Thumb Wars's Reviews
Reach and his story in REPLACED is an apt one in a time where AI is slowly replacing us, both in every day life and artistically. You’d be hardpressed to find a better looking 2.5D platformer, or one that is as tight and enjoyable an experience as this one. I cannot get it out of my head, and would urge anyone to give it a go.
During my time with Tides of Tomorrow, I had a lot of fun exploring the game’s colorful and unique world, as each location had plenty to explore and uncover while also being very different from each other in more ways than one. In terms of the game’s story, I enjoyed it quite a lot as the overall tone of the game was very dark in a lot of ways, but also hit quite hard as it commented on topics like pollution, with other topics sitting with me long after the credits rolled. The best part for me was the gameplay mechanics, as following another player and sharing the response to their actions was a lot of fun, but it did lead me to suffer too many consequences to the point I was locked out of too many options within my playthrough.
The best thing I can say about Opus: Prism Peak is that I was thinking about it long after I rolled credits. It doesn’t do much gameplay wise, but what it does do, it does incredibly well. Tight story, actual important message and some genuinely heartfelt moments meant even my cold, cynical heart was warmed a little. You won’t regret giving this a punt.
Mouse P.I. For Hire is a ridiculous good time, with solid level design, good-to-great voice performances and an art style I will not shut up about. Gunplay is hit and miss, mostly hit, and the pop culture references can be a bit too much sometimes, but if anyone were to ask if they should play Mouse? Well, that’d be the easiest yes of the year.
I loved WWE 2K25, and considered it a massive leap forward for the franchise. For the most part, WWE 2K26 is more of the same. Some additions are good, some not so, and the overall package, whilst arguably having more content and time to play with it, isn’t as valuable as its predecessor in the sense of what it’ll bring you. The attempts at changing up the gameplay with the new Purple Ring fall short, but additions to match types, modes, promos, accessibility options and the absolute size of the library available for customisation more than makes up for it. It’s more than good, but there’s room for some improvement next year.
GRIDbeat! for me, it was a very fun experience that mixed fun rhythm-based gameplay and upbeat music to create a rather unique experience that kept me engaged throughout, even with the gameplay being rather challenging to begin with. Throughout GRIDbeat! I was pleasantly surprised that the game assisted me in a way that most games don’t by having the actual game itself keep the beat of the song rather than an icon or a bar, which was a very fun change of pace in a game like this. Although the notification ding of acquiring collectibles would cause me to lose the beat on occasion, thanks to the game’s indications, it wasn’t too hard to pick up the beat after a few seconds of paying attention. The overall game world itself is very vibrant, with a lot of fun details that made it feel like we were actually inside the cyberspace fighting for our freedom rather than just watching someone do it.
If you’re looking for the next Bioshock, you’ll be looking in the right place, as long as you’re not expecting a super long adventure, or particularly engaging or satisfying gunplay. Atmosphere, art style, and a constant sense of dread over your own blood will keep you coming back for more, or at least, it has for me.
When it comes to Screamer, I had a lot of fun when it came to the actual racing part of the game, although it was a challenge to get used to the various mechanics and their difficulty curves at the start of the game. Once I was used to them, it was a lot of fun. In regard to the game’s story, there was a lot of information to take in, especially at the beginning of the game, as it shows you all the different factions, but as the game goes on, we learn more and more about them, and it is interesting to see why they are there and what their intentions are. The overall game design for Screamer is definitely high tier, as the different races are very detailed both on the track and the surrounding areas, and the fact that each track is varied in a lot of ways was also very fun.
Overall, Resident Evil: Requiem is a very fun game that blends horror and chaotic gunplay well together, allowing for two different gameplay genres to blend together in a way that doesn’t force the player into a bad situation but allows them to alter their gameplay style on the fly. The game’s overall story is brilliant, with a lot of memorable moments that will stick with gamers for years, while also bringing back old memories from the original games. The game’s world is beautiful with so much detail that players will never be able to spot it all, while also being able to use this game world to their advantage within the gameplay loop.
If you’ve played any of Suda51’s previous games, you’ll know exactly what you’re getting into with Romeo is a Dead Man. If you haven’t, you’re missing out on arguably the most insane and mind-boggling releases of 2026.
