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Gripes with side content aside, Digimon Story: Time Stranger is an incredible experience that has completely revitalised my faith in the monster-catching genre. With Pokemon seemingly stuck in a rut, due to what seems to be a complete refusal on Game Freak’s part to innovate within its mainline series, there is absolutely room for a deeper, more complex take on the genre for those looking for a more sophisticated alternative. Digimon Story: Time Stranger is that game, and I’m now incredibly excited for not only what comes next, but also to dig into the titles I’ve missed over the years in my ignorance.
Bye Sweet Carole is a conflicted experience. The hand-drawn artistry alone justifies the asking price for those who value craft over mechanics, but Little Sewing Machine misunderstood what made childhood animation classics frightening. This would have worked better as an animated film. The story and world deserve to be experienced, but gameplay sometimes acts as an obstacle rather than enhancement.
Keeper may be a relatively short journey, but it’s a singular experience unlike anything else in video games. It’s exactly the kind of project only a studio like Double Fine could create—charming, strange, and deeply personal. The way its characters, visuals, music, and storytelling intertwine with gameplay perfectly highlights the true strengths of the medium.
PowerWash Simulator 2 doesn’t reinvent anything. It’s more of the same with some nice quality-of-life features around the edges. That’s exactly what I wanted, though, another excuse to lose myself in its endlessly addicting stages, where I constantly felt the need to keep playing. That so many elements of PowerWash Simulator 2 are just a bit better makes it an easy recommendation for anyone looking for a great, relaxing experience, and especially for anyone who enjoyed the last game.
All things considered, I had a tremendous time playing Plants vs. Zombies: Replanted. I spent around 7 hours getting through the Adventure and playing the other modes, and I still have a ton more to do. This isn’t just an excellent tower defense game; it’s also the perfect spoopy game to play during October. Heck, you can even play it with a friend, though I wasn’t able to try the multiplayer in my playthrough. Even if you’re not experienced with the original game, you’ll find something to adore in this cozy, tactical, tower defense adventure from PopCap Games.
Once Upon a KATAMARI is still really fun, but it doesn’t quite live up to the dream of what I wanted a new Katamari game to be. The developers clearly put a lot of thought into how they could mix up the series’ formula, and they did a great job of putting players in new situations, but too often, I just found myself wishing for more of the old style of stages. Still, if you’ve already played the earlier games in the series and want more, you’ll have a good time with Once Upon a KATAMARI.
The more I think about Absolum, the more impressed I am by it. This is the rare game where I really can’t think of anything to criticize. It does a fantastic job of expanding what we would usually expect of a beat ‘em up, keeping it fresh and interesting to play over dozens of runs. It looks, sounds, and runs great, and it plays phenomenally. It may not quite have the kinetic impact of my very favorite brawlers, but this is a game that dares to push beyond what fans expect from its genre and succeeds on all counts.
Being a sequel comes with a lot of baggage and expectations, and often they fail to impress. That’s not the case with Hades II, though. Not only does this adventure have a slightly better overall balance, but it also matches it with challenging and fun combat, an amazing cast of characters, a spectacular and twisting plot, and an even better protagonist than the first game. Put simply, Supergiant Games outdid themselves, and if you at all enjoyed the first game, you have to play Hades II. Death to Chronos!
Once you get enough upgrades, Hotel Barcelona becomes a decent enough action game with an interesting mechanic, but it never reaches a point where it really stands out from the crowd. Considering the fascinating creators behind it, it can only be considered something of a disappointment. Despite that, if you’re a big horror fan willing to put some time into it, you’ll eventually find a solid roguelike.
