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.

Starfield is a pile of mismatched puzzle pieces that don’t quite fit together. That might sound like harsh criticism, but there are plenty of times when its disjointed nature works in the game’s favor. There are a million things to do in Starfield at any given point in time, so when one aspect of the game wasn’t working for me, I could just focus on something else. Directing my attention towards a specific gameplay mechanic or subplot usually made

SHOULD I PLAY STARGATE: TIMEKEEPERS? Probably! For one thing, the first mission is free, so there’s no harm in trying it out. That said, Stargate: Timekeepers is a real-time stealth tactics game that’s very much in the tradition of Mimimi Games’ Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun, Desperados III, and Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew. If you dug any of those games, you’ll probably like Stargate: Timekeepers—although Slitherine’s sci-fi tie-in lacks the polish and user friendliness that Mimimi perfected over its run.

Pocket Playfest 2023 - 23rd of December until 7th of January This holiday season there’s going to be something extraordinary… Let me introduce TapTap MOBILE CLOUD GAMING!! You’ll be presented with a series of original PC indie games that have been ported to MOBILE for the first time before anyone else. You’ll find these exclusively on TapTap! Each day two new indie games will be offered to be played and users from North America will have a 30-minute window per day to play them. Participants can vote for their favorite game and WIN awesome prices such as money, a Stream Deck, or one of the 3 Xbox Elite controllers.

I hadn't heard much about upcoming horror game Fort Solis until I saw the above trailer, but watch this thing and try not to get hyped. The game takes place on a mysteriously deserted mining base on Mars, and players take on the role of an astronaut named Jake sent to investigate what happened. The trailer leaves it unclear what the actual threat lurking within Fort Solis is, which is great in my opinion. Let me be surprised when I play the actual game! But whatever it is, I'm getting

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.

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.

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]

Developed by Digital Extremes, Warframe is a free-to-play online action RPG released in 2013 that has grown over the years into one of the most expansive and content-rich sci-fi experiences in modern gaming. What began as a fast-paced cooperative shooter has evolved into a massive, constantly updated universe supported by a passionate community and a development team committed to long-term expansion.

SHOULD I PLAY DRIFTOPIA? If you’re a fan of crafting and like survival games, this is definitely a title to watch! Driftopia is a crafting and survival game set on a world that’s almost completely covered in water. To gather resources, I had to swim through dangerous waters, search for goods underwater, and drift from one island to the next on my trusty raft. The current version of the game is pretty rough, but the concept shows a lot of promise, and since the game is still in beta, I’m not overly concerned about the bugs. These issues definitely need to be addressed before the full release, but Driftopia is still shaping up to be a very addictive game. 

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?!

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.

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.

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.

Love this game and play every day. It’s Overwatch meets Star Wars Battlefront for mobile, simple as that. No upgrades or power levels, all free to play with only cosmetics and battle passes sold. Game is still in limited soft launch and needs a little more polishing before global release. Play it now if you can figure out how to download it, or be on the lookout for the game in 2023. It’s worth the extra hoops to get it now or at least to wait for global launch!

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.

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.

The gaming world is about to witness a thrilling new experience with XOCIETY, a third-person POP Shooter that blends extraction-based gameplay with deep RPG mechanics. Set in a rich sci-fi universe, XOCIETY promises to deliver a unique mix of PvP and PvE combat, strategic progression, and an evolving world shaped by player engagement. A Fresh Take on the Shooter Genre XOCIETY stands out by combining fast-paced third-person shooting mechanics with the high-stakes tension of extraction gameplay. Players will dive into intense firefights, gather valuable resources, and fight to survive against both enemy players and AI-controlled threats. Unlike traditional battle royales or arena shooters, XOCIETY introduces persistent progression, allowing players to develop their characters, unlock new abilities, and customize their loadouts to fit their playstyle.

PLAY IT OR SKIP IT? Play it if you’re a fan of Star Trek or choice-based games, but consider waiting for a patch. Star Trek: Resurgence has solid writing, fleshed-out characters, and high-impact decision-making but technical issues detracted my overall experience. The quality of its story helped make up for some of the gameplay’s shortcomings, but there were still times when it felt frustrating to play. At its best, the game reminded me of the first

SHOULD I PLAY WARHAMMER 40,000: WARPFORGE? Ask yourself two questions: 1. Do you like the Warhammer 40,000 brand of pulpy science fiction? 2. Do you like digital card games? If you answered yes to either of these, you should at least give Warhammer 40,000: Warpforge some serious consideration. If you answered yes to both, it’s a no-brainer. This slick card game uses the extensive Warhammer universe of characters and factions to create a challenging but still approachable experience that seems to have enough depth to keep hardcore players busy for a long time to come.