Game8's Reviews
After playing through the original and Elite years ago, I love how much I still enjoyed going back to Akihabara to re-experience Steins;Gate. Reboot doesn’t fix everything I wanted it to, especially that painfully slow first half, but the new material and Worldline gave me enough surprises to make another trip worthwhile. It’s still the same story I fell in love with, just with a few new reasons to get attached to it all over again.
Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls is an electrifyingly fun, stylish fighter that has earned its place as a highlight of the Marvel fighting game lineage. It succeeds both as a gorgeous love letter to Marvel Comics and the stories, characters, and worldbuilding that has made it such an enduring force in pop culture and as a deeply intricate fighter for newcomers and veterans to break down and enjoy. There are some unfortunate caveats, particularly with a few strange system mechanics, roster omissions, and, most importantly, the frustrating PC performance, that bring the experience down a bit across the board. Nonetheless, Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls has laid the console groundwork for a glorious reunion between Marvel and fighting games, and the result is marvelous.
IRON NEST: Heavy Turret Simulator stands out as a remarkably distinctive indie simulation game. Its tactile artillery procedures, oppressive industrial atmosphere, exceptional sound design, and demanding mission design combine to create an experience that feels both immersive and refreshingly unlike the typical military shooter. While the story is stronger as a thematic framework than as a deeply engaging character-driven narrative, the strength of its core gameplay loop makes it an easy recommendation for players who enjoy methodical simulations and hands-on mechanical interaction.
Time hasn’t changed the conversation around Pokémon Sword and Shield, but it has made it easier to appreciate what the games accomplished. Galar may never reach the heights many fans imagined seven years ago, yet its approachable design and memorable Gym battles still make it a worthwhile journey. It fumbles in places that deserved far more ambition, though the journey itself remains one that I still enjoy returning to years later.
Beast of Reincarnation isn't a perfect game, but one can argue that it came close. It had all the makings to be one of 2026’s breakout hits, but its flaws and weaknesses in all of its aspects were just too noticeable to let go. But that doesn’t mean it’s a bad game at all. Its extremely strong worldbuilding, enjoyable hybrid combat, and great art direction make it into an experience that’s compelling enough to get you through till the end.
Mistfall Hunter's blend of Soulslike combat and extraction gameplay shouldn't work on paper, but Bellring Games has found a compelling middle ground that delivers addictive progression and tense PvPvE encounters. While its technical issues and uneven class balance leave room for improvement, the game lays a strong foundation for a live-service adventure with plenty of long-term potential. The mist hasn't lifted just yet, but I can already see what's waiting on the other side.
The Relic: First Guardian is a game that dared to be different and suffered for it. In the pursuit of challenging what has been tried and tested, it put forth a plethora of great ideas: equipment-based tactical combat, non-respawning enemies as progression, and genuinely great boss battles. Unfortunately, it also revealed why those ideas weren’t the norm. Poor animation implementation, questionable camerawork, and forgettable narratives all end up making this a much lesser product than the sum of its parts. In fixing what wasn’t broken, it only revealed the cracks within itself.
BLUE REFLECTION Quartet is a collection that is less than the sum of its parts, with the adaptations for Ray and Sun being extremely lackluster. Additionally, the new and improved visuals are still quite dated and also unimpressive from a performance standpoint, especially on the Switch 2. Despite its phenomenal audio design, which significantly elevates the experience and all its other elements, the collection feels more like a missed opportunity, much like its overall narrative that wasted its potential.
Disgaea Mayhem is the kind of spin-off that has a lot of potential as a concept. The series, by its nature, routinely produces characters that lend themselves well to the action genre. Unfortunately, limiting the entire experience to a single playable character while carrying over progression systems designed for a full roster strips away much of what makes Disgaea satisfying in the first place. The result is a game that understands the appeal of the grind, but rarely gives you a reason to enjoy it.
Rubinite is a strikingly good Soulslike which slashes through the fluff and delivers a razor-sharp boss rush experience with a surprisingly potent emotional center. At its core, Rubinite’s Focus mechanic and the myriad of imposing boss fights deliver a uniquely fun and challenging take on the genre that's bolstered by the game’s beautiful 2D pixel-art style, lovable characters, and wonderful story. There are a few unfortunate issues, such as the overly cryptic narrative presentation and occasional janky hitboxes, which hold it back a bit. Still, every gemstone has a flaw or two, and Rubinite is no exception; it’s a pureblooded, crystallized gem that’s worth the adventure.
