Styx: Blades of Greed successfully brings the goblin anti-hero back into the spotlight with refined mechanics, strong vertical level design, and flexible stealth gameplay. The addition of Quartz abilities adds fresh tactical options, and the semi-open environments encourage exploration more than ever before. However, while the game plays smoothly and offers a consistently enjoyable stealth experience, it rarely dares to surprise. The core loop begins to feel repetitive, and the innovation expected after such a long hiatus simply isn’t fully realised. For fans of the series, this is a worthy continuation. For the genre at large, it’s a solid entry rather than a defining one.

If you’re buying a Switch 2 primarily for family play and social sessions, this is a top-tier pick. It’s one of those rare Nintendo titles that comfortably spans age groups: kids giggle and learn quickly; adults find the depth keeps giving. If you’re a competitive player, the ranked mode and crisp core mechanics offer a rewarding ladder to climb, though the lack of lab-grade analytics might push power users to third-party tools for deeper study. In short: Mario Tennis: Fever is easy to learn, hard to master, and, most importantly, built to be played with other people. It preserves Mario’s charm while delivering actual mechanical depth. Whether you want short bursts of chaotic couch fun with your kids, a mini-tournament with friends, or a longer grind in ranked matches, the game gives you all of it with Nintendo’s usual polish. It’s charmingly domestic, deceptively deep, and a multiplayer delight, making it a solid must-play this year. Just ask yourself this: Do I want to fork over 60-70 bucks for a tennis game? Because it’s still a tennis game, even though it’s one of the best tennis games Nintendo has ever put out.

Crimson Capes is a game overflowing with ideas, systems, and artistic ambition. Its combat mechanics are deep, its world is thoughtfully constructed, and its visual style stands out in an increasingly crowded genre. Unfortunately, all of that potential is weighed down by a difficulty curve that actively undermines enjoyment. If Poor Locke manages to rebalance the experience, Crimson Capes could grow into something special. As it stands now, playing it feels more like work than discovery. So I’ll wait until people who are probably better than me at this game work out how to beat the bosses I’m stuck on, and I’ll revisit the game later. However, this leads me to give this game, in its current state, a grade lower than I initially thought.

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.

What ultimately defines The Prisoning: Fletcher’s Quest is its willingness to lean into the messy, unpredictable chaos of its themes. This is a game that thrives on unevenness, unfair boss fights, delightful absurdity, random map generation, and moments that make you throw your controller only to pick it up again with stubborn determination. It isn’t polished to a sheen, nor does it always feel fair, but it understands its own tone and purpose, and the developer acknowledges this throughout the game. Fletcher’s Quest is a game that feels like its own critique: uncomfortably familiar to anyone who’s lived through crunch, burned out, or felt their own creativity turn into an adversary. Well, hello, therapy and burnout, good to see you again, but gamified this time.

My Hero Academia: All’s Justice packs in a lot of content and lets fans play through the final arc of one of the biggest anime and manga series around. There’s plenty here to keep fans busy, unfortunately, the overall quality doesn’t always keep up. Recommended for fans but not for everyone.

ANTHEM#9 doesn’t chase mainstream appeal. It complicates the familiar, bends genre expectations, and asks players to think more deeply rather than just play harder. It’s smart, it’s stylish, and it’s proudly distinctive, which are qualities that will delight some and frustrate others. There are rough edges: the UI occasionally buries information you want to see, and the early learning curve can feel opaque. But these are the trade-offs for a game that dares to be smarter than its peers. In a climate that often favours easy accessibility, ANTHEM#9’s refusal to dumb down its systems is both its greatest asset and its biggest barrier. For strategy lovers, deck-build aficionados, and anyone who enjoys the sweet tension where puzzle and combat collide, ANTHEM#9 is a gem worth digging into.

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.

As a remaster, Fighting Force Collection does exactly what it needs to do. Both games run well, look as good as possible, and are presented in a way that respects their original form. There are no game-breaking issues, no lazy emulation shortcuts, and no technical excuses. This is a competent, respectful revival. Where the first Fighting Force remains the clear highlight: still fun, still chaotic, and still best enjoyed with a second player on the couch. It’s proof that good core design can outlast technical limitations. The second game? It’s… fine. Functional. Interesting in a historical sense. But also a strong example of why some games are better remembered than replayed. And that’s okay. Not every classic needs to be reinvented, and not every sequel deserves the same reverence as its predecessor. The Fighting Force Collection succeeds because it lets you experience both and decide for yourself. So, what you get is a solid, enjoyable remaster anchored by a genuinely fun original game, slightly dragged down by a sequel that time hasn’t been kind to. Yes, it’s worth playing, worth remembering, just maybe not worth revisiting everything.

I Hate This Place has a strong identity and some genuinely compelling ideas. Its early hours make effective use of sound, darkness, and isolation, and its visual style gives it a personality that’s hard to ignore. But the systems underneath don’t push back hard enough to sustain that tension. Survival becomes comfortable, and for a horror game, that’s just a shame and something I can’t ignore. I didn’t hate my time with I Hate This Place, but it could have been so much better.

2XKO is a fun arcade fighter and a great introduction to the genre for newcomers. The Fuse tag-team mechanics offer a fresh take on the existing formula and provide plenty of strategic depth, whether you’re playing alone or with a friend. Match and lobby creation is seamless, even when playing cross-platform. The free-to-play model doesn’t restrict access to major content. Everything can be unlocked by playing; it just takes longer to unlock characters this way. However, if you enjoy playing it as much as I do, spending time on it won’t be an issue. If you want to try out 2XKO, it’s available on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S.

Code Vein II clearly wants to be more than a continuation of the first game. The shift in structure gives the world more room to breathe, and the combat still rewards players who like to adjust, experiment, and find their own rhythm. But that extra space comes at a cost. The open world softens the pressure that once kept everything moving forward, and the technical rough edges tend to show up exactly when clarity matters most. I enjoyed my time with Code Vein II, even when it tested my patience. I just kept thinking how much stronger it could have been with a tighter focus.

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.

Big Hops isn’t trying to reinvent 3D platforming. It’s refining a specific sensation; that satisfaction of staying in motion, of choosing flow over correction, and of trusting your hands to figure things out before your head does.