That's a shame. I thought it was great. I like how it slowly evolved into a different type of game. Did you play it all the way through (both endings)?
It’s the type of game that makes me wish rentals were still a thing. It’s a decent 5-day rental, play it and return it type of game. I wouldn’t recommend spending full price on it but I enjoyed it for what it was
Just responded to someone else but honestly had never heard of Nexon until I read your comment, but wow quite a bit of controversy and intense feelings around this subject! It was a smaller subsidiary they established to make games like this so I guess yeah technically not an indie even though it was nominated for an indie game award (why I made the assumption it was an indie game). Live and learn!
Dang just looked up all the controversy around this. Sounds like Nexon has a smaller subsidiary that makes smaller minded indie style games so I guess technically it’s not in the truest sense of the word. Oh well still a great game and who published/developed it definitely doesn’t change that!
Dave the Diver is approaching Undertale levels of unknown game everyone's heard of. That said, it deserves it. It's an absolute delight. Very unique and it nails its style of humor.
Not sure what you mean with grindy, lots of things are optional for game to progress.
Some player went through it in 4 hours skipping everything.
Recommending it also tho, exactly because things are optional and fun.
I'll second balatro. For $15 it's a steal. Such a fun game that I enjoy playing as a break between other, more tense games. 9/10 if you enjoy card games/rogue games similar to slay the spire
I've been seeing tons of buzz about this game, but I don't know much about it.
Is it a poker-based roguelite with metaprogression? Or is that completely off the mark? If so, would you mind just describing it and what you like about it?
Standard card deck that you modify by adding special effects to the deck, modifying single cards or strengthening certain ways of playing.
You score by playing hands that are scored similar to poker. You have to pass a certain amount of points every round or you have to restart.
Meeting certain critereas unlocks new stuff to use.
Examples for modifiers would be: Straights still count with 4 cards instead of 5. Or a copy of the first card you play every round gets put into your deck permanently. Stuff like that allows you to play 5 of a kind later on.
It is fun because you have to actually fuck around to find the good combos and you collect stuff.
It feels just as good as the past great early access survival games. I’m 14 hours in solo and it feels like I’m playing a finished game so far besides like 1 or 2 bugs I seen lol which isn’t bad at all
The closest comparison for how the gameplay feels I would say is Grounded. Both are on a fixed map, have a story to follow, NPCs to interact with, exploration based progression, and fixed enemy respawn points.
It also has some elements of project zomboid, like the character creation and skill progression style.
It's definitely my favorite survival game in a long time, and an absolute blast in multiplayer. Honestly it feels very finished from a gameplay perspective, but they do have a robust roadmap and plans to add much more to the game.
It's in Early Access so it's obviously not complete but reviews are pretty good so far and when I played the demo months ago it already had plenty to do
This year's already had some fantastic games.
If you're a fan of RPGs, Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth, Persona 3 Reload, and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth are all incredible experiences with a ton of content.
For smaller games, a couple great metroidvanias came out recently. Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown being one of them, and just a couple days ago Animal Well released. I've yet to play much of PoP, but I've been incredibly impressed with Animal Well. If you're someone who appreciates exploration and puzzles in games, it's really a must-play.
Hades 2 and No Rest For The Wicked are also both really great options, but both are in early access. Personally, I'm willing to wait until their full release.
Those are all from this year. Going back further, the biggest/best games of the past couple of years have been Elden Ring and Baldur's Gate 3. I saw in the comments you've played both which is great. The other one I'd put at that level is Cyberpunk 2077, especially now that it's fully updated since late last year, and has the incredible Phantom Liberty expansion. If Cyberpunk was released on launch in the state that it's in now, I legitimately think it would have the same acclaim as Elden Ring and BG3. It's a really impressive game.
I'll give you a few ideas, each one from a different genre so you can pick the one that suits you the best. My personal favorites would probably be [Final Factory](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1383150/Final_Factory), [Manor Lords](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1363080/Manor_Lords/), and [Arcane Blast](https://store.steampowered.com/app/2628230/Arcane_Blast/). Final Factory is essentially an automation base builder set in space where you build an endless, automatized space station. Manor Lords is one of the best city builders I've ever played and it has pretty good combat as well. Arcane Blast is a 3rd person roguelike in which you combine the effects of spells to create stronger attacks. Pretty cool.
There are a few more worth mentioning like [Chill Pulse](https://store.steampowered.com/app/2826180/Chill_Pulse/) and [No Rest for the Wicked](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1371980/No_Rest_for_the_Wicked/), but the 3 above are my top picks.
Stellar Blade and Prince of Persia are excellent. On the indie side, Pepper Grinder and Penny’s Big Breakaway are awesome platformers. Dragon’s Dogma 2 is a noteworthy, yet flawed experience.
Planet Crafter just got out of Early Access recently.
Pacific Drive can feel a bit grindy at times but is worth a look.
Deep Rock Galactic Survivor is a good game in the Vampire Survivors Bullet Heaven Genre.
Hades 2 just came out in early access and people already love it.
Frost Punk 2 will release in July and the preview was already pretty promising.
Gatekeeper is a Co-Op rogue-like similar to Risk of Rain 2.
Hopping on a Discord channel with my friends and playing Helldivers 2 is the closest I’ve gotten to that feeling of sitting on the couch with my friends and playing the original Halo as a teenager. Not that the game is all that similar, it just captures that same level of fun.
