Yakuza Kiwami 3
I love this series. I don't love the changed ending but I'm not against changes in remakes overall.
Players complained about the bloated orphanage section but now complain that it's side content? Whatever, I loved it.
Dark Ties was a fun side story, if not a bit bloated.
ASTRO BOT
Absolutely fantastic, this game deserves all the love it got on release.
It's almost better than the sum of its parts, just good, solid mechanics all the way around with a charming art style.
All the nods to other franchises are just fantastic.
Absolutely worth your time.
Metaphor: ReFantazio
Finally came back around for my NG+ run. And my expectations were founded, skipping cutscenes and keeping the pace up was a great experience. No long drags of one battle between 10+ minutes of cutscenes.
Fun super bosses, and fun to use juiced characters.
The Outer Worlds 2
Was really excited for this one. The combination of Perks, Traits and Flaws felt like I truly had a unique character right until the end.
Great, genuinely hilarious writing. Will probably come back for another, very different, playthrough soon.
Red Dead Redemption
An absolute classic. Very fond memories of playing this on initial release so couldn't want to jump back in. As good as I remember it.
100% complete on both main game and Undead Nightmare
Just an absolute jolt of nostalgia!
Dome Keeper
Fun little gamepass pick up. Not an awful lot to say about this but the balance between combat/exploration made for a fun time.
Ghost Of YΕtei
Hey look, I played a game on another system than Xbox!
We love a sequel with iteration. Great story, characters and music. Good evolution of the mechanics from the first.
Atsu's arc is both heartbreaking and warming, with fantastic writing throughout.
Props to Sucker Punch.
PowerWash Simulator 2
Sometimes the pitch for a sequel is easy. Iteration on existing mechanics, more levels, and some polish. And that's exactly what this is.
Thoroughly enjoyed, and I'll be back for any and all DLC.
Ball x PIT
This game is absolutely addicting. I stayed up until 4am on Saturday night playing it. Absolutely hooked me.
Everytime I thought I had the game sussed it threw another surprise at me.
Highly recommend to roguelite fans and non fans alike.
Borderlands 4
I can see myself re-evaluating this in the future. But right now I see it as a low point in the franchise.
I liked BL3 when others didn't, but this is an over correction.
The move to an open world map was not well done, invisible walls to this degree in 2025 is awful design.
Octopath Traveler
I had so much fun with this. The art style, characters and music were all fantastic. More side quests I could have done but felt a bit trapped out at 65 hours. Will be diving into the sequel in due course.
Turned based combat needs a mainstream comeback!
Gears of War: Reloaded
I'm so disappointed. Did a campaign run and it's, fine. But that's not enough to revive this franchise.
This needed more than that to bring the series to a new audience. This should have been a Marcus Fenix collection with 2 and 3 getting the remaster treatment.
Mafia: The Old Country
This took a long time to get going and the ending was subpar. There were some fun sections in the middle, but it's hard to imagine this series ever getting back to its peak.
Gameplay was shallow and repetitive. A few fun set pieces save this game from being a disaster.
The Rogue Prince of Persia
Really enjoyed this, great mechanics and the obvious replayability. The boss mechanics are a little lacking but can be forgiven.
The post game was starting to become a grind, having to complete a run to get one additional modifier makes it a slow build of difficulty.
Wheel World
Love a palette cleanser. Nice art style with relatively simple mechanics and a serviceable story. The only gripe is some small QoL features kept me from 100%ing this.
Lack of tracking of some side quests, Stuff that can be easily fixed in a patch that would definitely bring me back.
Nier Replicant
This game is great, I played 2 of the 5 endings and I feel it's a good time to stop. If you love these games there is content there for you, but the grind is a little too much for me.
I love the atmosphere, the characters and the MUSIC. Doesn't quite pip Automata for me though.
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3+4
These games rock. The soundtracks are great, mechanics solid and consistent. Just a lot of fun. And there's loads to unpack for those truly dedicated to the grind.
More PS1+2 generation games need this kind of treatment.
Lost in Random: The Eternal Die
I said I don't drop games often then post two in a row. I had hoped this would tide me over before Hades 2 releases.
One of those times where I cannot put my finger on why. The upgrade system felt good, and the combat mechanics were solid. Just didn't click for me.
Star Wars Outlaws
It's really not often I drop a game mid playthrough, but this felt like a grind, it felt like a chore.
The worst aspects of all Ubisoft open world games and it sucks that this didn't hit. Because an open world Star Wars game playing as a bad ass bounty hunter sounds so fun.
The Alters
Was sold on this concept from the reveal trailer, the primary voice actor (Alex Jordan) absolutely nails the distinct versions of Jan Dolski
Will likely replay this in the future to get a glimpse at the other Alters that I wasn't about to use.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
First double entry on this list. The game has been in my head nonstop and a few friends have been playing so I came back for 100%.
OST has been on repeat.
It's GOTY, do yourself a favour and play it.
www.nintendo.co.jp/corporate/re...
How predictable. Absolute gangbusters
College Football 25
I play a bunch of sports games that I didn't intend to add to this list, but CFB25 warrants an exception, bringing the series back after a decade was a tough task and the team smashed it, 26 on the horizon with an array of improvements. And I'll be back on day 1.
Oblivion Remastered
I don't have the same nostalgia for this as I do Skyrim. Unsure why because Oblivion was one of my first 360 games. Anyway a great ride, still a lot of the "typical" Bethesda issues in place, but that doesn't stop a very enjoyable experience.
High Elf Mage is always my go to
DOOM: The Dark Ages
Not a lot to say on this one. Blowing up monsters is as fun now as it was when the first of these games dropped in 2016. Still doesn't quite hit the heights of that first game imo. But a good ride nonetheless.
Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy
I wanted a break from big RPGs so came back for a NG+ of this gem. I don't know sales figures but this game gets posted on Reddit every other week to farm upvotes and honestly they're deserved.
The marriage of combat and character dynamics is *chefs kiss*
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Game Of The Year. The character, the story, the world, the mechanics, the MUSIC.
It's all perfect. Give it every award.
AA game development continues to set the bar for the industry. Gimme a bunch of AAA clones of this please and thank you.
South Of Midnight
We need more of this type of game. A straightforward action adventure, great balance between combat and platforming, an interesting world with good characters.
Thoroughly enjoyed βΊοΈ
Two Point Museum
I really enjoy the Two Point games. Scratch that itch of not being too deep into a genre. 5*'d every museum and that felt like enough. Maybe one day I'll loop back around and 100% this series.
Campus > Museum > Hospital my current TP ranking.
Assassin's Creed Shadows
The weakest of the RPG era games. I have so many issues with this game I don't even want to talk about it.
Make smaller games, Mirage was the best AC game in a long time.
