Nioh 3 feels like a natural evolution of the ideas that Team Ninja has been refining for years in not just Nioh, but their other action RPG titles as well. The expanded exploration, new combat styles, and improved systems give the game a greater sense of scale without losing too much of its identity that defines the series. What ultimately makes Nioh 3 excel is how rewarding its combat feels once everything begins to click. Switching styles mid-fight, managing Ki efficiently, and making smart use of abilities creates an exhilarating flow that few action RPGs hit. While some players may miss the tighter level design of previous entries and others may find the layered mechanics daunting, the overall experience remains incredibly rewarding. In the end, Nioh 3 refines what the series has always done best, Its deep combat, making it one of the most enthralling Soulslike action RPGs to play today.

As the credits rolled after my four hour and 30-minute journey, I found myself a little lost trying to decipher exactly what had happened, but the experience getting there was the compelling next step of the gameplay seen in the previous Little Nightmares titles. Even if the puzzles remain simple and the controls occasionally stumble, these minor flaws hardly detract from the overall package, which includes striking visuals, tense encounters, and richly varied environments. Reanimal delivers a grim, beautiful, and unsettling time. Whether played solo or in co-op, this game proves Tarsier Studios are able to keep delivering little nightmares time and time again.

If you like Sanrio, or comfy life sims, can’t recommend this title enough. A calming vacation… presuming you, unlike poor, poor Retsuko, aren’t also getting daily messages from work on what’s meant to be a vacation, or whatever the gaming equivalent of that would be. The worst thing I can say about it is that it can feel a bit shallow and repetitive at times, but that’s a natural part of the genre… and life itself at times, let’s be real here. Fantastically sweet little title, if you need a game to relax with for a little bit after work, Hello Kitty Island Adventure will 100 percent help you actually do so.

Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time is a delightful slow-life RPG that is best when you embrace its structure and varied Lives system. It’s less about telling a gripping story and more about letting players take part in the cosy life sim. With dozens of activities, systems that feed into each other, fun crafting and gathering loops, and a sprawling post-game full of secrets and scaling challenges, it offers tremendous value. While the combat and multiplayer are more surface-level, and some design quirks (like time-limited co-op) may leave certain players wanting more, its cheerful tone, flexibility, and performance make it a rewarding escape into a cosy, fantastical world. If you’re after a relaxing but deep time sink, Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time more than earns your attention and is a strong recommendation for fans of relaxing RPGs or life sims, as it may just steal your free time.

Although the Marvel vs Capcom collection just about edges this one for the quality of games on offer, Capcom Fighting Collection 2 is a close second place, with the two Power Stone games and CVS2 in particular being excellent fighting games still worth checking out. Capcom are really onto something with these back catalogue reissues as of late and I feel it is something worth supporting, because there’s still plenty more in their archives that would benefit greatly from being part of a collection like this, with all the features you could want from a modern fighting game in one easily accessible package.

I don’t imagine there’s many Fatal Fury fans out there who wouldn’t much prefer two actual Fatal Fury characters rather than two characters clearly stuck into the game due to some hefty influence from their controversial owners. I’m sure they would prefer the game to not be associated with KSI and his bunch of cronies. Sadly, I’m also absolutely certain that if it wasn’t for SNK’s owners having more money than God at their disposal, we’d not be playing this otherwise excellent sequel to Mark of the Wolves. C’est la vie, etc. I’m a lifelong fan of fighting games. I love fighting games and I love this game, but honestly, I hate all of this.

For fans of the series and newcomers alike, this remaster offers an improved version of Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2, surpassing it in all ways that are important, even if it doesn’t fully capture the essence of the original Ninja Gaiden 2. Whether you’re a seasoned shinobi or a novice ninja, Ryu Hayabusa’s global adventure remains as action-packed as ever, and this version proves that Ninja Gaiden’s action is still relevant in 2025, making me excited to see what Ninja Gaiden 4 has to offer.

It becomes such a good time, ultimately you can almost forgive it for the disjointed, confused main game. If you’re a big fan of the series, you’ll power through until you get to the good stuff and perhaps if you’re a newcomer you’ll get something out of the greater narrative focus but personally, I found it to be a bit of a bore until it really kicks into gear once it bins all of that stuff off and tasks you with the titular hunting of monsters as the primary focus. As much as I’d like to say you can forgive a poor 15-20 hour story mode when the post-game is potentially hundreds of hours of incredible content, the way I’ve always seen it is 20 hours is still a LOT of time to invest in a game before it gets truly good, regardless of how good it gets.

