Resident Evil Requiem is an incredible game. I’m sad I didn’t get to review it early for you, but just know that if you’ve been waiting for my thoughts, it’s really damned good. My favorite in the series, in fact. I loved Resident Evil 4’s remake, for the first 75%, but that game went on a little too long. Resident Evil Requiem’s pacing leads to a snappy, scary, breath-taking time that no other series can quite match. It’s an amazing title, balancing survival horror and balls-to-the-wall action like few ever have before.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

A tremendously well-crafted gameplay loop, great art-style, a splendid soundtrack, and plenty of content to lose dozens of hours in – with more promised to come in future updates. I would have liked a bit more original art and mechanics, instead of mostly re-treading designs from Vampire Survivors, and a few balance changes and late game choices hamper the long-term playability a little. Still, Vampire Crawlers is one of the best roguelike deck-builders on the market right now. It’s fast, charming, addictive and tremendously well-crafted. Poncle has done it again.

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.

SIGONO’s newest adventure tells the story of environmental struggles that naturally become personal. After what seems a long life yet lived and having nothing to show for it, you’re invited to look back again and understand. Sometimes they’re happy thoughts. Sometimes, it hurts so much you’ll want to crawl up in a hole and die. Sometimes, retrospection gets all too real. OPUS: Prism Peak’s answer to this middle-aged conundrum is to look back, walk straight forward, and be nicer to yourself. It couldn’t have worded it in a nicer, more beautiful message.

Twisted Reflection is one-of-a-kind. I found myself enjoying the world-building of a Monster Hunter game for the first time, thanks to a strong cast of characters backed up by an interesting premise and stellar visuals. The combat is fun, and the world mechanics all work together to keep you busy, whether it’s completing quests or taking on challenges with your best Monsties. I wholly recommend Monster Hunter Stories 3 to anyone who loves the idea of an animated-like adventure, complete with a modest amount of mechanics that do not burden the player.

PRAGMATA is a fantastic video game. Solid gunplay, excellent variety in its hacking, incredible visuals, and an enjoyable story work together to create what I hope is a new IP that we’ll see a lot more of in the future.

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.

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.

Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun’s Nintendo Switch 2 port is an excellent (if expensive) way to experience this wonderful title. Mimimi Games was one of the best, and Shadow Tactics was where they started to shine. At $40 MSRP for the base game and $20 for Aiko’s Choice, it isn’t cheap, but it is fantastic.

As of today, Marathon is a bit too light on depth, content and variety to be warranting an unconditional recommendation, with too many design flaws that could alienate newcomers. Now, the ball is in Bungie‘s court. Can they turn Marathon into a truly unmissable multiplayer experience? Currently, they are only halfway there.

I very much enjoyed my time with Moomintroll: Winter’s Warmth, and for those looking for an adorable and charming way to spend a few hours, I would heartily recommend it. It is visually stunning, enjoyable to navigate and play and made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. If you are into cosy, story-driven puzzlers, then I would definitely encourage you to check it out.

The world of Novo is as captivating as ever. The puzzles on offer, enhanced with deeper mechanics are well thought out, and the expanded narrative provides some answers and takes some risks with its story telling. Planet of Lana 2 can’t quite escape feeling a little familiar, but who’s going to complain about more of such a good thing?

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.

Despite my irks with the game, I couldn’t help but feel entranced by its atmosphere. It won’t take long for you to figure out what’s gone horrible wrong in Minakami, but the side stories you catch glimpses of as you saunter through run down homes and village walks paint a picture of terror, violence, and sometimes regret. You’ll encounter some messed up events as you get to one of the game’s many endings and, despite my issues with Mio, she handles these encounters with far more grace than my scaredy bones could ever. Repetition is in FATAL FRAME II’s nature and though I find more comfort from the horrors of Minakami Village behind the camera lens, it’s hard to deny that the game would be complete without its gorgeous setting and haunting narrative. Take a snapshot and hope you don’t miss.

MOUSE: P.I. For Hire was worth the wait. The team at Fumi Games has matched their fantastic artwork with solid gameplay, great writing, and fantastic audio. Shooter fans are eating Gouda with this one… Ah, hell, I already used that one.

Grime II is a phenomenal video game. Every aspect of it is a huge improvement over the original. If you have some patience and love a good Metroidvania, Grime II is the best one I have played since the Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown. I cannot recommend it enough.

WWE 2K26 does exactly what a yearly sports game should do. It fixes some minor issues from the previous title. The Island mode is more enjoyable, going full in on the wacky version of what wrestling games can be...It’s expensive as heck if you want the top tier edition, coming in at an eye watering $150 MSRP in the US. If you’re happy with 2K25 there may not be enough here to warrant a full purchase, otherwise it’s an easy recommendation for fans of the industry.

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.

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.

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.

People of Note tries to do a lot – a video game-musical, with turn based combat, a world of musical references and plenty of dungeons and puzzles. Some of that is pretty great. Alas, the gameplay felt to me like a track stuck on repeat, and the story didn’t quite have enough going for it to be truly worth the journey. This is one album I won’t be playing again any time soon.

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.