with Neil DeGrasse Tyson.” And so combining these elements seemed natural. Taking inspiration from titles like Braid, Kamau worked to make games of his own, including Fight for Phoenix, a game where you are tasked to defend the planet from incoming ships. It was this game that further inspired Kamau to begin work on Gravity’s Edge. “I kept wondering what a cool way to go to the next level would be. And then one night it dawned on me, ‘What if you could just jump to the next level?’” Kamau worked to incorporate his love of physics and space into the work he did, but he also put some of himself in the game, as artists are wont to do. Being such a big science fiction fan offers examples to reference, and his Caribbean heritage was a great place to draw inspiration from—including the presence of Jamaican patois and Akan symbology within the full release. “Shows like The Expanse have Caribbean accents. In the show Firefly, they drop Chinese from time to time,” he told us “I am of Caribbean descent. So basically, I’m just making what I know. I didn’t think too much about it. The same goes for the Akan symbology.” To help realize his vision for this new title, Kamau would need some help, including enlisting artist Sam McCollum to develop the look for the game. “About 6 months in, I wanted to partner up with a friend [with whom] I had previously jammed,” he continued, “I knew his line art style would be perfect as I tend to prefer that over pixel art styles. Additionally, he makes all his art with a tinge of retro! The stars aligned as they say!” But even with some help, game development has its own unique challenges. Speaking about his decision to incorporate real-world physics into the game, he had this to say: “Real-world physics is not fun,” noting the difficulties of implementation, “in early playtests of my game, the player might fly off-world and float forever!” As [Gravity’s Edge] is not a simulation game by any means, some compromises had to be made for the sake of the gameplay. “Real physics has too much chaos, entropy, and randomness for you to design good experiences around.” Of course, game development difficulties can often extend beyond the act of making the game itself—a fact that Kamau is all too familiar with. Marketing is often a massive part of a big title’s budget, with major releases vying for eyeballs the same as every other game on the market. While AAA companies can spend their way onto your screens, the fight for acknowledgement is much more difficult for indie developers. “All my self-published games suffer from the same problem. I’ll meet someone in the elevator who perfectly fits the target audience of one of my games and I’ll ask them if they’ve heard of it. It's always no!” It can be hard to know with any sort of certainty if the game you’ve made will reach people. Even if you’ve put something together that you’re proud of, what aspects of the design work or don't work can be hard to envision without third-party input. Without the funds to hire proper playtesting, small teams often rely on close relations and friends to give honest assessments, which can be difficult to navigate. “Programming is easy; half the time, the compiler will just tell you exactly what you did wrong. But when it comes to design? Your friends will white lie in order to be nice to you and tell you that your game will sell a million copies.” All my self-published games suffer from the same problem. I’ll meet someone in the elevator who perfectly fits the target audience of one of my games and I’ll ask them if they’ve heard of it. It's always no! That’s the dream, right? To see your work enjoyed by millions of people, to make something you can be proud of, and that supports you financially. While you never know what the reception will be for a game, Kamau thinks they have something special. “I would love everyone to know that I made this game to bring something new to the world that has never been seen before. This game admires physics, space, puzzles, exploration, and culture!” Speaking on the game’s features, he notes, “This game has leaderboards, Twitch integration, split-screen couch co-op. This game has replay value, easter eggs, pets, achievements, 7 different endings in Story, and a secret ending in Survival!” There’s a demo out for Gravity’s Edge, allowing players to take the game for a test spin before release. The full game releases on Steam on May 5, 2026.

A hop, skip, and a fall through the floor away. I have a certain fondness for platformers, even if they’ve mostly fallen out of favor in the general gaming landscape. I suppose that can be attributed to nostalgia, at least in part. Platformers made up a huge portion of my gaming diet as a child, with titles like DuckTales and the various Super Mario games being counted among the most played. Still, by the time I got my first PlayStation, I had largely moved on to RPGs and fighting games as my primary gaming focus, leaving platformers behind. Dracamar is intended to capture the spirit of the 90’s era platformers more than any other period, drawing inspiration from the likes of Spyro and Crash Bandicoot—games I have little affinity for but have played. It's an aim that Dracamar seems to meet, with a similar aesthetic and a level of quality that is at least comparable to those early PS1 platformers. Publisher: Petoons Studio Developer: Petoons Studio, 3Cat Platform: Played on PC Availability: Released April 30, 2026 for PC, PlayStation 4 (PS4), PlayStation 5 (PS5), Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch. There’s not much in the way of exposition or backstory to be concerned about when starting Dracamar; King Crad, a dragon-like guy flying around on a throne, has captured a flower named Coroki and is using her power to change the cute little Okis into Mokis, which are just Okis with a frown and a slightly purple tinting. That is the extent of the story we’re given at the start, with no explanation of who any of the playable characters are outside of their names. After a brief introductory scene, players are thrown into a menu to select their character and then thrust right onto the world map to start the first level, which does a great job of tutorializing the mechanics through play. It doesn’t stop you every five seconds to explain the mechanics through text; instead, it guides you through each marking and indication as you go, easing you into the ever-so-slightly more advanced combinations and concepts that will appear later on. I did wonder if having more of a cohesive story and world would make the game a bit more enticing from the outset, but NPC interactions had me second-guessing. Frankly, the translation could use some work, as the dialogue is quite stilted and devoid of any real personality; every line is a simple declarative sentence or short question, and they often don't flow naturally together. This awkwardness is compounded by the suspect voice work, which frequently does not perfectly align with the written text. The story itself and all character dialogue, motivations, etc., are one-note, with no real stakes or drive to engage other than the simple fact that you want to play the game. NPCs have nothing valuable or noteworthy to say or do—they may as well not exist. If you need a story or interesting characters to liven up a game, the ones here won’t cut it. Straightforward levels and clean, simple character designs lend Dracamar charm. On the flip side, navigating the worlds and completing the extremely simplistic puzzles works well in most instances. All of the platforms and interactable objects are clearly visible, with indicators or markings that help denote what a player should do to interact with them. For example, if you see a wall with a giant yellow “X” on it, you know that you must punch it to break through. This simplistic design eliminates any need for experimentation or thinking in completing its platforming, but the upside is that the game is simple enough on the whole for very young children. In fact, as I was playing, my four-year-old son asked to play the game because he really liked the way it looked, and he had very few problems getting through the first level and even some of the second. I have no doubt that most of this game is playable by children of a young age, and I think that is commendable and valuable. We really do need more quality games for children to dive into; games that are good and that children can meaningfully interact with, not just games for kids that they need to suffer through because there are no good options. There's more to the game than jumping; there are plenty of on-rails segments and other unique mechanics throughout. To that end, Dracamar’s design is well-constructed. Even the numerous collectible items are all quite easy to spot and gather in most cases, with the majority visible from the main path or just off to the side on a small road or platforming segment that loops back around to the main route. As a sort of introductory platformer, it nails all of the basics you’d want to showcase: jumping on platforms, hitting enemies, avoiding danger zones, timing your actions, and gathering collectibles. The game’s description on all platforms notes that it is a “cozy” 3D platformer — an apt description for the generally breezy jaunt that the game amounts to. There are very few moments of friction at all, especially for an adult player, but the colorful world and cute artstyle at least keep things pleasant to look at. Dracamar doesn't overstay its welcome, either — at least not in totality. There are only 15 levels, and playing through them all and getting every collectible will likely land you