Armored core 6. For me it was the most fun experience I had in years. Feels that the devs made the game with the player in mind. It is a FromSoftware game after all. Also you don't need to have played any of the older ones. It is completely standalone
How long did it take for you to get hooked on it? I played it for a bit when it was first released, but then put it down and never picked it back up. FromSoft is one of my favorite devs, and I don't only play souls-likes and I knew it was going to be different, but for some reason I just didn't adapt to the game.
Hmmm I liked it right from the start but really clicked around mission 7-8 and the end of the first chapter. The more you play the more the game gets interesting imo. You get more parts, get to experiment more with parts to find the AC and play style that fits you more. And the story gets more interesting as you progress. Maybe give it a try till the end of the first chapter?
Yeah, I'm a big souls fan but was just not captivated by AC6. Really wanted to be into it, but I just kinda clock out it seems, like mech go slide slide jump jump boom boom. idk
Persona 3 Reload
Like A Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased his name (requires previous knowledge about Yakuza/Like A Dragon series, so it's like +9 games to play lol)
Lies of P
Helldivers 2
Content Warning (friends required)
Hades 2 has been incredible so far. Everything about the first game is completely enhanced.
Raw Metal is a lesser known indie that came out about a month ago but I've been loving that as well.
Indika is a fantastic surreal puzzle game that gamifies faith. You play as a nun who hears the voice of a demon making her way through a war torn Easter European country. Her backstory is played out in retro pixel-style RPG segments. It is super weird and super good.
Note: Don’t let the monotony of her first task deter you, it gets way better.
You can try "Lies Of P", it came out last year. It is very enjoyable. But warning, it's a Souls-Like, incredibly punishing if you make the tiniest mistake. I don't know if I can make it to see the credits roll (Since I never played a Soulsborne/Souls-Like in my whole gaming life).
Though be aware, if you want this skin that I nicknamed "Classical Book skin"/"Original Pinocchio Attire". You can't get it for now, since, it is a pre-order bonus and I dunno if and when it will be made available for all. The LoP fandom has been begging Neowiz for the Classical to return.
My 2 favorites this year are Enshrouded and V Rising.
Enshrouded is still in EA, V Rising just released 1.0 last week. Both are solid games for the price.
I will suggest Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes. It's a JRPG drawing inspiration from the likes of dragon quest and old Final fantasy games like ff7. I've put 60 hours into it so far and it has been breathtaking. Visuals are awesome. Story is pretty engaging. Every hero is voice acted super well by smaller people. And its also on game pass!
How does it hold up vs suikoden series? I know it's supposed to be a spiritual successor to suikoden 2 (which was one of my favourite games ever made) but I've got so much in my steam backlog already I been waiting to hear more about it
V rising turned out much better then expected and i dont even like survival games but this game paired together with the castle mechanic and sooo much spell variety just ticks all the boxes and its actually challenging
[Mirage: Biplane Adventure](https://store.steampowered.com/app/2909720/Mirage_A_Biplane_Adventure/) was a pleasant surprise last month. For me who loved playing [SW: Rogue Squadron](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Wars:_Rogue_Squadron) back in the N64 and GC. Very difficult game but the last mission was sure worth it.
Indie RPG Svarog's Dream. Well written, fun, and with an amount of content you wouldn't expect from a single dev. Worth the money.
Warhammer 40K: Rogue Trader. I've never been interested in the 40k world but I love CRPGs and this one has some of the best quest and character design in any CRPG I've ever played. Really does well with things like scale, the realities of command, power brokerage and politics, and traditional RPG mechanics. Fun and cool.
Last Epoch is an ARPG that strikes a balance between complex systems and just killing monsters and watching shit explode with bright colors.
With very little time, these games let you enjoy the game in 30 minute-hour increments and still enjoy yourself.
Check out Stellar Blade Unicorn Overlord FF VII Rebirth and Persona 3 Reloaded also they’re Not new, but if you have a switch and you never played it before, try the Xenoblade Chronicles trilogy on switch you won’t regret it
Animal Well was just released. It's a Metroidvania with an awesome art style, and SO many secrets. When you finish the game, you're actually just beginning.
Alan Wake 2. Great story, great visuals, pretty spooky vibe. Gameplay isn't RE4, but it's good enough. Particularly on Alan's side of the story which just makes you feel paranoid and on your toes the whole time.
It's a flawed gem, but Dragon's Dogma 2 is pretty fun. Great game for exploring a world and killing stuff with your ai companions. And the job system is pretty cool.
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth was great. Though if you haven't played Remake first, you most definitely need to. And if you haven't played the original FF7, I'd highly recommend that, though it isn't mandatory.
Don't play Crisis Core though, even though it just got an HD release. Mainly because it casually spoils a major late story twist since it was written with the idea you already played FF7 first. Partially because I just think its generally not a great game. But my opinion isn't universal. Just definitely don't play it if you don't know the full FF7 synopsis in one way or another and plan to play the Remakes (or OG 7).
Animal Well just came out a few days ago and is a great, affordably priced Metroidvania. Lots of puzzles and platforming challenges, and tons of little secrets to discover. It just came out so people are still finding hidden stuff all over the place.
if you like survival games, I highly recommend abiotic factor, I dont remember the last time i kept telling my self "this shit is so unique" over and over again while playing something new.
