Wccftech's Reviews
Bungie's extraction shooter reboot of its classic Marathon series is easily one of the best releases in 2026. Its top-level gunplay and extremely rewarding gameplay loop that centers strong gameplay experiences over better loot, paired with an atmosphere and world design that does an incredible job of weaving narrative into a multiplayer PvPvE setting, make it a must-play for first-person shooter fans and anyone feeling tired of the current live service landscape. For all its rough edges, there's really nothing else that looks, sounds, or plays quite like Marathon, and it's all the better for it.
Pokémon Pokopia isn't just possibly the best spinoff this series has ever seen, it also captures the spirit and fulfillment of those classic early entries in the franchise better than anything that's come our way in some years. This game is mechanically sound, technically rock-solid, and has a pinch of genuine creative inspiration and joy that you don't always get from modern Pokémon titles. While the game may start a bit slow for some tastes, I think most folks who give Pokopia a chance will find they Kanto get enough.
Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly Remake is a hauntingly beautiful reimagining that successfully modernizes one of the series' most iconic entries with modern visuals and new mechanics. While the atmosphere and puzzles are masterfully executed, the experience is slightly dragged down by a combat system that can feel more frustrating than fun. However, the expanded story and atmospheric overhaul still make this a must-play for fans of the series and survival-horror fans in general.
WWE 2K26 offers a more well-balanced card than last year, including some welcome tweaks to core gameplay, fun new match types, and solid additions to most modes. As with most annualized sports franchises, a lot of the improvements feel rather piecemeal, and the addition of a grindy new Ringside Pass nearly pushes the game into the realm of NBA-2K-style over monetization, but this veteran franchise can still deliver thrills, for a price.
Resident Evil Requiem is the Every-Evil, as Capcom has taken all the things they've done with the franchise over the past decade or so and stitched them together into a towering monster of a survival horror game. Parts of this game are the best, scariest, and most intense this series has ever been, other parts are merely alright, but no part of the game is bad and it's all very distinctly Resident Evil. While it won't be everyone's new favorite, Resident Evil Requiem should hit enough right notes for most fans.
God of War: Sons of Sparta plays it safe when no other God of War title had done so before. Rather than the rage-fueled narrative of a Kratos beyond redemption, this story focuses on his formative years as a proper Spartan and learning the meaning of duty. Trouble is, the story could have just as easily been told with any two Greek brothers to the same effect.
Star Trek: Voyager - Across the Unknown is a text and story-heavy trek that follows the story of Voyager as it returns from the Delta Quadrant, but allowing you to change the events of the story in a game that has impactful choices wrapped around an FTL-style survival game and copious amounts of resource management. Not a masterpiece, the sum feels like more than the whole, though I will admit my view may be clouded as a fan of Star Trek, Voyager, and the genre.
Styx: Blades of Greed is the definition of a solid 'AA' game. It struggles under the weight of its own ambition and some Unreal Engine 5 optimization woes, but its charming main character and the quality of its sandbox level design make it a game that those looking for an almost pure stealth experience will love.
ROMEO IS A DEAD MAN is a brilliant, fever-dream rollercoaster, made by Suda51 and Grasshopper Manufacture at their absolute peak. By leaving behind the empty world of No More Heroes III in favor of a tightly paced, linear, almost "Soulslike on steroids" experience, the studio has delivered its most mechanically polished and visually eclectic experience to date, and a statement against the sanitized, risk-averse nature of modern AAA gaming.
Mario Tennis Fever still scores points for its core gameplay, particularly when playing against other people, but the game’s frustrating new Fever Racket gimmick and underwhelming single-player modes don’t bring all that much to the court. The result is a game that can be fun at times, but doesn’t stand out from other recent Mario Tennis games in a way that’s likely to raise Switch 2 owners’ temperatures.
Removing a significant amount of content and replacing it with Mine's Dark Ties storyline hurts the narrative as a whole, but perhaps not as much as the other design choices at play for this remake of Yakuza 3.
Nioh 3 is the culmination of Team NINJA’s evolution. By masterfully blending the engaging exploration of an open-field structure with a deep, dual-style combat system that bridges the gap between 'Masocore' and character-action, it has evolved into a genre of its own. While technical issues hold the game back, it is the definitive samurai fantasy and a modern masterpiece of action design.
A guided experience from beginning to end, Dragon Quest VII Reimagined does away with any sense of exploration and challenge by holding the player's hand whether they want the guidance or not. What could be the most beautiful rendition of the greatest entry in the Dragon Quest series is instead Reimagined to be the beginner's first JRPG.
Code Vein II is a bloody good successor to the original game. While it's not a sequel in the traditional sense, it builds upon the strengths of what Bandai Namco was trying to achieve with combat the first time around
ROUTINE is an excellent puzzle-focused first-person horror game that, despite its slow pacing, is able to keep you at the edge of your seat for 10 hours straight, with a tense, rich atmosphere created by wonderful execution of its retro futuristic aesthetic and stunning soundscape that immerses you in its world and gets you listening for the sound of a pin drop to avoid getting caught. Its narrative may be unable to shine through, but at the end of the day it is altogether an interesting game, a game worth playing again, and the game that Alien: Isolation fans should play while we all wait for Alien: Isolation 2.
Metroid Prime 4: Beyond ascends to higher peaks than any previous Prime entry, delivering an impressive sense of scale, breathtaking visuals, and classic Metroid level design at its most immersive and riveting, but a few missteps, including an unengaging story and flat final act, may exclude it from best-of-series conversations. That said, those who have been waiting for this game for nearly two decades needn’t worry too much, as Metroid Prime 4 largely locks onto the core of what made this series great.
With its tag-team mechanics and well-designed characters, MARVEL Cosmic Invasion is a competent side-scrolling beat'em up that can offer plenty of chaotic fun, especially in multiplayer. However, some balancing issues that make the final few stages frustrating to play, especially solo, and the lack of content beyond the 4-hours long campaign limit the game's appeal to Marvel fans and beat'em up die hards looking for a few hours of simple fun.
ARC Raiders is one of the hallmarks of the extraction shooter, providing the same psychological experience that Escape From Tarkov and others have successfully integrated into the growing genre.
Kirby Air Riders serves up a varied platter of quirky modes and features, but Sakurai’s buffet may not satisfy long-term unless you’re up for chasing down every last crumb. That said, while a bit lightweight, Kirby Air Riders' unconventional and surprisingly intense approach to racing certainly sticks out, even in a year with a lot of karting competition, which may be enough to blow folks looking for something different off their feet.
Where Winds Meet delivers an exceptional open-world experience, successfully blending an engaging story, meaningful activities, a solid combat system paired with competent character progression, a wealth of multiplayer options, and one of the most lively cities in the genre. Though some of its features and mechanics suffer from the constraints of the free-to-play model, the good undeniably outweighs the bad, making it a rare title that can captivate even players who typically avoid similar open-world games, easily providing hundreds of hours of content even in its launch state.