SmashPad's Reviews
My only real problem with the game is that while it does try to utilize gameplay elements to make the game feel like an authentic Sonic experience, TECOPARK definitely could've stood to use more assets to liven up the backgrounds so we're not just looking at the same blue and white background in each of the game's 15 worlds. A little Sonic music wouldn't hurt either. At the end of the day, Sonic Pico Park is really fun, and you can do worse things with friends for $10. Cross-play exists, but it's really better as a local multiplayer experience to share some laughs with the homies.
I greatly enjoyed my time with Escape Academy 2. Having to unlock my way into nearly every room gave me a consistent feeling of accomplishment with every puzzle completed. The game not only has some mainline quests for those who want to focus on the story, but there are also plenty of side missions to make the player explore every crevice of the campus. Sure, I didn’t necessarily play the game as recommended, as I mostly played in single player, but I can say from experience that both ways are entertaining if you just enjoy solving puzzles.
If rental services still existed as they did in 2002, I’d say this is the perfect title to play over a weekend and never touch again. But since it has a $30-$40 price tag (depending on the platform), I can’t ultimately recommend Godzilla Destroy All Monsters Melee Remastered to anyone but the most hardcore Toho fans who’d make it their go-to party game. Like smashing action figures together as a kid, the fun in Destroy All Monsters is real but short-lived. The novelty wears thin really fast, and you’ll probably want to move on to something with a little more depth.
The campaign is fun, exciting, and serves as a wonderful conclusion to the rebooted Modern Warfare story arc. Multiplayer is engaging and packed with customization options, despite a lack of great maps. When players want a change of pace, DMZ offers a great alternative. While it has a few drawbacks, I believe Modern Warfare 4 is one of the best Call of Duty titles in recent years.
So Marvel’s Wolverine is a complicated package that can be worth the attention for enough fans. The story is solid, and the core gameplay is fun. It gets in its own way by creating unnecessary roadblocks with its camera and unbalanced approach to stealth and parrying. So as a complete package, it just feels a little off. So while this is absolutely a game Wolverine fans will want to check out, everyone else might want to wait for a discount.
The Wolf Among Us Remastered is easily the best way to experience the game in 2026. While each episode still has some of that Telltale jank, the game still looks good by today's standards thanks to its retained art style, and much of the lag and frame rate issues that plagued it 13 years ago have been largely fixed. That said, the Telltale engine, though refreshed, still feels very much like the old Telltale engine, and first-time players might not be all that impressed with the gameplay.
Virtue and a Sledgehammer isn't quite as poignant as others in its broad genre, but it is no less important or provocative. In fact, it might edge out most others because of how provocative it is, but don't mistake some of its edginess for carelessness. I felt attracted to its vibe and presentation. I empathized with what Nina and Pratelle were going through with their mother as a caretaker, and its overall message should ring true for years to come... unfortunately. If you feel frustrated by any of the above, this game can be your rage room for now. Maybe things will get better, maybe they'll get worse.
EA SPORTS FC 27 improves on the past. It is a better version of last year’s game, and I didn’t run into any issues finding games in the online modes.
Everything in Final Fantasy Resonance works and fits as it should. The best part is that this can be your first Final Fantasy game, and it'll be a great place to start. Resonance's characters are likable, and the battle system is easy to learn but has enough depth for min-maxers to enjoy. I'm really trying to think about things I don't like about the game, but I can’t. It doesn't get much better than that kind of praise.
Just Dance: Decades of Hits provides plenty of fun songs and choreography to get down to. Despite some camera placement issues and a few odd song picks, this year’s entry is a blast. It’s as much a treat for your eyes as for your exercising body, with the creative backgrounds. The sorting system also lets us dive into the music we want to dance to more quickly. I hope the next Just Dance continues this “decades” idea because it offers a more varied experience and shows the art form’s evolution.
While the puzzles were occasionally gratifying, the live-action cutscenes stuck with me most, as the game wears its love for film on its sleeve. Tenebris Somnia treats film with the respect it deserves and shows the toll it can take on one’s life when devoted to one's craft.
A roguelite focused on letting you transform into different monsters to fight through a dungeon could be very cool, but Stupid Never Dies is not that game.
I think Toy Story 3 Complete Edition is worth experiencing even for first-time players as long as they don’t set their expectations too high. It’s a very cute game, though it feels a bit light and has some less-than-stellar story missions. I just wish Toy Story 2: Buzz Lightyear to the Rescue had gotten an actual remaster too, since it also deserved it.
Thank You Bus Driver features a decent amount of content for what the game is, and I can't imagine the map holding most people's attention much longer anyway, but I still lean toward recommending the game. It can be aggravating, and the presentation can make focusing harder than it needs to be, but it is still a game that's as unique and interesting as it is funny. All of that makes it easier to overlook some of its design quirks, but it still depends on whether or not its brand of frustration speaks to you.
The Toy Story Retro Roundup is a fantastic collection for Disney and retro platforming fans. This was my first time playing Toy Story 2, and while it has a few kinks, like unpredictable movement, it is still a gripping game that had me playing from start to finish in almost one sitting. This is why game preservation matters: we can enjoy past experiences for the first time, relive them, and help future developers learn from gaming history.
Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun 2 is a sequel-ass sequel in a great way. While not every decision is without question or critique, the bulk of them elevate the Boltgun canon and provide a streamlined, stylish way to experience 40K's incredibly dense and lore-heavy universe.
It’s almost mind-blowing to me to be sitting here, typing up my thoughts on a new Castlevania 2D game in 2026. I never would have called this series coming back. Or if it did, I would have expected Konami to try another big-scale 3D reboot. But seeing Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse on my hard drive and being able to play it makes it feel like one part of the gaming world is working as intended. This game feels incredibly good to play, and I’d recommend checking it out as soon as possible.
Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave isn’t just your typical strategy RPG. It feels like a playable Greco-Roman myth, one where the scope of the story somehow manages to keep getting bigger and bigger as you go, and surprises you at just about every turn. Things only hinted at in Three Houses now take center stage, and the franchise goes places it has never been and succeeds with flying colors.
Fast movement, fluid and gratifying combat, remarkably rewarding exploration, a surprisingly captivating story, and a world that is as bleak as it is beautiful make Valor Mortis one of this year’s must-plays.
While I didn’t love Control Resonant, there’s a lot to like. The game features top-notch presentation. The visuals and sound design are both outstanding, and while I did experience some frame rate issues on a base PS5, they weren’t game-breaking. On top of that, learning about, using, and fighting with Dylan is an absolute joy, but unfortunately, immersion-breaking moments take that joy away all too often. It feels like a prestige, artisan-type game built to win all sorts of awards and achievements, and then you play it and wonder why it’s getting the attention it is.