«Hauntii is not your typical twinstick, thanks to its emphasis on possession and artful handcraftedness. Few games this year can contest its beauty, or its sense of awe and wonder, with such tightness.»

«Offering a more involved experience than your usual garlic-like, Frontline Survivors is a thematically consistent garlic-like with twinstick controls and batshit builds. It's clever and very fun.»

«For those who seek a great new Metroidvania that hews heavily towards the first half of the term, Rebel Transmute is a must in 2024. Tight and robust as hell.»

«Juicy roguelite action with groovy, energetic tunes and ample bullet time. Its simple, clean, hand-drawn aesthetic allows for a surprisingly readable mayhem to its bullethellish extremes.»

«Regardless of your familiarity to Moomin, this handcrafted delight will whisk you away to its wondrous world for a heartfelt and effortlessly charming tale all the same. Gorgeous in every sense.»

«Try to name a twinstick that is as mesmerizing as Dead Petals Bliss already is—you can't. This trippy twinstick combines forces between the devs of Dead Petals and satryn deluxe, and they NAIL IT.»

«Despite completely sucking at it, I cannot dispute that Slidemagi is a robust, kickass tactical RPG with an inventive control scheme and design around it, as well as a cute claymation aesthetic.»

«One of the most unique and gorgeous deckbuilders so far, offering a fresh and intuitive battle system as well as a monster-catching flair. Plus, the music and creature designs totally own.»

«Sure to be one of 2024's finest narratively focused titles, 1000xRESIST serves up gracefully poetic writing with gutting visual storytelling, incredible environmental design, and great cinematography.»

«Delightfully providing a wonderful finale to this cult favorite series of Metroidvanias, Moonlit Farewell is lovingly crafted and a complete joy to play. Tight design with impeccable pixel art.»

«It does not take long for Balatro to sink its hooks into you, being one of the freshest roguelite deckbuilders yet. Psychedelic visuals, magnificent music, and insatiable gameplay.»

«One of the greatest mobile games of all time (and that is no hyperbole) has just now hit Steam—so, if you scoff at the prospect of mobile gaming, finally check this characterful puzzler out.»

«Lovers of short, morbid, indie story games will find much to appreciate with Sunflower Pie. It's strange, affecting, creepy, and pulls no punches.»

«Do you want moar QUICKERFLAK, but you get a fuck-off huge sword and with an even more breakneck pace? Then QF2 will provide all of the badass combat and spartan design QF is known for.»

«Lovers of short, cute investigative adventure titles will find plenty to enjoy with DD:TSS. It's clever, it's fun, it's adorable, and it doesn't outstay its welcome. Does what it says on the tin.»

«Proudly crude in every sense of the word, this adaptation of the zany tabletop title offers a breadth and depth in both its gameplay and set of features. But it's the hilarious voice acting that's #1.»

«Every year, Devcats drop another banger entry into their A ___ Full of Cats series, and the outstandingly robust ATFoC is no less cute, charming, or clever than its predecessors.»

«Aggro Crab have done it again, delivering a colorful, cunning, delightful, and accessible entry into the Soulsborne genre. Smooth action/platforming too, and the anti-pollution themes fit so well.»

«A barn-burner of the highest caliber, delivering a genuinely fresh riff on the saturated garlic-like genre: you're driving through the onslaughts like a bat outta hell, slamming into them.»

«Dan and I were pleasantly surprised by just how damn rad The Fate of Baldr is as an Orcs Must Die!-esque melding of co-op third-person shooting and tower defense strategy. Gorgeous environments too.»

«Lovely and lively, this marvelous first-person puzzler nurtures an enthralling mix of accessible yet cerebral puzzles and Gone Home-y storytelling. Gorgeous visuals, music, and level design.»

«Psychedelia and Metroidvanias are IN in 2024, and this banger with spectacular art by El Huervo (of Hotline Miami fame) synthesizes these two crazes with style, refinement, and more style.»

«Touting some of the tightest melee combat of the year, this stylish blend of Katana ZERO and Cowboy Bebop had me on the edge of my seat beating mfers up and volleying across platforms.»

«Hotline Miami 3 ain't happenin', hon, but its legacy lives on in Anger Foot—albeit now in first-person and bathed in Free Lives' offbeat personality. Few games are as exhilarating AF as AF is.»

«LK,BC channels decades of cute cat pics into one indelibly delightful ball of an open world collect-a-thon. To say that it is effortlessly endearing would be tautological, but it still bears praise.»