So sayeth me. The Immortal John Triptych is one of the funniest games I’ve ever played – certainly the funniest since Thank Goodness You’re Here . It compiles three titles from developer Joe Richardson: Four Last Things , The Procession To Calvary , and Death of the Reprobate . All were released between 2017 and 2024, but including them in one package is undeniably the best way to experience them. Chances are you’ve never played anything that looks quite like this, though you may well be familiar with many of its sights. All three games were built by taking bits and pieces from famous Middle Ages and Renaissance paintings, stitching them all together to form interactive scenes. Read the full article on nintendolife.com

Grab a bag of swag. We've got another roundup of reviews for you! This time, we're getting stuck into Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault , which is leaving Early Access ahead of its version 1. 0 release onto Xbox Game Pass this week. Personally, I was a big fan of the original Moonlighter . The whole dungeon-to-shop gameplay loop was super satisfying, and it was quite gorgeous from a graphical standpoint. Now, its sequel is launching out of Early Access, September 2, and we're keen to see what industry intellectuals think about it. Read the full article on purexbox.com

System: Switch 2 Release date: September 4, 2026 Developer: Capcom Publisher: Capcom A revival of a franchise that hasn’t had a new installment in twenty years in the form of a samurai action game – something we certainly haven’t seen any shortage of in that amount of time – looks to be an unwise decision at first glance, no matter... The post Onimusha: Way of the Sword review for Nintendo Switch 2 appeared first on Nintendo Everything .

This Old Snake knows some new tricks. Editor's Note: If you're looking for our thoughts on the individual releases within the Collection, then check out our reviews of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots and Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker , which you can buy individually on the Switch eShop. When Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 1 was released in 2023, Nintendo fans were finally treated to an excellent collection of stealth classics that, while flawed upon release, have since been updated significantly . But creator Hideo Kojima didn’t stop with the original MGS trilogy (despite apparently really wanting to ), concluding Solid Snake’s story with MGS4: Guns of the Patriots and exploring Big Boss’ journey after Snake Eater with the PSP title Peace Walker . Read the full article on nintendolife.com

A fulton of fun. Note. We're still working on our review of the overall MGS Master Collection Vol. 2 package - keep an eye out for our verdict soon. Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker represented a pretty significant shift in the stealth action series. Despite being released on the humble PSP back in 2010, it was comfortably the largest entry at the time, stuffed with content that could keep completionists busy for well over 100 hours. Read the full article on nintendolife.com

Here's what the critics have to say. Well, well, well, reviews are in for Onimusha: Way of the Sword , and they're looking pretty darned good! Capcom's latest title revives the dark samurai series for a modern audience, and it's currently holding a stellar Metacritic rating of 88 on Nintendo Switch 2, 86 on PS5, 82 on PC. It's yet to be rated for Xbox, with only two reviews available right now, bring the overall score to a whopping 86! Read the full article on purexbox.com

Slow bleed. Across its first five hours or so, The Blood of Dawnwalker came very to convincing me that it could be the next genre-conquering RPG. The vampiric debut from developer Rebel Wolves, Dawnwalker starts surprisingly strong, flaunting all of the intrigue and role-playing promise that you'd expect from a team that was once heavily involved with The Witcher 3 . Read the full article on pushsquare.com

Reviving a dormant and beloved franchise comes with risks and expectations. In the case of Onimusha: Way of the Sword , the new Genma-slaying romp feels like it fits perfectly alongside the other titles in the series. However, despite appearing 20 years after the last game, this new Onimusha still needs to find its footing. At the start of Onimusha: Way of the Sword , the legendary swordsman Musashi Miyamoto is on a journey to become the strongest. That’s when he encounters the Genma, demonic creatures escaped from Hell intent on causing chaos and harm in the human world and strikes back. Musashi, his allies, and the various antagonists in the game are all fun to watch. This new Onimusha feels like an early 2000s action blockbuster, which fits the tone of the series at large, and is very similar to another recent Capcom release . Despite the darker tone of this entry, there are a lot of funny moments sprinkled. Watching Musashi find his purpose as a warrior and make connections left me genuinely excited for the future of the series.

Screenshot by Siliconera Combat in Onimusha: Way of the Sword is built around reacting and defensive play. Parrying has an incredibly generous window and builds up the Blazing State (once unlocked) that enhances Musashi’s damage. Deflecting is performed by pressing A while defending. It’s a better version of parrying that depletes even more stamina and is buffed even further while in the Blazing State. Dodging has a similarly generous window. Its upgrade is the Reflex Combo, a full-range counterattack once the gauge fills. The last defensive option is Issen, an Onimusha’s signature counterattack that requires pressing the attack button just before an attack is about to hit Musashi. It has a tighter window, but is accordingly the most powerful option. By comparison, offensive play is limited. There’s a basic combo for light and strong attacks and six different Oni Armaments that can only be used once the according gauge is full. This is a massive downgrade compared to how Oni weapons work in other Onimusha games and ties into my biggest issue with Onimusha: Way of the Sword . There is almost no offensive play. All regular mobs are weak enough that hitting them a few times and responding to their attacks will dispatch them efficiently. Sure, you have to hit bosses so that their stamina doesn’t fill up and to slowly chip at their health. But the biggest rewards come from parrying, deflecting, and dodging.

Screenshots by Siliconera I have no issue with games that rely heavily on parrying and reactivity, but Onimusha: Way of the Sword takes it to the extreme. Character progression is another extension of this. Early upgrades unlock the aforementioned Blazing State and Reflex Dodge, but these are only buffs for tools I already had. Other upgrades increase Musashi’s damage or make tools I own stronger. The most baffling upgrades make the animation for opening a specific type of Genma door faster or make Musashi run faster only on Eastern Kyoto. This isn’t a short game either, with my final playtime being 42 hours after completing all side-quests. The game goes on for too long for how barebones the fighting feels. The more linear and story-driven areas in Onimusha: Way of the Sword are the highlight of the game. They introduce some variety, even when it’s basic platforming. By comparison, East Kyoto is the main source of the aforementioned padding. It’s not a particularly big area, but there are plenty of times when the momentum will halt in order to clear a rift and fight some repeated bosses.

Screenshot by Siliconera Onimusha: Way of the Sword is a fine action game, but as a fan of the series it’s lacking. The absence of weapon movesets and expanded combos make every encounter feel too similar. The fundamentals are fine for the first 10 to 15 hours, but it goes on for too long without expanding combat options. With Capcom seemingly intent on resurrecting this series, I hope that there’s a way forward for more Onimusha games. I just hope it isn’t the way of the sword. Onimusha: Way of the Sword will come out on September 4, 2026 for PS5, Xbox Series X, Switch 2, and PC via Steam . A demo is also available .

Onimusha: Way of the Sword's gameplay heights are let down by dated missions and uneven pacing… Source

Rebel Wolves' 'debut' is an excellent, focused RPG with strong writing and no filler, though performance issues hold it back… Source

Dawn of a new dream. There’s a lot riding on Onimusha: Way of the Sword . Capcom has a few dormant franchises in its dusty closets just waiting to be revived, yet this one feels particularly significant. Despite never really taking off commercially, Onimusha commanded a passionate fanbase that continues to hold the series in the highest regard – right up there with the likes of Resident Evil and Devil May Cry . So to bring back Onimusha with a brand-new mainline entry in 2026 — two decades after the last game feels especially risky, but it’s one that I’m happy to report has largely paid off. I love Way of the Sword. It’s a wonderfully paced adventure that combines horror, action, exploration, and a surprising amount of comedy to great effect. Not everything works, but I feel confident that Onimusha has a thriving future ahead of it. Read the full article on nintendolife.com

The one and oni. It's become very difficult to doubt Capcom and its ability to craft incredible action games. So when Onimusha: Way of the Sword was first announced back in 2024, I couldn't help but think that it was destined to be a banger. And a banger it is. A full-on revival of the developer's once beloved demon-slaying series, Way of the Sword is one of the best combat-focused outings I've played in years. Read the full article on pushsquare.com

Just one more shift. 2018's Moonlighter was one of the life-sim hybrids released in the wake of notorious time thief, Stardew Valley . The core loop of a day/night cycle and an ever-expanding list of activities to tick off is an age-old formula for getting oneself buried in an experience. Digital Sun added a compelling hook by having Will, a would-be adventurer in a little village called Rynoka, run a shop by day and raid dungeons at night to stock his establishment. Moonlighter 2 completely overhauls the visual style of the first game, while adding significant changes to combat and exploration. It's a strong sequel that preserves the spirit of the original, while making some bold leaps from the mechanics established so well in that first outing. Read the full article on nintendolife.com

Resonating hard. If you’d told me there weren’t any rats in Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy , and that it plays closer to Assassin’s Creed and Tomb Raider than its previous entries, Innocence and Requiem , then I’d have a hard time understanding what makes this a Plague Tale game. But after solving a plethora of light-based puzzles, creeping past the terrifying monster that lurks within its breathtaking Cretan temples and vistas, and slaughtering more henchmen than any amount of talking therapy could possibly reverse, I now totally get it. Read the full article on purexbox.com

