Sometimes it feels like you can’t open Steam without seeing a new roguelike deckbuilder for sale. Don’t get me wrong: I love the genre, but it gets a bit stale after a while. That’s why a game like Shroom and Gloom feels so fresh.

The one thing from the playthrough that really stood out was that voice made a lot of difference. At one point when the kids were being swamped by monsters, someone yelled “it’s because they can hear you!” “I’m sorry, I’m just scared!” was the reply “Be scared quietly!” That should be the game’s tagline.

Screenshot: PixArk I’ve never played PixArk before now, but I have played Ark. And while I know it has a cult following and established fanbase, I never saw the appeal. I wrote a review for Ark back when it hit 1.0 and the entire game felt waterlogged. Bloated and cumbersome, like something that is overcomplicated and literally slow because of how badly optimized it was. But I have to admit that premise is compelling, and I love me some open world sandbox games with breadcrum

So why is this getting released now? Nostalgia, surely. But also because Aspyr parent company Embracer now owns the rights thanks to their acquisition of Middle-earth Enterprises in 2022. That means there’s a possibility that more WB Lord of the Rings games will be rereleased by Aspyr, so this could be the first of many.

I’ve been reviewing games for almost a decade at this point, but I’ve been playing games a whole lot longer than that. It’s rare for me to find a game that will easily capture my attention for hours. I’m not talking about mandatory play sessions I do for these reviews. That’s me shouldering through games that might even be fun, but aren’t fun because now I’m playing them for work. Splatoon Raiders was the opposite. I sat and played for hours without even glancing at the clock

I’m playing a game. I know I should be having fun. I love first person shooters. I like fast first person shooters. Even the game thinks I should be having fun: the music is pumping, the bullets are flying. My guns are chugging away (plinking, really) – but I’m just not having any fun.

Sonic The Hedgehog is one of the most iconic video game characters ever, and he’s been the star of numerous TV shows, video games, and movie adaptations. Today is the speedy little hedgehog’s 35th birthday, and while he’s gone through many redesigns, his core philosophy of “gotta go fast” has been consistent.

Screenshot: Remake of the End of the Greatest RPG of All Time I’ve always been a fan of when YouTubers and streamers find old memory cards from retro consoles, and pick up saved games where the previous owner left off. It’s a fun bit of nostalgia to see both the previous player’s mindset and what they prioritized. A sort of digital time capsule that makes the past feel more present. Remake of the End of the Greatest RPG of All Time is based around the concept of coming into s

While I appreciated how much of the world Alt Shift got right, the experience never felt quite as harrowing as its premise promised. So much of the pressure and drama in Scattered Hopes comes from management systems that feel very sterile, while the combat is the only part that feels tense and decisive in a satisfying way.

There’s something nostalgic about Moomintroll, even if I don’t directly remember it before playing the demo for Winter’s Warmth at the Steam Next Fest. Created by Finnish-Swedish author Tove Jansson in 1945, the Moomin franchise has steadily evolved from beloved children's literature into a multi-generational global empire.

Games like Frostpunk turned resource management into life-and-death affairs—and I’m done with intense decisions that can lead to a cascade of death and failure. I’d rather have something a little more cozy. So I was excited when I heard about Above the Snow. It’s a resource management game that doesn’t make it feel like what you’re managing is going to fall apart at any moment.

There’s a part of me that associates video games with platformers and shooters, despite the fact that I spent a chunk of my childhood playing narrative-heavy games like OPUS: Prism Peak. Prism Peak, on the other hand, deals with a very human journey while incorporating spirits and Japanese folklore elements to tell its very earth-grounded story.

While MINOS isn’t exactly the "Balatroization" I was hoping for (that’s a real word, I swear), it is a competent tower defense game with roguelite elements and some synergistic fun.

I don’t want to be too hard on developer Calibus Creations. I’ll admit that I sometimes judge indie games on a bit of a curve. I’ll let things like production value go as long as the gameplay is good. Ember Island doesn't really have that going for it. There’s a lot of 'okay' there, but not much good, and nothing I could qualify as “great.” It doesn't just lack polish; it lacks a soul. It looks exactly like the uncanny video an LLM spits out when prompted to generate a "retro

Somewhere in my awareness, I knew the Telltale Sam & Max games had been remastered, but I didn’t expect Skunkape to bring Poker Night at the Inventory back into the hands of modern audiences. While their mainstream relevance might not be what it was in 2010, the crossover still works, and underneath the nostalgia is a surprisingly decent game of poker.

To-Go Games obviously put a lot of work into crafting Faremont. There are loads of interesting trails, overlooks, and flora and fauna to take a look at—which you document with your camera to fill out your nature lexicon. But a big park means there is also a lot of park to maintain, and there always seems to be something to do.

I don’t know if it’s the sight of old Casper Van Dien really putting it out there as General Rico, or the general nostalgic vibe, but Starship Troopers: Ultimate Bug War! is fantastic. It’s been my favorite shooter of the year. Instead of putting more time into Marathon, I found myself sneaking away to stomp some bugs. I’m doing my part.

With all of the humans dead and our greatest works left to rust, Timberborn envisions a world inherited by beavers. Despite a premise that sounds like an internet meme, it is far from a simple gimmick. The adorable exterior hides a game that takes its survival mechanics seriously. Developer Mechanistry clearly knows what they’re doing, as Timberborn stands as one of the best examples of the genre released in recent memory.

I usually don’t do much sampling with Steam Next Fest. I do the odd article here and there, focusing on this demo or that. But this year, I decided to go all in and play as many demos as I could. I think I may have bit off a little more than I could chew—because between my upcoming coverage, the Marathon server slam, the fact I was sick most of the week, and my cat Mr. Worf demanding my attention, I felt like I was drowning in demos for a long time.