Cubed3's Reviews
Make no mistake, The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales is a beautiful game top to bottom. Combat is phenomenally varied, fluid and rewarding, alongside customisable perks and buffs for Elliot’s extensive arsenal of weapons. The world map is impressive to an extent, but there is a bit too much repetition across the various time periods, including having the same enemies. Nonetheless, puzzles, exploration and the wealth of combat options make this a must play for action RPG fans, and should certainly scratch the itch for those looking for a combination of HD-2D and old-school top-down Zelda games.
Toll Booth Simulator starts with an…interesting premise and every now and then hints at the sort of addictive routine that makes such games so enjoyable - but it quickly loses focus, burying its most promising ideas beneath a mountain of puddle-deep mechanics that aren’t even particularly entertaining. It’s a repetitive grind wrapped in an experience that feels unfinished and unpolished. Some players may appreciate the sheer variety on offer and enjoy the process of paying a large debt dollar by dollar. Just like in real life. Gee, thanks game.
If the good old days of PS2-era JRPGs are still being pined for, Xenoblade Chronicles will satisfy that craving and then some. There aren’t many games of this substance still being produced today, and there is no excuse to not give it a chance with Definitive Edition’s Switch 2 update. While it is disappointing that the 60fps target slips up in heavier situations, the vast majority of the time it delivers a smooth performance that greatly enhances the experience, and the 4K resolution upgrade brings out the best of this beautiful world. The addition of the Ether Jet positively serves to streamline slower parts of exploration and comes especially welcome for handheld questing.
Marvel's Spider-Man 2 doesn't get everything right, but, much like the Spider-Men themselves, it puts its best foot forward and tries to be what the world wants it to be. Its enhancements to gameplay distinguish it from what came before it, and even if its story stumbles around, seeing characters like Miles Morales and Venom fully integrated into its universe has an undeniable allure that makes up for some of its faults. Insomniac Games has done it again, and with some further fine tuning, their next game is sure to be another crowd pleaser.
The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe is an absolute masterpiece of interactive storytelling that uses the medium of video games to interrogate the very nature of player agency and narrative design. By expanding upon the brilliance of the original release with an equally sharp, deeply philosophical layer of new content, this package achieves a level of creative brilliance that is secondary to none. It runs flawlessly on the Nintendo Switch hardware, delivering a beautifully polished, profoundly funny, and conceptually unmissable adventure that represents the absolute pinnacle of meta-fictional design.
Cities: Skylines – Race Day offers a more layered, involved, and on the whole fun experience than most of the game’s expansions, and it’s always nice to see old games still being supported. That support does come at a cost, and the price tag attached to this expansion might have felt a bit lighter if it had launched with a little more polish. Diehard fans of the city builder will love this DLC, and newcomers will start their cities off with a few new layers of depth and mechanics that feel natural and make cities pop with more life.
Ember Lab has delivered an adventure that stands tall among the finest experiences available on Switch 2, shaped with care, overflowing with atmosphere and strengthened by a world that rewards curiosity at every turn. The blend of exploration, challenge and heartfelt storytelling creates something that lingers long after the credits roll, and the technical performance ensures that nothing distracts from the journey’s emotional pull. This is a standout release for the system, confidently crafted and easy to recommend to anyone seeking a rich, absorbing and beautifully realised action adventure.
Forza Horizon 6 is an absolute tour-de-force that represents the definitive pinnacle of the open-world racing genre. By combining a breathtakingly beautiful, incredibly rewarding realisation of Japan with peerless handling mechanics and spectacular audio design, Playground Games has crafted a driving adventure that is secondary to none. It handles its massive scope with a level of polish and artistic mastery that is rarely seen in modern game development, delivering an addictive, joyful, and deeply immersive package that sets a magnificent new benchmark for the industry at large.
Mugen Souls Z is one more low-budget JRPG determined to prove that more dialogue, more menus, more flying numbers and plenty of anime stereotypes automatically result in a better game. Beneath the mountains of statistics and clichés lies a dull adventure that occasionally remembers to be entertaining before immediately burying itself beneath another needless cut-scene or boring combat scenario.
Switching between Patrick and SpongeBob, combined with the game’s smooth, polished playability, easily makes Titans of the Tide’s best features stand out. This is a breezy and enjoyable 3D platformer that will please fans of the cartoon and even fans of 3D platformers in general. It looks great and feels great, but there is no mistaking that it's a surprisingly light package that leaves users wanting.