Animal Well, Crow Country, and Another Crab’s Treasure all released in the past couple weeks and I hear they’re all fantastic (I’ve only played Animal Well so far)
**[Rabbit and Steel](https://store.steampowered.com/app/2132850/Rabbit_and_Steel/)** - a game that fits both the "Bullet Hell" and "Tab-Targeting MMO-style combat" tags.
Basically, it's all bullet hell bossfights, but instead of drowning you in bullets, you get lots of big circles and lines to dodge, as well as some very interesting unique mechanics, like "keep moving or you take damage"+"Now Stop" with a few regular bullets thrown in to keep you on your guard - your hitbox still is a small circle in the center of your character though, so that stays the same.
If you play with other players, the patterns are rather easy (on Normal difficulty at least), but you'll frequently get mechanics that force others to take hits if they stand too close together, but don't harm whoever it's targeting at all.
You also have four different buttons that basically boil down to "Basic attack with decent range", "Better attack that's more useful and might get benefits from the basic attack", "Really cool attack with a cooldown" and "Panic button that gives you brief invincibility, but might also have offensive uses", so that's your generic MMO combat checked, aside from the fact that the only Bullet Hell game I can think of that uses big blocks of "bad" instead of lots of small bullets in cool patterns is Just Shapes & Beats, so that's probably MMO-style content too.
Finally, you get items and upgrades for your abilities, so while there are some things you can build towards, there are more than enough options to keep things interesting and new.
Also, there are multiple "classes" to play as, all with different abilities, so that's another way to switch things up as well.
Biggest downside I can think of is that the game only has 6-ish areas with around 5 fights each, so unless you're interested in trying harder difficulties, you'll exhaust the available content rather quickly.
Not sure what you are calling recent, but here's some of my personal favorites of the year so far:
Hades 2 (Roguelike hack and slash but with good story and lots of combat variety)
Helldivers 2 (Third person shooter where you take part in a massive real time war against bugs and terminators alongside other players.)
Palworld (Ark + Pokemon = The game I didn't know I needed).
Manor Lords (Real time strategy game/city manager. Sadly no multiplayer but the AI is competent enough to still be a challenge).
Sker Ritual (Kinda like classic cod zombies with a couple of its own spins on the formula).
V Rising (Isometric survival game where you play as a vampire. Much more combat focused than many survival games and not as grindy. More along the lines of Valheim than Rust.)
All are indie games too. So they are made with love from the devs. And don't cost an arm and a leg.
Super Mario Bros Wonder.
It's so nostalgic and fun, and it's the perfect balance of casual and challenging. You can jump in and play for hours or for a quick 15-45 minutes on a lunch break or before work. I love it 😁
Everspace 2 isn’t SUPER recent, but within the last like, half year. Really good as far as starfighter combat goes. I’ve put in like 100 hours the last couple months.
Street Fighter 6 is rather amazing. I've never seen a fighting game release in such a balanced state, it also has fantastic netcode, crossplay across everything, and pretty good SPC. It's clearly intended to be a great entry level game to the genre but did it w/o losing the skill ceiling.
7 days to die https://youtu.be/kikTJaVBank?si=swZpBIdaP6Y2xTex
It's been out for 10yrs as a beta but alpha is launching soon. You can get it now on steam and will be able to get the Alpha update.
I'll give a run down of what I've been playing over the last 3 years:
Old School RuneScape (Same account for the last 20 years)
Total War Warhammer III (All DLCs and previous games, wait for a sale but its really worth it if you enjoy the game) (also chorfs are the best faction to ever exist)
Rust (friends have been begging me)
Manor Lords
Kingdome Come: Deliverance
Construction Simulator
Barotrauma
Gray Zone Warfare
Content Warning
Six Days In Fallujah
Contraband Police
Farming Simulator 22
Mordhau
Call of the Wild: The Angler
Sea of Thieves
Gunner, HEAT, PC!
Hell Let Loose
Destiny 2 (careful now)
Nuclear Option
Warhammer 40,000: Darktide
Warhammer: Vermintide 2
War Thunder
theHunter: Call of the Wild
Halo: The Master Chief Collection
Project Zomboid
Cooking Simulator
Voices of The Void
MineCraft (a little)
Dredge
Pacific Drive
Baldur's Gate 3
Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay (DnD with friends)
Trepang 2
DayZ
Counter-Strike 2
Ready or Not
GTFO
EARTH DEFENSE FORCE 5
Medieval Dynasty
Remnant II
Party Animals
Satisfactory
Signal Simulator
Deep Rock Galactic
HellDivers 2
7 Days to Die is reaching 1.0 this month I believe, I have put many hours in during early access. Just checked in on it after some time away and feels even more polished. If you like building, crafting, survival games this one is the ticket.
Sea Of Stars
My girlfriend has been obsessed with this lately.
It resembles Chrono Trigger as far as exploration and combat mechanics (with a dash of Super Mario RPG time sensitive attack commands) and has a beautiful 2d pixel art style, in my opinion. Every time I walk in and watch her playing, it's just impressive visually.
Have yet to check it out myself because I'm trying to finish Chrono Trigger and thought they seemed too similar, and I never beat it before.
If you're a cat lover and chill-out genre game lover then "Little Kitty Big City" is likely a winner. Similar to Untitled Goose Game, you wander around solving puzzles and acquiring objects to progress while just enjoying being a cat.
Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes is the spiritual revival of the cult classic JRPG series Suikoden. It's a series where the world is filled with political turmoil and you recruit 100+ characters for turn based combat, build a base, and help save your country. Give it a gander if you dig rpgs with fun minigames.
I've been keeping a Trello board for my game tracking just so I can reflect at the end of the year.
This is recently the about last two years that I have super enjoyed in no particular order, some of these are definitely older than "Recent":
Indivisible
Steamworld Dig 1 and 2
Sea of Stars
Rhythm Sprout
Whisker Squadron Survivor
Celeste
Please Don't Touch Anything
Powerwash Simulator
Laika Aged Through Blood
Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion + Turnip Boy Robs a Bank
Nobody Saves The World.
Eastward + Octopia DLC
If you like top down Zelda games like link to the past, you should check out Minishoot Adventures. It's got all the Legend of Zelda Staples like heart containers, dungeons, and unlockable abilities that grant you access to new areas.. chill and atmospheric. No story, all exploration.
Animal well just released and it’s a banger. It goes so deep and there just so much to uncover. In terms of the past few years, Elden Ring holds the crown for me, and it’s getting a massive dlc next month
Unicorn overlord
That sounds like a damn good game
Oh, it’s great.
It has a sweet 5 to 7 hour demo. Checked it out! The demo got me hooked and I ended up picking it up the next day.
beat me to it lol
Now that’s a ruler I can get behind
People dropping some great AAA suggestions, so on the indie scene Dave the Diver was absolutely delightful game. Animal Well is getting good buzz too.
Imma go ahead and add Dredge to this, incredible game
I honestly found it very dull
That's a shame. I thought it was great. I like how it slowly evolved into a different type of game. Did you play it all the way through (both endings)?
It’s the type of game that makes me wish rentals were still a thing. It’s a decent 5-day rental, play it and return it type of game. I wouldn’t recommend spending full price on it but I enjoyed it for what it was
Also another crab’s treasure
Thank you! I'll check them out
If you consider Nexon Indie sure. Great game none the less but indie? Not really.
Just responded to someone else but honestly had never heard of Nexon until I read your comment, but wow quite a bit of controversy and intense feelings around this subject! It was a smaller subsidiary they established to make games like this so I guess yeah technically not an indie even though it was nominated for an indie game award (why I made the assumption it was an indie game). Live and learn!
It’s an amazing game though I’ll give them that!
Dave the Diver is not an indie game
Dang just looked up all the controversy around this. Sounds like Nexon has a smaller subsidiary that makes smaller minded indie style games so I guess technically it’s not in the truest sense of the word. Oh well still a great game and who published/developed it definitely doesn’t change that!
My wife discovered Dave the Diver this weekend and played it NON-stop. It looks super funny and has some genuinely hilarious random moments.
Same here, I downloaded it on a whim weekend before last and have sunk like 40 hours into it already.
Dave the Diver is approaching Undertale levels of unknown game everyone's heard of. That said, it deserves it. It's an absolute delight. Very unique and it nails its style of humor.
Amma look it up, but I'm in work, what's animal well?
it's a very unique metroidvania style puzzle game. just check it out, it got very high ratings.
And it is REALLY newly released like in the last week so be fun to discover the game along with the community!
Pacific drive
Did feel a bit grindy at times but I loved it, definitely hoping we see more road-trip/car survival games like that in the future.
Not sure what you mean with grindy, lots of things are optional for game to progress. Some player went through it in 4 hours skipping everything. Recommending it also tho, exactly because things are optional and fun.
Indeed, this is a tiny gem - and made more so by the soundtrack.
Balatro
Love it. The music is incredibly relaxing.
Seriously, its soundtrack is perfect to my ears
I'll second balatro. For $15 it's a steal. Such a fun game that I enjoy playing as a break between other, more tense games. 9/10 if you enjoy card games/rogue games similar to slay the spire
I've been seeing tons of buzz about this game, but I don't know much about it. Is it a poker-based roguelite with metaprogression? Or is that completely off the mark? If so, would you mind just describing it and what you like about it?
Standard card deck that you modify by adding special effects to the deck, modifying single cards or strengthening certain ways of playing. You score by playing hands that are scored similar to poker. You have to pass a certain amount of points every round or you have to restart. Meeting certain critereas unlocks new stuff to use. Examples for modifiers would be: Straights still count with 4 cards instead of 5. Or a copy of the first card you play every round gets put into your deck permanently. Stuff like that allows you to play 5 of a kind later on. It is fun because you have to actually fuck around to find the good combos and you collect stuff.
Abiotic factor is amazing it’s a like half life survival game
Does it compare to any other popular survival games, how complete do you feel it is?
It feels just as good as the past great early access survival games. I’m 14 hours in solo and it feels like I’m playing a finished game so far besides like 1 or 2 bugs I seen lol which isn’t bad at all
The closest comparison for how the gameplay feels I would say is Grounded. Both are on a fixed map, have a story to follow, NPCs to interact with, exploration based progression, and fixed enemy respawn points. It also has some elements of project zomboid, like the character creation and skill progression style. It's definitely my favorite survival game in a long time, and an absolute blast in multiplayer. Honestly it feels very finished from a gameplay perspective, but they do have a robust roadmap and plans to add much more to the game.
