Jon Scarr's Reviews
Mario Tennis Fever will feel familiar if you’ve played earlier Mario tennis games, but Fever shots and special racquets change how rallies play out and how you plan each point. You’re still judging timing, picking your shots, and moving to cover the court, while Adventure mode and Trial Towers give you room to learn when to trigger powered replies or bring racquets that tilt the court in your favour. If you like tennis games that stay easy to pick up yet give you more to think about as rallies stretch out, Mario Tennis Fever builds on that style in a satisfying way.
Reanimal will feel familiar if you’ve played Little Nightmares or Little Nightmares II, but the shift into fully 3D spaces changes how you explore and move forward. You’re still relying on observation, using light to find paths, and working together to solve puzzles, but there’s more freedom in how you approach each area. If you liked how Little Nightmares made you pay attention to your surroundings instead of guiding you directly, Reanimal builds on that while giving you more room to explore and figure things out yourself.
ROMEO IS A DEAD MAN is a fast, aggressive action game that gives you a lot early and expects you to learn by playing. Fights come at you constantly, and you’ve got a lot of freedom in how you upgrade and adjust your build. If you’re comfortable figuring things out as you play, it delivers an experience that sticks to its own approach.
Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties brings one of Kiryu’s most personal chapters back with smoother combat, stronger pacing, and a clearer sense of place. The remake respects what made Yakuza 3 different, while Dark Ties adds context without pulling focus away from the main story. It isn’t flawless, but as a complete package, it’s an easy chapter to return to and play through.
My Hero Academia: All’s Justice delivers its best moments in combat, where fast team-based fights and a large roster give you plenty to explore. Animated story scenes add weight to the finale, but heavy summarization and skipped arcs make the narrative less complete on its own. Extra modes add time with the cast, though they don’t always match the strength of the core battles. If you’re invested in the series and want a solid arena fighter, there’s a lot here to enjoy.
Fighting Force Collection brings two late-1990s games back mostly as they were, with a few modern touches to keep them playable now. The original Fighting Force still has a solid brawler gameplay loop, especially with co-op and a tolerance for its older design quirks. Fighting Force 2 slows things down and never finds the same pull, which makes the difference between the two hard to ignore. This collection makes the most sense if the first game is the main reason you’re here.
Nioh 3 pushes you to actually use everything it gives you instead of letting one approach carry the whole game. Switching between Samurai and Ninja becomes part of how fights work, and the larger areas give you space to prepare when things feel overwhelming. The story mostly stays out of the way, and loot management can get tiring, but combat stays rewarding once it comes together. It’s demanding, but it gives you room to figure things out without lowering the bar.
Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined takes a famously long adventure and makes it much easier to stick with. The island-by-island structure still drives the story, but the pacing feels smoother and easier to manage as you go. Combat stays easy to follow, vocations give you room to experiment, and exploration never turns into a slog. With its handcrafted, diorama-style look, Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined ends up being the most approachable way to finally see this journey through.
Cairn is a game that rewards taking your time and learning how the climb works instead of rushing through it. The moment-to-moment play feels deliberate, and progress comes from paying attention and adjusting as you go. There are a few small hiccups along the way, but they don’t take away from the overall experience. If you’re willing to meet it on its terms, Cairn delivers a climb that feels satisfying from start to finish.
I Hate This Place takes its time and asks you to meet it halfway. It’s not about constant action or big moments, but about moving carefully, reading situations, and letting the world do the talking. Some parts don’t hit as cleanly as they should, but the overall experience holds together because the game knows what kind of mood it’s aiming for. If you’re into slower horror that rewards patience and atmosphere, there’s a lot here that works.
Code Vein II builds on the first game in smart ways, with more flexible combat, a stronger focus on story, and a world that’s fun to spend time in. Technical issues and the lack of co-op hold it back a bit, but the core experience stays engaging thanks to how well everything comes together. It’s the kind of game that keeps you playing because there’s always another build to try or another path worth exploring.
Escape from Ever After feels like a game that knows what it’s trying to do and sticks the landing. It takes familiar turn-based RPG ideas and gives them a fun twist, with a story that’s self-aware without trying too hard to be clever. The combat stays interesting thanks to the timing-based mechanics, and the world has enough personality to keep you invested as you move through it.
MIO: Memories In Orbit is a game that gets better the more you play it. It’s at its best when you’re exploring, unlocking new ways to move, and slowly figuring out how everything fits together. Some parts can feel uneven, and a few moments drag more than they should, but the core experience is strong enough to keep you going.
Cassette Boy is a puzzle-focused game that’s more about thinking things through than reacting quickly. It’s at its best when you’re rotating the world, testing ideas, and slowly figuring out how everything fits together. Some puzzles can be a little unclear at first, and combat never takes centre stage, but the core mechanic does enough to keep things interesting.
BrokenLore: UNFOLLOW is a slower horror game that focuses more on atmosphere and story. It works best when you’re exploring its environments, picking up on small details, and letting the story unfold at its own pace. The gameplay has a few rough spots, but the overall experience holds together thanks to a clear sense of direction and a story that gives you a reason to keep going. If you enjoy horror games that take their time and focus more on mood and storytelling than on mechanics, this one is worth checking out.
Kotama and Academy Citadel is fun once you stop trying to brute-force it. Enemies hit hard, healing costs money, and fights make more sense when you start switching weapons and reacting instead of rushing in. It’s rough in spots, and the story doesn’t push itself to the front, but if you like metroidvanias where getting better comes from playing smarter, it’s easy to stick with.
Big Hops is at its best when you stop worrying about the “right” way to play and just start moving. The fun isn’t in checking objectives off a list, it’s in chaining jumps, swings, and climbs together and seeing what works. The worlds give you room to experiment, the story stays out of the way, and everything keeps pushing you forward instead of slowing you down. If you enjoy platformers where movement feels good and freedom matters more than perfect execution, this one is easy to keep coming back to.
Dispatch is at its best when you treat it like a full season instead of a series of individual episodes. The draw isn’t action, it’s the characters, the relationships between them, and how your decisions carry forward over time. Sending heroes out, dealing with the fallout, and managing team dynamics keeps things engaging, even when the gameplay itself stays fairly contained. If you’re in it for a story that develops steadily across its episodes, it’s a solid experience from start to finish.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails Beyond the Horizon understands where it sits in a long-running series and builds from there. It brings familiar characters together, keeps combat feeling solid across long stretches, and relies on consistency rather than big shifts. The story takes its time and can feel overly comfortable, but strong character work helps carry things forward. It’s not trying to reinvent Trails, but for players already invested in the series, it feels like a steady step toward what comes next.
and Roger is a short game that knows exactly what it wants to do and doesn’t wander outside of that. It uses simple interactions to let its story unfold at its own pace, without stopping to explain everything along the way. The gameplay, visuals, and sound all work together, so nothing ever feels disconnected or tacked on. It’s not something you play for excitement or challenge, but for the experience itself. If you’re in the mood for a smaller, more personal game that sticks with you after you’re done, this one is easy to recommend.