Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, at least judging by its first 25 hours, isn’t some grand reinvention of what made the original game so beloved and divisive then. It is, however, an equally as plodding yet enthralling story about the importance of connection – and the beautiful monotony required to make this happen.
If you’re seeking answers, this brief follow-up adventure is well worth a dip. Just don’t expect them to be the exact ones you went in seeking.
However, thanks to improved visuals and framerate that do real justice to the franchise’s futuristic inclinations, the new hyper jump ability, and the surprisingly flexible fusion mechanic, racing through stylish circuits at a fast pace has been given additional depth and dimensions.
Survival Kids won’t win any awards for being the prettiest or flashiest game exclusive to the Nintendo Switch 2 at launch, but it largely succeeds in its goal to offer younger audiences a charming and wholesome family-friendly adventure where working together conquers all.
I came away from my Shinobi: Art of Vengeance demo impressed by just how much Lizardcube’s take is less iteration and more evolution. Similar to its work on Streets of Rage 4, the studio has taken the core of what made the original games great and build upon this solid foundation for an all-new generation using an expressive art style, flexible combat, and some supremely tight platforming.
can’t say I ever truly invested in Aran’s personal plight, but I very much enjoyed the way he goes about resolving it, all thanks to one of the most unique and thoughtful melee combat systems I’ve experienced in the past few years. Blades of Fire borrows from the past, but when it comes to combat and creativity it also forges its own way forward.
This bigger, better, sillier sequel easily delivers some of the most fun I’ve had in an action-adventure game this year, to the extent that I’ll keep on investigating savage planets for as long as Raccoon Logic continues to develop them.
This is a story of heartbreak and loss, yes, but also the importance of persevering. That’s not a hard thing to want to do when a game looks and plays as wonderfully as this.
Luckily, a thing can be beautiful and undercooked in its design at the same time, and South of Midnight is certainly that. I just wish that, much like the spiritual weaver at the heart of this journey, Compulsion Games spent a bit more time better tying up loose ends.
Atomfall doesn’t get every piece of the survival sandbox puzzle right, but this is easy to forgive due to how much fun it is to scoff down Cornish pasties to regain health, uncover a mysterious sci-fi plot in myriad ways, and craft a needle bomb before lobbing it into a group of cultists. It’s the most quintessentially British open-world I’ve had the pleasure to explore in a video game, possibly ever, and I already can’t wait to go back to peel back even more layers of its environmental onion.
In the end, then, Assassin’s Creed Shadows is still an open-world RPG with an Assassin’s Creed skin placed over the top of it, and likely won’t change the minds of naysayers who aren't on board with what the series has become.
WWE 2K25 isn’t a perfect wrestling game, but it comes pretty darn close. Refinements to zanier match types such as Special Referee – which is now applicable outside of one-on-one bouts – and Backstage Brawl are appreciated, while the inclusion of intergender matches shows a willingness to celebrate both divisions in a way WWE itself seemingly isn’t able to.
Mio and Zoe’s growth really is where much of the focus is given – to the extent that you can guarantee heart strings will be pulled upon a couple times before you roll credits.
Even if it does end up being a touch familiar for returning series fans, Two Point Museum still presents enough new quirks and systems to make becoming the county’s best curator an absolute blast.
Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii takes its admittedly unexpected theme and absolutely dials it up to the max.
The world it presents is beautiful and engaging, and the sheer level of weapon variety present can lead to some of the most flexible combat I’ve ever played from a first-person perspective. Full stop. However, beneath such flashy sights lay a deeply problematic and annoying approach to progression that grates more than it satisfies, which, when coupled with throwaway companions and a generic narrative, ultimately leads to a fun but frivolous RPG experience not indicative of Obsidian Entertainment’s best.
In whatever way you look at it, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 is a remarkable achievement. Taking place within one of the best realised, most immersive video game settings I’ve ever had the pleasure to explore, I commend Warhorse Studios for sticking to its guns, while not applying every lesson learned from the feedback and criticisms of the original game, finding a way to smooth and expand on them so that they make sense within a sequel that is far more ambitious.
Sniper Elite: Resistance is anything but generic, mind you, and will appease anyone left starved for more historical stealth action. I just hope the next Sniper Elite entry is more ambitious in its over execution, instead of what could merely be just Sniper Elite 5.5.
Ultimately, though, it’s worth it for anyone who hasn’t yet played Donkey Kong Country Returns before, since what they’ll find here on Nintendo Switch is absolutely the best way to play a game that represents a publisher at almost the very top of its game.
If you’re in the mood to lay waste to hundreds with a single sword swipe you’ll have a good time, but layered in on top of this simple joy are a countless number of extra reasons to keep on doing so for dozens of hours. Origins leaves me excited for this new dynasty.