Starship Troopers: Ultimate Bug War delivers chaotic bug-splatting action with satisfying old-school FPS gameplay, huge maps, and plenty of fan service for the cult sci-fi franchise.
Crabmeat offers a part thriller, part fishing sim experience that explores fishing, or more specifically crabbing in a more in depth way than many games do with the obligatory fishing mini-game. Whether you’d like to find out more about the hostile crabs, the Feudostate, or just want to spend some time crabbing, this game could fulfill any of those options.
John Carpenter’s Toxic Commando feels like a shallow attempt at making a Left 4 Dead-like game. A lot of it feels like style over substance, with poor writing, an empty world, and an underdeveloped story. Even though fighting off hordes of zombies can be fun, it quickly becomes dull when it’s one of the only good things you have going for yourself.
It’s been a long time since I’ve been so pleasantly blown away by a game, but Pokémon Pokopia has continued to surprise and delight me with every step. This is no doubt going to be one of the standout games of the Nintendo Switch 2 and of the year, as the addictive gameplay loop, charming world and characters, and seemingly endless amount of content make it 100% worth playing.
Mr. Sleepy Man is a game that will appeal to absolute weirdos – myself included – through and through. It’s a blast to run around, and platform in, and the creatively bizarre world and characters are unlike anything I’ve played before. It can certainly be a bit confusing if you try to play it like a regular platformer, but if you’re willing to wade in the weird, this is one game you won’t forget for a good while.
Esoteric Ebb, then, arrives as something that feels new when everyone is chasing games-as-a-service mandatory-multiplayer only: a single-player, well-written, extremely fun game that is about screwing around and enjoying the game rather than unlocking lootboxes, progressing through the season, or paying for content. Sit back, relax, and listen to what the voices in your head are telling you.
Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly Remake is a pleasantly anxiety-inducing game that combines the creepy thrills of the horror genre with the sharp satisfaction of taking a good photo. Though there are a couple of bumps in the road when it comes to how smoothly the game plays, the atmosphere and vibes are unparalleled and, when combined with the creative photography-based gameplay, create a remake that is absolutely worth experiencing – so long as you have a bit of extra patience.
Resident Evil Requiem takes the best of the modern games and remakes and smashes them together to create the best Resident Evil in years. The horror sections are expertly tuned to be terrifying without losing out on the excellent combat, and the action sections are as engaging as they are overwhelming. Both sections enhance each other through impeccable pacing. The story gets the job done, but Grace and Leon elevate the experience through their characterization. It’s big, it’s dumb, and it goes off the rails in all the ways the best Resident Evil games do.
The Disney Afternoon Collection is a brilliant bunch of Disney video games that are mostly well worth playing 30+ years later. Though some of the games stand out above others, they’re largely a blast to play, with the two new inclusions standing out as especially grand games that certainly deserve some additional spotlight. I hope Digital Eclipse and Atari find a way to get Bonkers and Goof Troop to the other platforms’ versions of The Disney Afternoon Collection, because they’ve really made this an essential gathering of retro classics.
While it lacks the jaw-dropping twists of its predecessor, Paranormasight: The Mermaid’s Curse is an excellent supernatural story that weaves historical and mythological tales into an intriguing and often deadly mystery. If Square Enix continues to put such effort and care into these games, I hope Paranormasight can become a new long-running series.