Overall, Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island is a worthy addition to the PC roguelike library. It offers a challenging and rewarding experience that will appeal to fans of the genre and, in all honestly, the biggest issue I have with this PC port is entirely down to the apparent lack of people playing it, which is hardly the fault of the game itself, which is excellent. Other than that, this PC port is well-executed, with slightly enhanced visuals over the Switch original and its bags of charm, depth, and replayability make it a must-try for any roguelike enthusiast. Whether you’re a seasoned Shiren veteran or a newcomer to the series, Serpentcoil Island is well, well worth a visit.

There’s a ton of depth that is often lacking in such bonny titles and plenty to keep you engaged for well over ten hours. Plus the difficulty is absolutely perfect for a real hungry brain-teaser lover such as myself. The only negative thing I can even really say about it is that it’s not exactly a novel concept as there are many other games that will have you programming bots. Human Resource machine is incredibly similar with its drag-and-drop command layout, I got quite addicted to Bitburner a year or so ago which uses a real programming language to have you level-up in a sort of an idle game, and I’m very excited for Linkito that lets you build out entire systems with logic gates and bits of hardware. That doesn’t stop Star Stuff being great, though – it actually means there’s somewhere to go from here if you want more. Give it a shot.

Mullet Madjack is a rush of action, a pump of dopamine throughout its entirety, just like the core mechanics of the game. This is fast, frantic and chaotic which goes all in with its well-executed life countdown gameplay. Everything is built solid to support that concept; it never frustrates. The game focuses on what makes a fun shooter, the speed, the violence, and the addictive gameplay loop. Mullet Madjack delivers that engaging rush that keeps players on their toes. It could do with more elements, more powers, and more building blocks for its levels, as those soon begin to lose their spark. But, for the affordable price (£16.95) and the compelling gameplay within its Endless Mode or difficulty settings, it is worth spending time with to enjoy its energetic gameplay.

Overall, Animal Well is a visually striking 2D metroidvania that immerses you in a pixelated world full of mysteries. As you explore this intricate “puzzle box world,” you’ll rely on a variety of items to navigate its passages and uncover hidden secrets. While the game definitely caters to completionists, there’s plenty here for all players to enjoy. The core gameplay is packed with puzzles, intriguing locations, and a sense of discovery that will keep you engaged. BIGMODE definitely found a great debut game and developer in Billy Basso, and I hope their relationship brings a fresh and innovative energy to the gaming scene once again.

I’m going to be recommending Minishoot’ Adventures for some time and to pretty much anybody who will listen because it’s a game everybody can enjoy and honestly I may get another playthrough out of it myself in the near future; I’m already feeling the cravings. But I’m also positive that when the inevitable inspirations begin to follow, it will be one of those that end up taking on the mantle for the genre.

A fabulous gateway for new players and something fresh for those of us already obsessed with digital cardboard rectangles, Balatro is an explosion of glee but it burns out fast.

There are not many intense and skill-based euphoria moments in video games that feature such great platforming and instant death moments with enemies as the dance that is performed between the player, enemy and the environment of Ghostrunner 2. This is why this game is a great follow-up to Ghostrunner, upholding what made the first a superb game with its wonderful controls and movement while keeping its artistic cyberpunk visuals, but it is a shame that it hiccups with one level that spoils the overall great package.

With a name like Turbo Overkill, one is correct to assume that it is full of that cheesy madness, which is exactly what it delivers as it fully embraces the Boomer Shooter subgenre. Turbo Overkill is an encapsulation of absurdity, trying to push itself to the heights of stupendous fun through its creative weapons, augmentations and dumb, wild scenarios while offering plenty of mechanics and rapid gameplay to satisfy those old-school action lovers. With its superb throwback visuals, quality soundtrack, outlandish level design, and hyper-bloody action that never seems to let up, Turbo Overkill is a great recommendation for anyone looking for a quality and thrilling first-person shooter in 2023.

In a nutshell, Remnant II is a great game but an underwhelming sequel.

This is a game that people should stomach to experience how horror games can make you feel when set in an isolated dark environment with minimum ammo and a huge monster tracking you down. A truly dreadful experience, in a positive sense, which is something only horror games can deliver.

What this release means is that the engrossing strategic gameplay of the Game Boy Advance entries remains as addictive and enjoyable now as they did all those years ago, a testament to the original developer’s well-crafted gameplay mechanics. The only problem is the limited online because being exclusive to your friends and not having a ranking/open matchmaking feature is a huge opportunity missed. The rest of the package in Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp is an easy recommendation for anyone who wants to challenge their tactical know-how on the miniature battlefield.

