WellPlayed

Despite some stunning visuals and an excellent soundtrack, Aphelion sadly doesn’t have the narrative prowess that DON’T NOD is known for. Bland characters and a story that doesn’t deliver on its promising premise, plus a tedious gameplay loop makes this sci-fi adventure a disappointment.

Pragmata is a surprisingly great homage to late-2000s survival horror and platforming classics with enough identity and sauce to shoot for the moon.

Whether you're a fighting game veteran or someone who usually avoids the genre, Invincible VS offers an intuitive fighting experience that is hard to put down. It’s flashy, it’s bloody, and most importantly, it’s really fun to play.

Advancements in progression, narrative delivery, and player engagement, as well as refinements made to a near-perfect set of gameplay fundamentals, see Saros eclipse its predecessor and ascend to a throne above all others in the genre.

Boasting a profound reinvention that overhauls the game’s core player power routes and lacklustre endgame options, Lord of Hatred is a masterful recalibration that replaces "more of the same" with genuine mechanical depth, making it an essential evolution for veterans and the perfect demonic olive branch for the sceptics.

Easily the game with the highest meme potential of 2026, Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream’s combination of zany (if repetitive) writing and player input makes for a memorable time. The open-ended play is balanced with a steady flow of bite-sized activities for structure, and while the game could have used a bit more substance, it’s surprisingly addictive nonetheless.

Generic boomer shooter gunplay and a stretched-out runtime could be make this a cold case for some, but the incredible rubber hose aesthetic and entertaining noir setting should help see most detectives through to the end.

An artistically striking interpretation of Arthurian canon that isn't quite able to draw its sword of convoluted card-driven systems from the slow and cruel stone that is the turn-based combat.

With its fusion of heartfelt narrative, giant robot combat and flexible flavour-driven cooking system, Dosa Divas serves up a hearty genre mashup that more than lives up to its ambitious premise. It’s a beautifully crafted journey where the only thing more satisfying than the snappy dialogue and deep character bonds is the undeniable joy of saving the world one home-cooked meal at a time.

Bungie successfully makes a grab at the extraction shooter crown with Marathon. Rook is a revelation for solos, and Cryo Archive is the best endgame experience in the genre. It is mean, yet fair, with more than ample flair. The biggest issue is that you’re currently not playing it, hence my matchmaking woes.