Uncharted on Crete. After two fantastic A Plague Tale games, it feels like Asobo Studio has turned the third into its biggest uphill battle on purpose. Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy is a prequel — which are just inherently less interesting than sequels — there are no rats, it’s all about combat instead of stealth, and series protagonists Amicia and Hugo are missing in action. Read the full article on pushsquare.com

Emboldened by the flame of ambition. Elden Ring: Tarnished Edition , one of the highlights of Nintendo's big Switch 2 Direct back in April 2025, is finally upon us. Due for release on 28th August 2026 , the review's for FromSoftware's remarkable port are now in. Before we dive into what other outlets are saying, however, let's remind ourselves of our own review. We awarded Elden Ring a 9/10 , calling it "one of the finest games you can currently play in the Switch 2 library". Read the full article on nintendolife.com

Here's what the critics have to say. Well then, reviews are in for Star Wars Zero Company , and boy oh boy are they looking good! Bit Reactor's tactical escapade brings that XCOM flavour to the Star Wars universe. Currently the turn-based adventure is rocking a very impressive 86 on Metacritic . Read the full article on purexbox.com

Return of the king. At this point, what is there left to say about Elden Ring ? FromSoftware has rightly become one of the most influential developers in the industry after its pioneering of the Soulslike genre, and Elden Ring is arguably its finest contribution yet. It’s won countless awards and been lauded as one of the best games ever made, and all that praise still rings true a few years after the original release. Yet while we wait for the studio’s next major project in the PvP focused Switch 2 exclusive The Duskbloods , the decision was made to first remind the Nintendo audience of its pedigree with the bespoke Elden Ring: Tarnished Edition . Read the full article on nintendolife.com

Sandy-eyed. It’s easy to think there are as many cosy farm/life sims as grains of sand on a beach. Yet we cosy fans continually desire more: more land to till, more animals to raise, more money to make. Now Starsand Island has cropped up among the clutter. Chinese developer Seed Sparkle Lab released it on Early Access in February 2026, and has now launched it on consoles. And although the gameplay loop is perfectly pleasant, it’s currently filled with bugs and performance issues that sandbagged my experience. Read the full article on nintendolife.com

"Fight intense 50-player objective-based battles on the Ottoman Fronts". We've got quite a highly-anticipated new FPS releasing on Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S today (along with other platforms) in the form of Gallipoli , and the first reviews and Series X|S footage have already begun rolling out for it. This game is based during the WW1 era and features 25v25 PvP combat, including what's described as "one-shot-one-kill gameplay focused on grounded, objective-based battles". In other words, this is quite an intense game that's also very multiplayer focused, although bots will fill in the gaps if desired / needed. Read the full article on purexbox.com

DLC is available now, alongside a free Unreal Engine 5 2. 0 update! Well, reviews are in for Stalker 2 's first major expansion, 'Cost of Hope', and it's off to a flying start! GSC Game World released its premium DLC today, alongside a massive Unreal Engine 5 update that's free to everyone who owns the base game. Stalker 2 has grown on us since we originally reviewed it , so it's lovely to see Cost of Hope currently holding down an 85 on Metacritic . Read the full article on purexbox.com

Don't go expecting PS2 power. Still a relative newcomer to the handheld emulation scene, Mangmi has released the Air X and Pocket Max so far, and both devices have impressed enough for the company to gain followers in a market flooded with products from the likes of AYANEO, Anbernic, and Retroid. Mangmi's next venture is a two-pronged attack with the Air Y and Air Y Pro . I'm reviewing the former, and as the name suggests, it's the weaker of the pair in raw specs. It's powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 662 chipset, which, Mangmi says , is an "entry-level" option compared to the Air Y Pro's Snapdragon 865 chip. Read the full article on timeextension.com

Remember the Titans? Switch 2 is still in its infancy, and it continues to prove that it can bring current-gen titles to handheld in often astonishing ways. One area that has seen a significant leap forward is the sports game. The original Switch was simply not the place to experience flagship sports titles like FIFA and the 2K stable of blockbusters. Now, the '26 version of EA Sports FC scores and we even have impressive Switch 2 versions of WWE 2K . Madden 26 did a great job of bringing NFL action roaring back onto Nintendo platforms after a long hiatus, giving an admirable technical show with a mostly stable experience on both docked and handheld. Madden 27 outdoes this with a dedicated performance mode that targets 60fps in both modes, plus a visual quality setting that drops frames to allegedly highlight some of the game's graphical flourishes, like dynamic weather effects and lighting (more on that later). Read the full article on nintendolife.com

My neighbour Totoro. After a long wait since our preview last year, Starsand Island is finally here. This cosy life simulator with its gorgeous anime-style art direction sends you to a magical island where you are free to explore, build, craft and farm to your heart's content. Read the full article on pushsquare.com

Most visual novel otome games and dating sims are about telling the virtual love interests what they want to hear. It isn’t about your own actual thoughts on things. You want to trigger that correct choice indicator and see the affection meter go up. Over Requiemz, Kogado, Idea Factory, and Aksys’ latest Switch otome game, abandons those concepts for mechanics that instead encourage you to speak your mind and instead rely on certain highlighted choices to see certain results. I found it leads to a more immersive dating sim experience as a result. Yuhiru’s story in Over Requiemz begins much like Dorothy’s in the original Wizard of Oz . A tornado hits Tokyo, resulting in her being isekai-ed off to the land of Oz. While this world’s Dorothy, a man who here is one of the kingdom’s witches, welcomes her, she’s discovered by another witch and deemed a hazard and cursed being due to the color of her hair and eyes. As a criminal sentenced to death, she’s given a chance to redeem herself and earn freedom by going alongside a contingent of other death row convicts watched by Dorothy to investigate and clear ruins of monsters. Said ruins are also buildings tied to her home world and present an opportunity to get home. After that short common route that explains why Yuhiru is being lumped in with Oz’s most dangerous men and sent out on a possible death sentence, we’re able to pick specific love interest storylines to choose between their Fact or Dark futures. Mechanically, Over Requiemz is a very freeform visual novel. As I mentioned earlier, the men you’re potentially pursuing don’t care what your responses might be to certain situations and questions. Instead, they serve as a means of getting to know them better in different ways and perhaps roleplay Yuhiru (or whatever you decide to name the lead) in the fashion you think best suits the situations. A few choices are the ones that matter, and it’s usually quite obvious when you hit them. Which, in turn, gives you ample opportunity to save as needed. Given how freeform Over Requiemz is, another element to it is the abandoning of locked routes. You can pursue them in any order you’d like. All of the stories do feature some sort of references or minor insights into others, but tend to be completely focused on the love interest you pursue in it. That means unique scenarios for all of them. I do feel like Noil’s perhaps feels the weakest of the five of them, as I didn’t care as much for the narrative progression, but other four storylines are quite strong! My only advice is that Dorothy’s really should be saved for last given the insights it offers and nature of it. (His route is quite fascinating and well-written, so I wouldn’t blame someone choosing to start with it.) Go Ad-Free With Siliconera+ View the site with no ads, be able to provide direct feedback about what we cover, and be automatically entered into our monthly PC game giveaway. Join Siliconera+

Screenshots by Siliconera As enjoyable and even emotional as the Over Requiemz stories are, there is an element that might get to people who prefer more romantic and lovey-dovey otome games and dating sims. While there are loving scenes between characters, there are a lot of times when romance doesn’t feel like a priority here. This isn’t true for all of them of course. Claude’s storyline is one that feels like it does start to suggest attraction and affection fairly fast, for example. But there’s a lot going on, including dark reveals and traumatic elements, and as such love doesn’t always come across as a priority. Over Requiemz is also a Switch otome game that can get quite dark. I mean, some of the paths are flat out referred to as the “Dark” ones. Molly’s route specifically gets incredibly dark and refers to things like abuse and murder. However, there are also multiple yandere outcomes. If you’re triggered by violence, possessiveness, and general red flag, toxic behavior, those sorts of elements can come up in pretty much every character’s routes and you should be aware of that heading into their stories.

Images via Aksys Over Requiemz is a darker otome game that lets you roleplay as the heroine rather than selecting what you think the virtual men want to hear. It’s filled with some satisfying moments as well as packed with heartbreaking and darker turns. I really appreciated some of the narrative choices and found its freeform approach worked well. As long as you know you are getting into a more mature game with dangerous situations, you should have a good time. Over Requiemz will launch on the Switch on August 20, 2026. We may earn a commission if you purchase from certain links. Learn more here .

