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In the first five minutes of the new cyberpunk noir game Nobody Wants to Die, the main character runs through a list of genre tropes in record time. He pounds down a bottle of pills, takes a swig of alcohol from his flask (while another unopened bottle of moonshine sits in the background), gets sad about his dead wife, and talks about being a disgraced detective who plays fast and loose with the law. This all happens before he gets a call from the police chief letting him know that he’s getting reinstated for a high-profile case. I love it.
You will never be able to stop thinking about Lorelei and the Laser Eyes. The latest game from developer Simogo, the team behind 2019’s Sayonara Wild Hearts and 2013’s buzzy, puzzly adventure game Device 6, will burn itself into your mind. That remains true even when you aren’t actively playing it, and continues long after you’ve solved its final puzzle.
In many ways, Wonder’s success is built upon the numerous iterations of past 2D Mario titles. The core idea of tight platforming across stages has been nailed down for so long that each new entry is able to iterate in more granular ways, even if it doesn’t innovate on a larger scale. Wonder doesn’t reinvent the wheel that is the Mario game, but it gives it a heck of a tune-up.
Much of this comes from Unbound’s place in a franchise that has often had to reinvent and rethink itself. But more than just the latest reinvention, this feels like a course correction for the franchise, thanks to the thoughtful refinements made by Criterion Games. What makes Unbound stand out is its style, something it has in spades and feels unique in the racing game crowd.
Harvestella is the perfect game to cuddle up on the couch with, preferably in handheld mode on Nintendo Switch or on Steam Deck. While it doesn’t deliver the best JRPG or farming sim, it is the only game that delivers both experiences at the same time, delivering a unique entry in a crowded genre that manages to be a breath of fresh air.