Forza Horizon 6 makes Japan feel like the perfect playground for the series. The racing is still as satisfying as ever, the map is beautiful, and I often found myself ignoring objectives just to keep driving. It’s familiar in structure, but once you’re on the road, that barely matters.

Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade on Nintendo Switch 2 is not simply a remake. It’s a conversation between eras, a testament to how far storytelling and technology have come, and a reminder that great stories never truly age but evolve. It honours its legacy without being shackled by it. It modernises without erasing history. It dazzles technically while grounding itself emotionally. Whether you’re stepping into Midgar for the first time or returning after decades, this version offers something rare: the feeling of discovery layered atop remembrance. If this is merely the opening act of the trilogy, then the future of Final Fantasy VII has never looked brighter or more ambitious. And somewhere, in the glow of neon and memory, the planet breathes a little easier knowing its story is still being told.

Pokémon Pokopia feels like a bit of a radical step for the franchise. By removing battles and focusing entirely on creativity, cooperation, and environmental restoration, it reimagines what a Pokémon game can be. What did we get? A game that feels comforting yet ambitious. How? Well, it may look simple on the surface, but it is surprisingly deep once you start experimenting with its systems. Cozy gamers will find a well-filled sandbox, full of charm, while Pokémon fans will discover a world that finally lets them live alongside their favourite creatures rather than command them. And perhaps most impressively, Pokopia stands shoulder-to-shoulder with the games that inspired it. It combines both the warmth of Animal Crossing and the creativity of Dragon Quest Builders, but it ultimately becomes something entirely on its own. Pokopia is one of the most refreshing Pokémon games in years. And if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to make some more houses for my Pokémon.

Resident Evil Requiem is the new blueprint for what survival horror should be. Capcom really delivered with its dual perspective, offering extreme horror on one side and over-the-top action on the other. It’s the perfect marriage of the two Resident Evil styles, and I thoroughly enjoyed my time with it. There are small letdowns in the story that prevent me from giving it a perfect score, but this one is a no-brainer nevertheless. If you’re a fan of the genre, this is a must-have.

A more complete version of an already strong game, with enough changes to make it worth coming back to. A no-brainer for survival horror fans.

Pragmata dares to be different and commits to it from start to finish. Its blend of action and hacking creates something that feels fresh and surprisingly natural once it clicks. Combine that with memorable characters and plenty of hidden secrets, and you’re in for a wild ride. It’s not flawless, but it’s one of the most original and engaging games I’ve played in a long time.

Saros stands out as a must-play for fans of the genre and a worthy successor to Returnal, pushing roguelike shooters forward with confidence and style.

Hermit and Pig is a whimsical adventure RPG that kept me engaged throughout. The unique take on turn-based combat creates a sense of urgency, and I can only praise the decision to make conversation look like a battle. Even though combat became a bit repetitive for me after the halfway point, the story kept me engaged and made me laugh out loud. If you’ve ever thought about searching for magic mushrooms yourself, don’t! Stay inside and play this game instead.

Nioh 3 proves to be more than just another Souls-like entry in an abundant genre. Nioh 3 turns out to be an experience that was both rewarding and deeply engaging. Its greatest strength lies in its combat depth. The dual-stance system—Samurai and Ninja—creates a dynamic back-and-forth that forces players to think, adapt, and master timing rather than rely solely on button-mashing. The KI system, switching between stances, varied weapons types, Ninjutsu, martial arts abilities, talent tree, and expansive build options ensure that no two battles feel the same. Boss fights are challenging yet fair, offering flexibility and strategic freedom that make victories feel earned rather than frustrating.

Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection demonstrates that the series has really come into its own in recent years. With its engaging story, strong visuals, and excellent soundtrack, it immerses you in a wonderful world filled with unique creatures. The Monsterpedia offers a great mix of classic monsters and newer additions from more recent titles. Combat can feel a bit random at first during clashes, but once you unlock the Rite of Channeling, you can customize your Monsties to your heart’s content. If you’re looking to dive into this vibrant world and push back against the encroaching threat, this is an easy Recommendation.

Super Mario Bros. Wonder: Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Meetup in Bellabel Park feels like the definitive version of one of the best modern Mario games. While returning players might have hoped for more new content, what’s here is polished, creative, and a lot of fun. If you missed the original release, this is an easy recommendation.

