The fundamental problem with Drag X Drive: It's not very fun to play, because the controls are alternatively exhausting, imprecise, or both. Even pulling off the trick shots that give the game its personality and nuance requires getting up to top speed, which means navigating finicky tiring controls and avoiding bumping into other players. This is a great game for showing off what the Switch 2 can do conceptually, but it doesn't make a good case for why you'd actually want to do it for very long.

Delta isn't the first instance of Hideo Kojima's beloved classic being updated and re-released, but it is the first complete rebuild of MGS3. It successfully modernizes visuals, tweaks game design, and updates controls so that the game sits comfortably alongside its action game contemporaries. From a content perspective, Konami has played it incredibly safe, using the same voice work and music, and leaving the story completely unaltered--effectively making Delta a one-to-one remake. But I can't fault that, especially when I found myself once again enraptured by Snake's tortuous mission to pull the world out of nuclear danger and fight for survival in a dangerous jungle. The impact of Konami's efforts was such that, for eight hours, I wasn't an adult yearning for the lost feelings that made me love Metal Gear Solid 3; I was the teenager living them for the first time again.

With some caveats, I'd recommend Discounty. The story will make you regularly feel like you're the bad guy in all this, and technically you are even if it's no fault of your own. But it's easy to ignore the riffraff and the trouble you're causing your fellow citizens in your constant pursuit of bringing a factory-level of efficiency to your growing supermarket, and driving up profits for the sole purpose of buying upgrades that will let you drive profits even further. Maybe Stardew Valley's JojaMart had the right idea after all.

It's a heartwarming joy to get to know each of the calicorns I found on my journey to the mountain, and it's because of the loving bonds I'd formed with each of them that its central gameplay mechanic works so well, both in my hands and in my heart.

Quotation forthcoming.

A Bomberman game without multiplayer is hardly a Bomberman game at all.

Madden NFL 26 takes a bigger leap forward than you may expect. On the field, Madden has rounded into shape and is now taking victory laps with its major and minor changes, like more exciting locomotion and lifelike player traits. Its presentation beats finally behave more like the NFL seen on TV every week, with intense weather and big-game showdowns in primetime demanding your attention. Franchise mode's RPG-like deep dive makes it feel like the destination mode it should be, and year-over-year, it represents the most dramatic improvement I can recall in the series' history. Superstar mode still feels like a work-in-progress, and MUT shows no signs of ditching its pay-to-win scheme, but for players like me, who are Franchise-focused and on-field-obsessive, Madden NFL 26 is the game you've been hoping for.

Mafia: The Old Country is at its best when things slow down, letting you take in all the sights and sounds of Sicily. Like previous Mafia games, it nails the look and feel of its real-world counterpart by investing heavily in the details. Unfortunately, generic gameplay and dated mission design hold Mafia: The Old Country back, making it feel like a relic of the early 2010s.

Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound is a thrilling revival that successfully channels the spirit of the classic series while also building upon it with some inspired new mechanics. It remains to be seen if the upcoming Ninja Gaiden 4 will likewise live up to the series' standards, but Koei Tecmo's Year of the Ninja is off to a good start.

Because of its stronger starting point, Grounded 2 should wind up the bigger, better, buggier-in-a-good-way survival game. Its best new toys make survival gameplay much smoother and more enjoyable; the adolescent spirit that truly makes Grounded stand out in a sea of survival games is still on full display here, too. It will take some time for Creative mode to catch up and eventually surpass what the first game did for those who like to play this game more like an interior decorator than a hunter-gatherer. All of that means Grounded 2 is a good early-access game that improves on its previous version in some big ways, while still earning the label of being an in-progress experience. [Early Access Score = 70]

The surrealistic nature of Dead Take reaches a fever pitch in the game's final half hour, and it loses me a bit there. Overall, however, this is a great game, and I would have loved to chase down more USB drives and watch many more FMV recordings--these performances left me rapt and I was always eager to search out more. But even beyond this gameplay loop, Chase's efforts to delve deeper into a bizarre mansion and splice together corrupted recordings of people is rewardingly symbolic in a narrative sense. You're going into a person's twisted and guarded psyche and unearthing the painful truths hidden within to not only beat a video game, but also witness, as Cain so often puts it, "something real." Those truths are sickening and scary and it propels the experience of Dead Take into one of the most harrowing I've experienced this year. These are not five hours I'll easily forget.