under 10 hours of play, but some of the levels do feel like they drag on a bit, especially if you have to replay them for any reason. As a sort of introductory platformer, it nails all of the basics you’d want to showcase: jumping on platforms, hitting enemies, avoiding danger zones, timing your actions, and gathering collectibles. Unfortunately, I did have to replay levels a few times due to technical issues and menu selections. While the occasional glitch through a floor or platform is mostly a minor annoyance, there were more damaging glitches, like getting trapped out of bounds and entire levels disappearing from view. The only way to correct these is to restart the level, and doing so brings you back to the very beginning, with no way to warp between checkpoints. Given that each level can run upwards of 30 minutes or more if you’re doing a completionist run, this is hugely detrimental. Compounding on this are the menu options for starting over. First is “Restart” level, which brings you back to the beginning of a level, with the second being “Exit Level”, bringing you back to the world map. Seems simple enough, but clicking “Restart” completely erases your level progress, removing all collectibles you’ve gathered thus far. Exit level will retain your progress, but you’ll still need to start over. I’m really uncertain as to why the restart option exists if it does not retain your progress. It theoretically allows you to jump back into the level quicker than the other option, but seeing as you lose progress, it actually makes things take much longer since you’ll need to gather all collectibles once more. It's the type of mistake you only make once, but it should not be possible to do. When the game works, it is simple, charming, smooth — the type of platforming experience you’d love to show your kid or play yourself absentmindedly if you just need a way to unwind. Unfortunately, those persistent bugs drag things down quite a bit. I would say that at least 50% of the levels I played required a hard restart due to getting stuck somewhere or because of broken interactions. And while the game can be completed, it does amount to a massive frustration. In that sense, Dracamar is quite like 90s-era platformers, though not in the way they had hoped. It was an era filled with genuinely great conceits, but many of the games suffer from one or two major hiccups that separate them from the great platformers of the era. You’ll find Dracamar in comparable waters, with good ideas dragged down to the bottom of the sea by its technical ills more than any other individual aspect. Verdict Dracamar is an exceedingly simple platformer, with mostly straightforward platforming and level design that holds very few surprises. This simple design is an excellent starting point for children, as the mechanics are not needlessly complex or obtuse, but offers little for adult players beyond mindless time-passing. That said, despite all of its charm and overwhelming cuteness, Dracamar suffers from some egregious bugs and becomes a tedious task to fully complete in the face of them. I can see an earnest effort has been made here, and there are shades of something neat, but the technical hurdles are a bridge too far. Image Credits: Disclosure: We received a free copy of this game from the publisher.

We should be funding our libraries. The market has been flooded with Metroidvanias over the last decade or so, making the separation between the great, the good, and the banal all the more meaningful. Of all the genres for Compile Heart to jump into, this is certainly one of the most surprising, as the domain of their titles has largely fallen under the umbrella of middling RPG, with the Neptunia and Fairy Fencer series making up the bulk of their releases. Publisher: Idea Factory International Developer: Idea Factory, Compile Heart, HYDE, Inc. Platform: Played on PC Availability: Released March 24, 2026 for Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5; April 29, 2026, for PC. It is no surprise, then, that Ariana and the Elder Codex does not necessarily aim to redefine the structural foundations of its genre but instead focuses on delivering a polished, stylized take on it. By injecting Compile Heart's typical anime style into a genre overflowing with games featuring a dark, brooding aesthetic, Ariana can at least be counted among the few titles with a bright visage. It does succeed in that regard. Even at just a first glance, Ariana is a gorgeous-looking game. The backgrounds and environments within the codices are lovely, painterly vistas, and the character portraits are equally stunning; even the menus look great, with a ton of style added to each element within. It is clear that a massive amount of attention has gone into making this project look great, though it does fall a bit flat with enemy designs and on-the-field character models. The narrative premise is simple, placing players in the role of Ariana, the librarian of The Library. It is unclear if this is the only “library” in the world, or if others do exist, what names they might use for the space. Is this the only place that has books? Who knows! Within this sanctuary sits the Seven Hero Codices, a collection of volumes crafted to provide magic to the people of the world. When a mysterious entity corrupts these books, Ariana must repair them—she is the only person capable of doing so, after all. Each book serves as a distinct biome with its own navigation trials and environments—though the distinctions between each are mostly visual, with few differences aside from what ability you need to use to reach the platforms. With seven codices to repair, it is a tall task, though no single codex stays overly long to extend the journey. While the overarching plot doesn't quite land as anything more than an afterthought, with the few twists easily seen coming from the opening moments of the game, it is serviceable, or at least not outright offensive. Thankfully, each codex has a self-contained story—vignettes that fill out the world in more interesting ways than the main cast ever dares to. At the end of each codex, players are read the story they have repaired, which is a nice little touch, but does come off as a tad redundant. Where the game finds its best rhythm is in its combat and movement systems, with some major caveats. Ariana moves fluidly, and the combat is built around a unique magic system where players equip two sets of three spells across four different elements. Because using a spell from a specific element—like fire or water—places all other spells of that same element on a shared cooldown, it is more optimal to diversify the elements used. Where the game finds its best rhythm is in its combat and movement systems, with some major caveats. Hitting enemies with a flurry of spells in rapid succession causes waves of explosions due to elemental buildup and completely wipes out crowds nearly instantaneously. It can be fun to see this happen, but it does make navigation through the pages a bit boring. What is the purpose of these combat encounters when they end so immediately? Against bosses, there is a bit more of an opportunity to give an honest effort, but none of the bosses could survive more than 30 seconds on Hard, except the final boss. The game is just pitifully easy, which is a damn shame given how fluid and free mixing the spells can be. The exploration follows the traditional flow but adds a layer of performance-based progression that encourages backtracking via challenges and treasure chests that are meant to be inaccessible before getting most of Ariana’s traversal skills. Of course, with some diligence and timing, nearly all of these can be obtained on first arrival, with very few exceptions. To fully repair a book, Ariana must close various rifts, which manifest either as timed combat gauntlets or platforming races to a specific point on the map. The game grades your performance on these tasks, and achieving an "A" rank provides permanent boosts to your base stats, as well as currency for upgrades and gear. Unfortunately, both the exploration and combat suffer from occasionally unresponsive controls and dropped inputs. Platforming in the more difficult sections is a bit of a nightmare because of it, with jump inputs just being lost from time to time. In combat, switching over to the second set of abilities requires holding down R2, but this too gets lost, causing the wrong move to come out or none at all if the face button is on cooldown. This input failure mars aspects I would otherwise see as a highlight and became insufferable in the final zone, forcing me into different strategies with my spell use and playstyle for the final boss. Ariana and the Elder Codex is noticeably small in scope, running just over a dozen or so hours long. While the combat and platforming are competent enough to keep you playing, they can’t quite distract from the technical hurdles and the fact that you’re fighting the same handful of enemies on repeat. It’s a decent enough attempt at the metroidvania genre, but it feels more like a pleasant distraction than a must-play masterpiece. Verdict Ariana and the Elder Codex is assuredly Compile Heart's best work, at least among the titles I have played. The writing is serviceable, even if trite, and it has a lovely artistic lean in its visuals. Yet it fails to truly excite in any meaningful way. There isn't a single thing outside of its look that it excels at, with even its high points (combat and exploration) being weighed down by technical issues. Image Credits: Idea Factory Disclaimer: We received a free copy of this game from the publisher.

