Jon Scarr's Reviews
MOUSE: P.I. For Hire is exactly the kind of rubber hose shooter worth the wait. It values its hand-drawn style just as much as its gameplay. Fumi Games found a way to make the mix of 1930s cartoons and fast-paced FPS action matter. The animation never feels like a gimmick. The story takes its time to get moving and the enemies don’t always put up a fight. However, watching Jack Pepper unravel the corruption in Mouseburg keeps the mystery moving through the slower hub moments.
Legacy of Kain: Defiance Remastered updates a 2003 classic with beautiful high-definition textures, a modern free camera, and much-needed navigation tools. The combat remains repetitive and shows its age, but the legendary voice acting and deep lore make this an essential piece of gaming history for both newcomers and returning fans.
Pragmata is exactly the kind of sci-fi game I’ve been waiting for. It values its characters just as much as the shooting. Capcom found a way to make the mix of heavy gunplay and real-time hacking matter. I never sensed I was just going through the motions. The story takes its time to get moving. However, watching Hugh and Diana’s relationship grow kept me interested through the weirder moments. It is one of the best reasons to own a Nintendo Switch 2 since the console arrived last year.
Legacy of Kain: Ascendance offers a fantastic prequel story with the iconic original voice cast, finally answering decades-old questions for fans of the series. However, the disjointed art style, repetitive combat, and frustrating level design make the actual gameplay a struggle to enjoy. It is a vital piece of lore for fans, but playing on Story mode is the best way to experience it.
1348 Ex Voto wastes a fantastic setting and excellent voice acting on a fundamentally broken gameplay loop. The 14th-century Italian countryside looks gorgeous, but the erratic lock-on camera, unreliable dodging, and technical bugs turn sword fights into a constant struggle. Even at a budget price, it’s hard to recommend picking this up until the controls see some major updates.
Samson reminds me of the days when games didn’t need a hundred map icons to be worth playing. It’s a punchy AA brawler that swaps out massive maps for a focused story about paying back a gang before your sister pays the price. The bugs are a headache right now, but the heavy-hitting action and the vibe of Tyndalston kept me interested. It’s an honest, short-distance run for anyone tired of bloated blockbusters.
Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly REMAKE is a faithful reconstruction of a survival horror fan favourite. Team Ninja updated the visuals and added new features like the hand-holding mechanic and willpower gauge, and these additions work without sacrificing any of the creeping dread. Certain combat encounters can feel like a marathon and some minor technical hiccups pop up on the Nintendo Switch 2, but the spatial audio and cursed village make it a must-play for fans of the genre.
Life is Strange: Reunion provides the emotional closure fans have wanted since 2015. While technical bugs and stiff animations can be distracting, the dual-protagonist gameplay and strong writing make this a must play journey for anyone who loves Max and Chloe. It is a short but purposeful resolution to a decade-long story.
The Mega Man Star Force Legacy Collection’s a massive package that treats Geo Stelar’s story with the respect it deserves. The second game’s a grind, but the fast combat and Noise transformations in the final entry make the trilogy worth seeing through to the end. The transition’s a win for you thanks to the accessible Buster Max tools.
Screamer is a high-energy reimagining that captures the spirit of the 90s arcade era while offering something genuinely new. The twin-stick drifting and tactical Sync/Entropy management are the most interesting things to happen to the genre in years, rewarding the effort it takes to get a handle on the controls. The dialogue-heavy story pacing is a real drag and the AI rubber-banding feels cheap, but the sharp lighting and hard-hitting soundtrack keep the energy high. If you’ve been waiting for an arcade racer that respects the classics but isn't afraid to innovate, this is worth the effort to master.
Pearl Abyss built something massive with Crimson Desert, and the cracks show alongside the ambition. The visuals are the best I’ve seen in an open world, the combat is one-of-a-kind, and I never ran out of reasons to keep exploring. But the story lets the whole thing down, Kliff is too blank to carry a game this long, and a lot of the side content just doesn’t hold up. It’s worth playing, but go in with your eyes open.
