Zexion is a metroidvania but it is much more “Metroid” than “Vania”. It often times feels like Metroid 1 for the NES, but the possibilities to power up, find new upgrades and backtrack around the map to progressively plink away at the huge world and challenge is also quite modern. I’ve really enjoyed my time with it even if the uneven difficulty and the painful traversal almost turned me off from completing the game.
I’m not the hugest Borderlands fan in the world; I’ve played 2 for about 200 hours and then gave the Pre-Sequel about another hundred. Borderlands 3 wasn’t that engaging, but I gotta say that 4 was pretty good! I’m still always asking the same question when I play this franchise (why is it that the only company that makes a game that feels and plays like this also writes it like this), but ultimately I had a great time with Borderlands 4 and I probably would’ve played it fair bit more if the endgame / New Game+ situation had been less weird.
Cycle Idle RPG is the “ideal” idle game in my book; the progression isn’t too fast, there are a lot of side systems to work on in order to improve your main system and while everything is fairly linear, you have the impression that you can make some decisions here and there that will make you progress faster, or unlock something sooner. It’s a neat little game that I enjoyed for many days before hitting a wall that I couldn’t manage to go over - and I certainly tried!
Q-Up is a delightful incremental game about a fake eSport of the same name which basically consists of flipping a coin, with one team winning and the other team losing. While the core part of the gameplay is about the coin flips, everything you build around that - customizing your character’s skills, gear and upgrades - is the meat and potatoes of this fun title. I had a blast with it even if it got frustrating at times, and I went through most of the characters you could unlock while really looking forward to see what the next one did. If you enjoy cheeky incremental games I wholeheartedly recommend this one!
Gloomhaven is a massive “legacy” board game where you and your friends go through a campaign of defeating monsters, finding treasures, unlocking new characters and improving them as you make decisions, try to complete long term and short term quests and strategize around resource management, incomplete information and progressively mounting odds. I had a great time playing through the physical version of the board game with my friends when it came out, but I was kinda apprehensive of the solo video game version; It is absolutely a “me” problem, but I do not have it in me to go through this whole game again.
Monster Train is the platonic ideal of the deck building roguelike. Everything is in here; you have a starting deck of creature and spell cards that you use to fight as you make choices in the various branching paths of the map until you reach the boss at the end, all the while adding, removing and improving your cards with a wide array of modifiers and effects. Then, no matter if you won or lost, you gain some progression to unlock different factions, more cards, and more challenges for your next run. I had a good time with Monster Train, but much like my experiences with most roguelikes, once I had a run that went really well and got to the end, I was satisfied, but that’s entirely a “me” thing!
Splintered is a really neat game in the style of Dragon Quest 1 where you play a single hero trying to save the world from an upcoming threat by exploring the world, fighting bosses, becoming stronger and using items and spells to vanquish your foes. Once that is done, the ‘real’ game opens up, with a built-in randomizer, different kind of challenges, and more! I’ve went through the game one time and that was quite enough for me, but I can see how it would appeal to people who really enjoy randomizers.
Doors Paradox is a pretty neat puzzle game where you solve various self-contained “door” puzzles with the ultimate goal of unlocking them and moving on to the next one, while trying to find some collectibles along the way. The puzzles themselves are bite-sized and usually do not require an incredible amount of thought, so it was a nice game to go through. I had a fun time with it!
Idle Wizards, in one simple sentence, is overwhelming with 9 years of content, mechanics and features tacked on top of one another, culminating in a game that has a lot to offer, but also that goes a bit too fast. The kind of game where you unlock three new mechanics at once, where the numbers seem to get a mind of their own and just start spiraling out of control, and before you know it, you’re level 100e39. Needless to say, I had a short time with this game before getting overwhelmed. It doesn’t mean that the game is bad per se, but maybe the pacing is pretty difficult for a new player.
A Short Hike is a delightful little game about a bird climbing a mountain; In order to do so, you’ll explore a large environment and interact with various NPCs, most of which will have small quests for you to do or challenges to complete, I went through the game in a single session and really enjoyed it! Some parts were a bit frustrating and others were overwhelming, but ultimately it was a fun time with a lot of heart.
I’m not sure why I decided to try Idle Rect, I think it was mainly because “premium” idle games (this one was ten dollars) intrigue me; Usually these products are free, with some monetization, and having one that just costs money upfront means that the game is complete enough and appealing enough in theory to pay for and then enjoy. I wouldn’t say that this is a scam, but it’s a deeply fundamentally flawed product that I wouldn’t have even enjoyed for free.
Node farm is an interesting if not flawed automation-based idle game where you setup farms on various islands in order to produce foods in order to ‘defeat’ a boss and move on to the next one, unlocking recipes and nodes along the way. I had issues with my understanding of how the game’s mechanics worked and with the progression systems, but overall I had an okay time with it!
Strange Jigsaws is a game about completing jigsaws by moving and rotating puzzle pieces around. There is very little I can say about Strange Jigsaws that wouldn’t spoil some great aspect of the game, because it’s not as straightforward as one might think. This game is in the “Frog Fractions” category, it has big Newgrounds energy. If you enjoy having fun and a good chuckle, please play “Strange Jigsaws”. Thank you.
Voxelgrams 2 is a “Picross 3D” analogue where you complete number-based puzzles in three dimensions. In order to do so, you look at rows and columns and see how many “right” cubes there are alongside them, sometimes needing to keep things like empty spaces between them in mind, until you discover the object that hid inside the mass of blocks. It’s a pretty neat game!
Magic Research 2 is an idle game where you play a magician, trying to create the Philosopher’s stone. I had played the previous title a while back and much like this one, I’ve found it a bit too complicated and demanding, attention-wise. The basic mechanics are nice, but the quality of life features that you might want to make the experience go easier didn’t seem to come fast enough, so I lost interest.
2025 wasn’t the greatest year of all time, but at least I had some video games to distract myself. Video games can be pretty neat! Here are my top ten favorites from this year, and why it’s the case. Hope your 2025 was okay too!
ElecHead is a delightful platformer with a few gameplay mechanics that work really well for its manageable scope and size; You play as a little electrically charged robot that powers up any surface that it touches, activating blocks, platforms and hazards along the way. I got through the whole thing in a single sitting, and it was pretty fun!
Squeakross: Home Squeak Home is almost the ideal for a picross-like game. There are a ton of fun puzzles, the music is good and there’s a great house-decorating side to the game with an quasi-Animal Crossing quality where you unlock new ways to customize your house and have a jolly time doing it. Covering the overall game is a strong rodent aesthetic, and clearly the developers have these critters close to their heart. I had a great time with it!
Tower Wizard is an incremental game that does not overstay its welcome; with a whole run done in about five hours, it’s quite the unusual twist on the whole “level up multiple systems to progress further every run” genre, and I had a good time with it! The cool pixel art style really made it stand out, too.
Journey to Incrementalia is a really neat looking and pretty fun idle game where you click to gain mana, destroy walls, gain skill points, purchase spells, summon creatures, complete quests and try to destroy all the hundred walls. I was pretty engrossed by the game at first, but after a bit it became a pure numbers game that I didn’t really enjoy at all.