Trials Rising, and the Trials series as a whole, fully embraces the "Easy to Learn, Hard to Master" motto as a core game design pillar and provides an experience that is easier to get into for new players while providing the challenging gameplay that the series is known for. In Trials, players are tasked with riding a motorcycle from point A to point B on a 2D track as fast as possible without crashing.

WARNING: I’ve given a negative review of Spintires even though I find the game to be truly unique and interesting based on the fact that the publisher of the game is not paying the developer for his work and because the sequel to the game Spintires: Mudrunner (with a different publisher who’s paying the developer) is a more polished and complete experience. In Spintires you play a driver tasked with bringing lumber from point A to point B in various muddy, forested, swampy and sometimes watery Eastern European wilderness locations by making use of different heavy duty vehicles.

WARNING: This a rant more than it is a comprehensive review. I did not enjoy my time with ATOM RPG even though I’m a big old school Fallout fan but I seem to be in the minority so take my words with a grain of salt (a bucket of salt perhaps). ATOM RPG is Fallout 1/2 if it was set in Russia in an uninspired world filled with hundreds of characters who barely have anything interesting to say with little to no environmental storytelling, it strongly encourages you to play certain character builds and it doesn’t seem to actually allow you to make meaningful choices (small or big) defeating the purpose of playing a CRPG in the first place.

In Resident Evil Revelations 2, you (and ideally another player) initially play as either Claire Redfield, Chris Redfield’s sister, or Moira Burton, Barry Burton’s daughter, who have been kidnapped at a TerraSave gathering (because Terr doesn’t have to end with orist) and find themselves in a mysterious abandoned facility filled with monsters. Barry Burton, accompanied by a mysterious young girl named Natallia, follow in their tracks hoping to find out what happened to Claire and Moira.

In Resident Evil 2 (2019) you play as Leon Kennedy, a rookie cop on his first day on the job, or as Claire Redfield, Chris Redfield’s sister searching for him, finding yourself trapped within the Raccoon City Police Station infested and surrounded by zombies, and other monstrosities, on all sides; you must find a way to escape. Resident Evil 2 (2019) is a remake of the original Resident Evil 2 released in 1998 on the Playstation.

F3AR is a horror themed FPS that I played as a cooperative experience with a friend. Its core gameplay of shooting bad dudes is quite dated, combining that with its hard to follow and impossible to care about storyline told through very video gamey cinematics results in an experience that leaves much to be desired. One of its only redeeming factors are the asymmetric characters that you play as in coop: one is a classic FPS protagonist that can slow down time and the other is a classic evil dude who can force choke people and take control of their bodies temporarily.

Paratopic is a spooky PS1/lofi horror experience. Its use of lofi weird graphics, its soundtrack and the story all work in unison to make you feel extremely uncomfortable and unsettled whilst playing the game. I enjoy concise and short experiences however Paratopic feels shorter than it deserves to be and thus left me wanting more.

In the Return of the Obra Dinn, you play the role of a Chief Inspector in the East India Company in 1808 investigating the tragedy of the Obra Dinn, a ship that set sail with sixty people onboard and eventually came back to port devoid of any signs of life. The Return of the Obra Dinn is a unique historical narrative murder mystery game that immerses you completely in the shoes of a time traveling insurance inspector.

Cry of Fear is a weird single player or co-op horror FPS built on the Half Life 2 engine. The following review is based on the coop experience.

Artifact is a modernized and digital version of Magic the Gathering set in the DOTA universe developed by Valve and Richard Garfield, the original creator of Magic the Gathering.

In Total War Warhammer 2, you lead one faction among belonging to a race in the Warhammer universe (in this game, including Dark Elves, High Elves, Skaven, Lizardmen and possibly Tomb Kings) in a quest to seize control of the Great Vortex, a swirling pool of excess magic coming from the Real of Chaos. Total War Warhammer 2 is the second entry in the Total War franchise of real time with pause strategy and tactics games taking place in the Warhammer universe.

In Kingdom Come Deliverance, you play as Henry, the son of a blacksmith, in the late medieval era as he branches off on his own for adventure and possibly revenge. Kingdom Come Deliverance is a historical open-world RPG taking place in the Holy Roman Empire in the 15th century with gameplay systems reminiscent of the Elder Scrolls games with a world that feels more alive but smaller with fun gameplay systems including combat, archery/hunting, etc.

NB: I’ve played the game since 2014 (username: billtowin) and I’ve got around 50h of playtime. SpyParty is an asymmetrical 1v1 competitive game in which one player plays the Spy at a party filled with NPCs partygoers, the Spy must perform spy-like actions without being found out by the other player who’s playing the Sniper who’s watching the party from a safe distance.

