What We Play Today

Everyone at Iron Galaxy is a player of games. We live and love what we work on. To give you a different insight into our teammates and what drives them to do good work, we want to highlight the games that inspire us. Enjoy our list and share some inspirations of your own.

Steven Kosanovich, Character Lead/Art Director
Nintendo Cube, Super Mario Party Jamboree
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Steven: I have to begin by stating that most of my joy related to this title is due to it being the first multiplayer game I’ve been able to play with my daughter. However, even without the family bonding element, Mario Party Jamboree is the best Mario Party in over 10 years. It manages to add complexity with new gameplay elements while maintaining the classic Mario Party experience. Minigames are still a blast – my daughter likes the one where you have to cut a steak perfectly in half – and map choices makes for enough variety to keep things fresh. In the end, nothing beats raging at an OP Wario CPU with your kids.

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Mario Gomez, QA
Capcom, Vampire Savior
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Mario: Vampire Savior has always been one of my favorite fighting games and I’m still actively competing in it. The lightning-fast game speed that demands quick decisions, the thrill of competition, and traveling across the globe meeting other players is what keeps me playing till this day.

‍SNK, Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves
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Mario: Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves is a modern fighting game that I’m competing in this year as well. The game feel is at a sweet spot for me. It’s not as fast as The King of Fighters but still is a very fast game in its own way. I enjoy coming up with new strategies and going to major events to see where I stand with the players. I also enjoy discussing and coaching other fighters. I’ll be competing in both games at three upcoming tournaments: Evo Japan 2026, Combo Breaker 2026, and Evo Vegas 2026 this year.

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‍M Ing, QA Analyst
Bethesda, Fallout 4
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M: Season 2 of the Fallout series made me want to replay one of the games, so I jumped right back into the wasteland with a new save. There's always been a strong sense of freedom with many of Bethesda's open world titles and Fallout 4 is no different in this regard. It's been a relaxing time to be a mercenary in the Commonwealth while exploring the desolate lands with Dogmeat at my side. Which is especially nice because...

‍Capcom, Resident Evil Requiem
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M: Resident Evil Requiem is a really nice way to offset being stressed from playing Resident Evil 9. I was originally apprehensive about picking this game up as I don't really do survival horror all too well in most cases, but the back and forth between horror and action has worked out really well. And even in the horror segments, Grace can still usually defend herself to a degree (as opposed to something like Phasmophobia where the only thing you can do is RUN). It is also really cathartic to be able to clean up the zombies and monsters as Leon after being harried by them as Grace.

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Alex Deluzuriaga, Producer
Game Freak and Koei Tecmo's Omega Force, Pokémon Pokopia
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Alex: Pokémon have never looked cuter or acted more adorably. While some games have let you talk directly to Pokémon in the past, Pokopia takes it to a whole new level with well-written dialogue that feels whimsical and varied. The love and care doesn't stop with the writing, though. Working tirelessly with your new friends to bring life back to the various towns feels rewarding and insanely addicting. I'd imagine that a lot of people are going to have a new favorite Pokémon by the end of the game. Oh, and you can get a Snorlax bed.

Jagex, Old School RuneScape
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Alex: Old School RuneScape released its first new skill, Sailing, back in November. Originally, I hopped on just to "check it out", until I reached a point where I could no longer afford the cost to upgrade my ship's hull. So, naturally I went on a side quest to recoup some money by leveling my Slayer skill - it didn't take much grinding before a Vampyre blessed me by dropping a Blood Shard worth 6.2 million GP and in that very moment I was totally back. A few dozen side quests later and I've just achieved all skill requirements needed to complete every quest in the game. If you enjoy the feeling of setting long-term goals, chipping away at it each day and watching numbers go up - I'd highly recommend giving OSRS a try. 

Jordan Alexander, Producer
Ghost Ship Games, Deep Rock Galactic
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Jordan: For years now I have kept coming back to Deep Rock Galactic, more than any other game. It’s the kind of game where every run feels different enough, the challenge can be real but not frustrating, and it never stops being fun to play. Co-op is a blast, the art is fantastic, audio is top tier, and the writing keeps everyone laughing. I’ve also been enjoying Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor, and Rogue Core is probably my most anticipated release right now—Ghost Ship is killing it!

David "DeeJ" Dague, Head of Communications
Raven Software and Infinity Ward, Call of Duty: Warzone
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DeeJ: Taking into account the total hours played across my lifetime career, Call of Duty has kept me engaged more than any other entertainment property known to humanity. These days, I have a regular squad who lures me back to the Warzone several times a week. It's our preferred clubhouse and arena. Right now, we're investigating Black Ops Royale, with a casual chaser or two at the end of the session. Blackout was a crucial social outlet during quarantine, so it's interesting to see the return to form. Like anything you love, it's hard to explain why Call of Duty feels like home. The combat design and the options I'm given to play the way I want to play fit like a flameproof glove. 

Mike Rossi, Design Manager
Nintendo EPD, Donkey Kong Bananza
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Mike: Getting a game to “feel” good is no easy task and Donkey Kong Bananza nails it. The combination of controls, animations, sound effects, and visual effects make each punch feel extremely satisfying. Taking what sounds like repetitive actions and making them anything but repetitive. Regardless of how much time I spent in Elephant Bananza, vacuuming up an entire level’s terrain for gold is always satisfying.

Donkey Kong Bananza also continues to embrace Nintendo’s design approach, introduced in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of The Wild, of giving you a bunch of tools, pointing you at a goal, and telling you to figure out your own solution. With the various Bananza transformations, I’m never sure if I’m breaking the design intent or not. And I love that. It makes me feel like I’m defining my own experience and not following a prescribed path.

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Vika T, Head of People
Failbetter Games, Sunless Sea
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Vika: If RPGs are your thing, do yourself a favor and give it a whirl. This game has been out for a hot minute and it’s one of those gems you sometimes stumble upon that makes you wonder why it took so long to come across. Sunless Sea is all about slowly uncovering a very big, mysterious map, where you must do your best to not die, not eat your crew (though sometimes you must eat them), all while trying to make money to buy fuel and supplies to uncover more of the map and the story.  The writing has a seriously great balance of vivid descriptions that allows imagination to do some heavy lifting. It’s a slow burn, darkly Victorian, and somehow cozy at the same time. 

Josh Claassen, Technical UI Designer
Kenny Sun and Friends, Ball x Pit
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Josh: I really enjoy roguelites and roguelikes. Then I find a game basically asking, “if brick breaker was a roguelite and the bricks fought back?” I was sold. I keep playing for the different character combos, the increasing difficulty, the new builds, and really satisfying gameplay. The addition of putting in the auto shoot and speed controls is wonderful; I can speed up or slow down the game mid run as I want for different characters and toggle on/off auto shoot to just increase the madness on screen. I have it as a favorite on Steam and think it will be staying there for a long time.

Nikhil Ghosh, Associate Software Engineer
Sandfall Interactive, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
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Nikhil: The opening shot of the Eiffel Tower, broken into pieces and suspended into air, sets the tone for one of the most visually unique worlds I have ever experienced. What follows is one of the most unforgettable journeys I have ever been on, in any media. I couldn't help but be enthralled by Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, and its unique worldbuilding, characters, cinematography, and overall story. It will forever rank among my favorite games.