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Elden Ring Nightreign is a faster, roguelike remix of the Souls formula that swaps deep exploration for co-op urgency. Combat is more agile, pacing is relentless, and boss fights thrive on teamwork. Still, not every change lands. FromSoftware's familiar connection issues can spoil a good run, the storytelling lacks expected depth, and the Limveld map may be mastered very quickly. Overall, Nightreign delivers exciting high-speed battles and rewarding experimentation. It's a bold spinoff that breaks the rules and mostly gets away with it.
In its 10-15 hour runtime, Deliver At All Costs delivers (haha) a short and sweet package of iconic video game driving nonsense. The driving mechanics handle well enough to feel satisfying to play, while also being unwieldy enough to turn you into the worst road menace of the 1950s. Focused on feeding you laughs every chapter through its gameplay and juxtaposed seriously dramatic storyline, reckless endangerment has never been so much fun.
Blades of Fire offers some compelling and exciting ideas, particularly with its reverence for weaponcrafting and rewarding forge mechanics. But its love of steel and violence can only take it so far; its combat is enjoyable at first, but wears out its welcome across a lengthy campaign that is filled with too-chatty characters and a world that's very frustrating to get lost in. Even with those caveats, its eye-catching fantasy world and weapons that pack a punch still have enough charm to see it through. Not every one of its big swings lands, but as they say, "you miss all the shots you don't take", and Blades of Fire at least gives the action RPG genre a solid crack with a unique point of view.
JDM: Japanese Drift Master shines in places like the graphics and the cars themselves. Gaming Factory has put a lot of love into this, and it shows. Especially using Polish musicians to fill up their radio stations. There are some issues, though; the story itself doesn't leave an impact, the difficulty of the AI is inconsistent, and there are some bugs. But it's all about the drifting, and that's where it makes up for it. The driving is fluid, and the NPCs can be quite challenging. However, the cars sound amazing, it really sounds like you're driving a Miata! Fans of Tokyo Drift, Initial D and general drift racing sim fans will have a ball with JDM.
PEPPERED: An Existential Platformer has created a world and characters that are so silly and weird that it's a delight to explore. However, some players may find the replayability tedious and therefore won't be encouraged to continue to explore once they have died. Clocking in at just a few hours, though, if you love your surreal humour and wacky worlds, I'd give PEPPERED a shot.
Strange Scaffold have done it again and has made another wonderful romp that is well worth your time, this time adapting the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles name and world. Dispel any doubt: the indie studio's writing chops and style transfer well to the universe of the team of amphibian martial artists, bringing over so much charm and pizazz from the IP in its first-ever turn-based affair. With plenty of visual and audio flourishes and delights, you're transported to the franchise's heyday and better yet, while you're at it, you're engaging in some good old-fashioned tactics fun, using the turtle brother's skillsets to take down wave after wave of thugs. It might not be the most mechanically deep or hardest of the genre, but it's all worth it to see those lovable crime-fighting teens back in action.
Out of Sight is a short and simple experience that captures the horror of being a child in an unfamiliar and frightening situation. While its well-crafted audio design and second-person perspective distinguish it from other games of the genre, I was never excited by its flat and predictable story, nor its highly repetitive and bland gameplay.
Monster Train 2 is a roguelike deckbuilder par excellence. Its design makes it clear that developer Shiny Shoe has a deep understanding and love of what is so enthralling about this particular subgenre and doubles down. It's carriage after carriage of big numbers, satisfying combos, dizzying synergies and new tactical possibilities that have kept me tied to the tracks for dozens of hours already, and will likely haul away dozens more in my future.
RoadCraft is a game that will require absolute patience if you want to get the job done, while adding some leeway to speed things up a bit. While game progression is slow, it is part of its charm as these are heavy work vehicles, and they're not made for speed, thus fitting its theme. The world is very well-detailed and eases you into its mechanics throughout your gameplay. While sometimes repetitive, it compensates with different strategies to complete the task. The beautiful landscapes of your work areas make it forgiving when your vehicle travels through the rough terrain. It's like you're doing actual work as seen in real life, thus creating a great simulation game.
It's honourable, in a way, to present the Onimusha 2: Samurai's Destiny remaster mostly unchanged from its original 2002 PS2 version. The visuals have been given a freshen up, and some smart changes – like weapon switching on the fly, auto-save, and more – definitely make for a more playable experience. But the fixed camera angles and dated production values don't necessarily show Onimusha in the best light, leaving this remaster as a clunky history lesson for newcomers, and a solid throwback for fans.