Pretty Gouda MOUSE: P.I. For Hire is a refreshingly artistic action FPS. First-time Polish developer Fumi Games really set itself apart with a charming black-and-white rubber hose hand-drawn art style. This, combined with boomer shooter gameplay, proves that even classic genres still have room for unique ideas and innovation. Publisher: PlaySide Developer: Fumi Games Platform: Played on PC Availability: Released April 16, 2026, for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S. Shooting is surprisingly fast-paced with open combat areas to dash and jump around, only allowing for slow, controlled aiming when few minor enemies are around. Weapons feel responsive and reliable, although after multiple upgrades, the damage done did not feel noticeably increased. Upgrades also improve accuracy, magazine size, and unlock an alternate firing mode, which all add a stronger feeling of progression. Enemy variety is diverse enough that fights can mix and match enemies to not feel repetitive, and on top of that, also have unique units for each faction, giving them each a distinct feel. The term boomer shooter is not what I would have thought best to describe the playstyle of a rubber hose noir set in the 1930s. And yet, the parallel theme between the two caught me by surprise. Both focus on a single character, fighting against the odds to reach their goals. Mettle, grit, determination, and sometimes luck are the keys to success for both. You play as Jack Pepper, a P.I. for hire who finds himself at the center of disappearances, corruption, and murder. Hopefully there are enough thumbtacks and string to connect it all. The supporting cast helping with your investigation is a diverse cast of characters. Typical introductions are rare, as Jack has seemingly been at this a while, enforcing his experience through the variety of contacts, along with the overly casual conversational tone. The writing is solid, although expectedly cheesy. Troy Baker delivers a great performance as the classic, although less down on his luck than usual, gumshoe. The rubberhose aesthetic does carry much of the game's charm. The black-and-white aesthetic is core to the atmosphere and art style; its beautiful 3D environments at times look straight out of a cartoon or professional real-world recreation in a theme park, and the music perfectly emphasizes each area’s theme and tone. Characters are bouncy and replicate the rubber hose aesthetic well, even as the enemy deaths are in the vein of typical FPS violence. The main drawback that is, unfortunately, at the forefront of every interaction is how bad the lip flaps are. Lower-budget or dialogue-heavy games might go with switching between key poses to show emotion or emphasis, or have a basic, short looping animation of the character opening and closing their mouth. Both are simple, but are more than enough to get the job done. The opposite end of the budget and effort spectrum is fully matching a character's animation with dialogue. Mouse: P.I. For Hire has found a weird middle ground that really distracts me during dialogue scenes. When talking to a character, a talking animation seems to be chosen at random and can repeat an unlimited number of times. One interaction consisted of the character I was talking to never opening their mouth, choosing instead to jitter around with a clenched jaw as if stuck on a consonant. What seems to purposefully match the dialogue is when characters strike a pose for emphasis, but even that has a bizarrely short duration. Having the game’s dialogue set to automatically advance, these poses last for less than a second. The characters are designed and drawn so well, so this choice feels bizarre and nonsensical to the point that I hope it is caused by a bug or changes in the near future, so as to not distract from everything the game has going for it. Performance overall has been great, with a few bugs and hiccups during my playtime. Broken cars playing engine sounds, jarring audio static when moving the weapon wheel or setting sliders, enemies getting stuck, and once having to restart when no enemies spawned, leaving the exit door locked. The save points are shockingly frequent, as if to replace an auto-save system, although the game does also auto-save. One definite gripe is not being able to go back to any previous levels — all collectibles and items have one chance to be found. MOUSE: P.I. For Hire stands out with its striking rubber hose art style and energetic FPS gameplay, proving classic formulas can still feel fresh. Combat is fast and satisfying, supported by a strong atmosphere, music, and voice acting. However, distracting lip-sync issues and minor bugs occasionally interrupt immersion. Despite these flaws, it’s a memorable and creative experience from a new developer team worth keeping an eye on. Verdict MOUSE: P.I. For Hire is a stylish and surprisingly fast-paced FPS that leans hard into its rubber hose noir identity while still delivering solid, movement-driven combat. The presentation, music, and voice work carry much of the experience, even when upgrades feel underwhelming. Unfortunately, awkward lip-sync and occasional bugs do interrupt the pacing, but there’s plenty of originality here to make it stand out despite these minor issues. Image Credits: PlaySide Disclaimer: We received a free copy of this game from the publisher.

What is the value of doing hard things? I suppose in some sense it grants us (or perhaps tests) our resilience, showing us that we can do difficult things and survive. This is surely valuable in a broader sense of life, but I’m not certain it means much when talking about art. Some may argue that hardship is more about the sense of accomplishment we feel when a task is brought to completion; that the only means by which we can satiate our pride is through struggle. Or is it more important that we use these challenges to improve our skills and build confidence? While there may be no single answer, I feel like I have done a hard thing by playing ChainStaff. This is admittedly less because Chainstaff is inherently more difficult than many games I’ve played in the past, and more because it is a genre I so rarely play. Publisher:   Mommy’s Best Games Developer:   Mommy’s Best Games Platform:  Played on PC Availability: Released April 8, 2026  for PC, PS4/5, Nintendo Switch, Switch 2, and Xbox Series X/S. There were no arcades where I lived when I was young; the only cabinets to be found were held at the resorts by the lake, at a local hotel, and most importantly, at the hockey arena across the street. None of the cabinets out at the resorts or at the local pool had the sort of 2D side-scrolling shooters that ChainStaff so deftly emulates. Instead, we got games like Tekken 2, The Punisher, and The Simpsons — this may explain my affinity for the Beat ‘em Up genre more than I realized. But the local rink did have one such game: Metal Slug. I think it’s important to note that I sucked at these games then, too. I didn’t just lose my ability to navigate the sort of run-and-gun gameplay that Metal Slug and ChainStaff employ — I never had it. I don’t know how far I got on that old game, but I imagine it wasn't very far at all, given my poor handling and light pockets. ChainStaff started out similarly for me. I haven’t played many Run’N’Gun games in my adult years, and I’ve finished exactly zero, so my first few hours with ChainStaff were quite a trial, with death after death via slow-moving alien projectiles. But I persevered. I persevered not because I thought I was becoming stronger, or to train my skills for other times I might play a game in the genre, but I persevered because I was having fun. ChainStaff utilizes an expressive, prog-rock cover-esque visual style to capture the action. There’s something immediately endearing about the way ChainStaff wastes no time in filling your speakers with its heavy metal soundtrack. It wears its inspirations on its sleeve visually, too, with an aesthetic that recalls the progressive rock covers of the 70s and 80s — like a mash of the art of Kim Poor and H.R. Giger brought to life. These elements mesh well with the fast-paced action of each level, keeping every new enemy and stage fresh as Sergeant Jesse Varlette cuts a path through the gauntlet of alien foes, leaving only their bodies in his wake. Using the titular ChainStaff, you can swing through the levels by latching onto terrain and foes alike, or you can charge it to launch it into enemies for damage and to create a platform to stand on. This charged form also doubles as cover from enemy attacks, providing shelter when the terrain won't cut it. There’s plenty of room for player expression here, as well. While players always have their gun and the chanstaff, gun upgrades allow for additional effects when shooting, like homing missiles or slow-moving rockets. The options are not endless, but there’s room to customize how you’d like to approach the combat. That goes for the ChainStaff as well, with players able to hang onto walls, create cover, or use it offensively. Most encounters don’t require any specific strategy when dealing with foes, so you can really approach each in any way you like. It wears its inspirations on its sleeve visually, too, with an aesthetic that recalls the progressive rock covers of the 70s and 80s — like a mash of the art of Kim Poor and H.R. Giger brought to life. This is less true of the boss fights, which push you toward employing specific, more effective strategies for each, but there’s still wiggle room for how you approach things. There were times when I opted to hang from the ceiling or walls when simply putting up a barrier would have done just as well. Part of the process of learning how to play the game came from recognizing when those strategies were best employed and not being so afraid to try them out. That said, those opening levels felt brutal. Not just in the sense that I had difficulty adjusting to the mechanics of the game, though that was true, but from a visual and auditory perspective. Despite the levity with which the story and conversations are handled, the spectacle of the levels is one of blood, and guts, and gore. Throwing your ChainStaff into an enemy welcomes a geyser of blood, and the sort of squelching and crunching noises beckoned forth when that projectile connects with an alien carapace is laughably grotesque. The juxtaposition of these levels with characters like Papa Choppa, a pilot with mutton chops who picks you up at the end of each level while wearing a pink cowboy hat and bathrobe, further feeds into the absurdity of it all. Despite these oddities and seemingly incongruous elements, I consider ChainStaff a resounding success. It has a strong art direction, a fantastic soundtrack, and a perfectly eclectic cast of characters. The way it blends its frantic combat with engaging platforming is inventive, offering players separate pathways that allow for further exploration and engagement. It was all so charming — a testament to the love and care that went into crafting it. And while those opening moments were hard going, the game wasn't much trouble as I became accustomed to the controls. I developed a comfort with the timing of swinging from the branches and became more cognizant of the multi-directional threats that accosted me. In sticking with it, I feel like I found an answer for this single hardship. It wasn’t about resilience, or pride, or relief — it was about joy. The joy of doing. The joy of engaging with a work of art on its own terms, regardless of my own comfort level and familiarity. It was, at its core, an endeavor in finding that joy in something I may never have tried outside of the bounds of this profession, and for that I am grateful. Verdict ChainStaff has a strong art direction, a fantastic soundtrack, and a perfectly eclectic cast of characters. The story is light-hearted, but the action is intense, with Sergeant Varlett blasting his way through numerous foes in a fashion that is both exciting and sometimes grotesque. The game is the total package, blending its visuals, audio, and gameplay to create a chimeric experience that sticks the landing. Image Credits : Mommy's Best Games Disclaimer: We received a copy of this game from the publisher.