When it comes to Solateria, I had a very fun time exploring the vast world that the game had to offer, as there were plenty of secrets to find both in terms of loot and lore, while also having plenty of challenges to overcome. Speaking of challenges, I massively enjoyed the combat, as it wasn’t just difficult for difficulty’s sake, but it was challenging enough that it kept me engaged and encouraged me to learn the parry and dodge windows so that I was able to conquer my enemies efficiently. The game’s story itself was very heartbreaking as I played through, as a lot of the bosses had very sad backstories that drew on my heartstrings, while also having NPC characters that also had their own stories to tell, while also adding to the main game’s story in their own way.
During my time with John Carpenter’s Toxic Commando, I often found myself having a really great time as I explored the various maps that were laid out before me, but over time, this did become rather tedious, with very few points of interest that weren’t very interesting. In terms of gunplay, it was very fun and responsive, allowing for fast kills of zombies, while also benefiting from a variety of abilities at my disposal that helped me when I was in a tough spot. One of the more unique gameplay mechanics for me was using the vehicles, as they allowed me to explore a lot more easily while also using the winch to access new locations and even find loot throughout the game, which made the adventures easier. Overall, the gameplay was a lot of fun, but the story and voice acting were quite underwhelming as I was rather bored when it came to cutscenes and often found myself trying to remember why I was doing a mission in the first place.
Reanimal is equal parts horrifying and daunting. Fun in ways only horror gamers can appreciate, you’ll spend as much time exploring the beautifully designed world from Tarsier, as you will trying to escape it, and its disgusting, body horror inhabitants. Decent puzzles, good platforming and some seriously impressive world design await if you can deal with some simple, if not repetitive gameplay.
For me, Heart of the Forest is a fun yet haunting horror experience that blends a good atmosphere with brilliant acting and very minimal jump scares to create an experience that will stay with you long after playing it. There are plenty of choices to make within the game, each with its own consequences that pay off towards the end of the game, never leaving you questioning what a choice was for.
RIDE 6 is a fun and realistic motorcycle racing sim game that gives the player complete control over every detail from the motorcycle’s wheels, chain, colors, and so much more. In terms of the racing within RIDE 6, there are a lot of challenges players will have to overcome to ensure they can consistently win races, and the difficulty curve does spike depending on the game mode in question, but this challenge increases the fun that can be had with the game. For those who have been wanting to create a collection of motorcycles, RIDE 6 is a fantastic game for doing that, as the collection of motorcycles on display is incredible, with plenty of options to choose from.
MIO: Memories in Orbit for me was a very fun experience that provided a lot of challenges in terms of combat, while also providing me with the option to downscale the difficulty if I needed to in rather unique ways. The biggest draw for me was the beautiful world that the game is set in, with the incredible watercolor detail and the breathtaking views that were waiting around each corner. The story was also very good and was a very big tear-jerker, but it was very challenging to ensure I saw it all due to the hidden lore pieces scattered around the game.
Code Violet is a very mixed bag. It’s as likely that you’ll enjoy your time with it, as you will hate it. It’s a shining example of a game trying to regain the ‘Golden Era’ of our childhoods, but it goes as far as including the bugs, stunted gameplay and nonsensical story beats as well. If not for the environments and collectible storytelling, there’d be little left to redeem it.
She’s Leaving does atmosphere well, as any first-person horror game should aim for, but performance issues, somewhat tacked-on forensic features, and a predictable story let down what’s otherwise a tense affair.
Overall, I found Death Howl to be a fun and dark experience that created an exciting mix of challenging combat with an intriguing deckbuilding mechanic that provided me with the freedom to create my own decks, while also creating various challenges in which to try them out. The world of Death Howl was a mix of gloomy but beautiful landscapes that I just couldn’t help but enjoy as each new location felt like a breath of fresh air, while also feeling like there was a threat around each corner. In terms of the game’s story, I found it to be a very haunting experience that stuck with me long after I finished playing, while also being fun regarding the game’s side missions and characters I could meet along the journey.
While playing through Cross Blitz, I found that the game was a lot of fun thanks to the unique stories that I was able to explore for each character that was available to me. Along with this, I also found that the combat was very interesting as it never felt boring or too much alike, but in fact had a lot of replayability to it as each encounter was random. In terms of the game world, I found it to be very well designed in terms of details, as well as the hexagonal layout that provided a whole new perspective that hasn’t been seen in a long time.