I really like the idea from Remap Radio (episode 120?) of reviewing games like Michelin stars instead of rating them on a 5 point scale so I’ll try it out here.

I don’t often replay games so that will be my main criteria for more than one star this year. Two stars are games that I comes back to and three stars are games I want to try and replay every year.

Three Stars

Two Stars

  • Astroneer Produced by Veronica Peshterianu Published by System Era Softworks
  • Beyond the Sun Designed by Dennis K. Chan Published by Rio Grande Games
  • Disco Elysium Designed by Robert Kurvitz Published by ZA/UM
  • Fromage Designed by Matthew O’Malley & Ben Rosset published by Road to Infamy
  • Hey Yo Designed by Takashi Saito Published by Oink Games
  • Lets go to Japan Designed by Josh Wood
  • Lost Cities Designed by Reiner Knizia Published by Kosmos
  • Marvel Snap Developed by Second Dinner Published by Skystone Games
  • Minute Cryptic by Angas Tiernan and Liam Runnalls
  • Moonlight on Roseville Beach by Richard Ruane published by R. Rook Studios
  • Papers Please Developed by Lucas Pope Published by 3909 LLC
  • Parks Designed by Henry Audubon Published by Keymaster Games
  • Pokemon Lazerus by Nemo622
  • Root TTRPG & Video/Board Game Designed by Cole Wehrle and Magpie Games Published by Leder Games and Magpie Games
  • Scout Designed by Kei Kajino Published by Oink Games
  • Spindlewheel Made by Sasha Reneau published by Teacabbage Studios
  • Sticky Business Made by Spellgarden Games (Kathrin Radtke, Zoë Koç, Sophie A. Herrmann, Kasimir Blust) Published by Assemble Entertainment
  • Stray Gods by Summerfall Studios Published by Humble Games (RIP)
  • UFO 50 Developed and Published by Mossmouth
    • Hot foot Directed by Jon Perry
    • Mini & Max Directed by Jon Perry with Paul Hubans

One Star

  • AGON
  • Before the Green Moon
  • Blood on the Clocktower
  • Caves of Qud
  • Dawnfolk
  • Dragon Age Inquisition
  • Drop Mix
  • Gas Station Simulator
  • Heretic’s Fork
  • Hot Streak
  • Kabuto Park
  • Magical Delicacy
  • Mind MGMT
  • Monster Train
  • Naiiad
  • Persona 5
  • Return to Monkey Island
  • Spilled!
  • The Gardener is dead
  • Xenolanguage

Special Mentions (demos or early access):

  • Raccoin
  • Fields of Misteria
  • Pokemon Hearth

Next year (2026) I plan to play (from the backlog):

  • Mass Effect 1
  • Ori and the blind forest
  • Mutazone
  • Nioh
  • Final Fantasy 9
  • Later Alligator
  • Battletech
  • Heaven will be mine
  • Destroy all humans
  • Hogwarts Legacy

Physical games (board games and RPGs) are italicized