>>1053279
A lot of people really loved Pacific Drive, though I personally found it to be rather repetitive and not well designed. A huge portion of the game's upgrades are locked behind the Deep-Zone, a region of the game you spend maybe 3 missions in 90 minutes from the end credits.
If you like Morrowind, there's Dread Delusion. I should correct myself - if you like the
concept of Morrowind, there's Dread Delusion. Do not expect the same level of game design and writing, it's also braindead easy.
UFO 50 is possibly my favorite of the year, I'd need to sit with it a big longer to decide for sure. I'd recommend you go into it with as little info as possible, it's such an interesting and unique idea for a game. Without spoiling too much,
do you know the idea of a concept album? Well, UFO 50 is a "concept game". You're playing through 50 games of the fictional developer UFO Soft. That's the premise, if it at all interests you then check it out without looking into it. Easily one of the best games of the decade.
Mouthwashing is a game you've probably already heard of by now, but if you somehow haven't, it's another game you should look into as little as possible before playing. It's a very short, 2-3 hour psychological horror game set inside a tiny cargo spacecraft. There's no supernatural monsters or ayylums attacking you, the tension entirely comes from the crew and their interactions. Worth watching a playthrough at the least.
Every motherfucker I know is going crazy about Balatro, it's a roguelike deckbuilder, but this one's gimmick is that it's based on poker. If you like those you'll love it, if you don't you won't.
The Taiwanese Metroidvania Nine Sols is being hailed by some as the "real" Hollow Knight: Silksong, as Team Cherry seemingly can't fucking finish that game.
One of the big breakouts this year was Animal Well, another Metroidvania and the only game that contends for my GOTY against UFO 50. Unlike most Metroidvanias, this one is based around puzzle-solving, having no combat. It's very open-ended and respects player intelligence, it also had some big ARG puzzles if you're into that. I'm not remotely smart enough for that kind of thing.