We’re still catching up on games from 2025, which is fine for me. January is usually pretty slow for big releases as everyone recovers from the holiday period with alcohol and copious amounts of food. I’ve been playing a bunch of games this month including Powerwash Simulator, that new Fantasy Life title, Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma, and a heavily modded playthrough of Cyberpunk 2077. It’s only my fifth playthrough of Cyberpunk after all, and I had to do something special for it. Seriously, play Cyberpunk 2077 with mods if you can.
As you can imagine, that’s a lot of gaming. However, I’ve not been idle with my game coverage and I have plenty of fun things planned! Today I’m featuring Angeline Era, a late bloomer in 2025 that I have greatly enjoyed my time with so far. It launched in December which was too late to hit my Top 10 criteria, but this is an impressive indie title by Analgenesic Productions that’s received solid reviews across the board. You can pick it up for around $25, which is a solid price for the package available. I haven’t had too much time with the game yet, so consider this an early impressions review for now. After a few hours with Angeline Era however, you can bet I’m going to play more.
At its heart, Angeline Era is a 3D action RPG that carries some solid inspiration from classics from the old days such as Zelda. The studio also made Anodyne and Sephonie, and the artistic style from those games carries over into this one. I was a big fan of Sephonie back when I played it, so it’s good to see studios succeed. Out of the three, Angeline Era is by far my favorite game they have released so far. Given the Overwhelmingly Positive reviews it currently holds on Steam, it seems a lot of people agree with that!
The story in this one is surprisingly captivating, as is the world design. Set in the fantasy realm of Era, you play as a former soldier called Tets Kinoshta who embarks on a journey to uncover a mysterious angel ship called the Throne, delving into the world of humans, angels, and fae with all the secrets and beauty. It’s an interesting story so far, and despite the lack of voice acting involved I’ve gotten invested in the characters.
The combat is an odd thing that reminds me of very old games such as the Ys series and (shudders) Hydelide. Angeline Era’s system is very simple. Instead of pressing an attack button, you strike enemies by walking into them, creating a fast-paced and fluid combat experience. Success hinges on careful positioning, timing, jumping, and evasion through movement. Additionally, you can employ ranged weapons and other tools to help turn the odds, especially when it comes to the boss battles. The first boss fight took me a long time to work out!
The biggest strength of Angeline Era for me however is the exploration, which is done in a really interesting way. While the overworld looks basic, the levels are hidden on the unmarked map, and they require a lot of work on the player to experiment and explore. There’s no time pressure either, so players can explore the world at their own pace. Dungeons, forests, mountains, mines, and towns are filled with traps, hazards, foes, and sometimes surprising encounters that blend humor with challenge. The writing is surprisingly good, and the lore is pretty nice as well.
Overall, Angeline Era seamlessly blends freeform exploration, inventive bump-based combat, and an atmospheric world into an action RPG that stands out for its personality, pace, and its encouragement of curiosity.
Veterum has brought me quite a lot of joy over the past few weeks! We’re halfway into January, and a lot is happening behind the scenes here. It is usually a slow start to the year for big releases, and it’s given me some spare time to play the games I’ve had knocking on my door. Veterum is one of those examples, and if you’re a fan of Battle Brothers, this is one game you don’t want to miss. It’s in Early Access right now with a fair amount of content and polish, and is available for $19.99.
At its core, Veterum is a dark fantasy tactical RPG. That is quite the mouthful, but we do need more games like this. The punishing turn-based combat is in full display, but this is a kinder game than the brutality of Battle Brothers. While the game is still challenging with plenty of planning needed to survive, it’s not quite as cruel to your squad as Battle Brothers.
There isn’t really a narrative to the game yet, with the sandbox gameplay the core of the content right now. A campaign is still in development, but is scheduled for release before 1.0. Despite the light story, I appreciate the world and setting of Veterum. Order of the Gatekeepers in a mysterious and perilous world on the brink of apocalypse. You lead a diverse force composed of humans, dwarves, elves, and wildmen, with plenty of opportunities to grow as a mercenary band. Veterum is focusing more on the gameplay than writing right now, and that’s fine with me.
