Winter Burrow is a delightful game to play through, whether you’re a fan of cozy titles or survival adventure games. It boasts a gorgeous aesthetic, featuring a well-crafted world dotted with charming details, as well as a surprisingly detailed survival system. Fans of comforting survival games with good stories will get a kick out of this title.

If there is one thing developer Everstone Studio has delivered on, it’s the sheer size of Where Winds Meet. Players will have no shortage of things to do and treasures to uncover as they explore the region and tackle quests and side quests. However, every free-to-play game has its hurdles, and Where Winds Meet’s success will be anchored on how players connect with the storyline and how motivated they become to explore what is, at its core, an overwhelming amount of content. The game’s future hangs in a careful balance between paid premium content and a world with enough rewarding material to keep players coming back for more.

Lumines Arise is a meticulously crafted musical with a confident, rhythm-driven twist on the classic Tetris puzzle formula. The new Burst mechanic adds an explosive touch and extra layer of tactical depth that feels fresh without being overcentralizing. The campaign length is satisfying, and the multiplayer offerings will keep players coming back for more. While the visuals are vibrant and immersive, some themed backgrounds make it difficult to distinguish the blocks, slightly undermining an otherwise engaging and stylish puzzle game. Still, Hydelic and Ishida’s soundtrack delivers a hypnotic experience unlike any other.

If you’re a fan of games like Silksong or Celeste, it’s well worth your time to investigate Lone Fungus: Melody of Spores. It’s a lighter and more joyful addition to the world of Metroidvanias, but don’t let that fool you, as there’s still a brilliant story to uncover. Both the platforming and combat felt rewarding to pick up, and the world itself was gorgeous.

Painkiller isn’t the game I wanted, nor is there a game in there that I want to play either. How did all these pieces not coalesce into something better than the sum of their parts? That’s right, you need to build an enjoyable experience underneath the mechanics and a dire nine-level campaign that offers the player nothing other than the option to replay them – which is something I won’t be doing anytime soon.

Overall, if you’ve played Virtua Fighter in the past, R.E.V.O. World Stage is a great way to return to the series, thanks to its ‘World Stage’ mode, better graphics, and more. If you’ve heard of Virtua Fighter before, but never had the chance to play it, R.E.V.O. World Stage is a fantastic way to get into the series before the sixth entry arrives.

Dark Quest 4 was a lively, immersive experience, with a style of play that kept me coming back for more. If you’re a fan of turn-based action, TTRPGs, and fantasy games, you’ll get a kick out of this title. It’s got a rich single-player mode, an in-depth map builder to help you make your own levels, and a multiplayer mode as well.

It offered bags of replay value with plenty of unique build options, and each enemy felt well-designed. If you’re a fan of titles with elements of dice games, roguelikes, and deck-builders, you’ll get a kick out of the speedy gameplay that Dog Witch offers.

I’ll have more thoughts in the coming days, but for now, Arc Raiders is some of the most fun I’ve had in a video game all year.

I fully expect patches to iron out a lot of the issues, but reviewing what’s here as a footballing sandbox that has some sand missing, it’s still the best around – in fact, it’s the only name in town.

Livber: Smoke and Mirrors is missing those final finishing touches that transform a game into something greater and more enjoyable to play.

I encountered a few small rough edges during my review sessions, though, like a graphical element flickering and a small typo/grammatical error in a dialogue pop-up box. These weren’t major issues and didn’t hinder my enjoyment overall, but they were noticeable...Outside of this, Europa Universalis V was a delight to explore. It felt detailed and vibrant, and while it took me a while to pick up the game mechanics, the process of learning the game felt rewarding. Fans of grand strategy games looking for a new addition to their library will get a kick out of this title.

It’s hard to recommend this Kollection to anyone other than those who’ve adored Mortal Kombat since its early years, as when compared to the more modern entries, retro remasters of MK1, 2, 3 and 4 simply aren’t going to measure up. So much content will feel redundant, too. This is not to say that any of it is bad, it’s just a compilation that only the most committed Mortal Kombat fans will truly appreciate.

Within this brief but pleasant game is an adventure that delivers an enjoyable experience. With those long, dark nights now rolling in, I can’t think of a better way to spend an evening than traversing Clifford Island.

The Outer Worlds 2 was a delight to explore, and I can’t wait to dip back into the game to build a character that’s the polar opposite of my first one. Arcadia felt both rewarding and dangerous to venture through, and the story stayed consistently entertaining throughout. Fans of the original should get a kick out of it, but new fans of the series will enjoy it, too.

