Interested in Ashfall? Read more about it in this quick first impressions! 💬 Are you going to play Ashfall or do you plan on skipping it? Let me know down in the comments! [Music credits: "Hard Metal Intro" by WinnieTheMoog]

[Music credits: "Fantasy Orchestra 3 BGM 86" by Nico - "Fantasy Orchestra 2 BGM 112" by Nico]

For a certain type of dorky kid growing up in the '90s, the Stargate franchise was a formative gateway into goofy-yet-fun, low-budget sci-fi adventures. Beginning with the 1994 movie Stargate, the series quickly expanded out into multiple TV shows, comics, cartoons, books, and yes, video games. And while there hasn't been much going on with this IP in recent years, that's finally changing this week, as an all-new Stargate game has just launched...and you can even play the first mission for free.

SHOULD I PLAY GRANBLUE FANTASY: RELINK? Absolutely check out Granblue Fantasy: Relink if you even remotely enjoy Japanese-style RPGs or just games with great action RPG combat systems. As a spin-off of the Granblue Fantasy mobile game that’s been running for almost a decade now, getting thrown right into the middle of this story might feel a little confusing at first. But developer Cygames uses this history to its advantage, presenting a world that feels complex and interesting to explore. Plus it’s populated by massive, godlike monsters in need of being hacked and slashed to death. Bonus!

SHOULD I PLAY DRAGONHEIR: SILENT GODS? There are two main determining factors on whether you should check this one out: if you love old-school fantasy and tabletop RPGs like Dungeons & Dragons, and if you don’t get immediately turned off by gacha and microtransactions. If you answered yes to both of those, then Dragonheir: Silent Gods is definitely worth playing. This cross-platform gacha RPG provides a much deeper and more unique experience than most gacha games, and it does so while paying tribute to the epic, imaginative fantasy of

Despite being made by the same team that created the beloved Warhammer: End Times - Vermintide and Warhammer: Vermintide 2, players were very lukewarm on last year's Warhammer 40,000: Darktide. The mixed reviews on Steam pointed to tons of bugs, a lack of content, and unrewarding progression as major problems contributing to the lack of excitement. Well, developer Fatshark has been working away at Darktide for a year now, improving on those issues with patches adding new content, balancing classes and abilities, and squashing legions of bugs. That all culminates in the just-launched Patch 13, which completely overhauls how classes and leveling work in the game.

SHOULD I PLAY SONG OF NUNU? Play it. Song of Nunu offers an enchanting, narrative-driven experience into the universe of League of Legends. In this spin-off, League champions Nunu and Willump must traverse the frozen land of Freljord on a journey to uncover mysteries and search for lost family. While traversing through icy mountains, solving puzzles, and fighting monsters might feel a little easy,

It's been a long time since we've seen a fall from grace quite so spectacular as The Day Before. The latest twist in that saga comes with today's news that developer Fntastic is shutting down just days after the game finally launched in early access. This survival zombie shooter first came on gamers' radars a couple years ago with an impressive first trailer. Despite few people having heard of Russian developer Fntastic, the trailer built a huge amount of buzz, and The Day Before quickly became one of the most wishlisted games on Steam of all time. Equally quickly, however, more discerning gamers started questioning whether the trailer was showing actual gameplay or if it was all nonsense.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom came out way back in May, but from the first time I glued a sword to another sword, I knew it would be one of my favorite games of the year. It manages to be so many things at the same time, from a physics sandbox to a puzzle-lover’s playground to a shockingly detailed engineering simulation. Oh, and it also happens to be a phenomenal Zelda game. Most games are filled with boundaries and restrictions, but in Tears of the Kingdom, you can do just about anything you want to do if you can find a way to make it work. Sure, you can’t walk up to dogs and pet them, but

SHOULD I PLAY WARM SNOW? Absolutely play it if you enjoy action-packed roguelites with tons of unlockables and a unique setting. Warm Snow takes place in a fictionalized version of seventeenth-century China where the kingdom has fallen into chaos thanks to a strange phenomenon known as “Warm Snow.” I had to slice my way through multiple locations and thousands of mutated enemies to get to the bottom of this bizarre event, equipping myself with different relics and weapons as I did so. This is as tightly designed and fun of a roguelite as I’ve ever played and definitely worth the dozens of hours you can put into it if you want to unlock everything.

