OPUS: Prism Peak tells a deeply personal story with genuinely earned emotional moments. It offers a unique take on the midlife crisis, filtering it through a magical prism that many older players will likely find relatable. However, it’s held back by an unnecessarily complicated notebook system and an overreliance on photography as a gameplay mechanic, which somewhat undermines the idea of the protagonist using an analogue camera.

Xenonauts 2 is a highly competent, albeit unofficial, successor to the original XCOM. Its old-school aesthetic may be an acquired taste, but fans of this niche genre will find a deep and challenging experience, both in base management and in combat, that is highly rewarding and benefits thoughtful tactical thinking.

Cthulhu: The Cosmic Abyss certainly nails its Lovecraftian atmosphere, especially in some truly daunting set pieces. Its environmental puzzles are also well implemented, offering a high level of challenge that fans of the genre will appreciate. If only the story lived up to the same standard.

Saros is a triumphant successor to Returnal, delivering an outstanding sci-fi experience. Its excellent visuals bring the planet Carcosa to life, while its fast, fluid combat remains consistently satisfying. Special praise should be given to the meticulously crafted audio, with an eclectic soundtrack and impactful sound design. Moreover, Housemarque demonstrates a clear evolution over its predecessor, refining an already memorable formula into one of the strongest experiences in the Sony Studios lineup.

MOUSE: P.I. For Hire does an excellent job of translating 1920s and ’30s cartoon aesthetics into an old-school FPS. It fully embraces its noir setting, delivering clever one-liners, energetic jazz, and a well-written, humor-filled conspiracy to unravel. It’s held back somewhat by repetitive shooting and limited enemy variety, but all in all, it stands as a charming and stylish tribute to a bygone cartoon era.

Grime 2 confidently treads familiar metroidvania ground, embracing tried-and-true mechanics. While it doesn’t introduce anything particularly groundbreaking, fans of the genre will appreciate its deep combat system and challenging platforming sections, all supported by responsive and smooth controls. The entire experience is elevated by the imagination behind its vibrant world.

Vampire Therapist presents itself as a beautifully written visual novel, making excellent use of its psychoanalysis theme in a way that feels perfectly in sync with its fantasy characters. The voice cast delivers their performances with professionalism and charm, bringing a host of memorable characters to life. Together, they guide players through a wide range of life issues, each explored through uniquely imaginative perspectives.

Capcom’s unstoppable streak of excellent titles continues.This time, it succeeds in a sci-fi setting, delivering stunning visuals and a deeply personal story between Hugh and Diana. Their relationship feels natural, heartfelt, and genuinely funny in all the right moments. More importantly, Pragmata achieves something truly unique, by introducing a fresh gameplay mechanic in the third-person shooter genre, seamlessly combining shooting and real-time hacking in a way that feels both innovative and satisfying.

Death Stranding 2 remains a highly imaginative continuation of the captivatingly macabre universe from the mind of Hideo Kojima. The PC version stands as the definitive edition thanks to its customizable technical options, offering breathtaking visuals and a smooth experience on modern systems.

Fatal Frame II returns with significant updates, enhancing its already excellent horror atmosphere through modernised visuals and effects. The addition of a stalker mechanic may be somewhat questionable, however, the new gameplay and story content are more than welcome for those who played the original. A 60fps mode on consoles would have been appreciated, though the 30fps performance isn’t a major hindrance to enjoying its well-crafted horror experience.

It goes without saying that the original Super Mario Bros. Wonder was an excellent 2D platformer, worthy of Mario’s legacy. This new edition retains that quality, but when it comes to new content, it lacks any truly exciting additions or levels. The new character feels like a repetition of existing ones, and the new transformation is underwhelming. New players will still have a blast, but those who already own the game won’t find enough here to justify the upgrade cost.

Bungie once again nails the shooting, delivering consistently satisfying combat moments in Marathon. Its retro-futuristic aesthetic and lore create a dilapidated sci-fi world that feels both mysterious and captivating. During traversal and tense firefights, as you attempt to extract valuable loot, the game offers a thrilling and engaging experience. However, it’s baffling how convoluted the menus are, creating unnecessary confusion even for simple tasks. Additionally, in its current state, the content feels somewhat lacking,though Bungie has promised to expand it in the near future.

It may not be groundbreaking, but Toxic Commando still delivers unadulterated fun. No grind, no chores, just good old-fashioned zombie shooting. With three friends along for the ride, spreading mayhem across the map, it becomes a truly satisfying experience. As a bonus, John Carpenter’s signature synth soundtrack perfectly brings the grindhouse atmosphere to life.

