When it comes to gameplay, aside from the gunplay, this fourth game is probably the best Borderlands yet. That said, it clearly needs to find the right balance on the narrative side, along with some fresh tricks to give more personality to the huge supporting cast — who, as of now, feel more like a nuisance than an asset. If you’re into shooting, Borderlands 4 is a safe bet, but when it comes to everything outside of gunplay, Gearbox’s game still lags behind.

Destiny Rising has so much content and features that there's something for every Destiny fan, but there's a lot of gacha monetization to dodge before getting to it.

DC Worlds Collide offers a pleasant experience for fans of Batman, Superman, and the other iconic DC heroes, once again adding a touch of depth to the traditional mechanics of a genre that has become quite saturated on mobile platforms due to its flexibility in adapting certain systems to the demands of the free-to-play model.

Hollow Knight: Silksong is, quite simply, a video game that shouldn’t exist. No publisher on Earth would ever fund the production of a colossal two-dimensional Metroidvania over the span of seven years, and no independent developer could realistically afford to turn such an immense ambition into reality. And yet, Hollow Knight: Silksong does exist, and it exists solely because a group of creators - deeply in love with their own work but above all blessed with extraordinary talent and the resources to make it shine - chose to invest seven years of their lives in the project. There has never been a Metroidvania so vast in content and so profound in its systems, nor one that marries such sheer scale with such painstaking artistry. On one hand, it is an experience of staggering proportions; on the other, it is enriched with the kind of craft and care one usually finds only in artisanal workshops. In the industry, it’s often said that this genre carries a fragment of the medium’s very soul. Playing through Hornet’s adventure is a reminder, plain and simple, of how beautiful it is to experience a video game made with love.

Hell is Us is a video game unlike most others: it is bold in addressing current and brutal themes such as the war ravaging the Middle East, showing the atrocities of conflict without compromise, and in giving players both the honor and the burden of keeping track of their own progress in the story, completely removing from the equation any markers or indicators that might point out the path or highlight elements of interest. At times, perhaps, it overestimates the player’s attention span, perceptiveness (and memory!), forcing connections that aren’t always immediate, but it’s flattering that it dares to try, and that it succeeds most of the time. It’s a pity, then, that the combat system clashes with the rest of the game: it feels uninspired, simplistic, and never tries to reinvent itself to provide the same kind of mental stimulation that the rest of the experience strives for. Not everything holds together as it should in this title, but we are certain that some of its elements will stay with us for a long time.

NBA 2K26 confirms itself as one of the most complete basketball games ever made. The graphical improvements, refined gameplay, and variety of game modes make it a title that can satisfy every type of player, from casual gamers to hardcore fans. MyCareer and MyTeam remain the cornerstones, but multiplayer options and management modes also offer deep and engaging experiences. Microtransactions remain a sore point, yet despite this, NBA 2K26 represents one of the most polished sports experiences available. It’s true that there’s still no real competition, but once again, Visual Concepts has delivered a quality package this year.

Hot Shots reminds us what makes this franchise so timeless, with every release: it is a cheerful, colourful golf game, sometimes bizarre but also technically and athletically accurate in its transposition, not overly technical but not inconsistent either. It is a container of seemingly distant worlds brought together by a realisation that does justice to golf, while conveying all the Japanese flavour typical of the saga. Nothing new under the sun, or almost nothing if we consider the extravagant mode: Hot Shots remains competently on that path, careful to follow, at times with excessive caution and redundancy, that typical but probably somewhat tired stylistic approach, at least for those who have been following it for almost 30 years.

It was certainly no easy task to get the player's empathy to penetrate beneath the steely layer of the space diver's suit. It's difficult to feel sympathy even for the unfortunate Travelers who preceded us, and at times the dialogue exchanges between characters seemed less interesting than the written notes we found while exploring. Those, indeed, are full of humanity. And yet, despite all their limitations, we must give Bloober Team credit for having once again succeeded. Maybe even to have started a new franchise that, in a few years, could be among the great titles of science fiction horror.

Metal Eden is a good game plagued by development problems. It can be a valid alternative to DOOM Eternal.

There are two souls fighting within Lost Soul Aside: the first is that of a small project created by solo developer Yang Bing and painstakingly nurtured over many years, while the second is that of a PlayStation-branded title sold at a triple-A price. It’s a “stylish action” video game inspired by the formula of Devil May Cry and the aesthetics of Final Fantasy that — not always for the right reasons — recalls the structure of old PS2-era hack and slash games. The combat system starts off with the handbrake on but steadily grows into something solid and challenging. The gameplay manages to stay fun throughout the adventure, but as soon as you step away from this core, a number of weaknesses start to surface: in addition to bland, impersonal storytelling and art direction, there are many rough edges, both in terms of presentation and mechanics. In short, it shows all the flaws and inexperience you’d expect from a small debut team, but these are inevitably magnified by a price and positioning that don’t reflect its true nature.

Sword of the Sea is a splendid journey that uplifts the spirit and concludes at just the right moment.

Gears of War: Reloaded represents a very important step in Microsoft’s current strategy, marking the beginning of a path that will inevitably lead to a multiplatform launch for the highly anticipated prequel Gears of War: E-Day. Most notably, it signals the debut of an iconic Xbox intellectual property on PS5, a franchise that has meant (and still means) so much to a large number of fans of the green brand. This new edition takes the excellent Ultimate Edition released ten years ago and refreshes it just enough to make it feel current, relying on the depth of a gameplay that remains devilishly fun.

Shinobi: Art of Vengance is a vibrant reimagining of the beloved SEGA franchise. Lizardcube developed a masterpiece 2D platformer featuring metroidvania exploration and a solid, engaging combo based combat system.