Powerful enough for PS2 emulation, authentic enough for SNES. Over the past few years, retro handhelds have felt less and less retro. Powerful new chipsets and drivers have pushed Android handheld performance into PC handheld territory, with widescreen panels to match. The Retroid Pocket Nova ($244) is different. It combines the original vision for the handhelds - emulating old games - with real power. That combination has been the white whale of this hobby for years. Read the full article on timeextension.com

Bring Her Back. For over a decade now, the Ukrainian developer Frogwares has been expanding and improving its Mind Palace mechanic. A feature that connects clues and forms conclusions, it’s spearheaded all the recent Sherlock Holmes games and The Sinking City — a solid set of investigative titles. It’s probably what the studio is best known for, so to throw most of that work out and go in a new direction for The Sinking City 2 represents a bold move. Read the full article on pushsquare.com

Tell us, kupo. Final Fantasy XIV Online is one of those games that just feels like it shouldn't work on the Switch 2. A game of this size, on a handheld of that size? C'mon, that's nuts. And yet, it's true! XIV online is out now on Switch 2, and we think it's a blast. It's got enough content to last you years, let alone hours or days, along with some solid combat and class systems. We awarded it a score of 8/10, and here's what Mitch Vogel stated in his verdict: Read the full article on nintendolife.com

A significant improvement over the original? One of the big releases of this week on Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S is Mortal Shell 2 , and for those who are willing to pay for the more expensive "Devout Edition", they can actually start playing the game right now with early access ahead of the full launch on Thursday, August 20th. That also means we've got some reviews! The first reviews have started trickling in for this one over the past hour, and early impressions suggest we're looking at a quite significantly better game than the first entry. Read the full article on purexbox.com

Neon Geo. Project Neon is a Neo Geo game that was successfully Kickstarted in 2019. A vertically scrolling, arcade-style shoot 'em up that will feel familiar to those ingratiated with CAVE and Toaplan, its frontend presentation is simple and to the point. There is one default difficulty, a single, non-configurable CRT filter, and some rotation and scaling options. There are two modes: Normal, which feeds you the stages in a linear order; or Course, which allows you to choose the order you tackle the first four stages (from of a total of five). Optional touchscreen controls have been added, making it function much like CAVE’s iOS arcade ports. This may raise scoring questions amongst competitive gamers, as the touchscreen makes manoeuvering substantially easier. There's no option to configure the pad's physical buttons, however, and that's irritating. Read the full article on nintendolife.com

I wish we’d seen more progress with Volcano Princess . When this Princess Maker style game launched in Early Access back in 2023, the idea seemed sound . An approachable daughter-raising sim! But at the time, parts of it felt a bit clunky, occasionally linear, and poorly localized. Now the full game is here and, well, you could say some of those points are still valid. There’s a lot to do, but other games in the genre handle things a bit better. As is common for the Princess Maker genre, Volcano Princess stars a single father attempting to raise his daughter on his own. It feels a bit different than contemporaries in certain ways. For example, the daughter is his actual child. We start out with her as essentially a preschool age toddler, before a big time skip that picks up when she’s 12 and registered herself for school to become a knight. It can also feel like dating and marriage is quite a focus in perhaps an unusual way, since right away at 12 she’ll also start getting letters from admirers. But in general, it remains a game focused on building up stats, keeping an eye on morality, and hopefully working toward an ideal ending for your virtual child. The gameplay loop in Volcano Princess mostly follows that of other games in the Princess Maker genre. At the start of a week, you’ll get a chance to interact with your daughter, visit town, and engage in certain actions. The difference here is that there are set action points for these activities, which can involve things like visiting dungeon spaces, tending a garden plot, heading to a local tavern, or hanging around at home. These can also be minimally replenished, for example by relaxing under a tree. Once you finish taking part in those potential excursions and activities, scheduling comes into play. You need to keep an eye on her attributes (charisma, mind, and stamina) and her stats (emotion, imagination, intelligence, and strength) to be aware of her progression, with her mood, current level of darkness (sin), fame, energy, and even motivation helping to influence what she’s capable of and how well she is as she heads toward different endings. When setting up her schedule for the weak, you can take classes in things like art, literature, science, and swordsmanship to affect stats. It’s also possible to take on jobs so you can work to earn money and influence stats (and possible darkness levels). It’s basically a balancing act, which involves picking the right plans to hopefully boost the stats you want for certain outcomes.

Images via Colorful Palette I also mentioned romance is a pretty big deal in Volcano Princess . There are a number of love interests, provided your daughter doesn’t end up with certain endings like becoming a nun. Male and female love interests appear for her. There are even endings where the daughter can end up in a polyamorous relationship. While it is a positive that it is open about possibilities, I can’t get over how weird it is for her to start getting love letters when she’s only 12 years old. But more awkward is how Volcano Princess looks. The UI is incredibly cluttered and text feels littered across the screen. You’re constantly seeing numbers everywhere.) This even overlaps during combat.) There’s not one cohesive font or even font size used. Spacing feels awry and off as well, especially when you look at the calendar.

Images via Colorful Palette The localization also doesn’t feel exciting to read. Volcano Princess comes across as very dry. I’d even call it hollow sometimes when compared to a game like Magical Princess . It can read awkwardly! I will say the translation seems a bit stronger than it was a few years ago. But it doesn’t feel as flavorful and exciting as some similar titles. Volcano Princess feels like a budget type of Princess Maker game. It isn’t bad! It just isn’t the best option. The thing is that we have similar titles that are offering the same sort of experience, such as Magical Princess , that are doing a much better job of it. What’s here isn’t bad, per se. It doesn’t feel as polished is the problem. Especially since, after two runs, it felt a little more linear and less beautiful to me than the more open-ended titles we’ve seen recently like Machine Child . Volcano Princess is on the Switch , PS5, Xbox Series X, PC, and mobile devices.

Does it come in black? The arcade and fighting game scene is now completely dominated by a growing number of ‘leverless’ controllers, meaning the classic joystick used for movement is replaced by individual buttons for each direction. For the uninitiated, leverless controllers might look completely bonkers, but once you get used to the layout, it’s a remarkably compelling method of control – one of those ‘if you know, you know’ kind of things. But if you’re dead-set on a more traditional arcade stick, it’s tough to get much better than Punk Workshop’s FightStick G01 Edition . Read the full article on nintendolife.com

In most farming life sims, we follow our one avatar throughout their life, living vicariously through them. Maybe we get as far as raising a family, also living on our homestead with a partner and a kid or two. Kynseed does more than that. More generations, since you can continue on as your kids. More to do, since part of it can also involve different kind of shop and facility creation and management. More elements to consider, since blessings and curses come up. That also means more complexity, which may be good or bad depending on how much you want on your plate. Kynseed begins with a pair of orphans living in The Shoe. (As in the old woman who lived in a shoe.) They don’t stay there long, however, as an uncle named Bill came to bring them home to his home in Quill’s Vale. After spending a summer living with your family and learning about life on a farm, you’re given the Kynseed by the Fae Mr. Fairweather. This allows you to continue not only playing as yourself, but as your children and their children. It also is the start of you getting more involved in the world and not only maintaining your homestead, but aiding Quill as a whole by doing things like slaying a Jabberwock, dealing with Hags, and visiting Tir Na Nog. If you keep it up, you may gain enough Renown in the world to end up a certified Legend. Kynseed feels a lot like other farming life sims and, in many ways, works similarly. You go day by day performing various actions to increase your Renown around Quill once your character comes of age. This can involve farming, fishing, tending animals, crafting, combat, and shop management. There are lots of different areas to explore, quite a bit of lore is involved and tied to fairytales, mythology, and fae in general. It’s very involved, and there can often be a number of steps to accomplish everything that may or may not be well explained. By visiting and getting to know people in-town, you can eventually build up relationships and perhaps even get married. Which is encouraged, since part of the mechanics are designed to feel like it might take generations to get certain abilities or build things up. Because of all the different ways to build up Renown to unlock additional stories and get more involved with the fae around Quill, Kynseed can feel quite open and varied. If combat is your thing, that’s way, but so is completing missions, running a store, or becoming involved with the community. The map is quite large, and you’re encouraged to unlock the Goddess Statues so you can use apples to fast travel. (Though it is also possible to use Rootway Doors to fast travel if you get Mr. Fairweather’s Wooden Key.) Like Fields of Mistria , progressing means new quests and story elements, as well as notoriety. The stories involved can be interesting, with some dialogue and lore that’s genuinely well written. Though, if you are getting to some of these elements after the first generation, it can be a bit weird to happen upon situations that don’t seem to acknowledge the fact that you aren’t the original character and are instead their child (or grandchild). Go Ad-Free With Siliconera+ View the site with no ads, be able to provide direct feedback about what we cover, and be automatically entered into our monthly PC game giveaway. Join Siliconera+ The thing about Kynseed is that sometimes I feel it can get a bit too complex and unwieldly to be really relaxing in the way games like Stardew Valley or Story of Seasons do when I play them. This applies both to general actions and inputs, as well as gameplay itself. It’s like I need to constantly think about things. For example, actions don’t involve pressing one button and being done. There is a whole menu of possible interactions when talking to people, as well as additional menus to select topics during conversations. Lots of quests can pile up in your log, but it isn’t always easy to parse and determine level of importance regarding what happens or is a reward if you complete them. While the Story of Seasons series is great about letting you know when important things happen thanks to someone usually flat out telling you “this is going to happen tomorrow” and people in town changing up dialogue to reflect it, that won’t happen here. If I step away to play another game and don’t completely focus on just Kynseed for a bit, I’d find I’d need to take time to remember or relearn how to do certain things since sometimes you are sort of left to suss things out. It ended up feeling like I was on a second job at times, especially when it came to cooking items since the minigames for recipes aren’t really explained and often aren’t enjoyable. (Which can mean wasting ingredients.)

