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Platformers are a curious breed. Ever since the days of Mario and Sonic the Hedgehog, they’ve remained popular. Yet being innovative and different can be a little difficult to accomplish at times. Fortunately Croak, the upcoming bouncy 2D platformer from WoodRunner Games doesn’t have such difficulties. In a Steam Next Fest, it takes a lot to really stand out and after playing the demo, I can see why it caught the eye of my fellow staff members. This game is a gem in the making and will be well worth checking out when it fully releases.

It’s Pokémon Day! It was on this day 30 years ago that Pokémon Red & Green released in Japan. While we celebrate Pokémon’s 30th anniversary, this is a good time to look forward as we appreciate the past! As always, the whole direct itself is on YouTube and I recommend watching it as there are things I won’t mention or spend much time on in this article. Besides, it'll be more fun to see what surprises are in store that way.

What happens when you combine archeology, puzzle-solving and hamsters? You get Hamstermind, the adorable puzzle game by indie dev Righteous Tree. Solve puzzles and dive deeper into a mysterious pyramid in search of treasure. The premise has just enough going for it to keep you intrigued and the puzzles themselves are actually pretty relaxing and cozy. I wasn’t ever bored in my time with Hamstermind. It’s not revolutionizing the puzzle solver genre but it also doesn’t need to.

Every once in a while, an intriguing looking Kickstarter crosses my feed. Bel’s Fanfare just launched and it's already making waves. Straight from indie developer Chibig(Mika and the Witch’s Mountain, Deiland, and more) comes another Kickstarter for a beautiful looking game. And this one is worth the excitement.

Bel’s Fanfare follows Bel, a demon whose family has spent many years trapped in the depths of The Witch of the Sea, as she becomes the new Aura Cleaner of the ship at the behest of Captain Popplar. Bel also receives a family heirloom from her dad Belceboo before reporting in: the ukobach shield. Armed with her family shield, Bel must venture into the many mysterious areas of the once prestigious The Witch of the Sea and cleanse them of Aura(which is created from impurities of the soul). While doing so, Bel is also working to finally free her family from the ship. Along the way, she meets a number of interesting patrons, including the reptile controlled chef Eden, the lion like theater director Sr. Fos and the Queen of the Sea, Rovella. And that’s just the start.

The Kickstarter launched only a few days ago and it’s already made over $250k and still climbing. I can see why too. Inspired by Zelda and Spirited Away, this game looks stunning from the visuals on offer and seems to include some pretty neat puzzles and boss battles. Just from the Kickstarter alone, I’m very intrigued by the premise and the mysteries lurking within The Witch of the Sea. The Kickstarter ends on March 7 so there’s plenty of time left to back it and get exclusive rewards like a special shield skin, physical copies and even a statue of Bel! Bel's Fanfare is well on track to release on all major platforms, with an early release possible in 2027.

Be sure to follow Chibig on Twitter and Instagram and other socials for updates!

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live in an actual fairytale? To approach the castle of your archnemesis, knock down the door and…find it converted into an office space? That’s the premise behind Escape From Ever After, a delightful rpg inspired by the classic Paper Mario games. If you needed a fun game to take you back to those days and scratch an itch you didn’t know you had, Escape From Ever After is for you. This was one charming story that had me smiling the whole time despite a few minor kinks.

January has been a big month for Magic the Gathering as its latest in-universe set, Lorwyn Eclipsed, released on the 23rd with its pre-release the week before. What’s Lorwyn you ask? Lorwyn-Shadowmoor is a plane with a duel nature that’s often at odds with itself, as plants, animals and even the inhabitants themselves change drastically between the daytime of Lorwyn and the nighttime of Shadowmoor. Originally visited in the original Lorwyn-Shadowmoor block almost 20 years ago, the time has come to return to the iconic setting in this highly anticipated expansion.

If you’re like me, you probably grew up with a Game Boy Color back in the day and poured hours into 8-bit adventures. I fondly remember my time with games like Dragon Quest IV, Oracle of Ages and a few others. Back in those days, the technology wasn’t very sophisticated, so game design was much simpler and exploration wasn’t guided by nav points. It’s that kind of nostalgia that Doki Monsters Quest chooses to invoke. Memories of bygone days where game mechanics were explained in booklets rather than in the game itself. This philosophy of old meets new works to both Doki Monsters benefit and its deficit.