The Rogue Prince of Persia may be a strange take on Prince of Persia, but it’s definitely one worth playing. It does just about everything well and makes a real effort to stand out from the competition, offering unique gameplay mechanics that create dynamics completely different from those of Dead Cells (the game it’s most often compared to). If you can get past the prejudices surrounding it, you’ll find an excellent title in your hands, full of ideas that we hope will be carried forward in the future.

Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater is a faithful remake that brings Hideo Kojima’s masterpiece into the present with the power of Unreal Engine 5, focusing primarily on aesthetics while only lightly touching the framework of the mechanics. It’s an exceptionally complete edition, packed with extra content, whose purpose lies in its contemporary presentation, the modernization of its core dynamics, and a host of quality-of-life improvements. Its only real limitation stems from the reverence the publisher feels toward the original — and it’s a justified reverence, since Snake Eater was and remains a sensational video game, a magnificent spy story brimming with the brilliant ideas of its Japanese creator. The remake can be considered a success: there’s room for some flair and a few welcome surprises, but Konami ultimately lacked the courage to fully reconcile modernity with the game’s more classic soul, opting instead to satisfy those who desired blind fidelity to the original and daring only when it was certain there was no real risk.

Drag x Drive is a confusing and unfocused project that fails to offer a lasting and deep experience. Fun for a few games with friends, it lacks a sufficiently structured design to maintain user interest over the long term.

Stormgate is both a classic and an innovative RTS which mixes the old and the new, it still needs some work but the foundations are strong.

Luto is a horror of the soul. It inherits the form of P.T., but changes the substance with intelligence, building a reflection on our connection with personal ghosts. It does so by exploring non-Euclidean spaces and drawing on many works that have deconstructed the house as a place of memory, reimagining it as a mental labyrinth. Intangible and uncanny when the domestic hearth becomes an inner prison. Luto is a loop that must be broken not necessarily through logic. It’s a deconstruction of the genre, but also an intriguing celebration of it. It manages to be frightening while also sorrowful and melancholic, even with the flaws of a debut work.

Echoes of the End is a very interesting action-adventure, characterized by an evocative setting and solid writing, despite a few oversights. In terms of gameplay, it is blatantly inspired by God of War and other entries in a genre that has long since stopped producing truly original experiences - though in this case, it often leans more toward outright imitation rather than passionate homage. Now, if the framework put together by Myrkur Games worked as it should, we wouldn’t be lamenting its derivative mechanics, but unfortunately the game lacks polish and reaches launch saddled with some significant issues that will inevitably take time to fix.

Quotation forthcoming.

Dead Take is a decent puzzle game, an enjoyable horror title, and an excellent narrative adventure that intrigues us with its characters, all perfectly portrayed in high-quality FMV sequences, and captivates us with a parable about the world of cinema and the pain felt by those who create art, which we all feed on, crying out for more and more, regardless of the cost to those behind the cameras. It's a shame that the puzzles don't hit the mark and that the horror sometimes takes the wrong direction, but considering that it only costs €14 and a few hours of our time, we suggest that anyone who is intrigued give it a try.

The Enhanced edition of Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 marks yet another PS5 debut for a former Xbox exclusive that sparked plenty of debate and can now be experienced by Sony console owners as well. Senua’s journey remains gripping and spectacular, ruthless and violent, masterfully directed and enriched by binaural audio. At the same time, however, it doesn’t strike as hard as it should have, leaving much of its gameplay potential largely untapped. The 60 fps? Great to finally have them, but they come at a significant cost in image quality.

Mafia: Terra Madre is a clear return to the roots of the series, crafted by the skilled and inventive hands of the team at Hangar 13. It’s a linear action-adventure, built on open-world foundations that aim to strike the best possible balance in every aspect of its gameplay and technical performance. There's nothing truly innovative in its mechanics, nor anything particularly original in its mafia story, which leans heavily on cinematic overtones and is enriched by the classic clichés of the genre. That said, there’s no doubt the full package works: it offers exactly what one would expect from a production of this type, especially when you consider its production values and, most of all, the price it's being sold at. You run, you shoot, you hide, and you experience a solid, parabolic tale of a poor miner who climbs the ranks of a Cosa Nostra family over a dozen intense, enjoyable, and ultimately fun hours—even if never truly memorable.

Although quite simplified, Blood Line: A Rebel Moon Game is a rather enjoyable action game with twin-stick shooter elements, which can be a good complement to watching the films. The mechanics can become repetitive over time, but for a few hours it's entertaining enough to recommend it to anyone with a Netflix subscription.

Dear me, I was… is a very short narrative experience, affordably priced, where player interaction is stripped down to the bare minimum, just light touches that move the story forward. And yet, the storytelling is outstanding, despite not using a single word. It’s the images that speak instead, the extraordinary art of Taisuke Kanasaki, returning to illustrate a video game after a long time. His mastery of the rotoscope technique reaches new heights here, gifting the characters with moments of exceptional visual intensity. It’s certainly not a game for everyone, and not the kind of comeback fans of Another Code or Hotel Dusk might have expected. But it is a bittersweet portrait, capable of stirring emotion with great subtlety. It’s worth the price of admission for the hour of beauty it offers alone.

Pokémon Friends might be fun until it lasts for very young fans looking for a cute quick puzzle game but the repetitive gameplay and annoying cooldowns drag it down.

Minami Lane lets us manage a road, transporting us for a few hours to a dreamy Japanese-style city. Far from being limited by its narrow scope, Minami Lane is a solid and deep management game, capable of posing interesting challenges while still maintaining a welcoming atmosphere.

The Wandering Village is a unique yet familiar feeling city builder with a Ghibli style story, an almost cozy pace and a very enjoyable game loop.