UnHoly Neighborhood emerges as a distinctive entry in the realm of point-and-click adventure puzzle mystery games, offering players a captivating journey through a gloomy neighborhood teeming with surreal elements. Background Story: The narrative centers around Peter Grim, the protagonist on a quest to solve the mysterious kidnapping of his wife, confront a strange storm, and navigate a city overrun by giant rats. The dark riddles of the neighborhood serve as the backdrop to this intriguing storyline.

Without a doubt, the Runeterran lore of this game is one of the best there is. It's what got me hooked in the game. You can pick up a champ and eventually know who they are and what they are fighting for because their respective stories are reflected on their gameplay mechanics, voice line interactions and visual design. It's well-executed than other games and genres out there. Also, their alternate universes for their various skin lines are as vast and as rich with amazing storytelling. Arcane, the series on Netflix was based on this game's lore and set of champions.

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.

I would say my favorite lore-rich game is Inscryption. It is not merely a roguelike card-game, but is an integrated presentation of intriguing gameplay and unexpected plot-twist. For me, the more interesting part is actually outside of this game, since on one hand, another two works (Pony Island and The Hex) from the same development team also share the same universe with Inscryption (but with totally different stories and gameplay), which somehow triggers more interpretation of the lore from different players; and on the other hand, some part of the lore is even connected with the real world we’re living in, and that also makes the whole thing more fantastic.

Dive into the enchanting world of Night Reverie, where mystery and sibling bonds blend seamlessly in a delightful puzzle adventure. Background Story: In Night Reverie, the narrative unfolds with the touching tale of siblings Matt and Emma, navigating a distorted home. The storyline, while addressing poignant themes, maintains a sweet and hopeful tone, promising players an emotional yet uplifting journey.

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.

SHOULD I PLAY BLASPHEMOUS 2? This is the easiest “YES” I’ve given in ages, unless you can't handle how nasty it is. Blasphemous 2 is a sequel to what was already one of the best and most memorable Metroidvanias of the modern era. But much more than just retreading the exact same territory, this sequel builds wisely on the strengths of the first game. It’s not just a long adventure and not just a return to the disturbing, gothic world of 2019’s

PLAY IT OR SKIP IT? If you’ve got any appreciation for the Metroidvania style of game at all, then you owe it to yourself to play Afterimage. Coming off a successful Kickstarter campaign just a year ago, developer Aurogon Shanghai has released the next masterpiece in a masterpiece-heavy genre. With tight controls, compelling progression and exploration, and especially a stunning hand-drawn art style, Afterimage pays homage to the classics while also undeniably forging its own strong identity via a fascinating and diverse fantasy world. It’s really good.

It's acceptable to have reservations about buying massive games published by anyone, especially by new or even long-standing studios, with titles like Stray fully blowing up because of the internet when the reality remains that it wasn't much of a game, but rather a feline experience that was the first to really get a massive crowd. Black Myth Wukong does not do it to you. It treats you like a paying customer, delivers what you paid for and expect, avoids dumb ideas or gimmicks, and remains loyal to the source material,

SHOULD I PLAY WARHAMMER 40K: ROGUE TRADER? Absolutely play this game if you’re a Warhammer 40K fan or you’re chasing the high of Baldur’s Gate 3’s crunchy tactical battles. Warhammer 40K: Rogue Trader isn’t as visually lavish as Larian’s magnum opus, but it’s packed with all the Warhammer 40K goodness a fan could ever want, and it’s set in a wild and unpredictable landscape of frontier worlds that provide some much-needed variety to the usual buffet of cookie-cutter space marines.

Lost Echo presents an immersive sci-fi mystery adventure that captivates players from the first click. As Greg embarks on a desperate quest to find his vanished girlfriend, Chloe, the game promises a visually stunning and emotionally engaging experience. Background Story: The narrative unfolds in the near future, blending suspense and sci-fi elements seamlessly. Greg's search for Chloe sets the stage for a thrilling journey filled with twists and turns, keeping players hooked with each revelation.

We're pretty stoked for the upcoming new Hellboy game, Hellboy: Web of Wyrd. I mean, just look at this thing in action in the trailer above. It looks like the pages of Hellboy artist Mike Mignola's artwork come to life. If they can pull it off and make it fun, it's going to be killer. Unfortunately, though, we got news today that we'll have to wait just a little bit longer to find out whether they pulled it off or not. Originally planned to launch on October 4, Hellboy: Web of Wyrd has been pushed back two weeks to an October 18 release.

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.

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

PLAY IT OR SKIP IT? Play it! Doomblade is a challenging but charming Metroidvania that gives off Hollow Knight vibes but manages to have a unique identity all its own. Stepping into the shoes of a tiny, tentacled creature known as Gloom Girl, I picked up an evil, sentient sword and set out on an intense adventure to take out the Dread Lords, otherworldly baddies who’ve wiped out the Gloomfolk and created a dystopian world. That adventure challenged my skills as much as anything I’ve played this year, but it was well worth fighting through to explore this wild, interesting world.

SHOULD I PLAY CRYSTAL OF ATLAN? Absolutely play it once you get the chance! If the ongoing technical beta test is anything to go by, Crystal of Atlan may be the strongest action-RPG competition Genshin Impact has faced since Tower of Fantasy. While it’s too early to say whether Atlan can actually surpass Genshin, I feel confident that it’s well-designed enough to deserve your time and consideration.

I really love the lore behind the Rusty Lake universe. The lore spans over 300 years and involves the stories of multiple families. All works from the Cube Escape series/Rusty Lake series contain various details and are related to each other, making the lore more complicated yet intriguing. Would definitely recommend the series to those who love lore-rich puzzle games.

PLAY IT OR SKIP IT? Play it! Honkai: Star Rail is a sci-fi RPG that’s better than developer MiHoYo’s Honkai Impact 3rd and comes very close to the charm of the much-loved Genshin Impact. Star Rail’s immersive storyline, beautiful graphics, and deep turn-based combat have kept me thoroughly entertained. TIME PLAYED I played Honkai: Star Rail for seven hours. The tutorial took me around forty minutes, and the rest of my play time has been dedicated to various lengthy questlines. I’ve also acquired seven characters and leveled five of them to their current max of level twenty.

SHOULD I PLAY BLAZBLUE ENTROPY EFFECT? Definitely give this one a shot if you’re a fan of great roguelites or the action-packed anime aesthetic of the BlazBlue series. This spin-off, BlazBlue Entropy Effect, sees familiar characters, move sets, and thumb-crushing combos of the BlazBlue fighting games translated into a roguelite action game formula. That makes for a challenging experience, but thanks to a tightly designed progression system and an intriguing story, I found it hard to put this game down.

Since it arrived last month—heck, even since it was first revealed way back in 2020—one of the most oft-repeated opinions about Final Fantasy XVI has been that it doesn’t feel like a Final Fantasy game. After spending eighty hours with this latest entry in one of gaming’s biggest franchises, I can finally definitively respond to that opinion: Yes, Final Fantasy XVI doesn’t feel like a Final Fantasy