Jeff Young

September 22, 2026

xbox, Video Game Reviews, playstation, pc, nintendo

Blades and Battles

Jeff Young

September 22, 2026

xbox, Video Game Reviews, playstation, pc, nintendo

Throughout history, or at least via 12th Century French literature, it's hard to imagine Sir Lancelot dive kicking a humanoid lizard, or Arthur pulling off a juggle combo against floating skulls. Still, Blades and Battles relishes in that absurdity and leans into it through the rough hour it provides, I only wish it had more going on.

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Featured

Graveyard Keeper 2

In life there is an inevitable and natural conclusion to all. In the story of Graveyard Keeper, and now Graveyard Keeper 2, however, the end of a life just might be the beginning of another. The dark and morbidly humorous tale of GK2 comes to us at the beginning of fall and just in time to welcome the fast approaching spooky season.

Blades and Battles

Well Dweller

With impeccable platforming and engaging combat and mobility, Well Dweller is joyous to control. Few Metroidvania games feel this good, with a map so big that you're constantly finding new challenges, secrets, and wildly impressive boss battles. Well Dweller is an absolute delight from start to finish.

EA Sports FC 27

FC 27 does enough to justify its existence and offers several encouraging ideas for the series' future. It is enjoyable, polished, and capable of producing some excellent matches, especially once its more manual approach begins to click.

Hot Wheels: Infinite Rush

Hot Wheels: Infinite Rush is an impressive representation of the classic cars existing in the big wide worlds we all imagined in our youth, complete with the variety of playsets and iconic vehicles that make it all come together. Is it perfect? Hardly, but it's the step in the right direction for the brand that I would love to see refined.

The Walking Dead: Streets of Survival

Streets of Survival has a foundation for a great series, but the lack of some quality of life features in its combat, and a lack of co-op make this hard to recommend, given the genre has so many other options that are simply better games. The Walking Dead is perfect for videogames, but few games have really hit that high mark

Port of Jumanah

The easy and quick nature of what Port of Jumanah offers does allow it to feel different than most rogue-lite's, so I do give it props there. The visual style is certainly borrowed, but plays into the charm and comedic writing Red Dunes Games and Agate were shooting for. The Oxygen mechanic keeps you on your toes, and the mechanics and temporary shell boosts can make for some interesting runs.

Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault

While some may be disappointed at some of the changes to core systems, or further leaning into its rogue-lite elements, Moonlighter 2 feels just so good, and that isn't just toward its combat, but its shopkeeper aspect too. Systems may feel streamlined, and many are, but these changes are intentional and do a lot to make each run slick and easy to jump into.

Trails in the Sky: 2nd Chapter

Second Chapter did everything it needed to do, and more. While the game doesn't refine or add new combat mechanics, the story and character moments that take place in this follow-up are some of the best of the series. The Legend of Heroes series often puts its story and characters ahead of its gameplay, and given how memorable its characters are, this has always been the right call to make.

Bus Simulator 27

Bus Simulator 27 is in new hands with developer Simteract, but given their history, they felt like the perfect fit for the series. While they certainly have produced a solid entry here, certain systems and menus leave a bit to be desired. While it certainly is a deeper game than Bus Bound, I simply found Bus Simulator 27 to not always deliver where I wanted from it the most; the driving.

Panzer Knights: Commander's Edition

Panzer Knights feels incredibly lacking, and not just in its basic visuals, as the colorful nature of its environments and the bantering of its anime girls does have some appeal, but it feels shallow and lacking any depth.

Nioh 3: Hell Rising (DLC)

Nioh 3: Hell Rising is more Nioh 3, and if that is good enough for you, then you'll likely be set for enjoying this 8-10 hour expansion that provides a whole new location to explore, and a very versatile new weapon.

NBA 2K27

Ultimately, NBA 2K27 doesn’t completely reinvent the series, but I honestly don’t think it needed to. Visual Concepts has instead concentrated on improving the actual basketball itself, and that was exactly what I wanted from this year’s game.

Lady Death: Demonicron

Lady Death is a character I've always wanted to see make her videogame debut, but Demonicron is just a sliver of the potential it could have been. The combat is fairly decent, but does lack some impact, especially as enemies rarely test you with knowing the entire arsenal to best them. With Brian Pulido being part of this to pen the story, I was really expecting more to come from this.

