DeVuego ES_COR

Worldless is a fun little Metroidvania title with tons of confidence in what it does.

Lords of the Fallen shows promise and delivers an exciting adventure but falls short of providing a consistently engaging Souls-like experience.

Filled with memorable and exciting puzzles, Ugly tells a foreboding story about a royal who faces his family and their delusions of beauty.

Skills and smarts are not sins in Blasphemous 2. This stellar spiritual successor to one of the best modern Metroidvanias uses them to greatly strengthen its overall spirit of play.

The Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood is deep and filled with memorable moments. It also has a lot of heart and deals with some heavy themes with grace, which I’m confident many will resonate with. With that said, I came into this game with no expectations. I’m saving Deconstructeam’s library into my wishlist as I plan to explore their previous games to see how I missed them. From the world-building to the music, writing, and characters, I’m floored by how great this experience is.

Curse of the Sea Rats is full of fast and engaging gameplay, topped off with a great hit of nostalgic presentation that breathes life into a crowded Metroidvania genre.

While there were times I felt too frustrated to continue, Souldiers still got its hooks in me. Some of the old-school decisions from the checkpoints to some of the fights may not be the best choices and may not work for everyone, but everything else around that is excellent.

It’s a tough adventure, but one worth fighting through. I found myself enjoying even the toughest challenges and traversals. Souldiers is tougher than it looks, but also more enjoyable the longer you stick with it.

Metroid Dread is hauntingly beautiful and dreadfully terrifying, giving us one of the best experiences on the Nintendo Switch. Bolstered by the gorgeous new OLED model, planet ZDR is a dreary place that will make your skin crawl at times. Fans of the older games, particularly Super Metroid will resonate with Dread. It only took two decades but the conclusion of the Metroid saga is satisfying, delivering one of the best experiences yet. There’s a reason we’ve classified an entire genre of games as Metroidvania – the queen cannot be toppled, and Metroid Dread is a shining example of how the original is always better.

The Game Kitchen has passionately brought two of gaming’s most-loved genres together in Blasphemous that is worthy of much praise. The slick gameplay and painstakingly crafted art present what can only be considered a product of love in the highest form. While the story is creepy and subtle, there’s a world and a culture to the game that I’m sure many players will instantly fall for. Blasphemous is indelibly hard because there’s simply no way that you’re going to forget how hard its mechanics are testing you. As is often the case with games like it, this is an adventure that will quickly decide whether you want to go on it or not.

GRIS is not a platforming game, but instead an experience that excels at possessing brilliance through aesthetic beauty, a tranquil atmosphere, a soothing soundtrack, and memorable gameplay mechanics. It will also leave you interpreting the many themes touched upon throughout Gris’ journey to restoring order within her own world. Even thought there is no dialogue present, powerful statements are continuously made that will warrant an emotional response and result in creating a memorable and lasting effect on every player. GRIS comes highly recommended, not because of its a visual masterpiece, but because it possesses many elements that have a hidden meaning that is waiting to be discovered.

A great indicator of a great game is where it is tough to put the game down. One where you want to keep on coming back to the game’s world the moment you stop playing. Metroid Samus Returns has that feeling and I couldn’t help but play it longer than I wanted to and pick it up the next day sooner than I should have. The game does everything so well and finally ends the long wait for another 2D Metroid game. Let’s hope we don’t have to wait another 13 years for another Metroid game.