Jon Scarr's Reviews
Mina the Hollower turns burrowing, weapons, Sidearms and hidden paths into a tough top-down adventure built around careful observation. The no-map structure can frustrate when clues don’t connect, but Spark recovery, and build choices keep Tenebrous Isle moving. It’s an excellent choice if you enjoy challenging exploration and don’t mind working out the path forward.
007 First Light turns a young Bond campaign into a spy adventure built around bluffing, gadgets, and recovering when missions fall apart. MI6, Q-Branch tools, and close-range fights keep the campaign moving, but the shooting, driving, and limited replay value hold it back. It’s a good fit if you want a story-led Bond game focused more on spy work than giant stealth sandboxes.
Tales of Arise: Beyond the Dawn Edition brings the base game and Beyond the Dawn to Nintendo Switch 2 with enjoyable party combat, a memorable cast, and a full single-player RPG package. The 30 fps gameplay target, visible pop-in, and softer handheld image make this version a clear tradeoff, but it’s still a good way to start if Nintendo Switch 2 is where you want to play.
Bluey’s Quest for The Gold Pen turns a family drawing game into a kid-friendly adventure for younger fans.Bingoose, optional collectibles, and stage toys keep the maps busy, but the repeated stage pattern and lack of co-op hold it back. It’s a sweet first adventure game if your household wants more Bluey beyond the show.
Coffee Talk Tokyo is a good sequel for anyone who wants a late-night café story built around careful listening and drink clues. The Tokyo setting gives the series a new identity, Tomodachill adds useful context, and the drink-making gives your barista role real purpose. The café itself doesn’t grow enough, and liked posts should be easier to revisit, but the character writing makes the 15-night story worth seeing through if you want a thoughtful visual novel with light recipe puzzles.
ZERO PARADES: For Dead Spies is a strong story-first RPG about Hershel Wilk, CASCADE, trying to survive Portofiro’s lies as much as her own past. Fatigue, Anxiety, and Delirium make failed rolls sting, and the writing gives every conversation a clear purpose. Some unclear stat feedback, stutters around Portofiro, and voice/text mismatches hold it back slightly. If you like RPGs built around reading closely and living with ugly choices, this is game is for you.
Yoshi and the Mysterious Book turns a gentle Yoshi adventure into a clever creature-research game built around Mr. E’s missing entries. Carrying creatures, testing odd interactions, and revisiting pages give the book structure more personality than a standard platformer. The softer challenge and shorter main path won’t be for everyone, but if you enjoy games that reward curiosity, this one is easy to get behind.
R-Type Dimensions III is the definitive way to experience a notoriously difficult classic, blending a full 3D visual overhaul with essential modern quality-of-life additions like Infinite Mode and local co-op. While the original 1993 design can still be punishing, these updates remove the frustration that once defined the campaign, making it a must-play for both genre veterans and newcomers who were previously locked out by the brutal difficulty.
ChainStaff is a genuinely clever, uncompromising action platformer. The chain weapon is inventive and fun to master, the moral choice paths give you real reasons to play again, and the retro sci-fi look hits exactly the right notes.
Outbound delivers a unique spin on survival exploration by turning an electric camper van into a fully customizable mobile base. Driving through scenic biomes and modifying your rooftop homestead is incredibly charming, and it works wonderfully as a cooperative experience. However, Outbound unnecessarily anchors its blueprint progression behind a slow, repetitive recycling grind that forces you to hunt constantly for garbage. If you have the patience to dig through piles of litter for resource coupons, there is a cozy road trip worth taking here.
DON’T NOD took a massive gamble by ditching combat, and it completely pays off. Aphelion hooks you through the raw panic of climbing frozen walls, babysitting your oxygen tanks, and tricking a blind, sound-tracking creature using your visor gear. The instant-fail stealth sequences against the giant tracking eye of The Nemesis is a bit punishing, but the incredible audio design and DualSense feedback turn this brutal trek into a memorable ride.
Forza Horizon 6 finally provides the Japanese festival fans have been wanting for years. It gives the sandbox a much-needed backbone. Reintroducing structured wristband progression and mixing in handling routines from Forza Motorsport fixes the aimless energy of previous entries. If you’re tired of participation trophy racers and want a massive playground that actually requires you to earn your keys, this is an essential day-one buy.
Directive 8020 successfully translates the paranoia of deep space into an active, stealth-driven nightmare backed by highly detailed Unreal Engine 5 environments. The shift to full character control is deliberate. This choice pays off by making every terrifying encounter, from hiding in lockers to outsmarting alien mimics, genuinely matter. If you’re looking for an intense sci-fi horror journey where your choices dictate who survives, this is an absolute must-play that perfectly captures the stress of being hunted.
Mixtape successfully translates the conflict of 90s adolescence into a gorgeous, handcrafted world backed by a legendary licensed soundtrack. The narrative pace is deliberate. This choice pays off by making every interactive vignette, from shopping cart escapes to skipping rocks, genuinely matter. If you're looking for an engrossing, emotional journey with authentic characters, this is an absolute must-play that perfectly captures the bittersweet reality of moving on.
Invincible VS sacrifices deep offline modes and a massive starting roster to provide a highly responsive, fiercely competitive 3v3 tag brawler. The 18-character lineup offers excellent variety, and the rollback netcode ensures online matches run flawlessly. If you want a technical fighting game that respects your time and nails the hyper-violent tone of the television series, this is an easy recommendation.
Housemarque took a massive swing with the permanent progression in Saros and absolutely nailed the execution. Grinding for Lucenite and rare Halcyons takes the frustrating sting out of the studio’s notoriously brutal combat. The Soltari Shield revitalizes the flow of battle by forcing you to play aggressively to survive. If you love high-intensity action and building an unstoppable character, Saros is worth every penny.
Kiln delivers a wildly creative and genuinely fun pottery-brawler premise that Double Fine fans will appreciate. Shaping your own ceramic fighter and taking it into four-on-four battles works incredibly well, supported by excellent art direction and intuitive tools. However, launching with only one game mode, five maps, and zero single-player options severely limits its long-term value. Kiln is absolutely worth playing if you have a group of friends ready for a weekend of laughs, but if you are jumping in alone looking for a lasting multiplayer obsession, you should wait for a sale or major content updates.
Vampire Crawlers: The Turbo Wildcard from Vampire Survivors proves that Poncle knows exactly how to flip a familiar loop into a new genre without losing what made it work in the first place. It keeps the retro look and disordered energy of the original but adds a card mechanic that lets you pull off some massive moves. Boss interruptions and bad draws can be a real headache, but the feeling of building a deck so strong it breaks the game makes every run worth it.
Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream is a brilliantly bizarre return to one of Nintendo’s most creative series. By giving you more hands-on tools like the Island Builder and Palette House Workshop, it transforms from a simple life simulator into a deeply personal soap opera simulator. While the removal of QR code sharing adds some manual work to Mii creation, the added inclusivity and refined humour more than make up for it. It’s an essential daily routine for anyone who enjoys watching digital absurdity unfold.
REPLACED is the kind of game that makes the long wait feel worth it. Sad Cat Studios built a world in Phoenix City that feels raw and dangerous, pairing a high-concept AI story with combat that has some real weight behind it. The platforming can feel a bit clunky compared to how responsive the brawls are, but the R.E.A.C.H. narrative and that synth-heavy soundtrack are the real stars here. This is an easy recommendation if you want a serious, moody thriller that stays with you long after you put the controller down.