Once Upon a Katamari is a whimsical puzzle game offering varied and vibrant environments through its unique time periods. Its simple gameplay is filled with surprisingly depth, fun challenges, and strategic twists that constantly keep it fresh. Despite some frustrating controls and an intrusive camera, the nostalgic PS2-era visuals, catchy soundtrack, and light multiplayer segments make it a charming and engaging experience.

Pokémon Legends Z-A improves on its predecessor, Arceus, by making battles just as fun as the previous entry made catching. The Z-A Royale and the mystery of Rogue Mega Pokémon mean exploring Lumiose City is a consistently rewarding delight, especially when every corner feels carefully curated with Pokémon quests, items, and more. While visual fidelity is no match for Arceus’ better artistic direction, Z-A runs flawlessly. Plus, visually, both Lumiose City and the title’s character designs have moments of brilliance. Altogether, whether exploring Wild Zones to uncover Pokémon, steamrolling through battles, or leaping across rooftops, Pokémon Legends Z-A is a consistently and brilliantly rewarding entry in the Pokémon franchise that hopefully heralds the start of a new standard.

When Ninja Gaiden 4 focuses on what it’s good at – fights against lots of sword-wielding enemies in melee combat or a single big boss, it excels. Few games feel as satisfying as Ninja Gaiden 4, when you’re seamlessly blocking attacks and going straight into flashy, instant-kill death combos, with red rivers of blood soaking every surface. It’s just the moments outside of these that can test your patience, as the game can feel unfair, especially during a first playthrough when you’re learning the ropes.

In a plentiful sea of indie titles inspired by classic gaming, one could argue Lumo 2 offers nothing new. But they’d be wrong. While this experience has its flaws, it not only looks like a retro game but feels like one too.

Overall, Bloodlines 2 was a lot of fun. While it did present a few quirks and issues in places, I found the world, narrative, and characters to be compelling enough that I kept tearing through the game. If you love moody, dramatic vampires and murder mysteries, you’re bound to fall in love with this game.

Little Nightmares 3 is not a bad game by any means. As noted, the art and sound design teams both did a splendid job, and I hope to learn more about Low and Alone in the DLC, too. The game just felt somewhat overshadowed by the creativity of its predecessors, offering a decent but oddly familiar experience.

Battle Suit Aces could’ve easily collapsed under the weight of its ambitions as part card battler, part visual novel, all wrapped in an anime-infused melodrama. Instead, it finds a sweet spot where quick, punchy battles and heartfelt storytelling keep feeding into each other. It’s not the deepest tactical game, and not a dating sim, but it knows what it wants to be: a fun, mech adventure that celebrates both friendship and blowing stuff up with big mechs.

While Forgotten Fragments isn’t designed with every player in mind, it doesn’t fail because of that fact. Rather, it becomes a budding cult classic that will likely gain popularity over time, once it’s aged a little.

CARIMARA: Beneath the forlorn limbs is a short but sweet horror-adventure that’ll be a joy for any indie horror lover to play through. The card-based dialogue and exploration mechanic was unique, and the world itself had clearly been crafted with care, with a gorgeously eerie art style that matched the narrative nicely.

Digimon Story: Time Stranger was on the verge of being an incredible game. It’s just those last few niggles that are holding back. Maybe the next Digimon title will be the one that truly catapults the franchise to greatness, but unfortunately, I can’t see into the future to confirm that.

The early access version of HYPERVIOLENT was a delight to tear through. The game offers all the blood and guts that you could want from an old-school, sci-fi shooter, with a surprisingly rich story and a wide variety of enemies to smash to pieces with steel pipes. Fans of DOOM, Quake, and System Shock will get a kick out of it.

If you’re a fan of Lovecraftian horror and walking simulators, Eclipsium will be a delight for you to explore. It’s gross and gorgeous, with a subtle narrative, interesting premise, and heavily stylized world. While the art style may prove divisive, the experience as a whole is mesmerizing, adding a fresh spin on a classic horror walking simulator.

Hades 2 is an improvement in every single way. It’s hard to believe how a masterpiece like the first game could’ve been meaningfully reiterated on, but Supergiant Games somehow pulled it off. With more finely tuned mechanics like additional combat options, build crafting, and complex resource management, while simultaneously retaining its colorful charm and fun gameplay loop, Hades 2 is undoubtedly one of the best games of 2025.