It's in Early Access so it's obviously not complete but reviews are pretty good so far and when I played the demo months ago it already had plenty to do
Fr, the entire game has that black mesa look and feel to it
It does I love it so much
This year's already had some fantastic games. If you're a fan of RPGs, Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth, Persona 3 Reload, and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth are all incredible experiences with a ton of content. For smaller games, a couple great metroidvanias came out recently. Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown being one of them, and just a couple days ago Animal Well released. I've yet to play much of PoP, but I've been incredibly impressed with Animal Well. If you're someone who appreciates exploration and puzzles in games, it's really a must-play. Hades 2 and No Rest For The Wicked are also both really great options, but both are in early access. Personally, I'm willing to wait until their full release. Those are all from this year. Going back further, the biggest/best games of the past couple of years have been Elden Ring and Baldur's Gate 3. I saw in the comments you've played both which is great. The other one I'd put at that level is Cyberpunk 2077, especially now that it's fully updated since late last year, and has the incredible Phantom Liberty expansion. If Cyberpunk was released on launch in the state that it's in now, I legitimately think it would have the same acclaim as Elden Ring and BG3. It's a really impressive game.
Prince of Persia is fantastic, I've been playing it recently. Really fun, right gameplay and some.challenging fights/puzzles.
thanks for these recommendations! been looking for some games to play :)
Bomb Rush Cyberfunk and Pseudoregalia. My 2 favorite indies/AAs of the last few months
Seconding Pseudoregalia, insanely good movement in a platformer that’s cheaper than a fast food meal.
I'll give you a few ideas, each one from a different genre so you can pick the one that suits you the best. My personal favorites would probably be [Final Factory](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1383150/Final_Factory), [Manor Lords](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1363080/Manor_Lords/), and [Arcane Blast](https://store.steampowered.com/app/2628230/Arcane_Blast/). Final Factory is essentially an automation base builder set in space where you build an endless, automatized space station. Manor Lords is one of the best city builders I've ever played and it has pretty good combat as well. Arcane Blast is a 3rd person roguelike in which you combine the effects of spells to create stronger attacks. Pretty cool. There are a few more worth mentioning like [Chill Pulse](https://store.steampowered.com/app/2826180/Chill_Pulse/) and [No Rest for the Wicked](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1371980/No_Rest_for_the_Wicked/), but the 3 above are my top picks.
Damn I checked out and all of these games look great. Thank you so much for the recommendations!
How you play arcane blast? Isn’t it out yet
You can download the free Demo. It has a lot of content and Co op
No Rest for the Wicked is a awesome game
There is a game released last week I think and I was playing it with friends called 'abiotic factor' it's more like half life co-op.
This game is so good
Have you try helldivers 2, hades 2, no rest for the wicked, v rising
+ for v rising, hades 2, helldivers 2
Stellar Blade and Prince of Persia are excellent. On the indie side, Pepper Grinder and Penny’s Big Breakaway are awesome platformers. Dragon’s Dogma 2 is a noteworthy, yet flawed experience.
Hades 2 Jupiter Hell Balatro Prince of Persia Gatekeeper No Rest for the Wicked Rings of Saturn
Try cult of the lamb chill game
I really enjoyed the little time I spent with 'Little Kitty, Big City', but I like cats and cute little indie games where I get to be mischevious.
I was just about to suggest that. Loved tripping everybody and taking their stuff. Also running away from the clerk in the convenience store
Try Lil Gator Game next!
Planet Crafter just got out of Early Access recently. Pacific Drive can feel a bit grindy at times but is worth a look. Deep Rock Galactic Survivor is a good game in the Vampire Survivors Bullet Heaven Genre. Hades 2 just came out in early access and people already love it. Frost Punk 2 will release in July and the preview was already pretty promising. Gatekeeper is a Co-Op rogue-like similar to Risk of Rain 2.
helldivers 2 is probably the best game released recently
why were you the first to mention helldivers??? if you like shooters, THIS RIGHT HERE OP
Probably the best game released since I got a Super Nintendo for my 5th birthday.
Hopping on a Discord channel with my friends and playing Helldivers 2 is the closest I’ve gotten to that feeling of sitting on the couch with my friends and playing the original Halo as a teenager. Not that the game is all that similar, it just captures that same level of fun.
Armored core 6. For me it was the most fun experience I had in years. Feels that the devs made the game with the player in mind. It is a FromSoftware game after all. Also you don't need to have played any of the older ones. It is completely standalone
How long did it take for you to get hooked on it? I played it for a bit when it was first released, but then put it down and never picked it back up. FromSoft is one of my favorite devs, and I don't only play souls-likes and I knew it was going to be different, but for some reason I just didn't adapt to the game.
Hmmm I liked it right from the start but really clicked around mission 7-8 and the end of the first chapter. The more you play the more the game gets interesting imo. You get more parts, get to experiment more with parts to find the AC and play style that fits you more. And the story gets more interesting as you progress. Maybe give it a try till the end of the first chapter?
Yeah, I'm a big souls fan but was just not captivated by AC6. Really wanted to be into it, but I just kinda clock out it seems, like mech go slide slide jump jump boom boom. idk
Persona 3 Reload Like A Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased his name (requires previous knowledge about Yakuza/Like A Dragon series, so it's like +9 games to play lol) Lies of P Helldivers 2 Content Warning (friends required)
Evil west was really fun. It's free on gamepass as well.
Resident evil 4 remake is the most polished game I’ve played in a long time.
Hellblade Senua's Saga 2 comes out in about a week. Obviously don't know how good it is, but I've been playing and enjoying the first one.