Love is in the Air. When we first moved into our house, it wasn’t perfect. The deck needed some work, we had to replace the sink and install a new filter, and the walls had small blemishes and areas of peeling paint. It wasn’t perfect, but it was home. As a stay-at-home dad, my days were mostly spent finding new and interesting ways to keep my then 2-year-old toddler entertained. One thing that was apparent was just how much he loved to draw and paint. Pages and pages of paper with eccentric and wild scribblings filled our floors and covered our furniture. But every time I’d step away for a moment, I’d come back to find those uncontrolled doodles had found their way onto our walls. While the markers and paints were all “washable”, the specters of their existence remained — faint pigment that could never truly be erased. It was here that my wife and I had a decision to make. Do we try to stop the behavior, continuously cleaning the marker in perpetuity, or do we find a way to make it work for him and us? I won’t try to extol the virtues of letting your child draw on the walls. I’m not certain the message we sent in those early days works for everyone, but as our walls were already imperfect, I found little reason to hold their appearance in high esteem in the first place. After all, we were just going to paint over it anyway. So we drew upon those walls together. What started as small scribbles turned into shapes and spirals, which then became smiley faces and stick figure bodies. These days, our walls are also home to treasure maps and shaky letters that spell out a mixture of real words and nonsense, invented language. The walls of our home have become a living document to his growth and our lives here together. Publisher:   Red Art Games Developer:  Square Enix, Bullets Platform:  Played on Nintendo Switch Availability: Released December 9, 2025 on PS4/5 and Nintendo Switch. In many ways, the past relationship between Square Enix and its development teams felt much like that of my son and me. These teams were given the freedom to experiment, to draw on the walls, to find new, creative, and inventive ways to tell the stories the way they wanted. It didn’t always work, of course. Plenty of titles underperformed expectations, or didn’t capture players in a way that would lead to everlasting fealty. But what it did do was let these teams grow, find their voice, and make art .  Romancing SaGa -Minstrel Song- Remastered International  is one such game. It’s experimental and obtuse in ways that most games (especially Square Enix games) simply aren’t  anymore. While most RPGs are linear stories told over the course of sequential, increasingly dire events, Romancing SaGa -Minstrel Song-  takes a more open approach to its structure. To begin, you’ll choose one of eight playable characters to begin your journey, with each character having their own unique introductory quests to work through before the world opens up. And boy does it open. Quests and quest givers aren’t explicitly marked on the map, and what you’re “supposed” to do is never really intimated to the player. Instead, you’re meant to find your own way, talking to people, picking up quests and party members, and making choices in the sequence of your own making. For someone who has never played a SaGa game, this structure was both surprising and a bit daunting. As you fight, a little dial advances in the menu that essentially denotes how much time you’re taking in-game to complete your quests. Quest availability is dependent upon this ranking, with many quests only available within a certain range or after having completed other quests beforehand. Quests are entirely missable, characters who could join your party may never become available, and items or equipment that you want may never show up — all of this is dependent upon your own actions and path through the world of Mardias. Eventually, all paths lead to the final face-off against the game’s antagonist, but how you get there — and who you get there with — is unique to each person.  Romancing SaGa -Minstrel Song- is an absurdly vibrant game. That freeform and underexplained structure extends beyond just the quests. The battle mechanics and strategies one might employ are very lightly explained, at best, with many only making themselves known in tutorial form after you’ve performed them or discovered them in the course of a fight. And the combat is fascinatingly deep and complex. There are a large number of varying classes, each with different strengths and weaknesses that really only reveal themselves as a product of your character's stat progression or ability availability. These abilities are learned by random happenstance in fights, and depend on what weapon or ability you are using, and which mode your weapon is in. Weapons do different damage depending upon what row your character is in, abilities take different amounts of BP depending upon class, and so on. There’s too much going on to adequately explain here, but the point is that it is impossibly open and complex, yet they do not tell you much of anything about it at all. You learn it by doing.  And I love it. Every aspect of Romancing SaGa -Minstrel Song-  is left for the player to engage with naturally and discover. This structure doesn’t really lend itself well to telling involved or completely fleshed-out storylines — something the developers seemed to have understood, as they did not really attempt to. That isn’t to say the game is devoid of a story or meaning. Rather, the journey is what you make of it. I can’t help but reminisce about the days of playing tabletop RPGs like Dungeons and Dragons. In tabletop games, even when there is a story or throughline to follow, the adventure is always more about what you and your party create together. By working in tandem and interacting with one another, and through collaboration with your DM, you craft your own singular saga. In a similar sense, Romancing SaGa -Minstrel Song-  is a collaborative tale, a tapestry woven together through the collective efforts of the players and the developers. This is contrasted heavily by Square’s more paint-by-numbers modern approach to games. They have shifted to an almost exclusive adherence to traditional narrative structures and safe bets. Everything in a game is pointing you to your next objective or giving you tips on how you can complete a task. There is value in telling a straightforward story, and many Square titles over the last few years have turned out quite good under those constraints. As a remaster of an older title, Romancing SaGa -Minstrel Song-  is not completely free of those chains, either. New additions like an adjustable game speed toggle and a more robust New Game+ smooth out, or otherwise alleviate, issues players had with the original entry. Every aspect of Romancing SaGa -Minstrel Song- is left for the player to engage with naturally and discover. But through playing Romancing SaGa -Minstrel Song- , I’ve come to miss how often they’d take big swings like this, even if they never panned out. Where they’d set the developers loose and let them play with player expectations, to make a game that does little to hold your hand and instead gives you a pat on the back. To play Romancing SaGa -Minstrel Song-  is to sit down with the developers of the game, to take their work of art, blemishes and all, and draw upon the walls together. Verdict Romancing SaGa -Minstrel Song- Remastered International  is a breathtaking RPG that offers a freedom seldom found in modern Square Enix titles. Its free-form structure and less-than-clear gameplay mechanics will inevitably lead to some confusion, but through playing it, you will create a journey that is uniquely yours. Image Credits: Red Art Games and Square Enix Disclosure: We received a free review copy of this product from the publisher.

