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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

"The Silent Age" transports players into a mysterious blend of a dystopian future and the vibrant 70s, offering a point-and-click adventure filled with puzzles and an intriguing narrative. Background Story: Set against the backdrop of a vanished humanity, the protagonist, Joe, an average guy stuck in a dead-end job, becomes the unexpected hero amidst the winds of change in 1972. The narrative promises a departure from the ordinary, adding depth to Joe's otherwise unremarkable life.

SHOULD I PLAY THE CUB? Hell yes, especially since there’s a free demo available now. The Cub is an action-packed 2D platformer set on a postapocalyptic Earth that looks set to be one of the first indie hits of 2024. While the full game won’t be available until January 19, 2024, you can play the demo for free now, and it’s already very impressive. The game’s gorgeous visuals and challenging gameplay were definitely enough to sell me, and I can’t wait to check out the full version.

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.

CORRUPTOR "A monster born from Mania, with a deformed body and no sanity. Mania is a mutation unique to humans that causes abnormal mental and physical changes in individuals. First discovered in DisCity in N.F. 84, its cause is still unknown. People infected with Mania will become slaves to extreme feelings and emotions, such as hysteria, paranoia, and insatiable appetites for sensual pleasures; at the same time, their physical strength will increase exponentially, and their physical appearance will change beyond recognition. Eventually, they will go deranged and turn into grotesque monsters that have no will of their own."

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

SHOULD I PLAY UNSORTED HORROR? Play it if you like horror games at all. I mean, it’s totally free, what do you have to lose? Unsorted Horror is a compilation of five brief but memorable horror experiences created by developer Mike Klubnika. While the actual gameplay is somewhat minimal here, the sense of atmosphere that Klubnika builds is second to none. This free collection operates as a first glimpse of someone who is likely to become a major name in the world of horror games, so you might as well get on board now.

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

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]

If this is your first time visiting TapTap, welcome! And if you’ve been here before, welcome back! If you’re on the Garten of Baban 3 game page, chances are you’re hoping to download Garten of Banban 3, and we’d like to help you if we can! What is Garten of Banban 3? As the name suggests, Garten of Banban 3 is the third game in a series of strange horror games from developer Euphoric Brothers. Set in a twisted kindergarten, the game sees players trying to explore and hopefully escape while solving puzzles and avoiding unsettling cartoon monsters.

PLAY IT OR SKIP IT? Wow, this is way harder to answer than it usually is. I would say skip Garten of Banban 3 if you’re looking for what might traditionally be called a “good” game. But on the other hand, if you’re looking for something almost inexplicably weird—like just so strange that you almost can’t help but enjoy it—then it might just be worth playing. As with previous entries in the series,

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

SHOULD I PLAY PRINCE OF PERSIA: THE LOST CROWN? Yes! As a long-time fan of the Prince of Persia franchise, I was excited to see it coming back, but even gamers who are totally unfamiliar with previous games should be able to find plenty to love in Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown. This reboot puts players into the role of Sargon, a warrior of Persia who must venture into the dangerous region of Mount Qaf after the prince is kidnapped. In gameplay terms, that means exploring a fascinating region in the form of a tightly designed 2D Metroidvania-style adventure.

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,

[Music credits: "Plains of Illeyneth" by Dragon Tamer -  "Orchestral Fantasy Fairy Village" by Frequently Asked Music]