Tom Regan

Konami returns to its classic side‑scrolling roots with Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse, developed in collaboration with French studio Evil Empire. Set in 1499 Paris, the game introduces Rose, daughter of Trevor Belmont, on a demon‑hunting quest that blends traditional Castlevania elements with modern metroidvania design. Players gain experience by defeating enemies, acquire arcana spells from bosses, and face both mythical foes and historical figures such as Joan of Arc. The developers emphasize balancing nostalgia with innovation while incorporating French cultural influences. A wider and more complex world awaits beyond the Paris prologue, ahead of the game’s release on 15 October.

The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales is an upbeat, retro-styled RPG that draws heavily on classic Zelda adventures while using Team Asano’s 2D-HD visual style. Its time-traveling story, treasure hunting, temples and princess-saving plot are deliberately saccharine, but the game succeeds through inspired dungeons, varied weapons and a deep, customisable combat system built around equippable gems. Fast travel, constant hints and a helpful fairy prioritize momentum and accessibility over retro mystery, while challenging late-game bosses provide some friction. Despite cheesy dialogue and modest ambition, the game is ultimately presented as a cosy, highly enjoyable escape.

Nex Playground is a compact motion-controlled console launching in the UK on 22 June, designed to bring families together through body-tracking minigames rather than traditional controllers. Hands-on play with titles including Peppa Pig: Jump and Jiggle, Starri and Fruit Ninja is portrayed as accurate and enjoyable, while the device’s privacy protections avoid saving camera data. Although it costs £269, only five games are included and the wider library requires a £90 annual subscription. Nex says the device has sold more than one million units in the US and even outsold Xbox during Black Friday week in 2025. The company is positioning it as a complement to mainstream consoles, with sports partnerships, licensed children’s brands and planned parent-controlled online play intended to encourage fitness and connect relatives across distances. Its main challenge will be retaining families’ interest and convincing them that the recurring subscription delivers lasting value.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 shifts the series toward a more politically charged premise, placing players in the roles of South Korean conscripts during a fictional North Korean invasion that threatens to become a global war. Korean journalist Hyeonju Song warns that portraying an unresolved conflict involving separated families and mandatory military service could cause significant controversy, while Infinity Ward says it consulted regional, military and government-related sources to pursue a respectful depiction. The game also introduces the DMZ extraction-shooter mode, major multiplayer movement and combat changes, and a current-generation-only release, signaling a broader attempt to reinvent the franchise.

Mixtape is a four-hour coming-of-age game about three California teenagers revisiting shared memories on the way to a party through music-driven playable vignettes. Its striking mixed-media visuals, inventive comic minigames and strong selection of 1990s songs make it consistently entertaining, but the review finds the music choices impersonal, the writing emotionally shallow and the finale anticlimactic. The result is a stylish, nostalgic and inventive experience that does not reach the emotional heights of Life Is Strange.

Capcom’s Pragmata is a melancholic science-fiction adventure set on a lunar research station where engineer Hugh encounters Diana, a child-sized android capable of hacking enemy mechs. Its real-time combat combines shooting with a dual-screen-style hacking minigame, while upgrades gradually add strategic depth. The game’s strongest element is the tender father-daughter bond between Hugh and Diana, supported by an upgradeable shelter and emotionally resonant exploration. Despite a mid-game lull, varied environments, late-game revelations and striking art direction make it a heartfelt, polished single-player adventure that runs well on both PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch 2.

Pokopia is a Pokémon spin-off centered on restoring habitats, gardening and building rather than capturing and battling creatures. Players control a humanoid Ditto, borrow abilities from Pokémon they meet and create environments that attract species such as Bulbasaur, Charmander and Umbreon. Game Freak developers Shigeru Ohmori, Marina Ayano and Takuto Edagawa describe a deliberately relaxed, colorful design focused on universal cuteness, Pokémon personalities and interactions. The project began with Ohmori’s idea of discovering Pokémon while creating grass and was developed with Omega Force. Its departure from the traditional battle-focused formula may help broaden the direction of future Pokémon games. Pokopia is scheduled for release on 5 March for Nintendo Switch 2.

Romeo Is a Dead Man, Suda51’s first original game in a decade, combines zombie hacking, science fiction and multiple visual styles. Its combat, boss fights and retro-styled spaceship hub provide occasional dumb fun and visual variety, but an incoherent story overloaded with unexplained terminology, juvenile humor and disconnected ideas undermines the experience. Serious frame-rate slowdowns on PS5 Pro further damage the later levels, leaving the game feeling directionless rather than like a cohesive successor to No More Heroes.

PokéPark Kanto, Pokémon’s first permanent amusement park, is set to open in Tokyo’s Inagi suburb on 5 February. The family-oriented attraction features a 26,000-square-metre forest populated by more than 600 full-scale Pokémon statues, alongside themed games, food, merchandise, a carousel and live animatronic battles. Tickets are already sold out for three months, highlighting Pokémon’s global appeal and commercial strength. The park is expected to attract more international visitors to Japan, even as the country contends with overtourism, pressure on local communities and growing anti-foreigner sentiment.

Kirby Air Riders is a colorful Nintendo racing game that uses automatic acceleration, drifting and varied floating machines to create a distinctive, initially difficult but ultimately satisfying experience. Its strongest feature is the inventive Road Trip story mode, while the chaotic City Trials multiplayer mode feels underdeveloped and Top Ride is entertaining but shallow. The game’s charm, customization and visual cohesion give it considerable appeal, although its limited modes make the full-price release feel somewhat overinflated.

