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Articles by Yusuf Haroon
Review: Curse of Resthaven
Time loops are rough to make work in video games; Curse of Resthaven embraces it anyway. Here, time loop here does not feel like a chore and instead have been integrated well into the roguelite aspect of the game. Developed by Hilltop Studios, the Toronto team behind Lil’ Guardsman, Curse of Resthaven will release on 29th October, 2026. It is a narrative-driven roguelite that features interrogation, trading, deckbuilding, and roguelite progression.
Review: Dreadline Express
Dreadline Express is a horror game that, instead of handing you a gun, hands you a card album. It differs from the other entries in the genre and asks you to start asking questions. The game is a first-person psychological horror developed by a Czech developer, David Konečný, and published by Shoreline Games. It was released on Steam on October 16, 2026. The game is a strange, yet clever and memorable experience. Players play on a train and have to figure out what’s going on in a dying world.
Review: Dog in the Machine
Dog in the Machine hands you a silly premise that you can’t help but smile at. The game allows you to play as a robot dog in a city that is run by machines. Humans have been kicked out of the city, and robot pets have been declared useless. The goal of the game is to escape and find your people. Instead of being a goofy gimmick, this game features a smart, funny, and very satisfying roguelite. This game is developed by Studio Chahut and published by Goblinz Publishing.
Review: Legion Breaker
Legion Breaker puts you as a novice wizard. You have one weak spell and one defender. Yet the undead hordes of the Necromancer King roll in anyway. You lose, and that is the point of the game. The health bar of your wizard drains slowly, so every run feels like a ticking clock. The run might feel strange at the beginning. What’s the point? Why is a single wizard against an undead army? The gameplay loop kicks in, and you start earning gold every single run.
Review: Alpha Nomos
It is unusual to see action roguelikes and rhythm games work together. Alpha Nomos embraces the genre combination and presents some interesting ideas. Rhythm games demand precision, and rogulites demand repetition. The game tries to put them together in a way that is both chaotic yet precise. This is RibCage Games’ debut title, released on October 12, 2026. The game is available to play on Steam, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S. The game presents a bold idea, but the execution is mixed.
Review: Silver Pines
Survival Horror and Metroidvanias do not sound like the ideal genre. Silver Pines proves us wrong. Survival Horror focuses on building tension and horror while being low on supplies. While Metroidvanias, on the other hand, incentivize roaming around, exploring secrets, and growing stronger. This game blends them perfectly. The result is a game that displays the tension of survival horror with the satisfaction and exploration of a Metroidvania. It is a debut game from developer Wych Elm.
Review: Dragon Shelter
Dragons and farming sound like a good idea. Cozy games love cute creatures and slow days. Dragon Shelter makes its place in the genre by combining cute dragons with a farming simulator. It’s the debut indie game from Wild Forest Studio and published by Curve Games. You inherit your grandfather’s rundown farm. You are tasked with fixing the farm, befriending dragons, and removing the gloominess from your town. The game has a lovely idea, but the finished game does not live up to it.
Review: Kingdom Rush 6: Genesis TD
Kingdom Rush has been finding new angles on the same formula for the last fifteen years. Genesis is the sixth mainline entry from Montevideo-based Ironhide Game Studio. This time the game takes a trip back to the very beginning of Linirea. Long before Vez’nan became the mustache-twirling villain fans know and love. Kingdom Rush 6: Genesis TD is an ambitious, nostalgic, and occasionally grindy package that mostly succeeds at being exactly what longtime fans wanted.
Yusuf Haroon
News Kingdom Rush has been finding new angles on the same formula for the last fifteen years. Genesis is the sixth mainline entry from Montevideo-based... Gaming MONOWAVE is a hand-drawn puzzle platformer that has a fully realized core idea. This game is the debut of a Korean indie team, Studio... Gaming Deified is a roguelite that takes a twist on its genre thanks to its decision to have no mana, action points, or cooldowns. It...
Review: Monowave
MONOWAVE is a hand-drawn puzzle platformer that has a fully realized core idea. This game is the debut of a Korean indie team, Studio BBB. It is a story about a newborn spirit chasing down four scattered emotions. Additionally, it is created with a mechanical language that allows it to sit comfortably with the genre’s other ambitious entries. The beautiful use of colours and a message built from emotions make it a delightful game to experience.
Review: Deified
Deified is a roguelite that takes a twist on its genre thanks to its decision to have no mana, action points, or cooldowns. It is developed by French Studio Unexpected and published by Goblinz Publishing. This team has strong experience in the tactical indie space thanks to some prior releases like Legend of Keeper and Hero’s Hour. Deified is a lean and elegant tactical roguelite that strips away resource management from the player.
Review: Packed Lair
Packed Lair is a debut solo project from Belgian developer Patrick Pilmeyer. The game sets out to answer a question the genre hasn’t quite tackled before. What does the spatial-puzzle-meets-auto-battler formula look like from the dungeon master’s chair instead of the hero’s backpack? Games like Backpack Battles and Backpack Hero asked players to Tetris their way through an adventurer’s inventory. Packed Lair flips the premise of the genre entirely.
Review: Fallen Tear: The Ascension
Fallen Tear: The Ascension might seem like another handsome but forgettable entry in the ever-crowded Metroidvania space. But I came out of it having spent far more hours in Raoah than I originally planned to. This game was developed by Winter Crew Studios, and they spent a year and a half in Early Access sanding this thing down. The 1.0 release, out now for $24.99, roughly doubles everything that was already there.
Review: Dragon Quest Heroes: Torneko’s Mystery Dungeon
Dragon Quest Heroes: Torneko’s Mystery Dungeon brings one of the genre’s founding fathers back into the spotlight. This is the remaster of the Super Famicom classic that helped kick off the entire Mystery Dungeon subgenre decades ago. This is a treat for longtime fans starved of Western access to Torneko’s adventures. Unfortunately, its release is currently defined less by its charming roguelike bones and more by technical issues.