Crimson Desert is an enormously ambitious game, both figuratively and in scope. We’ve rarely seen a single-player experience this large, in terms of content and mechanical variety. Even 100 hours in, we’re still discovering new areas, traversal methods, and bosses. However, it also proves that no matter how high the quality of the content (at least in a single-player game) diminishing returns eventually set in. In the end, a mediocre story does little to support the experience, and the initial excitement gradually gives way to a dull sense of routine.

Capcom once again strikes a high note with the new Resident Evil entry, though this time its ambition introduces a few rough edges. Requiem delivers excellent survival horror during Grace’s sections and offers a wealth of Easter eggs and references for longtime fans to dissect. However, in attempting to incorporate the best elements from the franchise’s many, and often wildly different, installments, it occasionally feels somewhat disjointed. Even so, Requiem stands as yet another strong addition to Capcom’s seemingly never-ending streak of quality releases.

Styx: Blades of Greed is a solid AA hardcore stealth game that may not break new ground in the genre, but in the current drought of AA and AAA stealth titles, it’s more than welcome. While there are some AI limitations and a few bugs that should be ironed out in upcoming patches, the level design is thoughtfully crafted and the stealth mechanics are predictable in the best way, consistent and well implemented.

This new Speedball entry successfully captures the essence of the classic sports titles by the Bitmap Brothers, certainly no small feat. Its controls could stand to be simpler, as the game overcomplicates its handling in ways that feel unnecessary. Likewise, its visuals lean a bit too heavily into trends set by other popular online games. In the end, however, it remains a faithful modernization of the core Speedball experience.

Citadelum is an easy to learn historical city builder that feels right at home in the portable mode offered by Switch 2. While it may not break new ground for the genre, its streamlined design can provide many fun hours of building your own Roman Empire.

Romeo is a Dead Man is unmistakably a Suda51 game, bursting with creativity, absurdity, satire, and unapologetic eccentricity. The classic Shakespearean tragedy is reimagined as a surreal sci-fi adventure that may stumble at times with uneven pacing and repetitive enemies, but ultimately overcomes its flaws through bombastic, over-the-top action and sheer, unfiltered craziness.

Mario Tennis Fever fixes many of the issues of previous titles, delivering a significantly improved sequel packed with content. Fans of the Mario universe will especially enjoy jumping into matches with their favourite characters, thanks to the expanded roster and gameplay that’s easy to learn but hard to master.

An excellent prequel to a great JRPG franchise, Octopath Traveller 0 sees the return of its distinctive pixelated visuals and deep combat system, this time elevated by the inclusion of truly memorable villains.

After many delays, the new chapter of Inazuma Eleven is finally here, and it’s certainly worth the wait. Despite some pacing issues, it offers a broad cast of characters, diverse movesets, and a huge amount of content that will keep you hooked for hours.

After an enormously long development cycle, the end result was worth the wait. The developers persevered through development hell to deliver a striking retro-futuristic setting enhanced by well-crafted horror elements. Across its 4–5 hour, mostly narrative-driven experience, the story and its deadly presences will keep you on edge.

Romancing SaGa: Minstrel Song Remastered is a well-made port of a classic JRPG, though it offers little beyond the bare minimum expected of a remaster. It remains an interesting piece of the genre’s history, but its quirks may deter newcomers, while longtime fans and JRPG veterans will find reasons to revisit it.

Switch owners can now see firsthand what can only be described as the ultimate ode to Dragon Ball. While the 30 FPS performance is noticeable, it doesn’t hinder the game’s easy-to-learn, hard-to-master fighting system or the richness of its content.

After Shredder’s Revenge, Dotemu returns with another loving ode to classic beat ’em ups. Marvel: Cosmic Invasion features an excellent roster of both beloved and obscure Marvel characters, backed by a satisfying and richly designed combat system. It doesn’t exactly tread new ground for the genre, but that doesn’t detract from the fact that this is yet another strong entry in the ongoing renaissance of classic beat ’em ups.

Metroid Prime 4: Beyond reaffirms that, even almost 20 years after the third game, the Metroid Prime series remains a one-of-a-kind experience in the medium. Its striking art direction elevates the entire adventure without relying on photorealism, while the sense of isolation, exploration, discovery, and environmental adversity, all supported by excellent audio design, delivers a superb return for Samus Aran that is guaranteed to excite longtime fans.

Fans of the series will be delighted by the significantly improved UI, which makes city-building as addictive as ever. The visuals are gorgeous, packed with detail and enhanced by excellent lighting effects. Still, one can’t help but wish for more coherence between the various gameplay systems, as some feel undercooked, suggesting the game may have been released a bit earlier than it should have been.