Minishoot’ Adventure offers a unique mix of twin-stick shooting and classic adventure that works surprisingly well. It doesn’t try to impress with visuals or complexity, but instead focuses on delivering a charming and rewarding experience. Some repetition holds it back slightly, but at its price, this is an adventure that’s absolutely worth your time.

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle was already an excellent adventure game, and this Nintendo Switch 2 version does it justice. Handheld mode comes with a few expected compromises, but MachineGames has delivered a remarkably polished port that makes Indy’s latest adventure feel right at home on Nintendo’s hybrid console.

In Dragon Quest VII Reimagined, Square Enix once again proves its ability to do a remake justice. The new orchestral soundtrack and handcrafted visual style not only elevate the immersion, but also make the game more enjoyable. The changes that streamline both story and gameplay also make the transition to newer hardware much more enjoyable. Combined with the deep accessibility options that let you adjust the difficulty and the episodic structure of the separate islands, this makes for a long RPG that even the busiest players will be able to enjoy at their own pace. If the quality of recent Dragon Quest games sets a new standard, I can’t wait to see what the teams at Square Enix will show us next.

Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun was already one of the best stealth strategy games ever made. The Nintendo Switch 2 edition presents it in its most polished and accessible form yet. It brings a combination of thoughtful controls, stable performance, and the flexibility of handheld play, making this version an excellent way to experience the game; whether you’re discovering it for the first time or returning after years away. More importantly, the core experience is still just as strong: a slow and deliberate mix of patience, planning, and well-timed tactics. Few games reward careful thinking quite like Shadow Tactics, and even nearly ten years later, it still holds up incredibly well.

REANIMAL is Tarsier Studios at their darkest, and at their most confident. It takes familiar ideas and expands them into something bigger, scarier, and more deliberate. It’s not perfect, but its atmosphere, co-op design, and standout set pieces left a strong impression. One of the most memorable modern horror games I’ve played in a while.

Paranormasight: The Mermaid’s Curse is not a game you rush through. It doesn’t hand you the ending, it invites you to dive for it, piece by piece, like a diver searching for a lost pearl. Its pacing can be deliberate, its story demanding, and its branches sometimes unfurl more slowly than players might expect, but there’s elegance in that patience. This is a game that doesn’t rely on cheap scares or gimmicks. It leans into mythic depth, human emotion, and story mechanics that respect the player’s intelligence. It draws you into a world that feels real, yet steeped in the uncanny, and it stays with you long after the ending, gently urging you back for another dive. And please, search for the True Ending. It’s so worth looking into the mechanics behind it. Trust me.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons remains a deeply comforting experience, and in 2026, it’s still easy to get lost on your island. The free 3.0 update adds meaningful content and long-requested quality-of-life improvements that certainly offer more than enough content for both new and returning players. The Nintendo Switch 2 Edition itself is more modest, focusing on stability, visual clarity, and convenience rather than new gameplay. Together, they form the most complete and comfortable version of New Horizons to date.

Ys X: Proud Nordics is an enhanced version of a good JRPG that could have elevated it to greatness, but it left me wanting more on some of the promises made. The story remains the game’s highlight, with intriguing plot development, great new characters and locations, and a dungeon as icing on the cake. However, the combat feels repetitive and button-mashy at times, so some new mechanics would have been welcome alongside the further skill mastery and mana hold. The graphics are also a mixed bag: the character design and cutscenes are great, but the muddy textures sometimes made me wonder if this was a current-gen game. This may be limited to the Switch 2 version that I played, but I think Ys X: Proud Nordics would have benefited from more development time and a longer break after the first game, which is still fresh in the minds of most fans.

Apopia: Sugar Coated Tale is a promising debut for Quillo Entertainment. The game looks and sounds great, and its hand-drawn art style makes it stand out from other indie games. While the initial story isn’t particularly original compared to other titles in the genre, its twists and turns become more creative and entertaining the further you progress in the game. That said, the minigames could have done with a bit more work and polish. This could be due to the long development cycle. However, a bit more focus on which minigames to include and how to present them would have elevated this title from good to great for me. If you want to experience Apopia for yourself, you can buy it on Steam for Mac and PC. There is even a demo that includes the prologue, so if you’re hesitant, you can see if the game satisfies your sweet tooth before buying it.