A respectful and intelligently designed modernisation that surpasses the original in almost every measure, The 7th Guest Remake has better puzzles, better storytelling and better audio-visuals, especially when it comes to the vastly improved live-action scenes. The fact that it began its life as a VR game is evident in the annoying way some puzzles control, but in reality, the only big flaw here is that this otherwise fine puzzler lacks the strange, uncanny charm of the older title. A superior piece of software overall, but a less distinctive experience.
Resident Evil 7 was the revitalisation the franchise needed, with everything suggesting that it may still be one of the best survival horror games in the series thanks to its first-person perspective that brings a sense of dread unlike anything felt before. Played in Switch 2’s handheld format, it is a whole other kind of nightmare that becomes the definitive horror pick for the system.
Team Asobi's latest game is a consistent and clean 3D platformer that casual audiences, longtime fans of the genre, and PlayStation devotees will find much to appreciate about, but those looking for a wholly original and memorable entry that establishes itself as a master of its craft may be better off waiting for Astro's next adventure, which is sure to build off the foundation laid here and take another step towards perfection.
Another Crusade is a harder, more mature evolution of what Super Mario RPG established. The wooden puppet art style is charming and consistent, the world has a nice variety, and the core timing-based combat feels satisfying. The permanent crystal upgrades and the SP gem resource system add meaningful layers. The game has heart, some genuinely funny moments, and a story that goes slightly deeper than expected from this genre. However, the difficulty goes too far. The timing windows on normal mode are brutal, often unfair rather than challenging. Early game deaths are frequent and frustrating, and some boss fights cross the line from demanding precision into trial by fire. There is absolutely no room for error, and players have to be perfect, which is smothering and limiting.
In virtually every way possible Atelier Lulua: The Scion of Arland is a wonderful end to the Arland saga. It brings together familiar characters and tales, and introduces new fans to several more games to pick up and enjoy. Lulua isn't perfect, but her constant efforts eventually herald results. Her growth as a person and as an alchemist brings immense joy, making replay value high just to relive her journey once again.
Even stripped of its explicit content, Sinisistar 2 remains an engaging dark fantasy adventure filled with memorable environments, satisfying combat, and an atmosphere few indies manage to achieve. Its unique doujin charm and willingness to embrace grotesque horror and erotica help it stand out, but all these are held back by extremely limited progression systems, simple gameplay mechanics, weak rewards, and a very short duration. Sinisistar 2’s cardinal sin is that it never quite develops its full potential.
Tales of Arise is a righteous action RPG and stands tall as one of the best Tales entries yet. While some story beats are a bit tired and cheesy, it has a lot of heart and unbelievably dazzling visuals. After a while, it's easy to overlook the tropey writing and dialogue because the world is immersive and the combat feels great, even at 30fps. Any game with fishing in it can't be all bad, but Arise is already so superb that non-fishing fans will still delight in it.
eFootball Kick-Off! is a reminder that football games do not need to be overloaded with features to be enjoyable. When the fundamentals are strong and the design is focused, the result can be just as compelling as any big‑budget alternative. With this release, Konami has successfully tapped into its roots, giving Switch 2 players a superb reason to hit the pitch. It is a confident and enjoyable revival of Konami’s classic football philosophy, built around tight controls, smooth animation, and a generous range of modes that suit both newcomers and long‑time fans. The limited licences and occasional commentary hiccups do little to diminish the strength of the on‑pitch action, and the absence of pay-to-win microtransactions makes the overall package even more appealing. This is a focused and highly entertaining football game that understands exactly what it wants to be and delivers it with clarity.
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is one of the best-looking games the game industry has ever produced. It's not even that it's realistic. The art does a lot of the heavy lifting in creating beautiful and atmospheric scenes. The core gameplay is rock solid and hard to put down when it’s allowed to shine, but it’s dragged down by a bloated narrative that takes five hours to tell ten minutes’ worth of story. As a long-time fan who grew up playing Final Fantasy VII back in 1997, Rebirth can be frustrating to experience because, amidst all the trite and misguided creative liberties, Final Fantasy VII is in there somewhere, screaming to break out. At the very least, players will get a lot of bang for their buck because the sheer density of content is so ridiculous that there's enough here for two games.
Schrödinger's Call is a beautifully tragic portrayal of acceptance, human nature, and the end of the world. This is told in a unique way that combines words and visuals in a distinct visual novel style. It is a very ambitious task that Acrobatic Chirimenjako has taken on, which could have made it feel inaccessible to a wider player base. However, the choice of a visual art style with a familiar mood to classic gothic literature and melancholic fables makes it feel both familiar and fresh. This is an experience fans of literature and gaming should enjoy at least once, maybe even twice, as the story has so many layers that are unlikely to be fully unravelled during a first playthrough.