Images via PixelCount Likewise, there’s a lot in here! It’s manageable enough most of the time, but I found sometimes I’d need to take notes to remember what I was prioritizing or even do in general. Like okay, what kind of shop was I working on? What were my priorities for my family members in the Family Scheduler? Which one of the goddesses was I trying to make regular offerings to? Oh, and I needed to remember I was working toward rebuilding some stalls and meeting the requirements for them. This is in addition to normal farming life sim elements like farming, livestock management, and socializing. I’m still haunted by when I forgot to fill the Brounie Bowl after not playing for a few days. It didn’t hit me until I’d gotten to the fourth punishment for ignoring it and realized I both wasn’t getting milk and kept failing when trying to fish. That’s to say that sometimes I almost felt like the game is so massive and all-encompassing that it almost felt like it needed to be the only thing I was playing… or else. I will also warn that Kynseed, by its very nature, isn’t the sort of life sim that you play if you enjoy getting really connected to your possible love interest and look forward to building up a little family and story with them. You can marry pretty much everyone of age (including people who are already married to someone else), but the nature of character designs and direction meant that I didn’t connect to them in the same way I did love interests in games like Stardew Valley, Fields of Mistria, and Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar . They don’t have the same degree of personality or connection. Couple that with the generational aspect, and it doesn’t feel like romance is as much of a priority. Especially since once you get to the next generation, as I mentioned earlier, people seem pretty nonplussed about suddenly dealing with your kid instead of you.

Images via PixelCount On the plus side, the Switch port of Kynseed works rather well now that it’s been out for a bit and gotten a patch. I actually waited a bit on this review to ensure that an issue with crashes had been resolved. It seems to run rather well at the moment! I did notice if the weather is anything but sunny, there may be times when it isn’t as smooth, yet on clear days it is absolutely fine. It looks great on the console too, whether you play it docked or in handheld mode. The font is also quite readable if playing on the go, which is sometimes a concern in these types of titles. Kynseed is a lot, so much so that it can feel like it monopolizes your time, but that might be exactly what a farming Switch player might want. There is a lot to do! It’s complex and filled with ways to approach legendary status. But sometimes it won’t feel intuitive or might be so full of ideas and gameplay elements that you could get lost if you step away for a while. There are interesting ideas for sure, but I don’t feel it’s as easy to approach as other games in the genre. It 100% requires an investment, which could mean it may only appeal to the most dedicated. Kynseed is available on the Switch, PS5, Xbox One, and PC .

Let's do the time warp again. A couple of decades ago, before the average cost of game development launched into the stratosphere, it used to be common to see more experimental 'AA' releases on console. These lower-budget games didn't have quite the same production value as the major, best-selling games of the time, but they often made up for this with their charm and willingness to explore novel concepts. Though this sort of game kind of dropped off as the indie scene gained ground, every now and then a modern game will come along in that vein, and Duskfade certainly fits the bill. Indie developer Weird Beluga's sophomore project following 2021's Clid the Snail is a love letter to a bygone age, combining 3D platforming and light action combat elements with a heartfelt story. It's got its issues and it certainly isn't a home run, but this is the kind of game that you can’t help but love despite its shortcomings. Read the full article on nintendolife.com

A real mixed bag. We've been keeping a eye on the Star Fox 64 spiritual successor Wild Blue Skies for quite some time now, and the game has literally just released for Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S at a price of £13. 99 / $14. 99. So, is it worth it? That's very hard to say at the moment, as the reviews have been all over the place. Some people are really enjoying it, others are really disappointed by it, and the rest are sitting somewhere in the middle. Read the full article on purexbox.com

"A love letter to the action platformers of the '90s and early '00s". In a recent indie game feature , we highlighted a bunch of August titles we fully expected to fly under your radar, one of which was called Duskfade . It's an action platformer that harkens back to the early 2000s, drawing comparisons to PS2-era classics like Kingdom Hearts and Jak and Daxter. Read the full article on purexbox.com

AYANEO's latest budget handheld is one of its best. AYANEO's budget brand, KONKR, has already given us some welcome options in the handheld emulation space, but few of them have attracted the kind of fevered attention that the Pocket Advance has managed. This GBA-inspired portable sold out of its pre-order quota in astonishingly quick time, convincing AYANEO to offer a second batch ( as well as new colourways ) in order to satisfy demand. Read the full article on timeextension.com

System: Switch 2 Release date: August 11, 2026 Developer: Bethesda / Virtuos Publisher: Bethesda Back in the year 2006, The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion released. Without a gaming PC to my name at the time, I ended up picking up the game on the Xbox 360. After spending actual in-life years playing both Daggerfall and Morrowind, it felt a little strange playing an Elder Scrolls... The post The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered review for Nintendo Switch 2 appeared first on Nintendo Everything .

Scoring good's good enough. Saddle up, new meat! R-E-V-I-E-W-S are in for Hell Let Loose: Vietnam and it's looking fairly positive! If this is your first time hearing about the game, let me get you up to speed. Vietnam is the second Hell Let Loose title, a series known for its brutal and unforgiving FPS combat. If you're yet to try the 50v50 shooter, expect to take the pain. A lot of pain - that's right , I've seen Platoon! Read the full article on purexbox.com

Reborn... again. Final Fantasy XIV Online has been through quite a rollercoaster journey over the years on its way to becoming one of the most respected MMOs in the industry. Its 2010 launch was a disaster, plagued with performance issues and shoddy design that torpedoed its reputation. Rather than pulling the plug early, Square decided to swap in a new director to salvage it, leading to a reboot in 2013 called A Realm Reborn. Since then, the game has mostly gone from strength to strength across over a decade of expansions and is now in the process of building up its second major arc. Read the full article on nintendolife.com

Don't worry about your grandma. She can live with me, be my maid. Do you remember those Tiger handheld LCD games, extremely limited and mostly rubbish, that you used to love so much? Future Knight ’s styling is exactly, and uniquely, that: its foreground sprites crisp, black and inky; its backgrounds lucent, pastel-hued imprints. Charming, minimalist, and proudly weird, you control Future Knight, a fictional '80s cartoon hero, who must defeat The Lady of the Past — a bewildered old grandma who seems to have accidentally created a cult and erased the brains of everyone on earth. A joint project between Studio Koba ( Narita Boy , Haneda Girl ) and Aeternum Game Studios ( Aeterna Noctis , Eden Genesis ), the Spanish developers cite the late Satoshi Kon (creator of Perfect Blue ) as inspiration; Future Knight captures the eccentric nature of Paranoia Agent and Paprika , and its superb cutscene renderings, humour, and to-the-point dictation make for a surprisingly engaging narrative. Read the full article on nintendolife.com

One of the first Big Walk puzzles Graham and I found involved the key item suspended on what sort of looked like metal scaffolding. We could see a button! We figured maybe we were supposed to grab the glowing lantern orbs, which could be thrown like balls, and toss them either at the button or into the grid work gaps like basketballs to press it. Surely, basketball was the answer! It was not. The answer was for him to pick me up so I could then reach and press the button. I did so, we got the object, and ended up one step closer to forging a key that could drop a bridge to the next area. But in the moment, it was so much fun to figure out what the real solution was and work together to solve a simple, yet still clever and enlightening, puzzle. That’s what House House’s Big Walk is. It’s a series of different kinds of puzzles that gradually build on each other into more complex and challenging versions on it. An early one involved us entering a code using various glyphs, with him being able to see the solution and me then grabbing the right tiles to insert in place to get the item we needed. Later, the room he went into with his part of the solution had an intercom that let me hear what he said, but he could only see a light bulb that would illuminate when I pressed a button. Since we each had half the code, couldn’t hear each other in our respective rooms, and found the walkie talkies wouldn’t work then, we needed to work out our own method of selecting the right tiles. It’s brilliant, really. Especially since all of the puzzles also scale. When you start a session, you establish how many people will be playing. Each scenario will adjust to accommodate that. In some situations, this can make the ensuing puzzle a little too easy. (There’s one with a maze, windows, and a ball on a timer that we figured would be much more complicated and strategic if it didn’t involve passing it through one hole.) But others still make sense and can be quite thought-provoking even when only a pair is solving the riddle. Go Ad-Free With Siliconera+ View the site with no ads, be able to provide direct feedback about what we cover, and be automatically entered into our monthly PC game giveaway. Join Siliconera+ House House also puts you in the mindset of questioning if everything in Big Walk could be a puzzle. A space with a whole bunch of speakers everywhere that sounds a little different no matter where you sit? Is this a puzzle? Is it a hint about a future task involving sound and perspective? (No, it’s just neat ambiance and aesthetically pleasing.) Does this puzzle’s piece go to this key area? Honestly, probably not, but it isn’t difficult to backtrack and there are a lot of these challenges scattered around the area, so eventually you could go back. The fact that the hub gradually opens up and connects to spots also makes this sort of traversal feel common-sense and simple.

