GameSpew's Reviews
Exo-Calibre is a colourful vertically-scrolling shooter with a neat soundtrack, but it isn't the most interesting to play thanks to bland stages and enemies. Its story dialogue is also likely to annoy. Still, it's a decent effort overall, with multiple additional pilots and modes to unlock.
With its cute and colourful visuals, Victory Heat Rally draws you in before surprising you with its somewhat challenging gameplay. This is a game that requires you to drift like a pro to achieve success, and while it's easy to pick up it's hard to master. As long as you're on board with that, you'll have a great time.
Wonderfully zen and relaxing, Islanders: New Shores is the city building game for people who don't want to get bogged down with nitty-gritty. All you need to worry about here is placing buildings and getting the highest score possible — and if even that sounds too stressful, there's a sandbox mode that simply lets you design your own aesthetically-pleasing townscape.
Inspired by comedic boxing games such as Super Punch-Out!!, Leftovers KO! looks great but unfortunately it's just not that much fun to play. You might get some enjoyment out of fighting its foodstuffs if you have a lot of patience, but otherwise you'd be best to steer clear.
If you love anti-gravity racers, you must play Fast Fusion, it's as simple as that. While it has some aggressive catch-up which can be irksome at times, it's otherwise an audio-visual treat with moreish gameplay and a neat vehicle fusion mechanic.
The best version of Worms has been given new life on consoles. Worms Armageddon: Anniversary Edition features the gameplay you know and love, an arsenal of outrageous weapons, and a bucketload of customisation options. Throw in some museum-like extras and you have a genuine treat for fans of the comedic warfare series. It's not perfect, though, with its menus in particular being a bit of a pain to navigate at times.
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach is a brilliant sequel, taking the best aspects of the original game and adding more gameplay variety, lots more entertaining tools to play with, and a new, more emotionally-driven story. Giving you lots of freedom with regards to how you complete your goals, Death Stranding 2 is worth considering even if, like me, you didn't rate the first game all that highly. It's overall a much more frictionless and enjoyable affair.
It may be cute and colourful, but that's practically all that Tamagotchi Plaza has going for it. Essentially a collection of minigames, the activities on offer here are mostly dull and repetitive, and as there are no tutorials they are fairly inaccessible to younger players. One or two of the games are somewhat entertaining, but certainly not enough make this a title worth recommending.
I Am Your Beast is a simple game in principle, tasking you with completing basic objectives across many bite-sized levels before making your way to an exit. Its breakneck pace means you have to think and act fast, however, and the forces you're up against escalate as you progress. Throw in a story that's gripping from the outset, and you have a first-person shooter that makes you feel a little bit like John Wick whenever you play.
Monster Train 2 is a solid upgrade over what was already an excellent roguelike deckbuilder. New features, new character classes, new cards and a new story all make the experience richer and deeper than ever before.
Running your own train doesn’t sound all that engrossing, but Locomoto makes it an absolute dream. Improving your train over time, all while visiting quaint little towns and helping out the townsfolk, is a wonderful way to spend time, so consider this a must-play if you’re a cosy game fan.
Yakuza 0 remains among the best Yakuza games, and this Switch 2-exclusive Director's Cut is essential for those who are yet to play it. The extra content here, including additional cut scenes and a new Red Light Raid mode, isn't all that impressive, but it doesn't matter much when the base game looks and plays better than ever.
With improved performance and sharper visuals than the original Switch version, Switch 2 might just be the best format on which to enjoy Suikoden 1 & 2 HD Remaster: Gate Rune and Dunan Unification Wars. Enjoy it handheld on the go, or play docked and get engrossed playing it on a big screen. It's just a shame there's no upgrade path for those who have already picked it up on Switch.
Disney Illusion Island looks great, but being devoid of combat, the gameplay of this Metroidvania eventually comes to feel a bit stale and repetitive. Still, Disney fans will certainly get some enjoyment out of it, especially if they play it in local co-op with friends or family members.
Camper Van: Make it Home is squarely aimed at Unpacking fans: people who want the zen-filled joy of finding a home for a range of items. This time, though, you're dealing with the limited space of a camper van. It's great fun and it looks wonderful, but the fiddly controls and camera can sometimes take some of the meditative spirit away.
Still Wakes the Deep: Siren's Rest takes you back to the Beira D 10 years later, exploring the wreckage as it lies on the sea bed. It's an incredibly clever way to introduce an expansion, and the Beira D is perhaps even more eerie and atmospheric than it was the first time around. I've loved every moment with it — I just wish it was a little longer.
If you missed Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. the Soulless Army when it originally released on PlayStation 2, this remaster should prove to be a treat. Featuring a revamped combat system, full voice acting, and more, Raidou Remastered: The Mystery of the Soulless Army almost feels like a new game, and its mix of investigation, combat and demon-collecting is both engaging and rewarding.
TRON: Catalyst gets off to a good start, promising varied gameplay and a neat time-loop mechanic. The trouble is, it soon devolves in a dull affair with way too much repetitive combat, and the time-loop mechanic is mostly wasted.
For the most part, Puyo Puyo Tetris 2S is the same game as it was when it released back in 2020: a great deal of fun for fans of both Tetris and Puyo. But the addition of a new mode and the implementation of Switch 2's excellent GameShare functionality make this absolutely the best version yet.
Absolutely heaving with personality, it's clear a lot of heart and soul has gone into making Date Everything. Its characters are beautifully brought to life, but trying to meet everyone (which you'll want to do) can feel a bit of a slog.