Though it struggles to pace itself evenly due to densustoto a short run-time, To a T is a remarkable, life-affirming wonder. Perfectly un-perfect and proud of it, this is a flag waved high for oddballs – and likely to be one of 2025’s most memorable games. December 14, 2023 • Meta Quest fans have been asking for an exclusive longform, big-budget game for years. Asgard’s Wrath 2 delivers with diverse gameplay and a divine cast. January 17, 2024 • An estimated one to two million people already work out while wearing a virtual reality headset.

Every designer is inspired by other games and it’s nice to see one of the biggest releases of the year encourage its audience to go out and play more games. I’ve played a lot of the games on this list and not only have they come together well, in a few places, they’ve improved upon the original idea. Each option will provide you with alternative starting abilities and emotes. As someone who’s always wanted to use the Voice, I opted for a Bene Gesserit mentor and based myself in the frosty peaks of IX as a Bondsman. Sadly, it’s mainly your Mentor that factors into gameplay, with the other decisions acting more as role-playing flavor. Regardless, I was ready to feel the sand on my digital feet and test my survival mettle.

Puyo Puyo Tetris 2S adds new features exclusive to Nintendo Switch 2, and it’s the best way to play the game yet – especially against others. Designed with younger players in mind, Disney Illusion Island is a colourful Metroidvania that’s devoid of combat. The color scheme comes from video games, where “orange” loot is often best, with purple, blue, and green tiered loot following.

Another third party game that seems like the last thing you’d expect on a Nintendo console, but surprisingly this one runs worse than either Street Fighter 6 or Split Fiction. World Of Assassination is essentially all three modern Hitman games combined into one, so there’s a ton of content available, as you try to take out your targets in as inventive a manner as possible. For a start, it’s the only current gen-only game available at launch. And while that’s not a particularly good indication of the Switch 2’s power, given that Split Fiction isn’t a very graphically demanding game, it’s still impressive that it works as well as it does.

I’m super excited to see where Rematch goes in the future, and I’m greatly enthused by the fact that it’s starting from such a strong base already. Andy Brown is the Features Editor of Gamesradar+, and joined the site in June 2024. Before arriving here, Andy earned a degree in Journalism and wrote about games and music at NME, all while trying (and failing) to hide a crippling obsession with strategy games. When he’s not bossing soldiers around in Total War, Andy can usually be found cleaning up after his chaotic husky Teemo, lost in a massive RPG, or diving into the latest soulslike – and writing about it for your amusement. Later, you’re asked to handle slightly more complex tasks – like outrunning a train on a busy station platform – but To a T never really tries (or wants to be) challenging in that sense.

Playing a graphics-intensive game like Cyberpunk 2077, we ran out of juice at exactly two hours. The Steam Deck OLED will do slightly better on battery life overall, but you’d have to look at $800 handhelds like the Asus ROG Ally X with its bigger battery capacity for anything better. Future versions of the Switch 2 may improve on battery life, but Nintendo would likely charge more for that, like they did with the Switch OLED. You can improve battery life by limiting refresh rate and HDR, but let’s be honest, most of us would prefer a higher-quality experience over playing for longer. If you’re noticing really poor battery life and think something might be up, you may need to put the Switch 2 into “recovery mode,” which should reset the battery indicator so that it’s actually accurate.

Meeple Mountain believes that board gaming is the gateway to building better relationships. We are a group of passionate individuals who share our love of board games through written and video reviews, articles, and humor, so that others can join us in our journey. At Meeple Mountain we strive to represent the unique and diverse members of the board gaming community while also publishing the best board game reviews, editorials, articles, top 6 lists, and more.

That was after multiple crashes before that point, and I also had to reload saves because I fell through the world multiple times and got stuck on level geometry. But it’s not just simply a beefy expansion with loads of content. The world of Elden Ring is rich with lore and the story Shadow of the Erdtree tells adds new layers to that rich text. The backstories for characters like Queen Marika and Miquella are both enlightening and tragic, and the sense of discovery players get when uncovering these secrets prove that nobody does world design quite like FromSoftware.

There is no better system around for couch multiplayer—especially one you can easily pack up and take with you. The Switch 2 is its own beast, and it takes the 8-year-old design of the original Switch and allows it to compete—and beat—the growing number of handheld platforms available today. With more horsepower for high-fidelity games like Cyberpunk 2077 and a slate of already-announced Nintendo-only games coming this year and next, we have very little fear that there will be a dearth of compelling titles for the Switch 2. Nintendo’s new game console is no Sony PS5/PS5 Pro or Microsoft Xbox Series S/X, but at least it now has the performance to last well into the future. Most of these third party games don’t have any extra content, beyond maybe a few extra motion controls, but Yakuza 0 goes further by adding new cut scenes and a brand new online multiplayer mode.

Board Game Articles

Decisions culminate in fun ways, especially towards the end where sidequests and the critical path cleverly intersect. Nevertheless, it all builds towards a climax that, while satisfying, loses some of the ambiguity that seems to define the series. But Avowed isn’t just a first-person action game, and after a while the artifice of its RPG systems started to show. These limits first became apparent when I, a lowly thief, realised I can rob people blind with no consequences at all.

A sort of cross between Final Fantasy and Animal Crossing, the idea is that you lead a relatively mundane life in a fantasy world, taking the role of not just mercenary and mage, but also a cook and woodcutter. There are only three reviews on Metacritic, for 80, 90, and another 90. If nothing else, this wins the award for the longest game name this year, and the Switch 2 already has a number of contenders for that accolade. We’ve not played these particular remasters but we imagine they’re identical to the ones released last year. Suikoden 2 in particular is an all-time classic and we’ve reviewed it many times before, as it’s one of the best role-playing games of the PS1 era, with some interesting strategy elements. The frustrating thing about all this is that there’s no master list of available titles for the Switch 2 and Nintendo has made no effort to highlight third party titles, so it’s been difficult to even draw up a list of titles that were released on June 5.

He covers a wide range of topics but with a particular focus on gaming and streaming. When he’s not reviewing the latest games, searching for hidden gems on Netflix, or writing hot takes on new gaming hardware, TV shows and movies, he can be found attending music festivals and getting far too emotionally invested in his favorite football team. Now, stick with me, I know that sounds silly because that’s just normal soccer, but Rematch takes plenty of aspects from the popular online car-based sports game. The arena is entirely enclosed, so you can bounce the ball off just about every surface, and while you can’t sprint up vertical walls à la Rocket League, you can perform acrobatic actions that put a circus performer to shame. By that point, developer Uvula will have already worked its magic on you.

This doesn’t make Avowed bad—I loved it—but it’s symptomatic of one area where it falls short compared to its contemporaries, not to mention the first-person Bethesda games it’s clearly modelled on. I can’t attack anyone at will and suffer the consequences (though the narrative stages ample opportunities for me to kill or have mercy). Likewise, while stealth is an option, it’s usually just a means to get an upper hand on a particular foe. Once I’ve attacked—whether from cover or using an invisibility spell—every baddie in the vicinity knows I’m there. But while this is a very good game, with time I came to understand that its ambitions are a touch more humble than some recent genre heavyweights. I realised that it might be more flattering to think of Avowed as a choice-based narrative-driven action game.

Specific interests include indie games, obscure Metroidvanias, speedrunning, experimental games and FPSs. He thinks Lulu by Metallica and Lou Reed is an all-time classic that will receive its due critical reappraisal one day. As unwieldy as the setup may seem on paper, Avowed maintains an admirable focus during its 50-odd hours. And I thought I would, given this is a game with a dynamic glossary accessible mid-conversation, à la Final Fantasy 16.