Images via House House Even the tools we start to find make sense. You start out with the orbs that you can light up and the item finder. Eventually, you come across flash lights and walkie talkies. You can pick up backpack attachments at certain places, so each person can “carry” an extra item on their back. Though that actually acts as an inventory slot for the person who is with you, since you can’t access what is on your own back. Things are constantly building and we’re always getting more options and opportunities. As enjoyable as Big Walk is, however, I absolutely hate when night falls. The idea of the day and night progression is fine and all. It also can make it easier to see certain towers, due to their lit transponders, or when players set off a flare for a certain area to show their immediate location. I also appreciated that it made it easier to see where we’d been, based on the lit globes in stands along the way. But this is also a game where sometimes you can’t jump up on certain rocks due to height, scale certain hills due to the angle, or might even get caught on environmental objects like branches or boulders even in the daylight, so it gets much worse and more frustrating when night falls. Especially since you can’t attach the glowing orb lanterns to a backpack, so someone in your group would need to hold it for everyone to see. Big Walk gives us an excuse to gather together with friends, go on some walks, and solve some often great puzzles. It’s a great example of a developer gradually building on its ideas for more complex and challenging tasks that make you realize what you did before prepared you for this. (And sometimes, maybe it really does feel like basketball is the answer.) It’s a great excuse to sit back, work together, and talk things through in a pleasant world filled with colorful puzzles. Big Walk is available on PCs .

Superheroic. There was a sense of inevitability about superhero brawler Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls , and I’m delighted to say it’s delivered. For my money, this is comfortably the most exciting fighter since Street Fighter 6 , delivering a zany competitive experience powered by unprecedented production values and some innovative gameplay design. Read the full article on pushsquare.com

Lovely jubbly Bubbly. It's safe to say that since its release, Pokopia has taken over my life to a certain degree. I've explored the skies, made pals with my favourite Pokémon, and even made a certain coastal town a little less bleak. I've even caused chaos and instated town politics with my friend on our own Cloud Island with very little building involved. Even after completing the story and 100+ hours of playtime, I still have plenty to do. Which is why when the Expansion , including Bubbly Basin, was announced, I felt a wave of overwhelm heading right towards me. Oh dear. Another town, another grind, and another dive into my already drained creative pool. Suffice it to say my apprehension quickly turned into pure joy as I plunged headfirst into Part 1 of Pokopia's DLC. Read the full article on nintendolife.com

Sit tight. By now, you were probably expecting to read our full Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls review. Unfortunately, we’re not going to bring you our final thoughts until after launch. Given the live service, online nature of this superhero fighter, Sony has decided to withhold review code until launch day, when the game’s multiplayer servers will go online. Read the full article on pushsquare.com

I love the Blue Reflection games. I adored how the original console titles handled the magical girl concept, depicted relationships between characters, and didn’t shy away from showing how individuals worked through difficult situations. I am so glad more people will get to experience the first game and Second Light sequel through the Blue Reflection Quartet collection. The problem is the portions focusing on the Blue Reflection: Ray anime adaptation and Blue Reflection: Sun mobile game don’t do the best job of telling those tales.  In the world of Blue Reflection , there exist magical girls known as Reflectors who can enter the Common to deal with people whose emotional states put them in danger. They deal with the enemies within, purifying and gathering fragments. The first game involves newcomer and recently injured ballerina Hinako working alongside established established Reflectors Lime and Yuzu to defeat Sephira and build ties with those around her to prevent the end of the world. In return, she’ll have a wish granted. In Blue Reflection Ray, Red and Blue Reflectors find themselves fighting against each other for differing goals, with people’s emotions at stake. Blue Reflection Sun , the only entry with a blank-slate male lead, deals with the falling upon Ash upon the world and Eroded (Reflector) characters facing the Testa to prevent an apocalypse and provide some safety. Finally, Blue Reflection: Second Light takes place after the end as Ao and other young women and Reflectors dealing with amnesia find themselves working and living out of an abandoned school and exploring strange spaces and locations that appear outside of it for answers and a way home.

Screenshots by Siliconera The Blue Reflection and Blue Reflection: Second Light adaptations in the Quartet game collection are generally great. The first game’s battle system is a bit slow and basic, but the story is fantastic, characters are great, and ambiance is on-point. The second builds things up a bit more with more dynamic combat that rewards combos and the weakness-exploiting strategy system to be more active and strategic. Its story is also quite strong and does a fantastic job of tying up all of the previous games together. (Hence it having the Tie subtitle in Japanese.) The updated character models and environments looked fine enough on the Switch 2. It also played smoothly too. Both of those JRPGs are worth playing, especially since they feel so unique. The Blue Reflection Ray adaptation here is absolutely atrocious, unfortunately. Not enough for me to say, “Don’t buy this compilation.” It’s a bad walking simulator that does a terrible job of telling the story, introducing the characters, and conveying information. It sort of begins in medias res, with us seeing Hiori and Ruka confronting Shino in the Common after major plot points and twists happened. Then, we walk around a space grabbing fragments that tell us about what happened and sometimes show us stills from the anime. Except those are disjointed, out of order, and abbreviated, never really giving us enough to go on and understand. I know licensing issues, what with J. C. Staff, Crunchyroll, and such might have been a nightmare, but I think I’d have preferred the first episode of the show being packed in instead of what we got. Go Ad-Free With Siliconera+ View the site with no ads, be able to provide direct feedback about what we cover, and be automatically entered into our monthly PC game giveaway. Join Siliconera+

Screenshots by Siliconera Then there’s the Blue Reflection: Sun segment that, while not as egregiously truncated as Ray , isn’t the best example of what that mobile game was. It actually involves actual movement around a school, in-order story scenes, optional opportunities to talk with the cast, and combat segments against Testa (primarily the Queen bosses) using the Blue Reflection: Second Light combat system. Some of the meat behind interactions is absent, so the character development doesn’t feel as substantial. The player-character avatar also is essentially a cardboard cutout for some characters (Uta) to possibly flirt with and others to call “big brother” (Kanna). Given this part of the series is otherwise completely absent, I’m more okay with the corners cut here. From a preservation standpoint, I’d call it good enough. Especially since the alternative is oblivion. At least it can actually be entertaining to play through and enlightening, due to the ties to Blue Reflection: Second Light , even though encounters feel like can’t lose situations. Blue Reflection Quartet is absolutely worth it for the original two console games, but the adaptations of the Ray anime and Sun mobile title aren’t as strong. The two mainline releases both feel wonderful to play, look great, and still tell relevant stories. This take on Blue Reflection Sun isn’t terrible, but it lacks punch and attention to details. The Blue Reflection Ray segment is so poorly handled that it’d really be better and more entertaining to watch the anime on Crunchyroll instead. Blue Reflection Quartet is available for the Switch, Switch 2, PS5, and PC. We may earn a commission if you purchase from certain links. Learn more here .

Even older entries find a way. It is hard to imagine a better fit for a real-time-strategy simulator than Jurassic Park . At some point, while watching the films, everyone has thought about how much better they could run the parks than John Hammond, InGen, or any of the other mega corporations that repeat the same dinosaur mistakes time and time again. Frontier Developments (famous for their Planet Coaster and Planet Zoo series) agreed, and in 2018 it gave players the chance to do just that. While the original Jurassic World Evolution released a couple of years later on the original Nintendo Switch, its two sequels did not. And with the original also being one of the few Switch games unpurchasable on Switch 2 due to compatibility issues, some Nintendo fans felt as though they have been left behind. But seemingly out of nowhere, a 'Complete Edition' of Jurassic World Evolution 2 (yes, not the most recent entry) has been released on Switch 2. Read the full article on nintendolife.com

From zero to hero. Editor's note: Due to the low resolution and peculiarities of how screengrabs display for Virtual Boy games on NSO, all the screens here are Nintendo press shots. I can honestly say that Zero Racers is the most fun I have ever had in a Virtual Boy headset. In fact, the more I play it, the more it feels like it could have been a killer app for Nintendo’s doomed VR headset had it come out in 1996. 30 years later, it is hard not to wonder what might have been, but at least Zero Racers finally made it to the starting line. Read the full article on nintendolife.com

Game Freak is known as the developer behind the mainline Pokemon series, the studio on odd occasions released a titles outside of the popular monster-collecting franchise. Beast of Reincarnation is the studio’s biggest departure yet. With this new game, it demonstrated its team is capable of very interesting exploration and combat, while also showing the developer is far from maturing in the storytelling department. Beast of Reincarnation is set in the year 4026 and follows Emma the sealer, a woman suffering from a feared disease known as the Blight. Emma is shunned and seen as less than human, a physically and spiritually corrupt being derided for her condition. Her job is to dispose of beasts known as malefacts that threaten the colonies inhabited by the remnants of humanity. During the game’s early hours, she’s tasked with making her way to the Capital, defeating various Nushi (powerful malefacts), absorbing their powers, and defeating the titular Beast of Reincarnation.

