Forgive Me Father 2 is a great first person shooter. Surprisingly decent weaponry, mostly enjoyable level design and intense sequences of fight. However, as you’d expect, it’s a bit repetitive after a while and platforming isn’t ideal in an FPS. If you’re looking for balls to the walls action and colorful weaponry, Forgive Me Father 2 is one of the best games of 2025.
Due to the collaboration of two of my favorite developers, SWERY and SUDA51, Hotel Barcelona was one of my highest anticipated games of the year. Unfortunately, it’s a disappointment. The best way to describe Hotel Barcelona? A 2D Soulslike(-like) mixed with roguelite mechanics; two genres that don’t mesh all that well. Having to repeat the same things and levels constantly with ever changing conditions doesn’t allow gamers to practice and remember patterns. Due to the difficulty, there’s a focus on grinding to level up and upgrading your skills, but it gets frustrating after a while. The levels are enjoyable, but you’ll get annoyed having to replay them for the 10th time. There’s potential here buried under forced grinding. I can’t recommend this to anyone else but the masochists.
Alien: Rogue Incursion Evolved Edition is a fun and very tense first person shooter. Unlike typical horror games like Resident Evil or more recently Cronos: The New Dawn where you see enemies walking towards you, Xenomorphs come from all corners of a room which adds a layer of tension. However, it is short and features a bit of backtracking. That being said, if you can overlook these quirks, Alien: Rogue Incursion Evolved Edition is absolutely worth it.
Hate to say it, but I can understand why WayForward couldn’t find a publisher back in 2002. Shantae Advance is one of the weakest entries in the series. Irritating boss battles, lack of maps, boring levels and the “where the fuck do I go” kind of approach sucks the fun out of it. However, it’s great that WayForward and LRG were able to finish this project for long time fans of the Shantae series, but if you’re looking to dive into the purple hair protagonist’s adventure, try Shantae and the Seven Sirens instead.
I was looking forward to giving Baki Hanma: Blood Arena a whirl; I loved Punch-Out!! back in the day, so I was happy to try this. And as much as I wanted to like it, it feels incredibly unforgiving with little to no margin for error. A single mistake can cost you the fight having you to restart over and over again. If you’re a gaming masochist looking for your next punishment, then Baki Hanma: Blood Arena is ripe for you. However, if you’re looking for an enjoyable gaming experience, this is an easy pass.
Gradius Origins is a great collection of classics that gives a look back in the past. Fans of challenging games or shumps will absolutely find something to chew on with this bundle. While it does feel lacking in terms of variety given the game’s storied history, the different versions give players a reason to try differente ones. Gradius Origins is also a great entry point for those looking to dip their toes in the genre.
NHL 26 is another enjoyable entry to the long lineage of EA’s flagship hockey franchise. There’s enough content to keep hardcore players hoooked and more game modes that you can shake a stick at. Whereas the game’s accessibility features can tailor the experience to welcome in newcomers with open arms. Long time fans of the series are sure to be quite happy with this latest entry. But Be a Pro mode aside and the addictive Ones Now, there’s isn’t much that justifies buying it if you already have NHL 25 and/or NHL 24; unless you’re OCD and need to complete your collection.
Luto is a tense, cryptic walking sim that’ll challenge players’ puzzling skills and patience as it moves relatively slow. The house is well designed and the game offers unique mechanics that will mess with players. Although given its sluggishness and puzzle based gameplay, this might turn off some gamers looking for some good scares and actions. If you’re a die-hard fan of the horror genre, you’ll absolutely want to play Luto. For those looking for something a bit faster and terrifying might want to look elsewhere.
Ra Ra Boom is a by number beat’em up. Go from point A to B, beat up everything in your path, beat the boss, rinse, repeat. The upgrades are pretty fun and allows some (or little) combat depth. However, the game is riddled with cheap enemies, regular enemies that hit harder than bosses; and I’ve also had a few issues of game crashing during the first hour. If you love the genre, this is a no brainer. If you’re looking to jump in the genre, there are better options out there such as Fight N’ Rage.
Madden NFL 26 is an enjoyable and incredibly complete package. There’s something for the long time fans while there’s enough for newcomers with proper accessibility features to give players a chance to adapt to the gameplay. But as with any sports games that release on a yearly basis, where’s the innovation? Where’s the big changes that’ll make dropping £69.99 for a game that feels like previous entries. If you’re a die hard (american) football fan that knows all the stats, then this is a no-brainer. If you’re a casual player and haven’t played a Madden game in a few years, then this package will bring you up to date.
Killing Floor 3 is an absolute must play game of 2025, either solo or multiplayer, but it all depends on how you prefer your content. If you don’t mind the dripping release, then buy it. But if you prefer to have a more complete experience with all originally intended content, I suggest waiting a year or so after Tripwire Interactive has added everything.
Griffin is a fun little shmup. Decent and limited diversity of weaponry, challenging bosses and overall well designed levels. It’s also a rare case of where a game from 1990s still holds up pretty in 2025.
Looking at the gameplay only, Ready or Not is a fun, challenging, tense and enjoyable FPS. It’s offers a nice diversity in a world of Call of Duty or Battlefield games, but there’s something missing.
Irem Collection Volume 3 is just another partial collection of games that I feel should be released as a bigger package; more games for a slightly higher price or let players pick and choose what they want to buy.
Heaven Dust is a great homage to early Resident Evil games and solid enough to stand on its own. Plenty of puzzles, exploring, shooting zombies and even three endings for players to enjoy.
Submersed 2 The Hive definitely gets an A for effort, but F for execution. I forced myself to play this; I *really* wanted to enjoy it, but how the character moves made it impossible and mostly frustrating as some sequences require precise movement.
Look, I get the nostalgia factor LUNAR Remastered Collection and that the core games come from a different time, but this collection will mostly appeal to those who played the originals. But to newcomers or first timers, it’s hard to recommend this faithful collection.
The Lost Cube is a fun, addicitive and fairly challenging platformer that plays perfectly in short bursts. Each level makes you think as to how you can get through it; although the game’s pacing feels a bit unbalanced in terms of level complexity, it won’t dether the overall experience.
Sir Lovelot reminds me of a bit of Super Meat Boy, but easier and less hair pulling challenging. It’s a fun addictive little platformer that will have players go “one just more level” until they reach the end.
RAIDOU Remastered: The Mystery of the Soulless Army is definitely one of the better RPGs to (re)release this year. Easy to pick up and play, but still challenging, demon fusioning is a fun and addictive mechanic; trying to make your perfect crew. But some quality of life improvement do make the experience a bit irritating. The forced auto-targeting causing headaches during boss battles, the constant hand holding can feel like a detriment. On the good/bad side of things, it’s shorter than most RPGs, clocking in at around 20-ish hours, story only. If you don’t explore and rely on the handholding, it can be ever lower. As a die-hard fan of the original, and the SMT universe as a whole, I still enjoyed my time with RAIDOU Remastered: The Mystery of the Soulless Army despite its shortcomings and I strongly recommend it,