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End of Abyss is the surprise hit of year, with its forebodingly atmospheric Facility, unsettling enemy design, and well executed minimalist philosophy, it brilliantly combines its multiple genres to create a distilled and engaging survival horror experience.
Toem 2 doesn't go crazy with new ideas and you solving the game's challenges offer up singular solutions, but this second go around has livened things up in ways you can't help but admire and respect. So go ahead, take another soothing photo adventure and embrace the new things Toem 2 has to show you.
Minecraft Dungeons 2 has been something of a welcome surprise overall. In an era where the modus operandi for dungeon crawlers is to go many layers deep on complexity and double down on sophistication and complexity, often to the detriment of your own time in ways that don't always feel meaningful or justified, Minecraft Dungeons 2 strips all of that back and is a properly compelling, though perhaps ultimately unspectacular distillation of everything I enjoyed about dungeon crawlers in the first place. Folks that have long been interested in dungeon crawlers games but don't know where to start? You start here.
In the end, Alien Breed: 35th Anniversary Collection feels like a litany of missed opportunities all wrapped up into one disappointing package. Not only were many of the games included in this compilation not all that great to begin with to put it mildly, but the absolute lack of any kind of real performance improvements, coupled with some truly annoying user experience flaws, mean that this package remains solely the vintage of those who either remain obsessed with the Alien Breed franchise, or simply want to see if, nostalgia aside, the games were as subpar as they remember them.
When it's all said and done there remains little better than turning on a dime right into the sights of an onrushing enemy pilot and tapping for the release of a locked-on missile before sailing through the resulting debris. Smart additions, including the debris and chain reaction systems, coupled with the more realistic weather effects and sense of scale make it so that Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve is one such outing that resoundingly sticks its landing.
Frustration mounts from start to finish during Qliphah in Providence's Shadow. What could have been a unique, brand-new IP sadly fails to capitalize on its great ideas. Combat is convoluted, and its special mechanics don't always work as intended, and the investigation segments almost unlock on their own. There are glimpses of something good here, but bad design decisions constantly hold it back.
Silent Hill: Townfall is a decidedly strong new entry in a series that has been straining to restore faith in itself. Townfall smartly draws on cultural anxiety in step with generally horrific imagery to make a game that more than earns the Silent Hill moniker. While I'm sure the next game we see will be totally different, I would love for this team to get another go. I think it gets a bit too brave with withholding vital information, and certain puzzles are utterly nightmarish, but I'd be missing the forest for the trees with how rich this game is.
Remedy deliver another hit, boasting enigmatic and visceral combat, an incredibly stylish, mind-bending, kaleidoscopic cityscape, and a surrealist yet utterly captivating narrative. Control Resonant ranks amongst the best of 2026, and absolutely has to be experienced.
I guess that's the thing about games and art more generally, such works can hit you when you least expect it but most need it. Certainly in this sense, Woodo is a precious and touching labour of love that hopes to pay it forward. From a purely mechanical perspective Woodo is not especially innovative and certainly not at all challenging, but it is enormously relaxing, weapons-grade adorable and potent enough in its role as a distraction from all of the awful spectrums of crap going on in the world, that it is precisely the sort of salve that I need at this time in my life. Maybe it will be the same for you too right now and if not, Woodo will assuredly, yet quietly, earn its place at some later point in your lifetime when you need it most, like a toy from a forgotten youth left in a cupboard that you rediscover years later.
If you're a fan of the TV series or just love a solid, retro-style brawler, The Walking Dead: Streets of Survival is worth your time despite a few hiccups.
Whatever the case, the core Hot Wheels experience is here and there's lots to do, but with a dearth of personality nor a reason to be as big as it is, Infinite Rush is every bit as hollow as it is huge. No amount of collecting everything and completing everything will mask this entry's lack of ambition, and in spite of all that it does well, these wheels aren't Hot, they're tepid.
Dune: Awakening looks like Dune, sounds like Dune and for all intents and purposes feels just like a game based on Dune should. Dune: Awakening is also clearly illustrative of the fact that Funcom has come a long way since the release of Conan Exiles and while the production values might not be quite so high as some might like, this is nonetheless the most vivid depiction of Arrakis and the tapestry of human tragedy that defined Frank Herbert's novellas to date in video game form. Dune: Awakening is an easy recommendation for Dune fans, survival fans and the folks within the Venn diagram which define the overlap of those two interests.
Dragon Quest Heroes: Torneko's Mystery Dungeon is a tough game that only veteran players may appreciate. Though it has plenty to offer those who want to see the game credited with starting the Mystery Dungeon genre, it may feel a little too traditional for modern gamers. Nonetheless, Dragon Quest Heroes: Torneko's Mystery Dungeon is a challenging game with plenty of replayability, but only if you can handle the randomness of it all.
Another swing and another home run for GungHo. Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter is another stellar remake that provides plenty of quality of life improvements over the first game but also tells a fantastic story with plenty of added cutscenes and fantastic voice work. Though the majority of the games exploration and combat haven't gotten many updates, they don't really need to as the Trails games have some of the best combat in JRPG's going right now.
SPRAWL zero is a thrilling Y2K throwback that captures the raw, unadulterated soul of the PS2 era without inheriting its clunky controls. By pairing a fast-paced "shoot-yeet-repeat" combat loop, pristine modern movement controls, and heavy, bass-rich audio design with razor-sharp momentum, it delivers a genuinely authentic retro experience. While shielded heavies create annoying pacing speedbumps and repetitive corridor environments occasionally apply the brakes in the middle chapters, the sheer joy of its physics-driven gunplay makes it an absolute must-play for action fans.
Jettisoning the open-world shenanigans of its previous comic-book games, the proudly linear violence of Marvel's Wolverine feels like a refreshing throwback in all the best ways, albeit one that has been lavishly encased in Insomniac Games' reliably premium audiovisual presentation. Boasting some of the most satisfying, if not especially inventive, third-person combat to come along in ages and a truly propulsive narrative that feels as furious and engaging as its titular hero, this is everything you could want from a game about The Man That Says Bub A Lot.
All in all, Lou's Lagoon is a fun excursion that brings together many elements from early PS2 platformers into one engaging craftathon. With that said, the focus on crafting comes with its own limitations, particularly inventory management and lack of explanation. If you know about some of the nuances ahead of time, Lou's Lagoon is a fabulous little romp.
Gallipoli continues the throughline of satisfying multiplayer shooter shenanigans and a real-world historical accuracy that the WW1 Game Series has prided itself on for more than a decade. Easily twinned to real-life battles and skirmishes, each map feels appropriately authentic and the strides it makes to a greater degree of realism, together with satisfying gunplay and the new Expeditions mode all make Gallipoli the best entry in the series to date, though a rickety framerate and occasional screen tearing do tarnish the overall package a little.
NBA 2K27 does a great job of expanding the court-level experience, adding more realistic player interactions rather than standardized, simplified animations. A more consolidated City experience gives you the social aspect of street hoop without all the excessive running around. Finally letting men and women play together in The City is a long-awaited addition. Broadcasting and off-court presentation take up a lot of unskippable time, and the MyTeam experience lacks the same amount of immersion and story for female players as male players get. All in all, NBA 2K27 is a good entry in the long-running franchise, especially if you haven't played in a while.
A lack of mission variety, and an array of bugs of the technical variety bring down the experience, but Coldiron have largely improved upon their first outing in the Alien universe, thanks to a fun class system, satisfying gunplay, and challenge cards that make for interesting difficulty experimentation, while remaining mostly faithful to the overarching franchise.