Halo: Campaign Evolved is such a strong reimagining of a beloved classic that it occasionally struggles to define exactly what kind of reimagining it wants to be. At times, it’s committed to faithfully recreating the original, while at others it seems hellbent on carving out an identity of its own. Either way, it's an exceptionally polished experience that more than earns its shockingly tame price tag.
Dinoblade is equal parts fun and rough around the edges. There's clearly more work to be done before it can earn its place in the soulslike food chain. But its solid gameplay foundations, borrowed from its contemporaries, prove that this game can stand on its own. With an over-the-top premise centered around dinosaurs wielding greatswords, it's a game that thrives on its meme status, provided you can overlook its technical hiccups and barebones storytelling. For $20, you'll get a surprisingly serviceable soulslike that has plenty of bite and enough personality to avoid extinction in an increasingly crowded genre.
DragonSword: Awakening is a pretty good open-world action RPG that uses the gacha formula without the genre's obvious drawbacks. While its gameplay elements and systems clash due to design flaws, its eye-catching visuals, interesting narrative, and great sound design certainly justify it as a full-fledged game. All in all, it’s a game that’s definitely worth it for the price it asks, but be sure to expect a bit of a grind in the form of gacha-like repetitive progression.
Splatoon Raiders successfully proves that the series can thrive outside its multiplayer roots, delivering a rewarding single-player adventure built around progression and player expression. Although a shallow narrative and an uneven mid-game progression keep it from reaching greater heights, its satisfying gameplay loop and excellent customization systems make those shortcomings easy to overlook. Whether you're a longtime Splatoon fan or simply looking for a fun action-adventure, Splatoon Raiders is a worthwhile expedition that confidently charts a new course for the series.
Creative problem-solving sits at the heart of every repair contract in FixForce. Rather than prescribing a single solution, each repair contract encourages experimentation, teamwork, and a healthy amount of improvisation, making even routine objectives feel fresh. Although unclear mechanics and occasional voice chat issues hold it back, its satisfying gameplay loop and exceptional value make it an easy recommendation for groups looking for their next co-op game.
Avatar Legends: The Fighting Game is one of the best fighting games of the year so far. Its beautifully animated, hand-drawn 2D art style, diverse roster of characters across the Avatar series, and captivatingly in-depth system mechanics make it an absolute joy to learn and play, both with friends and online opponents as well as in the game’s singleplayer offerings. Its unbridled, uncompromised love for the source material, focus on element bending as a form of combat, and unique take on the lore also solidifies it as the best Avatar video game adaptation—a leap in quality so high you’d think an airbender was behind it. There are no tricks here, though; Avatar Legends is an exhilarating, deeply exciting fighter because it transparently radiates a love for the series and fighting games so potent that it effortlessly becomes a master of all its elements.
Moss: The Forgotten Relic combined heartfelt storytelling, inventive puzzle design, satisfying gameplay, and a presentation that's bursting with charm. It delivers an adventure that's as memorable as it is inviting. A few pacing issues and narrative gaps keep it from reaching true greatness, but they do little to overshadow a journey that is a reminder why simple fairy tales have endured for generations.
Echoes of Aincrad is an incredibly frustrating game because so much of it works, yet doesn’t. Its core combat mechanics, progression, and story all show flashes of what made the original series so enjoyable, yet they’re all tied together by a genuinely frustrating exploration system that repeatedly and severely undercuts their strengths.
Denshattack! is more than just the sum of its inspirations as it constantly pushes the arcade platformer genre forward with inventive level design and delightfully over-the-top boss encounters. In many ways, it's a love letter to Japanese pop culture, packing everything from mechas and kaiju to Akira slides into one unforgettable Shonen-adventure, even if its story leaves much to be desired. Once you overcome its steep learning curve, it becomes a nonstop thrill ride that never lets up, constantly building momentum and taking you to places you never thought possible.
D-topia is a cozy and gentle puzzle-adventure game that treads lightly on the themes of real happiness, the human condition and individuality, and how it all weaves together in society, in the backdrop of a future run by robots and artificial intelligence. Just a tease enough to get you thinking, but makes you leave with more questions than answers, feeling just a tad bit half-baked with its conclusion.