As someone who loves Lord of the Rings, life-sims, and cozy games, Tales of the Shire is heartbreakingly disappointing--so much so that I find myself genuinely wondering what went wrong. With such a strong premise, a solid team working on it, and what seemed like a concentrated effort being made to let this game fully cook before it was shipped, I’m ultimately confused by the finished product and concerned for what happened during production. Although Tales of the Shire has some charming ideas, dull gameplay, heaps of bugs, and a general sense of emptiness ultimately drag this once-promising life sim down to the pits of Moria.

Despite everything I've just said, I didn't have a terrible time with Shadow Labyrinth. There are way too many frustrating moments, the story is mind-numbingly dull, and a lot of what you're doing is monotonous. Yet, for long periods, it's also merely just fine. It's a by-the-numbers metroidvania woven together with an occasional Pac-Man remix. An odd combination, for sure, and one I wish had a better game built around it, but at least we'll always have that one Secret Level episode.

As a horror obsessive, I hope others like me push through the game's frustrating puzzles and dense plot to see Luto's best parts, because they're numerous and unforgettable. This being Broken Bird Games' first project makes me incredibly excited to see where the team goes from here. I often wonder what P.T. would've looked like as a full game. We'll never know for sure, but it would've been lucky to be something like Luto.

Overall, The Edge of Fate is far from the worst expansion that has been released during Destiny 2’s tenure, but as the direct successor to 2024’s phenomenal The Final Shape, it falls short. It reuses old assets, fails to impress with its new environments and mechanics, and the main story seems to stop just as it’s about to get interesting. Of course, that’ll be fleshed out through the year’s updates and seasonal content, but with a distinct lack of anything exciting to do now, I fear I’m on the brink of another involuntary Destiny 2 hiatus.

While these complaints might dampen the overall experience, ultimately, Wuchang: Fallen Feathers is a great experience filled with far more satisfying battles than frustrating ones, wonderful ideas, and truly gorgeous locations. Considering this is Leenzee's debut title, I have extremely high hopes for the studio's future endeavors, and even Wuchang itself, assuming it receives a few needed adjustments. However, even as it exists now, Wuchang is absolutely a game I'd recommend to soulslike fans, so long as they don't mind getting a bit sweaty.

With most new Sims 4 expansions, I usually hone in on the one or two aspects I like the most and don't sweat the rest too much. But with its fun new occult type, a wonderful new world, and unique build and CAS items, Enchanted by Nature is a rare Sims 4 pack that feels like a complete experience in itself. I can appreciate that players who prefer the dollhouse side of The Sims 4 may find the amount of CAS and build mode items lacking, but Enchanted by Nature is so much fun as a whole that I can live with that.

Despite the occasional flaw, College Football 26 builds upon its solid foundations to graduate near the top of its class. This is a fantastic football game that revels in the singularity of the college experience, from the pageantry, traditions, and electric atmosphere of each school on game day, through to the recruitment process, and the myriad heated rivalries between its 136 teams. After a hugely successful comeback, EA Sports College Football 26 furthers the series' upward trajectory, making for one of the greatest shows on turf.

As part of the launch line-up for the Switch 2, [Donkey Kong Bananza] nicely fills the gap for one of Nintendo's signature substantial single-player adventures. But more importantly, it's an excellent game in its own right, and deserves to be mentioned alongside games like Mario Odyssey as among Nintendo's best recent work.

I imagine most players will quit shortly after having completed Dune: Awakening's main story and arriving at the Deep Desert. But that doesn't mean all the hours prior to reaching the endgame aren't worth experiencing or aren't enjoyable. Funcom has turned Herbert's legendary sci-fi planet of Arrakis into a captivating video game setting. Part story-driven RPG, MMO, survival base-builder, sci-fi helicopter simulator, and third-person shooter, Dune: Awakening is a multi-headed hydra of experiences that, somehow, coalesces into a largely satisfying whole. While it suffers from a serious lack of variety when it comes to enemies and activities, and its endgame as of writing is a largely pointless endeavor with no real goal to strive for, Dune: Awakening nonetheless succeeds at bringing the universe of Dune to life in a way never before seen. When the Spice is flowing, it's easy to lose oneself to the rhythms of Dune: Awakening's desert for hours at a time. Just take care not to attract Shai-Hulud.

