Game8's Reviews
ANOMALITH is the kind of game whose strongest aspects manage to shine through, despite its numerous flaws holding them back. Its got excellent gunplay, satisfying progression, and compelling character-driven story, even as its uneven systems undermine the survival horror it sets out to deliver. It's far from an excellent game, but within its score bracket, it's certainly one of the most memorable.
Phantom Blade Zero is unapologetically cool, and it never holds back from making players feel like the only hotshot in the room. It’s a fantastic, polished triple-A debut from an indie studio that previously made mobile games, showcasing plenty of potential for what comes next. Beyond its swagger, its impressive display of cinematic boss fights can go from typical to downright unhinged in a flash. Its lighter difficulty may put off genre veterans, but its sheer amount of accessibility options make it an excellent entry-level action game for players who want to revel in the power fantasy of being a badass dude with a sword.
A Crystal-led quest and a close-knit party give Final Fantasy Resonance the feel of an earlier Final Fantasy adventure. Its turn-based battles carry that old-school appeal forward, with a satisfying cadence that makes dismantling a tough boss especially rewarding. The story leaves some of its more interesting ideas unexplored, but the characters provide much of the journey's heart and soul. Seeing Brave Exvius get a second life in such gorgeous HD-2D makes me want Square Enix to give more of its forgotten adventures the same treatment.
Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun 2 never stops making you feel like the biggest boss in a room full of heretical scum. The only downside is the obvious illusion of choice between its two protagonists’ branching missions, as picking one over the other barely changes the campaign beyond their different abilities. But not even that can overshadow its brutally satisfying gameplay, which delivers nonstop action with a fresh variety of levels that let you explore its miserable, grimdark world without overstaying their welcome. At least you have the Emperor on your side.
Harvest Moon: Echoes of Teradea has the promise of a lovely pastoral escape, complete with open landscapes and wild creatures that make wandering a joy. Yet as the hours add up, the lifelessness of its towns becomes more and more apparent. The cozy warmth of its gameplay loop is dulled by tedious errands and persistent technical issues. I wanted to fall in love with this little corner of Teradea, but too often, I found myself wishing it gave me more reasons to stay.
Valor Mortis makes a strong impression with its plague-ravaged take on Napoleonic Europe, where nightmarish creatures and the sounds of battle make every encounter feel unsettling. Its first-person take on Soulslike combat adds a distinctive challenge, rewarding patience and careful timing even when fights get hectic. However, repetitive enemies, an underdeveloped story, and technical issues chip away at the experience. A fascinating world lies beneath the carnage, but not every part of the journey does it justice. Despite its rough edges, Valor Mortis remains a memorable spin on the genre, even if its horrors leave a stronger impression than the adventure itself.
Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse is an alluringly gorgeous, polished and expressive comeback of the series. It plays things mostly safe across the board, which is a design philosophy that’s bound to alienate more expectant Castlevania veterans. For most other players, Belmont’s Curse is a gorgeous, rewarding and deeply engaging adventure that introduces the Belmont Bloodline and the series’ legacy wonderfully. It resulted in a return to form that hopefully serves as the foundation for braver titles, but until then, Belmont’s Curse is a powerful resurrection worthy of Dracula himself and a great Metroidvania all the same.
Truckful is a strange delivery game that shines in its genre mix, blending horror with cozy exploration. However, it also has plenty of speed bumps in its controls and exploration, creating a frustrating driving experience that could use more quality-of-life improvements. Still, once you get past those roadblocks, the game becomes surprisingly heartfelt, with a compelling story and a charming cast of NPCs who stick with you as you unravel the town's mysteries. It’s a bumpy ride, but if you’re willing to stick with it, Truckful is worth taking for a spin.
Clive Barker's Hellraiser: Revival has its share of frustrations, from clunky combat to bugs that can wipe out hours of progress. Yet beneath those rough edges is a survival horror game that understands what makes the genre work: limited resources, dangerous encounters, and the constant feeling that survival is never guaranteed. More importantly, Hellraiser: Revival is faithful to the twisted world Clive Barker created, bringing its disturbing ideas about desire, suffering, and obsession into a format where players have to face them firsthand. The game could certainly use more polish, but it offers more than familiar horror imagery. It's a compelling expansion of Barker's universe and a strong survival horror experience in its own right, especially for players who can stomach its rougher moments.
It’s ironic that a franchise with a core theme of cycles like Dragon’s Dogma managed to repeat history by vastly improving itself with its DLC. With a much better narrative that works in both the context of how and when it happens, and a stronger gameplay loop reinforced by its many additions and updates, Dragon’s Dogma 2: Dark Arisen is the perfect example of perfecting itself through simplicity.
Star Wars: Galactic Racer scratches an itch I didn’t realize I had for this kind of stupidly fast arcade racer, largely thanks to a roguelite campaign that injects adrenaline into every run. Managing risky builds and chasing the high of that big payout makes it easy to get carried away, and even easier to crash and burn. It is repetitive in the same way a classic arcade cabinet is, but that magnetic pull remains; it leaves you frustrated for all of five minutes before you’re right back at the starting line for another tour.