A beautiful, but flawed, wonder. Into Free(dom) Dragon's Dogma 2 feels, in many respects, like a game on the edge. Capcom’s follow-up to 2012’s cult classic Dragon’s Dogma is a game that feels like it could teeter into a disaster-piece at any given moment, yet somehow retains enough focus and identity to squarely land on the stable side of the cliff. By design, the game has many points of friction baked into the gameplay experience — extremely limited fast travel, expensive economy (items, inns, equipment), diminishing health reserves, slow travel, dangerous fall damage, and more. And yet, I never felt like I was being punished in the way one might assume if they had only read about the game, rather than played it. Each one of these might look like a "flaw", but each is imperative in the flow of the game's core experience. The exploration might be a slow, methodical trek across a vast open world, but it's never boring. Every step brings something exciting around the bend — from packs of wolves who might drag you off to your doom, to hidden coves of treasure and beasts — there's a real sense of adventure and exploration here that is hard to find in a game today. It's not a survival game in the sense that you need to make shelter or manage a hunger meter, but it can sometimes feel like you're really fighting to survive a hostile wilderness as you roam. I sometimes found myself just hoping to find a campsite, or wondering if I should head back to town or keep pushing forward as the night approached. Publisher:  Capcom Developer:  Capcom Platform:  Played on PC Availability:  Released March 22, 2024 on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series S/X Frolicking in the fields of Vermund. To be frank, this game is quite easy past the early game. Beyond the first few hours, I never came close to dying. I took long trips for days and days in the wilds without stopping (mostly due to my compulsive need to explore every cave and cliff I came across). So while the points of friction I mentioned earlier might sound like it is going to make for a tough experience, I can assure you it is not a truly punishing game. And even if you do die, carrying a wakestone can revive you. If you don't have any wakestones on hand, you'll load from the most recent autosave, which the game does pretty frequently in my experience. Despite being a pretty normal experience difficulty-wise, the wilderness and night can still feel dangerous. I always took great care around high cliffs, especially as fall damage was the greatest threat to my health most often. Wandering through a cove. Nighttime, by the way, is really awesome! It's so dark that without a lantern, you can't see anything, really. And even with a lantern, your vision is pretty limited. Dangerous beasts lurk in the dark, and you can often stumble into an encounter you didn't see coming. I was once wandering through a forest, lantern in tow, when I suddenly heard a voice: "Arisen..." A faint light appeared in the darkness... that's a dragon. Moments like this are somewhat common, but they are always exciting. Minotaurs, chimeras, griffins, ogres, and more can ambush you, and it keeps night feeling dangerous, even if it never actually is. The primary mechanical focus of the game is combat, which is still excellent when compared to the first Dragon's Dogma . Really, there is not much difference between the two in the overarching way combat and exploration work — you and your pawn have a vocation (job) that levels up independently of your character level. This vocation determines your stats, abilities, damage types, and even the types of exploration available to you (mages can levitate and thieves can scale/jump off walls, for instance). You don't need to worry so much about what vocation you have equipped when you level up within Dragon's Dogma 2 — your stats will automatically adjust based on vocation according to your character level. The choices in the image above round out your vocation selection. With a total of 10 vocations available to you, there are a good number of options in terms of playstyles, and you're never locked into just one. Each vocation has unique skillsets, each with enough variety to craft a playstyle more suited to your own preferences within the confines of the vocation itself. The animation work done on all of the skills available to you makes combat so interesting and engaging, it never really gets boring — even when you’re fighting your 100th pack of goblins of the day. The fights remain exciting in large part because the enemies also have a lot of different behaviors and abilities. Goblins can throw rocks, spears, do lunging attacks, and more, all while running away in fear or using pack tactics. Wolves will hit and run, or grab you or your pawn and carry you off. And so on, and so on. The unending dynamism keeps things interesting no matter where you are or what class you are playing. Pawns, AI-controlled companions that follow, fight, and gather on your behalf, are a nice way to connect players without directly interfering with a player’s single-player world. You will be able to bring your main pawn (self-created and managed), and 2 pawns from the riftstones, which include both Capcom-provided pawns and the pawns other players have created. Pawns have a limited number of vocations available to them, but they are able to have specializations that grant them some abilities or behaviors otherwise unobtainable. Additionally, inclinations allow you to customize your pawn’s behavior more acutely. The AI is not perfect, but I think it is more than functional in terms of being a useful party member. If you played the first game, they function very similarly here. There are, of course, other minor mechanics and systems in play in the game that just don’t matter much. Romance and affection exist, but they are so underutilized and inconsequential that it’s not really worth diving in depth on them or considering them as a major part of the experience. However, if systems like that interest you, you should be aware that they exist in name only here. Gathered in town with the crew. Earlier, I mentioned how this feels like a game on the edge of being a great game, but that edge cuts both ways. For all of its wild successes and phenomenal gameplay, Dragon’s Dogma 2 falls short of being truly great. It is a game on the precipice of all-time greatness — greatness that, I feel, is pretty attainable if some minor adjustments are made in DLC or expansions. And while it is disappointing that it never quite reaches the highs I feel it could, there is hope it might in the future. My most identifiable complaints lie in two areas. First, enemy variety is disappointing. The enemies that are present in the game are a thrill, to be sure, but there are fewer types of enemies when compared to the first game, even when you count subtypes and offshoots (e.g., Hobgoblins vs Goblins). The game could really use a few more small enemy types, but would immensely benefit from additional large or huge enemy varieties. Large enemies introduce a fun, dynamic experience in each fight with their scalability, and having more you can climb, ride, or engage with would really liven up the experience in a significant way. Second, there are not enough quests, and the ones that exist can often feel uninteresting. A lot of fetch quests, monster culling, and escort quests, with very little variety beyond that. When you do get something more unique, it’s really a breath of fresh air. That isn’t to say things like monster battles or escorting shouldn’t be included in the larger structure of any additional quests, but quests could stand to be more diverse. The main questline is pretty barebones — both in variety and length. There just aren’t enough things to do in the game in a directed sense. This is most notable in the second major area of the game and late game, where the main story really just kind of ends without any buildup or resolution to some seemingly major questions about the world. There are fewer relevant side quests here as well. The expanses themselves are so full of care and wonder, yet I can’t help but feel the characters and story are so egregiously underbaked. As this is meant to be a spoiler-free review, I won’t go into specifics, but I was left asking things like, “what happened to (major characters A, B, and C)? Did anything in (Area X) lead anywhere? Did I just miss it?”                    