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Ultimately, Against the Storm succeeds because it is full of confidence with its vision and it embraces its concept without hesitation or weak underdeveloped design choices. It trims the fat, focuses on the moment-to-moment thrill of problem-solving, and keeps you moving forward. It's thoughtful without being overbearing, rich without being bloated, and endlessly replayable without losing its sense of identity. Few games blend atmosphere, mechanics, and challenge this elegantly and fewer still feel this good on a handheld.
Void Sails started its journey strong, but snail-slow combat and movement took the wind out my sails. An impressive effort by a small develop team, that I wish had the chance to squeeze more juice from the lemon and deliver on what ultimately felt like grand ambition that was unable to be realised.
The Gex Trilogy on Xbox Series X is a lovingly crafted remaster that delivers exactly what it promises: three quirky, nostalgic platformers with just enough modern polish to make them playable in 2025. It's not a reinvention, and it doesn't need to be. It's a celebration of a character who never quite reached the heights of Mario or Sonic, but who carved out a unique, sarcastic niche in gaming's pantheon.
Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma is a heartfelt evolution of the franchise that doesn't just ride the coattails of the Switch 2's hardware, but rather embraces it. With accessible-yet-deep gameplay, richly drawn characters and a world that feels both mythic and lived-in, it offers a standout launch experience for newcomers and veterans alike. Whether you're here to swing a blade, rebuild a village, or fall in love beneath the sakura trees, Azuma is well worth the journey.
A sensational remaster of one of the greatest games ever made.
Death Stranding 2 is very much a sequel to Death Stranding. If you bounced off the original's gameplay, then not much has changed here. The changes that have been made, however, all improve on the core concepts that had been solidified in 2019.
Lovely combination of base builder and tactics, have fun getting lost in a corrupted national park as you scavenge and rebuild
A lack of an upgrade path for Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 players puts a downer on this otherwise feature packed puzzler
If you are a fan of Dune, there's a lot here to enjoy, the interplay between houses, the war of assassins, and of course the fear of being pursued by a worm and only just escaping, or perhaps not escaping. Despite the glitches, I have still found myself returning time and time again, and though some tasks can be frustrating or repetitive, it's such a beautifully realised world that I don't really mind. Even when I shut it down to take a break for a while, inevitably I will be firing it up again before long to see just how much further I can get, or what I can manage to get the resources together to build next. I'm so close to being able to build my ornithopter. Definitely jump in and explore!
A bright and bombastic remaster of a cult classic that modern SMT fans need to play.
Rooftops & Alleys: The Parkour Game succeeds in creating a focused, technically demanding, and rewarding experience. It captures the adrenaline and freedom of real-world parkour while grounding it in a precise control scheme and performance-driven progression model. The result is a game that appeals to players who value mastery, fluid movement, and creative experimentation. It may not be for everyone, but for those who connect with its core principles, it offers a uniquely satisfying experience. It is a game about learning, control, and self-expression within movement. It's a bold, confident entry in a genre that's long overdue for a game this focused.
Timberborn is a fun and charming city builder with a lot of character. For a game that's in early access, it's very polished and has a ton of content, both of which should increase as they get closer to a final release, and the developers are regularly updating the game and introducing new features and bug fixes.
The Alters is 11 bit studio's most ambitious, and possibly best game yet. Combining all their experiences in base building, crew management, resource gathering and survival, they try to pull off something they haven't done before. Create an engaging, huge, sci-fi narrative adventure. And they succeed. From it's themes, to it's music, acting, visuals, survival gameplay loop, basebuilding, and so much more, The Alters is a triumph that exceeds expectations and an unforgettable, deep adventure.
TRON: Catalyst is a lot of fun. The mechanics of it mean you don't have to fear being derezzed (though depending on your difficulty setting it might get frustrating) and the fact that starting again (though not exactly from scratch)… adds a nice twist to what might otherwise be a fairly standard isometric action game. Certainly if you are a fan of TRON and like the idea of the wider TRON universe, give it a look.
One of the best glow ups on Switch 2 brings the magic of the wizarding world to Nintendo's new handheld with aplomb.
Very enjoyable! Great value! Don't think about it - get it, play it, enjoy it. Thank us later.
This is VR done exceptionally well! The visuals are crisp and high quality which draws you into the world to start with. The audio compliments those visuals perfectly by giving you a great mix of atmospheric noises along with fantastic voice acting and compelling music. The puzzles are challenging enough to make you think but not so obscure that you get frustrated. You can actually feel empathy for the spirits you save and seeing their stories play out in front of you is quite moving at times. An absolute must buy if you like a bit of paranormal puzzling.
A stone cold classic finds a new home on Nintendo's latest console.
Street Fighter 6: Years 1-2 Fighter's Edition provides gamers with a very sturdy fighting experience on this new console from Nintendo. It does suffer from a couple of graphical stumbles, and Joy-Con mini-games are more filler than content, but it's nice that Capcom has provided a great way to showcase the capabilities of this console with their hit game.
Overall, I enjoyed my time with Chains of Freedom. Some players may find the constant struggle for resources in the early game a detriment to the overall experience, but once I got wind of what it was trying to accomplish in this respect and adjusted, things started to pick up.