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WWE 2K25 remains a good game, but the cracks are beginning to show. The addition of Chain Wrestling is awesome, but the increased prevalence of Trading Blows slows down the game greatly. The large roster is great, but we could do without the multiple variations of wrestlers taking up spots. The graphical presentation has quite a few blemishes that should be fixed, but it's generally good, and the same can be said for the audio if you can ignore the generic entrance music. MyRISE and the 2K Showcase are splendid, but The Island is too much of a cash grab when MyFACTION already does this. If you can ignore some of the microtransaction-heavy elements, you still have a very good wrestling game with enough content to last until the next WrestleMania season. It'll be interesting to see if WWE 2K will suddenly become the next NBA 2K in that it's a decent game that tries to bleed you of every cent.
Knights in Tight Spaces is a very worthy sequel to Fights in Tight Spaces. Not every new gameplay mechanic hits the mark, but there are enough fresh cards, fresh features, and fresh concepts to make it a genuine delight to play. The party opens up a whole new degree of freedom, and creating a Rube Goldberg machine of chained attacks is fun enough that it could be a game all on its own. Besides, who doesn't like hitting evil skeletons with lightning?
Suikoden I & II HD Remaster: Gate Rune & Dunan Unification Wars is an excellent updated port of two great games. Almost all of the changes are for the better, the translation is massively improved, and it still maintains all of the charm and flavor of the original games. Whether you're a longtime fan or a newcomer to the franchise, there's genuinely no better place to start than the Suikoden I & II HD Remaster. Even if you're just a fan of RPGs, it's well worth a try, if only to see what all the hype is about.
Split Fiction is fantastic. The story and characters are great thanks to the nuance sprinkled throughout to give everything and everyone some unexpected depth. The constant switching of various genres keeps the game fresh, since none of the tales linger for too long, and the same can be said for the various gameplay additions in conjunction with the solid platforming. Combined with the cross-platform play and accessibility features to ensure that everyone can get through the title, the only reason to not pick up Split Fiction is if you despise co-op play. For everyone else, grab this early contender for "Best Of" lists for 2025.
I didn't have significant expectations going into playing Kingdom Come: Deliverance II. It is fundamentally the same "type" of game as its predecessor. However, a lot of care has been taken to improve the areas where its predecessor faltered and to reinforce the areas where it had done well. It results in the kind of open-world RPG experience that reminds me of the glory days of Oblivion and Morrowind. As a result, Kingdom Come: Deliverance II sets a high bar for what modern games of the genre should be.
Marvel's Spider-Man 2 is a good game stuck in a package that is far from ideal. Visual artifacts and a few crashes still remain even after three patches, and the game can feel less than optimized when the frame rate drops on powerful hardware. If you're willing to wait just a little longer or are the patient and forgiving type, you'll be rewarded with a safe sequel that can still satisfy fans of the Insomniac-developed games. This title also gets fans primed for the eventual finale what is almost certainly a trilogy. However, this release serves as a warning that Sony and its studios need to do some real work to ensure future game releases are stable from day one, or else they'll lose the PC audience that is crucial to funding future endeavors.
Yu-Gi-Oh! Early Days Collection is for a very specific type of Yu-Gi-Oh! player who favors battles against the CPU instead of real people. That player also knows all of the rules of the game, wants a fixed set of cards, and doesn't want further updates from new cards. For them, most of the games in the compilation will be fine if they can get over each title's shortcomings. For everyone else, especially newcomers, the games are cumbersome and unintuitive, so only those with an immense amount of patience would want to give the titles a shot.
Monster Hunter Wilds is a fantastic new entry into the franchise. For the most part, I feel like every new feature feels good and works well, and the monsters are certainly a delight to fight. The only things that might hold it back slightly are some performance issues, but even those don't get in the way of the core fun of smashing monsters, looting gear, and repeating. Fans of the franchise should have a fantastic time with this latest entry, and I hope it becomes a blueprint for future games in the franchise.
Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii gives players exactly what they expect from the title. It's a rollicking, funny, and enjoyable side story that lets fan favorite Goro Majima shine in a way he hasn't since Yakuza 0. The main plot is a little thin, and the pirate mechanics are bare bones, but beneath that, it's a darn fun Yakuza adventure, and it contains perhaps the best iteration of the game's brawler mechanics to date. Any complaints boil down to, "It's more of Like a Dragon," and that's always good.
Tomb Raider IV-VI Remastered takes a few steps forward and a few steps backward from the previous Remastered collection. The games are a little more open, so you won't get many camera issues, but the games still haven't been retuned to handle the mechanics of the modern controls. The frame rate issue when switching between graphical modes has been fixed, and there are a few new mechanics. Some previously cut content makes the games feel like there has been some evolution. The problem is that the games don't feel as good as the trio of titles that came before it. From a preservationist perspective, it's fine to have these titles in a more accessible form. If you have some nostalgia related to these titles, then you might get a kick out of replaying them with a modern lens. Those who are discovering these games for the first time will wonder what the fuss was all about.
