Checkpoint Gaming

End of Abyss is a creepy adventure whose charm takes time to settle in. The dark atmosphere heightens the experience, making you fearful yet curious about what comes next. The difficulty is just right, and you won't run out of resources, letting you control enemy situations as you like. It's not perfect, and there are some frustrating aspects. But the negatives are far outweighed by the positives, and it's an immersive experience that will be hard to put down.

While I need to spend some more time in multiplayer before laying down my final scored verdict, my impressions of Gears of War: E-Day are incredibly positive. The campaign is a thrilling take on Emergence Day, and exploring the town of Kelona getting ravaged in real-time is entertaining, with side missions proving to be worthwhile distractions. Meanwhile, Horde Siege is a standout new cooperative mode that looks to eat up lots of my spare time, while Versus is there for the die-hard competitive types. It’s all presented with visually stunning art direction and smart gameplay tweaks that improve on what Gears has always been, while maintaining what we love about it in the first place. This is a blood-soaked, adrenaline-filled adventure you simply can’t miss. [Review in Progress]

Dynasty Warriors 3: Complete Edition Remastered is the first remaster of the Dynasty Warriors series from Koei Tecmo and Omega Force, and hopefully not the last. While musou games aren’t a groundbreaking genre in 2026, it’s fun to just hack and slash at cannon fodder as you try your best to complete the objective (usually to win). Though, it’s disappointing to see not many updates regarding accessibility features. Regardless, while the formula isn’t new, it’s great for those nostalgic fans and newcomers to the series.

Toem 2 is a wonderful little game to explore. It feels like a vacation from the real world with fun gameplay, cute characters and delightful music and sound design. There’s a lot to discover in the world, with plenty of critters to find, tasks to complete and endless silly things to take photos of, so even after completing your journey to the Whirling Birch Bloom, there are still plenty of reasons to come back and add some new photos to your album.

Despite competent combat, Minecraft Dungeons 2 fails to bring enough variety to the table to justify its inflated world and runtime. Fundamentally, this is more Minecraft Dungeons and will appeal to those who enjoyed the first game or want an easy on-ramp into the ARPG genre. If you’re just excited for more Minecraft, I recommend the original flavour.

Silent Hill: Townfall understands that less is more. It is a smart, riveting tale about the people of St. Amelia, and while Simon is how we experience this story, Townfall is more about the heart that lies in rural communities than it is about him. Drenched in unsettling imagery, confronting themes, and parallels to real-life events, this game is a sight to behold. Its frightening setting and stealth-based, first-person gameplay feel like the P.T. experience we never got but desperately yearned for.

Ace Combat returns with the same familiar yet incredible dogfighting franchise back into the limelight. At the same time, Wings of Theve is far larger in scope, which brings the series to greater heights than ever before. While this transition to a bigger game has left some room for improvement, the outstanding gameplay, emotional story and gorgeous visuals make for an amazing action game and one of the best entries in the series.

Nocturne’s RPG wrappings, strong narrative and varied difficulty settings do a lot to make what is normally a fairly impenetrable genre accessible and enjoyable. Whether or not you consider yourself a fan of rhythm games, I think that Nocturne has a lot of appeal and is worth approaching if you’re looking for an RPG with a more unique approach to combat than most.

Doggy Don’t Care is a cute title targeted at all of those who have asked the question, “What does my dog do while I’m not home?” It’s a great idea, and I’m still surprised it hasn’t been done before, but it is exactly what I expected it to be when I played it. I had fun, but I would’ve liked to have seen something that would make it stand out a little bit more. Regardless, I think it is an enjoyable bite-sized treat for those looking to turn their brain off for one afternoon and cause some chaos.

Rivage is a beautiful simulacrum of an immersive, sci-fi puzzle game. It is an impressive feat, given that it is a two-person studio’s first project. On the surface, it looks like it accomplishes everything it should. Everything is there: puzzles, immersive storytelling and time-loops. However, in execution, the bad overshadows the good. Good puzzles are drowned out by aimlessly chasing around puzzle pieces. Fascinating mechanics don’t enhance the experience, but are actively hostile to it. The premise is unique and interesting, but is driven by one-note character, bad writing and poorly communicated goals. Underlining all of this is the ever-present anxiety that what you’re experiencing isn’t the work of a real person, but generative AI. Unfortunately, I cannot recommend Rivage.