#Review / preview

Control Resonant Review in Progress: Early Impressions of Combat and Manhattan

Game Informer's Marcus Stewart published a review-in-progress of Control Resonant, saying he is still working through Dylan Faden's adventure and will publish a scored review next week before the game's September 24 launch. He said the combat and world design differ notably from the first Control, but the weird lore and side stories remain highlights, the melee action feels good though not at Devil May Cry or Bayonetta level, and the difficulty is higher than expected with enemies often matching the player's level and swarming in waves. He described the distorted Manhattan as a surreal visual treat resembling the Mirror Dimension from Doctor Strange, with some areas gated by abilities or keys.

Wolverine ran really well when I played it for review. But it glitched once, quite beautifully

Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave Review – Let The Games Begin

Game Informer's Eric Van Allen reviewed Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave for Switch 2, calling it one of his favorite settings and stories in the series even as repetition and overabundance weigh it down. The game uses a three-act structure with four Flame Lords who each get their own route, and players can confront the final boss Balor at any time, with more assembled lords making the last campaign easier. He reached the credits in over 130 hours while still missing some scenes and events, praising the chapter bookend and coliseum battles while finding dungeon exploration and the daily activity loop repetitive enough to auto-battle through.

New Story, New Gameplay and New Pitfalls: On A Plague Tale: Resonance

A Plague Tale: Resonance stars Sophia from A Plague Tale: Requiem, set about 15 years before she meets Amicia, and replaces the series' stealth with direct combat and escape sequences. The game has no stealth system and introduces the Minotaur, which cannot be fought head-on, along with petrified and mutated enemies, while combat relies on parries and skill and weapon builds. It presents the core concept of "resonance" more completely than the two previous games, but its atmosphere is weaker.

Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter Review: A Superb Sequel

Game Informer's Hayes Madsen reviewed the Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter remake after roughly 80 hours, calling it a strong follow-up that builds on the first game's remake with enhanced visuals, voice acting, and story additions. Combat keeps the same hybrid action and turn-based system as 1st Chapter, with new arts and crafts per character and a Brave Rush team attack, while the fishing minigame was overhauled and map and quest tracking improved. The main criticism is that some dungeons feel too long, showing occasionally dated RPG design.

Marvel's Wolverine review roundup: Metacritic 78, repetitive combat draws criticism

Insomniac Games' Marvel's Wolverine launched as a first-party PlayStation exclusive with a Metacritic score of 78 and mixed reviews. The Guardian, Eurogamer and VGC each gave it 3/5, while IGN gave 6/10, with criticism focused on repetitive combat, limited enemy variety and linear level design. Critics called the characters and performances the game's strongest asset, though much of Logan's character development happens off-screen.

Some of my reviews are sequels to others

Diving into ‘The Sinking City 2’ | 09/09/26

Anomaly President Early Access Review: Dead Cells Meets Fallout Shelter

Anomaly President from Phew Phew Games is now in Early Access on Steam, blending Dead Cells-style roguelike combat with Fallout Shelter-style base building. By day you manage a campaign bus with food, storage and sleeping space; by night you kill rivals to earn votes, then spend run resources on new carriages and skill trees. Combat feels fluid, though bus management can frustrate when staff deaths shut down rooms.

My Favourite Games of 2026 Thus Far | 22/07/26

Forza Horizon 6 review: still the car-collecting driving game for everyone

A review of Forza Horizon 6 finds it remains a car-collecting driving game rather than a racing game focused on track craft. Progress is gated by a new Wristband system earned through Qualifiers and PR Stunts, while the parallel Discover Japan track offers relaxed activities such as food delivery and convoy tours. The new Horizon Rush events are timed races on makeshift circuits with pre-determined cars, and the game was reviewed on PC with code provided by the publisher.

Petit Planet preview: HoYoverse's first foray into family-friendly games is very careful to colour within the lines

Petit Planet, HoYoverse's first family-friendly social sim, has launched its second beta test and is being compared closely to Animal Crossing. It swaps the usual desert island for a desert planet in space, but the preview finds few new ideas and no confirmed release window. The beta also flags content made with generative AI, with NPC real-time dialogue likened to the 20-year-old indie game Façade.

Diablo 4: Lord of Hatred review - an expansion that closes out Diablo 4's story arc

A review of Diablo 4: Lord of Hatred finds the expansion wraps up the arc that began with Diablo 4, with its campaign described as the most eventful of the three. It adds the first-ever appearance of the Skovos region, the Warlock and Paladin classes, a level cap of 70, reworked talent trees, plus Talismans, sets, the Horadric Cube and War Plans. The reviewer played on PC for over 30 hours on a code provided by the publisher.

Tiny Metal in general is one of those that just keeps getting so much better with each iteration that you can tell they really know what ...

30 Best Nintendo Switch 2 Games To Play Right Now

GameSpot rounds up the 30 best Nintendo Switch 2 games to play right now, including Mario Kart World and Donkey Kong Bananza, with some Switch 1 games improved through paid upgrades or better performance. The list also features Bravely Default: Flying Fairy HD Remaster and Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition, which includes the Phantom Liberty expansion and adds motion and mouse controls.

Crimson Desert Review: Story Buried in the Sandbox

VG247's Crimson Desert review says Pearl Abyss has built an impressive world and combat system, but the story and UI are deeply flawed. It points to sparse side-quest dialogue, inconsistent character tone, and an inventory where enemies have no viewable inventory and loot cannot be seen before pickup. The reviewer argues the game could be one of the generation's best if 99% of its narrative content were fully revamped, and played it on PC with code provided by the publisher.

Crimson Desert PC and console specs revealed, most presets skip upscaling

Pearl Abyss has published the final official specs for Crimson Desert, with five PC presets that state resolution and framerate targets and, except for the minimum preset, do not rely on upscaling. The recommended preset targets 1080p at 60fps or 4K at 60fps, the high preset 1440p at 60fps and the ultra preset 4K at 60fps, all requiring 16GB RAM, 150GB SSD and Windows 10 64-bit 22H2 or newer. Specs also cover PlayStation, Xbox, Mac and the Rog Xbox Ally X and S, listing base and upscaled resolutions per console mode. Crimson Desert launches March 20 on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S.

Marathon launch day Steam player numbers are about half those of the Server Slam

Bungie's extraction shooter Marathon has officially launched, peaking at 88,337 concurrent players on Steam, a little over half of the 143,621 peak concurrent from its Server Slam test. The open test had offered almost all classes, two maps and many gameplay and progression systems. The game currently holds a Very Positive user review rating on Steam based on over 4,600 reviews, and the author notes the weekend may push numbers closer to the Server Slam heights.

Marathon's Server Slam peaks at 143,621 concurrent players on Steam

Bungie's Marathon launched its free Server Slam open test on Steam, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, reaching a peak of 143,621 concurrent players on Steam about 12 hours after servers went live. For comparison, Arc Raiders drew 189,668 concurrent players at its own pre-launch server test. Marathon releases March 5 on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S.

Nioh 3 review - Team Ninja's most accomplished action game, and the series' most accessible

A review of Nioh 3 calls it Team Ninja's most accomplished action game and the series' most accessible entry. It uses an open-field structure of large regions, lets players switch at any time between Ninja and Samurai combat styles with separate builds, and adds gear auto-equip, region exploration ratings and an easier Burst Counter. The story remains thin, and the PC version has issues with locking to 120fps, camera stutter and crashes with multiple monitors.