PLAY IT OR SKIP IT? Skip it for now, but it may be worth revisiting once it hits full release. Ashfall is a shooter MMORPG that reminds me of Fallout’s post-apocalyptic world and monsters. Despite its strong visual style and interesting story, Ashfall doesn’t manage to live up to its very lofty inspirations—at least not yet, in its beta test form. This game has all the potential in the world to grow into something enjoyable in the future, but its combat system and gameplay will need a lot of improvement before that happens.

PLAY IT OR SKIP IT? Play it as soon as you’re able to. Wuthering Waves is still only in a limited-release closed beta, and it may be a while yet until it’s more widely available. As soon as you’re able to get into the game, though, I strongly recommend it. This stylish action-RPG brings a unique world to life on PC and mobile devices, with a blend of fantasy and sci-fi that focuses on the mystical properties of soundwaves. Even in this early state, I’m already sold on continuing to explore this strange new world.

Diablo IV has been through some big ups and downs since launching last summer, but the game's third season is about to begin, and it may be the biggest and most interesting one so far. The world of Diablo may be mostly known for angels and demons, but this time mechanical monstrosities will be getting in on the action. Titled "Season of the Construct," this season will see players journey to the depths underneath the desert of Kehjistan, where ancient robotic technology has sprung back to life and been made to serve the forces of evil. Players will make camp at the town of Gatehall and explore various vault dungeons full of the titular constructs as they attempt to master this powerful force for themselves.

PLAY IT OR SKIP IT? Absolutely play it. Phantom Blade: Executioners is a flashy action game that mixes the best elements of classic side-scrolling 2D brawlers—think Streets of Rage and Golden Axe—with a deep yet approachable combo-based fighting system that feels like something out of Devil May Cry. The result is a brilliantly fun, bite-sized title that’s worth some time even if you’re tired of gacha games.

SHOULD I PLAY SWORD ART ONLINE LAST RECOLLECTION? Play it, especially if you’re a fan of the Sword Art Online anime/manga/light novel series. Sword Art Online: Last Recollection is an action RPG set during the third season of the anime. It’s a great representation of the series, but it suffers in a few ways mostly tied to its presentation: ugly visuals, poor animation, and delayed actions. I’d still recommend it to fans of the series, though, who’ll find plenty to enjoy here.

Dwerve is love🤩❤️ Dwerve is a TD dungeon crawler RPG where you play as the titular character who is a dwarf and battle the witch-queen Vandra and her bloodthristy troll army. Dwerve's grandpa teaches him that because dwarves are frail creatures, they need to stay behind a turret and fight. There are over a dozen turrets and traps in the game each with their own upgrade tree with 100+ upgrades. Dwerve only attacks when he stays still but when your turret is destroyed, you have to escape. You can dash through enemies every 3 seconds. Because the enemies are always targeting Dwerve, you have to move around and strategically place your turrets/traps after recalling them. This makes sure that the gameplay doesn't become stale.

SHOULD I PLAY FORT SOLIS? Fort Solis is absolutely worth playing, as long as you know the type of game you’re getting into. And that is, to be clear, a one hundred percent narrative game. Virtually all of the “gameplay” in Fort Solis is made up of walking around the titular creepy abandoned base on Mars, with a small handful of very simple puzzles and quick time events. That said, if you’re down for a creepy, suspenseful story, this one will get under your skin in all the best ways.

SHOULD I PLAY DANMACHI BATTLE CHRONICLE? Only play it if you really like DanMachi. DanMachi Battle Chronicle is a visually stunning gacha game based on the popular light novel/manga/anime series DanMachi or Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? in its full English title. The game features a well-made story backed by great voice acting and cutscenes, but it falls short with everything else: repetitive gameplay, slow progression, limited content, and a poorly designed shop.

Hollow knight has to be one of the most mysterious games about it's lore. You can make a full playthrough and know little to nothing about the secrets this game has. Hollow Knight keeps its lore hidden in mysterious tablets, items, people, etc. So far we don't even know everything about Hollow Knight yet. The craziest thing is the sequel is coming out sooner or later and this game franchise will be a pile of lore for any new players.

Step into a mesmerizing pixel-art realm with Unreal Life, an indie masterpiece that has claimed the prestigious "New Faces Award" at the Japan Media Arts Festival. Developed by the visionary indie game label "Yokaze," this title beckons players to immerse themselves in a world where mystery, emotion, and adventure seamlessly intertwine. Background Story: Unreal Life weaves a poignant tale around Hal, a girl who grapples with amnesia, armed only with the haunting memory of "Miss Sakura." Guided by a talking traffic light and an extraordinary ability to extract memories from touched objects, players accompany Hal on her quest to rediscover her past.