The Occultist succeeds greatly in its atmosphere, narrative construction, and the way it uses first-person horror to create constant tension and truly effective scares. The setting of Godstone and the mystery surrounding the protagonist are engaging enough to keep the player invested from beginning to end. However, the underutilization of some important mechanics, the lack of a functional map, and limitations such as the absence of chapter selection prevent it from reaching an even higher level. Still, it's a solid and memorable experience within the genre.

Darwin's Paradox! excels in its impeccable art direction, the protagonist's charisma, and the creative approach of alternating gameplay both in and out of the water, in addition to delivering a fun narrative with memorable cutscenes. On the other hand, the uneven difficulty, especially in the second half, and the decision to make certain challenges mandatory that could be optional end up hurting the pacing and generating unnecessary frustration. Still, it's a remarkable and personality-filled experience, worthwhile mainly for its visuals and originality.

Legacy of Kain: Ascendance follows the storyline of a brand new character, who has been retroactively insterted into the main canon in a minimalistic and repetitive side-scrolling game. With strong spin-off vibes, it might not be a good indication of the revival of a classic franchise.

GRIME II succeeds greatly in expanding gameplay freedom, offering an extremely well-constructed world, and rewarding players who dedicate themselves to exploration and learning combat. The variety of approaches and intelligent level design significantly enhance the experience, but technical problems, such as persistent bugs, and some excesses — mainly in length and dialogue — prevent it from reaching an even higher level. Still, it's an ambitious and memorable sequel within the genre.

Marvel MaXimum Collection revives an important chapter in the history of the publisher's adaptations prior to their rise to popularity in theaters, featuring six games with the strengths and limitations typical of their era. While the selection is interesting, the quality-of-life features could be more generous, as seen in other similar initiatives. On the other hand, the curation of supplementary material is exemplary, making the package a great option, especially for those who have an emotional connection to the works and the generation to which they belong.

Screamer is an extremely pleasant surprise in a genre that currently receives few releases. The gameplay is complex, but the game is entirely dedicated to gradually introducing the player to its mechanics and its world. Fans of arcade-style racing should give the title a chance, not only because of the few releases in the genre, but because it's a great game.

New Super Lucky's Tale remains an excellent platformer with simple yet functional gameplay, fun and vibrant levels, and an exciting soundtrack. The PS5 version features minor improvements that make the experience even smoother, making it a highly recommended title for all fans of the genre.

Ariana and the Elder Codex is fun to pass the time, but the tedious dialogue breaks the rhythm too much. Although it has interesting gameplay, it's recommended for those who really want to delve into the story and have the patience for it.

Marathon is special within its own universe and shows how Bungie continues to deliver high-quality first-person shooters over decades. It still needs slight refinements and more content over time to remain consistently interesting, but its release is a huge success.

Combining great pixel art visuals and the exploration of classic action RPGs with more modern combat mechanics, Hunt the Night delivers a good atmosphere, but ultimately suffers from flaws in some mechanics that can make progression quite frustrating.

Tales of Berseria remains one of the most emblematic and darkest chapters in the franchise, with a mature plot that inverts traditional roles by placing us in the shoes of villains and a combat system that may superficially seem simple, but brings a good layer of complexity. The quality-of-life improvements in this version make the experience more fluid and adapted to current standards, although the need for this remaster is questionable for those who already own the PS4 version.

Dark Deity 2 is an excellent strategy RPG that delivers a strong sense of nostalgia while also bringing enough new features to its gameplay to maintain a modern feel. Its combat shines, and the story, despite some minor flaws, holds up very well throughout the journey, making the title an excellent choice for those who enjoy the genre.

Dynasty Warriors: Origins - Visions of Four Heroes is a good DLC for fans of the base game and the genre, bringing new scenarios, weapons, and companions that will please veterans. Its amount of content more than justifies its existence, even if the price is a bit steep.