A battle with a griffin, one of the few large enemy types available to fight. Performance is a sticking point for many people, and unfortunately, Dragon’s Dogma 2 suffers here. I am playing on PC, so mileage may vary, but even with relatively high-end hardware on 1440p, I run into some choppiness and 30 fps average in towns or cities. For field exploration, I can get a solid 60 on mostly high settings (messing around with some settings optimization is necessary, in my opinion). Variability is high here, so I’m not really sure what the answer is for Capcom, but changing my settings didn’t really seem to help much unless I went below what I would consider a reasonable threshold for my current hardware. If you are okay with a 30 FPS threshold for stable framerates, it seems attainable on most modern systems. I will not be doing an in-depth tech review here, but if it concerns you or you want to learn more, it is definitely worth looking into. I would be remiss if I did not mention the “DLC” currently available for the game. At the time of writing, there are a plethora of microtransactions available for purchase that will give you an assortment of minor consumables. These items are easy to obtain in the game and are largely inconsequential to the experience. Purchasing these is a waste of money and will not benefit you in any meaningful way. Capcom’s decision to include them is a bit baffling and bad business practice on the corporate side of things, but as they are immaterial to the gameplay experience, they will not affect my review of the game. Any ethical concerns over DLC feel like a separate battle to fight, and the controversy surrounding the DLC in this game in particular feels strange, considering it is not uncommon for Capcom to do this in any of their games in the last several years. Why Dragon’s Dogma 2 is bearing the brunt of the frustration over microtransactions, I do not know. However, if we are to look past the DLC practices in other major titles, it feels necessary for me to do the same here. I think if the DLC had been a sort of “pay to win” situation, it could affect my outlook, but as it is, I feel no obligation to consider it. Verdict Dragon’s Dogma 2 is more a reimagining of the original than a sequel, but offers a sense of exploration and wonder that is unmatched in the current gaming landscape, and has some of the most fun combat out there. Dynamic combat and world events keep the game fresh and engaging after many hours of play. Even with its glaring deficiencies, it is hard to say I’ve had more fun playing any game this year. The truth is that this is a hard game to put a number on. The things it does well (exploration and combat) it does exceptionally well. It is a best-in-class experience on those fronts, creating a sense of adventure rarely seen in games. The things it does poorly (writing, quest design, monster variety) are by all metrics underwhelming, but certainly fixable in a long-view of the game (if it receives support going forward, which is not guaranteed at time of writing). This is a pretty niche experience, and it might not be a game with the mass appeal Capcom is hoping for, but I believe it is a game worth playing. If you want to try it out, but are wary of shelling out $70, the cheapest way is to play Dragon’s Dogma . There are key differences, yes, but it would give you the closest thing to a demo for this game available. Image Credits: Capcom and Taylor Rioux

This Expansion Nearly Doubles the Game’s Worldbuilding and Character Creation Toolkit Darrington Press, the tabletop game imprint for Critical Role Productions, has revealed the release date and cover art for the Hope & Fear  expansion to the TTRPG Daggerheart . Rather than a single worldwide release date, the massive expansion is coming out in waves, with the first copies available at Gen Con later this year.  Next, on August 25, copies will be distributed to release at  Darrington Press Guild stores , friendly local game stores, and Critical Role shops (US, UK, CA, AU, and EU). Digital editions of the expansion from Demiplane  and DriveThruRPG  release concurrently with the physical edition. Finally, the expansion releases everywhere else (Amazon, Indigo, etc.) on Tuesday, September 22. In terms of what new content the expansion brings, the book offerings are significant. New character options, including four new classes: the Witch, Warlock, Brawler, and Assassin, each with two unique subclasses; 130+ new adversaries and 28 environments (plus a rip pad of blank adversary sheets to help you easily create your own), 100+ weapons, armor, items, and consumable options. Additionally, it includes four new Campaign Frames introducing new worlds and settings for players to explore. Beyond the book, other items are included in a purchase of the expansion, with Standard and Deluxe offerings having different physical items included.  Daggerheart: Hope & Fear Standard Edition Both editions come with the book and the following items: A completely new Dread Domain set of cards, unlocking ghastly, macabre magic core to the new Witch and Warlock classes.  Subclass Cards for all eight new subclasses. Six Transformation Cards: A completely new mechanic, transformations represent changes or augmentations to characters in Daggerheart. During a campaign or at character creation, characters can transform into a Vampire, Werewolf, Reanimated, Shapeshifter, Ghost, or Demigod. Six new Community Cards: Duneborne, Hearthborne, Frostborne, Warborne, Freeborne, and Reborne. Six new Ancestry Cards: Skykin, Tidekin, Earthkin, Emberkin, Gnome, and Aetheris. Daggerheart: Hope & Fear Deluxe Edition The Deluxe Edition includes a few more items as well: A gold foil box with a wraparound cover featuring all-new artwork unique to this edition. The accessories compartment holds all your gorgeous cards and goodies, and clasps with a secure magnet. Alternate cover artwork on the box, rulebook, and accessories compartment. A new GM screen to track fear and reference rules, and rhombic Fear tokens that stack along the top of the screen, visible to the GM and players. The new artwork sits on the player-facing side while the quick reference information is visible on the game master side. Three adversary rip pads. A rip pad of character sheets, player and GM guides, maps, and more. Deluxe-edition-exclusive dice are also included, with a set of seven sharp-edged polyhedral dice, an oversized d20 for the GM, and a set of 10 rhombic d12s for players to use as Hope & Fear dice. The Daggerheart: Hope & Fear  standard edition is priced at $39.99 USD, and the Deluxe Edition will be $119.99 USD.

April 16, 2026 — Wizards of the Coast has announced an official Dungeons & Dragons actual play, titled Dungeon Masters . Set to debut on April 22, 2026, the new show will premiere with a two-episode special on YouTube. Dungeon Masters  will have weekly episodes and showcase official and unreleased D&D content, though the exact scope of this aspect is currently unknown. Just how much unreleased content will be shown and in what capacity remains to be seen. The official cast of Dungeon Masters This official game will be played by cast members Mayanna Berrin ( Dispatch , StoryQuest ), Christian Navarro ( 13 Reasons Why , Forgotten Realms: Tears of Selune ), Neil Newbon ( Baldur’s Gate III , Dead Take ), and Devora Wilde ( Baldur’s Gate III ), with Jasmine Bhullar ( DesiQuest , Dimension 20 ) taking the reins as dungeon master. The campaign will be set within the world of Ravenloft and ties directly into the newly announced Ravenloft: The Horrors Within . The trailer that accompanied this announcement showcases strong camera work and production values, while highlighting the player’s facial reactions through a few clipped moments from the game’s campaign. Dan Ayoub, SVP and Head of Dungeons & Dragons at Wizards of the Coast, had this to say about the new series: “ Dungeon Masters brings a truly authentic and original experience to our fans, with all of the fun, high-tension moments, drama and adventure built from official D&D material. In many ways, Dungeon Masters is our love letter to the actual play shows that have introduced so many to D&D . Our aim with Dungeon Masters is to crystallize all that’s great about actual play – the tension, drama, and unpredictable nature – and put our stamp on it with upcoming official source material. We’re so excited to see how Dungeon Masters can inspire even more adventure from our players, and in turn, see how they inspire us to make the show better and better.” Dungeon Masters airs starting Wednesday, April 22 at 6:30pm PT on YouTube .   Image Credits: Wizards of the Coast

More Esoteric Bullshit (Positive) I was recently diagnosed with ADHD. It seems a bit silly, in retrospect, that I didn’t really put together that my constant loss of focus and memory lapses might have been abnormal. That there may be more to how difficult it was to read a book or article for more than a page at a time. Playing games that required a lot of reading has always been difficult, and I’ve found myself skimming through conversations I know I should not have. It has hampered my enjoyment of text-heavy games in the past. Still, I’ve found some ways to work around it, like playing in shorter bursts of time or taking more frequent breaks between dialogues or journal entries. But thanks to my recent diagnosis and subsequent treatment, Esoteric Ebb is one of the first text-heavy games I’ve been able to dive deeply into in years, at least in the way I've always wanted to. Those long conversations and asides are all laid bare for me to read, interpret, and enjoy. I can open the journal or quest log and take in the world in earnest, without spending weeks working on it. Perhaps unsurprisingly, this was quite an emotional thing for me. Publisher:   Raw Fury Developer:   Christoffer Bodegård Platform:  Played on PC Availability: Released Mar 3, 2026  for PC. Set in a Dungeons & Dragons-adjacent setting, Esoteric Ebb sees us playing as Cleric Ragn Hemlin, whose mission is to solve the mystery of a tea shop explosion. The influences for Esoteric Ebb are immediately obvious upon starting, drawing comparisons to the games Disco Elysium and Planescape: Torment — and for good reason. The intro itself is an homage to Planescape, with The Cleric waking up in a morgue, unsure of how they were revived. For the Disco Elysium comparisons, the similarities are much more extensive. Both are viewed from a third-person isometric view, they each explore complex political and philosophical themes, and they share many gameplay mechanics, such