The start of 2024 has started strong with a couple of titles worth your attention. That's saying a lot when last year was relentless regarding the number of titles that brought a high level of quality. This year's lineup looks just as impressive, and the games I have played over the past few weeks are a testament to that.

In this Article:

• Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown
• Palworld
• Roboquest
• Tiny Rogues
• Frostrain

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown

This iteration of the Prince of Persia was an amazing way to start the new year in gaming. Pulling inspiration from games like Hollow Knight, Metroid Dread, and all the other Metroidvania games that came before, this entry evolves the genre further with a combat system that echoes the fighting genre. I was impressed that each time I gained a new ability in the game for traversing the map, it allowed me to reach places I had never been before and played into my fights with enemies and even some specific boss mechanics.

The movement in the game is quick and enjoyable, and the pacing kept my attention until the last moments. To this end, I found the level design to be on point. The way the game flowed never felt particularly confusing, especially with the excellent map system that Ubisoft put into place here that helps guide you on your quest and keeps track of treasures you can't reach for the time being.

On top of this, I found one section of the map to be one of the most visually interesting and creative levels I have seen in a game in a long time. With the ability to play this game for $17 by paying for an Ubisoft+ subscription, this is an instant recommendation, and I can’t wait to see what these talented developers bring to the table next.

Palworld

This is a very strange game. It sold two million copies in 24 hours and, over the weekend, experienced instant success. It will likely experience contention about its questionable use of obviously ripped designs from Pokemon in the coming weeks.

At the end of the day, though, it's an open-world survival monster-taming game. Gamers have wanted that for two decades, and someone who owns the obvious copyright failed to deliver on it. Pocket Pair stepped up and said we'll do it, and we'll do it with some oddball world-building quirks.

I have personally been having a blast. I am a simple man who loves taming beasts with magical powers. This game also takes it one step further. You can put the monsters you tame to work helping with everything. Your Pals can help with everything from crafting gear and cooking food to running the farm and... manning defensive turrets around your base. It takes cues from every open-world survival game ever made, does it well, and brings that extra hint of joy many of us got catching a Pikachu for the first time. I'm looking forward to seeing how this game develops because even though it is at 2 million copies sold and 250k concurrent players, it's still not fully released!

Roboquest

I wrote about this game (and the next one) in my 2023 Year in Review. I have been looking to revisit some things because of the early year slowdown of new releases. Roboquest is one of those, and I have been enjoying myself a ton!

I don't have much to say that I haven't already said about this game, but it's an amazingly fun, fast-paced FPS rogue-lite game. The variety of character gameplay, movement options, and decision-making continually impresses. If you choose to take the leap to higher difficulty levels, that choice brings a continual level of challenge, making for a great overall experience. It even comes with a two-player online co-op, so play with a friend!

Tiny Rogues

I want to emphasize that one dude makes this game. That rules. We are in a time of bloated budgets on games, extended timelines to release, and regular layoffs, especially in the gaming space.

This particular game brings an incredible amount of variety and good challenge. It's a 2D top-down rogue-lite with a great soundtrack, a fun sense of humor, and easily understood mechanics (with accompanying tooltips to make understanding even easier. This is an instant recommendation for lovers of rogue-sites, bullet hells, and small indie games!

Frostrain

If you like Snowpiercer and card games, this one might need your attention! Frostrain is a deck builder and auto battler which also pulls inspiration from games like FTL: Faster Than Light. You're racing against a winter storm in a Soviet-styled train to reach safety. There's a lot of potential to be found here.

This game is a mystery to me. Supposedly, it's a student project from a couple of folks. It has the quality of a $10-15 game but is totally free. I got a couple of hours of enjoyment from it and will probably return for a bit more. The game feels complete in some ways and needs some love in others. So learning that this was a fully released passion project without current plans to continue working on it is a bit of a bummer, but hopefully, these folks can take another crack at another game. I'd love to see what they have lined up.

Thanks so much for reading this Bi-Weekly Roundup. I hope you'll return for the next one. I plan to keep you updated on my thoughts about the games I've played and link to some incredible games as we go. Looking forward to sharing more!