Screenshots by Siliconera Emma is aided in her quest by her loyal and benign malefact dog Koo, the young indentured servant Kagura, and Brad, a man that serves as an older mentor figure. There’s also Violet, a mysterious ghost-like figure that only Emma can talk to and see. At the outset, the game shifts between exploration and exposition, setting up the characters and their dynamics. The story is serviceable, if messy at times. For most of the runtime, the focus lies in Emma’s blossoming relationship with Kagura and Koo. She is cold, naïve, and emotionally inexperienced, which is far from a novel trope, but it works for the character. Other characters also exist, but their involvement in Beast of Reincarnation (alongside Brad’s) feels so detached from the main emotional focus and only appear as eleventh hour lore exposition to give you a bunch of proper nouns. The climax of the story would have felt less clunky if Game Freak opted to forego trying to explain and cram in as much as possible, instead focusing on Emma’s emotional journey and her relationship with Kagura and Koo. Go Ad-Free With Siliconera+ View the site with no ads, be able to provide direct feedback about what we cover, and be automatically entered into our monthly PC game giveaway. Join Siliconera+

Screenshots by Siliconera In stark contrast to the story, I absolutely loved exploring the world of Beast of Reincarnation . For most of its 42-hours, it focused on the journey to the Capital, exploration, and combat, which is where the game shines brightest. As a blightborn, Emma can grow branches out of her hair to create platforms and gain height, giving her freedom to explore and sequence break in ways that I found genuinely creative. Something else that I loved from beginning to end was Beast of Reincarnation ’s combat. Emma’s controlled in standard action-RPG fashion, with a heavy emphasis on performing generous parries that fill up Koo’s gauge. At any moment, you can open Koo’s command menu to slow down time and select an attack from a list of customizable abilities. I loved this system. At times I fully played it like a character action game, with Koo acting as my trusty NPC support, whereas others moments I focused on using Koo’s commands by perfecting my parry timing and having Emma play more defensively using her projectiles.

Screenshots by Siliconera You can also unlock various automatic attacks, support abilities, and mods for Koo’s commands that add special effects and increase the cost of abilities. Some mods allow for ridiculously fun combos, like afflicting enemies with status effects and recovering most of my action points with the same move by pairing the appropriate mod or activating Emma’s sword’s unique ability with a cheap skill and then going all-in. While performance on PC wasn’t the best, the environments and the variety of open zones in Beast of Reincarnation are gorgeous. There’s a special focus on verticality that paired well with Emma’s traversal abilities. I was also very impressed by the blighted rain making trees grow all of a sudden in the environment, leaving me appropriately disoriented. All of this was accompanied by a wonderfully dreamy soundtrack by Michiru Oshima that, at times, left me wondering if Monaca of NieR fame was involved.

Screenshots by Siliconera Despite Game Freak’s messy storytelling, I loved the exploration and combat in Beast of Reincarnation . It helps that the design makes its best elements shine and the messy parts only appear as a footnote at the end before delivering a fitting enough climax. While I would’ve liked the story to be less preoccupied with the world’s lore, I was more than satisfied by every single other element. Fittingly, Beast of Reincarnation cares more about the journey than its destination. Beast of Reincarnation will come to the PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC via Steam on August 4, 2026 .

Game Freak's latest is an uninspired adventure, but one with great action and combat… Source

Plantses with wolves. Beast of Reincarnation presents itself like a Souls-like action RPG, and it definitely shares some traits with games of that ilk, but I think labelling it that way isn't quite accurate. It is an action RPG, but it's not as intimidatingly difficult as FromSoftware's efforts, and it's doing enough stuff of its own that makes it much more interesting than yet another copycat of that formula. Read the full article on pushsquare.com

Been waiting Aegis for this. Nintendo has just released Xenoblade Chronicles 2: Nintendo Switch 2 Edition digitally, meaning the classic Monolith Soft RPG has finally been given the performance upgrade it's needed for yonks . You can check out our updated review for a few impressions on the new release, but the tech boffins over at Digital Foundry have also provided their own analysis on how Nintendo's latest Switch 2 Edition holds up. Read the full article on nintendolife.com

Little puppet made of pine, awake. Developers Neowiz and Round8 Studio get it. I mean, they really get it. I’ve played plenty of Soulslike games in my time - titles like Nioh , Lords of the Fallen , and The Surge that pay homage to FromSoftware games but never fully understand what makes them tick. Lies of P: Complete Edition is different. The game launched on other platforms in 2023, and this is as good as anything FromSoftware has made in the past, providing an immersive world in which to get lost, endless layers of depth, and a host of enemies and boss characters that want nothing more than to see you six feet under. It’s glorious. Read the full article on nintendolife.com

Is the Switch feeling it? This review was originally published in November 2017 back when Xenoblade Chronicles 2 launched on the Switch 1. To celebrate the release of the Nintendo Switch 2 Edition , we're republishing the text along with impressions of the Upgrade Pack's performance enhancements. You'll find the Switch 2 details and discussion just above the conclusion. Read the full article on nintendolife.com

He is not the one. Super Limit-Breaking NEO , a fairly substantial expansion for Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero , feels like what would happen if a publisher decided to scrap its DLC roadmap and just throw everything it had lined up into one big bundle. It's an erratic mix of characters, stages, and new ways to play. There's no real rhyme or reason to its roster additions, for example; there are a whopping 33 new characters in all, spread across the original Dragon Ball , Dragon Ball GT, Dragon Ball Super, and a few of the movies. Read the full article on pushsquare.com

Reach for the stars. The 2026 bingo card continues to expand with another unexpected surprise: a spiritual successor to Donkey Kong's King Of Swing . Released on Game Boy Advance in 2005, this beloved puzzle platformer saw DK traversing vertical walls and avoiding hazards along the climb. Luke Sanderson's Turnip Mountain takes that idea and adds hand-eye coordination mechanics that are simple to explain but hard to master. Despite the horrifying image of a sentient turnip with giant hands (complete with Mickey Mouse-style gloves) clambering up surfaces, the premise of the game is quite sweet. A turnip rests in the ground, gazing up at the stars and hoping to one day reach those lofty heights. They do what any turnip with ambition would: sprout arms and climb! Your one objective throughout the multi-stage adventure is to ascend, surviving an ever-escalating set of perils and puzzles on your way to the stars. Read the full article on nintendolife.com

Voltage’s AmuLit started strong with the otome game Even if Tempest. It’s got a strong premise and good characters, despite some launch issues . Returning to that world with a new title and more experience under the team’s belt seemed like a potential for a solid sequel . Good news! This is not just another good one! Sins of Kaleido is a fantastic otome game and I think we might look back on it years from now as one of Voltage’s finest titles. Witches exist in the world of Even if Tempest and Sins of Kaleido , though this happening hundreds of years later mean that circumstances changed. People who turn to contracts with a witch to fulfill a “wish” are known as Grimnals. They gain supernatural Gifts in return, as well as Malodes curses that eat away at them. Variant Y-axis Xeno Enforcement Nexus (Vy-xen) is a group of five Grimnals who work with the government on the side of good, dealing with others of their kind that no-one else can. Yolca Yulewood finds herself turning to them to assist with a situation threatening the life of her and one of her dearest friends, getting caught up in their affairs and with solving the mysteries of the artist Ambrose and the Kaleidotower he built while trying to also follow in her father’s footsteps and become head of her family. (Oh, and maybe finding love with one of the Vy-xen men along the way.) Like many of the other Voltage otome games out there, Sins of Kaleido is primarily a visual novel. There are some investigative elements, but it is primarily about making major decisions that influence the course of Volca’s life and her relationships with the male leads. However, it does function in the same way as Even if Tempest . This means it involves seeing certain routes and ends via your choices before unlocking other characters and understanding the full story. Once Yolca meets a bad end, it isn’t actually over. Reloading a past save or returning to a previous choice becomes critical in finding your way forward. The Fatal Rewind mechanic from the previous game returns, which means despite some devastating moments, the story continues. This means at the outset we can only grow closer to Kanoa and Tilkett. Eugene, Heath, and Orsem’s routes opening up later. While in some titles I’m not the biggest fan of this kind of gatekeeping, given the nature of this game and series as a whole, it absolutely makes sense. I’d even say going through stories in a certain order almost feels like a necessity to better understand and appreciate it all. The insights and details that come up in Eugene and Orsem’s stories, as an example, feel like you need the previous experiences as context. I’d even argue it also feels like you need some Even if Tempest experience as well, though I suppose you could get by without it. Go Ad-Free With Siliconera+ View the site with no ads, be able to provide direct feedback about what we cover, and be automatically entered into our monthly PC game giveaway. Join Siliconera+ As for the story, Sins of Kaleido is a gut punch just like Even if Tempest, and I’d say this otome gets even darker and deeper than some other ones. There aren’t any trigger warnings on the eShop page, but know that some things touched on in certain circumstances include cannibalism, self-harm, suicide, abuse, and violence. Which you can probably guess given the number of bad-ends, this being a follow-up in the same world as the previous entry, and the Vy-xen group dealing with individuals who are criminals with unimaginable powers who also made deals of their own. There are some very bad people in the game, and we watch Volca fight back against them and a person she has a very personal vendetta against. As a plus, she’s a very strong individual who’s also aware of her own abilities and limitations, and it is interesting to see how the narrative handles that. Speaking of an interesting narrative choice, Voltage did something unusual for the introduction here! Things start with an intense focus on the members of Vy-xen. So when we’re first learning about our protagonist Volca, we’re doing so as the group is going through some investigations and encounters her. It’s only after that the game opens up and we actually to step into her shoes and properly begin her story, and it ended up being an incredibly effective way to introduce the cast and build suspense.