The core gameplay loop is probably Veterum’s biggest strength, and you roam around the open world picking up quests, navigating tricky encounters, and dealing with environmental puzzles with some potent battles. Everything is procedurally generated with everyone’s favorite phrase, ‘no two playthroughs are the same. I’ve always disliked that with roguelike tags because it’s more often than not bollocks, but Veterum makes a decent swing at things. The battles, town resources, and quests change with every map, which does make things somewhat unpredictable, and all this feeds into the gameplay. The game does a good job of blending exploration with managing your growing army, and it made me care about my party and make careful decisions about where to go next.
The combat system is another key point, and I’m enjoying the careful balance between challenge and punishment. Combat takes place on a hex-grid and is turn-based, requiring careful positioning, thoughtful unit selection before a battle, and effective use of the environment. Factors such as morale, fatigue, line of sight, terrain, and weather all impact the outcome of fights, which I appreciate. Not everything is about having the most magic or blades. Environmental interactivity is another important part of combat, and you can deal with threats through cool things such as freezing rivers, building barricades to funnel enemies into kill zones, and so on. It’s pretty cool, and I wish more turn-based RPGs had more environment interactivity.
Despite the Early Access tag and lack of a full story right now, I feel Veterum is in a pretty good place already, with most of the core systems in place and plenty of content. There are even some impressive modding capabilities through the built-in unit and map editors, so that people can develop their own scenarios and worldspaces. I haven’t dabbled with this part of the game yet, as it’s an impressions review first, but I love games that do this.
To conclude, Veterum offers a rich strategy experience that’s impressive for an Early Access title. As I always stress with games in constant development, only buy an Early Access game if you feel the content and polish it currently has are enough, rather than buying based on a hypothetical future. If getting beaten down in Battle Brothers got you down (awesome game though!), and if you want something a bit more experimental, I can easily recommend Veterum.
Happy New Year, everyone! My final week of 2025 included gaming, browsing many people’s GOTY lists, and a growing food coma that will only be solved by playing cozy games. I have played so many releases this year that making a Top 20 list was a significant challenge, let alone a Top 10.
Everyone keeps track of what games they think of more fondly than others, and I have made a public list of my favorite games every year since 2015.
I keep a spreadsheet of every game I play each year, whether I buy the game outright or receive a review copy. I also only count games released in the given year or previous Early Access games that hit 1.0 in 2025. I limit the latter when I can. Anyway, let’s kick things off!
10) Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon (Steam Deck Verified)
After a long time in development and a couple of years in Early Access, Tainted Grail hit the big 1.0 this year. It has its jank and suffers slightly from the modest resources of an indie team pursuing a bigger vision, but this is one of the most interesting RPGs on the market. Very few studios have the gall to pull off the kind of non-linear open world RPG that Bethesda was so well known for, let alone a small indie team.
Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon puts together a fantastic setting with some refreshing mechanics. It is buggy and struggles with some late-game quality issues, but this is an impressive package from the folks at Questline that is worth your time.
9) Sultan’s Game (Steam Deck Playable)
Sultan’s Game is absolutely fabulous. It is a strategy RPG where you must survive the whims of a cruel ruler by playing what feels like Yu-Gi-Oh Season Zero with all the death dialed up to ten. It’s a mix of visual novel, management, and survival gameplay that sounds like it could never work, but it really drew me in. There are even roguelike elements with a ton of unlocks for future playthroughs, bringing a torrent of replayability to the table.
It is one of the most unique games of 2025 and continues to improve with every update. Sultan’s Game is even a great experience on the Steam Deck now, thanks to interface scaling.
