Combat and progression are the best parts of Nine Sols, and they manage to rub away the blemishes occasionally found in the game's map design and exploration. It's a really great blend of systems from other games with a fantastic revenge narrative. While aspects of the world design and 'Taopunk' style feel mismatched, there is always another enemy around the corner to fight, reminding you just how good the core gameplay is.
There is a good game here, sometimes a great one. Excellent art and animation, smart gameplay twists, and a genuinely refreshing pace really add some exciting new depth to the tactics genre and are huge positives. But it takes a while for the experience to smooth out and actually become enjoyable, and restrictive gameplay design choices don't do it any favours, either. Metal Slug Tactics is one for the tactics fans looking for a fresh take, but just know you'll have to put in some work to see the best parts of it.
Despite this, the game does a fantastic job of immersing you in this terrifying and deadly world, especially with the live mic feature that captures your audio as you play, which can alert the creatures. There's a fantastic set of features and foundation here that we'd love to see built upon in a sequel, as the A Quiet Place franchise is a great fit with games.
These gameplay moments and the parts where every aspect of the experience comes together to work in harmony aren't quite common enough. We wish some mechanics stuck around for longer, but it does keep the experience fresh and consistently exciting, making Neva another hit from the small Barcelona-based studio.
Overall, Crypt Custodian is a pretty traditional Metroidvania elevated by its fantastic world, aesthetic, characters, and soundtrack, with solid combat and a lot of build flexibility. These aspects all help alleviate some visual clutter issues and frame rate hiccups, ensuring that Crypt Custodian shouldn't end up lost in the eShop bargain bin like so many other Metroidvanias.
It isn't offering much you haven't seen before in the genre, but Monster Jam Showdown is a really solid racer and by far the best the series has been in a long time.
Despite missing a few features from the PC version and eye-watering prices for customisation items, Riot has crafted an incredible shooter in Valorant and done a stellar job at transitioning it over to PS5. It's a unique breed of multiplayer shooter that won't be for everyone, but those looking for an intense, competitive experience won't find anything better on Sony's console.
Cat Quest III is a familiar yet flawless action adventure with fluid and fantastic-feeling combat. Its charming story and witty writing bring life to the Purribean, one of the best-designed mini-open worlds in recent memory. That open world is packed with satisfying quests and engaging puzzles to solve that almost always throw some new idea or challenge at you. The progression here is smooth, and the entire experience is precisely paced with no performance issues at all. Some stunning animation work, accompanied by a gorgeous shanty-like pirate soundtrack tops off an excellent adventure. All of that together ensures that Cat Quest III is a pristine pirate adventure and action RPG. Quite simply, one of the best indie games of the year.
All those puzzles weave together to create a satisfying conclusion to Dei's journey that lands with impact, even if the pacing in the middle of the tale dips a little. Marrying the puzzles with the story is a gorgeous art style and stunning animation that consistently looks incredible, and has made the game stick in our mind. The Star Named EOS is a lovely, bitesized, personal tale that's easy to connect with and enjoy if you're a fan of similar narrative-led experiences and hidden object puzzle games.
By the time we rolled credits, that was the prevailing feeling we were left with. While we found more enjoyment in the latter two thirds of Flintlock than in the initial intro and opening area, we couldn't help but feel let down by Flintlock in almost every way.
Capping all of that off are some lovely visuals. While still feeling limited by the game's 3DS origins, Capcom has done a fantastic job of updating textures, and boosting the overall quality of environments for this re-release. When looking back at 3DS gameplay, you can see the stark difference.
While the overall structure of the game hasn't changed, the formula worked and didn't need any major shifts. But when compared to the first Stories — which already holds up really well — the small and large enhancements to every facet of the experience make this sequel a must-play RPG for any fan of the genre, or the Monster Hunter series.
Biomutant has a solid core. Unique enemy designs, a wide variety of weapons to use in combat, and flexible, fun combat are all highlights, but an arduous narrator and a monotone story filled with repetitive quests and tasks weigh the experience down. Pair all of this with the unpleasant visuals and low-quality textures, and we have to wonder if the game should have waited for Nintendo's next console. The actual gameplay experience is great, but instead of feeling like a polished handheld version of the game, Biomutant feels like it has been rushed out the door and left standing on the porch a bit dishevelled.
With Dragon’s Dogma 2, Capcom continues to solidify its reputation as one of the industry’s premier developers. The sequel delivers an incredible, continent-spanning odyssey filled with monsters to battle and mysteries to explore - rewarding player discovery and backing up its captivating sense of adventure with refined, enjoyable combat. Dragon’s Dogma 2 is one of the best fantasy RPGs of the modern age and will no doubt prove a strong contender for game of the year.