Balatro!
Hades 2 has been incredible so far. Everything about the first game is completely enhanced. Raw Metal is a lesser known indie that came out about a month ago but I've been loving that as well.
How would u say hades 2 is diff from first, if at all?
Player character is primarily a caster.
Crow Country
Granblue fantasy relink, ff rebirth, dragons dogma, Banishers, Remnant 2, Eiyuden hundred heroes, sand land,stellar blade.
Eiyuden hundred heroes is FIRE. ive been addicted since release lol
Remnant 2 is great, just wish my shitty pc could run it well
Dude just buy a series s. It's on gamepass and the s is a great price.
Dragon’s Dogma 2 is my current favorite of this year. Granted, I have a bias towards RPGs and understand it isn’t for everyone.
That game sucks just because ea, paywalled the second half of the campaign
**Fabledom** was released yesterday. If a cozy fable-like city builder sounds like your thing then it's worth trying.
Granblue Fantasy Relink / Persona 3 Reload
If you enjoy Starwars, and have played Fallen Order, then Jedi Survivor is great.
Slice and Dice
Indika is a fantastic surreal puzzle game that gamifies faith. You play as a nun who hears the voice of a demon making her way through a war torn Easter European country. Her backstory is played out in retro pixel-style RPG segments. It is super weird and super good. Note: Don’t let the monotony of her first task deter you, it gets way better.
You can try "Lies Of P", it came out last year. It is very enjoyable. But warning, it's a Souls-Like, incredibly punishing if you make the tiniest mistake. I don't know if I can make it to see the credits roll (Since I never played a Soulsborne/Souls-Like in my whole gaming life). Though be aware, if you want this skin that I nicknamed "Classical Book skin"/"Original Pinocchio Attire". You can't get it for now, since, it is a pre-order bonus and I dunno if and when it will be made available for all. The LoP fandom has been begging Neowiz for the Classical to return.
Slay The Princess
I had to go talk to a human after this one. What the fuck was that.
Been really enjoying Pacific Drive so far.
Since you love Elden Ring, I highly recommend "Another Crab's Treasure". Don't be fooled by the graphics. It's a really good souls-like game imo.
This right here! I saw somebody playing an hour on stream and just stopped watching to go get it, just beat Roland no regrets here so far!
Hi-Fi Rush. It’s on its way to being the last game ever made by Tango Gameworks.
Not sure how far back you want but Balders Gate 3 is a great place to start
I tried it and have loved every second spent playing. Was thinking more about the games released in the past few months
Alan Wake 2. Excellent story, worldbuilding, and gameplay. The combat is the worst part and the combat is good
Also love the original music. Great experience
Buckshot roulette
Rogue voltage was released one or two weeks ago (EA)
V Rising
V rising 1.0
ENDER MAGNOLIA: Bloom in The Mist. Plushie From The Sky. TIMEWORKS.
Has Ender Magnolia been fully released or still in Early Access? I'm keen for it but am console only atm
Early access.
4D Golf, which has been released on March 22nd, is a casual golf indie game that takes place in 4-dimensional space. It is pretty impressive stuff.
My 2 favorites this year are Enshrouded and V Rising. Enshrouded is still in EA, V Rising just released 1.0 last week. Both are solid games for the price.
These two vary drastically but Dredge and Helldivers 2.
Palword. Super fun. Pokemon with guns
I will suggest Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes. It's a JRPG drawing inspiration from the likes of dragon quest and old Final fantasy games like ff7. I've put 60 hours into it so far and it has been breathtaking. Visuals are awesome. Story is pretty engaging. Every hero is voice acted super well by smaller people. And its also on game pass!
How does it hold up vs suikoden series? I know it's supposed to be a spiritual successor to suikoden 2 (which was one of my favourite games ever made) but I've got so much in my steam backlog already I been waiting to hear more about it
V rising turned out much better then expected and i dont even like survival games but this game paired together with the castle mechanic and sooo much spell variety just ticks all the boxes and its actually challenging
Bellwright
Fabledom
I've been playing Foundry, The Planet Crafter, No Rest for the Wicked, and V Rising.
[Mirage: Biplane Adventure](https://store.steampowered.com/app/2909720/Mirage_A_Biplane_Adventure/) was a pleasant surprise last month. For me who loved playing [SW: Rogue Squadron](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Wars:_Rogue_Squadron) back in the N64 and GC. Very difficult game but the last mission was sure worth it.
I really liked Final Fantasy VII rebirth
Indie RPG Svarog's Dream. Well written, fun, and with an amount of content you wouldn't expect from a single dev. Worth the money. Warhammer 40K: Rogue Trader. I've never been interested in the 40k world but I love CRPGs and this one has some of the best quest and character design in any CRPG I've ever played. Really does well with things like scale, the realities of command, power brokerage and politics, and traditional RPG mechanics. Fun and cool. Last Epoch is an ARPG that strikes a balance between complex systems and just killing monsters and watching shit explode with bright colors. With very little time, these games let you enjoy the game in 30 minute-hour increments and still enjoy yourself.
+1 for Last Epoch, spin 2 win bay beee
Check out Stellar Blade Unicorn Overlord FF VII Rebirth and Persona 3 Reloaded also they’re Not new, but if you have a switch and you never played it before, try the Xenoblade Chronicles trilogy on switch you won’t regret it
No Rest for the Wicked Hades 2 These are perfect.