The gaming landscape rarely sees a PvP first-person extraction shooter like Bungie’s new Marathon. It blends fun, engaging gameplay with fast-paced matches and smartly chosen mission structures. Tao Ceti IV feels like a vision of the future that we haven’t already encountered in sci-fi, boasting a unique visual design and a futuristic soundtrack that shapes the atmosphere like no other. I really hope this game finds a consistent player base, because I want Marathon to stick around and show me more of its world for years to come.

Planet of Lana II stays true to its original vision while carefully expanding upon it. Instead of starting over, Wishfully tweaks it all while addressing critiques of the first game and delivering a more varied, more in-depth experience without sacrificing its familiarity and fitting charm. The added mobility, more layered puzzles, and greater variety in environments help the sequel feel more dynamic overall. Anyone who enjoys thoughtful platforming puzzles wrapped in a cinematic, emotionally driven story will find much to appreciate in Planet of Lana II.

Mouse: P.I. For Hire is one of those rare games that feels fully formed, not just in its individual parts, but in how those parts come together. It’s a shooter, yes, but it’s also a character study, a stylistic experiment, and a love letter to a form of animation that rarely gets this kind of attention in games. It feels tailored for me, as a person, and it’s well worth the wait. By combining a strong narrative structure with expressive gameplay and a truly unique visual identity, it stands out in an increasingly crowded genre.

GRIDBeat! is a well-designed hybrid that understands both halves of its identity, rhythm, and dungeon crawling, and manages to fuse them into something genuinely engaging. It refines the genre in a way that feels fresh. The gameplay is tight, the music is integral, and the overall experience hits that sweet spot between challenge and satisfaction. Most importantly, it finds that elusive rhythm game magic, that moment where everything clicks, and you stop thinking and play. And when a game gets you there? That’s when you know it’s doing something right.

Ultimately, Shapez 2 is a game that knows exactly what it wants to be. It’s not here to tell a grand story or dazzle you with spectacle. Instead, it offers a space to think, to experiment, and to create systems that are uniquely your own. And in a landscape where bigger often tries to mean better, there’s power in not trying to do so. Because sometimes, all you really need is a few shapes, a handful of belts, and the quiet satisfaction of knowing that, for once, everything is running exactly as it should. Excel, hidden in a ga- oh, no wait, that was Europa Universalis.

Scott Pilgrim EX follows the beat ’em up genre without pushing its boundaries, and honestly, it doesn’t need to. Instead, it focuses on delivering exactly what fans want: fast-paced brawling, memorable characters, stylish pixel art, and a soundtrack that keeps the energy high from start to finish. There are a few rough edges, though, since some stages feel slightly longer than they need to be (especially with the quest directions being a bit ambiguous sometimes), and multiplayer combat can occasionally become visually overwhelming. But those issues rarely get in the way of the game’s core strengths. At its best, Scott Pilgrim EX captures the feeling of sitting on a couch with friends, controllers in hand, laughing at the ridiculous chaos unfolding on screen. And sometimes, that’s exactly the kind of game you need.

Little Nightmares VR: Altered Echoes doesn’t change the key ingredients of the Little Nightmares franchise, but puts you in the middle of the horrors. It’s very immersive, more direct, and sometimes a bit rough because of it. Not everything works perfectly, but it’s one of the most memorable VR games out there for sure.

So, to conclude! GRIME II is a fascinating, sometimes frustrating, but ultimately worthwhile experience. It builds on the original in meaningful ways, especially in its gameplay systems and world-building. The mold system, which absorbs enemies and turns them into tools, is a standout mechanic that adds both depth and identity. The world is rich, strange, and consistently intriguing. And the studio behind it clearly understands what makes this universe unique. But it’s not without its flaws. The lack of direct storytelling can make the experience feel distant at times, especially for players who prefer a more guided narrative. The difficulty curve, while not unexpected, can feel uneven. And the grind required for certain upgrades occasionally disrupts the flow. Still, there’s something here that sticks with you. Maybe it’s the atmosphere, maybe it’s the mechanics, or maybe it’s just the sheer commitment to doing something different. Whatever it is, GRIME II earns its place, not as a flawless sequel, but as a bold one.