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Astro Bot won seventeen hundred GOTY awards last year, don't despair yet alex!

HE IS

Hollow Knight: Silksong: It’s SKONG. I genuinely did not have very high expectations going in, but when I got to the citadel, the music started getting more godly, when the terror of this whole location enveloped me and yet I could not escape its beauty, they got me. They fucking got me dude.

Angeline Era: The most adventurous adventure you can embark on right now. You go here and go HUH? You go there and go OH. You slash as you bump into things, get tricked, duped even, bamboozled in the best way, and I love it. Also left me just, just shook. Highest of recommendations.

Rain World: The Watcher: We love a brand new take at Rain World gameplay. More disjointed, calling back to the chaos and uncertainty of the original Survivor campaign more than anything since then. Rain World, by now, is its own medium, and this is one of its very best renditions.

Consume Me: One of those games where I know it will be some people’s all-time favorite, so I always want to shout it out. Casual sim game, really varied, great at getting itself across. Unapologetically personal: doesn’t have all the answers but has all the stories, is incredible at telling them.

Haste: Landfall, aside from releasing Peak with Aggro Crab, released this masterpiece in 2025. An endless runner-style platformer game that is more about landing than it is about jumping. The reverse verticality focus is addicting and the music is unbelievably exciting. At highest speeds, I melt.

despelote: If you come from a smaller country that randomly gets obsessed with a sport just because we’re finally good at something, despelote will hit like crack. If you’re from the USA where you’re the best at most things, learn how we little folk feel. Love that friction with the ball controls.

Blue Prince: Yeah, yeah, it’s that good. Has that modern “casual vs insane person” mentality of letting everyone in but keeping a few of us insane enough to keep going trapped for what feels like an eternity. Just, so many OHHHHHHH THAT’S WHAT IT IS moments.

OFF: Remake of this wonderful, organic story of indie success. Great new fights, music, as good as it is, obviously can’t live up to the legend. But that’s still freely available too. If you haven’t played in a while, it’s worth throwing a bit of money to the creators of a cool reimagining.

Artis Impact: An extremely offputting game that keeps you guessing why characters or the world are the way they are until the very end. Pixel-by-pixel crafted art and animations. Life sim/RPG that has this feeling like everything could collapse at any second. Fascinating to explore as an outsider.

Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo: Haven’t played many platformers in this Zelda style, not sure if they’re more common, but this was very novel for me! Could take or leave the combat, but I absolutely loved the exploration. Cheater badges are awesome. Amazing Gameboy Advance risk-reward structure!

I, Robot: Another Atari joint, this time with the legendary Jeff Minter: the absolute ruler of flashing lights games. Sparkled with puzzle platforming goodness, a high-score chasing rush, comedy bits, it’s an amazing mishmash that totally nails all it’s going for.

Carimara: Beneath the Forlorn Limbs: Perfect length mystery game. An astonishing diorama in a unique style. Way more hidden beneath the surface for those with the nose for secrets. Short, so the less I speak, the better.

Primal Planet: A deviously straightforward metroidvania that ends up feeling way more like just a slick action platformer. Dinosaurs look incredible, everything sounds incredible, action is messy in a fun and tense way. Sense of a growing community, family. Chaotic, short, pretty, raw, co-op.