Like its predecessor, Minecraft Dungeons II’s biggest enemy is novelty, or rather, its eventual lack thereof. Though better equipped for the long run with innovations like its expanded equipment system, connected map, sidequests, new story, new mobs, and an entirely new dimension, the game still falls to the same tired numbers game once the new ideas run dry. This game is strictly bigger, strictly more complex, and strictly better than the original; the bar just wasn’t that high to begin with. There’s no doubt that most action RPG players will enjoy this game. Whether they’ll enjoy it for long is a toss-up.
Silver Pines proudly wears its darkened, beating heart right on its sleeve, and it is in that unabashed love for its influences that it emerges a confident, distinct experience for survival-horror fans both new and old. Its central mystery will keep you awake and desperately thinking for an answer, while its old-school horror gameplay is a fun, uncompromising love-letter to the genre that remains compelling despite the rough edges. It’s an acquired taste that’s a lot like black coffee: strong, bold, and deeply engaging. To that end, Silver Pines is a damn, fine cup that’ll keep you wired for days.
While the Ace Combat series often flies under the radar, Wings of Theve is definitely the one you don’t want to miss. It outdoes its predecessor with a wider variety of missions, a more grounded narrative, great characters, and more satisfying gameplay. The presentation is also outstanding, with sound design and its musical score taking center stage, with the former a strong contender for this year’s best. There are problems with its multiplayer features— particularly its monetization and online servers—but thankfully they don’t affect the core single-player experience, which remains unmatched in the combat flight simulation genre.
Though most expect it to be endless, the end of End of Abyss is its best part, and the journey to get there is a rough one to start. Though it gets better and more fun as players progress, it will take all of their patience to get past the initial onslaught of RE-style resource scarcities, twin-stick controls amid 3D isometric views, and repetitive encounters. It’s a fun game with some of the best vibes I’ve ever seen among Metroidvanias, even if barely a word is ever spoken through its moderately long run; but as an overall experience? Definitely a destination over the journey type of deal.
I had a great time with Gears of War: E-Day, even when the campaign started showing its unpolished edges. The combat is still incredibly satisfying, and the free-roam sections gave me some of my favorite moments; it gave me more time with characters I ended up caring about more than I expected to. That made the campaign's weaker points stand out more, though, with the repetition and occasional technical issues becoming egregious at times. Neither was enough to sour the experience fully. I finished it satisfied, thinking I probably could have used a little less Locust shooting, which is about as Gears of War a problem as you can have.
AION 2 has the foundation of a substantial MMO, with smooth class-based combat, layered progression, a large world to explore, and plenty of activities that gradually encourage players to interact with both the world and each other. However, that foundation is held back by a story that struggles to make its protagonist feel involved, movement and flight that don't always live up to their potential, limited social systems, and monetization that become more intrusive the deeper you get into the game. There's a lot here to enjoy, especially for players looking for an old-school inspired MMO experience, but its weak storytelling, demanding progression, and aggressive monetization keep it from reaching its potential.
Nivalis Nights is a gorgeous cyberpunk game teeming with life in its fully realized city. Still, it also stretches itself too thin with an unnecessarily shallow management system and extra gameplay mechanics that don’t quite mesh with its social systems. There’s a fascinating story here, from the unique tales of its NPCs to clever writing that paints a troubling picture of our inevitable future. However, unless you can put up with its performance issues and look past its underwhelming gameplay, you might struggle to fully appreciate everything this neon-soaked world has to offer.
Qliphah in Providence’s Shadow is an unfortunate case of ambition easily being the most compelling part of a game. Its core vision and foundation are razor sharp, but are buried beneath a lack of substance, a faltering and mismatched presentation, and a narrative that fails to match the concept’s lofty ambitions. When Qliphah does double down on what makes it stand out, like the unique combat, charming leads, and gorgeous world, there are signs of a much more interesting game just waiting to be unearthed. Until a potential sequel (which I honestly hope happens, weird name and all) confidently finalizes the game’s strong core identity, Qliphah in Providence’s Shadow is an underbaked title that wears out its ambitious charm a little too fast.
CONTROL: Resonant is the kind of sequel that swings for the fences, and for the most part, it lands. Remedy has taken everything that made the original Control special and expanded it into something bigger and stranger, filled with otherworldly level design that feels pulled straight from an alien’s mind and brought to life. Dylan’s melee-based combat is also a welcome shift, creating satisfying encounters that complement its semi-open world with focused, fast-paced action. Still, many things need addressing, from performance issues during crowded encounters to a deeply underwhelming ending that leaves more questions than answers. Overall, these faults don’t take much away from the experience, which is packed with Remedy’s visual and audio splendor. With just a few imperfections, it remains an otherwise mesmerizing science-fiction story that breaks the traditional Pattern of what videogames can be.