Twisted Voxel
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A masterclass in restoration, FINAL FANTASY TACTICS - The Ivalice Chronicles not only faithfully recreates the legendary SRPG but enhances it with exceptional quality-of-life features, stunning full voice acting, and a beautiful HD visual update. While some animations may feel deliberately choppy, this release—which even includes the original game—is the definitive, essential experience for both veterans and newcomers.
Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds takes the franchise in an exciting new direction, showcasing addictive, skill-based kart racing mechanics, excellent course design, and the intriguing possibility of collaboration across multiple franchises. However, the lack of a dedicated story mode and the limitations of the online netcode detract from an otherwise polished and enjoyable experience.
Silent Hill f is a bold, visually stunning new entry that successfully modernizes the series with a Japanese setting, an engaging narrative by Ryukishi07, and a robust, action-oriented combat system. While the fighting mechanics initially feel clunky and the late-game shift toward action may alienate purists, its deep lore, intricate puzzles, and strong character development make it a thrilling and rewarding experience.
Pac-Man World 2: Re-Pac is a colorful and faithful remake with improved visuals and tight controls, making it the definitive way to play the classic. However, it inherits the original's overly linear and repetitive level design, uninspired boss encounters, and barebones PC port, leaving it enjoyable but short of modern platformer standards.
Atelier Resleriana is a serviceable spin-off that succeeds with its engaging combat and deep alchemy system, serving as a good entry point for newcomers. However, its mobile gacha origins result in overly simplistic dungeon design, and the paper-thin narrative, weak character development, and excessive use of anime tropes hold it back from the quality of the mainline series.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky remake is a masterful modernization of a cult classic, with a big-budget presentation and combat that expertly balances turn-based depth with action. While the voice acting can be inconsistent and the pacing slow at first, it's a stellar entry that honors the original while providing welcome quality-of-life improvements for both veterans and newcomers.
Dying Light: The Beast represents a welcome return to form, with a more focused narrative and improved parkour mechanics that harken back to the original game's strengths. While it forgoes advanced graphical features like ray tracing and suffers from a generic villain, the game's polished gameplay, solid performance, and satisfying core loop make it a worthwhile experience for fans of the series.
A surprisingly polished and accessible entry, Super Robot Wars Y skillfully blends multiple anime universes into a cohesive tactical RPG with stunning attack animations and deep customization. While the narrative feels like fan-fiction and the UI can be clunky, its quality-of-life improvements and engaging core gameplay make it a fantastic entry point for newcomers.
Despite a satisfying core gameplay loop and a solid entry point for newcomers, Everybody's Golf is an unpolished release plagued by technical issues, a cumbersome camera, and a lack of the signature charm and polish of past entries, making it a decent but ultimately unremarkable return for the series.
Shinobi: Art of Vengeance succeeds in bringing Joe Musashi back for new audiences, with fast and fluid combat, a unique execution system, and some of the best hand-drawn art in a modern side-scroller.
Bloober Team's Cronos: The New Dawn is a confident new IP that builds on the studio's horror strengths with a distinct visual style and a challenging combat system. However, the experience is held back by technical issues, a clunky inventory, and unpolished combat mechanics that hinder its otherwise ambitious design.
While Shuten Order offers a bold art style and an ambitious blend of genres, its uneven execution and at-times tedious pacing prevent the promising mystery and memorable cast from consistently engaging the player.
A standout entry in the series, Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar successfully expands on the original with vibrant visuals, quality-of-life updates, and rich content. While the farming loop may still feel familiar and some customization options are limited, the game's polish and thoughtful additions make it a rewarding experience for both new players and longtime fans.
Hello Kitty Island Adventure successfully translates Sanrio's charm into a polished life simulation that captures Animal Crossing's appeal with delightful visuals and approachable design. The friendship system and character customization provide genuine warmth, while minigames offer welcome variety. However, its mobile origins create fundamental flaws through repetitive fetch quests, time-gating mechanics, and grind-heavy progression that strips away natural rewards.
Gears of War: Reloaded’s few issues don’t detract much from an otherwise great package that still holds up and is now also accessible on PS5 with standout DualSense features.
Demon Slayer: The Hinokami Chronicles 2 delivers CyberConnect2’s trademark blend of cinematic spectacle and flashy combat, successfully capturing the anime’s visual flair while offering a massive roster and solid performance. Its accessible gameplay and roguelike Training Path mode add replay value, but the linear story design, filler collectibles, and reliance on recycled formulas keep it from feeling truly fresh. For fans of the anime or Ninja Storm series, it is a stylish crowd-pleaser. For others, it may feel more like déjà vu than evolution.
Mafia: The Old Country delivers a competently crafted but ultimately underwhelming prequel that falls short of franchise expectations. While the early 1900s Sicilian setting offers visual appeal and the supporting cast provides memorable moments, the experience suffers from uneven pacing, a unconvincing central romance, and repetitive gameplay mechanics. Outdated enemy AI undermines stealth encounters, and the linear structure lacks the ambition of previous entries. Despite solid performance optimization and polished presentation, this mid-budget effort feels caught between being too safe and too limited, requiring series fans to significantly lower their expectations.
Donkey Kong Bananza successfully transitions the franchise into 3D with impressive scope and satisfying destruction mechanics. The open-sandbox design encourages exploration, while intuitive controls and collectibles keep players engaged. However, it suffers from performance issues in docked mode, simplistic difficulty, and a forgettable story. Despite these shortcomings, Nintendo delivers a polished launch title that captures the joy of destruction and expands the series' potential.
No Sleep For Kaname Date delivers a clever, puzzle-heavy spin-off brimming with Uchikoshi’s signature weirdness—though its story feels more like fan service than a meaningful expansion. While the escape room segments and adjustable difficulty shine, the disjointed pacing and thin character arcs leave it stuck between prequel filler and standalone charm.
Pac-Man meets Metroidvania in this bizarre yet bold experiment. Shadow Labyrinth mixes arcade nostalgia with punishing Souls-like mechanics, but uneven controls and a harsh checkpoint system take away from the experience. While its Pac-Man-themed platforming shows moments of creativity, the shallow world design and clunky combat make it feel more like a curiosity than a must-play.