Game8's Reviews
High on Life 2 is Squanch Games’ second chaotic ride, and it’s as wild as it is messy. Stellar voice acting and striking visuals shine, but middling gameplay and rough optimization hold it back. It’s a mixed bag of highs and lows, and if that chaos appeals to you, we won’t judge, though your guns might.
Tokyo Scramble feels like a title scrambled together just to get a release up on the Nintendo Switch 2. Despite having some good ideas here and there, it’s overall very unpolished, messy, and full of wrinkles that shouldn’t have even left the QA stage.
REANIMAL is a game that takes everything Tarsier perfected in Little Nightmares and sharpens it into something darker, more relentless, and emotionally punishing. It rewards patience, observation, and careful thinking, but it doesn’t coddle you—the world is cruel and the horror lingers long after each encounter. It’s a more ruthless evolution of the formula, delivering a tense, interconnected journey that stands on its own while building on Tarsier’s legacy.
Mario Tennis Fever follows the classic Super Mario Sports formula, emphasizing simplicity and fun. While it retains the core gameplay identity, it suffers from several issues, including a lackluster Adventure Mode, hit-and-miss supplementary game modes, and a new, gimmicky mechanic in Fever. It’s a good party game, but it doesn’t have enough to make it worth the price or the time.
It’s hard not to feel conflicted about Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties, because while it plays smoother and looks cleaner, many of its story changes and cut content weaken what originally worked. The remake still has solid moments, especially with Dad Kiryu, but combat, pacing, and Dark Ties often feel shallow or stretched out. It’s not a bad time, just a messy step forward that doesn’t fully honor what makes the Yakuza series work.
While not a true successor, Mewgenics carries The Binding of Isaac’s roguelike spirit through its sharp cat-based tactics, dense content, and clear devotion to McMillen’s ideal vision. It’s pricey, brutally slow, and unapologetically harsh, but its addictive music, bizarre systems, and deep strategy make it hard to put down. Not quite purrfect, but very close.
Crisol: Theater of Idols is an ambitious game with moments of creativity and style, but its execution consistently holds it back. The story fails to engage, combat is frustrating, and the character design often breaks immersion. At the same time, it offers one of the more compelling first-person horror settings in recent years, and its environmental and thematic work are impressive. It’s a game with strong ideas that never fully coalesce into a consistently satisfying experience, making it interesting but flawed overall.
Romeo is a Dead Man brings everything you expect from the Suda51 style—and I mean everything, especially when it comes to its visuals. Though it suffers from technical issues and a simple gameplay loop, the unpredictable narrative, paired with its eye-catching visuals and strong audio design, makes it a memorable experience.
It’s hard to make magic feel monotonous, but YAPYAP manages it. Despite a strong, well-executed premise, issues with map variety, economy balance, and progression hold it back from becoming the next big friendslop hit.
MY HERO ACADEMIA: All’s Justice is a solid, if flawed, celebration of everything that made the franchise a pop culture staple. It isn’t going to win over anyone who isn’t already a fan of the series, but the game leverages the hype of the Final War arc to cover up its repetitive combat and uneven story presentation. Regardless, the sheer size of the roster and the authenticity of the voice acting make it hard to totally dislike. It captures the spirit of the series well enough, even if it doesn’t quite go Plus Ultra.
If there's a company that knows its way around action RPGs, it's Team NINJA. But with Nioh 3, it feels as if they have finally perfected their vision. This is the culmination of their endless quest to create the ultimate action RPG experience centered around a satisfying flow state, and they've achieved it in the bloodiest and most glorious way possible.
Across dozens of climbs and campfire breaks, Cairn proves itself to be a game that fully commits to its vision. The difficulty can be punishing, and the physics can act up, but the hardship is so closely tied to Aava’s story and the game’s themes that it never feels excessive. It’s an experience that will stay with me long after my personal descent from it, and while the mountain is indifferent, the climb itself is unforgettable.
Square Enix certainly wanted to create a defining title for the franchise, as the streamlined narrative and gameplay additions make it easy for anyone to get into. However, the price of convenience is a little too steep; cut islands, hand-holdy exploration, and a lack of challenge make this reimagining a diminished experience compared to its older versions.
Like a low-budget ’80s horror flick, I Hate This Place is all flash and no bang. Though it nails the vibe with its visuals and sound, rough voice acting aside, the gameplay is too shallow to hold up. After the early thrills fade, it’s mostly cheap jump scares without the depth to stay engaging.
Arknights: Endfield has the makings to be one of 2026's standout titles—a decent story that has potential, multiple engaging gameplay mechanics, a vibrant world to explore, and solid audio and visual design. Aside from the gacha system that not many people may be used to, it deserves high marks everywhere else. Its future is bright, and they can only keep going up from here.
Even with the release of more co-op shooters, Deep Rock Galactic remains the gold standard of co-op shooters out there. With extensive personal customization and build variety, engaging progression systems, and a wealth of content to play with, the game is a perfect package for its satisfying gameplay loop.
Cult of the Lamb shows that sacrilege can be playful rather than off-putting, and that juggling two core gameplay styles can elevate a game instead of dividing it. The blend of irreverent themes and dual mechanics is impressively well executed. It does drift into repetition over time, but the journey there is wild, stylish, and gleefully heretical.
Even though an 8/10 may sound like a solid score, that's actually lower than it could have gotten if it had been polished even further. Sure, the gameplay is nice and the story's very compelling; but with the backdrop of a horribly dumb enemy AI and its terrible performance issues, Code Vein 2 on release is at its worst.
Cult of the Lamb’s latest expansion is a welcome return, adding new mechanics, biomes, and hours of play that enrich the world. The music, visuals, and added lore bring the Lamb’s ascension to a satisfying close. A slow start aside, it’s a rewarding expansion for both veterans and newcomers.
Wildlight Entertainment has actually created a concept with immense potential to revolutionize the industry, combining multiple game modes and elements into something truly unique. However, the whole thing crashes and burns due to a shaky foundation of gameplay mechanics and a multitude of other issues. To put it simply, Highguard was a gamble that was revealed a little too early and needs much more time in the oven to become the next big thing.