Gamekult

Whatever team Asano's original statement of intent may have been in crafting The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales, it will only have been partially honored. Beyond deploying the era-hopping mechanic as a design shortcut rather than a genuinely coherent narrative element, this latest HD-2D epic loses itself in outrageous repetitiveness, one that will have players retreading the same areas time and again; and the handful of sporadic, era-dependent variations won't be enough to fend off the overdose. There is, admittedly, a soul to it all the same, systems that work and a certain moreishness to the gameplay, yet the experience spreads out as so much scenery to be crossed again and again, all while waiting for the story to finally deign to begin. And it's very good, once it truly does. But in plenty of cases, by then it will already be too late. "Hope is eternal," one might draw as the game's moral. We'd mainly have preferred it to be in a little more of a hurry.

Despite a few dispensable sequences, Crushed in Time is an excellent point-and-click adventure that manages to bring a touch of freshness to a gameplay formula that has already been thoroughly tested for decades. Add to that a delightfully unhinged metafiction that brilliantly draws from every form of humor, along with more or less glorious tributes to video games and game creation as a whole, and you have a generous and memorable experience on your hands.

There are really only two ways about it. Either you connect with what Maseylia has to offer : an imperfect but heartfelt experience —or it leaves you indifferent. You may find plenty to enjoy in its exploration and its well-crafted art direction, while at the same time being put off by its frankly dispensable combat or certain aspects of its game design that can feel rather abrupt. Is it a deliberate choice, or simply the result of limited time and resources? That is the question raised by a project this ambitious, developed almost entirely by a single person. And having that lingering doubt while playing this thoroughly enjoyable little metroidvania is almost part of its magic.

It is truly gratifying to see that The Seven Mysteries of Honjo was neither a flash in the pan nor a stroke of luck, but rather the result of a alignment of talents who have shown the very same inspiration to deliver a successor that is just as thrilling and thought-provoking, all while successfully shifting to a completely different atmosphere and theme. A formidable and highly effective visual novel that keeps us awake and on edge until its thoroughly satisfying conclusion, The Mermaid's Curse only falters on a few rare occasions, when it gets a bit too carried away by its secondary role as a history and geography teacher. But as long as writer Takanari Ishiyama, illustrator Gen Kobayashi, and composer Hidenori Iwasaki display this much passion and inspiration for storytelling and keeping us so deeply engaged, it's safe to say we'll keep coming back for more.

Bubsy 4D is definitely an acquired taste. Growing accustomed to the control scheme's feel takes quite some time and effort (ironic, in a short game). Yet, once settled in, the discerning platform player will find lots of potential for speedrunning, parkour tricks and other advanced challenges.

Does Zero Parades occasionally feel like a "bootleg" version of Disco Elysium ? Yes. But one can easily argue that it's the entire point. An engrossing spy thriller in a brand-new universe, Zero Parades makes salient points about culture, its staunchest and most unsufferable guardians, or the industrial elites who seek to weaponize mass entertainment for their own nebulous, sometimes borderline-religious purposes. While the writing does falter in places, the new gameplay systems are strong enough to compensate, and the overall presentation remains astoundingly beautiful.

Mina The Hollower is a curious experience : despite the development team's obvious overall mastery in areas as significant as level design, game systems, and art direction, Yacht Club Games occasionally loses its way with a handful of design decisions that border on sadism, ultimately undermining the overall pacing of the experience. That said, this zealous streak of mischief hardly warrants too harsh a verdict, as the attempt radiates both the passion and the artistry of a team generous in sharing its craft. Mina, much like Shovel Knight before it, certainly has what it takes to push the boundaries of the genre it seeks to emulate or, at the very least, to deliver a remarkable twenty-or-so hours of fun, outbursts of frustration, and scattered moments of wonder.

With 007 First Light, IO Interactive won't exactly satisfy the hunger of Hitman fans, and even less so those of Uncharted, as its nods to these series ultimately turn out to be quite superficial. However, the studio brilliantly pulls off its double wager: delivering a blockbuster capable of making waves in 2026, and bringing James Bond back to the forefront of the gaming scene after an unprecedented hiatus, all while being self-published, mind you. While the alchemy of the formula might remain a tad too cautious and predictable, the way the Danish studio has seamlessly mastered every convention of the modern AAA title commands respect, and reminds us once again why the world will never grow tired of the James Bond mythos. We missed you, James.

Battlestar Galactica: Scattered Hopes makes no concessions in its gameplay in order to remain faithful to the spirit of the TV series. It presents a brutal struggle for the survival of humanity that keeps us under constant pressure—both during combat and throughout the management phases—offering absolutely no respite in our desperate flight. It is a remarkable success in capturing the essence of the original work and translating it with brilliance, yet it nonetheless demands a specific mindset, given just how difficult and oppressive the experience is. Our primary grievance lies with the interface, which would have benefited from being more refined to alleviate—even slightly—the burden of our seemingly impossible task of commanding our small fleet.

A wonderful game and interactive toy in the same package, Yoshi and the Mysterious Book is one of the best Nintendo exclusives in a long time. Good-Feel finally finds a real hook after a few serviceable (but ultimately one-note) platform games with its discovery-first formula, giving younger kids a wonderful playground to run around and older players a good dose of childlike wonder. It also helps that the soundtrack is filled with bangers.