Star Wars Outlaws is a serviceable open-world game that makes great use of the license, but fails to provide much of a reason for non-believers to jump in.
Taking place in a crazy version of a not-so-far flung future, Mullet MadJack is a mad dash towards the finish, drenched in some of the best cyberpunk aesthetics I’ve ever seen in a videogame. Brazilian studio Hammer95’s debut game is an incredibly violent, blood-pumping adventure that keeps on giving, stage after stage of fast action and a level of excitement that’s comparable to the seminal indie classic Hotline Miami.
If you are looking to reminisce about the 16-bit generation but without any of the obvious big names of the time, Aero the Acrobat just barely fits the bill.
I honestly couldn’t be happier with how Gestalt: Steam and Cinder turned out. For the couple of years that I’ve been anticipating its release, the end result is even better than expected, which is saying a lot considering the oversaturation of this sort of game in the marketplace. As it stands, it’s one of my favorite experiences from that mold and I’m sure to jump back to it from time to time and try to max it out, finding just about everything that there is to be gotten in its fascinating world.
In many ways, I was surprised with how much I’ve come to enjoy this game after having my curiosity tickled during last year’s Summer Games Fest reveal, where from a hands-off look at Kunitsu-Gami showed what appeared to be a much more point and click experience than the actual release proved to be. As it is for real, it’s something that could be easily recommended to those seeking to not only engage with its fun mechanics, but also its endlessly colorful presentation and gripping setting.
The Legend of Heroes gets an exciting new chapter with a much darker story in Trails through Daybreak.
Overall, if it weren’t for the multi-billion dollar elephant in the room, Rider’s Spirits would have fared much better. As things are, though, there are much more convenient and better alternatives out on Switch that overshadow this game in just about every department. In terms of historical significance, it follows the same round as Ratalaika’s previous releases, providing a chance for those looking to collect otherwise rare and obscure, but not necessarily great games. In the grand scheme of their catalog so far, Rider’s Spirits ranks somewhat lower than the rest of the pack, not quite reaching the podium.
Regardless of your tastes in gaming, this is a re-release that is most definitely worth everyone’s time, if not only to come to appreciate where gaming is now and where it spawned from and how current something like this can be when cared for in the way that Wizardry has been here.
Horizon Chase 2 couldn’t turn out any better than it has, and it’s a good thing that it’s finally hitting more consoles since it’ll give more players a chance to see what all the fuss is about. If you are of the sort that enjoys casual but at the same time intense arcade experiences, this is a game you shouldn’t go without, regardless of the platform you choose to play it on.
Killer Klowns from Outer Space The Game, much like the movie, is an acquired taste, and in very similar fashion, if you’re in the right mind and are among a group that knows what they are in for and are game, there’s a very good time to be had with it. The potential is there, same way as other games in the niche, for this to be a hit, and it’ll all fall to whether or not folks will buy into it. I for one will enjoy seeing how it all plays out as it hits retail.
Stunlock Studios has smartly made V Rising into an addicting gaming loop that makes a good case for providing an experience that potentially has no end if you aren’t looking for one. This is one of those games that can be played daily for a few moments regularly for months, and if I was looking to engage with a game in that way, I would surely be content with V Rising as it does it all right. For now, though, I appreciate it for what it is and know that there are folks out there that will eat it up.
The first game in the series to make the leap to polygons, Rainbow Cotton is a previously exclusive Japanese Dreamcast game that now makes its way to the rest of the gaming world.
Sony’s new policy on bringing their big console releases to PC had a shaky start, given how much flak they got as to Days Gone’s initial release on Steam – which I personally did not have any problems with – but with each new release, they’ve gotten better and better, and for a while now their ports have been downright excellent. If you have yet to experience Ghost of Tsushima and are looking to do so on PC, there’s absolutely no reason not to do it, even more so if you have a good machine to run it on.
TopSpin 2K25 surely surprised me. I came into it expecting to play a cookie-cutter sports game that could very well fit into the EA mold of yearly releases. Instead, I found something that if I didn’t have to battle a backlog of reviews and articles for the site, would spend hours upon hours getting better at it, going through the motions of taking lessons from McEnroe and trying to win in career mode. It’s a deliciously deep dish to sink my teeth in as I’m sure will be the same to anyone in the market for a worthwhile tennis sim.
In the end, it’s Stellar Blade’s shortcomings that make it a game that would be otherwise passable for me if it weren’t for producing content for the site. Its combat is surely enjoyable and I did have a great time with it for the hours that were played in order to come up with this article. It’s the rest of the package that makes it lacking though, and if I had at least a bit of interest in its story, world and characters, those would make for reason enough to keep at it for a while longer. Sadly, that’s not really the case here.
Even if you hate the genre, there’s a good chance you’ll enjoy Another Crab’s Treasure thanks to its bevvy of accessibility features.
As with Atari’s previous revivals and reinventions like Mr Run and Jump and Haunted House, this is a game that elevates the ideas that made the company’s releases in the 1970s and 1980s so beloved and looked back upon so nostalgically while introducing new ideas that don’t necessarily change it up, but add to what made them so entertaining in the first place. Lunar Lander Beyond is undoubtedly a safe bet, but one that makes sense in keeping the brand alive and well and not simply cashing in on the rose-colored memories of old school players and arcade goers alike.
New Star GP is the sort of racing game that comes every now and then that truly gets a hold of me and is unwilling to let go until it has its way with me. Last time I felt this strongly about the genre was with the very first Gran Turismo on the PlayStation, and prior to that, the arcade version of Daytona USA. If you have any interest in arcade gaming and are willing to invest some time into surprisingly meatier career mode, New Star GP will have you covered for a while.
SoulGame Studio’s inaugural game is a brilliant mix of genres that will delight you to no end.
Saviorless will definitely appeal to those who can look beyond the simpleness of gameplay in order to see what lies within its beating heart. That alone is reason to give this one a go, but the entire struggle that happened behind the scenes is an extra incentive to try it out as well. It’s an achievement and a marvel of perseverance that turned into an above average game against all odds. It’s short and to the point with a message to get across – it only depends on whether or not you’re there to listen to it. If this is a slice of what’s to come out of Cuba’s gaming scene, I can’t wait for the rest of the cake!