Mouse: P.I. for Hire’s combination of classic cartoon animation and hardboiled detective noir is original and expertly blended. Paired with familiar first-person shooter mechanics, it sounds high-concept, but the execution makes it feel perfectly natural. The combat mechanics, movement, and narrative are dialed in. The pacing is a little slow, especially in the first few hours, but Mouse: P.I. for Hire doesn’t take itself too seriously, and the overall energy and clever, fun concept carry it along.

KuloNiku is a lovely slice of cozy gaming. With pleasing visuals, flexible gameplay, charming characters, and solid storytelling. It’ll have you addicted and sweating over your virtual stoves for hours on end. Definitely one to pick up and add to your cozy collection.

While the DLC gives you another reason to revisit one of the best games of last year, it doesn’t quite reach the heights of the base game. The developers designed the levels well, but they don’t offer as many paths and secrets as the main campaign. Although boss battles exceed expectations, the worlds don’t maintain consistent theming across all enemies, which detracts from the idea of visiting these distinct worlds. Regardless, priced at only $9.99, the Villains DLC delivers on its novelty concept and lets you delve back into a classic title.

Pragmata is a refreshing, refined adventure that tells a personal, grounded tale in an otherworldly setting. With traditional sensibilities, the game shows confidence in its mechanics, placing them at the forefront rather than smothering the experience with unnecessary content. Stepping back to the golden age of shooters, it manages to carve out a niche that feels both nostalgic and distinctly its own.

Gunboat God is an addictive, bullet-hell adventure. Thanks to its unique premise, approach to manoeuvring, and striking art direction, it instantly sets itself apart from the competition. Tight controls make each scenario a thrill, keeping you enthralled throughout. While it can take some time to get to grips with its rhythm, once it clicks, it’s exhilarating.

Minos reminded me of playing one of those wooden ball-in-a-labyrinth toys, where you tilt the maze just so to guide the ball to the end. In this case, gravity is replaced by scores of devious traps, and the goal is to stop the progress of enemies before they can defeat the Minotaur. Minos brings a lot of interesting ideas to the tower defense genre. If you have patience for increasingly challenging puzzles and a bit of jank, Minos can be a lot of fun.

GRIDBeat! is a tense puzzler that intertwines gameplay, music, and visuals to create a unique experience. Although the gameplay can become hypnotic and addictive, the visuals are a little basic and similar to other hacking-themed titles. As the adventure progresses, the difficulty swells, requiring precision and quick reactions. While this may deter newcomers, fans of puzzlers will adore the challenge.

People of Note is uniquely brilliant. This music-themed adventure is a true homage to the industry, boasting an incredible visual style and a stellar soundtrack. Whether solving environmental puzzles or taking on foes, every moment feels engaging, creating a well-paced journey across multiple regions, each brimming with personality. While some of the dialogue can be a little grating and its range of genres may not resonate with everyone, it captures the spirit of a playable musical and deserves a standing ovation.

Skytail doesn’t reinvent VR gesture-based gameplay, or add anything new. However, what it does well is combat. Often, I would find myself sucked into playing it much longer than I planned. The game is fun to play and gives you a bit of a workout to boot. If that mix appeals to you, Skytail is worth your time and money.

Darwin’s Paradox is an incredibly well-designed cinematic platformer that keeps you gripped from beginning to end. Each segment feels distinct thanks to its varied scenarios and the inventive ways it plays with its core mechanics. While those mechanics don’t evolve dramatically, the way they’re explored is consistently delightful, creating memorable moments throughout. There’s some trial and error, but generous checkpoints prevent it from becoming frustrating. It’s a joy to play, with strong pacing that keeps things engaging, though it is a little too short, and the collectables don’t add much in terms of replayability. Even so, this debut from ZDT Studio is fantastic and sets a strong foundation for what could become a standout name in cinematic platformers.

The Mega Man Star Force Legacy Collection instantly becomes the best way to play these games due to the quality of life improvements, cost, and ease. Despite not being the most popular subset of Mega Man games, the level of care put into the collection makes it easy to enjoy. For Mega Man fans or Battle Network fans, this is an easy recommendation. It’s surprisingly uncommon that collections improve an experience while keeping faithful to the originals, but this one does just that.

Disney Dreamlight Valley is a great choice for a Switch 2 port. It runs smooth, looks dang decent, and boots up clean. Whether it’s your first time in the valley or not, you’re sure to enjoy your time here.

Death Stranding 2: On the Beach landed on a lot of “Best of” lists in 2025 for good reason. With jaw-dropping visuals and mechanics improved over the first game, it’s almost certainly Kojima’s best work to date. Nixxes PC port is a masterpiece of technical wizardry and makes Death Stranding 2: On the Beach worth replaying or experiencing for the first time.

Legacy of Kain: Ascendance is a mixed bag. It was great to see a continuation of the world and characters from Nosgoth. The story is beautifully told and realized. The gameplay was really fun once I adapted to it. The different characters keep things feeling fresh. But the game is very linear, and there are no skill trees or RPG mechanics. There’s no way for the player to experiment with the game’s mechanics, and there’s not a lot of reason to keep playing once the story’s done. There are some of us who like nice, linear old-school action platform progression, though. The game also demands a lot of the player and has a lack of polish that works against those demands. I’m still so happy Legacy of Kain: Ascendance was made, though, and I really hope this leads to more games in the series.