8) Date Everything! (Steam Deck Verified)
Like a few games on this list, I’ve grown to love games of a genre I don’t play often. Date Everything! features over 100 fully voiced characters to befriend and get to know, with some fiercely creative worldbuilding. More of a sandbox than anything else, Date Everything is something truly special. I never expected to enjoy a dating sim so much, but here we are. Worth checking out even if you have only the faintest interest, and worth experimenting with to get a feel for the game outright. Clever and deeply enjoyable, I do not envy anyone trying to 100% complete this insane game.
Is it better than Slay the Princess and Scarlet Hollow? Perhaps. I have yet to complete the game due to the amount of interactivity and content available, but Date Everything! is up there with the best.
7) Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma (Steam Deck Verified)
After my relative disappointment with Rune Factory 5, I was hoping for Guardians of Azuma to bring things back. Despite my mild expectations, I’ve been enjoying Guardians of Azuma a lot more than I expected. This side-grade in the series has brought more emphasis to the action RPG side of things, with prominent, sprawling locations to explore, a ton of enemy monsters to fight, and surprisingly solid combat.
The farming and townbuilding mechanics are all in here, and while the characters range in quality with every JRPG cliche under the sun, there is a solid farming RPG with plenty to be excited about. I’m surprised by how much I like it, though I haven’t completed the game yet. These titles are made to last, after all! The mechanics aren’t the deepest or most complex, but it’s been a tasty snack of my favorite genres mashed together.
A lot of games left Early Access this year, and you might notice Hades II’s omission from my Top 10. The only reason I don’t have the sequel in my Top 10 is simple: time. I haven’t put much time into Hades II since it left Early Access, as I have been juggling more projects, so I had to go with what I’ve invested more time into. That is Cyber Knights Flashpoint.
One of my favorite Early Access games hit the big 1.0 this year, and it’s still fantastic. This cyberpunk turn-based RPG is packed with character, content, and deep systems, and it is a lot of fun exploring all the mechanics. Build a crack team of mercenaries to carry out heists for many fixers throughout the game’s world, taking advantage of the excellent mission design system and many different storylines. It can be a little inconsistent at times and occasionally suffers from Xcom percentage bullshit syndrome, but this is a great experience. Trese Brothers is one of my favorite game developers, supporting their games for years with frequent content drops. Cyber Knights: Flashpoint is a great RPG, and the atmosphere alone is worth your attention.
5) Two Point Museum (Steam Deck Verified)
We’re in the top five now, and I am continuing this year’s trend of games that surprised me with Two Point Museum. While I loved Two Point Hospital, the Campus installment was a little disappointing. I was a little wary of this third installment from Two Point Studios, but I was curious to see how the developers would handle it. Museum not only redeemed the studio in my eyes, but also became the best game in the franchise. The amount of content can be a bit overwhelming as more and more mechanics get introduced, but I was seriously impressed by how deep the gameplay goes in this management sim. There is a lot of content, the DLCs have been exceptional value, and Two Point Studios have done a great job with post-launch support. It’s clear they have learned important lessons from Campus, and Two Point Museum might be the biggest surprise for me in 2025.
4) Promise Mascot Agency (Steam Deck Verified)
Promise Mascot Agency breathes bonkers and revels in it. Developed by the same folks behind Paradise Killer, their new title is a bizarre management sim that supports a dying mascot business as it seeks to redeem a yakuza bodyguard fallen from grace. This game is hilarious with some wonderful characters, and while it might look ridiculous, it is one of the most impressive games in its class. There is a lot to micromanage, especially as the game gets more complex, but Promise Mascot Agency has both heart and meat on the bones. I wish you could move around the world without using the little truck, but it’s just a minor nitpick, aside from some repetitive minigames. The game oozes charm and is the right mix of utterly insane and captivating, which was just what I needed.
3) The Alters (Steam Deck Verified)
Trying to rank my top three games of the year was extremely challenging, and it might be the hardest decision I’ve had to make during these annual events. All three differ in their design philosophy, making them nearly impossible to compare. This is a good thing because it shows just how much variety there is. But I had to do some rankings, because what better way to get people talking? Number three on my list this year is The Alters.