In Space Beast Terror Fright, you play as a Space Marine entering randomly generated derelict space ships by yourself or with up to three other soldiers in which you must survive a constant onslaught of aliens whilst you navigate through the ship in order to blow it up to eliminate the alien menace and escape. Space Beast Terror Fright is a methodical coop horror FPS heavily inspired by the movie Aliens and the Warhammer 40k universe.

In Monster Hunter World, you play as a monster hunter on a ship headed for the New World; a new frontier with many monsters to hunt on your never ending quest for better gear. Monster Hunter World is the most recent entry in the long running Monster Hunter series which are character action RPGs where you fight big monsters. Monster Hunter World is the first AAA non-mobile Monster Hunter to release on PC.

Danganronpa 2 Goodbye Despair is a sequel to Danganronpa Trigger Happy Havoc both of which are weird and very dark visual novel / adventure games featuring talented school children who are forced into killing each other. The sequel is a very similar game with new intrigue, new characters and some additions/improvements to the existing gameplay mechanics.

The Evil Within 2 is a Japanese horror survival game with a cheesy semi serious story in an American setting. It’s heavily inspired by Resident Evil (especially 4) and could be considered as a spiritual successor to that game.

Wasteland 2 is an interesting but unbalanced and dated CRPG in a post apocalyptic setting. It is a sequel to Wasteland, the game which inspired Fallout.

Warhammer: Vermintide 2 is a masterful evolution of the L4D legacy set within the Warhammer universe.

Killer Instinct is a fighting game that is easy to learn, flashy and comes packed with a ton of content. It originally released on Xbox One in 2013, the Steam version contains years worth of patches.

Bayonetta is a larger than life character action game that defies expectations and will leave anyone but the most dead to the world impressed and satisfied to the core.

Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun is a stealth-action tactical strategy game set in feudal Japan with tight gameplay reminiscent of Jagged Alliance 2, Commandos and Silent Storm.

Prismata is a turn-based abstract Starcraft-esque game whereby both players have access to the same (randomized per match) set of units.

Into The Breach is a turn-based strategy/puzzle roguelike by the same devs behind FTL.

Dishonored 2 is a sequel to Dishonored… You sneak around, you observe, then you strike either by assassinating your target or subduing them in some other way and, finally you get away. Sooner rather than later, you get access to a variety of supernatural powers to help you along the way.

Prey is an immersive-sim in the vein of Deus Ex, Bioshock in a science fiction setting with an interesting story and tight gameplay systems that keep you having fun and immersed until the very end.

In Dominions 5, you play the role of one of many Pretender Gods who are each vying for supremacy through their ruling over a nation of people who worship them after the sudden disappearance of the Supreme God. Dominions 5 is a turn-based 4X game where you lead any one of 60+ different nations of people/creatures/beings with a focus on war and area control.

In Dead Synchronicity Tomorrow Comes Today, you play as an amnesiac named Michael, the world has hit by some kind of mysterious calamity. Dead Synchronicity Tomorrow Comes Today is a graphic adventure game, it’s pretty shit.

In Just Cause 3, you play as Rico Rodriguez returning to his homeland of Medici in order to aid the rebels to overthrow the dictactor, General Sebastiano Di Ravello, in control of the country. Just Cause 3 is an open world action game whereby you’ll be flying around and blowing red stuff up… Which is fun for a couple hours but quickly becomes tedious primarily because nothing that matters changes as you progress through the game.

In Open Sorcery you play as BEL/S v5.6 an elemental spirit of fire bound to C++ code charged with protecting her environment (a school, an old folk’s home and her creators’s homes) from various spiritual beings by her creators. Open Sorcery is a short (1h) but replayable game with a unique and well realized premise with a highly branching storyline, many secrets to uncover and beings to discover and connect with or burn with fire.

In The Long Dark, you play as Will Mackenzie, a man trying to survive in the cold Canadian North after a plane crash leaves him stranded there in search of his passenger, Astrid, who seemingly fled the crash site in haste. The Long Dark is a survival game with a narrative campaign and more freeform survival gameplay whereby you must survive in the harsh Canadian North for as long as possible.

In the Deadly Tower of Monsters, you play as Dick Starspeed, a hero who’s crash landed on the alien planet of Gravoria… Wait, actually you play as Jonathan Digby who’s playing the role of Dick Starspeed in the movie the Deadly Tower of Monsters… Wait, actually you’re playing as three different people in the DVD commentary of the Deadly Tower of Monsters by Dan Smith, the director of the movie, accompanied by an audio engineer Patrick.