as an internal monologue and ability checks (both passive and active). While these specific mechanics are not Disco -exclusive, Esoteric Ebb ’s end credits explicitly thank the creators of Disco Elysium and note the influence. That said, while the influences are strong, Esoteric Ebb finds its own voice through the combination of its homebrewed world and excellent character writing. This is exemplified in the character of Ragn himself. While The Cleric, as he is most often referred to, can be guided and shaped by the player in many respects, he does have some personality traits and quirks that shine through, regardless of the player’s decision-making. He is always a bit blundering, awkward, and off-putting, even when the associated ability scores are high. These ability scores do shape him in many ways, however. At the beginning of the game, you’ll have the opportunity to set your scores and choose a background that aligns with what players want to prioritize in gameplay. For example, on top of the numerical bonuses to wisdom-related rolls, a high wisdom score will make The Cleric more observant, with dynamic dialogues and events that showcase this facet of his being. In truth, the backgrounds are all parts of Ragn’s story, as each has taken place or relates to his current belief structure. By choosing a single background, you are tacitly pushing Ragn into a philosophy going forward. These scores do more than confer statistical bonuses. Much like the aforementioned Disco Elysium , they manifest as The Cleric’s inner thoughts, providing insight and differing perspectives on the events of the game. Strength is a devout nationalist, eager to use might to influence those around Ragn. By contrast, Wisdom is a compassionate socialist and takes an empathetic approach to every situation. These inner selves also speak with one another, giving voice to the myriad ways in which The Cleric can act. While these aspects of personality do speak to The Cleric’s moment-to-moment thoughts, he is shaped by the choices you make along the journey. The dialogue you choose and the quests you complete (and how you complete them) matter in fleshing out this character both internally and externally, with NPC perception of The Cleric being equally influenced by his notoriety. Additionally, completing quests grants feats to help power up your character—though there’s no need to agonize over which feat to take. I forgot about it and neglected it until I was nearly done with the game, and still managed just fine. Perhaps the most endearing aspect of Esoteric Ebb is the world that developer Chrisroffer Bodegård has brought to life. The Esoteric Coast is an oddity in a world full of them. It simultaneously deals with tense political matters and philosophies, and humorous dialogues and absurd events in equal measure. In some ways, it feels like a realistic account of how a world would be shaped by the realities of magic and insane esoteric events popping up wherever and whenever they wish. All of which ties into the adventure itself, with character quirks and world history being aspects that need to be navigated in conversation as you try to decipher a timeline of events leading up to the explosion you’ve been sent to investigate. This investigation will inevitably lead to crawling the depths of the City Below — a more traditionally dangerous part of the city that holds traps, monsters, and ancient ruins to explore. There are many secrets to uncover here, and a plethora of good gear to find, but doing so may lead you into combat with monsters or local wildlife. The way combat is handled specifically is so interesting. Rather than a grid-based, battle of might, it is handled entirely through text, with players making dice rolls to avoid attacks, devise a plan, or subdue enemies. You can also use spells to hamper foes, heal yourself, or improve your chances of making another check. These scores do more than confer statistical bonuses. Much like the aforementioned Disco Elysium, they manifest as The Cleric’s inner thoughts, providing insight and differing perspectives on the events of the game. How conversations had been handled up to the point of combat can also affect DC checks in a fight. If you were kind to someone, maybe the charisma or wisdom check DC is a bit lower, or if you started the engagement by punching a person, convincing them may become more difficult. This extends to spell effects as well. Spells like grease can hamper mobility for friend and foe alike, causing enemies to miss attacks, while also making your own dex checks easier or harder depending upon circumstance. Though combat isn’t the only way for The Cleric to be hurt — he can also die of embarrassment. Conversations may lead to failed checks or cutting words from an interlocutor that Ragn then internalizes, causing real damage to him. A tired point in many Dice roll-reliant RPGs is how much they make “failure” fun, or even preferable. It has never really been true in most cases, even something like Baldur’s Gate 3 rarely had an outcome from a failed dice roll that wasn’t abjectly negative. Esoteric Ebb stands out in this regard. While it is true that, most often, failing at a task just means a conversation has beccome more difficult, or you missed out on an item, there are also some genuine surprises, such as events that can only take place if a roll is failed or a failed roll changing the tone and tenor of a conversation in a way that makes the immediate following events more exciting or interesting. During your travels, you’ll be required to speak to an eclectic assortment of individuals. Giant trolls, wizard dentists, and even giant seagulls populate the wonderful city of Norvik. Each entity has its own distinct personality and purpose, breathing life into a setting that runs the risk of feeling derivative when taken at face value. There are just so many little side quests and secrets to find that really flesh out the City of Norvik and its cast of characters. I find myself deeply drawn to this place in a way that I am struggling to comprehend. In many respects, it is a particular connection with The Cleric that has captivated me so. Beyond his similar airheaded demeanor and general awkwardness, his preoccupation with masculinity and being a man has struck a chord. Strength in particular frames things in terms of what a “man” would do, getting hung up on both the societal expectations of what it means to do manly things and the aesthetics of doing so. For all intents and purposes, Ragn is a man in the traditional cultural sense, and can even flirt with multiple women in the game. But what is being a man, really? I’ve asked myself the same question in the past. The expectations that society places on men and women to perform specific, gendered roles or for people to have tastes and desires on explicitly gendered lines has never felt quite right, like I’m a square peg being shoved into a round hole. Ragn himself feels this pressure internally and externally, with Strength providing that peculiar brand of performative masculinity for the game’s other voices to bounce off of. NPCs play into this aspect, as well, with many questioning their place or role in society or even in relation to other characters on the lines of gender. In practice, all of this discussion about gender and societal norms feels like a direct player to GM conversation. As the only writer on the game, Christoffer Bodegård speaks to players through these dialogues, imparting his own thoughts and ideals while pushing the player to question their own. As part of that conversational aspect, Christoffer addresses to players directly at the end of each day as you rest, and also when loading a save. The omnipresent DM recounts the things you did during your waking hours, offering commentary and advice. It adds a nice personal touch, but also serves as a reminder that this is presented as a tabletop game. This does make some of the more idiosyncratic elements make more sense, such as the inclusion of an orientalized interpretation of Japan, which comes across as commentary on the way people see and use the storied nation in media, rather than as a true accounting of how Christoffer Bodegård actually views it. Esoteric Ebb is an absolutely worthy successor to its inspirations. It effortlessly manages to be both intellectually rigorous and deeply, humanly messy, blending its philosophical questions with the overarching narrative and tea shop mystery, elevating all aspects in the process. The ways in which the people and ideas are presented feel so refreshing, with Christoffer Bodegård showcasing not only his understanding of the subjects being written about — feminism, capitalism, and more — but also his own willingness to explore that understanding, and to also have us explore those thoughts with him. In truth, I cannot decouple the personal victory of being able to stay present for all of it from my enjoyment of the material. It feels like the first time in a long while that I have been able to engage with and sit with a game in the way that I really wanted to. It’s the first time I could just play a game without getting distracted or feeling the urge to skip through some text along the way. Of course, being able to immerse myself in such a world would be useless if it weren't worth engaging in. Thankfully, Esoteric Ebb is phenomenally funny, philosophically rich, and just damn fun to play. Verdict Image Credits: Raw Fury Disclaimer: We received a copy of this game from the publisher.

