I don’t think Tomodachi Life as a series is at a critical tipping point just yet. I’m still enjoying Living the Dream a lot, but the game’s focus on user-generated content seems indicative of the direction the rest of Nintendo’s cozy games seem to be heading in, too. Really, the problem with the game is spelled out in the title. When I’m playing a life sim that’s known for being an ant farm full of ups and downs, I don’t necessarily want to live the dream. I just want to live life.

I came into Legacy of the Dark Knight with my walls up against its typical Lego humor, only to find that it functions as a rebuttal to my proclivity for self-serious Batman games. Not only is it tremendously satisfying to play, but by making its linear scenarios so rich and absorbing, it also grants Batman the freedom to be as comically endearing as he is ruthless. Batman doesn’t have to be any one thing, Legacy of the Dark Knight reminds us, and Batman games don’t, either. [Hands-On Impressions]

So far, 007 First Light feels like an awesome blend of what makes a good James Bond story work. It’s equal parts moody espionage thriller and high-octane action film, and its gameplay mechanics reflect these tenets well, despite it forgoing some risk-taking in terms of exploration and combat. Despite playing it safe, it feels like IO Interactive has concocted a recipe for a great 007 game, if not a mechanically revelatory one. The game truly shines when it comes to its story, characters, performance capture, and sandbox elements, and even when combat feels like it treads familiar ground, it’s some of the most fun and engaging I’ve had the pleasure of previewing, with enough of its own DNA to set it apart from the pack. From what I played, I anticipate 007 First Light will be a standout among 2026’s slate of blockbusters. [3-Hour Hands-On Impressions]

For now, I’ll say Housemarque’s “house style” of tough-as-nails roguelike dipped in symbolism has managed to capture lightning in a bottle twice, and in a PlayStation ecosystem where Sony threatens to homogenize all its output, this studio maintaining what makes it distinct in the company’s catalog is just as challenging a feat as anything you’ll face in the game itself. Saros is a prickly, demanding game whose hours of physical and mental carnage will make it difficult to parse for some, but I keep diving back in and finding new philosophical and mechanical challenges to overcome each time.

What isn’t a mystery is how Titanium Court won the latest IGF Awards. Some will call the traffic jam of all these dynamic variables a roguelike, but I like to think it sees the hidden richness hiding beneath the chaotic shifting pieces of a match-three. A box of candy whose surprises can be complex, riddling and dangerous.

A few late-game difficulty spikes, some heavy-handed story elements, and a few lackluster weapons hold back Mouse: PI For Hire a bit, but it’s still an incredibly creative, inventive, unique, and action-packed FPS that mixes classic cartoon animation, noir cliches, and satisfying gunplay into something that is unlike any shooter I’ve played before.

Dosa Divas is, in the end, as blemished, bruised, and beautiful as its slickly animated characters and lavishly illustrated world. It feels like Outerloop threw the whole kitchen sink at this game, and while I admire its craft as well as the various spices and ingredients thrown in the mix here, it feels like the essence of what Dosa Divas is trying to communicate was lost in the concoction.

Pragmata is short, but it’s also sweet. Plenty of games will tell you that parenthood is hard and requires you to self-actualize in ways you never have before, but Pragmata is for those who have already done that work. Pragmata feels like an older game, but maybe it’s also a sign that in the years since the games it was influenced by first came out, the way that games treat parenthood has changed for the better.

It seems Horizon 6 is trying to rein the franchise in a bit, though its wild opening is a reminder that this is still a Horizon sequel, so expect some exciting shenanigans, too. After playing a few hours of Forza Horizon 6, I’m excited to hop into the full game. [Hands-On Impressions]

I adore how the game escalates as you progress, with challenges becoming not only tougher but much more involving, while enemies step up with attacks that don’t just do more damage but are more interesting to deal with. Few games get this close to perfect.

Reunion has all the trappings of a “Fix Fic” written by a disgruntled fan who desperately wanted some third option at the end of Life Is Strange a decade ago and was miffed that Don’t Nod denied it to them.

Marathon is a good game. It is a great game. It’s a special game. This is something that I’ll remember for a long time, even if it dies like so many other live-service games.

MLB The Show 26 fields the same features and experiences the series has been leaning on for years now, and while nothing revolutionizes the game, it’s still a very good baseball simulation. Firing up The Show and playing a few games gets me pumped for the upcoming baseball season, which I realize is the entire point. The lack of competition from other baseball games has created some stagnation, but when the parts are working together well, it’s less noticeable than it seems on the surface.

Pokopia does a great job of making even the minor characters in its world stand out by giving them memorable bits of dialogue and interactions for you to stumble upon, and making them involved in the day-to-day town management by helping build structures, break down resources, and just contribute to the city’s development with ideas and gifts.

If you’re a Monster Hunter fan of any stripe, you should give Monster Hunter Stories 3 a try. I think RPG players who aren’t Monster Hunter fans should play it, too. The Monster Hunter universe is fascinating, rich, and well-suited for turn-based mechanics. Monster Hunter Stories 3 is its own animal, and that’s all it needs to be.

Wait for a sale or go pick up a used copy of Mario Tennis Aces instead.

