Hunt the Night wants to stand beside the gothic greats it so clearly worships, and visually it often succeeds. That said, its haunting pixel art and oppressive atmosphere can’t hide its many rough edges, as beneath the beautiful darkness lies combat that’s stiff and exhausting instead of satisfying, exploration that rarely excites, and technical issues that constantly chip away at immersion. The creation of Moonlight Games is not without merit, but for every moment that captures the spirit of its inspirations, two more remind the player of why these became classics in the first place.

Gear.Club Unlimited 3 offers solid handling, a generous car roster, and welcome two‑player split‑screen support, yet the overall experience struggles to rise above average. Technical inconsistency across both visual modes, dated presentation, rubber‑banding AI, and a repetitive progression loop limit the game’s impact, while the absence of online multiplayer reduces its long‑term appeal. There are enjoyable moments, particularly in short sessions, but the Switch 2 debut of the series falls short of the standard set by Eden Games’ earlier work.

Lorelei and the Laser Eyes is a bold and captivating puzzle game that stands out for its dedication to truly challenging the player. Not everything works; the story is pretentious and hard to care about, with the constant stream of puzzles to work on. It doesn’t help that the big reveal is pretty mundane, not particularly engaging, and veers toward cliché. What makes Lorelei and the Laser Eyes so cool is its distinctive audio-visual style, the open-ended nature of its puzzles, the dreamlike atmosphere, and the sheer boldness of some of its more obtuse puzzle designs that demand admiration.

For those looking for the tightest combat system that encourages the player to use every tool in their toolkit, Akuma Rise is a fantastic title. For those looking for more than turn-based combat, it is better to go elsewhere. While Akuma Rise encourages world exploration, it just feels cheap and hollow beyond the mechanical aspects. The story is unengaging, and the women in the party are quickly reduced to little more than love interests. Their interactions beyond the honeymoon dialogue are constantly marked by bickering and jealousy. It removes what initially makes them likeable and haves them fit a tight, boring mould seen far too often in the genre. Great traditional combat saves what is otherwise an eye-rolling experience - but it really does carry it well, as it sadly has to.

Lethal Honor: Order of the Apocalypse stands out in the market in more ways than one. It has a beautiful art style that is not just a pretty artistic choice, but it is breathed throughout the entire game. It dares to be really dark, and most importantly, has some extremely solid hack and slash gameplay to go with the rogue-lite elements. However, "lite" is sadly the best way to describe the rogue elements. This, mixed with the steep difficulty increase after the tutorial, makes this a title that is difficult to recommend to the vast majority of gamers. However, for hardcore fans of the genre, there is probably nothing better to spend the money on this season, despite harsh competition!

InKonbini: One Store. Many Stories has one rule and one rule alone: stress is illegal. Because of the liberating approach to life this management sim has…it turns out there’s not much managing to do. You’re not running a store, you’re vibing in it, restocking shelves just because it feels good to do so, while also helping the insane number of one customer find a can of [insert favourite Asian food]. There’s zero pressure, zero chaos, and honestly, barely a game. Everyone’s nice, nothing goes wrong, and problems probably took the week off. It’s a super-relaxing and charming vacation in a calm Japanese store. A very good one, but probably not for everyone.

An adaptation of Lovecraft’s popular short story, The Nameless City focuses on exploration and foreboding atmosphere rather than action, while its mundane-yet-otherworldly visuals create effective tension during the hero’s descent into ruins he shouldn’t descend into. There are a few problems that make it a hard sell, however. Some, like a couple of visual flaws, are minor. Others, like the lack of depth when it comes to the gameplay, are a bit harder to stomach. Its brief runtime also leaves ideas underdeveloped despite occasional moments of genuine cosmic horror.

The final part of the original trilogy looks and plays better than its previous two entries, but the cheap difficulty that was introduced sucks the fun out of Ninja Gaiden III. That said, the extra challenging US edition is now more beatable than ever thanks to save states and the rewind feature. By including the original Japanese version, too, there is every chance of getting through Ryu’s third NES adventure without the need to utilise the benefits of this Console Archives release.