Golf It is a multiplayer mini putt game that’s a lot of fun to play with friends.

In Danganronpa Trigger Happy Havoc, you play as Makoto Naegi, a normal high school student who’s just transferred to Hope’s Peak Academy with several remarkably talented students. On his first day, he faints and wakes up to find that someone has trapped him and the other students inside the school, isolating them from the outside world. Will they be able to unravel the mysteries that surround them? Danganronpa Trigger Happy Havoc is a unique visual novel with a emphasis on investigations, relationships, rhythm game elements (¯_(ツ)_/¯) and dark themes.

Stories Untold is a great short interactive horror experience.

In Pyre, you play the role of the Reader, an exile who’s tasked with leading a group of fellow exiles called the Nightwings through sports-like rituals called the Rites. Pyre is an RPG with real-time sports-like battles with fun gameplay, beautiful art, a wonderful soundtrack and a world that’s easy to become lost in.

In Tyranny, you play the role of a Fatebinder, a servant of Kyros the Overlord, in a world where the epic struggle between good and evil is over and you’re tasked with overseeing the takeover of the last free area of land on the continent of Terratus. Tyranny is a modern CRPG by Obsidian Entertainment with tight gameplay mechanics and an intriguing world.

Zero Escape: The Nonary Games is a bundle of remastered PC versions of the first (999) and second (Virtue’s Last Reward) games in the Zero Escape series. If you enjoy 999, then you’ll enjoy Virtue’s Last Reward because it is very good sequel that follows in the footsteps of its predecessor thus I’ll be focusing my review on 999 for the most part to avoid spoiling anything for Virtue’s Last Reward.

In Rock of Ages 2: Bigger and Boulder, you play the role of a historical figure trying to bust down an opponent’s castle by rolling a boulder through a level whilst protecting your own castle from your opponent’s boulder by placing various obstacles in his path. Rock of Ages 2: Bigger and Boulder is a fun mix of Rolling Ball and Tower Defense genres of games and is quite unique concept that is well-executed and is a blast to play with friends.

In Transistor, you play the role of Red, a singer in a utopic futuristic society that has taken a turn for the worse, wielding the Transistor, a weapon that holds the soul of your recently deceased lover and might be the key to saving the world. Transistor is a unique action adventure RPG that takes place in a beautiful and intriguing world.

In Snake Pass, you play the role of Noodle, a lazy snake basking in the sun when suddenly he must go on an adventure to save the world. Snake Pass is an old school collect-a-thon platformer where you control a snake.

Nex Machina is a satisfying twin stick shooter with a well developed leaderboard system that feels like Doom (2016) but as a twin stick shooter.

In Octodad: Dadliest Catch, you play the role of Octodad who must go through his day to day life with his wife and kids and avoid being found out for what he truly is, an octopus. Octodad: Dadliest Catch is a unique game that can be loosely described as an action-adventure/puzzle game with QWOP-like controls in 3D.

In Furi, you play the role of a mysterious katana wielding prisoner named the Stranger who breaks out of his cell and ventures forth to fight his jailers, one by one. Furi is a boss-rush character action game with a tough but fair difficulty curve, a visually intriguing world and a compelling story.

Assault Android Cactus is a top-down twin stick shooter with tight gameplay, a cute well-realized aesthetic, a great soundtrack and a lot of replayability.

Hook is a short (1-2h) and relaxing minimalist puzzle game with an interesting core mechanic that is expanded upon progressively in each of the 50 levels.

Hollow Knight is a great Metroidvania game with a pinch of Souls-like elements sprinkled in.

Warhammer: End Time - Vermintide is a masterpiece… and a L4D clone. It adds loot and hats to the proven L4D formula while setting the game in the Warhammer universe where Skaven (ratmen) are causing havoc and must be stopped.

Salt and Sanctuary is a tough 2D Metroidvania-Soulslike game which is a love letter to everything we know and love from the Souls series of games.

In Armello, you play as a hero representing of one of four clans (Rat, Rabbit, Wolf and Bear) vying for the throne of Armello. At the start of the game, the King of Armello is infected by the Rot and starts dying slowly. You and three other players must gain prestige, fight battles and cast spells while the king descends into madness and finally dies in order to ensure your place as his successor on the throne of Armello.

Rainbow Six Siege is a 5v5 tactical FPS with environmental destruction which directly impacts the gameplay in interesting ways. In Siege, you play the role of an “operator”, a person with a gun as well a gadget or ability that makes them unique and are tasked with defending or attacking in game modes such as Objective, Bomb Defusal and Hostage.

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