Thumb Wars's Reviews
TRON: Catalyst is a shorter experience from a AA developer well-versed with the TRON IP, and while the world is incredibly well represented, the thin combat system, 2D characters, and paint-by-numbers story won’t light a fire under any fans to get involved.
The entire package of The Alters is incredible from start to finish. Be it the immersive soundtrack that delivers a gut-punch time after time, the incredible blending of new crew members with the philosophical questions posited around the right to create life, and the performances given by Alex Jordan and the smaller roles by the rest of the cast. When I wasn’t playing The Alters, I was thinking about The Alters. The decisions were difficult, and the choices matter. 2025 seems jam-packed with incredible, Game of the Year contenders, and for the last five months, mine was easily Split Fiction. Now, however, there’s only one choice for me. The Alters is Game of the Year.
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine Master Crafted Edition does exactly what it means to. It brings the 14-year-old release to the modern audience, further building on the franchise’s popularity. There’s plenty it can do better, sure, but it’s also incredibly good fun in what it does well. From the campaign to the multiplayer, it’s everything we remember, with some new bugs and a new lick of paint.
Hypercharge: Unboxed is especially great fun for those who remember the more classic times of local multiplayer co-op gaming, and also offers an online component to fight the scourge of evil invading. I enjoyed the gameplay loop immensely, from the shooting to the base-building and especially jumping around the levels, and will continue to return to the game continually.
Overall, I found Roadcraft to be a fun experience that was incredibly detailed, allowing for a lot of realism within the vehicles and how they would perform in certain locations, whether that be good or bad.
Overall, I found my experience with The Siege and the Sandfox to be an enjoyable one, with the parkour and stealth being very fun, especially as the game progressed. Unfortunately, there were a few glitches that will hopefully be fixed in the future.
The Precinct is a great game when its systems work in your favor despite a lackluster main story and a few glaring issues holding it back from true excellence. Pick it up on sale or when you find yourself looking for a title to play over a slow weekend.
Doom: The Dark Ages may be my favorite Doom experience throughout the years. Whilst it may be 'slower' than previous Doom's. feeling the weight of Doomguy as I cut my way through waves of demons, using the shield as a weapon as much, if not more than a defense, and some glorious level design that never got boring, I just can't wait to get back into the fight and really give it my all on all the difficulty levels. It's a blast, and any FPS fan should be looking at this. The only drawback is the thin and at times boring story getting in the way of more slaughter, but you can't blame iD for trying something new.
Empyreal is one of those AA games that come along once in a while. They’re good fun, great to look at and you come away wanting more. From unrelenting combat to ‘one more go’ at another Cartogram, another level and another attempt at getting the best loot, Silent Games didn’t do much wrong.
A lacklustre story is propped up by fun, if unoriginal, stealth gameplay, with some fun nods back to the ‘good old days’ of action platformers. A few glitches and crashes here and there didn’t help, but it hits the intended points and doesn’t pretend to be anything it’s not.
Overall, Moroi was a fun experience that kept me guessing throughout my entire playthrough while also having some engaging combat scenarios that never failed to keep me interested, even with the minor weapon swapping bugs.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a masterpiece that continues to grow from strength to strength as its incredible story progresses, making it an unmissable title for 2025 and beyond. It is a work of art that must be experienced at least once. Its story, cast, gameplay, and music blend together to create an experience that raises the bar for video games across genres, while its combat and levels are a dream come true for RPG fans.
Kiborg may not have the polish of a big-budget title, but it nails the fundamentals. Gritty, addictive, and unapologetically brutal, this is one roguelite that knows exactly what it is and is able to deliver on that.
For fans of Five Nights at Freddy’s, Alien: Isolation, or even Nicholas Cage’s Willy’s Wonderland, Finding Frankie will be a hoot, if not a short adventure. The parkour is more than serviceable, and the atmosphere is outstanding, enough that I immediately wondered if we’ll see a Finding Frankie 2.
Overall, Assassin’s Creed Shadows is a must for fans of the franchise and is a great choice for players looking for a massive open world to explore with a gameplay loop that is both memorable and addictive.
WWE 2K25 is a huge step-up for the franchise in many ways, with more on offer, better customisation, far improved gameplay, and an entirely new mode that hopefully gets refined and bettered as time goes on. Beyond a few small mistakes, it feels like the best entry in the franchise for a long time, and certainly the best wrestling game available right now.
Omega 6 The Triangle Stars is an interesting title that has a fun story and unique characters that make for a stellar adventure full of puzzles and mystery, and some obscure rock, paper, scissors combat that starts fun but slowly turns into a chore that is full of random shenanigans.
Overall, Karma: The Dark World was an enjoyable experience that managed to keep me on my toes with the gameplay loop as well as have me questioning everything that was going on as I explored some of the most haunting locations both in reality and mind.
Overall, I enjoyed my time with Your House, as it was a lot of fun putting my puzzle-solving skills to the test while discovering an interesting story that is full of twists and turns as we uncover the secrets that are hidden within Your House.
A beginner’s introduction to difficult games, The First Berserker: Khazan has many of the accessibility options Soulslikes/Action RPG fans have cried out for, and it does it all with an excellent combat system, interesting lore and story, and some fine visuals.