Images via Voltage Not only is Volca great, but the five love interests in Sins of Kaleido are fantastic. There isn’t a bad route here. Every single one is fascinating and features a well-rounded individual with positive and negative traits, as well as interesting motivations and Grimnal backgrounds to them. There are also a number of plot twists that I legitimately did not see coming, even in early routes. Also, there’s a lot of romance here and we see relationships build up, and it feels like the team did a better job of making it all feel more romantic than some of the other AmuLit games. Which all means when you do get to the point where you earn the good endings, it feels as satisfying as it did in Even if Tempest . Likewise, the artistic direction in Sins of Kaleido is amazing. The character designs all look unique, but fit the theme perfectly. Some of the more haunting or unnerving characters do look quite unsettling. The CGs are impressive. Even the UI for menus looks good and works well, which makes it easy to navigate around after you do get a bad end or want to explore a route to see what you should be doing next. I genuinely think we’ll point to Sins of Kaleido as one of the best Switch otome games once this console hits the end of its lifespan. It surely will be remembered as one of the best Voltage titles. It’s such a wonderful story with deep lore, intense drama, and compelling characters. It’s all incredibly satisfying in every possible way. Not to mention it’s also a worthy successor to Even if Tempest.  Sins of Kaleido is available for the Switch .

Available for Premium, PC, and Ultimate members today! It's another day, and another brand-new addition to Xbox Game Pass! The dark fantasy world of Mistfall Hunter is available now on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox PC, Cloud, and supports my favourite feature, Xbox Play Anywhere . Read the full article on purexbox.com

System: Switch Release date: July 23, 2026 Developer: Gameplay Group International Publisher: PM Studios Water. Earth. Fire. Air. Long ago, Avatar fans looked forward in harmony to the under-development fighting game based on the four nations of the series. Then, everything changed when Maximum Entertainment cancelled the title. Only Gameplay Group International, a dev team of experienced fighting game creators and long-time Avatar fans... The post Avatar Legends: The Fighting Game review for Nintendo Switch appeared first on Nintendo Everything .

Korra, blimey. There have been plenty of video game adaptations of multimedia franchise Avatar: The Last Airbender , but Avatar Legends: The Fighting Game is the first to show any genuine promise. Designed by Mike Zaimont of Skullgirls fame, this is a hand animated Street Fighter -esque one-on-one fighter with a more technical gameplay loop than you may be expecting. Read the full article on pushsquare.com

Hearing Sega resorted to generative AI with Crazy Taxi: World Tour broke my heart, but playing Strange Scaffold’s Truck-kun is Supporting Me from Another World gave me something to believe in again. While this game is absolutely unique and its own thing, there are certain driving, humor, gameplay, and even soundtrack elements that feel familiar. It’s sincere in its silliness, with a design that encourages you to keep heading out on drives to help Driver and Carissa. Truck-kun is Supporting Me from Another World starts with an isekai set-up. Carissa Ward is a career woman who, after years of hard work, finally got a much-deserved promotion. She doesn’t get to enjoy the new VP of Marketing role or perks that come with it, unfortunately. When leaving work, she ends up run down by a truck. While she died, she reincarnated in another world as an elven warrior. Through the power of magic, she manages to contact the driver of Truck-kun that mowed her down to assign him a mission. The Skeleton King final boss of the realm she’s been sent to possesses the Scroll of Resurrection, which she could use to revive herself in her original reality and resume her life. Truck-kun is Supporting Me from Another World revels in absurdity. Driver expresses guilt about running down hundreds of pedestrians to force them to reincarnate in the other world as monsters Carissa can kill for XP? Don’t think about it! There’s a gigantic man in the middle of the city you can constantly see towering over everything? Don’t think about it! You still might need to deliver packages while you’re destroying property, ruining lives, and being chased by police? Don’t think about it! It is goofy fun, with nothing being taken too seriously in this cartoonish city. Each time Driver heads out on a drive to further Carissa’s goals, you get a set amount of time to mow down as much as possible as quickly as you can. If you hit humans, you can see them “spawn” in the other world as opponents for her to fight for XP. The more you hit, the larger the stack of enemies ahead of her. However, it isn’t just about forcing reincarnation on innocent bystanders. It also comes down to senseless destruction to power her up. If you hit other cars, billboards, traffic cones, and environmental objects, their destruction fills the sword gauge above the ever-present on-screen portal to make it possible for her to use a Super Burst special to cut through foes. When that’s full, you can hit Truck-kun’s horn to swiftly cut through the enemies. Driving is mostly fine? I played Truck-kun is Supporting Me from Another World with a controller. Drifting is pretty easy and effective, and slamming on reverse is helpful for positioning when chasing down moving targets or preparing to ram more durable items. My main issue is that there is some adjusting to the steering’s sensitivity, but that’s a common issue in any driving game. Strange Scaffold confirmed in the Steam Discussions that the team will add button remapping, so that might also help with precision eventually.

Images via Strange Scaffold While the goal each time is to accomplish as much as possible before the timer hits zero, completing bonus objectives gives you additional seconds or opportunities to further power up. Delivering one or a certain amount of packages could be a task! So could breaking a billboard or hitting certain types of objects. Drifting, driving in reverse, jumping, or honking the horn could work too! There’s usually a pretty varied amount available, to provide options that might pertain to things in your immediate vicinity. Aside from there being a bit of an adjustment to the steering and drifting mechanics, I will say that I sometimes wish there were more things to hit in Truck-kun is Supporting Me from Another World. Driving through billboards is fun, but it seemed like I’d get that possible quest when I couldn’t easily find or reach some. While it isn’t difficult to find people to hit, I honestly wish there were a bit more around to making building up stacks more efficient. Especially since the object distribution for cars and other inanimate features seemed to be a bit higher when I played.

Images via Strange Scaffold Truck-kun is Supporting Me from Another World fully commits to the bit and uses every isekai trope to provide motivation to run over everything. It’s such a silly game. Driving around town causing senseless destruction in a colorful cartoon world can be a lot of fun! I just wish sometimes there’d be more people I could turn into monsters. Truck-kun is Supporting Me from Another World is available on the Xbox Series X and PC via Steam .

Palworld 1. 0 is more than a subversive joke, and has ideas that its inspirations should take note of… Source

Just keep on Truxing. Legacy is a heavy burden. The ever-present danger of attempting to bring a new chapter in a revered series from the past and offending an entire fanbase in the process should not be something taken lightly by developers. In recent years within the shmup genre , we have seen such attempts fizzle for revered franchises like R-Type , Raiden , and Aerofighters Assault , mostly because the pixel-perfect originals are simply timeless and offer precise controls, something that seems to evade most of these reboots and sequels. Enter Tatsujin Co., still going strong with plenty of Toaplan DNA left in their ranks. Will this brand-new entry bring Truxton back to the spotlight or end up a blemish on a series known for its iconic skull-shaped smart bombs? Read the full article on nintendolife.com

With every Detective Grimoire game, we see SFB Games refine the point-and-click adventure series’ formula and build on past characters and scripts to create even more engaging cases. The result is that The Mermaid Mask is the strongest entry so far. It’s an impeccable game. Not only that, but it’s accessible as well in a way that welcomes not only gaming newcomers, but also those new to the series as a whole. It’s a must-play. The Mermaid Mask involves Detective Grimoire and his partner Sally being summoned to what becomes not-so-affectionately known as the murder submarine to solve a locked room murder. The former Captain Magnus Mortuga went into The Illusion Theatre room on the vessel, which only also contained a chair and sealed cauldron, and locked the door. He was murdered. When the door was opened, only his body was inside and no suspect could be found. Current Captain Sinthia Seafoam summoned the duo to find out what’s going on and who committed the crime.

