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I won’t go so far as to call The Namco Legendary Pack a must-purchase. The history captured here isn’t unique enough for that, especially when you consider only a handful of playable games have been added to the overall package. Still, what’s here is interesting, well presented, and offered at a reasonable price for the couple of hours of education and entertainment it can provide. If you’re a fan of Namco’s earliest works, it’s worth the price of admission.
My complaints with Forestrike are ultimately quite minor, though. It’s an incredibly unique action game that requires a great deal of planning and foresight to see your way to the end. If you aren’t able to slow down and approach a game with patience than it won’t be for you but if you’re willing to meet it where it is you’ll find a compelling game which feels entirely singular.
Mortal Kombat Legacy Kollection features an absolutely absurd amount of content, both when it comes to the games you can play and the documentary included as well. I’d have loved to see a bit more about what the Mortal Kombat team was going through during the tail end of the 90s, and there are certainly a few gaps when it comes to the games included that would be great to see filled in. Still, fans of the series will find that Digital Eclipse has made yet another great collection that entertains and educates in equal measure.
Even though it was slightly held back by some issues on Nintendo’s handheld, I’m still beyond happy I finally got to dive into Deathless. The Hero Quest on Switch. This is an incredibly well made rogue-like deckbuilder that I would recommend even to those hesitant to jump into the genre. Whether you play it for the stunning artwork, unique Slavic story or just because you love the genre, this is one game every fantasy fan should check out.
Overall, I enjoyed my time with Majogami, I just feel it could have been better. Though I love the artwork and amazing style Inti Creates always brings to the table, I feel the gameplay was more than a bit jumbled. The simplest way to put it is that sometimes less is more, and I hope that next time, Inti gives us a pure, easy to parse concept with all their usual amenities. Still, those looking for witchy fanservice, gorgeous artwork, surprisingly deep replay value and epic boss battles have a great new adventure in Majogami.
Still, despite that, Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O. World Stage is the most complete version of a fantastic game that you’ll find on modern platforms and a must-purchase if you love the series and haven’t played it anywhere else recently. PS4 owners can even upgrade for a reduced price, which is probably worthwhile. It ultimately offers a pretty minor upgrade to the game’s recent packages, though.
Despite its issues, Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake is a beautiful collection that modernizes these games in many compelling ways. In doing so, however, it loses the identity of the first game and only offers band-aids for the issues of the second title. These are still incredibly basic RPGs which will mostly appeal to long time fans of the series, but they’re likely the best versions of these classic titles.
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.