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Madden NFL 27 is a good football game. Coming off of Madden NFL 26, the series is trending in a positive direction. Still, some glaring issues bog down the experience, and it would likely take a significant philosophy change to address them. I’ve been able to find the fun, and I’ll keep my fingers crossed that this momentum carries into next year.
If you’re a longtime fan of the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater series and desperately want a new game, and don’t care for what Activision is doing with it, you could certainly choose to play Skatesterre.
This is not how any of us expected Marvel fighting games to come back, but I sure am glad it happened this way.
Wild Blue Skies showed a lot of promise, and I was super excited to get my hands on it, especially with all the recent fervor over Star Fox. Rail shooters are a great time, and this particular brand of rail shooter really lends itself well to having fun at different levels of play, across many runs. But after one run, I was ready to be done with this game forever.
Agent 64: Spies Never Die is a fun shooter that goes above and beyond to act as an accurate facsimile of Nintendo 64 shooters, particularly Goldeneye.
D-Topia paints an enticing portrait of what daily life looks like when AI-driven machines do all of life's heavy lifting.
As far as punching trees goes, Chop Chop Inc. does a commendable job making the impossible possible: making just that part by itself a fun time.
Beast of Reincarnation is a fun action-adventure game, primarily thanks to a robust combat system that kept me experimenting throughout my playthrough. I was also quite charmed by Koo and his relationship with Emma; it’s an area where you can really see Game Freak’s Pokemon DNA shining through. The exploration elements don’t come together, but I plan on coming back to Beast of Reincarnation when I want to slash my way through robots and monsters.
Blue Reflection Quartet is an attempt to bring this whole series together, across previously disparate formats. It’s not entirely successful, as you’re better off just watching the anime instead of trudging through this version of Ray’s weird recap slideshow gimmick.
Truck-kun is Supporting Me From Another World?! does not keep its cards hidden; this is exactly the game it presents itself as, and nothing more, and nothing less.
Without the technical issues, Lunarium is a solid ARPG that deserves your attention.
Halo: Campaign Evolved is surface-level impressive. The visuals are gorgeous, even if they muddy readability and necessitate a cluttered HUD, and the mission changes are actually interesting. Halo Studios has made bold moves here, some of them pay off, others don’t.
Avatar Legends: The Fighting Game is a rock-solid fighter that manages to honor a beloved IP without compromising any of the sensibilities needed to succeed in this genre.
Is Splatoon Raiders groundbreaking? No. Is it the best in its class? Also, no. I've played better, deeper, and more involved looter shooters out there. Having said this, I found a fun charm in Splatoon Raiders and it all comes from this universe that Nintendo has built.
I’m still having a good time with College Football 27. It’s a fun football game that feels responsive and rewarding. I will probably spend a couple hundred hours in Dynasty mode by the time it’s all said and done. But the publisher has hindered this game with its live service ambitions, and I hope we can keep those shenanigans off campus for next year’s game.
That said, the strategy, depth, and, most importantly, vibes are all there in respectable fashion. Whether you want to introduce a young fan to baseball sims or pick this up for some fond memories, Backyard Baseball will serve up good RBI for the price of admission.
Denshattack! is pure, unfiltered Video Game. It’s a joy to see in motion, and be a part of what drives that motion.
After 10 years since the last game in the series, Culdcept Begins marks a riveting return.
The Mermaid Mask is a mystery full of quirk and intrigue that pulls the player in and keeps them going with a riveting story of wayward souls and their mysterious benefactor.
While it has plenty of charm and solid fundamentals, the nitty gritty in Dark Scrolls really weighs it down.