While the puzzles are not challenging for most, and the combat is never as demanding as the mainline series, they are a refreshing redesign that brings its own puzzle elements into the combat for a genre that could easily have gone without any action to be successful.

As stated before, not much has changed in Moss Book II, making it an iterative sequel that keeps all of its strengths along with a few more bells and whistles. About the only remaining weaknesses are the spare enemy variety and combat; though there are a few new bolstering additions for both, they still serve as hors d’oeuvres while the platforming and puzzles make up the main dish. Nevertheless, anyone who enjoyed the first game need not hesitate to continue the adventure, while newcomers may want to consider starting off with the first game as the sequel is more of a complimentary package rather than a replacement; in the olden days, we’d use to call this “Disc 2”. Regardless of order, anyone who opted early with Sony’s new VR headset needs to make sure their paths end up right at the newest entry in Quill’s adventures (and hopefully not the last).

Besides the lack of any meaningful graphical or gameplay upgrades from the PSVR1 version (or worse yet, a cheaper upgrade alternative, as both this game and the sequel must be purchased separately without the ability to transfer progress), the only quibble is the simplistic combat, which is satisfying enough to control but suffers from a lack of moves and a bigger lack of enemies. The traversal and puzzle elements, however, are frequently kept fresh thanks to new power-ups obtained and new head-scratchers to solve as the journey continues…plus the storybook visuals combined with the unobtrusive VR effects combine into an experience that truly is a showcase game for the new PSVR2, one that guarantees most people of all ages can appreciate, rather than hurl.

Short and sweet as the experience may be, Rez Infinite is still a highly recommended VR game that begs repeat playthroughs, and will undoubtedly prove a dazzling experience for even the most skeptical VR critics (even the ones with potentially weak stomachs). More importantly, the PSVR2 version is undoubtedly the best, most definitive version of the cult classic game, making it one of the few unironic instances where a title truly was “ahead of its time”.

In summary, Tetris Effect: Connected is the easiest game to recommend, with just a couple of exceptions; In its purest form, it is Tetris, first and foremost, and from an aesthetic standpoint, it is a beautiful showcase of what VR games can achieve, almost perfectly now thanks to the improved performance and power of the PSVR2. But for those who have already played the previous version ad nauseum and/or don’t own a PSVR2 (much less a PS5, as the console can still be tricky to find), it may not be worth the upgrade price, even if it is relatively cheap. Those two caveats aside, this is a must-have game that will impress even the most hesitant of folks over the unique experience of VR gaming.

Fire Emblem Engage is a great Fire Emblem title that focuses on its core roots, the tactical RPG elements; more so its combat. The story is fun, if straightforward, but by aiming for the battle mechanics of the game, Intelligent Systems has been able to make the series’ best combat to date. The addition of the Emblem Rings and what they bring to the characters and their customisation opens a better progression system for each hero while adding more elements to change how one should approach battle scenarios. Throw in some little quality-of-life improvements and new weapon behaviour and this is a Fire Emblem that enjoys celebrating its past heroes and games, but keeps the battles rejuvenated with these new mechanics to push it forward rather than leaving the gameplay stuck in the past where its heroes have come from.

You cannot mention A Plague Tale: Requiem without the graphics, especially some of the mind-blowing environments and vistas, no matter how beautiful or vile their settings are, plus the incredible rat rendering technology included, help make this some of the best visuals in a medium for 2022. Fans of the first game are in for such a treat, and newcomers, more so those who love games that focus on spectacle narrative with over-the-top action, are going to love the continuation of Amicia’s and Hugo’s gruesome journey, which showcases a strong bond between family that would impress even the likes of Dominic Toretto.

Yacht Club Games has once again hit paydirt, and Shovel Knight Dig is as deep a gameplay experience as fans could hope for, in addition to newcomers. Now stop reading all the digging puns in this review and get shoveling.

Even more colourful, engaging and eccentric than ever before, Splatoon 3 is bringing the same highly amusing casual and competitive fun of Splatoon’s unique paint-based versus gameplay and polishes it closer to perfection, like topping up some old decorations with a fresh coat of paint. It is disappointing that there is nothing ground-breaking, as new weapons, maps and a couple of modes are nothing to scream about, but the campaign is the best and most inventive it has been yet, bringing a good solid 7+ hours of fun. The game also throws in a card battler for some added distraction. The quality-of-life improvements to the multiplayer were so needed, bringing the game closer to the current modern age of online gameplay.