Welcome to something a bit different. Rather than a traditional Game of the Year style list where I choose my favorites, I’ve instead decided to just take a look back at the various games I played and reviewed on this site alongside a few highlights. My work for GF this year has mostly been these reviews with the occasional preview and news article. Speaking of news, one of the biggest things to happen was the Nintendo Switch 2 and while I probably won’t be getting one for a while, it’s already seen a ton of coverage and support. I’ve covered the news surrounding it a few times and what I’ve seen of it has looked pretty good. It does mean however, that support for Switch 1(at least from first-party developers) is nearing its end. But it's been great to do reviews on my Switch for as long as I have. Cheers Nintendo. I got a few more memories with you this year at least.

As the narrator of the Pokémon anime famously says: “The adventure continues!”

Right off the heels of our recently published Legends Z-A review, Nintendo and Pokémon Company released new information to the anticipated(and divisive) upcoming Mega Dimension DLC along with a confirmed release date. And this DLC certainly promises to take things to a whole new dimension. Storywise, this DLC is intended to begin after the events of the Legends Z-A’s main story. The premise is that distortions have begun appearing around the city that lead to a strange place known as Hyperspace Luminose. Team MZ will have to team up with new allies including mysterious donut chef Ansha and her partner Hoopa as well as a returning character in the form of Korrina, Mega Evolution Successor and Gym Leader of Shalour City(also in Kalos).

Hyperspace is no joke. Not only does it look trippy, but there are also Pokémon there that can’t be found in normal Lumiose, such as Galarian Mr Mime, Corviknight, Alolan Marowak and more! Even stranger, these Pokémon have been hyper powered up to become over the normal cap of level 100 for the first time ever! It wouldn’t be a Mega Dimension without new Mega Evolutions, and those are a major point of Z-A. In addition to the versions of Mega Raichu that were recently announced, two new Megas have been revealed: Mega Chimecho and Mega Baxcalibur. Chimecho was the last Pokémon I ever thought to see get a Mega but I kinda like it. And I’m excited for Baxcalibur since I used one in my Scarlet playthrough a long time ago.

What secrets await in Hyperspace? We’ll have to find out when the DLC story drops on Dec 10, a month away. In the meantime, the DLC is available for purchase now if you so desire. You’ll get the new Holo-X and Holo-Y outfits as soon as you do and a gift of special Pokeballs(3 Level Balls, 3 Lure Balls, 3 Heavy Balls and 3 Fast Balls) is currently available as an early purchase bonus. 

Outside of the DLC, trainers can also get Diancite from Mystery Gift. Doing so unlocks a special side mission which can let players catch the mythical Diancie in-game. Additionally, as of November 6th, a new season of Ranked Battles is available in which trainers can obtain a Delphoxite as well as another opportunity to get the Greninjite for Mega Delphox and Mega Greninja respectively. Later seasons will add the mega stones for Chesnaught and the previously mentioned Baxcalibur. There’s still plenty to see and do in Lumiose city, DLC or no. Happy catching trainers! Don’t forget to check out the Mega Dimension trailer as well as our review of Legends Z-A!

The year is 2013. Pokémon X and Y released on Nintendo’s highly successful 3DS console and marks the first time a main series Pokémon game has been fully rendered in 3D. This is the best Pokémon has looked up to this point and it’s the start of an exciting new era. Beyond the pretty visuals however, X and Y also left a legacy of unfulfilled ideas and wasted potential. The rumored Pokémon Z never materialized and we inevitably left Kalos and Mega Evolution behind…that is, until recently. 

The time has finally come to talk about Pokémon Legends Z-A, the second entry under the Legends moniker following the success of Arceus back in 2022.  Unlike Arceus, which took place in the distant past, Z-A takes place in the future, at least as far as X and Y are concerned. This time the setting is the massive Lumiose City, crown jewel of the Kalos region.