Game8's Reviews
Luma Island is an excellent starting point for anyone looking to dive into the farming sim genre. Its simplicity and rewarding gameplay loop make farming, exploration, and overall progression both engaging and relaxing. The game truly shines when played with friends, offering a calming and enjoyable experience that feels tailor-made for cozy gaming sessions. While the game isn’t without its flaws, most issues could likely be resolved with a few patches. Despite these hiccups, Luma Island stands out as a cozy game that delivers on its promise of relaxation—arguably cozier than many other titles in the genre.
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl nails it with a gripping story, breathtaking visuals, and gameplay that keeps you thinking at every step—because if you don’t, you'll likely just keel over and die. Sure, it turns into a walking simulator now and then, but with audio so good it feels like the mutants are auditioning for your nightmares, who cares? At $59.99, it’s practically a steal.
Sorry We’re Closed is an intriguing and stylish survival horror which offers a fun and compelling story to follow as well as a unique twist into the classic survival horror formula. It’s enjoyable to play with its Third Eye mechanic, bringing in the best of both worlds with a snap of your fingers. While titled as a survival horror, it has many instances where its humorous dialogue shines. A wonderful blend of horror, humor, the inner workings of love, and ethereal beings, all in one package.
Tetris Forever is less a coin flip and more a litmus test: are you a Tetris fan? If yes, you’ll likely find plenty to appreciate; if not, this collection is unlikely to change your mind or stimulate it. The extra features and historical overview add some flair, but they ultimately don’t elevate the experience beyond a niche appeal. For longtime fans, it’s a loving tribute—but for anyone else, it’s just a bunch of old games and a museum exhibit.
LEGO Horizon Adventures is a great entry for those looking for a lighter, family-friendly take on the Horizon universe. Its charm lies in its humor, creative gadgets, and strong co-op gameplay. While it can’t match the depth of the original, it makes up for it with fun, fast-paced action that’s perfect for a casual experience with friends or family. Whether you're a fan of the original Horizon or just looking for a quick and fun adventure, this game delivers a good balance of humor and gameplay mechanics. It’s not perfect, but it’s a worthwhile experience that captures the spirit of the franchise.
This year has been a standout for JRPGs and remakes, and Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake is a brilliant addition to that list. It’s a visually stunning, highly enjoyable game that faithfully honors the original while adding fresh elements that beautifully blend old and new. Though not every aspect fits seamlessly, the game offers a fantastic experience from beginning to end. The late Akira Toriyama and Koichi Sugiyama would surely be proud of this remake.
Farming Simulator 25 offers a solid farming experience for dedicated fans of the series, featuring improved AI, an expanded vehicle roster, and atmospheric weather effects that enhance the feel of working the land. These additions, while appreciated, don’t bring significant innovation or depth that make the game feel truly groundbreaking. The gameplay is polished, with reliable AI that handles automated tasks effectively, which is a welcome quality-of-life improvement. However, the high learning curve, lack of a beginner-friendly tutorial, and some complicated menu navigation create barriers for newcomers.
Songs of Silence is a Fabergé egg of a game: exquisitely crafted, lavishly detailed, and undeniably beautiful, yet ultimately decorative. Its true value lies in its visual splendor and evocative soundscape, gracing a gameplay core that’s serviceable but lacks the innovation or excitement that would make it truly memorable. If you buy this game, it’s purely for the artistry—for its aesthetic appeal, not for a deep or groundbreaking gameplay experience. For some, that might be worth the price; it was for me. But for others, it may not be worth the gilded exterior.
Planet Coaster 2 offers an excellent creative playground for detail-oriented players, delivering an engaging experience with well-designed tools and customization. While it provides impressive depth, a few issues, such as buggy controls and a steep learning curve, keep it from reaching its full potential. The game will appeal to those who love spending hours refining details but may frustrate casual players looking for a smoother experience.
Verily, Mirthwood doth take the cozy charm of Stardew Valley's life-simulation and grant it a darker, more ambitious twist, allowing players to delve into a vast and wondrous fantasy realm where they may explore, build, forge friendships, and carve their own tale. The game’s grand scope and rich atmosphere doth draw thee in, yet 'tis hard to disregard the pests and frequent drops in frame rate that oft break the spell of immersion. Though the life-simulation elements are merry and engaging, the combat doth leave much to be desired. Still, for a game wrought by but two humble creators, Mirthwood is a mighty feat, even with its rough-hewn edges.