I’ve been having a great time playing narrative-focused RPGs as of late. From taking another crack at Disco Elysium to immersing myself in Esoteric Ebb , the genre is certainly not lacking in terms of great experiences to be had. But I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a game quite like Moves of the Diamond Hand . Taking a first-person view through the surreal and dystopian Off-Peak City, the player character finds themselves trying to land a job with Circus X, a legendary circus that has made its way back into town. To get there, you’ll need to do some digging, finding an in with the crew. Along the way, there are quests to do and an eclectic assortment of people to meet and learn from. Publisher:   Cosmo D Studios Developer:   Cosmo D Studios Platform:  Played on PC Availability: Released in Early Access on April 13, 2026 for PC. I have been running through an early access build, so you never know what is going to stick around for the final piece (though there is a roadmap which has a few details on development plans, which you can check out here ), but the introductory sequence spares no time in throwing you into the thick of things. The game starts you off on a train, speaking directly with your old teacher. He is kind enough to talk to you about your plans for Circus X, and serves as the means by which the tutorial is delivered. However, in this conversation, a bunch of terminology is thrown at the player quite quickly without being explained, as if the player character knows exactly what the professor is talking about. It does make sense that this would be the case; our character exists in this world—he should know! But I don't know what Circus X is, or what this city is like, or what any other thing that is happening in this city means. This is truly not a problem per se, I love the sort of intrigue and mystery it sets up in the player's mind as a way to drive things forward, but there is a peculiar visual feature happening in conversations where seemingly important terminology and names are highlighted in dialogue as if there is some way to intereact with them or otherwise reference them outside of conversation. This is not the case; there is no journal to reference, and the terms are not explained when moused over or clicked on. Eschewing the norms of the medium is not a detriment, but it did take a bit of adjusting in my mind. After the short conversation and tutorialization of dice mechanics and stat distribution, you’re set loose into the city. If the strange professor on the train wasn’t clue enough, your first look at the environments will make it clear that this place is an oddity. Giant statues of cats and crocodiles frame your view of the city skyline. The night sky is purple and impossibly star-speckled, with a massive red moon looming above. On the platform you’ve stepped out on, men with bird heads roam as green smoke rises from the grates and trash cans, and giant pigeons have made their home on the benches nearby. Every element of these first two chapters is as bizarre as it is mysterious, but I find myself wholly intrigued and yearning to learn more. There are many quests to find and people to meet almost immediately upon heading down the first steps, but early conversations are tough going without some help. I’m not going to explain the dice mechanics here in detail, but as a top-level introduction, your stats are your dice. Every check you make is done by rolling dice, which you empower by using points you get from other dice rolls and through engaging in conversation. The more powerful your dice faces are, the better your rolls. Even still, some rolls are quite difficult or impossible at this stage without boosting effects, which is where equipment, items, and conditions come in. Each of these modifies your dice rolls in some way, with some affecting your energy and nerve, providing you with money, and others still providing numerical adjustments to the rolls — positive and negative. I found myself bouncing between characters, learning more about the world and gaining skill points, incrementally gaining the tools and experience necessary to pass a conversation or getting new skills and items to assist me, like learning how to make pizzas. Rather than exhausting dialogue with each individual in a single sitting, I was forced to do what I could in the moment and double back to dive deeper. In some ways, this always kept me on the hook for another chat, and I found myself wondering just what these guys were yapping about, and made mental notes to go back to each at different points. Overall, Moves of the Diamond Hand is an exciting prospect. I really enjoyed the dice mechanics in my short time with them (about 10 hours to get through the first two chapters), and the world is bizarre and mysterious in all the right ways. I do understand that early access is a tough sell, especially with full release not scheduled until 2027 at the earliest, but if nothing else, it's a game worth keeping an eye out for in the future.

Gunboat God is a striking addition to the bullet hell genre, adding a unique artstyle and interesting mechanics to keep it fresh and new. I was surprised to learn this is developer Janson RAD’s first game, as the game feels polished and oozes personality. Publisher:   Fireshine Games Developer:   Janson RAD Platform:  Played on PC Availability: Released Apr 13, 2026 for PC. Being a gullet hell game, Gunboat God does follow some standard formulas. The map has multiple zones that are each full of interconnected “micro-missions” that create a path to the end. Taking the shortest path to the end or doubling back to cover every alternate route and offshoot are both options. Although levels do reward upgrade currencies and sometimes unlock alternate weapons, not covering at least some optional levels will create a disadvantage. With five different areas, I could see the potential for things to feel repetitive, but I have yet to find two missions that feel similar enough to feel repetitive. The biggest standout while surviving the onslaught is the division of the screen space. Being in a boat does not protect you from below, as some enemies come from underneath to create the classic 360-degree threat of danger that most bullet hells have. Instead, what sets this game’s enemies and patterns apart is what happens at the water’s surface. This dividing line is ever-present and, due to being in a boat, is the character’s neutral state. Enemies are therefore divided into three groups depending on where they spawn: sky, water, or surface. From there, they split into where they can move. Some enemies might start in one zone and move to another, some die when they touch an opposing zone, and some switch between zones constantly — leaving no place safe from their attacks. There are many enemy types, with each level typically having a completely different enemy pool from the levels near it, so that no single enemy or combination becomes stale or overused. The boat can also jump into the air or go underwater, but for only a brief time before returning to the surface to help evade or navigate terrain. This surface interaction is a big part of playing around enemies and staying alive, which keeps this mechanic at the center of gameplay and player strategy. Gunboat God is visually striking and makes for an exciting experience. Upgrading weapons and skills is also a core part of progression. There are many weapons to choose from, and each has a different selection of upgradable attributes. Damage is a general upgrade that uses a separate currency, only shared with upgrading your ultimate meter, which is spent on increasing weapon damage or a selected special skill like flying. Excluding damage from individual weapons’ upgrade options is a welcome choice, as that leaves each weapon’s upgradables to be things like projectile speed, size, or range; removing the need to specialize in only a few weapons so as not to become outscaled. Upgrade points are also reversible, encouraging experimentation and different play styles. The only upgrades not capable of resetting are the more general character and movement upgrades. The currency for the general upgrades is a bit different, being received only when completing special challenges on select levels. The artstyle is a deceptively simple white and black that creates stark outlines of enemies to make each unique and easily identifiable, even in an overwhelming horde. The only color breaking up the dual-tone foreground is the background art, depicting the area of the current map or level, with each area having its own single-color theme. All of this while Yeti, the owner of your new boat, runs around your screen in excitement when a new part or upgrade is found, or yells whatever he is thinking during cutscenes. Gunboat God is a game I will be coming back to for 100% completion. Quick, focused levels, an upgrade system that does not force specialization, fun and chaotic movement, a striking art style, and a boatload of charm will, without a doubt, keep this high on my list for the bullet hell genre. Verdict Gunboat God  is a worthy addition to the crowded bullet hell genre. With clear, identifiable action and varying levels keeping the game fresh and easy to understand, this game does not let its style get in the way of readability in horde combat. Balance fighting threats from the air, sea, and anything in between! Now go get Yeti those boat parts and hone your skills to become the true Gunboat God ! Image Credits: Fireshine Games Disclaimer: We received a copy of this game from the publisher.