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered is still a good game, like the original was all those years ago. The excitement of wandering the open world of Cyrodil is still there, getting into shenanigans with goblins in caves, doing away with the undead coming through Oblivion Gates, and getting into thievery and tomfoolery across the great unknown. There are meaningful changes to how skills work and how to read the world, making it the cleanest and smoothest run through Bethesda's great RPG yet. However, it is bogged down by the change in art style, where fidelity disappointingly removes any colour or substance that was once found. A blemish on one of the greats. Much like an old car that's been plodding along a little too long, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered mostly still runs, and a new coat of paint helps some, but don't be surprised by the sensation of feeling like things are going to fall apart at any moment.
The Precinct is a campy love letter to '80s cop dramas, blending street-level patrols with high-speed chases in an open world. While it nails the tone with stylish set-pieces, exciting car chases, and a synthy soundtrack, the clunky implementation of mechanics and shallow upgrades hold back its more simulated gameplay. The Precinct may not always follow protocol, but it sure knows how to throw a siren-blaring good time.
The Midnight Walk is undeniably a big stab at both a moody experience and a satisfying puzzler. MoonHood's debut stumbles a bit at the latter, running into some lacklustre puzzle design and monotony with how scarcely it mixes this up, but it makes up for it in setting. There are a lot of cool, eerie horrors that await on the mountain hike, depicted and animated to unbelievable detail, all the more striking than the last. Backed by enthralling 3D sound design that has you dreading every little footstep of those creepy crawlies, it's a fairy tale horror adventure that is more than the sum of its parts.
DOOM: The Dark Ages swaps out space-age speed for steel-shod fury, and it works wonders. This isn't just a prequel, but a ballad sung in blood and fire where every flail swing and shield parry feels like gospel. Sure, the dragon rides and giant Atlan mech missions are very weak, and you might need the horsepower of a car to run it at maximum settings on PC, but when most of the time you're shredding armies of Hellspawn with a gun that grinds skulls for ammo, who cares? This is the Slayer in his knightly prime. Long live the king of ripping and tearing.
Revenge of the Savage Planet offers cooperative fun in an alien environment worth exploring. A varied gameplay experience propels you around a dynamic world of wonder, amplified by vibrant visuals and punchy audio. Let down somewhat by its comedic tone and unpolished approach, this title falls short of its full potential but still finds ways to surprise and delight along the way.
Spirit of the North 2 is a visually stunning open-world adventure that confidently stands apart from its predecessor, featuring an emotionally moving orchestral soundtrack that wraps around the vivid scenery like a loving embrace. Making progress and completing puzzles feels rewarding, and even just exploring the vast environments feels like a reward all the same. The story is engaging and emotional, and it's easy to grow personally attached to the little fox as they learn just how big their world truly is.
Empyreal has a great combat system with lots of opportunities to try something new. Hunting for better equipment is exciting, and developing your character is a rewarding feeling. But there's not much else to do, and the shine wears off quickly. This is also a game that demands a good PC, or you might run into problems. It's a great game for fans of varied combat and boss rushes, but not much else.
Drop Duchy works exceptionally well as the smoothness of its core loop expertly slides you from one design quirk to the next, layering them until you're left with a unique gem. With a delightful aesthetic and an expert understanding of how to meld genres and add twists on classic mechanics to create a compelling and original new game, Drop Duchy is a great purchase for fans of any of its many genres, and a must-have if you're fond of them all.
While Captain Blood's development is an engaging tale, the same cannot be said for any aspect of the final product. The game fails to capture what made other hack-and-slashers so fun, nor does it provide any notable innovations. Even as just nostalgia bait, Captain Blood always ends up undermining itself thanks to lacklustre combat, a lifeless world and general glitchiness that pollutes the whole experience.
Best Served Cold is a digestif. A perfect palate cleanser to play after a larger more involved experience. Some elements don't quite compliment one another, and there is certainly work here to improve the recipe. But these characters and world are strong enough to carry those shortcomings. While it isn't a perfect cocktail, the writing and world elevate a mechanically simple experience into something narratively fulfilling. If you enjoy murder mysteries, and 1920s vibes, pull up a stool at the Nightcap - stay a while, and soak in the ambiance.