Awesome Games

This engineering sandbox game lets players make their own working machines, structures, and interactive objects. It features a robust visual programming interface for controlling movements and encourages players to share their creations. Coming to Steam in early 2023. A PC demo is available now.

The latest in Need for Speed game has a bold look that combines photorealism with cel-shaded animation. The story takes place in a fictionalized version of Chicago as a racer tries to reclaim a priceless car stolen from his family’s auto shop. Expect police chases and an emphasis on character customization.

This isn’t the first time there’s been a Super Mario Bros. full-length film, but this animated feature looks more true to form than that live-action mess from 1993. It’s voiced by a star-studded cast including Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlie Day, Jack Black, Keegan-Michael Key, Seth Rogen, and Fred Armisen.

Despite having come out more than 20 years ago, we still get chills every time the theme music from Halo starts playing on an Xbox console. But does it sound as good without the violins and choir? Beyond The Guitar proves that the track is still spectacular even stripped down on solo acoustic guitar.

With 24 released installments, and at least nine canceled ones, the Need for Speed video game franchise has been around since 1994. Noodle takes a look back at the popular racing series’ origins and evolution of the game, from its roots as a Road and Track tie-in to slick CG action. The opening animation alone is worth the watch.

The upcoming game Retro Gadgets from Evil Licorice challenges players to create virtual electronic gadgets in a digital workshop. The game will test your creativity and improve your electronics skills as you invent, build, and solder together your projects, then write code to make them work. Coming to Steam.

Artist WUZU clay made the cutest little sculpture of a Nintendo Game Boy / Game Boy Advance hybrid. They built the display inside a metal tin with an acrylic control section and working switches, then sculpted the game’s D-Pad, buttons, and characters out of polymer clay with magnets to hold them in place.

Fans of retro 8-bit gaming will love these colorful enamel pins inspired by the aliens in the top-down shooter Galaga. Etsy seller Wardingers offers a selection of handmade pixel art pins based on characters like the Bee, Butterfly, Scorpion, Galaxian, and Bosconian. Sold individually or in various combinations.

The VR2 version of Sony’s PlayStation VR system features some big upgrades. Notably, it offers 4K resolution (via two 2000×2040 OLED displays), HDR, a 110º field-of-view, eye tracking, 3D surround sound, finger touch detection, headset vibration feedback, and more. Available in early 2023.

The Build-A-Cade is a 1:6-scale arcade cabinet that works with your own Raspberry Pi 3 or 4 board. It has a tiny metal joystick and three buttons, plus 5-button joystick, trackball, and spinner control options. Its rear has an SD card slot, USB ports, and an HDMI port, while its coin door has a hidden headphone jack.

Radiohead’s Paranoid Android is about a young man who feels alienated by a materialistic world. Super Mario 64 is about a plumber trying to rescue a princess. You’d think they’d have nothing in common, but on4word managed to create a version of the in the steel drum style of the game’s soundtrack.

The Halo Infinite Forge lets fans build their own custom game environments. YouTuber Red Nomster spent countless hours using the modding tool to built a level based on Andy’s Room from Toy Story. Not only does it look incredible, but the object scaling makes players feel like they’re the size of an action figure.

Capcom’s squad-based shooter Exoprimal drops players into a crazy world where dinosaurs have started to replicate by the millions across the planet. You’ll suit up in a state-of-the-art Exosuit to battle the horde and teams of opposing players. Coming to consoles and PC in 2023.

Funkyzeit Games used Unreal Engine 5 to make the Super Mario game they always wished existed. Instead of the franchise’s typically cheerful and bright look, Funkyzeit’s version is dark, moody, and at times even gory. We’d love to see this expanded into a full game.

Adam from North of the Border continues to sculpt a horrifying series of pop culture characters with pointy teeth. This time, he took Nintendo’s Kirby and turned the vacuum-powered pink puffball into something straight out of DOOM, bestowing the creature with a set of choppers only a dentist could love… and skin-ripping claws.

SpiderHeck is an action-packed co-op brawler where you play as a laser-wielding spider. Battle against your friends or work together to defeat an army of shared enemies as you swing from wall to wall in its dynamic and sometimes deadly environments. Coming to PC and all consoles 9.22.22.

If you’re going to build a maze for your hamster, it really should have a cute theme. Homura Ham has built lots of fun hamster environments, including this adorable and colorful scene inspired by the game level design of Super Mario Bros. We’re just glad the furry little guy didn’t get devoured by a Piranha Plant.

Breaking Bad has been off the air since 2013, but when it comes to memes, the hits keep on coming. With the help of some clever compositing, Chiptuner placed Walter White and Jesse Pinkman in the race of their lives – along the Rainbow Road in a game of Mario Kart Wii. If you liked that, check out Hawkeye in Wii Sports Academy.

Cheat Happens offers more than 27,000 trainers, tutorials, cheat codes, and tips for video games. This lifetime subscription provides unlimited access to cheat and training tools for more than 6000 PC games, with new updates released every month. Save 50% off the regular price in The Awesomer Shop.

A slick and futuristic desk for gamers or any computer setup. Its triple-decker design provides room for dual or ultra-wide monitors, a keyboard, mouse, controllers, headphones, and more. It has built-in cable management, a front-facing USB hub, and RGB LED accent lighting. They also sell a matching gaming chair.

The action RPG Black Myth: Wukong is looking even better than it’s first gameplay video. The environmental effects are truly impressive, but it’s the fighting and enemy design that has us really excited for this game, inspired by the classic Chinese novel Journey to the West.

The PlayStation 5 is a powerful piece of gaming hardware, but its design is definitely controversial, and it doesn’t exactly blend into its surroundings. So builders Chris Salomone and Shaun Boyd got to work to conceal the console inside of a wooden shell that looks like a gigantic version of the original PlayStation.

We’ve always enjoyed watching videos generated using the vehicle physics simulator BeamNG.Drive. This clip showcases various vehicles driving over a square-edged pit in the middle of the road. Place your bets now: which cars will make it over, and which will fall in? Need more car vs. pit action? You’ve got it.