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DOOM: The Dark Ages | Revelations continues to preserve the identity of The Dark Ages while ratcheting up the intensity of combat to the nth degree. It's relentless, absurdly fun to play, and is begging any DOOM player worth their salt to get into the weeds and master it. I don't know how, but id Software have done it again.
Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced is a refreshing reminder of the franchise's glory days. Charged with an infectious love for the original, Resynced is the best way to play the best Assassin's Creed game. If the Ezio trilogy is soon to get the same remaking, we can only hope it's treated in the same fashion.
If you’re someone like me who fears rhythm games due to their challenges, then Rhythm Paradise Groove is the perfect cushion to soften the blow; it’s accessible, friendly and offers just the right amount of challenge, without being too overwhelming or intense. There’s a whole heap of unlockables and different game modes that keep things fresh and entertaining, and the rhythms and songs throughout the game are bound to have you toe-tapping all the way through. Some may be put off by the latency between the TV and controller input, but even after a while its something that you can adjust to, so there’s always positives to play off.
Star Fox is without a doubt the best version of Star Fox 64. Long time fans are sure to love its smart inclusions from both a narrative and gameplay perspective, while newcomers will get to experience one of Nintendo's most important games on hardware that truly brings it to life. It's another massive win for the Switch 2, and I hope it paves the way for a new Star Fox title some day in the future.
Despite being disappointed by The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales in its opening hours, the experience gave way to something far more engaging in its second and third acts. Its shallow narrative deepened as it unravelled the grand tapestry of time in Philabieldia, its combat more fleshed out by greater enemy variety and buildcrafting potential with magicite, all accompanied by a presentation and art direction that Square Enix have nailed at this point.
Mina the Hollower feels like the result of a studio completely confident in its abilities. Its exceptional movement mechanics, rewarding exploration, challenging combat, and dense world design constantly make discovery feel exciting. Despite it being a little hard for some players, Mina the Hollower is an easy recommendation and very likely Yacht Club Games’ next classic.
007 First Light is all things a Bond game should be. It’s exciting, unpredictable, and delivers a jet-setting adventure full of that hallmark intrigue. As a spy game, it’s expectedly solid. But as an action game, it’s somehow even better as IOI declare themselves the go-to for spy thrillers, and Patrick Gibson, in a time where new blood is badly required, declares himself Bond, James Bond.
Bubsy 4D isn’t the great mascot claw-back tale it could’ve been.
While Yoshi and the Mysterious Book won't be for everyone, the people that is is made for will adore it. It's entirely focused and uncompromising in its vision - it isn't trying to be something it's not. That, at the very least, is admirable in the broader landscape of the industry.
LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight might be the best LEGO game yet, delivering a fun, family-friendly take on all of the brooding bat’s biggest moments, plucked from every medium, and lovingly recreated brick-by-brick in an epic open-world capable of matching even Rocksteady’s best. It’s the Batman game Gotham deserves, and it absolutely is the one it needs right now.
Like the franchise’s other many iterations, Forza Horizon 6 is an exceptional masterclass of car racing, genre-defining in terms of both arcade and simulation, set within a spectacular, abridged open-world of Japan that’s begging to be explored.
Were it structured like a Dark Pictures game of old, Directive 8020, through its derivative but fun riff on 'The Thing', would be seen as something of a return to form. Sadly, their attempt to evolve the product has resulted in a poorly paced gameplay experience that, by the end of its run, is little more than a sadly stagnant monster closet.
Mixtape, through its expertly curated catalogue of songs, pulls together a genuinely heartfelt and nostalgic story about all of the friends we make, and invariably lose, in our formative years. As a cross-section between music and wasted youth, Beethoven and Dinosaur’s sophomore title is undeniably special. It’s an ode to the importance of music, how it shapes us and reminds us of who we are, all wrapped up in a bow and delivered through playable vignettes that are all killer, no filler, and a stark reminder of how fucking fun it was to be a kid.
Saros is an utterly sizzling romp through a sci-fi cosmic horror show that showcases Housemarque’s pedigree for spectacular, arcade action. Not only is Saros a user-friendly evolution of Returnal's core systems, which were already near-perfection, but it’s an exceptional, technical showpiece for a console that makes faultless performance seem magical. If Returnal was a reason to invest in next-gen, Saros pays that belief off again in what is currently a one-horse race for Game of the Year.
Mouse: P.I. for Hire is a tremendous, modern take on the boomer shooter. It has wonderful level design and gives you the right tools to explore it without restriction, mostly. Despite serving up meaty cases that have enormous ramifications within Mouseburg’s social and political landscape, the player is given zero agency to work them and, as such, Mouse falls agonisingly short of being a true detective fantasy.
Although it maintains the spirit of the original Super Meat Boy, Super Meat Boy 3D, as a reimagining, doesn’t quite evolve on its ideas enough to strike a chord. Rather, it reframes them, and it’s these new perspectives and angles on Meat Boy’s frenetic platforming that prove to be the biggest bother of all. It’s still fun enough for the most part; however, I struggle to look beyond the compounded frustration and needless death—in a game about dying, no less.
Meetup In Bellabel Park doesn't reinvent Super Mario Bros. Wonder, but it goes to great lengths to remind you of why it was so special in the first place. The Koopaling battles add some welcome boss variety to the adventure, the Training Camp offers a much sharper challenge and Attraction Central is strong enough to earn a permanent spot in your party game rotation. While it remixes more than it transforms, Meetup In Bellabel Park is an easy recommendation whether you play it solo or with mates.
Although it doesn’t quite have the heft to go bumper-to-bumper with games like Forza Horizon or Burnout, Screamer is an incredibly sound arcade racer that, unfortunately, cocoons so much of its exhilarating, challenging gameplay in a bloated campaign that claws for any semblance of focus.
Though I’ll call it imperfect but patchable, Crimson Desert is still impressive enough to be within striking distance of the juggernauts of this genre. At the very least, this represents one of the first few must-plays of the year. Perhaps contradictorily, Crimson Desert is a lush and generously-sized oasis of awesome that needs to be seen to be believed on PC. Here's hoping the console versions are up to snuff as well.
WWE 2K26 delivers in spades. While some questionable decisions around progression hamper the overall experience, alongside a litany of microtransactions invading some modes, there’s so much to sink your teeth into - whether it’s the excellent CM Punk Showcase or the ever-brilliant Universe mode. It’s a game for every type of wrestling fan, and continues to be one of the best annualised sports titles out there.