Category: Reviews

Image via Tempo Lab Games Nintendo’s Rhythm Heaven games work because they are such a fantastic pairing of clever music minigames with wonderful music. That formula can be difficult to replicate, since a game is going to falter if it doesn’t get both parts absolutely right. Bits and Bops is a concise little collection with minigames and music that actually does capture the same sense of whimsy. It isn’t perfect, but it is delightful. Bits and Bops is both the name of the game and a virtual record store we visit. Each minigame is set up as basically a new…

The PlayStation 5’s launch lineup was filled with huge AAA hits like a new Spider-Man spinoff and even a remake of the classic Demon’s Souls, but a surprising underdog dominated the conversation surrounding everyone’s shiny new consoles. Astro’s Playroom, a small pack-in game meant to show off the next-gen tech of the new console and controller, was so much better than it had any right to be. Players were instantly enamored with the loveable little robot (and real ones already loved him from his VR debut), and a full game based around Astro seemed like a no-brainer. Four years later,…

Call Of Duty: Black Ops 7 multiplayer review Black Ops 7’s multiplayer offers some iterative changes and one decent new mode, but these modest improvements cannot hide an experience that feels increasingly lost at sea. Developer: Treyarch Publisher: Activision Release: November 14th, 2025 On: Windows From: Steam, Xbox Store, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate Price: £69.99/$69.99/€79.99 Reviewed on: AMD Ryzen 5 3600, Nvidia RTX 2080 Super, 32GB RAM, Windows 10 Call of Duty: Black Ops 7’s multiplayer is better than its awful, terrible, abominable, ghastly, hideous, not very good campaign. But ‘better’ in this case does not necessarily mean ‘good’. This…

Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake serves as the newest entry in Square Enix’s lineup of remade classics in the beloved Dragon Quest series. As the final pieces of this remake saga, Dragon Quest I & II are beautifully reimagined, delivering a refined experience with only a handful of minor shortcomings. A Completed Saga Dragon Quest I unfolds in the aftermath of the legendary hero Erdrick’s triumph over the forces of darkness. Peace briefly returns to the land of Alefgard, but it’s quickly shattered when the Dragonlord rises to power, unleashing monsters across the realm and abducting Princess Gwaelin.…

Routine reviewAn elegant, purposefully cumbersome and beautiful lunar horror game that is a lot more devious than its cosseting homages to Alien and 80s sci-fi might suggest. Developer: Lunar Software Publisher: Raw Fury Release: December 4th, 2025 On: Windows From: Steam, Game Pass Price: TBC Reviewed on: Intel Core-i7 12700F, 16GB RAM, Nvidia RTX 3060, Windows 11 ‘If you want to torture somebody, first show them your tools’ is one of the better horror game design lessons taught by Amnesia: The Dark Descent. I thought of Amnesia’s cistern chapter while playing through a later area in Lunar Software’s excellent…

School life can encompass a lot. There are classes to attend, extracurriculars to get involved in, and plenty of fellow students to meet and grow alongside. And if you’re attending Demonschool, there’s a fair bit of infernal conflict and apocalyptic terror to overcome, alongside your finals. Demonschool’s Hemsk Island is a lively college town filled with things to do: fishing, cooking, reading tea leaves, tossing coins in fountains, fixing up arcade cabinets, and dispensing of demons with tactical precision, all set amid a Y2K-fueled analog community. Demonschool feels like a lockbox of clever ideas. Though the breadth of side…

For better or worse, I focus better when playing music, white noise, a podcast, or even mindless TV in the background. Usually, my favorite in-ear buds or over-ear headphones remedy my audio fix, or — one of the privileges of remote work– even blasting from my favorite speaker. However, spending nine hours a day behind a screen takes a toll on my eyes, often resulting in a desperate Renpho Eye massager session. While my prescription Warby Parker glasses have a blue light filter built-in, the added pressure from the glasses arms along with in-ears or the headband from over-ear headphones,…

Nintendo and Retro Studios officially announced Metroid Prime 4 back in June 2017. Then, it sort of slipped into the background following development restarting in 2019. Now Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is finally here as a Switch and Switch 2 game. And yes, to assuage any fears, it’s absolutely entertaining. Even the Metroidvania-style psychic upgrades feel like a perfect fit. However, even with the variety of biomes, psychic abilities, helpfulness of the Vi-O-La motorcycle, and new world of Viewros, Metroid Prime 4: Beyond often didn’t feel as new or exciting as I expected and it takes quite some time to…

Horses reviewThe machine can’t get off without your help. Developer: Santa Ragione Publisher: Santa Ragione Release: December 4th, 2025 On: Windows From: GOG, Humble Bundle, Itch Price: $5/£4 Reviewed on: Intel Core-i7 12700F, 16GB RAM, Nvidia RTX 3060, Windows 11 One of the first “moving pictures” ever created is a moving picture of a horse. In the late 1870s, the photographer Eadweard Muybridge produced a series of “chronophotographs” of horses and riders, including the famous 12-frame sequence Sallie Gardner at a Gallop. I know about Muybridge’s work thanks to Jordan Peele’s film Nope, which considers the historical erasure of…