In a vacuum, Dead or Alive 6 Last Round is a perfectly playable version of a perfectly fine fighter, but it’s still a somewhat underwhelming package all in all. Not quite enough improvements to reignite the interest around the base game, and also plenty of baffling limitations end up weighing a ton on the overall experience – one that only hardcore Dead or Alive fans might bother with.

Dark Scrolls is a title I should have loved and instead loathed. It is not offensively bad or poorly made, so you may find some fun here that I did not.

Devil May Cry 5 was great back in 2019, and it’s just as good now. Getting this quality of an experience on a mobile device would have blown my mind back then. It’s becoming the norm for CAPCOM’s Switch 2 ports. $40 is a lot if you’re double-dipping; for those who are yet to play DMC 5, there are few games out there like it.

Dave the Diver is a fantastic game, and In the Jungle is every bit as good. The quality and variety on offer are something few games can match.

The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales is an uneven, but ultimately satisfying title. An incredible soundtrack, solid gameplay, and, at least for me, fantastic visuals help carry it — despite the grind needed for its true conclusion.

I think Junkster is well worth a download. If you’re a fan of classic 3D Platformers, and want to play something relatively light with some surprisingly novel gameplay mechanics, I can think of worse ways to spend a weekend.

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth manages to do something so few games do. It balances the very optional exploration moments with a tight and gripping central narrative. By switching regularly between giving you the freedom of what to do and then bringing you back into a linear direction, I never felt tired of either one, quite the opposite, instead. While the low resolution and sometimes lacklustre combat would drag the game down for me at times, pretty much everything else had me hooked from start to finish. Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is a game every fan of the franchise, old or new, should at least try, if not outright devour. And be sure to let yourself get lost in this expanded world as you truly soak in and savour all that this game has to offer. You won’t regret it.

Echo Generation 2 is a major improvement over the first game. They’ve sanded away most of its gameplay rough edges, with only a final chapter that requires too much repetition as a standout issue. It is a gorgeous title, with fun combat and great music that is well worth a playthrough, especially if you have Game Pass.

Mina the Hollower was well worth the wait. It gives you all the vibes of the best old-school games, while bringing its own modern sensibilities with smartly paced exploration and tight gameplay. It is an incredibly difficult and rewarding experience that lets you fine-tune things to match what you are capable of. At $20, with over 20 hours, it is well worth picking up.

With a great cast of characters, tons of imagination and just the right amount of player agency and replayability, this is a delightful playground full of gadgetry and spycraft that players will want to return to again and again. A confident return for the Double-O program, and – sorry Goldeneye – this is without a doubt, the best James Bond game ever made.

I had a good time with Luna Abyss. It doesn’t quite reinvent the wheel, but its fast-paced yet relatively accessible bullet hell shooting makes for an interesting gameplay loop, coupled with various fun gameplay twists and great visuals. It could have been a bit more unique or daring, with some padding and replayability issues here and there, but especially as a Game Pass day one title, it’s easy to recommend shooting through the many mysteries of Luna.

Forza Horizon 6 is the best and most familiar the series has ever been. The festival’s arrival in Japan is a feast for the eyes, running incredibly well on every type of hardware I tried it on. Despite some issues with the ending grind, if you have ever enjoyed the series or thought about trying it, Forza Horizon 6 is an incredibly fun time.

Black Jacket is an addictive, well thought out and stylish gem of a game. I was very pleasantly surprised at how involved I got with the narrative, with each memory uncovered making me yearn for even more information. Overall, the developer has done an excellent job of elevating a simple game of Blackjack into something genuinely special. If you like card games, then Black Jacket should definitely be on your list of games to play this year.

I went into Call of the Elder Gods with a little trepidation, because I’ve played quite a few narratively focused puzzle games of late, and I feared I was a little burnt out. Thankfully, it’s a worthy sequel. Call of the Elder Gods is filled with some genuinely well-designed brain teasers, and a plot that eventually had me hooked, further fuelling my desire to solve the central mystery. If you’re looking for a new puzzle game to challenge you mind, this is a call you’ll want to take.

Ultimately, ‘Outbound’ frustrated me because I truly wanted to love it. Its key art was charming, its core concept appealing, I truly was all in on a title that could be a calm port in the storm of a crazy world. And in its first area that potential was being realised imperfectly, but with charm. Flaws unfortunately stack up, with each area pushing the initial issues to their natural breaking points and the initial fun of the survival crafting loop turning into a crushing grind with little in the way of reward. There is fun to be had here for the patient, and perhaps with friends, some welcome life can be injected into the abandoned world. Right now though, it’s hard to recommend this one for the average camper.

