Author: Joel

Point-and-click adventures have spent years trying to modernise themselves, often by adding complexity where none was needed. The Drifter takes the opposite approach. Rather than reinventing the genre, it focuses on removing the small frustrations that have traditionally slowed it down, and the result is one of the most engaging adventure games I have played in quite some time. The story follows Mick Carter, a drifter returning home for his mother’s funeral, only to find himself caught up in a dangerous conspiracy that quickly spirals beyond his control. From its opening moments, The Drifter moves with remarkable confidence. This is…

The Atelier series has spent decades carving out its own niche within the JRPG genre. While many role-playing games focus on saving the world through grand battles and apocalyptic threats, Atelier has traditionally been more interested in crafting, gathering resources, and building relationships. Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories & the Envisioned Land continues that tradition while also pushing the series further towards open-world exploration and action-based combat. On paper, it sounds like a winning combination. In practice, Atelier Yumia delivers some of the most enjoyable combat and crafting systems the series has seen, supported by a surprisingly strong story…

Few games from the mid-2010s have aged quite as gracefully as Rise of the Tomb Raider. Originally released in 2015, Crystal Dynamics’ second entry in the reboot trilogy remains one of the strongest modern action-adventure games, blending exploration, puzzle-solving, platforming, and cinematic spectacle into a consistently enjoyable package. Now arriving on Nintendo Switch 2, the question is less about whether the game itself still holds up and more about how well this version brings Lara Croft’s adventure to Nintendo’s new hardware. The answer is largely positive. While some aspects of the experience show their age, particularly the combat and storytelling,…

Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly has long been considered one of the most haunting entries in the survival horror genre, and the remake attempts to bring that experience to modern hardware while preserving the spirit of the original. For the most part, it succeeds. The game still tells one of the most unsettling stories in horror gaming, but the modernization of its mechanics and presentation introduces both improvements and a few unexpected frustrations. The story follows twin sisters Mio and Mayu as they stumble upon the abandoned Minakami Village, a place that disappeared from the world long ago. What begins…

Nioh 3 marks Team Ninja’s return to the action RPG series, which has now grown into a full trilogy. Each entry has introduced meaningful changes while preserving the core gameplay, allowing what was once labeled a soulslike to establish its own identity over time. The story of Nioh 3 is set in an alternate version of Japan, centered on the rise of monsters known as the Yokai. Players step into the role of a custom-created avatar, similar to Dynasty Warriors Origin, though this time the protagonist is fully voiced. The narrative revolves around a supernatural plague called the Crucible. As…

Dynasty Warriors Origins serves as a fresh reboot for the series. The franchise had begun to stagnate, especially after recent entries failed to win over fans with their open-world approach. In response, Koei Tecmo has effectively reset the series, introducing a new starting point while keeping the familiar gameplay systems intact. The story once again draws from the well-known Romance of the Three Kingdoms setting. Instead of taking control of established heroes, players step into the role of a nameless wanderer, a created avatar who is pulled into the middle of political conflict and large-scale warfare. This approach gives the…

Tomb Raider Definitive Edition is a surprise port that recently arrived on the Nintendo Switch and Switch 2. Since it was released quietly, many of us expected it to be a mess. Instead, it turned out to be a competent port with solid performance. Even so, there are a few drawbacks worth pointing out. While Tomb Raider Definitive Edition runs fine on the Switch 1 because it is an older game, more than a decade old, originally released on PS3 and Xbox 360, it does not get much benefit from the jump to Switch 2. The developers upgraded the visuals…

Demonschool is a stylish tactics game that pulls inspiration from several different titles while still forming its own identity. It feels like a mix of Into the Breach and Persona, with touches of Shin Megami Tensei and light horror elements. Even at first glance, before you know anything about it, the game’s art style and overall design stand out and immediately grab your attention. The story follows a college student named Faye, who travels to a strange island to continue her studies. The setup is intriguing, drawing the player into the mystery surrounding both the island and the university she…

SpongeBob SquarePants: Titans of the Tide is a new platformer from THQ Nordic. It features SpongeBob and his friends on a fresh adventure. Like other recent platformers, it focuses on simple 3D collectathon gameplay, with character swapping playing a key role. The two main playable characters are SpongeBob and Patrick. They can be switched instantly through a system called the BFF Ring. To make switching worthwhile, both characters have their own abilities that help you get past different obstacles. SpongeBob can use his karate moves and bubbles, while Patrick can dig underground and use a whip to swing across platforms.…

Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 marks the quick return of the series to the Black Ops line. It continues directly from Black Ops 6, which launched to record numbers. While the game delivers strong multiplayer features, including one of the best versions of Zombies to date, it falls short in a few key areas that hold it back from surpassing its predecessor. Most fans will not spend much time with the campaign, but this year’s campaign is easily one of the weakest in the franchise since Call of Duty: Ghosts. It is messy both in its story and in…