Perhaps John Carpenter's Toxic Commando is far from offering anything new in a market already quite saturated with cooperative shooters for up to four people against demonic enemies. But this may be its greatest virtue, as the game refines everything that came before and, as a result, offers a light, balanced and an enjoyable adventure, especially playing alongside good friends.

Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly Remake is the definitive experience of one of the 2003 horror classics. With enhanced graphics, new mechanics, high replayability, and a story that offers significant weight for players, the title establishes itself as one of the best games in the franchise by far.

Maintaining the structure that made the series famous and without abandoning its roots, while also evolving within what it used to become different as a spin-off, Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection is an excellent game and the high point of the trilogy. Although it lacks a slight refinement in parts of its gameplay, it's a worthwhile title for any Monster Hunter fan.

As a huge pleasure to play, Minishoot' Adventures builds a very fun gameplay loop that is intuitive and very efficient in everything it sets out to do. With a well-designed world to explore, many secrets to discover, upgrades to strengthen yourself, and options to adjust the difficulty of the intense bullet hell combat, it's a delightful experience that focus on what it does best.

Taking an interesting approach by freely drawing inspiration from well-known stories and settings, Mirage 7 offers a classic narrative exploration adventure with survival and combat elements. In this regard, it only partially achieves its goal, stumbling over outdated mechanics and unjustifiably dated aesthetic elements, which unfortunately results in a mediocre and forgettable game.

Without reinventing the formula, WWE 2K26 shows that the franchise has reached an exemplary level of maturity among sports games. The subtle gameplay improvements, the inclusion of new fight types, the exciting Showcase starring CM Punk, and the good replayability of MyRISE make this one of the most complete editions in the series. Despite this, monetization practices continue to plague fans, especially those who want to get the most out of the title.

Legacy of Kain: Defiance Remastered reanimates the final chapter of the saga starring Raziel, with new features that go beyond a new coat of paint and help make it a more accessible and pleasant experience than it originally was. At its core, however, it's still the same game from two decades ago.

Whether playing solo or co-op, Scott Pilgrim EX is a positive addition to the beat'em up genre. The title shines with its diverse characters, pixel art graphics, excellent soundtrack, and gameplay which, despite being simple, is functional and fun to master. A must-have game for fans of the series and the genre, but also a great entry point for beginners.

JDM was a pleasant surprise and centered its gameplay experience on Japanese car culture. The game has its quirks given that it's produced by a small team, but it's also a better package than the simple sum of its parts. Ultimately, JDM presents a charm and structure that I feel is sorely lacking in current racing games.

Disco Simulator delivers the logistics of a night out with vibrant colors, but stumbles on the controls and forgets that a good party needs more than just three songs on loop.

Rayman 30th Anniversary Edition celebrates the past with some extras and details from the franchise's history, but forgets to polish the present, delivering a simple and flawed package in its execution, far short of the celebration Rayman really deserves.

Resident Evil Requiem is an excellent game, taking the best elements from the Resident Evil 2 and 4 remakes. The gameplay is great, the graphics are superb, and the atmosphere is outstanding. The only downsides are the bittersweet story and the lack of extra modes.

God of War Sons of Sparta has its merits and, within the premise of a 2D action game set in Kratos' youth, it fulfills its role in a perfunctory but satisfactory way. However, it lacks depth in all its aspects, including the rather rudimentary level design by current Metroidvania standards, and even with some interesting qualities in the visual and narrative aspects, it still seems to be just a scrawny teenager trying to prove himself a true Spartan warrior.

No Sleep For Kaname Date - From AI: THE SOMNIUM FILES is a game that bets on the hunger of series fans for more content, but offers only a light appetizer that doesn't satisfy their appetite.

ChromaGun 2: Dye Hard uses simple magnetic color mechanics to create puzzles that, while not impressive, at least maintain interest. The same goes for its satirical story about labor relations, in which we play as a tester trapped in a leonine contract of dangerous experiments and are guided by the very well-voiced sadistic bosses. For those who have trouble visualizing the colors, there is an accessibility option that uses symbols on the puzzle objects.