Screenshots by Siliconera The writing in The Mermaid Mask is absolutely fantastic. From the premise and logic behind the happenings to the character dialogue and occasional asides, it is absolutely clever and even sometimes laugh out loud funny. Now that we’re three games into the series, it is clear SFB Games knows exactly who Detective Grimoire and Sally are as characters and how to write effective interactions that both enlighten and entertain the player. The suspects and supporting cast members onboard the submarine are also just as well-written. Once you figure out what happened and why, it makes sense. There are no plot holes and everything pulls together perfectly. That clever execution extends not only to the premise and mystery, but the puzzle design. Logic, observation, and critical thinking are all demanded of a player. The situations are challenging and do require you to pay attention or maybe even experiment to figure out the solution. But what’s especially important here is that the art direction means every one of these situations suits the submarine theme, makes sense in-universe, and features clear visuals that are never vague. The answer is right there, in front of you, if you pay attention. The directions and hints are perfectly worded with clarity in mind. My two favorite ones involve putting plugs in sockets and arranging sails on boats, as both come together so well and made me feel brilliant when I worked things out.

Images via SFB Games The Mermaid Mask also fits especially well on the Switch 2. I mean, Tangle Tower ended up being great on the original Switch. But in addition to everything looking crisp here, it supports Joy-Con 2 mouse mode. The game works flawlessly with that control scheme. And because of the design direction, I found I could use that option even in Tabletop mode and still not miss any details. The Detective Grimoire game The Mermaid Mask is pretty much a perfect point-and-click adventure. The story is fantastic, with a wonderful script and mystery that makes sense. The puzzles are perfectly pulled off, with art and design that presents everything exactly. The characters are handled wonderfully. Plus, it builds so well on Tangle Tower and Detective Grimoire , further establishing Grimoire and Sally as wonderful leads. The Mermaid Mask is available on the Switch, Switch 2, PS5, and PC.

The fast and the furriest. Kusan: City of Wolves' biggest inspiration, Hotline Miami , is evident from the moment I load into the game's prologue, which introduces fast-paced combat that feels like the 2012 classic. Most of my time in Kusan is spent slicing my way through rooms of enemies, gradually unlocking new abilities and upgrades for the main character, Jin. Read the full article on pushsquare.com

System: Switch 2 Release date: July 23, 2026 Developer: Nintendo Publisher: Nintendo Typically, the Splatoon series is known for its competitive, fast-paced gameplay. Indeed, the numbered titles do focus on high-energy splatting action, but each one also has a story mode you can complete before you jump into battle. Splatoon Raiders takes an opposite approach, focusing instead on single-player gameplay set on the Spirhalite... The post Splatoon Raiders review for Nintendo Switch 2 appeared first on Nintendo Everything .

Feel Good Ink. Well folks, Splatoon Raiders is finally here. The series' first spin-off launched on Switch 2 last week, and if you're anything like us, then you've likely spent most of your weekend hunting down Salmonids on the Spirhalite Islands. And what a wonderful way it is to spend your time! In our 9/10 review of Raiders, the wonderful Alex Olney praised nearly everything the game threw at him, calling it "possibly the most variable and exciting game the series has ever offered". High praise indeed. Here's a snippet followed by a link to the full thing: Read the full article on nintendolife.com

Gotta buy 'em all. We are rapidly closing in on the next wave of Pokémon LEGO sets, and these look really rather nice. Alongside the Smart Brick range, The Pokémon Company is also launching another round of adult-focused sets, with the Arcanine (£89. 99), Rayquaza (£119. 99), and Munchlax (£59. 99) builds all arriving on 1st August. Read the full article on nintendolife.com

The latest Famitsu review scores for the week of July 26, 2026 are as follows: Splatoon Raiders – 9/9/9/8 Gurei – 8/8/8/9 Kimi ni Madoi, Kimi ni Oboreru – 9/8/8/8 Village in the Shade – 8/8/8/8 Bluey’s Quest for the Gold Pen – 7/7/8/7 Paw Patrol: Dino World – 5/7/8/7 For previous Famitsu scores, check out our archives here. The post Famitsu review scores – July 26, 2026 – Splatoon Raiders and more appeared first on Nintendo Everything .

Disgaea Mayhem turned out to not only be a disappointment, but also something of a wonder. I’m amazed at how NIS could flub something that, on paper, sounds like a fantastic idea . A series known for big numbers and big grinds as a Warriors style Musou game where you beat up hordes with the sorts of weaponry and attacks the series is famous for should translate well to an action game! It should be exciting, fast-paced, and fluid! And think of how many characters you could pack in with different movesets! Yet somehow there’s none of that! All we get is a disappointing, clunky, halting, repetitive, ugly experience with one playable character that unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) lasts under six hours. Rather than Disgaea Mayhem being a situation in which we’re building up to take down an overlord and perhaps become ruler in their place, it’s about aiding big boss who’s just come into power. Following the death of her father Margraf, Tichelle became leader of Super Duper Netherworld with the Prinny Wurst attendant at her side in a prime minister role. The problem is, the six Psychlamates who used to serve Margraf rebelled. One of them stole and ate his Pristine Gleam Flan after doing so. Since that takes a while to digest, Tichelle hired the mercenary N. A. to find them, defeat them, and beat them until they cough up the flan so things can go back to normal in Super Duper. First of all, the Disgaea Mayhem story is extremely weak compared to past entries in the series and spin-offs, to the point that I think the Prinny: Can I Really Be the Hero and its sequel featured stronger storylines. The dialogue between chapters is extremely short. When you’re in missions, there are no voiced lines during those story segments or with bosses. The idea that it’s all about flan isn’t terrible, but given other installments deal with strong overlord candidates or individuals and this features none of that means it falls completely flat. Especially given we just had a mainline entry like Disgaea 7 that was great and featured a similar relationship with Fuji and Pirilika, and it really stands out with how bad and short it all is. Next is that combat in Disgaea Mayhem feels absolutely awful. There are no fluid, natural movements. Nothing chains together in a natural combo that encourages different types of button presses. It’s all very halting and uncomfortable. Worse is that some weapon types can feel terrible to use. Specifically, the magic rods’ charged attack involves holding it to determine how far away that blast goes out, but the camera positioning means it’s near impossible to gauge if you’re going to hit the foes and successfully arrange that AOE attack. Go Ad-Free With Siliconera+ View the site with no ads, be able to provide direct feedback about what we cover, and be automatically entered into our monthly PC game giveaway. Join Siliconera+

Screenshots by Siliconera Not that it matters, since the more general enemy encounters are so lackluster and tedious that they don’t pose a major challenge. The general enemies from the series appear in large or small forms and attack. The CPU intelligence ranges from ignorant to passable, with the only danger stemming from larger foes with status effects. And, to further hammer home how disappointing Disgaea Mayhem is and how it strays from the “big numbers” mentality, there are typically around 15 or so in each area to “pulverize.” This is done a handful of times until the boss of the stage shows up, which can be a bit more challenging simply due to the fact that they’re likely a few levels ahead of you and are damage-sponges that don’t take meaningful hits to the HP bar until you break their guard. (That’s represented by skulls.) All the while, only N. A. is available as a playable character. In the name of adding some diversity, after a stage you might get an opportunity to “tame” certain enemies as battle buddies once you get back to the castle hub. (You start with a Prinny, appropriately enough.) However, I found I always tended to end up with allies that had so little HP and CPU smarts that they would almost immediately fall in any battle, negating any possible utility.

Images via NIS America Even the maps for each area are so disappointing and boring! We’re locked into certain areas for each chapter of Disgaea Mayhem. The minimap is ever-present in the upper right corner. Unfortunately, in Handheld mode on the Switch 2 it is near impossible to find N. A’s icon pin-pointing where he is unless you stop everything to search. But then, each “stage” actually locks you into a specific area and keeps you from progressing to unused parts of the map, so it isn’t all that difficult to move from cluster of enemy to cluster until you get the notification that you can move to the boss’ location. Other Disgaea staples like Rosen Queen and the Dark Assembly are present in Disgaea Mayhem . But since this is a situation where weapons and items drop after stages, shopping doesn’t feel totally necessary? Maybe if you need specific healing item restocks or particularly favor a certain type of weapon, it’s worth checking in. And with the Dark Assembly, there is the option to reincarnate N. A or his monster buddies to strengthen them. Given how short the game is and the fact that I didn’t find it terribly difficult, that felt unnecessary too. Everything about Disgaea Mayhem is disappointing, especially if you love Musou style beat’em ups. It is short. There’s no main character variety. There’s little enemy variety, and only small groups to cut through instead of hordes. The combat system feels clunky and doesn’t encourage smooth, satisfying combos. The story is bland. It’s all short. Fortunately, there’s a demo so you can at least test and see for yourself how far this spin-off has fallen. Disgaea Mayhem is available on the Switch, Switch 2, PS5, and PC. A demo is out as well.