It's always exciting to get early access to a cool-looking game, but sometimes it's a little too early. Such is the case with Equinox: Dawn's Edge, a sci-fi gacha that's available for download in an early beta form now. This game makes a good first impression with some flashy cinematics and fast-moving auto-combat, but what awaits beyond those early moments is...pretty rough. From unfinished and untranslated text to missing sound effects to framerate drops and crashes, it's clear that Equinox is not remotely ready to be played by a wide audience at this point. Heck, the game didn't even give me an awesome cinematic when I pulled the gacha. How is a gacha game supposed to get people hyped to spend money without that?!

While the game does a lot of things right, it is far from flawless and will require a lot more polish before I am prepared to fully suggest it to someone who wants to get the most out of it, free of bugs, crashes, and a lack of progression after the first Chapter. Still, this is one great use of the Gurren Lagann-style mixed with deckbuilders that has tried something new, and it works well with the rest of the presentation.

This is not my kind of game, but it's still one of the most beautiful games I've ever played. Perhaps the most impressive feature was one I stumbled upon by mistake. Pop-up windows, which are convenient if you're just doing that task, can also be moved around for when you're doing something else. The tutorial is extremely complete. It explains each step with an animated tutorial that doesn't take over or block the remaining UI. Blocking out the UI makes things easier to see, but it also makes them easier to forget. This tutorial was handled extremely well in every way.

PLAY IT OR SKIP IT? Play it if you’re at all a fan of Vampire Survivors and its many clones and imitators. Bio Prototype takes the one-tiny-character-versus-hundreds-of-baddies and adds in a healthy dose of science. You play as a lab experiment gone wrong. Instead of just leveling up and unlocking a growing list of power-ups, you earn both internal and external body parts and must work out a functioning evolutionary path for your creation. This extra layer of depth adds a ton to an already addictive genre of games.

SHOULD I PLAY ENDLESS DUNGEON? Do you love action-packed roguelite experiences? And do you mind if they have a little tower defense gameplay layered on top just for variety? If your answer to those questions is yes, then Endless Dungeon certainly deserves a shot. This latest spin-off of Amplitude Studios’ long-running Endless series shouldn’t be confused with 2014’s Dungeon of the Endless, though it’s also an intriguing blend of roguelike and tower defense with a sci-fi setting. But

SHOULD I PLAY ATLAS WEPT? If you’re a fan of EarthBound, Undertale, and other quirky turn-based RPGs, this is definitely a title you should take a look at. Atlas Wept is a pixelated RPG with strong retro vibes. The story alternates between two distinct casts of characters as they embark on a strange adventure. The groups haven’t crossed paths quite yet in my playthrough, but I suspect they’ll run into each other eventually. There’s a free demo available on Steam, so if this game has sparked your curiosity, you should definitely give it a try.

So far so good. Perfect Sci Fi horror shooter. 📖 Storyline: 10/10 🎨 Graphics: 10/10

SHOULD I PLAY THE INVINCIBLE? Play it if you’re a fan of old-school hard science fiction, but skip it if you’re not big on interactive fiction. The Invincible tells a slow-paced but fascinating story based on the Stanislaw Lem novel of the same name. Dr. Yasna, a biologist on an interstellar mission, wakes up alone on a strange planet with no memory of how she got there. It’s a fantastic premise, and the story is expertly told, but the gameplay doesn’t always live up to the quality of the narrative. It’s not for everyone, but if you’ve enjoyed other walking simulators like

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.

In 2020, the video game "Heaven Dust" boldly posed the inquiry, "What would happen if "Resident Evil 1" were presented with a top-down camera perspective?" The resultant offering manifested as a proficient action-adventure, notably more accessible than its muse due to the perpetual visibility of zombies. Presently, the emergence of "Heaven Dust 2" initiates a subsequent query—"What if the "Heaven Dust" narrative unfolded within a more expansive mansion?" Consequently, this sequel lacks the endearing qualities found in its forerunner. "Heaven Dust 2" unfolds in the aftermath of its predecessor, with the protagonist, Steve, awakening from the cryo pod wherein he had been confined after an abduction by corporate operatives. He discovers himself within another mansion besieged by rampant zombies. Regrettably, those anticipating a setting akin to a city immersed in a zombocalypse reminiscent of "Resident Evil 2" will likely find themselves disillusioned by the sequel's thematic choice.

