Madden NFL 26 is a shining example of why it’s important to read full reviews, not just scores. Why? Even when discussing two games in a series made one year apart, there’s a world of difference between last year’s 8 and this year’s 9.5. Those waiting for Madden to finally make true forward progress can exhale, because the moment has come.

Robots at Midnight is promising, and if this were an Early Access title, I’d be excited to see where it’s going. The combat is solid (if basic) the art style offers a cartoony take on a world post-collapse, and the mechanics of exploration were satisfying from moment to moment. Still, the whole thing feels like an idea for a game, as what was in front of me for review felt miles away from being a full, complete experience.

Playing Battlefield 6, I was transported back to a time when I enjoyed online multiplayer. I hopped off the competitive shooter train a while ago, trading my regular Call of Duty sessions in for sports and racing titles. However, in the last couple of weeks, I’ve spent all my free time here, and as dangerous as this might be to a full-time student with a demanding full-time job, the quality of that time spent rests heavily on the fact that I’m going to stick with it after my review is complete. While the campaign might be little more than a glorified tutorial, this remains a war worth fighting.

If the idea of gunning down bad guys while kickflipping through the sky doesn’t appeal, then there’s nothing in Echo Point Nova that’s going to convert someone. For me, though, Echo Point Nova does exactly what it says on the tin and excels at it — and honestly, that’s enough to keep me coming back with each update to maintain my 100% completion.

Katanaut looks good and has potential, and honestly, it’s getting better by the day. The developer has been dropping frequent updates that offer additions and enhancements that weren’t there when I first started playing, and the push and pull of going between melee and ranged during the action feels on point. However, there’s a lot of competition in the roguelike genre right now, and in order to succeed, Katanaut‘s going to need better handling of its story and adjustments to the grindy nature of the meta-progression. As it stands today, it didn’t land with me and I haven’t stuck with it, but that could change in the future with a few more patches and upgrades.

While Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds might not dethrone Mario’s racing adventures, it’s a solid racing title in its own right thanks to great handling and an overwhelming amount of options. I would have liked to see a little more supporting the package as a whole, but what’s here must surely rank among the finest arcade-style racers from the last few years. For those who absolutely gotta go fast, this one is an easy recommendation.

Anyone willing to get knee-deep into exercises like inspecting a vase until they spot the tiny crack that proves the villain must’ve hastily knocked it over in the middle of the night will surely find much to love in Agatha Christie: Death on the Nile, and in the end it stands as an excellent example of the right way to adapt classic material for the modern age and its new mediums.

Overall, Easy Delivery Co. is a resoundingly successful marriage of tone and mechanics. The developers demonstrate a keen eye toward player engagement, offering just enough depth to require my focus, but not so much as to distract from their haunting world. While the narrative ultimately falls a bit flat, the quiet moments of brewing tea by firelight and harrowing drives through blinding blizzards will stick with me long after I make my final delivery.

Overall, I truly enjoyed my time with Estelle, Joshua, and their many companions in their quest to become senior bracers. Falcom does a commendable job creating a world and story that feels real for the majority of its runtime, despite a few occasional stumbles. As a newcomer to the series, the combat system captivated me from the first battle and never let me go. Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter feels like a classic JRPG I might have grown up playing, yet produced in a modern and nuanced way at the same time. Thanks to the obvious pride and care put into this remake, consider me the newest fan of the Trails series.

Despite its lack of complexity and failure to capitalize on its oversized world, I found it easy to like Misc. A Tiny Tale. The chunky, expressive little automatons immediately drew me in, and its earnest narrative of self-acceptance and mutual aid proved a pleasant counterpoint to the ever-growing hellscape of the real world. While these elements aren’t enough to propel Misc. A Tiny Tale into the annals of the genre giants it’s modeled after, I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t a smile on my face as I watched the credits roll over a saccharine song espousing the power of friendship.

This isn’t a title to nitpick, so, let’s break this down to the important things. College Football 26 is an absolute blast to play, and is a massive step forward for the reborn franchise, thanks to the type of year-over-year improvements that will please even the most cynical gamers. A title this deep and layered will never be perfect, but seeing last year’s foundation turn into this year’s celebration has been wonderful. I’m not likely to put this down any time soon.

Roadcraft is not a game for everyone, and it’s not even for every Snowrunner fan — but that’s what makes it brilliant for those willing to tune in, and the number of potential fans is probably larger than one might guess. So, despite how eager I am for the return of the Chosen One in Snowrunner 2, I also will be keenly watching where Roadcraft goes. I can’t think of anything in the double-A space that’s more interesting, or has more potential, than this game.

It’s tremendously disappointing, and hopefully either Aspyr can do something about it in the future, or ardent fans will come to rescue and save this title from a fate worse than death.

