Game8's Reviews
Much like the game that came before it, Zero Parades is dense and only works if you’re willing to sit with its long conversations and rather slow buildup. It does a lot of what its predecessor does, but it still manages to be its own thing once you get past the comparison. It doesn’t always feel smooth or easy to follow, but it often rewards your patience with truly glorious moments.
At its best, the game feels like stepping into a living picture book where curiosity is constantly rewarded and every new creature adds another small piece to a larger, playful ecosystem. That sense of wonder carries a lot of weight and makes the experience genuinely enjoyable in short, focused sessions. However, once the initial novelty settles, the repetition and simplicity of its structure become harder to ignore, especially for players looking for more mechanical or narrative depth. It’s a game that succeeds more in moment-to-moment discovery than in long-term retention, resulting in an experience that’s easy to appreciate, but not always easy to stay fully invested in.
Rune Dice proves that just because you’re unique, that doesn’t mean you’re rolling high at the table. Though the core gameplay is innovative and genuinely charming to start, both it and its accompanying audio start to wear thin after the first couple of hours. There’s little satisfaction in building a deck with the pieces you’re given, though you do get a lot of them. In the end, it’s one high roll followed by snake-eyes all around.
LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight is the perfect game for Bat-fans, in all forms of media. It manages to keep the spirit of its original stories while putting its own comedic spin on them and adding every memorable reference to the franchise that any fan would recognize, no matter how small. On the gameplay side, it successfully combines two different identities into an enjoyable experience, instantly making it one of the better Batman games out there.
Forza Horizon 6 feels like the series finally reaching full confidence in what it wants to be. It delivers an open-world racing experience that’s easy to get into without losing depth, visually stunning without sacrificing player freedom, and packed with enough variety that simply driving around doesn’t stop the fun. While a few technical rough edges and a lighter narrative structure keep it from perfection, the overall package succeeds where it matters most: inspiring players to genuinely want to keep getting back behind the wheel.
Dread Neighbor delivers a terrifying slasher experience thanks to its strong atmosphere and multiple character vignettes, even if it stumbles in its linear pacing and overreliance on jumpscares. Its short two-hour runtime and low price make it an easy recommendation for those looking for some quick, intense scares. While it doesn’t evolve much from the creator's previous game, Dread Flats, its shifting perspectives and strong final sequence help it stand out as a worthwhile follow-up.
Though I never expected Directive 8020 to be a mechanically complex game, I expected more from its gameplay than what it delivers. Even for a Dark Pictures title, it’s light on things to do and even lighter on optimization, with visual and save bugs infesting the game’s guts like some ravenous alien. The story is superb, though, if you can get past the episodic structure and occasional wacky dialogue. It’s a stellar sight and a haunting listen, so if you’re fine spending most of your time watching people die, this frigate of frights might be for you.
Gamble With Your Friends is exactly what the title describes and what it sounds like. While it can be brutal in its progression, its charming visuals, variety of mini-games, and immersive gameplay elements make it one of the more enjoyable multiplayer games for short play sessions with friends to laugh and occasionally crash out about. It’s a game that lets you enjoy the thrill of gambling without the real-world consequences—unless you don’t meet the quota and have to lose a body part or two.
Outbound is a cozy exploration game that does well on its basics—exploration, crafting, building—but fails to really keep the magic and entertainment after a few hours due to its taxing gameplay loop that feels like it rewards so little for so much effort. Nevertheless, the game is fun in its own right, although more improvements and changes would make it even more enjoyable for a wider audience.
Everything may be crab, but not everything is well with Everything is Crab. It’s a tad too simple for its enterprising attempt at evolving the roguelite formula, but I still think it’s another crab game that’s worth treasuring. Splicing simply addictive gameplay with a famous high-brow meme and enough difficulty levels to challenge anyone, this game’s got the potential to template a better attempt in the future. We must’ve just caught it mid-evolution is all.