Directive 8020 is a solid sci-fi yarn let down by some early snark-filled writing. The plot is serviceable in showing you some gorgeous locations full of people you may or may not want to save, and a bevy of monsters you’ll get bored hiding from. If you’ve enjoyed the studio’s previous work, then rest assured that Directive 8020 may well be worth checking out.

Like a long Family Guy skit or an Asylum movie, it’s not even the quality of the humor itself – it’s the sheer audacity of coming up with this stuff and committing to it in a finished product. Priest Simulator: Vampire Show is not a balanced, polished or ambitious videogame, but the sheer absurdity of the humor and player freedom make it a fun experience – even though the actual gameplay is pretty damn janky and repetitive. Keep this one for a rainy day, or when you’re looking to try something absolutely ludicrous. Priest Simulator: Vampire Show is not a great game, by all means, but the sheer levels of insanity on display are worth, but only if you like absurdist humor and don’t get offended by certain… less than favourable views of religion.

While WILL: Follow the Light can very much look the part, it simply didn’t hold up for me when it came to the actual gameplay and narrative. The story felt fragmented and poorly delivered, even though a late game twist and a heartfelt message about the time we have and the choices we make felt genuine. While narrative ‘walking-sim’ fans may find some enjoyment and a few bright ideas, it’s not quite enough to make this sailing trip truly worth the journey.

Mixtape is a coming of age story about friendship, change and growing-up that – depending on your age and the expectations you come in with – may be just be your favourite game of the year. As an old grey-beard that grew up in the nineties, and was similarly…rebellious, it certainly hit all the right notes with me.

When the timing is right, Dead as Disco can be a joy to play, with an accessible and addictive combat system, a bright and imaginative art-style and perhaps more importantly, the music chops to match that artistic vision. There’s still a lot of work to be done of course, but with the add-your-own-music feature bringing potentially limitless content to enjoy, Brain Jar Games are potentially on their way to a number one smash hit. [Early Access Score = 70]

If you are a fan of narrative games, then I think you will like Wax Heads. There is nothing out of the ordinary here – but the story is engaging, and the art style is fantastic. Unfortunately for me, I did find some of the gameplay tedious, and there is a lot you need to remember and take in to fulfil your role as a star employee. I appreciate the hard work that has gone into making the game, and what the creative team have tried to achieve here, but for me it just didn’t hit all of the right notes.

All in all, TerraTech Legion is definitely one of the most addictive and original bullet heaven/survivors-like games out there, and an excellent title for handhelds as well. A fun driving model, a deep and incredibly rewarding vehicle-building system, with plenty of challenging content to play for dozens of hours. It has a few balance issues, and it may lack the ludicrous depths of some of the best bullet-hell games, but its unique gameplay loop and deep build variety make TerraTech Legion pretty much a must-play for fans of the genre.

Bus Bound, to me, is the kind of game that proves that a bus driving simulation game can be fun, rewarding and enjoyable, even if the act of slowly manouvering such a vehicle is not something that excites you in the slightest. But a satisfying yet relaxing driving model, precise yet somewhat forgiving rules of the road, and a very lively and great looking town to explore and evolve to your liking turn the game into a very enjoyable experience. Not a massive amount of content as of today, but with a lot of player agency and even a 4-player online co-op mode, it’s definitely one of the finest vehicle simulation games I’ve ever played. Bus Bound is the bus simulation for bus enthusiasts and newcomers alike, and thus far my surprise hit of the year 2026.

Saros is a ton of fun to play, especially if you prefer a character leveling system to a ‘git gud learning patterns’ one. It is stunning to look at and has an excellent soundtrack. An emphasis on its weak story wastes some solid acting performances and an incredible art style. By the end of my 14 hours, I felt a tinge of disappointment at how close Saros was to being incredible.

As someone who mostly cares about the core mechanics above all else, I’m pleased to report that Invincible VS lives up to my lofty and possibly unreasonable expectations. The combination of IP authenticity and gory combo focused combat is a mix that for me doesn’t really get old and is incredibly fun. Fans of the show will absolutely want to get their hands on this, if for no other reason than to further immerse themselves in the universe.

The Last Gas Station is a solid game that pushes the grind a bit too hard in the latter half. Hopefully, a post-launch patch helps, as this is an enjoyable experience otherwise.

While not as groundbreaking of an evolution as last year’s game, MotoGP 26 pretty much does everything right. It tweaks both the simulation and arcade riding styles, it adds more options to career and multiplayer modes alike, and offers plenty of content and customization options. It has a few technical issues that are atypical for this series, and it may still lack the incredible depth and variety of the licensed F1 games. Yet, MotoGP 26 is a fine step forward for an already excellent racer, even if its iterative nature makes it a less essential upgrade than last year’s game.

Aphelion is a thoroughly enjoyable sci-fi adventure of loss, desperation, survival, and importantly, hope. Despite a few very late-game wobbles, this is one mission for humanity you should undertake.