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The House of Tesla is a well presented, brain-teasing adventure that clearly aims to honour the legacy of Nikola Tesla through intricate puzzles and atmospheric design. It succeeds in creating a moody, immersive world, but the experience is often undermined by fiddly controls, inconsistent logic, and a hint system that feels more like a monetisation relic than a genuine aid. Despite this entry in the series not launching on mobile, the game’s mobile-first design is hard to ignore, and while it doesn’t ruin the experience on PC, it does make certain frustrations, like the push toward using hints, feel more deliberate than accidental.
ZOE Begone! is a classic shmup; bullets everywhere, and points to rack up. With it’s responsive gameplay, unique art style, and sound, it is a joy to play. It is gloriously addictive and can sit proudly alongside the likes of Cuphead as a shoot-em-up, providing you with that incredibly rewarding feeling when you succeed, and can finally get some well-earned sleep!
In the end, Arctic Awakening feels worthy of standing alongside the titans of the narrative-driven genre. It doesn’t reinvent the formula, but it refines it with sincerity and focus. With its emotional storytelling, immersive world, and memorable companion, it’s an experience that will stay with you long after the credits roll. For players who loved Firewatch or The Long Dark, this is a must-play. For everyone else, it’s still a story worth braving the cold for.
Henry Halfhead is a brief, joyful experience that highlights the significance of play. It is a game that invites you to have fun, try stuff out, see what you can do, build, and achieve, without the pressure to be the best or improve some skill set. The wacky premise, unique gameplay, and focus on creativity and discovery amount to the perfect environment for players to find their own fun.
This was my first golf video game that I truly played an extensive amount of. I honestly don’t count my minimal time playing Mario Golf on the Nintendo 64 with my cousin when I was 10. Overall, while I did enjoy my time Everybody’s Golf Hot Shots, there were definitely hiccups that impacted my experience. Were they absolutely “this is unplayable” hiccups? No. But were they enough to make me take pause or have to vent some frustration to my partner? Absolutely.
Having played all the console Hidden Cats games and spinoffs, I’d started to burn out a little. However, Tokyo is a return to form as the expanded title provides more stages than ever but never drops the quality.
Platypus Reclayed is an excellent remake of a classic shooter. A full rebuild that has been crafted with a lot of love and community engagement (do checkout the fun Claymatic Discord) that met every expectation I had. Showing no signs of ageing, the gameplay improvements make the 23 year old game feel brand new.
Hollow Knight: Silksong is a grand step forward from a game that was already excellent. With a stronger protagonist and story, improved mobility and exploration and familiar yet very different combat, as a fan of the first game, by the time the credits rolled, it’s a rare case where I immediately just wanted to keep playing more and more. It’s a game that no one should miss this year through and through.
A harmonious soundtrack, gorgeous painting-like graphic design and a short, yet memorable story which will stick with me. Well, at least until I alter my choices for my second and third playthroughs. I best get the tea leaves in the pot, hadn’t I?
Who would have thought that a little co-op puzzle platformer that I demo’ed at a gaming convention would truly deliver such a powerful punch in such a small package! Gloomy Eyes was a complete joy to experience and left me wanting to see more of this tiny little macabre world. If you like the concept of a spooky (yet cozy) solo-player co-op game, you owe it to yourself to add Gloomy Eyes to your game library.
Hell Is Us isn’t just another third-person Souls adjacent action adventure. It’s a refreshing celebration of using your brain, relying on your gut, and trusting your instincts. Its endearing world, haunting enemies, and largely realised lore building are a testament to the developers’ understanding of the gaming mind. I hope this isn’t the last we see of the Hell is Us series; my instinct is that it won’t be.
Triangle Strategy is a well produced, well delivered game with fantastic visuals, sound and tactical gameplay. Square Enix’s trend of remastering classic Japanese Role Playing games with modern quality of life features and graphical effects is evident in this game. However, much like this text-heavy review, it isn’t a game I would recommend to those looking for a more gameplay focused experience. I would, however, greatly recommend it to those who love a deep, politically driven narrative, with heavy emphasis on character development, and player driven choices that impacts the course of the game. With several endings, paths to take, and party members to recruit along the way, Triangle Strategy delivers a wonderfully woven tale.
Overall, The Order of Giants doesn’t bring much new to the world of Indiana Jones and the Great Circle. Instead it builds on a great foundation with an enjoyable, albeit short, additional chapter. If you enjoyed the Great Circle and want more Indiana Jones you won’t come away disappointed by this DLC. You may however come out a little stinky after spending the vast majority of your time in the sewers of Rome.
Will this game be a contender game of the year? Probably not as it is a bit too niche. Will it tell a compelling story and make you work for the conclusion? Absolutely. Visual novel fans who like their stories a bit darker should absolutely have this on their radar and in their libraries. It may not be Danganronpa, but it sure is just as satisfying at the end of it all.
I thoroughly enjoyed my time with Bad Cheese and would recommend it to anyone who likes things on the weirder side of life. However, without the ability to chapter select, any missed collectibles means a completely new playthrough, which might be a turn off for completionists.
Cronos: The New Dawn is born of the same vein as some of the more classic single player horror games, and while the game definitely plays like a lot of the more recent entries it’s still its own thing. It borrows from a lot of them for sure, but there is a really good story here. The gameplay is right in line with the most recent horror remakes we’ve been getting lately, all while being able to borrow from past versions of those games by being tough but fair.
Hirogami is a solid, polished 3D platformer that offers a good amount of replayability. Its art direction and sound design go to great lengths to build an Origami world, while its narrative falls a bit flat and doesn’t do anything interesting with the game’s themes. Basic combat is improved with Hiro’s different animal forms, while I found the puzzles and traversal satisfying from the start. The game’s camera does its best to be a constant nuisance, but even the bizarre angles and perspectives couldn’t ruin a good time. A bit frayed at the edges and with a few extra creases, Hirogami is a fun adventure that is worth your time and paper.
The difficulty being occasionally uneven is a very small detraction from an otherwise fantastic game. Shinobi: Art of Vengeance is otherwise an excellent 2D action game and is a great way to kick off the influx of retro revivals Sega announced in 2023. Art of Vengeance is another must play in the year 2025.
The Knightling is an example of how one frustrating issue can drag an entire work down with it. There’s plenty to like here, from its charming world and narrative, to its whimsical music. However all of this and the bulk of its mechanical and game design offerings are dragged down by input delay issues and poor optimization making for a disappointing experience. Despite this, with an apt amount of polish, I believe The Knightling could one day be an easier recommendation.
Madden NFL 26 has surprised me as a significant improvement over last year’s version of the game. We have heard it before from EA about the improvements they made to the game only to see very minor or minimal improvements. Madden 26 feels different; I must give credit to EA for giving us a better game this year than we have had in a while. Even with the same franchise relocation teams, Franchise mode is the best we have had since Madden 2020.