"The streets have traffic, but also friendly hot dog vendors who throw delicious, healing sausage treats."
Let's hope the conductor doesn't come through because Monster Train 2 is a truly first class ride through deckbuilder roguelike heaven. I'm already going off the rails with all the possibilities these smart evolutions to the rules and cards on offer bring, each run teasing me to chase new ways to to master the rails. I'm well and truly on board.
With one chance to land a single, perfect shot – few games have this tension and impact, really making me sit with how I felt about everything.
"I'm still finding more that intrigues me as I continue to place rooms and expand my blueprints."
"At its heart, Promise Mascot Agency is all about the vibes."
I think Dynasty Warriors: Origins – with its focus on Ziluan as a character, and focused on telling a more complete RPG-like story – does a tremendous job, and focusing on those elements really helps that come to the fore.
Antonblast explosively reinvents the destructive energy of Wario Land, delivering high-energy action that has you demolishing levels at speed while also rewarding precise play with a serious sense of momentum. Boss fights slow the pace a bit, but this is a front-to-back thrillride that you'll keep coming back to master.
Slathered with infectious energy, its innovative alternate-reality heartbreak shooting mechanics are thrilling to play with, and it's a world you won't want to say farewell to after you get your first ending. Resident Evil 4 and Silent Hill can't match this neon-soaked survival horror for its sheer inventiveness.
The Rise of the Golden Idol wonderfully evolves on the original with some truly devious cases that empower you to feel like a genius as you piece everything together and read between the lines. Loads of details make this best played with a notebook to hand, each case stretching you to think in genuinely fresh directions.
"At its best, Great God Grove is about untangling a web of everyone's desires to ultimately make their realm a better place."
Nailing its low-poly aesthetic, smart visual and audio choices combine to create luxurious moments of tension. While a lack of friction makes action a bit straightforward, the well-crafted vibes make for an experience you won't forget anytime soon.
Despite it all, Haroona's journey still charmed me.
Technically impressive but just not as fun or innovative as its predecessor.
Tekken 8 has a depth to it that can feel overwhelming. But it's also a game that doesn't force you to take it all in at once.
Not just great for a free-to-play game, Honkai: Star Rail is a genuinely fantastic RPG with slick combat and an engaging story loaded with content. The biggest caveat is, while generous, its gacha system may tempt some players into unwise purchases.
A cute My First Metroidvania with charming characters, wrapped up in some fairly basic and uninspired platforming levels. It's not Illusion at its best, but should entertain kids.
Sonic Frontiers features the kind of lightweight yet engaging storytelling that should easily enrapture fans young and old – though I'd hate to be a child forced to play through some of the abysmal platforming featured throughout. Was taking Sonic open world an ambitious endeavor? Yes. Did it pay off? Absolutely not.
When taking charge of the action, Bayonetta is more fun to rip and tear with here than ever before, with some smart evolutions in how her role as a summoner can add to her combat without taking anything meaningful away. But some of the same issues that plagued its predecessors are just as present here as well, if not more-so
Endlessly slick, the battles and story are a joy to play through. No turn-based JRPG feels as good as this.
A terrific return to form for singleplayer Final Fantasy that makes the series' future exciting, in a barebones (though functional) PC package.