NHL 27

NHL 27 brings a solid presentation package to this year’s game as all 32 arena’s have been rebuilt, and new playbooks will change how teams take to the ice. With improvements to Be a Pro, Ultimate Team, and more under the hood, NHL 27 may not feel entirely new, but its improvements are clear as day.

Serious Sam: Shatterverse

Serious Sam is back, well.. sort of. As 5 dimensional displaced Sam’s unite to stop Mental, his reign over the multiverse grows. Dive into random environments, tackle his lieutenants, and stick it to mental one more time in this action-packed 5 player co-op rogue-lite.

Onimusha: Way of the Sword

Onimusha: Way of the Sword is some damn good fun, providing an action packed adventure I thoroughly enjoyed. Musashi's journey may obviously detour from his real life exploits, but the bond of strength he has with Ganryu makes for a compelling rivalry that sets this game apart from its peers

Lou's Lagoon

In Lou’s Lagoon, you play as the nephew/neice to Lou, the owner of Lou's delivery service, who has asked you to come to the Limbo Archipelago to help fix things up after the storm first hits said archipelago. Once you get there you can tell that this is not going to be an easy task, as multiple islands in the archipelago are in need of your help.

Hell Let Loose: Vietnam

Hell Let Loose: Vietnam takes the series' signature, high-stakes tactical gameplay and successfully translates it into the dense, chaotic jungles of Vietnam. Its optimization is a sore spot currently, but the changes the team has made from the beta to launch show that they are working on making this the best version of the game it can be.

Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy

Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy is astounding, but does suffer a bit when it comes to the game’s lacking boss encounters, and some moments where the game wears out its welcome in the last few hours. Still, Asobo is a remarkable flexible studio that clearly knows how to produce real emotion out of its characters and stories in ways that defy the genre.

The Lord of the Rings: War in the North Legacy Edition

War in the North: Legacy Edition is what it is, a modern port of the classic game. Its bells and whistles are few and far between, but the core game as it was is here and is a blast to play in co-op. Combat, progression, and the ability to swap between each character makes this one of the better LOTR games ever crafted.

Pro Jank Footy

Whether you're playing alone or with friends on the couch, Pro Jank Footy consistently delivers the kind of spontaneous, laugh-out-loud moments that remind you why local multiplayer games remain so enjoyable.

The Sinking City 2

The Sinking City 2 moves away from the detective style that Frogwares has mastered over the years to the realm of Survival Horror. As Calvin is attempting to perform a ritual to bring his beloved back, Lovecraftian horrors interject and take him on a morbid and gory journey to fight for his love.

Mortal Shell II

Mortal Shell II is my favorite Soulslike since Elden Ring, and considering the titles that have released since then, it’s my highest recommendation that I can make. Cold Symmetry knew the assignment, and absolutely nailed it.

Pet Survivors

Pet Survivors, developed by Vergiu Games and published by Eastasiasoft, joins an incredibly over-saturated market in the survivors genre. However, its simplicity and reliance on pets does give it an edge when leaning into the younger player. I just wish it had a bit more going on when it came to its combat.

Wild Blue Skies

While there is a ton of enjoyment to have here, you're generally enjoying it due to what's been lifted from Star Fox, and not from the game itself. If Wild Blue Skies wants to make any sort of impact with a follow-up, then it needs to barrel-roll into something unique, or risk living in Star Fox’s shadow.

Farlands

Farlands takes the genre into space. As you manage your little planetoid, travel the galaxy to meet new people, upgrade your ship, and trade in supplies, you will make your homestead thrive, albeit in a strange alien world.

Beast of Reincarnation

Game Freak has spent decades being almost entirely associated with Pokémon, but Beast of Reincarnation represents something considerably more ambitious. This post-apocalyptic action RPG takes inspiration from games such as NieR: Automata and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, combining fast-paced combat, open-ended exploration, crafting, progression systems, and a canine companion who quickly becomes one of the strongest parts of the entire experience.

Starbites

Starbites marks the console debut of IkinaGames, as they have finally pushed into the console space with their sci-fi turn-based action title, Starbites. While a strong story and endearing characters truly shine through, the excessively repetitive combat and drab environments sadly drag down this could-be classic.

Beastro

When you think of fantasy adventures you think of heroes wielding swords, using magic and fighting off creatures and numerous elements of evil. However, we never really think of the ones behind the scenes who help keep the fighters in good health, allowing them to be able to do what they do on a daily basis. That idea, is where Beastro differs from the rest.