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Roaming Tormentosa, dipping back into the fair hub, and slowly powering up your guns and health never stopped being satisfying. Strong audio and visuals pull it all together into a campaign I was happy to finish, and immediately dive back in for another run.
High on Life 2 takes the hilarious, chaotic shooter idea of the first game and builds upon it in satisfying ways. You get a stronger story and a larger arsenal, plus the new skateboard traversal system makes even simple fights more entertaining. The whole thing is wrapped in a bold art style and has great voice acting, with a tone that balances filthy jokes with real heart. Even with a few technical hiccups, this stood out as one of the most memorable shooters I've played in a long time.
Tokyo Scramble is a neat experiment and it mostly works, as long as you play the game in shorter bursts as it's designed.
Reanimal stands out as a serious horror highlight, tying a bleak, personal story to tense 3D platforming and a dark presentation that never lets up. The campaign is tight and deliberate, and perfect for playing with friends through couch co-op or online using the free Friend Pass.
Grasshopper Manufacture delivers something special with Romeo Is A Dead Man. The mix of time-hopping investigation, tragic romance, and gory hack-and-slash action is very much on par with what you'd expect from Suda51.
Nioh 3 is Team NINJA firing on all cylinders, with the semi-open world structure being a huge improvement to the flow and momentum. I also loved the dual-style Samurai and Ninja setup that keeps combat flexible, and lets you experiment and instead of locking you in.
Dragon Quest VII Reimagined on PS5 takes a massive Dragon Quest quest and upgrades the full experience with modern quality-of-life features and improved combat flow. The story’s island chapters are just as heartwarming as I remember, and the revamped vocation systems with Moonlighting make customizing your party faster and easier than ever.
The cel-shaded visuals, dramatic lighting across the day/night cycle, and constant vista payoffs make the mountain a trip I will never forget. A few minor performance issues can momentarily take you out of the experience, but thankfully dips are brief. We're not even one full month into the year and we already have our first major standout title.
I Hate This Place gave me exactly what I want from survival horror: tension, ambience, and gameplay that keeps you hooked. The comic-book 80s look is a blast, and the soundtrack and environmental effects really elevate the mood. All in all, the experience comes together nicely and gives you a solid 8-hour horror trip.
Square Enix delivers an outstanding port of Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade with beautiful graphics and a locked 30fps performance target. The Midgar story remains one of the best ever in an RPG and nicely sets up the rest of the trilogy, which is also expect to land on Nintendo Switch 2.
Douze Dixièmes delivers a metroidvania that goes head-to-head with the best this genre has to offer. From the gorgeous hand-painted art to the moody synth soundtrack, MIO is an audio-visual delight that simply must be experienced.
BrokenLore UNFOLLOW is a focused first-person psychological horror game that pairs relevant modern themes with nice visuals that amplify the mood.
Trails Beyond the Horizon feels built for fans who already know Zemuria, but it's three-route structure feels fresh and pushes the Calvard arc into exciting new directions.
Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is an excellent entry that gave me what I was looking for: deep exploration that rewards curiosity, smart upgrades that reshape how you move through the world, new Psychic abilities that spice up the gameplay, and a steady mystery that keeps the story momentum high.
Octopath Traveler 0 is an excellent addition to Square Enix's beloved RPG series with its strong adventure, satisfying strategy, and a home base you'll have a blast building.
Kirby Air Riders proves it is far more than a simple Kirby spin-off. Road Trip, City Trial, Top Ride, and standard races all offer different ways to play, and the fun never stops with both couch co-op and online.
The co-op campaign is a bit uneven, but I enjoyed Endgame’s big squad raids, multiplayer is as good as ever, and Zombies gives us its best version yet.
For long-time fans, it's a reminder that in the nearly 20 years since Battle for Bikini Bottom, SpongeBob is still among the best platformers around.
Strong visuals, excellent audio, and DualSense support make the PS5 version arguably the best version to play. For long-time fans, or survival shooter fans in general, this is an easy recommendation and a great way to experience the Zone.
All considered, Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment brings together sharp musou action, an excellent Tears of the Kingdom prequel story, and rock-solid performance into something easy to recommend.