Requiem starts with a lot of promise, seemingly striving to pave the way for the future of the series that it then seems too afraid to follow through on, but the bigger swings it had the chance to take only happen if a game is interested in real introspection about its legacy. Resident Evil is 30 years old now, and we’ve reached a point in this medium’s existence where a lot of franchises are celebrating long lives and considering what the next 30 years looks like. Requiem seems mostly content to think about the past and not give much thought to the future. But hey, the guns shoot good, the scares still hit, and Leon still looks good in a tight shirt. So maybe there’s no real need to make sweeping changes when the formula of multiple eras still goes down real smooth, even if it leaves me feeling a little bit empty.

It’s a shame that this game is in such a rough state at launch, including numerous performance hiccups on Xbox Series X. There are some really cool and funny ideas in High on Life 2.

In a word, Crisol is uneven, and that’s the most novella-ass thing about it. See, the thing about novellas is that though they attempt it all–comedy, melodrama, camp, action, steamy romance, and thrills of all sorts–they also kind of fizzle out by their end. The balancing act is tough to maintain so consistently. Crisol‘s ambitions seem to lie all over the place, but despite that, it still brings out top-notch performances. I was hooked on its drama plenty enough to blast through Tormentosa’s clubs, caverns, and cathedrals. And it is a competent enough survival-horror title to thrill and occasionally provide a good scare along the way, even if it feels at times like its action and horror is pulling its punches. But for all its missteps, I couldn’t help but love Crisol‘s authentically Spanish heart, and I can’t help but desire more of it. From Crisol and from games at large.

Relooted is a big, Black middle finger to the lingering violence of colonialism. It’s a game that does more than ask, “What if Indiana Jones was actually the good guy he claims he is?” It’s spiritual wish fulfillment. Instead of relying on the benevolence of colonizers to do the right thing, Relooted lets you take back what should have never left in the first place.

The highlight of Reanimal is its final hour, which includes sequences that differentiate themselves from the rest of the game by putting you in the position of being both the hunter and the hunted. And the conclusion helps give some meaning to the repeated images you see throughout the adventure that hint at its larger story...If anything, this bright spot only highlighted my disappointment with the game even more because I know Tarsier can make a good game. Unfortunately, a handful of highs and a nice ending don’t redeem the hours I spent meandering from place to place, unmotivated and unamused.

Romeo Is a Dead Man is full of little moments like this, mixed media distractions from the bloodshed that seem pointless before eventually taking on a greater meaning. They aren’t specifically built to tickle consumers’ dopamine pathways. They won’t always hit you the same way—or at all—but allowing Romeo to wash over you rather than trying to package its complexities in a neat little box will let you walk away with at least one thing to appreciate. Suda51 and the team he’s gathered at Grasshopper Manufacture continues to put out games that function both as entertaining distractions from the pressures of reality and thought-provoking art installations. It’s almost like having your cake and eating it too.

Nioh 3 also does something that established franchises, especially today, sometimes seem allergic to: it takes risky swings to switch up a beloved formula. In the moments where everything aligns and the shift to a more expansive, exploration-focused experience fires on all cylinders—creating surprising stories and unique victories—it’s not hard to imagine how successive games could build on these changes and continue to offer further excitement.

Dragon Quest VII Reimagined is a wonderful remake of Dragon Quest VII 2000, but as I said earlier, all Dragon Quest VII can be is itself with its small islands, portals, and a lot of walking back and forth to fix specific problems like appeasing an active volcano or helping a kingdom fight against rampaging robots. I’d more easily recommend Dragon Quest XI, which is a great entry point for anyone curious about 3D Dragon Quest. And of course, there’s the trio of HD-2D games that lay out the origin of everything Dragon Quest is about. There’s nothing wrong with choosing Dragon Quest VII Reimagined as your first Dragon Quest, but remember what I said before? We Dragon Quest fans are spoiled for choice now. And with that last thought, celebrate and revel in our good fortune.

Code Vein II doesn’t just take a superficial anime aesthetic and use it as window dressing on a popular genre. Its story and charming cast elevate it to create a unique middle ground that will appeal to JRPG and Soulslike fans alike. It’s got its fair share of issues, such as the performance woes and boring enemy fodder design. Still, if you’re looking to ease into the Soulslike genre before hitting the big leagues, Code Vein II is worth spilling blood over.

Climbing requires you to be aware of everything from your toes to fingertips. The game’s attempt to replicate that is an admirable one, but the gap it tries to bridge between how the human body moves and how a video game character does feels like it doesn’t quite meet in the middle. What’s left is something that rewards a level of patience I don’t think I have anymore. I’ll just keep my feet firmly planted on the ground for now. [Impressions]

Don’t Stop GirlyPop is an example of a shooter that oozes style and has some cool ideas, like using a flip phone to communicate with your handler, a woman who appears in live-action video clips on your phone’s screen. But its visuals get in the way, and its combat is too focused on chaotic speed and screen-obscuring effects. Perhaps I could still enjoy all of this if the guns were satisfying to use and the enemies fun to kill, but more often than not, I wasn’t sure if I was doing well in a fight or if my guns were even hitting anything. So I’m sorry to say I stopped playing GirlyPop before the game ended. But hey, at least I’ll have the music to jam out, too.

It is perhaps about time we stopped being surprised by just how brilliant each new game from Inkle is capable of being, but I’m still delighted by how different TR-49 feels from, say, Sorcery!, Heaven’s Vault, and Overboard! Each game is an extraordinary demonstration of a mastery of language, and TR-49 is no different. Except it’s very different, not least in its paranoia over the power of language, its potential dangers, and indeed the explicit dangers of its exploitation and censorship. 2026 is a chillingly perfect time to release a game about a machine that learns the atomistic contents of books, destroying them in the process.