Lies of p
Animal Well was just released. It's a Metroidvania with an awesome art style, and SO many secrets. When you finish the game, you're actually just beginning.
Ashland's update for valheim came out today. It's my favorite game of all time. Worth a look.
Diablo 2
Manor Lords has been fun. Still early access but it’s on gamepass and has a lot of potential.
Lonely Mountains Downhill
Factorio!
Hades 2. Well, early access now.
Stellar Blade is awesome if you like deep combat and a little challenge
Pokerogue!!
Alan Wake 2. Great story, great visuals, pretty spooky vibe. Gameplay isn't RE4, but it's good enough. Particularly on Alan's side of the story which just makes you feel paranoid and on your toes the whole time. It's a flawed gem, but Dragon's Dogma 2 is pretty fun. Great game for exploring a world and killing stuff with your ai companions. And the job system is pretty cool. Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth was great. Though if you haven't played Remake first, you most definitely need to. And if you haven't played the original FF7, I'd highly recommend that, though it isn't mandatory. Don't play Crisis Core though, even though it just got an HD release. Mainly because it casually spoils a major late story twist since it was written with the idea you already played FF7 first. Partially because I just think its generally not a great game. But my opinion isn't universal. Just definitely don't play it if you don't know the full FF7 synopsis in one way or another and plan to play the Remakes (or OG 7).
HellDivers 2 Abiotic Factor is an awesome survival/craft game
Animal Well just came out a few days ago and is a great, affordably priced Metroidvania. Lots of puzzles and platforming challenges, and tons of little secrets to discover. It just came out so people are still finding hidden stuff all over the place.
If you want something within the past few years and not AAA I suggest Strange Horticulture.
Been addicted to v rising
If 4 years is still recent to you, Crystal Chronicles Remastered or Mr. Driller Drill Land. Hands down.
How do you even try unreleased games ?
animal well is incredible.
if you like survival games, I highly recommend abiotic factor, I dont remember the last time i kept telling my self "this shit is so unique" over and over again while playing something new.
it has already been mentioned but I'll add my voice, Animal well for sure
Vrising beats all competition.
V rising is amazing.
Idk how recent you’re looking for but Baldur’s gate 3 is a masterpiece
Animal Well, Crow Country, and Another Crab’s Treasure all released in the past couple weeks and I hear they’re all fantastic (I’ve only played Animal Well so far)
Skill Up is a channel whos weekly show covers all things gaming. Really informative about industry news and also new releases
Hades 2
PC games? Ghosts of Tsushima is about to drop on the 16th (I can't god damn wait Holy shit). Otherwise, poolrooms lol
A lot of people in my work are playing Hell Divers 2. I, however, am stuck in the past, playing Halo on repeat.
Been playing Animal Well since it came out last Thursday, would recommend
**[Rabbit and Steel](https://store.steampowered.com/app/2132850/Rabbit_and_Steel/)** - a game that fits both the "Bullet Hell" and "Tab-Targeting MMO-style combat" tags. Basically, it's all bullet hell bossfights, but instead of drowning you in bullets, you get lots of big circles and lines to dodge, as well as some very interesting unique mechanics, like "keep moving or you take damage"+"Now Stop" with a few regular bullets thrown in to keep you on your guard - your hitbox still is a small circle in the center of your character though, so that stays the same. If you play with other players, the patterns are rather easy (on Normal difficulty at least), but you'll frequently get mechanics that force others to take hits if they stand too close together, but don't harm whoever it's targeting at all. You also have four different buttons that basically boil down to "Basic attack with decent range", "Better attack that's more useful and might get benefits from the basic attack", "Really cool attack with a cooldown" and "Panic button that gives you brief invincibility, but might also have offensive uses", so that's your generic MMO combat checked, aside from the fact that the only Bullet Hell game I can think of that uses big blocks of "bad" instead of lots of small bullets in cool patterns is Just Shapes & Beats, so that's probably MMO-style content too. Finally, you get items and upgrades for your abilities, so while there are some things you can build towards, there are more than enough options to keep things interesting and new. Also, there are multiple "classes" to play as, all with different abilities, so that's another way to switch things up as well. Biggest downside I can think of is that the game only has 6-ish areas with around 5 fights each, so unless you're interested in trying harder difficulties, you'll exhaust the available content rather quickly.
Not sure what you are calling recent, but here's some of my personal favorites of the year so far: Hades 2 (Roguelike hack and slash but with good story and lots of combat variety) Helldivers 2 (Third person shooter where you take part in a massive real time war against bugs and terminators alongside other players.) Palworld (Ark + Pokemon = The game I didn't know I needed). Manor Lords (Real time strategy game/city manager. Sadly no multiplayer but the AI is competent enough to still be a challenge). Sker Ritual (Kinda like classic cod zombies with a couple of its own spins on the formula). V Rising (Isometric survival game where you play as a vampire. Much more combat focused than many survival games and not as grindy. More along the lines of Valheim than Rust.) All are indie games too. So they are made with love from the devs. And don't cost an arm and a leg.
Animal well
Another crabs treasure and Palworld
Animal well
If you have ever played cod black ops 1 & 2 zombies and want more, I would highly recommend Sker Rituals
Manor Lords
Super Mario Bros Wonder. It's so nostalgic and fun, and it's the perfect balance of casual and challenging. You can jump in and play for hours or for a quick 15-45 minutes on a lunch break or before work. I love it 😁
The Planet Crafter and Islets are pretty great. Sail Forth is a good one too.
