This season is what we call ‘hell season’. There are SO MANY GAMES! So far I’ve managed to get reviews up for Alan Wake 2, Sonic Superstars, Lies of P, Mortal Kombat 1, Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty, Starfield, and a bunch of games I’ve already forgotten about. Remember Dead Island 2? That was this year!
So with so many games out in the wild, I thought I’d take a break from covering the AAA stuff to highlight some of the more bite-sized games I’ve also been playing that may go unnoticed.
The Latest, Best Vampire Survivors Clone: Spellbound Survivors.
Spellbound Survivors is Vampire Survivors with different characters, levels, and enemies. The gameplay remains largely the same – move with the left stick, pick up powers, and hope you’ve got enough money to upgrade your skills so you don’t die as easily next time.
I found coin drops are stingy as hell, but any time I can play something that’s close to Vampire Survivors, I’m going to dive in headfirst. I’m also really digging the slightly different look. Characters feel more fluid and alive than they do in Vampire Survivors.
It’s out in December, and while I don’t have pricing info yet, I can’t see it costing much. Vampire Survivors was only $4 after all.
Something Completely Different: Railgrade.
Do you like trains? What about post-apocalyptic trains? It’s a pretty cool hook and it works shockingly well.
Railgrade is like Sim City if you got rid of the actual city bit. Build complex tracks, power it all, and complete quests. Because I’m normally awful at sim games, I’ve been playing it more like a puzzle game: How do I get this train to go here without pulling my hair out?
If you’re into sim games or trains, and have more patience than me, I can quite happily recommend Railgrade if you’re after something vastly different from what else is on offer.
For Terrible People: Thief Simulator 2.
As anyone who’s played Skyrim will tell you, breaking the law is fun. There’s something incredibly satisfying about stealing in video games that’s impossible to explain to non-gamers without sounding like a weirdo.
Thief Simulator 2 is exactly what you’re imagining. You’re a burglar, and it’s your job to case houses and come up with ways to break in and loot the place without getting caught.
I was amazed at just how much thought has into this. It’s not a quick cash-in with the Simulator name. And the actual gameplay is way more advanced than thieving in something like Skyrim. I constantly found myself loitering around my mark to try and figure out entrance and exit plans before I’d even step foot on the properties. I also haven’t jumped so hard in my life when I rolled into an empty house to find the guy had a flatmate upstairs. Thankfully he was gaming though, so I managed to grab all my ill-gotten gains without as much as a peep out of him.
Gargoyles Remastered.
Gargoyles Remastered is a remake of the 1995 SNES and Genesis game. If you hated the original, chances are that won’t have changed.
It’s a weird choice for a remaster. The original game wasn’t exactly a cult classic, but someone decided it needed to be remade with more TV show-accurate visuals. As a remaster, it’s near flawless. The redesigned music and visuals really help to make it feel fresh. The gameplay is still stiff and unexciting, but if you’re after a trip down memory lane, there are worse games you could pick up.