Review: The Blood of Dawnwalker
The Blood of Dawnwalker arrives with a pedigree you can’t ignore. Rebel Wolves developed this game. It was founded by Konrad Tomaszkiewicz, director of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. The team also comprises veterans from CD Projekt Red, and this is their debut game. Therefore, the game already has expectations of being as promising as The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. The game is set in a plague-ravaged, vampire-infested 14th-century Europe.
Review: Welcome to Elderfield
Welcome to Elderfield is proof that the genres of cozy and horror games are not as contradictory as they sound. This game is developed by solo developer Chris Cote’s. This debut indie game combines the cozy vibe of a farming simulator and combines it extremely well with Lovecraftian horror. There is also a comedic factor in the game that surprisingly works with this specific genre combination. Talking to a twenty-foot skeleton and tentacles bursting through the wall seem like just another Tuesday.
Review: He Who Watches
He Who Watches is a first-person puzzle game that has an unusual grasp of 3D spatial logic. The game is built around grid-locked movement, cardinal-direction-only interactions, and a series of interlocking mechanics. It all allows for a combination that a few puzzle games try to attempt. The level and puzzle design of the game is meticulous and has a standard that it is successfully able to draw comparisons from the genre legends.
Review: Feed the Scorchpot
Following the success of Balatro, there has been a growing surge of different board games in the genre. Feed the Scorchpot is the latest entry into this small but rapidly growing genre. It takes the resource management and the backbone of Settlers of Catan and combines it with the combo scaling of Balatro. It is a clever combination and lets players loose on a puzzle that rewards both careful planning and gleeful rule-breaking.
Review: Combolands
Combolands is a brand-new short indie game with a deceptively big idea. It shrinks the city-builder genre down to bite-sized, roguelite-flavoured turns. The game combines all of it with combo-chasing satisfaction and dopamine, as seen in games like Balatro. It is a combination that sounds almost too cute on paper, but it works, and it works really well. As of now, it currently stands at a 97% positive Steam reception that is genuinely earned rather than inflated by hype.
Review – The Relic: First Guardian
The Relic: First Guardian arrives as an ambitious Dark Fantasy RPG chasing the same soulslike space that is heavily contested by contenders like Lies of P and Khazan. Instead of competing and making its space in the genre, the game falls flat on its face. There are some clear and crisp elements like satisfying parries, well-designed bosses, and a build system with room for exploration.
Review: Drag’N Dungeon
Developed by Italian developer Demon Girl, Drag’N Dungeon is a grid-free tactical auto-battler. It tasks players with dropping and dragging a rotating cast of up to 40 heroes. Players fight through a colorful voxel dungeon through fast-paced and puzzle-like skirmishes. It is a small and focused package that delivers on its promise through a unique visual identity and combat system. It is still finding its footing in a few areas, but it trades twitch reflexes for careful planning.
Review: Mistfall Hunter
Mistfall Hunter throws players into a bleak, dark, and Norse-inspired world, promising a mixture of Extraction and Soulslike genres. It is an ambitious blend of PvPvE and complements it with atmospheric worldbuilding, soulslike combat, and survival. The main selling point of this game is that it is one of a kind, and its ambition is shown. However, there are a few rough edges that keep the game from reaching its true potential.
Review: Lunarium
Lunarium is the kind of game that appears out of nowhere and leaves a lasting impression on the player. It is an isometric soulslite that is dressed in some of the most striking hand-painted visuals released this year. The game is complemented by a story that is pleasant, comforting, and intriguing at the same time. It does not reinvent the genre but delves into the aspects that make the genre good in the first place.
Review: Wreck Runners
Wreck Runners is yet another entry in the beloved genre of physics-based extraction looters, alongside already established heavyweights like Lethal Company and R.E.P.O. This game, however, comes swinging with its own offerings and features. It is an ambitious swing, trading tight and cramped facilities for a diverse island dotted with points of interest to loot, haul, and extract from before the local threats catch up to you.
Review: Doomsday Diner
Ever wanted to cook hot dogs in a post-apocalyptic world? If yes, then Doomsday Diner is the game for you. This game does a wonderful job of blending a cooking sim with a post-apocalyptic world and an art style that closely resembles that of Borderlands and Fallout. Between managing a lot of hot dogs, creating different types of hot dogs, and shooting all the bandits that raid your diner, Doomsday Diner is a video game that can go from calm and satisfying sim to chaotic and frantic really fast.
Review: Lootbound
Lootbound is a love letter to the fans of the atmospheric, dark fantasy action genre, and it wears its inspiration proudly on its sleeves. Fans of Blasphemous and The Last Faith, even though the genre is different, will instantly feel at home. Lootbound, however, carves its own identity through strategic turn-based combat with DnD mechanics thrown in the mix. The DnD mechanic is not involved that deeply that a run feels dependent on RNG.
Review: Rune Dice
Rune Dice is a brand-new roguelite that wants you to convince yourself that flinging dice across a board like a game of billiards to dictate your damage and gameplay choices is the next great hook. For the early stretch of its runtime, it succeeds. The presentation and art direction are gorgeous, the music is beautiful, and the sound design is satisfying. But peel back this beautiful presentation, and you will find a gameplay loop that is heavily stained by RNG and a lack of control.
Review: Starvester
Starvester is a short incremental video game that wants you to believe that you are building an interstellar empire from the ground up through smart automation and incremental processes. For the beginning of its runtime, it delivers on the promise, but shortly, it starts to show its flaws and frustrating design choices. Starvester aims to harvest the power of the stars, but never really reaches escape velocity to do so.
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