This was such a calm and pleasant game and I think would benefit itself greatly with a challenge mode, DLC, or anything else. I'd like to keep playing it over and again, but with 100% completion, it's sort of feels ultimately pointless but still fun? It was more than just your usual deck building experience. You develop a relationship with each character and their characteristics along the journey, making it much more difficult to say goodbye once you've completed the game.

Fake Future, a pixel-style Sci-fi city-builder, will be officially launched globally on May 9 for both iOS and Android players. Featuring a unique art style, an amazing original soundtrack, and attractive gameplay, Fake Future creates a world where the human girl Hope and the Cyberoids build up their base and try to make their way back to Earth. To know more about some behind-the-scenes stories, we've invited Johnson, the developer behind this game, to talk a bit about

All things considered, I had a great time with Starfield, but it’s easy to see why some people didn’t vibe with the game. It’s filled with empty planets, there are tons of bugs, and it’s way too hard to keep track of side quests. It can still be pretty fun, but it’s clearly not a game that will click with everyone. Or at least, that’s what I used to think. Since then, I’ve realized that Starfield is a massive, multilayered experience that offers much more to do than just the main mission. There are many side missions where I can learn about the people and story of Starfield. I can even visit the official Starfield Discord for tips on how to make the game fun.

PLAY IT OR SKIP IT? Play it if you’re a fan of sci-fi, analog horror, or just like narrative-focused games. Oxenfree II: Lost Signals is a direct sequel to the original Oxenfree, but it’s surprisingly friendly to newcomers. Set five years after the first game, Lost Signals follows two brand-new characters: small town handyman Jacob and stoic screw-up Riley. There are moments that will hit harder if you’ve played the original, but it’s not overly reliant on old material, and it should make for a satisfying experience even if you treat it as a standalone game.

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]

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 CORE DEVOURER? You need to play this. Core Devourer offers all the chaotic fun and action of Vampire Survivors but with a modern sci-fi touch. Despite still being in development, the demo version looks extremely well-made and crisp. While a few small balance issues might be a nuisance, everything else in Core Devourer feels incredible. If you’ve played and enjoyed Vampire Survivors or any of its many clones, you seriously don’t want to miss trying this one out.

PLAY IT OR SKIP IT? Play it especially if you like games like Hades or Hi-Fi Rush. City of Beats is an exhilarating, rhythmic looter-shooter roguelite where you beat up robots to the sound of music while dodging barrages of gunfire. If you can get over a few balance issues, it offers an action-packed (if short) experience. TIME PLAYED I played City of Beats for four hours. I struggled a lot in the first three hours, but after unlocking an overpowered weapon and changing the difficulty level, I managed to beat the main expedition and all three bosses in thirty minutes. This led me to unlock the challenge mode where I played for another forty-some minutes.

SHOULD I PLAY FARSIDERS? With plenty of better action RPGs around right now, it’s probably safe to skip Farsiders. While the artwork and soundtrack are delightful, the story is a jumbled mess of ideas and the English translation is poorer still. There are some neat ideas for combat, but the dull AI and sludgy pace keep it from ever feeling exciting. TIME PLAYED I played Farsiders for two and a half hours. I traveled through a portal from a violent cyberpunk city to a fantastical, alien version of Camelot, where King Arthur and his knight Lancelot sent me to retrieve moonstone fragments that were meant to be attached to Excalibur. I recovered the first fragment after fighting my way through a treehouse casino deep in a swamp, and I’ve gained several new skills and spells as I leveled up my character, Camilla.

Fake Future has an intriguing concept and fantastic visuals, but it's held back by a clunky translation. This sci-fi citybuilder is set in a retro-futuristic version of earth. You control a group of artificial beings known as cybernoids as they work to recolonize Earth. While Fake Future started me off with plenty of quests, it didn't have any sort of tutorial, so it took me a while to get a handle on the gameplay. The in-game text doesn't always make sense, and the unclear quest objectives left me feeling confused and overwhelmed.