Rogue Incursion can be an excellent Nintendo Switch 2 game if it gets a patch or two to address its technical hiccups. Mouse mode is completely broken and unusable, but the gyro-aim is effective and plays into the game's VR roots. Alien: Rogue Incursion - Evolved Edition is a pretty solid horror game despite its hang-ups and lack of originality. For its modest price, you can expect about five hours of thrills, and it’s solid enough to inspire hope for part two whenever that releases. If anything, a semi-episodic model like this, where a game is released in cheaper yet substantial chunks, shows that the approach can work, letting players enjoy a mostly complete experience without waiting years for a sequel.

A calming, creative experience built around the joy of arranging and personalising small spaces, the simple but cute look and relaxing atmosphere of MakeRoom make it easy to lose track of time while experimenting with ideas. It thrives when you let your own imagination free, as it's more focused on offering a gentle, low-pressure escape rather than gamey, structured goals. Sadly, the clunky controls, its somewhat cumbersome interface, and the lack of placement precision can interrupt the flow, making the experience feel less smooth than it could be.

Does Huntdown pass the test of capturing the spirit of the ‘80s, or is it just another neon-coated imposter? It passes - with flying colours, and probably a slow-motion explosion behind it. It has all the necessary ingredients: the excess, the attitude, the willingness to be completely ridiculous while still delivering something genuinely entertaining beyond the wonderful pixel art that dresses it all. It won’t eat up more than a week of your life (and that’s being generous), but some action games are just better as snacks rather than full meals.

For a low-budget indie 3D platformer on the original Nintendo Switch, Crosak impresses with its visuals and style. If it were a real Nintendo 64 platformer, its controls and gameplay would fall short of classics like Banjo-Kazooie and Super Mario 64, but it would still outperform most of the weaker 3D platformers on the system. It's less of a hassle to play than the vanilla release of Yooka-Laylee, but not as polished as Replaylee. It’s way better than Tail of the Sun, and when it comes to caveman 3D platformers, nothing tops Crosak.

Pokémon Champions, at launch, is a solid start to the new Pokémon battling experience on Nintendo Switch. Robust, flexible mechanics for newcomers to enter the battle scene and customisation for more seasoned players. As a free-to-play game, there is a surprising amount on offer - full battle modes and rental Pokémon, with paid content primarily reserved for cosmetics/time savers and storage. Pokémon Champions isn't without its choppy performance in areas and missing content, but it is a strong start that's bound to... evolve over time.

Tears Revolude is a frustrating title to play through. It has a lot of potential, but it is wasted due to a lack of polish. The combat system is solid, and there are some nice options to optimise characters; however, there are never any challenges that make good use of them. The skeletons of the characters’ personalities are neat with a lot of sweet backstory, but they are never fleshed out, and the laughable expressions further add to the feeling of soullessness. This is what happens when great people are given too little time to deliver a title on schedule, no matter the end result. For the first few hours, Tears Revolude promises a great JRPG experience, but it never delivers.

Aether & Iron is a very promising title that tells a highly compelling story of power and class, and is crowned with one of the most clever SRPG battle systems on the market. However, it is full of disruptive glitches and bugs that rear their heads far too frequently, which prevent the mind from fully engaging with the wonderful story. Signs indicate that the developers are quick to fix issues as they arise, so there is reason to believe they will get fixed over time. However, at the moment of writing, the flaws are too numerous to overlook. This makes it difficult to fully recommend the game to a wider audience than hardcore SRPG and aetherpunk dystopia fans. For those that love these aspects, though, there are few titles on the market that will scratch that itch as well as Aether & Iron.

A revival of a classic comes to Switch 2 looking slightly worse for wear, although the hit to visual quality is a sacrifice worth having to ensure a smooth docked and portable experience for Virtua Fighter 5 REVO World Stage. The new solo mode is on the grindy side and unfortunately doesn’t add any story scenes that would appeal to offline players, but it serves as a solid alternative to the arcade, and unlocking cosmetics along the way keeps reasons to persist with it high. The focus is on the online portion, which has great long-term potential with rollback and crossplay at the core.

Off has always been a strange, atmospheric, and undeniably influential RPG - one that’s ultimately more compelling for its ideas than for its gameplay. This remaster is easily the best way to experience it, thanks to its various QoL improvements, even if the new soundtrack may prove divisive among long-time fans. Combat and pacing issues prevent it from standing shoulder to shoulder with the genre’s greats, but its bizarre world, cryptic storytelling, and historical importance still make it a fascinating curiosity for lovers of unconventional indies. You may not end up liking it that much, but it’s the kind of game that’s worth experiencing at least once.

Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun and Aiko's Choice are exceptional strategy games held back by some unusual design choices. They're both still solid without any RPG mechanics, but being able to exploit the quick-save in a way that trivialises the experience was a mistake. It would have been nice to have bespoke checkpoints, though that might have impacted the large-scale, open-ended maps. The foundation for engrossing tactical planning and execution is top-notch, yet the story and character motivations end up being the most gripping aspect of the entire package between Blades of the Shogun and Aiko's Choice.

No Sleep for Kaname Date may not offer the gravitas of the two series entries it’s set between, but it confidently provides more of the same enjoyable gameplay and entertaining cast of characters. Far from just being a Greatest Hits album, it also introduces some classic escape room gameplay sections that are thoroughly enjoyable and successfully broaden the scope of the series despite this entry’s shorter length. All told, this is a great prospect for established fans, but probably not the best place to start for newcomers.

Angry Video Game Nerd 8-bit should have been more than a Mega Man knock-off with fewer features. It aims unbearably low and is content to dangle member berries to past episodes of a YouTube series that has become past due. A true successor to The Angry Video Game Nerd: I & II Deluxe should have been bolder and mixed genres or even gone full 3D. The only claim to fame 8-bit will ever have is that it's functionally a lost episode to the series due to the original footage used for the FMVs.

For an indie game, the boss fights are really, really good. It's fun having the boss go "movie mode" on the player when they catch them in an attack, and the parrying feels really enjoyable. The fighting to get there, though, is average at best, and the platforming borders on horrendous for how often buttons don't prompt on a teleport-jump, or the dash falls slightly short, leading to unnecessary frustration. At the current price point, Homura Hime is a bit tough to recommend, but will be worth it on a sale.

Japanese Drift Master is an enjoyable single‑player experience with a few rough edges. Fans of Japanese car culture and drifting‑focused gameplay will find plenty to enjoy. It may not reach the heights of Need for Speed or Midnight Club, but JDM delivers a stylish and entertaining ride nonetheless.

God of War: Sons of Sparta is a tedious and garden-variety metroidvania that brings nothing interesting to show to the class. This prequel stretches over 20 hours, filled with unnecessary padding and the least interesting iteration of Kratos yet, relying on trite game design and utterly soulless execution. Young Kratos, stripped of his signature rage, is an utter dullard preaching honour amidst joyless obedience. There’s no fury, no peril, just persistent boredom, proving that some origins are best left as a mystery.

The Legacy of Kain series has sadly been one whose gameplay shortcomings have always kept it down, never truly escaping the confines of the world of cult classics. The same happened with the culmination of the franchise, which once again offered a story worth paying attention to…while everything else occasionally felt like an afterthought. Bad? Not even close. It was a thoroughly enjoyable action-adventure - just one that never quite reached its towering potential. That said, Legacy of Kain: Defiance Remastered does a fine job at giving it a striking visual upgrade, as well as some much-needed tweaks and refinements, making it the best way to experience the finale(?) of Kain and Raziel’s dark saga.

Madison is a great VR horror game. With a constant biting tension and excellent puzzle design, utilising the camera mechanic throughout, players should be thrilled. It is highly recommended for the install base of PS VR2 owners who are into horror content. Bring a spare pair of underwear and strap in for some very cool spooks.

Scion is an example of the early ages of arcade space shooters that’s been lost within the genre. The Arcade Archives 2 release of the game is a pixel perfect recreation, bringing an authentic arcade feel to the home. Quality of life changes make the brutal campaign that bit more achievable and less of a slog!

Clever writing, daring choices to keep the franchise fresh, and more time-tested comedy make it easy to see how Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth3: V Generation could easily be the peak of the franchise. However, repetitive dungeons and random game crashes harm this port so much that it's hard to recommend to everyone. For fans of the franchise, this is a must-buy, but make sure to save frequently, or else you might have to repeat hours of gameplay due to an unfortunate crash.

Cool Boarders is a finnicky racer that limits its own appeal by lacking in multiplayer options. A large degree of skill is required to get the most out of it, but the small selection of stages with just the challenge of beating your own top records means there is only so much satisfaction that can be extracted before it is quickly moved on with. Nostalgia will play a big part in whether Cool Boarders sticks the landing.