After being an obscurity for years, Guilty Gear Strive should turn the franchise into the juggernaut it always deserved to be. The online lobby system isn’t ideal and there are limited modes for offline play, but planned updates should make these short-term grievances. As it is, Guilty Gear has never been so accessible, addictive and deliciously bombastic. Step aside Tekken and Street Fighter, your reign is over.
Little Nightmares 2 is exactly what a sequel should be. It’s bigger, nastier, more varied, rectifies flaws from the original, and enriches the world that came before. Survival horror games are typically the most celebrated within the horror genre, yet Little Nightmares 2 is an outlier which proves platformers are more than capable of delivering the creeps.
An absorbing mix of tabletop inspirations and sci-fi storytelling, that makes for one of the most unique and well-written games of the year.
A stylish replication of survival horror's roots, which manages to capture and refresh the unsettling horrors of the genre's 90s origins.
A successful evolution of Yakuza: Like A Dragon, which makes great use of its Hawaiian setting and an almost endless array of distractions and mini-games.
Monster Hunter Rise is a fantastic title to onboard newcomers to the franchise, with traversal mechanics which make previous entries feel borderline archaic. It feels like we haven’t seen the full scope of Rise’s longevity, but this is Monster Hunter at its most accessible and fun, with all the potential to evolve into one of the best games of the year.
Streets of Rage 4 is an excellent return from a franchise previously trapped in time, which will hopefully catapult the joys of beat ‘em ups to a whole new audience.
A surprisingly deep and customisable role-player, wrapped in an enjoyable but unremarkable episode of South Park.
Probably the best ever use of the Jurassic Park licence in a video game, marred by repetition and exploitable systems.
An admirable refresh of a cult classic, with excellent presentation and thoughtfully implemented new mechanics, but it's held back by its reluctance to modernise in other areas.
An appealing riff on the Pokémon role-playing formula which, while a little too safe, has enough small deviations and improvements to justify its existence.
The best and most balanced Mario Strikers title yet, undercut by limited modes and a lacklustre sense of progression.
A fantasy musical adventure which has big laughs to match its big heart, while being built around charming, if shallow, gameplay mechanics.
A surprisingly lean and mean sequel which amplifies the bloody thrills of the original through its impressive presentation and flexible mechanics.
An occasionally spectacular follow-up to one of the best action platformers of the last few years, which unfortunately dilutes some of its appeal by shooting for a wider audience.
A fascinating cosy experiment, packed with memorable characters and sharp writing, but which occasionally stumbles in the execution.
If Virtua Fighter’s future depends on Ultimate Showdown's success, this barebones revitalisation might be too thin to have long-term impact. With few modes and a basic approach to online, this feels like a quick fix to get Virtua Fighter back into the FGC spotlight. If you’re after a fighter with significant brains however, the incredible mechanics might be enough to rope you in.
There’s plenty to love about Oddworld: Soulstorm, but it’s a recommendation bundled with caveats. The occasionally bad design and frustrating bugs hold it back from the blockbuster Abe adventure it strives to be, but if you can stomach the annoyances, there’s a compelling, puzzle platformer here which breathes new life into Oddworld’s charms.
The future of Destruction AllStars hinges on how Lucid Games will support the title in the coming months. The core gameplay is fluid, frantic and fun which may be enough to keep players coming back, but minimal variety and a disappointing lack of decent modes stops this from leaving the lasting impact it should.
The argument that Assassin’s Creed is losing its identity isn’t new, but with Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, what remains from the franchises' origins is holding back the big picture. Valhalla pulls from every direction to provide a stunning, surprising world which is one of the best Ubisoft has created, but until they take a leap with the aged root at its core, greatness will always be out of reach.