All in all, Heartworm is a fascinating look at memories, trauma, and our experiences in dealing with both. The limited combat options meant that the disempowerment of needing to avoid combat when possible helped to serve the feeling of unease. Unfortunately, there are some issues that bring down the experience as a whole, and I wish they would have been fixed before release. Even so, Sam’s quest for meaning in the face of anguish is a relatable one, and that’s where this adventure truly shines.

Zombie Army VR isn’t a failure by any means – the zombie shooting is certainly thrilling in its brutality, even if it still feels like a bit of a missed opportunity. The relative paucity of zombies, the fact that the sniper rifle feels like a secondary weapon, and the lack of any of the franchise’s crazier elements, like magical combat abilities or zombified vehicles, conspire to make it feel like half of the experience it should be. Maybe we’ll get extremely lucky and when Rebellion gets around to making Zombie Army 5 they’ll consider developing a VR version alongside it so that we’ll finally get a chance to truly inhabit this world.

It’s damn near perfect, and offers an immensely satisfying experience with plenty of replayability — it’s so good, in fact, that after completing it for the first time, I sat down and immediately completed it again on Hard Mode.

Wild Hearts S is a welcome and surprisingly capable port of what I always considered to be a truly fantastic and criminally underappreciated title when it launched a few years ago. EA may have dropped support for Wilds Hearts in a hurry, but I’d absolutely love if Omega Force continued to forge ahead with this IP independently. Azuma ain’t gonna save itself, after all, and it’s far too charming a world to leave to its own devices.

Ultimately, the thing about Hell is Us that ties it all together is the title. The combat and exploration are merely a distraction from the real conflict happening in front of the player’s eyes — humans on both sides of the civil war (and those manipulating the war from behind the scenes) have committed far worse atrocities than the creatures ever have.

Anyone with a few hundred dollars and a couple of months of free time could build Gore Doctor for themselves. The only thing that it has to offer which didn’t come from the Unity store is the plot, and that’s so threadbare as to be nearly incoherent. As a sample designed to demonstrate how a variety of different assets can be assembled into a playable experience, Gore Doctor is functional. As something that people are expected to pay for and enjoy, it doesn’t clear the very low bar set to call something a real game.

Rematch is a great example of when developers take a popular topic and put their own spin on it. Some might describe it as a “Rocket League without cars”, but it is so much more than that. The creativity Rematch encourages creates an engaging team-based game that incorporates every player. With easy to learn controls and flashy skills, fans and non-watchers alike are bound to enjoy this chaotic adaptation of soccer.

It’s unfortunate that I find myself having to put the boot in this hard to what’s obviously a passion project from an indie developer, but my emotional state playing Fretless oscillated between boredom, irritation and occasionally finding it all mildly pleasant. Perhaps it will hit differently for someone who’s into the music scene or deckbuilders, but as a JRPG fan who’s partial to a good rhythm action game, it hit a bit of a bum note for me.

I respect it as art much more than I respect it as a game, and taken as a whole, I love it as an experience. Nice work, Mashina.

Shadow Labyrinth is equal parts magnificent and frustrating. The action is stellar, the setting – largely made up of deep-cut references to Namco’s arcade history – is uniquely fascinating, and the retro Pac-Man gameplay is perhaps the best the franchise has ever offered. At the same time, it makes exploration such a chore that I swore off finishing it and stepped away from it more than a few times. I always came back, though, which goes to show just what an incredible job the developers have done here. Even when I hated what I was doing, it was always a pleasure to engage with, and there aren’t a lot of games I can say the same about.

Like the best crime films, Mafia: The Old Country succeeds thanks to a complex and dark tale of revenge and familial ties. It’s a short, yet satisfying ride, and Enzo’s tale is easily one of the best of the year. While some may lament the lack of an open world, the narrative and solid gameplay delivered by the developers makes this an offer no one should refuse.

Eventually, this series of disappointments caused me to lose motivation as well as my patience, and it was discouraging enough to make me put the game down and not return. It’s a shame, too — I can see how much passion and attention to detail went into the development of Dead of Darkness between the gameplay, writing and aesthetics, but the sheer frustration of its puzzle aspects needs more time and attention. The true horrors on this estate aren’t the undead… they’re the puzzles.

Out of all of the nearly-forgotten games to bring forward into the 2020s, I’m not sure why Limited Run chose Gex — it’s such an absurdist concept that I have to laugh at it now, but while playing Gex in the moment, I despised it.

Lynked: Banner of the Spark feels like a game that wants to combine several elements into one dynamic package, but the attempts at high-speed action trip themselves up before they can even get started, and the lifestyle sim sections are sleep inducing.

Overall, MFN is an excellent survival horror title that attempts to, and mostly succeeds at, changing up the standard survival horror formula. While it could stand to have a few more teeth, I was still pleasantly on the edge of my seat the entire time. In a genre with too many developers copying each other’s homework, My Friendly Neighborhood offers a break from the norm with color and charm, and I suspect that fans of survival horror will want to play along.