Avowed is a game full of fun exploration, an interesting story tied to lackluster combat, and an annoying equipment system that keeps it from reaching its full potential. When I was engaged in Avowed, I would spend hours wandering around, talking to NPCs, and completing quests. However, when the game wasn't firing on all cylinders, I was frustrated and frequently bored. It's a game of high highs and low lows, but the highs were enough to keep me engaged despite the flaws.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak II is a case of one step forward and one step back. Mechanically, it's the best put-together Trails game to date, as it fixes the problems in the last game and introduces enough new mechanics so it's fun to play. It also retains and refines the likable cast. Unfortunately, the lackluster time travel mechanic and plot structure weaken the experience. It's still a fun game but ends up feeling weaker than its predecessor.
There are a few good things about Neptunia Riders vs. Dogoos. The silly story provides a good vehicle for the shenanigans of Nep Nep and her friends, and going for a completely different genre is always a welcome move. It would've been nice if the game were actually good in every other area. The gameplay loop is far from exciting, especially since it gets very repetitive rather quickly, and the graphical presentation is terrible when you consider the hardware the game is running on. This is also a painfully short experience without any multiplayer capabilities, despite the format being perfect for team or versus play. Unless you're in the habit of collecting every Neptunia-related game, stay away from this title.
Star Wars Episode I: Jedi Power Battles is a good idea stuck with a mediocre execution. The various mechanics - from the platforming to the combat to the defensive inconsistencies - make what should be a simple game more laborious. While the addition of more characters should be great for fans of Episode I in particular, the fact that none of them play well makes the expanded roster even less appealing to unlock. If you're a very forgiving person, you may have some fun with this, but everyone else is better off playing either another beat-'em-up or another Star Wars game.
Phantom Brave: The Lost Hero is a surprising sequel that does a good job of living up to its predecessor, but it doesn't exactly tread new ground for the franchise. A cute but forgettable plot, solid gameplay, and a near-infinite amount of grinding potential give the game a solid amount of value. The only thing holding it back are the unimpressive visuals and poor performance. If you're a fan of the Nippon Ichi games or the original Phantom Brave, there's a lot of fun to be had in this sequel.
Donkey Kong Country Returns HD on the Switch is by far the best way to play the game; it avoids the awkwardness of the Wii's controls and doesn't have the visual compromises of the 3DS version. It makes it difficult to be impressed with it as a remaster, especially a full-priced one. There's a lot that could've been done to improve the visuals or add more features to the game, but as it stands, you're basically getting the same game as before. It's still an absolutely fantastic game and well worth playing. If you've already played Donkey Kong Country Returns: Tropical Freeze and are hankering for more, Donkey Kong Country Returns HD is well worth picking up. If you haven't played its predecessor/sequel yet, it's better to start there.
Overall, Tales of Graces f Remastered is a strong remaster of a solid game. The plot is relatively weak but handily carried by its extremely strong combat system, which makes the game worth playing on its own. The additions to the remaster are all genuine improvements, and even the bundling of cheat-mode DLC is only a problem if you let it be. If you're a fan of action-RPGs or the Tales franchise and haven't given Graces f a gander, this is the ideal way to play it.
Dynasty Warriors: Origins is a solid addition to the franchise. It's not the newest numbered game in the series, but I enjoyed it more than Dynasty Warriors 9. It has a solid core set of mechanics and some really excellent level design. The only thing holding it back is that the focus on a single character and a relatively smaller number of weapons makes it feel empty compared to the games it will likely be compared to. If you're a fan of the franchise, there is a lot to like in Origins, and it's the ideal starting point for newcomers who want to get into the Romance of the Three Kingdoms part of the Warriors franchise.
Goodboy Galaxy is a very well-done title. Despite the number of false stopping points, the overall adventure has some very memorable characters. The gimmick of constant equipment removal makes the adventure more thought-provoking instead of a slog, while the presentation is excellent, regardless of whether you opt for the PC-specific enhancements. For both genre fans and those who love more involved platformers, Goodboy Galaxy is well worth checking out.
Ys Memoire: The Oath in Felghana is a solid but unexceptional remaster of a fun but dated game. I still love Oath, and it remains one of my favorite Ys games, but you need to feel some nostalgia for the days of simple, button-mashing RPG action to get a lot out of it. If you're curious about the older Ys games, this is absolutely at the top of the list, but it might fall short compared to some of the more recent games. Ys is still Ys, and Oath is a great example of how being simple can still be fun.