It feels bad to end the review on a bit of a sour note, as Borderlands 4 is truly an incredible package. Gearbox did its homework, addressed complaints with Borderlands 3, and made significant changes to the core gameplay loops that have all come together to create what is surely going to be considered the new benchmark for the series in Borderlands 4. A mature, brilliantly written story, meaningful exploration, improved loot systems, and endless build variety had me losing hours every evening for over a week without even noticing. It’s a huge shame that, as it stands, Borderlands 4 isn’t as easy a recommendation as it should be due to the technical issues currently plaguing both console and PC players, but I have no doubt that Gearbox will continue to be reactive and get patches issued as soon as they can in order to maintain the good will generally being built up by what is otherwise a stellar release and one of 2025’s best video games.
Dying Light: The Beast succeeds by understanding what made the original special and refining those elements rather than reinventing them. This is comfort food gaming at its finest: familiar mechanics executed with polish and focus.
Despite that, you won’t find many strategy RPGs that are better than Final Fantasy Tactics – The Ivalice Chronicles in any year. It looks fantastic, it plays wonderfully, and it tells an incredibly compelling story. If you’ve never been able to experience this classic, it’s a must-play, and even if you have, this is a game well worth giving another try. I’m very glad I did so.
Baby Steps, at times, struggles to walk the tightrope between frustration and satisfaction, but it stays on the rope at least as often as I was able to keep Nate on a thin wooden plank. I could have done without losing quite as much progress as I did at times, but I still spent most of my time with Baby Steps with a huge grin plastered on my face, and even now, I want to explore this bizarre creation further.
The problem, ultimately, is that this is a collection of really lackluster titles. Even the best game here isn’t worth your time. It’s hard to recommend to anyone because they’re not even bad in an interesting way; they’re just poorly designed. If you are somehow the rare person who has spent the last 30 years holding a torch for this annoying bobcat, then this is the collection for you, but everyone else should stay away.
Despite my frustration with the 4th stage and occasional difficulty with the game’s balance, Platypus Reclayed is still a very unique and enjoyable Shmup overall. It even features two-player co-op, a feature I wasn’t able to try out. I’d say fans of the genre will still find something to enjoy here and will likely find the challenge easier to deal with. But if you’re not confident of your when it comes to shooters, you might want to try another adventure.
Cultic – Chapter Two is a one-man-band developer showing they’re capable of more than a one-hit-wonder, with this brilliant second instalment of mayhem that brings back the best of 1990s FPS design into the 2020s. Whether it’s inspired level design, awesomely powerful weapons or thumb-blisteringly tricky battles, there’s plenty to whet the appetites of those hungry for pixellated blood.
Players entering Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter without any experience with these games should note that this is only the first part of a larger story. While there is some resolution to certain plot points, others are wide open even upon finishing the game, with a few new ones even being presented in the final hours. Still, based on what the development team has said and a few hints present within the game, I don’t expect we’ll have a terribly long wait for the rest of this incredible journey. Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter may be missing a bit of the charm of the original English translation, but it makes up for it with a deeper and more fully realized combat system, a ton of style, and the most fully realized version of an incredible game. New players couldn’t ask for a better place to start, and returning players will be thrilled to find the developers nailed this reimagined take on a classic.
Still, Quartet features a fantastic story, interesting characters, and a fast and fun battle system. It is a journey that fans of the genre should absolutely check out. While it can be a bit linear at times, my only complaints are very minor in the context of everything it does right. Quartet may have influences from the past, but it feels like a modern RPG in the ways that matter.
Everybody’s Golf: Hot Shots still plays well, but it’s entirely lacking the charm and personality that this series is known for. With weak courses, a severe lack of interesting ways to play, and characters that I couldn’t wait to get away from, I have a hard time recommending this entry to many players. The online modes work well enough, so those who want to play with friends will probably have a better time than most, but there are so many better golf games on the market that are more worthy of your time.
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle: The Order of Giants DLC may not reinvent the game, but it provides a strong reason to return to one of last year’s best releases. After a few minutes of remembering the controls, I was extremely happy to have even more tombs to raid and enemies to conquer. If you liked the main game, you’re almost certain to have a good time with The Order of Giants.