Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 is an absolute riot. It's not afraid to rely on copious amounts of nostalgia, while also pushing the series forward in the most logical direction. Treyarch have looked back at Black Ops 2 and 3 for inspiration, and have delivered a fantastic Call of Duty, full to the brim of incredible content.
RENNSPORT has all the core elements in place to be an engaging and accessible racing simulation. A handling that feels solid even a controller, a more welcoming approach than most hardcore sims have, and a lot of solid ideas to have great racing going at all times – against the AI and online alike. Yet, with only 12+2 tracks, a limited selection of cars, a lack of polish in many areas, various missing features and a confusing microtransaction model, it needs more time in the oven to truly become an essential racing simulation.
Let Them Come: Onslaught is a quality bullet heaven experience. It offers a lovely art style, an exciting soundtrack and an intense difficulty with well-designed level progression. It is, however, a bit on the short side, with only 4 levels, 2 characters and not a huge build variety.
XENOTILT: HOSTILE PINBALL ACTION is a great evolution of DEMON’S TILT sensational digital pinball formula. A table that looks and plays even better, various new modes and ideas, even though the general feel of the game has not changed much. Eye-popping 16-bit visuals, a banging 16-bit soundtrack and a brilliant gameplay loop.
1000xRESIST is a marvelous narrative-oriented videogame. Its minimalistic, sometimes slow gameplay is accompanied by one of the most engaging and well-crafted stories in modern gaming. Themes such as discrimination, rebellion to authorities and the pandemic are handled with utmost care and credibility.
Revisiting the original trilogy is still a blast, especially online, despite many other collections already exploring those games. Padding out the title count with many ports of the same goes is a bit futile, but a good exercise in game preservation.
Halls of Torment efficiently combines the highs of some of the best bullet heaven shooters out there, with immaculate Diablo-coded looks and sounds. Despite not being revolutionary, nor packing the outrageous depth of some of its rivals, Chasing Carrots‘ title is easily one of the most interesting and addictive titles in the genre.
The game’s presentation doesn’t quite do it any favours. Unimpressive graphics, odd visual design choices, floaty handling, physics and destruction that are legitimately worse than the old school Burnout games it’s trying to replicate. It also has its share of glitches with weird collisions, the framerate tanking temporarily at times and so forth. However, not only you get used to this, but the game just keeps improving. The open world keeps getting filled up, Live Mix keeps things fresh, and the possibilities of its online sandbox are practically limitless.
Ultimately, I walk away from Painkiller with somewhat mixed, but overall fairly positive feelings. The gameplay is fast, satisfying, with rock solid peformance and excellent graphics making for a blast of a shooter. It is, however, Painkiller in name only, as not only it loses the series’ core aspects, but also is rather uninspired all around
Despite the incredibly janky physics, the shockingly low amount of content, the outdated graphics… Fast & Furious: Arcade Edition can be pretty enjoyable. The high speeds, the adrenaline-filled courses, the retro vibes… in short, I still had fun. I can not recommend a game like this, however. It’s way too short, way too unpolished, way too expensive for what it offers. Thus, you might want to wait for some patches and some deep discounts before joining this family.
All in all, Hot Wheels Let’s Race: Ultimate Speed is a fast-paced, yet accessible racer, based on Netflix’s show and the Hot Wheels toys. It certainly fails to live to some of its full potential due to a variety of reasons. These include an oddly twitchy handling, lack of online, a lack of real challenge and limited variety.
NASCAR 25 is a great videogame of an entertaining racing series, offering all sorts of thrills online and offline alike. Solid graphics and presentation, satisfying handling, tons of settings to allow every kind of player to find the experience that suits them most.
Plants vs. Zombies: Replanted is… fine, for the most part. If you’re not a purist, and can accept a few occasional glitches, it’s a decent way to experience a classic. But the very few improvements don’t quite offset the game’s increased price, nor its technical and design woes.
Battlefield 6‘s multiplayer is the most Battlefield-coded entry in the franchise in many years, taking us back to the series’ glory days. Tight gunplay, excellent presentation, impressive polish and a surprisingly robust launch arsenal.
King of Meat may not feature the tightest 3D platforming ever, nor the most engaging brawler mechanics in history. Yet, its eventful and varied dungeons offer exhilarating platforming, satisfying exploration and chaotic combat. It’s fun as a solo game, but with other players it turns into an absolute riot. Tons of items to throw around, explosions, moving platforms, wacky physics – it’s hilarious chaos
The simple gameplay formula and the local co-op options turn this ARPG romp into an accessible entry point into this exciting genre, with the 9 playable Nicktoons characters offering sufficiently diverse skills to bother trying ’em all.
Extremely Powerful Capybaras is an enjoyable co-op romp for up to 4 players, making for a chaotic but fairly stylish bullet heaven experience. Taken as a solo game or comparing it to its much more ambitious contemporaries, however, it does very little to stand out, and its basic gameplay doesn’t quite hold the depth necessary to warrant many repeat runs
Formula Legends is a wasted opportunity. A lovely artstyle, an interesting driving model, a lot of love for the history of Formula 1 are felt through and through, but the inconsistent physics, poorly balanced AI, various glitches and a complete lack of multiplayer end up severely hampering the experience.
Excellent visuals with great performance, vibrant tracks, a technical driving model with quite the skill ceiling, a massive depth and variety, despite the not crazy amount of unique content just quite yet.
The changes to the physics and AI are smart and felt, and the amount of content and polish really has no rivals, making FC 26 the best the franchise has been in years.