Drew Scanlon is a former video producer here at Giant Bomb. He now works for Digital Eclipse helping make all those interactive documentaries we love. You can also find him rambling about race cars and raising money for Multiple Sclerosis.

Hi GB! Since last we spoke, my comrades and I over at Digital Eclipse have released games about the Ninja Turtles, Atari, Karateka, and Wizardry (not to mention a dang NES game), so you can maybe understand why my list is a little nostalgia-heavy this year. Seriously, when you sit across from Mike Mika’s office, it’s hard not to think “maybe I should get an Apple II.” Anyway, let’s get to it before I make any more ill-advised eBay purchases!

5. Remnant II

I’ve only played a handful of hours of this one, but like Diablo IV, it’s a fabulous co-op experience. I also find myself drawn in to its unique world, which so far has provided enough mystery to compel me to keep playing, and enough visual variety to keep me wondering what’s around the next corner.

4. Dave the Diver

I love a good underwater game! Dave the Diver nails the serenity and splendor of ocean ecosystems so well, that part of the game on its own would have been enough for me. But just to keep things interesting, it also weaves in a Diner Dash-like restaurant management mechanic. This could easily have been too harsh of a stylistic shift, but somehow the game pulls it off to create something unique and refreshing.

3. Diablo IV

At any given time, I need to have a game in my back pocket where I can just “turn my brain off and deal damage.” This year, that game is Diablo IV. I enjoy visiting Diablo’s world (but wouldn’t want to live there, am I right??) and I’m having a lot of fun exploring the tech tree. My brother clued me in to the build-tweaking site Maxroll and BOY could I sink way more hours into this.

2. Dead Space

THIS is how you do a remake. Dead Space was one of my favorite games on the Xbox 360, and I am overjoyed that EA gave this one the resources it deserved. Motive Studio did a fantastic job of giving players what they THOUGHT they remembered about the original, while preserving the mood and core gameplay that made the 2008 game so special. Good design holds up!

1. Cocoon

All you had to do was say “from the minds that made Limbo and Inside” and I’m in. If the game was just another one of those, I would have been happy. But Cocoon is so much more! The game is stunningly beautiful, and the inventive environments had me frequently thinking “I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like this.”

It’s also a master class in game design. The nested-worlds idea is a novel one that could easily have spiraled out of control in terms of complexity, but here it is presented in a way that allows you to gradually wrap your mind around it. In no time at all, I found myself wielding my newfound interdimensional powers with ease. Pretty impressive for a one-button game! The only thing it’s missing is Wilford Brimley.

NOW ENTERING THE SEGA GENESIS ZONE

As I alluded to above, there is a staggering amount of retro-game knowledge at Digital Eclipse. When I started there, I realized I was going to have to educate myself just to be able to HANG, you know? So I did what any spreadsheet enthusiast would do: compiled a gigantic list of games I had never played and set off.

As it turns out, despite me actually owning a Sega Genesis for most of my life, there were TONS of games for that system I had never heard of, let alone played. I have decided to highlight five of them here for you today that stood out to me. Some games fall into the category of “lesser-known game that is actually still pretty fun to play” and others are just “Sega Genesis weird.” Enjoy!

Stormlord

I have no idea what is going on in Stormlord, but I can assure you, whatever it is, it is very metal.

Devil Crash MD

Speaking of metal, this pinball game is pretty freakin’ rad!

Toki: Going Ape Spit

This game might not be the most fun to play, but the intro will live in my brain forever.

Sub-Terrania

How do you make a classic like Lunar Lander even better? Put a weird 90s space punk in the ship and give him a gun.

Bio-Hazard Battle

You may keep your spaceship-themed shoot-’em-ups, thank you. I’ll be over here as a bug shooting squadrons of squid and crabs on stilts in the apocalypse.

It's the blinking white guy

still standin

Drew!

And yeah, Bio-hazard Battle is a trip.

Drew! Can't wait for the new F1 season!

Also, at least an Apple II is a smarter retro PC purchase since it's a complete package. I was thinking of getting a Commodore 64 but then realized it'd be a huge pain to actually use.

ddHuh

Thanks for sharing the Toki intro. I was missing that from my life.

I'm a huge Drew fan, and supported Cloth Map on Patreon for years, so seeing someone I admire promote that absolute piece of unplayable garbage Stormlord is a pretty rough blow on Christmas.

It didn't even start off as a Genesis game. It's an Amiga port! AND WE ALL KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS!

The greatest trick Metal Gear Scanlon ever pulled is making us believe he was a good guy, only to do this. Why, Drew, why?

o7

o7

I wonder if Bakalar has played Devil Crash MD, because it seems so in his wheelhouse.

Sub-Terrania is such a great game. Nice to see it mentioned.

Always happy to enter the Sega Genesis Zone.

And always happy to hear from Drewbert!

You should definitely "feature" on Noclip or the Gerstmann show sometime. Your newfound retro knowledge would surely be appreciated by both! Long before your big Thing happened you were always a sort of role model for me, sorry to put that pressure on you. Anyways thanks for your suggestions, Cocoon looks like an interdimensional focused Outer Wilds.

Miss you Drewbert

o7

thanks Drew, you're missed!

o7

Nice list of games Drew.

There's lists again this year? AND Drew Scanlon? AND AND Mega Drive games? Say it isn't so 🤯

o7

Hell yeah.