This exact type of browser-based, room-code casualness makes Jackbox Party Pack games so accessible and alluring for casual audiences—and Trivia Murder Party 3 continues that. Just now in a standalone format. But there are some extras that make this not only a standout title for Jackbox Studios, but also make playing with strangers even easier.

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.

Starting out as a prototype in the Big Mode Game Jam in 2023, Backpack Boy has had a multi-year journey to make its way to 1.0. The first commercial game of developer Chuck & Niles Games, Backpack Boy isn’t going to redefine the sidescrolling puzzle genre, but it’s a charming game that does a whole lot of things right.

Agent 64: Spies Never Die gave me a hit of nostalgia that throwback hardware and old games can’t. For one fleeting moment, it actually felt like I was a kid again, showing my friends a brand-new N64 cartridge. It’s a rare feeling to chase, but with Agent 64, Replicant D6 managed to catch it.

In a year teeming with hotly anticipated releases, like Wolverine and Grand Theft Auto 6, one of the games I was looking forward to the most was Big Walk by developer House House, the team behind Untitled Goose Game.

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.

We recently got to play a preview build of DarkSwitch that shows off a little bit more than the Steam demo does—and few colony sims have grabbed me quite like this. I probably haven’t been this invested in the genre since the original Frostpunk thrust me into a “what if” frozen world and tasked me with keeping its residents alive. But instead of a frozen wasteland, DarkSwitch drops you into a lush fantasy world where being on the ground means being subjected to a creeping fog

Stop me if you've heard this one: You've got very specific health, academic, and social goals. There are 24 hours in a day You need money, but you also need to exercise, eat right, and do chores By Wednesday, you're hopped up on caffeine and feeling good. You’re motivated, and you're gonna do the things. On Friday, you find out you're short 12 dollars for your college application fees, have no energy at all, no laundry done, and can't go to the party. I'm sorry, is th

Okay, I know Hive Scum released way earlier this month, but I’ve been busy! Seriously, though: Warhammer 40,000: Darktide is still the best Left 4 Dead style 4-player co-op game on the market. Easily the best. And it’s a shame that it doesn’t get more attention. Maybe it’s overshadowed by its equally great Warhammer: Vermintide 2 spiritual prequel, or maybe people have been burnt by too many bad 40k video games to really feel the draw to it. Still, The Hive Scum is a dece

I’ve always appreciated the types of stories where you kill gods, or fight your way through hell–so Death Howl’s premise is something I definitely could get behind. Mix that with a folklore-steeped Scandinavian purgatory and you get a game that feels like a lost legend, one that balances the cosmic scale of defying the afterlife with the intimate, crushing weight of personal grief.

Screenshot: Scrabdackle Act 1 What do you get when you put together a bit of metroidvania, a pinch of soulslike, a dash of Terry Pratchett, a few cups of Zelda and a whole bucket of charm? Apparently you get Scrabdackle , a hand drawn, top down adventure game developed by jakefriend. It looks like a game I would have come across in the corners of some early digital distribution storefront years ago, replete with hand drawn animation that looks like it was drawn in MS Paint.

Despite my admonitions, Concierge might be worth checking out if it ticks your boxes. It’s definitely a unique game, and for the gamer that’s seen everything, Concierge might just have something new for you.

Every once and a while a game comes along that becomes my happy place. A safe space where time and objective hold no power; where you can...