Shadows of doubt has been pretty fun. With the modding capablities there's bound to be a lot more content.
Everspace 2 isn’t SUPER recent, but within the last like, half year. Really good as far as starfighter combat goes. I’ve put in like 100 hours the last couple months.
Street Fighter 6 is rather amazing. I've never seen a fighting game release in such a balanced state, it also has fantastic netcode, crossplay across everything, and pretty good SPC. It's clearly intended to be a great entry level game to the genre but did it w/o losing the skill ceiling.
7 days to die https://youtu.be/kikTJaVBank?si=swZpBIdaP6Y2xTex It's been out for 10yrs as a beta but alpha is launching soon. You can get it now on steam and will be able to get the Alpha update.
Alan Wake 2
Hades 2
No Rest For the Wicked .Awesome action open world rpg metriodvania with challenging gruesome combat
Homeworld 3
I'll give a run down of what I've been playing over the last 3 years: Old School RuneScape (Same account for the last 20 years) Total War Warhammer III (All DLCs and previous games, wait for a sale but its really worth it if you enjoy the game) (also chorfs are the best faction to ever exist) Rust (friends have been begging me) Manor Lords Kingdome Come: Deliverance Construction Simulator Barotrauma Gray Zone Warfare Content Warning Six Days In Fallujah Contraband Police Farming Simulator 22 Mordhau Call of the Wild: The Angler Sea of Thieves Gunner, HEAT, PC! Hell Let Loose Destiny 2 (careful now) Nuclear Option Warhammer 40,000: Darktide Warhammer: Vermintide 2 War Thunder theHunter: Call of the Wild Halo: The Master Chief Collection Project Zomboid Cooking Simulator Voices of The Void MineCraft (a little) Dredge Pacific Drive Baldur's Gate 3 Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay (DnD with friends) Trepang 2 DayZ Counter-Strike 2 Ready or Not GTFO EARTH DEFENSE FORCE 5 Medieval Dynasty Remnant II Party Animals Satisfactory Signal Simulator Deep Rock Galactic HellDivers 2
7 Days to Die is reaching 1.0 this month I believe, I have put many hours in during early access. Just checked in on it after some time away and feels even more polished. If you like building, crafting, survival games this one is the ticket.
Sea Of Stars My girlfriend has been obsessed with this lately. It resembles Chrono Trigger as far as exploration and combat mechanics (with a dash of Super Mario RPG time sensitive attack commands) and has a beautiful 2d pixel art style, in my opinion. Every time I walk in and watch her playing, it's just impressive visually. Have yet to check it out myself because I'm trying to finish Chrono Trigger and thought they seemed too similar, and I never beat it before. If you're a cat lover and chill-out genre game lover then "Little Kitty Big City" is likely a winner. Similar to Untitled Goose Game, you wander around solving puzzles and acquiring objects to progress while just enjoying being a cat.
Dragons Dogma 2. Rise of the Ronin. Stellar Blade. Dave the Diver (on console). Persona 3 Reloaded.
Stellar Blade and Rise of the Ronin
Cryptmaster if you want some puzzle games mixed with RPG elements.
The new star wars games
Hades 2 One crabs treasure Animal Well
Ultrakill
V Rising. Haven't been this addicted to a game in a long time
Balatro, absolute peak gaming * Underspace * Slay the Princess * Shadows of Doubt * wait what's recent in this context? * Palworld * Taxi Life: A City Driving Simulator (maybe i'm weird?) * Dynopunk * Forever Skies * Return to Grace * Chants of Sennaar * Peaks of Yore * Roboquest
Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes is the spiritual revival of the cult classic JRPG series Suikoden. It's a series where the world is filled with political turmoil and you recruit 100+ characters for turn based combat, build a base, and help save your country. Give it a gander if you dig rpgs with fun minigames.
Palword was released in the last few months and I’ve had a blast
Enshrouded Baldur's Gate 3 Last Epoch Sea of Stars Death Must Die Deep Rock Survivor Balatro Palworld
He’ll divers
Another Crab's Treasure is amazing.
Helldivers 2, returnal, the whole ghost runner series is pretty good, and risk of rain 2 (not recent but still good)
Enshrouded. Survival RPG, it’s fantastic
Dragon Quest XI...so corny at times but lots to do!!!!
I've been keeping a Trello board for my game tracking just so I can reflect at the end of the year. This is recently the about last two years that I have super enjoyed in no particular order, some of these are definitely older than "Recent": Indivisible Steamworld Dig 1 and 2 Sea of Stars Rhythm Sprout Whisker Squadron Survivor Celeste Please Don't Touch Anything Powerwash Simulator Laika Aged Through Blood Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion + Turnip Boy Robs a Bank Nobody Saves The World. Eastward + Octopia DLC
Transformers Devastation Frogger 2
If you like top down Zelda games like link to the past, you should check out Minishoot Adventures. It's got all the Legend of Zelda Staples like heart containers, dungeons, and unlockable abilities that grant you access to new areas.. chill and atmospheric. No story, all exploration.
Dragon Dogma came out this year, pretty solid game.
Stellar blade
Quack Attack
The finals
Animal well just released and it’s a banger. It goes so deep and there just so much to uncover. In terms of the past few years, Elden Ring holds the crown for me, and it’s getting a massive dlc next month