MOTORSLICE is one of those games that will surprise you, in a good way. The satisfying platforming, combined with its presentation, music, and immersion, makes it a completely different vibe. Certain elements, like its combat and lack of replayability, leave much to be desired, but it’s undeniable that it’s interesting and engaging from the title screen all the way through the end.
Mixtape is much like many coming-of-age stories you’ve probably heard before, but it tells it with so much warmth and creativity that I wanted more of it. As a game, it won’t surprise everyone, but its writing, music, and the dreamlike essence of its presentation make even predictable story beats meteor down to the surface with so much emotion that by the time the night was over, I felt like I was saying goodbye to old friends I’d only just met.
Will: Follow the Light is a frustrating experience because the foundation for something memorable is clearly there. Beneath the repetitive puzzle design, uneven writing, and technical frustrations lies a genuinely interesting premise supported by immersive sailing mechanics and strong atmospheric audio. There are moments where the game briefly captures the emotional and cinematic adventure it wants to be, but it struggles to sustain that momentum for long before falling back into its more exhausting habits. For some players, those stronger moments may still be enough to carry the journey through to the end. For others, the game’s shortcomings will likely overshadow the experience long before Will reaches the light.
inKONBINI is a rather short and sweet narrative adventure game that delivers a warm, heartfelt story that can hit a bit close to home. Charming visuals, a chill soundtrack, and an endearing plot that is just the right amount of intriguing. While it feels too brief to truly stand out, it nevertheless is a memorable journey best done over afternoon tea.
Kiln is built on a really fun idea, and for a good while, it’s a blast. Sculpting wearable pots and crashing into other players carries an infectious energy that’s hard not to enjoy with friends. Unfortunately, beneath all that molded clay is a multiplayer experience that still feels too thin, too repetitive, and too unfinished to hold attention for much longer than a few good nights of goofing around.
Invincible VS is a great tag fighter that utilizes the franchise’s identity to a remarkable level. Its top-notch presentation, noticeable competitive depth, and easy-to-grasp approachability make it a game worth playing for fans of the series and the genre alike. It still hasn’t quite reached its final form just yet, but it has the potential to become truly Invincible.
Aphelion is easy to admire from a distance, but the closer you get, the emptier it feels. Its story relies on a relationship it never really builds, and the gameplay does little to keep things interesting in between the nice-looking moments. Aside from the performances and the immaculate soundtrack, the game is as distant and impossible to connect with as its namesake.
NTE is a game that feels like it’s constantly pulling you in different directions, yet somehow still holds together as a cohesive experience. It wants to be a gacha RPG, a city life simulator, a driving game, a management sandbox, and a narrative-driven anomaly hunter all at once. And instead of collapsing under that weight, it actually becomes a strong foundation to support how its systems interact and flow with each other. Of course, that ambition isn’t perfectly refined yet. Some systems still lean a bit too simple and story pacing can break immersion when level locks interrupt momentum. But even with those rough edges, the important part is that NTE never feels aimless. It commits to what it is trying to be—a multi-layered city RPG where everyday life and anomaly-driven chaos coexist.
Lay of the Land is a decent game at its core, with almost all the basic sandbox game mechanics ready in one package—sprawling land, intricate building mechanics, decent crafting gameplay, and basic combat—but ultimately, it feels like an Early Access title that hasn’t had enough time to cook in the oven yet. It’s got a solid foundation of its basic gameplay mechanics, but it could definitely benefit from a lot more improvements in the long run.
Just as the moon covers the sun, with lost Carcosa awash with golden yellow, Saros eclipses all in its wake. Boasting a deep and synergistic core gameplay loop evoking Returnal, premium difficulty balancing options, emotionally-driven character writing, and the newest look cosmic horror has seen in decades, you wouldn’t be driven mad by playing this game; you’d be mad not to. Strange is the one who cannot fathom the greatness of Saros, but stranger still is lost Carcosa.