Underneath all of the micro- and macrotransactions, lewd gazing, cluttered menus, and the overwhelming hawking of cosmetics and other items, Mecha Break is a decent multiplayer game featuring a bunch of cool and distinct mechs that clash in frequently thrilling battles. It's a shame that everything surrounding its hectic action sours the experience, and the lack of meaningful customization is a notable oversight, but Operation Verge is a good time and worth checking out, even if you only have a fleeting interest in giant robots slapping the paint off each other.

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3+4 is a phenomenal game of skate, one that fans would flock to without hesitation if it weren't for some of the strange decisions regarding the game's Career mode and THPS 4 levels. Some of the changes feel needless, and overall, THPS 4 just doesn't fit as well into the same structure as the original three games. It's also disappointing that newcomers won't be able to experience the fourth game the way it was originally intended. Once the initial disappointment fades, however, you're left with a remake that still handles as well as these games ever have, and that's something that's worth playing no matter who you are.

With missing features, server issues, and some gameplay quirks that need to be ironed out, in many ways, Rematch feels like an early-access game. Its foundation is strong, though, capturing the chaotic energy of playing football with your school pals. It's disorganised at times, and the people you're playing with might be frustrating, but there are very few moments when you're not having fun. It's a different kind of football game, yet it's intuitive, and the allure of improving your skill level is captivating. If Slocap can sand off its rough edges, Rematch could be something special. But even in its current state, saying "no" to one more match is a challenging proposition.

The first Death Stranding was eerily prescient. Releasing in 2019, it was impossible to divorce it from the COVID-19 pandemic that followed a year later, the parallels between preppers living in bunkers and people struggling to find ways to connect with others reflecting a period of quarantine and uncertainty about the future. By contrast, Death Stranding 2 is less precise and clear about what it wants to say; it seems committed to making you ponder many things at once, inviting different takeaways. Its story touches on topics like the increasing harms of climate change, how our everyday actions are being automated with each passing day, the damaging presence of guns, the clash between governments and privately owned entities, and the importance of helping others in any way we can. If the sequel is prescient of anything, it is that fixation on the past binds us to repeat history, no matter how much we try to pretend otherwise.

Sometimes the game gets in its own way by not tutorializing key points, like how to best deal with status effects and play roles dependably. But once you've gained that institutional knowledge, FBC: Firebreak is an enjoyably chaotic power fantasy, and an interesting experiment for Remedy between its bigger, weirder projects.

When you finish finding all the stamps in Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour, your reward is a greeting from the curator, and that's very much the approach Nintendo has taken here. Welcome Tour is an interactive virtual museum exhibit, all centered around showcasing Nintendo's latest piece of hardware. It carries the calm sensibility of a museum, which makes it feel very approachable and good-natured. And like any good museum, it's a decent way to spend an afternoon to marvel at the exhibits and learn a few things along the way. But I sense Nintendo's self-consciousness coming through in the decision to charge for it--the mindset that imagines if it's free, people will conclude that it's worthless. Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour certainly isn't worthless. It's a well-made, often informative, sometimes-frustrating introduction to the new hardware. It's just too bad Nintendo didn't model it after many great museums: with no fee, so the work inside could speak for itself.

Even if you manage to achieve a stable experience, MindsEye still commits the cardinal sin of being mind-numbingly boring. More than anything, it feels like a game firmly trapped in the past. It wouldn't have been good 15 years ago, either, but perhaps some of its design choices would have made more sense. As it is, issues like broken AI and uneven car physics simply exacerbate the problems with its archaic and insipid design. Impressive visuals can't compensate for a lack of substance, whether that comes from its pointless world, tedious combat, or any number of other egregious shortcomings. If you're looking for quality, cast your mind's eye elsewhere.

The moral dilemmas and confronting moments created by manufacturing and living with alternate versions of yourself is a captivating narrative that The Alters delivers on, creating moments of emotional and mechanical tension by balancing its various management systems atop one another. It paves the way for some nail-biting victories and memorable interactions, but is also hampered by occasional tedium and needlessly frustrating exploration that is governed too heavily by a single resource. Still, the plight of Jan Dolski and his mission to get home is one that is bound to be very different for each player of The Alters, and is a stressful adventure I won't soon forget.