Gameffine's Reviews
Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection is an undeniably fun and instantly addictive turn-based title based on the world of Monster Hunter. This title follows a unique storyline with the ability to raise dragons and restore the natural balance of their presence in the entire world. The open world gives a lot of opportunities to be lost for hours exploring, but the story is well delivered to keep you hooked until the end
GreedFall: The Dying World sports good visuals, a decent story, and genuinely interesting world-building, but it suffers from a myriad of bugs and optimization issues even after the full release. The combat is also not as good as it should be. It has heart, but it often feels like a promising RPG that needed more time in the oven. As of now, this is definitely a game worth getting on sale.
Starship Troopers: Ultimate Bug War is easily the closest the franchise has come to translating the chaotic spectacle and biting satire of Starship Troopers into video game form. Rough edges aside, Auroch Digital delivers a retro shooter that understands the assignment: kill bugs, survive the warzone, and chuckle at the military propaganda along the way. Citizenship, at last, might actually be within reach.
If you are a die-hard fan of the anime, this game is a lovingly preserved curio. Hearing Get Wild in 8-bit glory and seeing pixel-art cameos of Kaori and Umibozu will likely carry you through the frustration. However, if you are looking for a polished action platformer, City Hunter might feel more like a midlife crisis than mokkori magic. It is a product of its time. It's charming and authentic, but undeniably dated.
Esoteric Ebb succeeds because it embraces its inspirations with confidence and reverence. It borrows the philosophical backbone of Planescape: Torment and the introspective depth of Disco Elysium, then reshapes those ideas into something playful, political, and unmistakably its own. This “thinking person’s RPG” will surely find a spot in our Best of 2026 list.
Banquet for Fools demands patience, attention, and a willingness to meet it on its own uncompromising terms. Its punishing difficulty and occasionally unruly AI can be frustrating, but they exist within a world brimming with a unique identity, deep systems, and genuine ambition. It won’t be for everyone, but for those willing to embrace its design philosophy, it offers something increasingly rare: a demanding and boldly distinctive adventure that holds its own alongside the genre’s most celebrated heavyweights.
Scott Pilgrim EX is an explosive beat-em-up with upto seven unique characters to go on an adventure with – either solo or with up to 4 people. This fresh take on the original franchise is a refreshing experience and is an absolute joy for any retro fan at first glance. The non-stop action and fighting will keep you hooked throughout your journey, and the OSTs are an instant hit. The story itself might be very forgettable, and is barely 5-6 hours long. At the outrageous price of ₹2,000, we highly recommend waiting for a sale.
Planet of Lana II is a textbook sequel. It takes the solid foundation of the original, tightens the gameplay, and deepens the lore in really meaningful ways. It answers lingering questions about Novo’s mysterious past while asking tough questions about its future. With tighter controls, brilliant new mechanics, and jaw-dropping art direction, it is a stunning, emotional, and thoroughly entertaining experience from start to finish. I absolutely recommend it.
Resident Evil Requiem perfectly blends elements from all the Resident Evil games, adding its own unique flavor with expansive level design, intense combat, and breathtaking visuals. It has everything you’d expect from a title celebrating the series’s 30th anniversary. What it accomplishes in its 11-hour campaign is nothing short of impressive, delivering a fitting and satisfying conclusion to the Raccoon City saga.
Legacy of Kain: Defiance Remastered feels like a heartfelt tribute to the series and its devoted fanbase. The developers have not only enhanced the visuals and refined the camera and controls, but also included a wealth of bonus features and previously cut content. Taken together, these additions feel like a long-overdue gesture of goodwill toward the community that has kept the franchise alive for years. I really hope Crystal Dynamics is testing the waters before making a long-awaited return to Nosgoth once more.
REANIMAL isn’t trying to compete with action-heavy horror games. It’s not trying to overwhelm you with content or mechanics. It’s a moody, restrained, carefully designed experience built around atmosphere and emotional weight. It doesn’t shout. It doesn’t constantly try to scare you. Instead, it creates a space that feels wrong and lets you sit inside it for a while. If you’re the kind of player who values tone and environmental storytelling over complexity, REANIMAL is worth your time. It’s not perfect. But it’s confident in what it wants to be. And that counts for a lot.
The Prisoning: Fletcher’s Quest has the bones of a good game. It features some genuinely great platforming mechanics, a weird but unhinged, visually striking opening, and entertaining core shooting. If you just want a new platformer to double-jump your way through, it might scratch that itch. However, outside of the basics, it lacks the punch needed to be truly memorable. The recycling of early-game enemies, a lackluster overarching story after the initial setup, and deeply frustrating boss design hold the game back from reaching its full potential.
God of War: Sons of Sparta is a bold move by Sony to diversify its offering within the God of War IP and bring in more fans (especially casual fans), but it fails to meet the quality bar most modern games are measured against. Santa Monica Studios was present merely in an “overseer” capacity for this game, so that does make me believe that the God of War remakes will have some juice in them. Overall, the game feels uninspiring, lazy, and quite dated for a title released in 2026.
Styx: Blades of Greed has everything going for it- bigger levels, better abilities, and an increased budget. What’s stopping it from being far better than it is right now are the engine-related issues and the floaty controls. If Cyanide can get some of these things fixed in time, then I’ll have no qualm in declaring it as the best Styx adventure yet. There’s nothing like Styx out there, at least, not anymore. Cyanide, hold onto it.
It would be unfair to judge a 30-year-old video game’s re-release, especially when it arrives with minimal alterations. Instead, the more fitting response is to commend GMedia for its role in preserving gaming history. Thanks to this effort, a new generation of Edgar Allan Poe enthusiasts can experience The Dark Eye in its original form. With renewed interest, perhaps more adaptations of Poe’s work will emerge in the years ahead. That said… out of all the possible titles, Edgar Allan Poe’s Interactive Horror: 1995 Edition was the best you could do?
After completing Romeo is a Dead Man, I walked away feeling satisfied. It’s not the most technically advanced action game I’ve played. It’s not the deepest mechanically. But it’s bold, energetic, and confident in its identity. The combat system rewards skill. The presentation stands out. The pacing mostly maintains intensity. And most importantly, it never feels boring.
Cairn is a deeply rewarding survival-climbing experience built around manual, physics-driven traversal and thoughtful resource management. Its minimalist storytelling, puzzle-like design, combined with gorgeous visuals and a mesmerizing soundtrack, result in an unforgettable and deeply cathartic climbing experience.
MIO: Memories in Orbit feels like a game made with confidence. It knows it’s not for everyone, and it doesn’t try to be. It’s quiet, patient, and sometimes a little stubborn in how much it refuses to explain. If you enjoy metroidvanias for their atmosphere, exploration, and sense of place, this game is absolutely worth your time. If you need constant action, clear objectives, and a strong narrative push, you might bounce off it.
Total Chaos is a gripping survival horror that plays like Doom but feels like the offspring of Silent Hill’s eerie landscapes and Resident Evil’s tense, confined settings. Its ability to tell most of its roughly 20-hour story mostly through gameplay alone is a rare feat, especially given its modest price tag. It’s easily one of the most unique experiences that 2025 has to offer.
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl on PlayStation 5 is the biggest comeback story of the year. The level of optimization is remarkable, and the implementation of DualSense features makes it one of the best PS5 ports ever released. While its quest system, A-Life, and enemy spawning still suffer from slight hiccups, nothing can rival the immersion it creates through its desolate wasteland that demands commitment in learning the ways of a S.T.A.L.K.E.R.