Gamers who have already invested hundreds of hours in another hack-and-slash RPG might not be tempted to make a lateral move to Dragonkin: The Banished. Then again, its depth of systems and generally excellent combat might be a satisfying alternative.

Tales of Berseria Remastered preserves a title that was never that great to begin with. The potential of its darker tone and strong character focus loses impact through tedium, and the gameplay portion feels dated with its uber-linear exploration and repetitive combat. A bad game? Certainly not. A worthy upgrade? Far from it. This rerelease improves performance and visuals slightly while adding minor conveniences and DLC, yet it falls short of a meaningful upgrade. Ultimately, it’s best suited for newcomers, and its price feels hard to justify for anyone else.

All in all, Tombwater is one of my favorite Soulslikes, if not one of my favorite games, period. I’m not usually a fan of Zelda-likes, but I could barely put this one down. And only part of that was because I kept getting lost and wandering into a new miniboss arena.

I was a fan of Grime’s take on the Metroidvania/Soulslike formula. Grime 2 adds depth, polish, and variety to combat mechanics while making the experience a bit more accessible. Grime 2 literally begins with a question about how artists balance the new against what they’ve already done. Definitely a closely-related sequel and not a dramatic reinvention, there are a few frustrating platforming mechanics and a narrative that is only slightly less impenetrable. Grime 2 definitely deserves to break more fully into the mainstream this time around.

Life is Strange: Reunion is a fitting conclusion to Max’s decade-long story. Bringing Chloe back is a great decision; she’s witty, brash, and the perfect counterbalance to Max’s caring, tender nature. Together, they merge to create a memorable duo that lingers long after the credits roll. Although the game plays it safe, not evolving beyond its tried-and-tested formula, it still delivers a memorable tale of one of the greatest video game couples in the medium.

All in all, Homura: The Crimson Warriors is an interesting historical fantasy with a dash of romance. I recommend it to fans of Japanese history and bittersweet plotty romance.

Mario Wonder was excellent. So I'm always open to more playtime in that world. But I'm not as excited about multiplayer content. So this colorful carnival of party games isn't for me. But I see the vision. The games themselves are all fun, and the conceit itself is crammed with collectibles to hoover up. I just wish the single-player section had more than a handful of boss stages. It's great that there are seven of them, but the pattern gets pretty familiar by the end. But if you've been itching to take your Mario Wonder skills on the road, then this is almost perfect. We're still wandering the walled garden of friend codes, but this is a low hurdle to leap. Meetup in Bellabel Park has a ton of party game potential that you won't want to miss.

I really enjoyed Rushing Beat X: Return of Brawl Brothers. The core beat ‘em up combat is fantastic, and the goofy story gives the game a unique flavor. I never thought we would see another game in the series, and the devs obviously have great love for the source material. Unfortunately, Rushing Beat X: Return of Brawl Brothers is lacking in features, which puts it behind all the modern genre greats. But I easily recommend the game to anyone who’s a fan of beat ‘em ups, or in the mood for something nostalgic.

When it comes to racing games, Screamer asserts that realism is overrated. It’s an adrenaline-fueled blast from the past that feels current, too. Although it can be a bit repetitive and over-exacting at times, there’s a lot of depth to Screamer’s narrative premise and racing mechanics. Screamer is definitely worth a look for racing fans a bit tired of another lap around the traditional tracks.

Damon and Baby is an interesting experiment from one of the greatest developers in the fighting genre. While the game’s DNA contains strong ideas, they never evolve into anything that leaves a lasting impact. Combat is fun, but lacks the speed and style of its peers, and while combining this with adventuring is novel, it struggles to deliver something that competes in either sub-genre. The result is an experience that feels competent but ultimately underwhelming. A bold shift in direction, but one that struggles to justify itself.

Icarus is a truly beautiful experience. The environments – with all their glamor and dangers – are immersive and engaging. Its method of teaching the game may be too thin for those with no survival game experience, but if you stick with it, play the first few missions, and give Icarus a chance, it becomes something more. It’s a quiet period of respite. It’s survival on your terms. Solitude and freedom. Icarus, and especially its Open World mode, can become a cozy game with a few extra challenges if you let it. With an unfortunately lacking tutorial and mildly unfriendly UI, Icarus is surprisingly a great way to unwind after a long day. I’m not much of a survival gamer, but Icarus is quickly becoming a second home.

MLB The Show 26 feels lazy. San Diego Studio knows it has no competition and has decided to coast on its previous successes. The on-field action is addictive, but everything else almost feels like a slap in the face at this point. They desperately need to update the visuals, fix the bugs, and put some actual effort into the presentation and career modes. Until then, The Show will remain spinning its wheels in the dirt, hoping the fans won’t notice that the engine is starting to smoke.

I really enjoyed the original Greedfall’s blend of magic and 1600’s technology. While the combat is a little more flexible this time around, the narrative plays too many of the same beats, and its pacing fails to find a groove. Greedfall was a cult favorite of sorts. Greedfall: The Dying World does some interesting things with classes and combat, but lacks some of the charm and inventive spirit of the original game.

It’s too bad the game has these rough edges because conceptually there is a fun spy versus spy mechanic here. Veterans of the first game may not find the same level of frustration. It is vital that you do the tutorials before starting the campaign. The campaign should remain locked until players complete the tutorials. Unseen Diplomacy 2 is available on Steam and Meta. There is no mixed-reality mode. For all you spy types out there, if you have a high patience level, this game may provide you with the wanted tension and thrills.