WWE 2K26 is the best the series has felt inside the ropes. The improved physics, the I Quit match, and the CM Punk Showcase all give you genuine reasons to be here. MyRISE and The Island are both better than last year, and the roster depth is hard to argue with. The Ringside Pass is the one thing that’s hard to get past. Locking characters behind a slow grind, particularly for people who already paid for a premium edition, is a decision that leaves a mark on an otherwise strong package. If you love wrestling, this is the best game the series has ever produced. Just go in knowing what the Ringside Pass is before you buy.
MLB The Show 26 is the same game on the surface and a noticeably different one underneath. The on-field strategy changes are the most meaningful the series has introduced in years, Road to the Show finally has an amateur arc worth caring about, and Diamond Dynasty is launching with more content than it ever has before. The visuals haven’t moved and the grind is still the grind. But if you play this series for the baseball, this is the best it has felt in a long time.
Mr. Sleepy Man is weird, personal, and built around movement and world design that most indie platformers don't come close to. The freezes and collectible respawning are genuine issues, and the nonlinear structure asks more patience than some players will want to give it. But Devin Santi created something here unlike anything else you'll play this year, and that alone makes it worth your time.
Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection is the strongest this spin-off series has been so far. Its story finally gives the adventure real pull, the combat asks more from you in the right ways, and Habitat Restoration gives the whole game a better sense of purpose. The political side of the story could have used more room through the middle, and the Nintendo Switch 2 version has pop-in and frame drops that are hard to ignore. Even with those issues, this is the Monster Hunter Stories game that pulls everything together best.
WiZmans World Re;Try has a good mystery, a party-building loop that gives the game its own identity, and enough fusion-based customization to keep the dungeon crawl interesting for a while. The problem is that the dungeons repeat themselves too often, and the story scenes don’t do enough once the opening setup is in place. The remaster cleans up the visuals, music, and menus, but it doesn’t do much to hide the older parts that drag the game down. Even with those limits, there’s still a solid RPG here if building a party and planning around elemental matchups is the part you care about most.
Wishfully took everything that worked in the original and made it better. The puzzles are more inventive, the world is richer, and Lana and Mui’s bond carries the whole thing without ever feeling forced. It’s short, and the new abilities leave you wanting more. But Planet of Lana II: Children of the Leaf is a beautiful, emotionally honest game that earns every moment it asks of you.
Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition is a massive RPG with an equally massive open world that rewards every hour you put into it. The 60fps upgrade makes a real difference, especially in Skell combat. The main story lacks the emotional pull of other Xenoblade titles, and the higher resolution exposes its age as much as it flatters it. But Mira itself remains one of the most impressive worlds Nintendo has ever published, and this is the version worth owning.
God of War: Sons of Sparta turns Kratos and Deimos into the leads of a side-scrolling Metroidvania set during their Spartan training days. You move through camps, villages, and ruins with a spear-and-shield kit that rewards clean blocks, rolls, and stun finishers, then branch into different spear heads and shields to tweak how fights play out. The pixel art, camera pullbacks, chiptune score, and T.C. Carson’s narration give this prequel a strong Greek-era identity without trying to copy the main games outright. If you’re already into God of War and like 2D Metroidvania games, Sons of Sparta is worth making room for in your backlog.
Resident Evil Requiem pulls you back to Raccoon City with two strong routes. Grace’s chapters bring slower, nervous survival horror, while Leon’s side sticks to harder-hitting combat. You sneak through hotels and clinics with a flashlight, juggling blood injector choices and limited ammo. Then you swap to over-the-shoulder fights where kicks, axe swings, and quick weapon swaps clear the room. The story spends a lot of time on old Umbrella lore and gives Leon more of the focus by the end. If you are already into Resident Evil, this stands up as one of the strongest modern games in the series.