Adam Beck

“Ryu Hayabusa is back, but this time as the rival to newcomer Yakumo in Ninja Gaiden 4.”

“Our mustached Italian plumber is back in one of the best remasters we've seen from the franchise.”

“The long awaited arrival of Silksong is over five years in the making and it's even better than we had hoped.”

“Konami brings the classic Metal Gear Solid 3 to the modern age with stunning visuals, quality-of-life improvements and a feast for fans new and old.”

“If there's one game to pick up with the Nintendo Switch 2, it's Mario Kart World.”

“Now that the Nintendo Switch 2 is out, get a fill of all the features the console has to offer in this tech demo.”

“The long awaited arrival of King Arthur in Tainted Grail is finally upon us, but does it live up to expectations?”

“The spin-off to one of the best games in the last five years, can Nightreign live up to the high expectations of Elden Ring?”

“Somehow, the Lunar games still hold up in 2025. While not perfect, they're still well-written and highly engaging JRPG classics that have stood the test of time thanks to mechanics and features that were ahead of their time. For the most part, the graphical enhancements have only improved the quality of the experience, with only some of the upscaling techniques getting in the way of the enjoyment.”

“Neople brings us The First Berserker: Khazan, an anime-inspired soulslike that tries to stand out in a crowded market.”

“A traditional RPG with a lot of charm, Obsidian Entertainment continues to impress with Avowed.”

“A classic brought to modern platforms, there's no better Tales game to remaster than Graces f.”

“There are only a handful of games in the franchise that stick out as truly memorable and Space Marine is one of them.”

“Black Myth: Wukong is a phenomenal, enthralling and imaginative experience that’s a must-play for anyone who enjoys Chinese mythology.”

“Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail excels in its promise to bring exciting new jobs and combat scenarios to the New World. Unfortunately, it falls short of expectations when it comes to the narrative, which ends up being a mess of issues.”

“When compared to Elden Ring, Shadow of the Erdtree doesn’t quite live up to its lofty expectations. As a standalone experience, though, Shadow of the Erdtree is an absolute treasure that only helps to enhance the enjoyment of Elden Ring as a whole.”

“Stellar Blade delivers masterclass gameplay, spectacular visuals and a compelling universe. It no doubt will draw comparisons to Nier and its successor, but what Shift Up has done is improved upon the formula greatly in creating one of the best action games of the year. The combat will have you engaged from start to finish, and while the story is overly predictable, the beautiful visuals and mesmerizing soundtrack will have you immersed. It does have fatigue when it comes to the open areas and side quests, and there’s a lost opportunity with the location choices, but the main story has been finely crafted into a wondrous adventure that will last over fifty hours. It helps that the side quests help establish the lore of the world and the characters are compelling enough to keep your interest. In the end, Stellar Blade is a must-play.”

“Dragon’s Dogma 2 is majestic, marvelous and magnificent. It’s an experience that’s like no other that will have you immersed for every second of play. Unfortunately, there are certain elements that hold it back from greatness. For starters, retreading already-explored areas for side quests and materials is a pain. Getting from point A to point B is a hassle that requires a great deal of time or coin because of the lack of a competent traversal system. On top of that, this could have immensely benefited from cooperative play. It already has multiplayer functions, so it’s disappointing we only got asynchronous gameplay, especially considering a pawn’s AI can be lacking outside of combat and their mouths do not stop moving. With that said, combat is highly engaging, the structure of the open world encourages exploration like nothing else and lack of hand holding is the best choice Capcom could have made. Dragon’s Dogma 2 has all the right to be the Elden Ring of 2024, but unfortunately, it’s held back by technical limitations and bizarre design choices. Despite this, there’s still so much brilliance to be found.”

“Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is a big step in the right direction that’s unfortunately held back by graphical anomalies and open world tropes. It’s an emotional rollercoaster ride that’s heavily back loaded. It'll pull on your heart strings and make you invested in each character more than ever before. It helps that all the memorable moments from the original are not only retained, but strengthened thanks to the graphical prowess of the PlayStation 5. Combat also remains highly engaging, with slight modifications that only enhance the experience further. Unfortunately, Rebirth is also marred with baffling design choices that stifle its greatness. It's filled with mini-games that thankfully are mostly in side quests, as their controls and function leave much to desire. At the very least they will keep you interested as it never gets stale. On top of that, while most of the graphics will have you impressed, low resolution textures and geometry are spliced in the most confusing of ways, only pulling you out of the immersion. Final Fantasy VII Rebirth has its share of issues that prevent it from greatness, but whether you’re a dire hard fan or relatively new to the saga, this remains an RPG for the ages.”

“Final Fantasy XVI: Echoes of the Fallen isn’t going to blow your socks off, but it does expand the lore ever so slightly and introduce a beloved franchise antagonist. This is essentially a two-to-three-hour long mission going from room to room, clearing out baddies and taking down raid-approved bosses. The rewards for endgame players not looking to go into new game+ are worth it, and the adventure along the way is compelling enough to keep our attention. It may be formulaic and overly straightforward, but it doesn’t stray too far from the fantastical formula the main campaign established. The only major thing missing is an eikon fight. In the end, Echoes of the Fallen is a solid adventure that will keep you entertained for an evening.”