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Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment is easily the most impressive and enjoyable entry in the series, even if it doesn’t completely reinvent the musou formula. The slick performance, rewarding combat tweaks, and genuinely engaging (and canon, can’t forget that) story make it a standout adventure.
Black Ops 7 feels like an evolution of last year’s unsurprisingly named Black Ops 6. For all of its obvious flaws, there is a real sense of anger and rage for Black Ops 7 in the gaming community. This often comes part and parcel for newly released Call of Duty games. I am enjoying the mechanics and the bones of what is a mostly good Call of Duty game.
As a whole, while I enjoyed some elements of DRAGON QUEST MONSTERS: The Dark Prince, it is not a game I resonated with as much as I would have liked. The monster collecting and designing is neat, but the time commitment required to design a perfect monster is high, and the act of levelling up a monster was not significantly stimulating. The story had some interesting pieces, but quickly became stale and repetitive too. I could see someone getting a lot of value out of monster breeding, with the caveat that this comes with a bit of a grind. For others, however, I would hold out.
Overall, Ship of Fools is a nice experience. The gameplay is unique, blending a top-down roguelike with an almost Overcooked style crisis management gameplay loop. Enemies, while somewhat simple, clearly telegraph their attacks and kept me entertained throughout my playthrough. The lack of wholly novel bosses and artifacts does make some playthroughs somewhat repetitive, especially as the majority of the challenge comes from the end, but I definitely can recommend this game.
Two Point Studios have a winning formula and have once again delivered with this latest entry designed around building museums. The game is full of charm and character, it will make you smile and laugh and you find yourself playing for hours on end with its very addictive gameplay loop.
Chillin’ by the Fire is an unusual little experiment. As a relaxed social space, it works, and there’s definitely something charming about sharing a fire with friends online. But as a game, it’s light to the point of almost disappearing. If you want a quiet place to chat with friends while doing something simple in the background, this could be a nice fit. If you’re hoping for a more engaging co-op game or an alternative to Discord that actually replaces what Discord does, you’ll probably be left wanting. It’s cosy, it’s odd, and it’s not for everyone.
The question this game really poses is, can Konami still successfully make a Metal Gear Solid game in 2025. The answer being unequivocally yes. There is absolutely talent at work here, and although the brief was clearly, protect the legacy and don’t upset the fans. The bigger question I have, with now the Master Collection and MGS Delta out there, where could Konami go next with the series, and do they have the drive or ambition to break the mould, be creative and create something truly new.
Beautiful, infuriating, engaging, melancholic. Hollow Knight Silksong lives up to its promise. It’s a sequel to a smash hit indie that stole hearts back in 2017, and it’s quite simply a masterpiece of a platforming 2D metroidvania video game. It excels in every possible area and improves on its predecessor in every way, except perhaps in difficulty… maybe that’s me though? This might actually be the game that convinces me to ‘get good’.
I really want to love Descenders Next. The vibe and feeling of snowboarding and mountainboarding has been nailed through great music choices and UI, some solid gameplay, and its game structure builds off the core of what worked in Descenders, while adding mechanics that fit very well. However, there’s just not enough there, and while the game is in early access, for £25, I think you should get it on a price drop, stick to the old Descenders for now if you don’t mind bikes, or wait a bit till they have added more.
Overall, DOOM: The Dark Ages is the kind of sequel that doesn’t rest on its past – it expands its future. Here, id Software have taken everything that worked in DOOM Eternal and wrapped it in a new, darker skin that feels both brutal and beautiful. It’s a beautiful testament to id Software’s craft that nearly 30 years after the original DOOM redefined FPS gaming, the series is still finding new ways to innovate, while staying relevant.
The Book of Aaru is a game that had a fair amount on paper to pull me in. I love a good rogue-like, I’ve poured endless hours into games like Hades and Diablo. The general rule is that the words, “ Indie” and “ isometric,” are enough alone to grab me. Add a relatively original Egyptian world and theme to the mix and I went in hoping that I had a little bit of a hidden gem on my hands. Unfortunately, convoluted skill trees, perk systems, and crafting options, coupled with largely uninteresting gameplay and frustrating technical issues, made for a less than enjoyable time.
As a whole, I am glad I played Through the Nightmares. It certainly is not the best game I have played this year, but there are a decent number of solid components. The Sandman’s movement is fun, there are unique components relating to his size augmenting abilities, and the artistic design has some standout pieces. However, the primary gameplay loop had me waiting more than I would have liked, and I had some issues deciphering the on-screen information sometimes. It is a fun game, but there are other platformers I would recommend first.
I found myself very conflicted about what I feel about Amber Isle, as the ambition is there for a great game, but I found my experience to be more mediocre to good. I think there is some good in the concept, the way characters speak, getting to hang out with the characters in this game is a joy, and I’m not annoyed by the main gameplay of running the shop. However, it feels like this game needed something more with its basic-ish story, slightly frustrating exploration game, and generally lacking features that would help my enjoyment of this game quite a bit. £25 isn’t too bad a price for this, but I would personally look elsewhere, or wait for a price before considering this.
I would say, if you’re a Tony Hawks fan, as long as you can get over a few weird design and sound decisions, you will enjoy this pair of remakes. I don’t fully understand the lack of original music but I do understand the change in the mission structure for THPS4. A few fans will be put off by minor changes. I personally, after a little re-adjustment, did not mind so much. Some of the new music is awesome, I just missed a few of the old classics.
Overall, while there are some decent downsides, the core gameplay loop of Card en Ciel certainly is fun. I liked building decks of cards to take out enemies and experimenting with the different card attributes. Though the story and design were nothing special, this game does still offer some fun gameplay.
As a whole, Atelier Sophie 2: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Dream is a good game. The story is cute and tells a nice tale of exploring through dreams alongside friends. The gameplay, while bogged down by some nuisances, is largely neat, and I enjoyed mastering the turn-based combat. I did not resonate with the alchemy much, and I thought as a whole many parts of the game were sluggish, but I did enjoy my time and can recommend it if what I mentioned above sounds interesting.
There were moments in the middle I felt like DK Bananza was a very good game. Sure at times things felt a little flat and the story a little thin. However after the closing 5 hours…. I felt a shift and have to say it’s an utterly superb game. DK Bananza truly lives up to the responsibility as the flagship launch(ish) title for the Switch 2 and if you own the console, it’s an absolutely must buy to own this game!
This is a tough one to recommend. On the surface, it’s great: fun gameplay, solid visuals, and an energetic soundtrack. Puzzle fans will have a blast. However, there’s little to distinguish this from the version already available on the original Nintendo Switch. Since that version is fully playable on Switch 2, it’s arguably the smarter buy. Sure, you’ll miss out on doubles mode, camera features, and slightly faster loading times – but you’ll also save money and have a larger online player base.
I think that Tennis Fighters has a lot of potential honestly, because under all the problems I mentioned, there is some fun here, with good character designs, nice environment designs, and a good baseline for the tennis gameplay. However, I think the game could use some more work, as some glitches show and I think a visual overhaul if possible could really help the game stand out.
Spirit of the North 2 is a beautifully put-together, minimalistic adventure. It let me explore a beautifully realised world and discover its tragedies on my own terms and at my own pace, with a freedom that feels rare for video games in 2025. A few technical itches aside, I adored my time with chunky little fox and their various wildlife companions and found myself a little disappointed to go when it was time to wrap up this review.