By far the most unique and refreshing game I have played in 2025, The Alters oozes creativity in its survival-based building gameplay. By using clones of yourself, you have to juggle horrific environments, mental turmoil, and the deadly alien sun to survive, bringing back a vital resource to Earth. Jan Polski voiced every version of himself, and the characterization in this game is off the charts.
I am sad that The Alters only takes third place, because it deserves more. The Alters might lack the overall package of Expedition 33 or the amazing open medieval world of KCD2, but it delivers great game mechanics, punishing survival, and a fascinating story.
2) Kingdom Come Deliverance II (Steam Deck Playable)
Picking between these two titans of 2025 is a bloodbath. Both Kingdom Come Deliverance II and Expedition 33 are exceptional games with very different designs. Comparing them feels like judging a trifle against a sausage roll. They’re both completely different games, and I’ve had fun reading all the discourse online about which one deserves it more.
Anyway, Kingdom Come Deliverance II takes my number 2 spot, and it improves upon the original game in every way. After KCD1 launched the messy way it did, it was refreshing to see how Warhorse Studios has learned some of the lessons from the original. The grittiness of the medieval world is refreshing, with one of the best open worlds I’ve seen in a long time. The survival mechanics almost give it a life simulation of sorts, and the expanded region greatly improves on the original. I did struggle a bit with the opening hours, and the second, far superior region is held off until a decent portion of the game. While I still think the Savior Snapps save mechanic is dumb, it isn’t a deal breaker. With more polish than before and some solid expansions, this is an excellent game.
Damn. What more can we say about Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 that hasn’t already been said? It’s unfortunate to see so much JRPG discourse run around online when more people need to appreciate how good Expedition 33 is. The creativity in worldbuilding and lore is exceptional, and I love the characters. The moment-to-moment gameplay and exploration is overall solid, although a lot of cheese and occasional difficulty spikes might make the reaction mechanics frustrating for some players. I have terrible reaction times with my fibromyalgia, and so it took a while for me to adjust to the parrying mechanics.
The gap between Expedition 33, Kingdom Come Deliverance 2, and The Alters was razor-thin. I might prefer Kingdom Come Deliverance’s world and game mechanics overall, but Expedition 33’s emotional impact is a sight to behold with everything working in tandem. It’s also an original IP, which puts it ahead of a sequel in my eyes. You can reasonably call this a three-way tie and not be wrong, but hand on heart, I had to ultimately give my Game of the Year nod to Expedition 33. Predictable, I know!
Moonlighter was an odd little game. Released back in 2019 by 11 Bit Studios, the first game was a strange little duck hybrid of running a shop and dungeon crawling, with an interesting gameplay loop. The game was a decent experience, if a little bland. When Digital Sun announced they were making the sequel, I was excited.
Digital Sun is a pretty cool studio, and I adored their last game, Cataclismo. It was a grimdark mix of basebuilding and RTS with a dark story that I really enjoyed, and they have taken their experience to good effect with Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault. I was surprised by the long gap between the games, but I am glad to see Moonlighter 2 is finally out. Big thanks to 11 Bit Studios for the review code, by the way!
The game is out in Early Access right now, with a decent amount of content at launch and a solid framework to start with. It has had some teething troubles, but I have been enjoying myself with this one so far.
Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault continues the adventure of the first game, but with some critical changes. This time, the art style is fully 3D and presented in an isometric perspective. You step into the shoes of Will, the shopkeeper-adventurer, starting anew in a strange dimension within the village of Tresna. There’s some pretty funny dialogue and interesting story beats here, with Will effectively being treated as a servant by their big orc shopkeeper boss. Things escalate into a ‘save the world’ kinda thing, which won’t win any originality prizes, but the beats are decent. So far, so good.
When not running the shop, you delve into shifting, roguelike dungeons across ever-changing dimensions in search of relics and treasure. The combat and exploration feature roguelike elements, requiring you to adapt to new dungeon layouts and foes using a variety of weapons and tactics. That loot carries into the shop mechanics during the day, in which you price items that were salvaged during the dives. Why only one random jock can do this is anyone’s guess, but it’s a good enough excuse. Money earned goes into new equipment for you and helps to rebuild the village.
