GameSpew's Reviews
Putting a very nice twist on the auto-attacking roguelike genre, Death by Scrolling tasks you with outrunning the apocalypse on a vertically-scrolling screen. It's an absolute delight, but with little variety from one run to the next, repetition can quickly set in.
Grocery retail may seem like an odd subject for a sim game, but Supermarket Simulator absolutely pulls it off. It's seriously satisfying to see your store go from strength to strength, though it's a tad frustrating you can't delegate ordering.
Whether you love dinosaurs or management sims, Jurassic World Evolution 3 has something to offer. And if you love both it's truly the game for you. With more dinosaurs to exhibit and an expanded range of customisation options, this is the biggest and best entry in the Jurassic World Evolution series yet, though those who have played previous entries might find it a bit too familiar.
A presentation reminiscent of Hades is the cherry on top of Devil Jam, a Survivors-like brought to life with metal music and a beat that will keep you headbanging from start to finish. Only the bosses are going to get in the way of your fun here, but you're absolutely going to want to keep trying to best them.
Instruments of Destruction lets you take on one bite-sized mission after another, where typically your goal is to simply destroy things. With over 130 vehicles available, it's mostly a lot of fun, too, though some missions can be dull and/or a little frustrating.
Thanks to meaningful new additions such as crossplay, rollback netcode, and a meaty single-player mode, Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O. World Stage cements itself as one of the very best fighting games currently available.
Without a doubt one of my favourite experiences of 2025, The Séance of Blake Manor is a rich and beautiful narrative puzzle game where you're fully in charge of your own detective work. Blending together stellar storytelling with Irish folklore and spooky mysteries, it's a game that's going to stay with me for a long time to come.
As a collection of games, Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection isn't all that impressive, with many of the titles here either being downright bad or relatively redundant. As an interactive documentary, however, Digital Eclipse has delivered something rather special for Mortal Kombat fans eager to reminisce and learn more about the franchise.
Consisting of remakes of the first two games in the series, Dragon Quest 1 & 2 HD-2D Remake is a somewhat simpler experience than Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake. You play the first game with just one party member, for example. It's a charming package, though, with Dragon Quest 2 being a highlight, but both titles still might feel a little too archaic in ways for some.
With it being a co-op shooter, series fans aren't likely to get on with this new Painkiller unless they approach it with an open mind. And indeed, while it's nothing special, slaughtering demons with friends while amassing an arsenal of upgraded and customised weapons can be good fun.
Simon the Sorcerer Origins looks fantastic, its writing is brilliant and its voice acting (particularly Chris Barrie) is absolutely stellar. It's a great example of a modern point-and-click game — but it's let down by some frustratingly difficult puzzles. It sorely needs a built-in hint system, but hey, at least you can just look up a guide.
Double Dragon is back, and it looks better than ever. Good looks and more freedom when it comes to movement doesn't translate to a game that's more fun to play, however, with the combat of Double Dragon Revive feeling rather clunky. And so, while it isn't a bad game by any means, it's simply not as enjoyable as it should be.
Set after the events of Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget, this latest game set in the Chicken Run universe lets you put together your own team and attempt to rescue yet more chickens from a variety of locations. The result is a simple stealth game with one or two frustrations, but thanks to its charming animation and impressive voice cast, franchise fans will likely enjoy it quite a lot.
Featuring 12 levels over three distinct themes, Escape Simulator 2 has plenty of content at launch, with every level being brilliantly designed and filled with clever, challenging puzzles. For those who want more, there's a level designer and the option to play community-created levels, so there's potentially endless content here. A bargain for £14.99/$19.99.
If you can't resist feeding some coins into a Fast & Furious: Arcade machine whenever you visit an arcade, you might appreciate being able to play it at home in the form of Fast & Furious: Arcade Edition. For most, though, this barebones port will feel too light on content to feel worthwhile.
While the remake of the original The House of the Dead proved to be a fairly entertaining jaunt, this update of the sequel inexplicably comes off far worse. From horrible controls to poor visuals that are simply too dark at times, it's a big disappointment. Still, it's the only way to play this arcade classic on modern consoles, and it boasts some new modes and features.
There's a lot of content in Hot Wheels Let's Race: Ultimate Speed, and there's no doubt that young fans of the Netflix show it's based on will enjoy the package here. But considering the poor handling and a number of other frustrations, it's hard to fully recommend this game, particularly when the excellent Hot Wheels Unleashed series exists.
Tormented Souls 2, like its predecessor, offers some solid survival horror action inspired by classics of the genre. Some might find dealing with or avoiding enemies a bit frustrating at times though, and a number of its puzzles could be considered a little too obtuse for comfort.
Improved over its predecessor in just about every way, PowerWash Simulator 2 is the ultimate in cleaning sims. New locations, new tools and a brand new home hub make washing away dirt and grime more enjoyable than ever, and while there's the occasional grumble, it's not enough to spoil the zen-like nature of virtual powerwashing.
The first brand new Katamari game in years, Once Upon a Katamari doesn't disappoint. While it suffers from the same issues the series always has, like wonky controls and camera, there's no denying that it's as fun as ever to play. There's nothing else like it, and we'll never grow tired of the utter weirdness of rolling up items with a special ball.