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Everdeep Aurora is more than a cozy digging metroidvania. It's a glimpse of what simplistic platforming can and should be, thoughtfully interwoven into a gameplay loop where discovery is the win condition. Its presentation might lack directness, but I would prefer a world where I can enjoy what I've dug up rather than being pointed to the next objective where I can surmise the outcome.

Overall, I'm torn about Everhood 2. Its rhythm-based battles are unlike any RPG I've played before. Its soundtrack is incredible. Walking through emptiness and seeing delayed payoffs from the worldbuilding side, though, makes the game feel less fun than it should be. I enjoyed Everhood 2, but I wish that I spent more time in the rhythm battles than exploring.

Like Aeternum Game Studios' prior work, Eden Genesis made me feel like I was a master of platforming – at least once I had spent enough time in each level patiently trying, trying, and trying again to get that S rank. Its platforming-meets-metroidvania is unique, but I just wish that there was greater effort made into giving each biome a unique set of mechanics to distract from the steep difficulty curve.

Its exploration, art direction, and worldbuilding are unmatched in a sea of modern Metroidvanias released in 2023.

It excels in crafting an emotional tale that hits all the right notes of childishness and the wonders of childhood while also encouraging players forward. It’s not the deepest game, but it is a masterclass in storytelling and worldbuilding.

Summum Aeterna is a good, but slightly difficult, roguelike that takes place in the universe of Aeterna Noctis. While it doesn’t fully succeed in its world crawling fantasy of selecting starting biomes with benefits and detriments, it definitely removes much of the roguelike frustrations by giving the player permanent power in many forms. It’s a gorgeous roguelike I can see myself returning to just so I can feel powerful, albeit not as powerful as I felt while playing Aeterna Noctis.

AK-xolotl is a difficult yet highly engaging roguelike that will make you fall in love with its charming woodland creatures while laughing at its absurd violence. Seeing my goofy little AK-xolotl with a giant gun made me grin from ear to ear. It’s the roguelike fever dream I’ve always wanted. Once it gets in the hands of players and additional content is added that can smooth out its presentation of information, I’m confident that folks will enjoy this game.

Weird Beluga attempted to merge two distinct genres of game with Clid the Snail: top-down shooter and narrative. Although they succeeded on the worldbuilding and narrative front, the gunplay feels unforgiving, repetitive, and frustrating. I can't sleight them for trying something new, as I generally enjoyed Clid's grimy world, but I really did want more. I can't wait to see where Weird Beluga go, as Clid is a good start for hopefully something better in the future.