More dungeon crawlers could benefit from this management system, like a shop, and Moonlighter 2 definitely feels more refined than the original. I think the combat and loot systems are much stronger than in the first, with more varied dungeons, more interesting combat, and a wider range of systems. The gameplay is fairly satisfying despite the early access build. I am a fan of the combat, and exploring the dungeons is more exciting than it was in the original. It is now more dynamic, featuring a variety of weapons and perks that add depth beyond simple attack mechanics. Roguelike-style perks, relic modifiers, and inventory management keep things fresh.
Despite the early access model and the content being incomplete, there is a fair amount of playtime here, including multiple biomes, over 120 relics to discover, various shop and dungeon perks to unlock, and customization options for your shop and town.
Moonlighter 2 does have some issues. I’ve had a lot of performance problems. Even on higher-end systems, I’ve had crashes and slowdowns, especially during combat. I also had some horrendous issues with the Steam Deck at launch, though patches have improved it slightly.
While I’m enjoying the overall story, they feel somewhat lacking, and some promised features, such as shop customization, deeper NPC interactions, and more variety in dungeons or bosses, feel a little underdeveloped right now. Early Access exists for a reason, and I am confident these things will be addressed, but it is essential to note. Overall, I’m enjoying my time with Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault, and I’m excited to see where it goes.
We’re back! We’ve had snow this week, and the cold snap is rather irritating when you have a long commute to work. The Game of the Year discourse continues to be entertaining, and I find it funny how seriously people take it.
As always, we are back with the video games, and today’s review features SWAPMEAT, a colorful roguelite shooter that’s been enjoying a fairly solid reception. It is one of those games I hope gets more attention, and while it’s in early access with a long way to go, it has a solid core that nails one of the main reasons we play video games. We play them for fun, and SWAPMEAT is oodles of that, wrapped in an artistic style that drips with character. It’s not perfect, of course, but I am enjoying myself with this one so far.
SWAPMEAT has some interesting mechanics that set it apart from the torrent of roguelikes and ‘boomer shooters’ on the market, making it more engaging for players interested in innovative gameplay. I make a lot of jokes about how the indie market has its own version of the ‘AAA Open World’ model, and that’s usually the roguelike and deckbuilder genres. Regardless, I appreciate what SWAPMEAT has on offer. In this galactic adventure, players can take on body parts from the monsters they butcher, swapping out fleshy appendages for different bonuses. That is a creative way of powering yourself up. Most games offer dull methods like picking up the weapons of the fallen to bolster yourself in the big fight for survival.
Pulling off somebody’s arm and wielding it as a weapon against the poor corpse’s mates sounds disturbing and hilarious, and it is how I prefer to do things. SWAPMEAT comes with a decent amount of content for its alpha Early Access build, featuring a partially complete campaign, several difficulty levels, co-op multiplayer, and random solar systems to run through after finishing the campaign. I quite like how the devs are approaching this one, providing a solid core of progression and gameplay systems, a tasty campaign, and promising replayability that hints at more content to come, keeping players’ interest alive for future updates.
I’ve been having fun with this one so far, with both the visual design and core gameplay loop keeping me engaged. I do sometimes wonder, though, about the value of playing story campaigns while they are incomplete during Early Access. It usually means having to replay everything when it’s complete and polished for full release, which can lead to a rough first impression. Besides that quibble of mine and a few weird bugs, however, SWAPMEAT is living up to my expectations.
The price tag of $24.99 is relatively high for an indie game in Early Access, especially a FPS, but the combination of content and decent polish makes it a fair value. As with all Early Access games, though, I would purchase based on what is available now rather than what is planned, because anything can happen in this industry. This approach helps readers make informed choices and manage expectations. Regardless, however, I do recommend the game for its sheer creativity alone, which is evident even in its current state.