Mario & Luigi: Brothership is a well-presented RPG with engaging combat and gameplay. However, it suffers from poorly paced tutorials and repetitive dialogue that greatly overstays its welcome. In terms of presentation, the game is clearly a cut above with its animations and cinematics, but with the game needing to hold your hand after every segment, it makes for a cruise that you want to get out of than enjoying the ride.
Metal Slug Tactics may be considered a hidden gem given how it hasn’t been advertised enough, despite being a pretty good game. Roguelite games are generally known for their replayability and Metal Slug Tactics is a prime example of that, where it combines roguelite elements and strategy gameplay that’ll have you keep playing for hours. With engaging gameplay, great pixelated visuals, and infinite replayability, the game is an absolute steal for the fun factor at the price it’s offered at.
ZEPHON’s post-apocalyptic world delivers on its promises, offering a solid and enjoyable experience with strong mechanics, striking visuals, and engaging themes. The audio is serviceable, if unremarkable, but overall, there's no faulting this game for being above-average. While it doesn’t revolutionize the 4X genre, ZEPHON remains a worthy addition, standing resilient in the shadow of more iconic titles without casting its own. It may be set in the aftermath of an apocalypse, but ZEPHON certainly isn’t the end of Civilization.
Empire of the Ants offers a surprisingly fun and visually stunning journey into the daily struggles of an ant colony, from gathering resources to battling rival insects. While the story is simple, it fits the game’s purpose, and the gameplay takes creative liberties to keep things engaging, even if movement can be a bit frustrating. The visuals are breathtaking, immersing players in a larger-than-life world, while the audio adds an immersive (if sometimes repetitive) layer to the experience.
Slitterhead is a game with an ambitious premise and innovative mechanics, but it ultimately falls short of its full potential due to uneven execution. The game’s character-jumping system and combat variety bring fresh energy to the action-horror genre, while the setting of Kowlong provides a richly atmospheric backdrop. Unfortunately, issues with controls, repetitive enemies, and disjointed storytelling hold it back. Slitterhead will appeal to those who enjoy a unique mix of action and light horror, but players looking for a polished experience may find it lacking. Nonetheless, its distinct gameplay and atmospheric world make it a worthwhile, albeit imperfect, journey for fans of genre-bending action games.
Albatroz is an interesting game about a journey of self-discovery, meeting new people, and appreciating good views. It has a lot going for it with its adventure survival gameplay, as it’s more engaging than other walking simulators out there. However, don’t expect an actual, realistic hiking experience. It’s really an RPG built around the foundation of a more lighthearted survival game and basic resource management.
Farmagia has so much going for it: a unique farming-action RPG combination and Hiro Mashima’s captivating art, but it doesn’t quite harness these strengths, ending up as a frustratingly mixed experience. It has all the ingredients for a great farming RPG, yet the gameplay and story feel rushed and undercooked, as if it wasn’t ready for harvest. And if a sequel ever happens, here’s hoping they retire Lookie-Loo—the ugly one-eyed fairy mascot that’s more annoying than endearing!
Shadows of the Damned: Hella Remastered combines nostalgia with modern improvements, capturing the dark humor and intense action that made the original unique. The remastered graphics and refined controls significantly enhance the experience, though the core gameplay structure remains largely the same. This updated version will appeal to fans looking to revisit Garcia Hotspur’s chaotic journey or newcomers curious about Suda51’s unique style. Still, the repetitive gameplay and dated design choices may limit its appeal for some players.
If Yakuza fans couldn’t get Kiryu in Smash Ultimate, a Switch port is the next best thing—and while there are a few hiccups, RGG did an impressive job bringing this fantastic game to the Nintendo Switch. For longtime fans, it’s an awesome way to take the Yakuza experience on the go, and for newcomers, Kiwami 1 makes an excellent entry point into the beloved series.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard was the result of BioWare learning from their lesson on fully investing into the action in an action RPG. The prior installment tried to balance its old identity of being both a strategy RPG and an action RPG, this time they went full on with the latter design. Veilguard delivers on its action-packed gameplay, enhanced by new mechanics, tighter level design, and a faster pace. Coupled with great audiovisual presentation, a compelling narrative, and so much side content to explore and finish, Dragon Age has definitely made a comeback worthy of your time.