Konami’s remake preserves Metal Gear Solid 3’s eccentric Cold War story while adding modern controls, lavish visuals and new quality-of-life features. The jungle environments remain inventive, and the game’s survival mechanics and meta-interactivity still feel distinctive, though some systems seem dated and the exposition can overwhelm newcomers. The review criticizes the juvenile male gaze, rushed finale and the absence of the delayed Foxhunt multiplayer mode, but concludes that Snake Eater remains a stylish, campy and highly enjoyable stealth classic.

Two decades after its release, Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater is portrayed as the pinnacle of Konami’s stealth series, celebrated for its outdoor survival mechanics, cinematic storytelling, tragic characters and exceptional voice acting. As Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater approaches, returning performers David Hayter, Lori Alan and Cynthia Harrell describe the emotional impact of the original and their efforts to recreate its performances. Although Hideo Kojima did not participate, original team members Yuji Korekado and Noriaki Okamura helped guide a deliberately conservative remake that modernizes controls and visuals without altering the story or adding new plot points.

Silent Hill f relocates the horror series to the fictional Japanese town of Ebisugaoka in the 1960s, where abused and socially isolated teenager Hinako confronts supernatural creatures alongside the era's gender expectations. The game emphasizes Japanese folklore, a detailed rural setting, melee combat and systems designed to create sustained tension through limited resources, weapon durability and sanity management. A preview finds the early combat sluggish and the difficulty inconsistent, but ultimately appreciates its tense cadence, human story and blend of fantasy with a grounded historical setting. Producer Motoi Okamoto says the title is intended to mark a broader revival and progression for the Silent Hill franchise.

Donkey Kong Bananza marks Donkey Kong’s first standalone adventure in 11 years and brings the character to Nintendo Switch 2 with a destruction-focused 3D platforming design. Using voxel technology, the game allows players to smash through walls, floors and ceilings, dig underground and create their own routes through levels. Producer Kenta Motokura and director Kazuya Takahashi explain that the concept grew from combining Donkey Kong’s physical strength with technology previously used in Super Mario Odyssey. The developers describe the technical and level-design challenges of making destruction meaningful while preserving enjoyable platforming, with Shigeru Miyamoto’s playtesting helping validate the game’s exploratory approach. The project is also presented as an example of younger Nintendo developers extending the creative legacy of veterans such as Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka.

The Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater games turned their carefully curated punk, metal and hip-hop soundtracks into a powerful music-discovery platform. Artists including Less Than Jake, AFI, the Ataris and Goldfinger say the games substantially expanded their audiences, while newer acts such as Drain, Turnstile and End It see inclusion in the remakes as a way to reach younger listeners. Tony Hawk and the former Neversoft team describe a selection process rooted in skateboarding culture rather than record-label promotion. The enduring connection between skating, video games and alternative music is reflected in tribute cover bands such as the 900, with Hawk even joining them onstage.

Nintendo Switch 2 improves many original Switch games through automatic backward compatibility, free patches and paid Switch 2 Edition upgrades. Older titles including Bayonetta 3, The Witcher 3, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, Super Mario Odyssey, Splatoon 3 and several Zelda games benefit from higher frame rates, improved resolution, HDR, shorter loading times and better multiplayer features. Paid upgrades for Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom add visual enhancements and Zelda Notes, while No Man’s Sky and Fortnite receive especially substantial free improvements. Additional Switch 2 Editions, including Super Mario Party Jamboree TV and Kirby and the Forgotten Land, add new content for extra fees.

Donkey Kong Bananza sends Donkey Kong through expansive underground worlds where he can smash, burrow and throw objects through destructible environments. Pauline accompanies him as a singing power-up, while animal transformations, a skill tree, collectible fossils, stat-boosting outfits, boss fights and mine-cart sections expand the formula. The game is praised for its energetic destruction, inventive enemies and exuberant tone, though its visuals can look bland and the co-op mode is limited. Despite some jankiness, it is presented as a chaotic and highly enjoyable debut for Donkey Kong on Nintendo Switch 2.

Moonlight Peaks is a supernatural farming life simulation in which Dracula’s daughter leaves her father’s violent home to build a peaceful life among werewolves, witches and other creatures. Players grow crops, raise animals, make plant-based blood substitutes, decorate a haunted home, complete story quests and pursue consensual romances, including the option to turn a partner into a vampire. Developer Little Chicken says fan feedback has shaped the game, which is attracting a predominantly female audience and is scheduled for release on PC in 2026.

The Nintendo Switch 2 has an impressive launch but lacks substantial new first-party games beyond Mario Kart World and a small tech demo. Several third-party ports help fill the gap: Yakuza 0: Director's Cut is the strongest recommendation, while Hitman, Bravely Default HD, Kunitsu-Gami and Fast Fusion also perform well. Cyberpunk 2077 is playable but suffers in demanding open-world sections, and Sonic X Shadow Generations and Street Fighter 6 have notable drawbacks. Puyo Puyo Tetris 2S is judged particularly poor because it offers few improvements at full price.

Henk Rogers recounts discovering Tetris in 1988, navigating a tangled international rights dispute, and secretly meeting creator Alexey Pajitnov in Moscow while under KGB surveillance. He explains how the experience led to their enduring friendship and the creation of the Tetris Company, while criticizing factual liberties in the Apple TV+ film about the episode. The interview also highlights Rogers’s earlier influence on Japanese role-playing games through The Black Onyx, his role in developing later Tetris projects such as Tetris Effect, and his shift from game publishing to climate-change campaigning through Hawaii’s Blue Planet Foundation.